Finished up the week with Combat 30 and Pump Challenge last
night. I haven’t felt good the last
couple of days. Lots of flu and cold are
going around and my body has been aching.
I have been hitting the Vitamin C and taking on excess calories to fight
the symptoms. As I write this on the
train, coughing is going on all around me.
It’s like I’m riding in a human petri dish. Also, the first week of a new program, my
body always responds strangely as it accommodates itself to the new stuff. There is also the diet adjustment. I was actually going to skip last night and,
at the last minute, thought that if I push through and do it, I will accomplish
two things.
First, every workout program requires discipline. As you start out each new program, whatever
your program might be, you cannot come off the blocks with excuses. It’s important to be rigorous when you start
in the expectations you have for yourself.
It sets a bar. Excuses are real
easy. Ask anybody. They’ll think one up for you because 95% of
the population has them to spare. The
first thing I knew I was doing, by pushing through, was setting my personal
bar. It’s important.
The second thing I wanted to do was keep my body in a
rhythm. When you are “setting the bar”,
the rhythm is critical. If you don’t put
the pattern in place, life will set one for you. At that point, you are no longer in
control. Then you can go right back to
looking for excuses…because they will grow.
Next thing you know, you are a “resolutionary.” What is that?
That’s the person that every gym, workout program and diet system is
looking for. The person who has a great
intention, seals it with a financial commitment (which is what the big three
are really looking for) and then fails to follow through.
The gyms are the biggest culprits. There are commercials every two minutes in
January. What were you expecting? Someone had to buy up all that excess ad time
now that the elections are over!! They
KNOW that 90% of the well-intentioned will be crowding annoyances in the gym
for about three weeks. Then, they will
disappear, leaving monthly commitments of $10 to $35 in their wake and lots of
unused time on the new equipment that was bought. Perfect.
Collect the money and the equipment doesn’t get used! It’s just like when YOU bought the exercise
machine and then had it become a giant dusty clothes rack. Except, with the gym membership, you now have
more room in your house!
So, I wanted my body to know that I am serious. I am not a resolutionary. It isn’t easy. It’s not supposed to be.
The first week of Combat was pretty good. I am enjoying it. What am I feeling? First, I am sore in some new places. My thighs and hip flexors are especially
tender. The workout is heavier on the
legs than most. They do not really
stretch before the programs, which is something I may have to integrate. It’s hard to get the most out of the kicking
routines without a good warmup…especially if you are stiff from the last one.
The oblique muscles around my ribcage are also sore. There is a lot of punching that, if you are
doing the forms right, involve a good deal of body rotation as you are doing
your uppercuts and hooks. Those two
types of punches, compared to the jabs, use a ton of your oblique muscles, and
I am feeling it.
The HIIT routines are tough.
Good workouts with plenty of pushup and weight add-ins. The Power and Plyo were tough but
doable. I did not finish every set of
each one, but I was very close. I will
be there this week.
I am also doing the Pump Weight Workouts as well. I am not doing the side routines…just the
Pump Challenge, Burn, Shred, etc. I am
using them to augment Combat.
Then, of course, there is Ab Ripper X, which needs a lot of
improvement. I will say this,
though. Doing them on sore obliques is a
challenge. I will get there.
So, week one is in the books. Feels great to be back. I like Dan and Rach (short for Rachel) better than I liked Shaun T. I also like all the supporting castmates. Different body types and no shleppers. Week two is coming up starting tomorrow and today is my off-day. That means a 17 minute ARX and then I am done. 17 minutes? God. You can do anything in 17 minutes…right? Over and out!
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