I was abducted by Aliens. I'm sure that this could be the only explanation for the events I'm about to share with you. When I decided to start working out with p90 and p90x from BeachBody I knew that what my real goal was not just to loose weight. What I wanted and still want is a serious lifestyle change. However, the events lately lead me to believe that things may have gone a little too far. Now, I feel that my weight, health and progress with my workouts are fine. I have actually lost 9 pounds in 30 days and my clothes are loose and my strength, agility and stamina are all getting better every day.
However, I live just outside of Dallas, Texas and the weather today was supposed to be sunshine, partly cloudy and a high of 72. I left the house after my morning workout to take care of some things with my wife's car. I only took my sunglasses because of the great weather I was about to enjoy. I Swear, and I'm not kidding, I think that I and my family were abducted by aliens and transported to Seattle. At least that is what the weather feels like. It's not 72 with the sun shinning, it's actually 58, cloudy and we are under flash flood warnings, (Again). We are on track to be the wettest fall on record. So I must be in Seattle, except the scenery is nothing like Seattle. So, I must be on another Planet or something, because this could not be North Central Texas.
To add to this, when I got back from running into town, I found my Daughter and Mother out in the yard with their cameras. They were taking pictures of two Peacocks in my yard. Yes, I said Peacocks and let me answer your question now and get this out of the way, "I Don't Know".
So, to help me deal with my massive confusion and bewilderment from the events of the day I'm thinking about going back into my workout room and pushing play one more time. For those of you outside of the BeachBody program that means working out to the DVD.
This is a strange land I woke up in this morning. I hope there is some decent trout fishing here because Texas just doesn't offer much. On top of that it's so big you have drive forever to find any decent trout waters. I know there's water here because it's everywhere I look. No Really, there is MOSS growing in my YARD! I'm ready to go back home now.
Just my thoughts.
RiceBurnerMonk
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Sore Muscles
Sore Muscles and what it means. I'm 27 days into my workouts using P90 from BeachBody. Today my left arm is really sore which does not surprise me because I'm right handed. The other day I had to do my "Fit Test" which I actually should have done 27 days ago. I'm still getting all the tools I need for my workout room and so the only dumbbells I have are 10 lbs. I got to arm curls and I was supposed to do them until failure. Well, I stopped at 75 because I kept pausing and pushing it but the 10 lb DB's just were not heavy enough to cause failure. I had a feeling I was going to pay for this later but that day I seemed to be fine. On the next day, Friday I was scheduled to do more Weight training and once again I pushed it a little harder because the 10 lb weight. I was able to do more reps than they were doing on the training DVD and I decided to just go until the next set started.
Last night my left arm started to really bother me due to the soreness from the 2 days of workouts. Today I'm still very sore but only with my left arm. Being right handed this actually makes sense. With weight training what happens is that the muscles are pushed to the point of breaking down and tarring and the soreness comes from the healing process. Those that train hard know all to well the common quote "No pain, No gain". This comes from the pain of the healing process of torn or broken down muscles.
So what does all this mean? Well first it means that my exercise is doing some good by pushing my limits. I'm actually able to do more in the workouts today than I was when I first started. That's a good thing and it is very encouraging. So if I keep pushing Play and keep pushing my intensity level that I should keep getting stronger and better. Secondly it means that my body is responding to the workouts and my muscles are healing. Soreness is different than strained or damaged and hurt muscles. If you can move your muscles and work out the soreness to some degree you know that you are not hurt just sore. Also, the pain is different when you are sore than when you are hurt. Soreness is more like a dull pain and it tends to lessen as you move around and stretch. When your hurt the pain is very sharp and tens to get worse if you start moving around and stretching.
So, pain is not a bad thing you just need to learn to read it and listen to your body. The same is true with most things in life. Life is a struggle and every pain is telling us something. Sometimes you have to back off and let things heal before you start pushing it again. That's whey your actually hurt. Sometimes you just have to get in there and start moving again even though you know that when you do it's going to hurt a little. That's when you know you are growing and moving past your comfort zones.
I guess I can say that even though I'm sore today, it's still a good thing. Now, if my left arm will just not fall off when I put my shirt on I'll be in good shape.
Just my thoughts.
RiceBurnerMonk
Last night my left arm started to really bother me due to the soreness from the 2 days of workouts. Today I'm still very sore but only with my left arm. Being right handed this actually makes sense. With weight training what happens is that the muscles are pushed to the point of breaking down and tarring and the soreness comes from the healing process. Those that train hard know all to well the common quote "No pain, No gain". This comes from the pain of the healing process of torn or broken down muscles.
So what does all this mean? Well first it means that my exercise is doing some good by pushing my limits. I'm actually able to do more in the workouts today than I was when I first started. That's a good thing and it is very encouraging. So if I keep pushing Play and keep pushing my intensity level that I should keep getting stronger and better. Secondly it means that my body is responding to the workouts and my muscles are healing. Soreness is different than strained or damaged and hurt muscles. If you can move your muscles and work out the soreness to some degree you know that you are not hurt just sore. Also, the pain is different when you are sore than when you are hurt. Soreness is more like a dull pain and it tends to lessen as you move around and stretch. When your hurt the pain is very sharp and tens to get worse if you start moving around and stretching.
So, pain is not a bad thing you just need to learn to read it and listen to your body. The same is true with most things in life. Life is a struggle and every pain is telling us something. Sometimes you have to back off and let things heal before you start pushing it again. That's whey your actually hurt. Sometimes you just have to get in there and start moving again even though you know that when you do it's going to hurt a little. That's when you know you are growing and moving past your comfort zones.
I guess I can say that even though I'm sore today, it's still a good thing. Now, if my left arm will just not fall off when I put my shirt on I'll be in good shape.
Just my thoughts.
RiceBurnerMonk
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
A New Transformation
Real Transformation will impact every aspect of your life. I started on a journey 3 weeks ago that is changing my life every day. As a matter of fact I'm seeing the impact and implications of this journey that I believe will improve my lifestyle and life. I know, you're saying by now, "get on with it and get it out already". I don't blame you, I'm the same way. I made a new commitment to get healthy and started a program called "P90" from BeachBody.com.
Now I have started workout routines many times in my adult years. For the last 30 or so years of my life I have been a member of many gyms, bought and rode bikes, stayed fairly active with some sports but in the last 6 years or so I have seen my weight and health start to go south. I must admit that I have tried and started this same program 2 times before. I failed both times. Now you ask, "so what makes this time so different"?
#1. I will say personal determination. I know that at 53 years of age that if I do not make it happen now I might not ever make it happen. I want to finish strong not go out with a whimper. So it's now or never.
#2. A willingness to do whatever it takes to succeed. I got to the point where I did not care who thought I had lost my mind or anything. I refused to let anything keep me from my goal. Years ago I read a book on debt by David Ramsey and he said that to get out of debt you have to have the attitude of a gazelle. You have to run like your life depended on it and be willing to expend all of your energy to survive. I have made up my mind to have the same attitude about my health and weight.
#3. Accountability. This time I asked a few people to hold me accountable. I do not mean "Encouragement" but real accountability. I told them that if all I needed was encouragement I would have already done it or at least been in better shape than I am. So, they have my permission to even get in my face and make me mad if that's what it takes to keep me going.
#4. Support. I have also jumped into getting support from others that are also doing this some program on the BeachBody website using their Message Boards. I have to admit that this was a stretch for me. To jump into a conversation with people that I don't know to talk about stuff that I'm still trying to figure out and knowing all along that they are ahead of the curve. Well that took a few days to get up the courage for. But I have started talking to some people and asking for their help and advice.
#5. Results. After only 23 days working out, not counting a few rest days, I have lost 5 pounds, a little over an inch in my gut and my energy level is up and my abilities to do the workouts are 100 % better. I'm only in level one and can not wait to get to the top.
Now, some of the other benefits are that it is forcing me to be more regimented with my days. It's helping me to be more organized. At least I'm seeing a start with my diet and exercise and I expect to see it spill over to other areas. I already feel better about myself and feel like I'm actually accomplishing something beneficial. That in and of itself impacts my relationships with my family, the people around me and my faith. I know the verses that say, "If God is for us who can be against us", but I feel the greatest enemy we have is ourselves. The person that scares me the most, well, it's me. How many times have we let ourselves down? How many times have we not followed through with a promise to others or God? To make a keep a promise to yourself, well, that's huge! You actually start to believe that you can do it. Whatever that might be. You actually start to believe that you can make a promise and keep it. Doubt and self hate is our greatest enemy.
I think we give up in many areas of our lives and it even starts to show in our health. We stop doing the things we want to do because we start to believe that we just can't or we are too old, or we tried that before. I started to hear people say things like, "when you got to be your age". I started to look around and decided that I could not stop time or change my age but I could change my attitude. I can't change my hairline but I could do something about my waistline.
In closing, last night I asked the men in our bible study, why can't we make the same decision to transform our approach to our spiritual formation? Why don't we pull out all the stops to make sure that we grow and become stronger spiritually? What are we willing to do to change the way we are for the way we know we should be? I do not pretend to know what or where you are in life but personally I do not want to stay the same. I'm not satisfied with the way I am and I plan on doing something about it even if it kills me. At least no one will be able to say that I did not try. At least my family will know that I loved them enough to give it my best. At least I can leave a legacy for them that can push them to a higher level. Think about this, most people remember how you finished this life. What will that look like for you? I'm on my way to change mine, want to join me?
Just my thoughts,
Paul
Now I have started workout routines many times in my adult years. For the last 30 or so years of my life I have been a member of many gyms, bought and rode bikes, stayed fairly active with some sports but in the last 6 years or so I have seen my weight and health start to go south. I must admit that I have tried and started this same program 2 times before. I failed both times. Now you ask, "so what makes this time so different"?
#1. I will say personal determination. I know that at 53 years of age that if I do not make it happen now I might not ever make it happen. I want to finish strong not go out with a whimper. So it's now or never.
#2. A willingness to do whatever it takes to succeed. I got to the point where I did not care who thought I had lost my mind or anything. I refused to let anything keep me from my goal. Years ago I read a book on debt by David Ramsey and he said that to get out of debt you have to have the attitude of a gazelle. You have to run like your life depended on it and be willing to expend all of your energy to survive. I have made up my mind to have the same attitude about my health and weight.
#3. Accountability. This time I asked a few people to hold me accountable. I do not mean "Encouragement" but real accountability. I told them that if all I needed was encouragement I would have already done it or at least been in better shape than I am. So, they have my permission to even get in my face and make me mad if that's what it takes to keep me going.
#4. Support. I have also jumped into getting support from others that are also doing this some program on the BeachBody website using their Message Boards. I have to admit that this was a stretch for me. To jump into a conversation with people that I don't know to talk about stuff that I'm still trying to figure out and knowing all along that they are ahead of the curve. Well that took a few days to get up the courage for. But I have started talking to some people and asking for their help and advice.
#5. Results. After only 23 days working out, not counting a few rest days, I have lost 5 pounds, a little over an inch in my gut and my energy level is up and my abilities to do the workouts are 100 % better. I'm only in level one and can not wait to get to the top.
Now, some of the other benefits are that it is forcing me to be more regimented with my days. It's helping me to be more organized. At least I'm seeing a start with my diet and exercise and I expect to see it spill over to other areas. I already feel better about myself and feel like I'm actually accomplishing something beneficial. That in and of itself impacts my relationships with my family, the people around me and my faith. I know the verses that say, "If God is for us who can be against us", but I feel the greatest enemy we have is ourselves. The person that scares me the most, well, it's me. How many times have we let ourselves down? How many times have we not followed through with a promise to others or God? To make a keep a promise to yourself, well, that's huge! You actually start to believe that you can do it. Whatever that might be. You actually start to believe that you can make a promise and keep it. Doubt and self hate is our greatest enemy.
I think we give up in many areas of our lives and it even starts to show in our health. We stop doing the things we want to do because we start to believe that we just can't or we are too old, or we tried that before. I started to hear people say things like, "when you got to be your age". I started to look around and decided that I could not stop time or change my age but I could change my attitude. I can't change my hairline but I could do something about my waistline.
In closing, last night I asked the men in our bible study, why can't we make the same decision to transform our approach to our spiritual formation? Why don't we pull out all the stops to make sure that we grow and become stronger spiritually? What are we willing to do to change the way we are for the way we know we should be? I do not pretend to know what or where you are in life but personally I do not want to stay the same. I'm not satisfied with the way I am and I plan on doing something about it even if it kills me. At least no one will be able to say that I did not try. At least my family will know that I loved them enough to give it my best. At least I can leave a legacy for them that can push them to a higher level. Think about this, most people remember how you finished this life. What will that look like for you? I'm on my way to change mine, want to join me?
Just my thoughts,
Paul
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