Back in the Saddle Again

Well, it's been sometime since I last posted. I need to continue to do this for my own sanity. My schedule has been upside down but mostly it's my motivation to keep up the fight. It's very easy to get so wrapped up in the events of the week that you don't want to sweat things out for 45-60 minutes. For me it's getting back to what really motivated me to begin with....improving with every workout, eating clean, feeling energetic, preventative maintenance, getting stronger and leaner, and most of all being obedient to God.

1 Corinthians 3:17
"Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple."

1 Corinthians 6;19-20
"Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body."

I know some folks have a hard time with the scripture but I'm not doing this to honor myself...otherwise I'd be fat again and have never made it through my first round of P90X. I could never do it on my own...I don't have that much tenacity to do it on my own.

Wooped or Pooped?

Sometime life takes turns that takes you off in another direction that you didn't expect. During the past few months my work has zapped the energy out of me so much that I've begun to make excuses for myself. It's very disappointing after being so dedicated to my health that I've let my physical regimen into hibernation. This doesn't mean that I've put fitness off entirely but I'm not in the same form as I was prior. The positive side of things is I still remain active during the week but not in the same intensity as I would hope and pray for. I'm on the upside of things but maybe if I continue to plug in here every day I will regain the tenacity I had once before.

Late Night Workout

I'll start off this blog by saying that I do my best to be a positive and genuine person. Now that's said, I hate doing late night workouts. I'm wiped out when I'm done and last night was no exception. I did Chest, Shoulders and Triceps and Ab Ripper X. I was not looking forward to doing it but I came out with the feeling of accomplishment. I guess that's what it's all about isn't it? There are many workouts that I really don't want to initially do but when I'm in the midst of it I need to be 110% committed to finishing well and using good form. I know what the end result will be so it's vital that I go Full Tilt.

I wasn't going to work on abs at all last night because I was already wiped out but I'm tired of my own excuses about being too tired and hearing myself say, "I'll do it tomorrow instead...." It's that sorry and complacent attitude that got me into the worst shape in my life.....at 210 lbs. I was pushing maximum density and seeing my pictures from 10 years ago really express that.

In lieu of this I will continue to do my Late Night Workouts if I have to so I will not retreat back into the lazy and doughie guy that was too embarrassed to look at himself in the mirror without his shirt. Ouch!

Phase III Is Where It's At

I'm in my last phase (28-29 Days) of P90X. I'm already tired but I need to get used to it. I want this last phase to go well but we'll see how things shape up this week. As work becomes busier, the less energy I have to do these intense workouts.

Anyway, today I'm doing Shoulders & Arms. It's one of my favorites because I get this really great pump and everything seems to pop similar to Chest, Shoulders & Triceps. I can really see my shoulders defined. Kind of exciting because I was never in this shape before last year.

My Independent Team Beachbody Stef FB page is gaining some note. I have 33 fans so far and I'm hoping to get more fans as the year progresses. I'm hoping to get 100+ by the end of Summer. I want it to at least be a source for folks who are not only interested in Beachbody stuff but also on general nutrition and fitness. I am by no means an expert but I know what can work and I believe there's a purpose for me doing this home business.

I believe this crazy fitness journey has a bigger purpose....God has always revealed this bigger purpose in my life. You cry for purpose and ask all your life why you are brought to different areas of strife of divorce, post college blues, professional career blues, money blues, and then it's revealed....the "calling" (purpose). We'll see what happens but I need to remember that nothing has ever been what it originally appeared to be.

First Customer!!!

Well, I acquired my first customer from Beachbody! One of my friends from High School decided to buy P90X and I wish K.D. the best of luck. The great thing is that she isn't doing it alone. Her husband will also be doing ti with her. We need that kind of accountability just to get through the darn thing. She has an amazing testimony all on her own and I think she is going to do great.

Today I did a cardio set. I was supposed to begin Phase III of P90X 2 weeks ago but this crazy schedule of being an academic chair had reached new heights recently and sent my workout schedule upside down. This week I will be able to go full tilt again.

One of my biggest goals is to stick my nutrition and my workouts no matter what. I'll have cheat days here but nevertheless I need to follow through so I can reach my fitness goals. With all the stress of living in So. Cal. this is exactly where I need to pour my stress levels into.

My wife has her own fitness goals especially after she has gained her full range of motion after her hip replacement surgery in September '09. She is shrinking everyday and is determined to fulfill her goals. She walks 5-6 days a week and a cardio workout every other day. She's doing great and inspires me to keep it up!

This is great experience for our daughter, too. Too many kids are growing up with poor habits from their upbringing that will haunt them for the rest of their lives like her parents. She has a good foundation and I believe it will last for the rest of her life. God Willing!

Aah! At Last I'm a Beachbody Coach

In July of '09, Derek Heikes (Independent Beachbody Coach) asked me to come on board with his team of support coaches for Beachbody, creators of P90X, Power 90, Insanity, etc. The list goes on and on. They are the "leaders of home fitness since 1998" from what the marketing materials site. Anyway, I was very unsure if this would be the correct venture for us at that moment and monetarily it wasn't feasible even though it was a low cost and low risk opportunity. I just didn't have the energy and motivation to do it and besides I just finished P90X. He must have seen something in me to ask me about it. I had great results but nothing like the guys on the infomercials. Anyway, his team is pretty big so I was flattered when he asked me. The thing is I'm not a salesman and may never be and apparently most of the folks I've talked to about Coaching is you don't have to be because you sell the product by sharing with folks your results and the journey. So, this is where I'm at now.

Physically, I'm in the best shape of my life and it continues to get better as the months go on. The past 2 weeks though, have been very challenging at work since we were ending and beginning a new quarter at the school. The demands of an academic chair is something to be reckoned with. So, I'm in the Phase III, the last phase, of my P90X hybrid. I'll have to restart it this week....again and finish all the way through the last 5 weeks. Whew! It's going to be a good finish, I can tell. I've never been this muscular and lean before in my life and I'm excited to see how far I can go. Unfortunately, my clothes continue to loosen and I went down another notch on my belt loop.

My goals during the next 5 weeks is to get ripped as Phase III is where it all comes together. I'm part of a great support network on the Message Boards on the Beachbody website: http://teambeachbody.com/connect/message-boards/-/message_boards/message/19595802
I encourage anyone to check it out. It's great for accountability when you workout alone as I do. Screw the gym membership. Who needs a meat market of folks sweat all over the equipment. My average workout is 60 minutes and I do the "Full Tilt Boogie" the entire time in a 10' X 10' space. You can't do that in a gym and it's entirely free. Love it!

Good Week

It's my second week of Round II of P90X. I've done the X in a variety of ways since I finished my first round in July but I haven't done a complete round like I'm doing now. Unfortunately, my schedule is a lot busier now so I have to miss a day here or there but I do doubles to make up for it. "Doubles" is when you do 2 workouts per day. I will end up doing this tomorrow to make up for earlier this week. Tomorrow it's Legs & Back/Ab Ripper X and Yoga (Fountain of Youth). Can't stand Yoga X. It's unnecessary to have 1.5 hours of Yoga so FOY Yoga is 45 min....perfect. Anyway, things are going well so far in my workouts. My numbers are climbing and I'm hitting it as hard as I can. It's unfortunate that my schedule doesn't always permit me to workout as scheduled but the most important thing is that I have the opportunity to make up for it.