Day 10 - Body For Life - 5 things that keep me going

Along my 10 day journey, I’ve realized some things that are essential to keeping you motivated during a workout campaign. I’d like to share with you what has helped me so far.

1. Support.
I want to thank everyone that has given me encouragement during this. It’s amazing how much of a motivator it can be when someone shows genuine interest in what you are doing. I give all my friends on Facebook status updates on how I’m doing during my workouts. Many of them send me messages and post comments that help keep me moving. My wife and kids have also been a huge encouragement. When you spread the news about what you are doing, people will respond with encouragement. I’m the type that will start strong and fade fast if I’m not motivated to keep moving.

2. Sleep.
If I don’t get enough sleep, I’m depressed and grumpy all day long. The workouts are much more tough to get through if you don’t have a good night of sleep prior to it. Also, your body needs that time to repair itself after being torn down during the workout.

3. Nutrition.
Getting the right amount of carbs and protein is essential to health and generally feeling better. Here’s an interesting page regarding how much protein you need that I found. I am much more motivated when I feel better. I feel better when I reduce sugar and eat healthy stuff. That’s all I’m gonna say. I’m not a trainer or nutritionist. All I know is how I feel!

4. Schedule.
I love the Body For Life program because it keeps my on a schedule and I know exactly what I’m going to do and how long it’s going to take. That’s critical when you are pressed for time and your time management skills suck.

5. Consistency.
Staying consistent is key. Just like anything else, consistency and repetition with the right habits will lead to success. Before, I was consistently eating horribly and never exercising. Consequently, I felt like crap. Now, I’m working out daily and eating much better. As a result, this is the best I have felt in a number of years.

As Jonathan Swift said, “If we keep doing what we are doing, we’ll keep getting what we’re getting.”

Day 9 - Body For Life - Not feeling very motivated

Well, I worked out Monday and today. The workout yesterday felt pretty good. This was a leg and abs workout. The only thing that is sore today are my abs. My legs did seem much stronger. I did the elliptical cardio workout this morning. I seemed stronger on it as well. Interestingly, my heart rate only got up to 140 this time even though I did the identical workout from last week.

I’m so unmotivated today. I had a weird dream last night and woke up crying. I couldn’t go back to sleep for quite a while. I think I’m just tired. I have stuck with the diet for the most part and resisted urges for sugary cakes and cookies. I think a good night sleep and an awesome upper body workout will get me back on track tomorrow!

Day 5 - Body For Life - The ups, downs and noises of working out

Getting up today sucked. I felt like total crap. I woke up in a panic at 6:00am and wasn’t sure why. I knew there was something I had to do, but couldn’t recall what. I hit snooze. It’s now 6:08am. Again, what the hell? Why do I feel like total crap and why do I have this sense of urgency?

Damn it! I need to workout! I love contests. I thrive when it’s time to compete, but at the end of the week getting out of bed is bull crap.

I did the upper body workout again. It was fine once I got going.

Do you grunt when you workout? If I have some heavy weights I’m lifting, I give a little grunt or grown sometimes. You could probably hear it a few feet away. So, today… there’s this one guy who sounded like he was doing one of two possible things during each lift. Since I’m naturally curious, I looked to see what kind of ridiculous weight he was lifting. He had 50 pounds on a lat pulldown bar! WTF?!?! You have to be a real a-hole to make that kind of noise.

You know what else I hate? I hate when people think they need to drop dumbbells after their lift. Are they SO exhausted that they’ve completely lost the ability to grip the damn bar?

Day 4 - Body For Life Cardio Workout

I feel great today! I literally haven’t felt this good in quite some time. This challenge is giving me confidence and structure. I’ve resisted tempting treats and stuck to a decent diet. I had an egg sandwich this morning and a protein meal replacement drink at lunch. I did the elliptical cardio workout again and hit the 172 mark for heart rate again! I really pushed at the end. I wanted to stop, but I kept going and worked harder in the final minutes.

It’s a great feeling to get this back. This will. This drive.

I’m looking forward to another awesome upper body workout tomorrow morning.

Day 1 - Beginning of Body For Life Program - Upper body

I kicked off the Body For Life with a great upper body workout. My shoulders gave out during the military press. My wife did this workout with me and didn’t even break a sweat! She is used to doing more cardio stuff with the weights. I really like this workout plan because it is very structured and structure is what I need right now.

It sucks going to the gym at night this close to the new year. People are still trying to fulfill their resolutions and they are crowding up the gym. Hopefully, some of these people start failing and give up soon.

In my life, I’ve realized the older I get, the harder it is to get back into decent shape. I’m only 32, but geez… I feel much older. I look forward to getting back on track and feeling better about myself. I weigh more than I ever have and can safely say I feel like more crap than I ever have.