Let me set the scene: the kids are in bed (hopefully dreaming), the dogs have been taken out (hopefully for the last time), and it's just me and the hubby, alone at last. Within ten minutes, we're both drenched in sweat and breathing heavily...with Tony Horton.
Get your mind out of the gutter! P90X is the new date night, six nights a week. Fitness is a priority in our house, and rather than make it one more block of time away from each other, we have decided to let it bring us closer together. When we're both eeking out one more diamond pushup or sweating through one more set of heavy pants, we share a common goal and experience. And, even better, it has changed our goals as a couple. This summer, we will be competing in our very first mud race together, showcasing our ripped biceps/triceps/deltoids/etc. Making the commitment together makes sticking to the commitment that much easier. One of us will always push the other to get started, and really, that's all it takes. Because if you can motivate yourself to start a workout session, you can certainly make it through to the end.
So yes...date night is different. Movies and cocktails have morphed to P90X and water breaks. But now we get six date nights a weeks as opposed to one a month, and we're also seeing much more gorgeous people...
Oh, the deliciousness! I honestly did not have high expectations for the taste of yet another protein drink mix...but it was like drinking cake batter! And beyond the taste - I have stayed full and craving-free for an entire day! How crazy is that? Me, Queen of Noshing! Needless to say, I am SO hooked on Shakeology now!
And the protein bars! Yum! I tried the chocolate fudge today and had to remind myself not to feel guilty. It tastes like a candy bar. No lie! Had I known it was this tastey, I would have started with these products when I first started using the fitness programs.
AND - today was also my first day using the E&E Formula, with the same results! As a runner, I often use Gu to rev my energy, but gag at the consistency. E&E was tastey and easy to drink, and I felt increased energy all day long. Not sure if it was E&E or Shakeology, but I believe I will keep using both.
Now, to spread the word...
And figure out how NOT to sound like an infomercial...;p
I consider myself "in training." Right now, for my first marathon and Spartan Race. So being able to actually complete my workouts every day seems pretty integral in the process. Not so easy when my right knee swells up like grapefruit (or maybe more like a clementine, but still...) and my right foot yelps each time I put weight on it. What to do???
Oh right...REST. Lest I injure myself further and be forced to take weeks away from training, I choose to take an unscheduled rest day and placate my aching bones. And remind myself, over and over and over again, that it is PERFECTLY OKAY to take a break. Especially when your body is screaming for you to do so.
So, yesterday, I rested. My two-hour run the previous day in old running shoes left me feeling...well...not good. As in, can't-walk-down-the-steps-without-grimacing-hobbling-like-Quasimoto not good. I needed a break. No bouncing, no lifting, not even a stretch. I did bowl a game, but I swear, I did not exert myself in any way. I had a cheesesteak to get back to...(because my taste buds also wanted a break from training).
I think we can get so caught up in the end game, overly focused on the results and goals we're reaching for, and forget that our bodies need a little TLC every now and then. I am determined that I will not wait for the screams of pain next time. I will schedule in a rest day...maybe even two...after my more extreme runs. After all, knees need love, too...
Motivation used to sound like a curse to me, just with more than the usual four letters. It was the missing ingredient, the missing link, the missing puzzle piece in any program that I engaged in. I would see an infomercial, read an article or book and become hellbent on getting in shape...for about a week. Then I would get tired, or busy, or bored...and quit. And feel like a failure.
So...how do I stay motivated now? There are three main ways and then lots of smaller ones. The "small" ones aren't small, really. They just don't push me quite as hard when I'm really not feeling the urge to sweat. I want to be fit for my family, my health, my quality of life. And those are big reasons. But they don't always get LazyMe moving.
LazyMe is silenced more by knowing how I will feel when I'm done. When I feel like I just went from Peter Parker to Spiderman, muscles inflated and abs defined. When I just ran 10 miles instead of watching 10 hours of television. When I know I DID SOMETHING with my day instead of wasting moments of my life. There's one way.
The second way is newer and grounded in my new business as a Beachbody Coach. Who's gonna buy in to the fabulous changes these programs can bring if I don't show them what it did for me? I need to be a product of the product, which has the outstanding side effects of feeling and looking incredible. (You see how everything starts cycyling here? It's a lifestyle, not just an hour out of your day.)
The third and biggest way I stay motivated is TRAINING FOR AN EVENT. This year is a big event year for me. I am running three marathons, competing in my first Spartan race, and signing up for various 5k's when timing and finances permit. My pride will not allow me to enter into an event and not complete it. I am not gonna lie; I want BRAGGING RIGHTS. I want to wear my free tshirts, post sweaty/muddy/action shots up on Facebook and have people say, "Congrats! You rock!" It feels pretty good. After all, we don't get gold stars or Student of the Month awards anymore. But we CAN get MEDALS. I like prizes. I like shiny things. Events have SO MANY THINGS I WANT!
So, when motivation seems MIA, I remind myself that Run For the Red is only four months away. Spartan is only six months away. And I cannot fail.
Saturday is my long-run day. I look forward to that 1.5 to 2 hours the way I used to look forward to happy hours. Despite the fact the I have an intense dislike for cold, I bundled myself up in compression pants, under armour, and two pairs of gloves and set off for some ME time. Twenty minutes later, I was desperately shedding layers on the side of a back road, struggling with sweat-drenched gear. So...lesson learned. Cold is not as cold when one is running...and not every strip show is sexy...
That little episode did not help my first thirty minutes - what I have come to consider my "vegetable" portion of the run. As in, I know I have to do it to get past that wall and on to the "dessert." That first thirty minutes is a suck-it-up-stop-whining-clinging-to-a-mantra struggle EVERY SINGLE TIME. I swear at 29 minutes, I picture myself as a dehydrated, sunburnt victim in the desert, barely crawling my way to rescue...but at 30 minutes, I am a running goddess. That runner's high kicks into high gear and nothing can stop me. Not even the drivers passing and tossing me dirty looks because they have to slightly move over to share their road.
Which makes me sorry for them...first of all, they're driving, not running. Is this why they are so grumpy? Is it too much for their frail arms to turn that wheel just a teensy bit and navigate closer to the center? I choose to ignore them and focus on the FABULOSITY of the drivers who grin, wave, and give me the thumbs up as they zoom past, sometimes all the way on the opposite side of the road. I imagine these people are runners, too, and understand that feel of the sun; the way the winter fields glow golden at the right time of day; how while running along the back roads, you notice the changes of the seasons a little more, appreciate the special lighting of winter vs. summer and fall vs. spring...and they are happy to see someone else share in that joy. Or, it could be that they're laughing at my mismatched clothing and crazy poof of hair bursting out of my sweatband...
My other favorite part of long-distance running? The running. I am currently training with walk/run intervals, but I love a good Beastie Boys-induced fartlek! Running through that walking interval just because it feels right and good...There's nothing quite like it, and as a nice side bonus, my timing is greatly improved. I'll always be the tortoise, but I'm a tortoise with a need for (a tiny bit of) speed.
It's raining. It's cold. The baby was up late and up early. I simply did NOT feel like working out today. But neither did I feel like being wracked with guilt later on for not completing today's workout goal. So with a heavy sigh, I popped in Fire 55 EZ and strapped on my BeachBody gloves - because my goal is to wear my gloves for every cardio workout (I want to make Michelle Obama jealous).
And 55 minutes later? I was bouncing off the walls and feeling anything BUT guilty! Comfort zone? WHAT comfort zone? BOOYAH!
This moment is what I remind myself of whenever LazyMe pokes her head out from beneath the covers and says, "Not today." Because FabulousMe is so much more FUN to be (not to mention, her jeans fit oh-so-much better).
And that success carried over into lunchtime - when I prepared Chalene's chocolate protein pancakes for myself and the babe. We devoured them with bananas and honey...and stayed away from the peanut butter cream pie and cheesey bread that had been so tempting before my TurboFire session.
I am still riding high on endorphins and goals accomplished. My only regret is that I didn't discover the bliss of healthy living when I was younger. Which is why, on a daily basis, my kids see me working towards fitness and health (and even join in from time to time - we ran our first family 5k just after Thanksgiving). It pleases me to say that Chalene Johnson is a household name, and that those kiddos cheer me on when they see me doing P90X ("That is SO HARD, Mom! I can see your muscles getting bigger!").
