How Bad Do You Want It?

There are some who think this whole health/fitness journey has been easy for me. There are some that think because I'm single and don't have kids that's the reason I "have time", when in reality I still have a family and friends that are important to me; but I make the time and make it a priority for myself. There are some that say it's because I'm able to have a personal trainer and they aren't able to invest in one. Again, I've made this a priority for me, and regardless if I have a trainer or not I still had to get off my ass and do the work to get the results.

Quite often I hear, or even have had conversations with people, where they are constantly talking about what they want to do in regards to their health/fitness; and then once they are given the tools and opportunities to accomplish their goals they don't take advantage of them. But, the issue that I have isn't that they don't take advantage of these opportunities, because we all have choices and this is their choice; but it's when they don't and then bitch about not getting results or complain about how bad their health is. I hear everything from how much weight they want to lose to wanting to be a better athlete, and then the other many things in between such as even just eating healthier. And here's the deal, when it comes to accomplishing your personal goal(s), regardless if it's health/fitness related or not, the question isn't if you want it, but how bad do you want it?

I've accomplished so much these past 5 plus years, but I'm always looking for ways to challenge myself and to just do more to better myself. A lot has happened these past few weeks since I've last posted, including I've started training twice a week at a local boxing gym, The Engine Room, in addition to my current personal training program at Fitness Together. I started this in order to train for a 90 day goal I've set for myself, and that's to participate in an actual sparring event. By doing this, I'm getting outside my comfort zone, facing fears, and in the process I'm growing as a person and improving my health. Between Michael, Terri, and all the coaches at Fitness Together and The Engine Room, I have access to the things and people I need to accomplish this goal. But, they can't do it for me, so if I don't utilize the tools and opportunities, if I don't get my ass in there and do the work, then in 90 days when I get in that ring to spar I'm going to get my ass whooped by some girl. Well, if I want it bad enough, then I'm not going to skip workouts, I'm not going to half ass my training when I'm in there, and more importantly I'm not going to allow excuses to get in the way of me accomplishing my goals.

I don't know what your own personal goals are, but I would encourage you to reflect on what those are and what it will take to get there. And when you have those opportunities to get in there and do the work, I suggest you take them instead of making up excuses to avoid it. I look forward to mentoring others, because it means a lot to be able to help others. But there's nothing more frustrating from a trainer/leader aspect than to have someone constantly talking about what they want to accomplish yet they are not willing to do what it takes to get there, especially when they actually come to you for help. I believe the reason I've been so successful with my weight loss and in my own personal health/fitness journey is due to three keys factors.

1. I take advantage of the trainers and their advice. This means when a trainer suggests something in regards to my cardio, workouts, or nutrition I take their advice and see what happens. Sometimes I question things, but I also have to remember they are the experts and they are giving me the advice they feel will help me be successful. If it doesn't work, we do something else.
2. I take advantage of my time in the gym. This means I don't skip or reschedule workouts just because I don't feel like going in. It also means I show up early, not just on time, but early to warm-up so when it's time to start training I can get right into the workout. We have 45 minutes, so when I train from 5:15 AM - 6:00 AM, I get there at 5:00 AM because I don't want to spend the first 10 minutes of my session warming up and then that leaves only 35 minutes to get my workout in. I would rather get there early, warm-up, so I can utilize my full 45 minutes with the trainer.
3. I didn't allow things/people to be excuses for me. I didn't allow things to cause me to miss gym time, especially my scheduled sessions, for any reason. And I didn't allow things/people to influence me into eating/drinking things that would sabotage my nutrition which in turns effects my results.

Now, I'm by all means not perfect, and yes I have days I feel less motivated and sometimes it's hard to get in there. And there are things that come up I would rather do than be in the gym. And I'm not saying my friends/family or having a life outside the gym isn't important, because it's definitely important to have that balance. But, the thing is I don't allow those days to become excuses to not do the work. So if you're wanting to lose weight, if you're wanting to train for a certain sport, if you're wanting to become stronger, if you're wanting to eat healthier, or whatever your personal goal is, then it comes down to one simple thing, how bad do you want it?

Weigh-in Update

I've been making some changes the past couple weeks in hopes the scale will start moving down again. I've changed up what I'm doing for my cardio and I've added that fourth private session in with one of the other trainers. And I'm happy to say this week I was down 2.4 pounds!

This week I've been talking with Michael about my next 90 day goals and we are in the process of having those finalized this week. My body goal involves boxing. I enjoy hitting the heavy bag and working with Michael on the mitts as he's taught me about jabs, hooks, and uppercuts. But, as were talking, he said I needed something to work towards. Setting a goal to add in more boxing is good, but what goal can I set that I can work towards. Well, after some discussion I'll be training to actually spar with someone at the end of the 90 days. I'm a little nervous, but I should be; but I'm more excited than anything. I've already ordered my own boxing gloves and I just got the email today they should arrive tomorrow. And then Saturday I'm meeting up with one of the trainers to go shopping for shoes for my training. She said with boxing having a lightweight shoe will be better.

I'm hoping to have all my 90 goals for my core4 set, along with my 30 and 60 day benchmarks, by the end of the weekend and I will post them once they are in place. For me this helps me stay on track, but also I know it keeps me accountable because I have plenty of people who support me that will call me out.

Weigh-in Update/Break The Mental Block

So, yesterday I weighed in and was up .2 pounds. That's not even half a pound, and I wasn't going to let it stress me, but I couldn't help but still feel frustrated. I know I need to do more, and as I mentioned in my prior post, I've added cardio and even a fourth private session with a different trainer. So, what exactly is it that I need to do?

This morning I struggled with the scap bar hangs during my workout. I had four rounds, and the goal was to hang for 30 seconds each round, but I couldn't go the whole 30 seconds without stopping multiple times. I've done them before, and I remember I really had to focus on pushing through, but I was able to hang the entire 30 seconds on all rounds the last time. So, why am I struggling today? Well, I told Michael I'm not sure why but I was struggling with my grip. So, he told me to chalk up on my last round. After I was done with the last set he said it's not my grip that's the issue, but he could tell I started to panic and would put my feet back. He said he knew it wasn't my grip because on that last round I went 40 seconds and only stopped once. He started talking to me about how something is blocking me, and I told him I know a lot of my problem is a mental block. He knows this, and it's like he said, it's 100% mental because I show up and I'm doing the work. But, he also said I need to start getting uncomfortable again. That when I reach that point where I'm getting uncomfortable, instead of backing off, I need to push through it and be uncomfortable. He said there's no reason I couldn't go another 10 seconds, and he's right.

After my session, and as I was showering and getting ready for work, I meditated on what all he said. I'm always talking about the importance of getting outside my comfort zone. I show up for my sessions and I will do anything Michael asks me to do, and he's been incorporating a log of new stuff lately. I might whine a bit, there might be new things I struggle with at first to get the technique down, and there might be times I don't like what I'm having to do, but I'll do anything Michael and the trainers ask me to do in my workouts because that's why I've invested in a personal trainer. They know what I need to do despite what I want or even don't want to do. I mean, I I don't want to do burpees, but I know I need to do them. They are an excellent total body exercise. So for me personally right now it's not about getting outside my comfort zone physically, but getting outside my comfort zone mentally. What this means for me is when I start getting uncomfortable in my workouts, I know I can do the work and I know I can push through it physically, but I need to get out of my own head and push through the mental block and stop backing off when I get uncomfortable. But instead, as Michael said, break through those barriers and push through them.

So, now the question is how am I going to do that? It's not going to be easy, but when I get to that point where I'm getting uncomfortable, probably the best thing for me to do is just give myself a pep talk or there's always Michael's voice inside my head that's talking to me and he does tend to give good advice. I just have to keep repeating to myself positive thoughts like, I've got to get out of my head, get out of my comfort zone, keep pushing through all the barriers, physically I'm capable of doing this, my body is stronger than what my mind is trying to tell me, I can do anything I want to do.

I love having quotes that tie to my blog posts, and I found this one that I think goes with this post perfectly!

"Strength doesn't come from what you can do. It comes from overcoming the things you once thought you couldn't." - Rikki Rogers

Like I said, physically I know I'm strong and I know I can do what is asked of me in my workouts, so getting out of my comfort zone mentally is what I need to make sure I'm doing. Because if I can get out of my own head, and stop telling myself I can't do something and all the other bullshit stories I tell myself, my mental strength will be just as strong as my physical strength.