For all of you who are not familiar with my blogging
approach through the life of an exercise program, it goes something like this.
I exercise every night during the week and I work out in the
morning on the weekends. I typically
blog every day, but may make exceptions on the weekend and sometimes condense my Saturday
and Sunday into one blog on Sunday. I write
my blog in the morning when I go to work and sit on the train (which is where I am
right now) and let you know how I feel and how I am going to approach my day. I then post the blog in the AM. After I exercise at night, I usually append
the blog and write about how it went. I
then update the post that night.
In retrospect, most people read in the morning to
afternoon. They don’t read at night
after 9PM and anything you post then is buried by the AM. I have this feeling that no one saw my
updates at night when I did P90X. With that in mind, I
am taking a new approach to Insanity. I
am going to write on the way to work, update at night, and then post the
following morning. I just want to see
how that goes. Additionally, I am
posting to my normal blog and copying to my Beachbody blog as well. Same content.
My blogs are kind of a personal commitment. Just like the program I undertake. I have been thinking about the word
commitment all week. It’s an important
part of successfully beating any challenge in front of you. It’s also something I take for granted a
lot. I think that happens because I
structure the challenges in my life in such a way as to ensure that I beat
them. So, I set up a framework for
commitment. I do it almost
unconsciously. There are folks, however,
that are challenged by commitments…and I also understand that.
Structuring your day around the commitments you have made is
truly the only way to succeed without the fortuitous condition of luck. When you commit, you are saying, “I will not
let anything derail this effort.” The
only way that I can succeed in pursuit of my health goals, is to structure my
life around them. When I went on the
Optifast diet four years ago, I firmly believe that is why it worked for
me. Three shakes a day, plus one small
meal at night, add in 40 minutes for exercise…done. After four months, I had lost 85 lbs. I just stuck to the plan. I didn’t deviate. In fact, I ate almost the same thing for the
one small dinner meal every night! My
thought was to make it simple. It
worked.
When I started P90X in February of 2012, I did the same
thing. Same breakfast, lunch and dinner
almost every day. Oatmeal for breakfast
with natural applesauce, a palm full of raisins and some natural ground
cinnamon. Granola snack before
lunch. Salad at lunch with about 4 oz
of grilled chicken. Shakeology for dinner
with fruit blended in. Recovery drink
post-workout and some nuts and fruit as a snack. Sleep.
With the exception of Friday Pizza Night, on which I have pizza and
allow myself a cup of ice cream as a snack, that’s it.
With P90X, there was an added element of control that helped
the commitment. The routine itself. Before I had P90X, when I was going to the gym, I did the
treadmill until it was boring. I did
some weight and situp routines here and there.
But I basically made them up...they weren’t balanced. I
wasn’t getting the right level of exercise or a program that addressed all areas. I certainly couldn’t work out
every night. P90X is a program designed
to be done every day but also has been designed around an exercise discipline
that allows for the repair of the body while you exercise another. It is not arbitrary. On the infomercial they say, “Just push
play.” It sounds simple…because it IS
simple. But there is a subtle elegance
to that simplicity. You don’t have to
think about it. You just have to do it. That’s your whole focus.
The commitment to get more fit is actually enhanced by a
program of this caliber. You work with a
program that helps you NOT have to think and take the chance on derailing your
commitment.
I tried many other ways to succeed in accomplishing
goals. Having something set in stone
works the best. It’s too easy, without
the rigor of the scheduling, to blow off a day here or there. Next thing you know, you are saying to
yourself, “How many times did I exercise this week? Wow. I
think only once.” Then the guilt creeps
in, and you resent the commitment. The
discipline of a good program helps because when you get into the routine (and
this takes about two weeks), you don’t want to miss it. If you do miss it, you aren’t guilty, you’re
mad. You’re angry with yourself for
getting derailed. Being mad with
yourself is so much more productive than feeling guilty and resentful. The guilty make excuses, the angry work out
harder the next time.
For anyone interested in P90X or Insanity, when you wonder
why I am doing it, the discipline of the routines are the reason. It is said over and over, but you really have
to experience it.
If you want to make the commitment easier, my experience is
to find a good program or plan and…
Just push play.
If you are doing your own program, JUST KEEP GOING. If you want to know the different Beachbody
programs, there are many from beginner to advanced, just reach out to me!
Have a great day, Insanity tonight!!
THE WORKOUT:
Cardio Power and Resistance. Alright, it's Day Two. Do you know what the picture up above is? It's a set of rubber floor tiles. Beachbody should sell them along with the recovery drink and the bands and Shakeology...etc. Why? Because you are going to need them to protect the rest of your house. You will need them if, like me, you are doing Insanity and sweating out every ounce of liquid in your body. I had to wipe the damn tiles tonight more than I wiped myself off! I got them for cushion because after yesterday, I knew I was doing a program with a lot of jumping and hopping. Little did I know they would be more valuable to me as sweat-catchers.
I am still trying to figure out why they labeled the Insanity workouts with catchy names. I have no idea how the name relates to the exercises. They all seem the same to me...they should just call them "Hell, Part One" "Hell, Part Two" etc. This is way harder than P90X. I have to keep reminding myself how bad I felt after that first week of P90X, because it was bad. But either I have Alzheimer's or I am losing my mind, but I don't recall P90X feeling like this. I was exhausted. The only difference today is that I was ready for the rhythm of the program in terms of the number of exercises in a cycle. Other than that, I am glad I had the extra cushion, it was much more comfortable when I was on my knees trying to catch my breath.
Here is a tip. HYDRATE. Don't forget. If you like coffee...you better consider limiting it or double your water intake during the day. You are going to need every inch of those twitch muscles and you are NOT going to want them to be brittle or tight.
I did manage to pace myself better tonight. The one thing I am struggling with is the correct form. Shaun doesn't really point it out and just jumps into the exercise. Then...I look to the people on the disc and many are doing it different ways. Some are going slow, some are not deep into the squats. I guess there is a rhythm that I will have to get. I am not in a position to judge here, I can't really see anyone too well with all the sweat in my eyes.
All right...let's see what tomorrow brings. You know, I used to look forward to each new day of P90X because it was always so different. With Insanity, I find myself looking forward to finishing it, NOT starting it...because I know what's coming...work and sweat. It will pay off, you know THAT!
Later!
No comments:
Post a Comment