This month kicks off fall marathon training. I am going full out with a month of total fitness before tapering off cardio and adding miles. I am following my own advice for achieving goals by posting my June calendar.
Step 1 to achieving your goal – put it in writing.
Step 2 to achieving your goal – share it with people who will support you
Are you running a marathon or a 1/2 marathon this fall? Let me know if your interested in sharing training tips.
Thursday night I was driving home from work (with a live (?) hamster lost somewhere in my car – ah! parenthood) making up every excuse why I wouldn’t get in my Insanity workout. It’s dark. I’m tired. I hear the second phase of Insanity is really really hard. I’ll do a double tomorrow. (yeah right)
I looked at the clock in my car and BAM! I had a total paradigm shift. Even though I was feeling like it was bedtime it was only 7:30. The darkness was playing tricks with my mind. If it had been late June in Michigan, instead of March, I would be bouncing in my car seat anxious to get home because there would be 2 1/2 hours of daylight left to get in a good run.
It’s the dirty trick that wintertime plays on us. Winter conditions are perfectly suited for sleep. It is dark outside and it is chilly inside making us want to crawl under the covers and stay there longer, but we don’t actually need more sleep. We just feel that way.
Sure, our internal clock is triggered by light and dark. As it gets dark at night our body produces more melatonin making us feel sleepy. Since there are more hours of darkness in the winter months our pineal gland is producing more melatonin. This time of year it is still dark late into the morning hours so our sleepy gland is still at work making us feel more groggy in the morning. It’s dark in the early evening hours making us consider going to bed much earlier than we would other times of the year.
You must be mentally tough. You must determine your goals and really, really, really focus on WHY you want to achieve them. You must keep your purpose in mind to fight the temptation of sleeping in. You must resolve to not plop down on the couch when you get home from work even though it is dark outside and you feel too sleepy to do anything else.
If your boss were to ask you “are you too tired to be successful” you certainly wouldn’t respond with a “yes” would you? Do your actions reflect that?
Here’s what Jim Rohn would say “Your level of success will rarely exceed your level of personal development because success is something you attract by the person you become.”
Pick up a book. Write in your journal. Go for a run. Pop in an Insanity DVD. Get to it!
If you need a success partner to help you through email me ltmarathongirl
This is what I hear all of the time “How do you do it? I just don’t have the time to workout like you do.” Like I do? Time? Are you kidding me?
I wish I had a magic wand that would allow me to create an extra hour or two whenever I need them. I need an extra hour to workout – wave my magic wand – ta da. I need an extra hour to read a personal development book – wave my magic wand – ta da. I need an extra hour to . . . you get it.
Unfortunately, as hard as I try, I don’t have any magical powers. I am constricted to the same 24 hours that you are. Here’s the difference, I don’t use that as an excuse.
How much time do you spend watching TV? One way to pick up a few extra hours is to Stop Watching and Start Living. It’s enjoyable, sure, but watching TV doesn’t pay the bills. It won’t get you any further along in your career. It won’t help you get into shape or stay in shape. Try replacing the time spent watching just one of your favorite sitcoms with a different activity. By different I mean reading, writing, walking, yoga. Something that will help you feel better, be healthier, learn, be more successful, or develop a skill.
What time do you get up in the morning? How about getting up 30 minutes earlier? Yeah, it’s hard at first. Actually, it never gets easy, especially in the winter when it is so dark in the morning. Here’s the thing. When you start your day doing something great for yourself your entire day is magically better. The regret you would feel by making the same old excuse “I don’t have time” is magically replaced by a sense of accomplishment and positive endorphins that carry you throughout your day.
Do you want more energy? Less stress? More success? To be in better shape? Overcome the excuse “I don’t have time” and transform your life.
I hear a lot of crazy remarks about my lifestyle. People love to MSU – Make Stuff Up. These same people who make up stuff about how I get things done also make up stuff about why they can’t get more done. What kind of stuff am I talking about? Reading, writing, working out, volunteering, you know the kind of stuff that has the potential to make you more successful and more fulfilled.
Here’s the secret. I don’t watch TV. OK, I watch a little TV. Very little, but I don’t have a regular regimen of can’t miss TV.
Complete this chart of your favorite TV shows watched regularly. Include those you record and watch later. If there isn’t enough room on this chart for all of your favorite shows then here’s some news for you: CNNreports on TV watching.
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SHOW
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LENGTH (minutes)
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SHOW
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LENGTH
(minutes)
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SHOW
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LENGTH
(minutes)
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TOTAL TIME
(minutes)
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SUNDAY
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MONDAY
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TUESDAY
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WEDNESDAY
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THURSDAY
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FRIDAY
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SATURDAY
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Total time spent watching TV each week
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30 minutes watching TV = 35 calories burned
30 minutes walking briskly = 135 calories burned
30 minutes running a 10 minute mile = 300 calories burned
Calories needed to lose 1 pound about 3,500 calories burned
You can watch 3,000 minutes of TV to burn enough calories to lose 1 pound, if you can avoid the TV munchies, or you can walk briskly for 780 minutes, or run for 350 minutes. Heck, you can dance around your living room and burn 240 calories every 30 minutes.
Replace just 30 minutes of TV daily with 30 minutes of reading and you can easily put away a book or two a month. I’m not talking Harlequin or E L James. That’s replacing junk with junk. Read something inspirational, motivational, or educational. Here’s a great resource that can get you on your way to earning your PersonalMBA .
Here’s a great Ted Talk on success.
The path that lead me to Insanity . . . On October 21, 2012 I completed my 5th marathon. I blew away my goal time and shocked myself finishing in 4:03; 19 minutes faster than my previous PB. The self gratification of that feat is indescribable.
Friends had asked me to join them in P90X and held off their start date so that I could join them on November 1st. Over the next 90 days I watched
my body transform into it’s most fit state ever. The muscle tone and firm core, that I could not get from running 50 miles a week, was the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
My hubby joined me in P90X and was also ecstatic with his results. He wanted to do it all over again as soon as we finished, but I urged him to try Insanity with me because of the shorter workouts.
Day 1 – fitness test.
Day 2 – Plyometric Cardio Circuit. I felt like this guy after the 10 minute warm up
Day 3 – Cardio Power and Resistance. I almost didn’t die during the warm up.
Day 4 – Cardio Recovery – Who does this many squats during recovery? This is INSANE!
Day 5 – Pure Cardio – This is where the name Insanity comes from. OMG I thought I was in shape.
Day 6 – back to Plyo Cardio – The warm up is getting easier.
Day 7 – REST (not really in my vocabulary)
By day 8 I wasn’t feeling like I was going to die anymore in the warmup and really started to enjoy the workouts. I don’t want to compare P90X to Insanity until I complete the program. Until then here are some basics
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P90X
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Insanity
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Fitness Goal
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Tone and build muscle
(ladies, lean muscle not bulk)
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Improve cardio conditioning and lose weight
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Time commitment
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75 minutes +
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40 minutes +
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Program length
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90 days
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60 days
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Workout type
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Muscle confusion
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Interval cardio training
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Equipment
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Pull up bar and weights or resistance bands
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You!
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Instructor
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Tony Horton
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Shaun T.
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Mantra
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“bring it”
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“dig deeper”
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Price
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$119.85
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$119.85
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Includes
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12 workouts
Plus 2 additional workouts
Plus 5 new workouts
Nutrition guide
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10 workouts
Plus bonus Fast and Furious workout
Nutrition guide
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