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 magicwand – 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.
We did it! We finished 90 days of P90X! In spite of turkey temptations at Thanksgiving and tantalizing tiramisu at Christmas (not very traditional, but we love it) and bountiful bubbles at New Years we stuck to it and finished the entire 90 days of extreme workouts.
Wow! Looking back I remember the first week and not being able to do even one wide arm pull up. I can still only do 3 or 4, but each one is a self gratifying moment of glory. There is an overwhelming feeling of accomplishment going through this program.
Here’s what I found to be ultra rewarding:
being good 90% of the time and cheating 10%
realizing I needed to eat MORE calories every day
metamorphosing from extremely tired to extremely energized
doing crane for the first time if only for a second or two
looking in the mirror and watching the physical transformation
improving my running time (I even took first place in my age group for a 5k)
being able to choose any dress I wanted for the holiday parties
getting in the best physical shape in my life in my 40’s
I’ve talked to a lot of people who have tried P90X, but didn’t make it the entire 90 days. I don’t want to bust on my friends, but why not finish what you started? For me, the results I have achieved so far are all I need to keep going, but here’s some tips for sticking out any program you start in 2013.
1. Define your personal goal. Your goal should not be the program. It should be what you want from the program. If you go in with the plan to “do a xx day exercise program or go on xx diet” it won’t be enough to get you to the end. It should be lose xx pounds by xx/xx/xxxx or lose 3″ around my waist by Easter.
2. Inspire yourself. What is your “why”? Do you want to look better, feel better, have more energy, rock a bikini…. Your why is what is going to help you stay the course. When you feel like hitting snooze instead of waking up to work out or when you feel like you may want to go through the drive thru instead of making a healthier choice thinking about your why, your purpose, will keep you on the right track.
3. Put it in writing. Write your down your goal and three things you will do to execute your goal. Example: if your goal is to lose 5 pounds by March 1st and your “why” is to have more energy to play with the kids on your days off then your 3 things may include things like: pack my lunch for work days the night before, don’t buy junk food at the grocery store, cut out all soda and sugary drinks.
4. Keep a log. I love the P90X app. I record my workouts each day. I record what I eat daily in my nutrition journal, and I record my measurements. This helps me decide if what I am doing is working or if I have to adjust.
5. Celebrate milestones. Don’t wait for all 10 pounds to come off to celebrate. Celebrate the first pound, then the first two pounds. Cheer from the mountain top when you get the first five gone. Keep yourself internally motivated.
What I learned the next 30 days of P90X.
1. Once you can do something for 30 seconds you can do it for 60.
2. They make wide arm pull ups look too easy in Skyfall.
3. If my 8 year old can do crane then I can too. I just have to stop thinking so much and just do it.
4. I hate recording snacks in the nutrition journal enough to help me cut them out completely.
5. Working out with your partner makes it so much better.
6. Sodium is as bad, bad, bad. Just as bad as sugar.
7. You only have to be good 90% of the time. Allow yourself a little latitude and you will enjoy it more.
Today’s workout is yoga. A lot of people avoid programs with yoga in them thinking that it is just a bunch of stretching and it isn’t in alignment with their goals of slimming down or bulking up. They envision something like this
or this
not this (but I thought it was funny)
I looked up what yoga is. The word yoga means unite. To unite the body with mind and the mind with the soul. Yoga is an entire lifestyle philosophy which includes exercise as one part of it. Training your mind and body and connecting with your spirituality to achieve a balanced life are the main goals of the yoga lifestyle. Active forms of yoga that are included in many exercise programs, like P90X, improve strength, flexibility, balance, and stamina. Many people who do yoga say that it reduces anxiety and stress, improves mental clarity, and even helps them sleep better.
Yoga Baby
That’s what I read, this is what I know. During the first 30 days of P90X yoga was the most difficult of all of the exercises. I didn’t have the strength or the flexibility to do a lot of the poses. As I continue with the program I have noticed a tremendous difference in my strength and flexibility that carries over into my other training and has improved my running. Each time I push play on the YogaX dvd I am able to do more. The sense of accomplishment doing each exercise is incredible and gets my day off to a perfect start and I have so much fun doing it everyone wants to join in.
