appearance is a consequence of fitness - Gym Jones
It took me a long time to come up with a new title. I thought long and hard, and this one was all I could come up with. But, the time had come for that last log to go the way of the dodo.
The past few months, I've had a gradual shift in my way of thinking. So, the quest for abs be damned, time to move on. A full set of abs might as well be the Fountain of Youth, for how close I've gotten. The Conquistadors may have felt on the verge of discovery many times, but from what we can tell, no Fountain was ever discovered.
In fact, my search for "the abs" might be likened to a parable of the search for the Fountain. Many things were discovered along the search, but in the end, and despite the wonderful findings, the quest was deemed a failure. Too bad really, because had the quest been merely about discovery, the explorers would have been deemed heroes, rather than failures.
Lesson learned, right? So, rather than continue on a quest for something that may never be "found," I've decided to alter the quest.
appearance is a consequence of fitness - Gym Jones
The above quote is from Gym Jones. Rather than dream up my own little motto, I've decided that they've got it right in that phrase.
Of course, I still want some more abs to show, but I'm setting that one specific little goal aside for the time being. Time for a loftier goal, even if it's not as visually dramatic: fitness. More specifically, "conditioning."
I've enjoyed beating the shit out of myself trying to keep up with Jill, Jeff, and Tony as they demonstrate that fitness is more than just lifting a weight.
I've been inspired by people like Bill, Zach, and Greg, who've taken charge of themselves again. Fixed things and gotten their bodies to work better for them. Again, not always about moving the weight, but making your body work the way it should, either for the first time or again.
So, it's really about work capacity, conditioning, flexibility, mobility, endurance, agility, and tenacity. I want that. All of it.
I've also been inspired by so many of you people who keep up with your diets so much better than I do. I don't know what's wrong lately. I've had a devil of a time keeping myself on track with my diet. Well, I'll be thinking about you all, as I knuckle down for the next 21 days+. The start of a new habit. 21 days to kick it off.
Workout. Take a look if you like. I'll post the gist in here, like always, but the spreadsheet was a good way to plan progression and also to compare progress from week to week.
It's a lot inspired by
Ross Enamait's Infinite Intensity, but modified to include things that I love to do, like the weekly TRX workouts, the Sand Challenge bootcamps, mountain biking, etc. Also, I laid it out on a seven day schedule, since my mind doesn't work well on a rolling five day schedule. I want to know what I'm doing on my weekends, right of the top of my head.
I don't have specific workout/fitness goals, I guess. My next 21 day program is pretty dominated by squatting. I'm tired of a mediocre squat compared to my deadlift. Taking care of that.
I don't want to be a runner, but I would like to run a little more (as in, more often, not longer runs) and a little faster than I do now. No measurements here. Not yet.
My biggest feelings of accomplishment, lately, have been improving on my GPP. I've found that a big part of it is sucking it up and pushing through the horrible feelings that come with working out that hard and that close to the edge of what you are capable of. For instance, I improved dramatically on Infinite Intensity's GPP #4. From 42 minutes to 29 minutes, in two weeks. I'm not really in that much better shape. Instead, I'm more willing and able to tell myself to push on and stop resting so much. But, in pushing closer to the edge, I will get in better shape, faster.
Nutrition. I'm sticking with the low carb-ish approach of
TNT. My biggest challenge is splurging. Not just splurging, but having the splurge and not stopping at the one splurge. I'm bad. 21 days should be a good start. There will be times when I will want to eat "normal" food. I will, and I will get right back into it. I have to remember my own motto: Every meal stands alone. Practice what I preach, right?
A big part of this challenge is that I'm an emotional eater. For instance, tonight I dropped my kids off at the airport after having them for the weekend. Sad me. I wanted to eat crap. I did okay. But, it was a challenge that required getting out of the house, getting to the gym, and going to a coffee house, rather than be alone. It worked, this time. One day early... A head start on the 21 Days.
So, with a constantly kicked ass and good nutrition, who knows what will come?
appearance is a consequence of fitness - Gym Jones