What’s your ‘Why?’
I’ve had to do some real soul searching lately – looking in the mirror and facing some things that have been holding me back. Nutrition, physical ability, and excuses all contribute to not getting the most out of my workout. There’s always some sort of factor contributing to not pushing myself. The reason I’m sharing this, though, is in hopes that it helps someone else identify what their own hurdles might be and overcome them, or at least reach out for assistance in doing so.
Accepting responsibility is probably one of the toughest thing that we all face. I was reading “People Follow You” by Jeb Blount recently and he stated that we all have some sort of control issues. The time where that issue really manifests itself is when we face something unknown, or something different than what we’ve been told our entire lives. Kind of like “exercise and a healthy diet will keep you fit”, but then you get on a treadmill daily or a stationary bike daily and it stops working after a period of time. Here’s where that ‘unknown’ factor comes in. Doing the same thing over and over will allow your body to get used to it and make what you’re doing obsolete. It needs to be changed up from time to time. This way, the body keeps guessing as to what you’re going to make it do, and it has to adapt, and then you see results. There comes that issue of the unknown, though. “No, I’ve been on this bike, and it worked when I started, so I just need to do more.” Guess what! Your body is already used to what you’re doing. This is where you need to overcome that fear of the unknown, realize that you’re trying to control an unknown situation, and trust someone who has been there and done it already.
This is the great thing about Beachbody workout programs. P90X was the first program to focus on this aspect of exercise. Keeping the muscles guessing (muscle confusion) is what causes the results. Insanity, P90X2, the Asylum, Body Beast, and Les Mills’ Pump are just a few of the programs that have come out recently that utilize this mindset.
I’ve been doing P90X2 recently to get my own fitness back on track. I’m not even two weeks in, but I believe I had my best workout ever this morning. I woke up this morning hell bent on throwing all hurdles and obstacles out the window and focusing on my own ability to “Bring It”, and I did! The same workout last week burned 167 FEWER calories, because I didn’t bring it last week. I pushed myself through each exercise, and I can only think of one exercise in the entire workout that I didn’t improve on my numbers.
I’m not saying this to brag, or to say I’m better than anyone. I’m not – far from it. What I’m driving home here is the fact that I overcame my excuses. I overcame my hurdles. I overcame the things that were holding me back. Honestly, if it weren’t for the fact that I have a big desk and am able to rest my arms on the desk as I type this, I wouldn’t be able to type this blog. My arms are that tired from the push-ups and pull-ups and curls. I think if I tried to do a push-up right now, I’d probably fall flat on my face.
All of this falls right back on your ‘Why’ that is your reason to reach your health, fitness, and weight loss goals. The key is to identify your reason for wanting to achieve these goals, and ensure that it’s big enough to push you. If it’s not, you’ll make excuses, and you’ll fail. You have to want it bad enough!
I’m reminded of a video by Eric Thomas (E.T. – The Hip Hop Preacher). I’ll include that video below here. Some of you may have seen it before. Others may not have ever seen it. You might have even seen a different version showing a young man exercising and working out with the audio from this video in the background. Regardless of which one you’ve seen or haven’t seen, this is what you need to identify. Tomorrow is supposed to be my rest day, but I’m going to find something to keep me active somewhat. I’m tired of being big. I’m tired of getting dressed in the morning and seeing part of my stomach still hanging down over the waistline of my shorts. I’m tired of sitting down and struggling to get back up. I’m tired of getting winded bending over to tie or fasten my shoes. Luckily, some of those things I have already overcome, but I’m still not where I want to be, so I’m continuing to push myself.
What is your reason? What is your ‘why’? How can I help you identify and overcome those things that are holding you back? Let me know!
