Posts Tagged ‘Goal Setting

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13
Aug
12

The Only Constant is Change

By garagegym107 3 Comments
Categories: Morphing of a Fit Woman
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I’ve found over the course of my fitness journey that the only constant is change.  How we deal with that change makes all of the difference.

We can get all jammed up, or torn up, or even give up, but change will keep coming.  

I used to wallow in change.  It gave me the excuse to eat what I wanted, skip workouts, feel sorry for myself.   Ha…those were the days of backsliding down the slippery slope to set-back!

Learning to keep it together when we want to fall apart is just as important as work-outs and nutrition.

And learning not just to keep it together but how to adapt so that future change doesn’t hit us like a sledge-hammer. 

I’ve learned to separate my emotions from the facts.  Instantly I feel more capable of adapting.  List the facts in black and white and tackle them one by one.

Sure feelings get hurt or ego gets bruised, but change is still coming.  So taking the emotion out and dealing with the remnants makes change a bit easier to swallow.

One of my favorite quotes by Maya Angelou:

“If you don’t like something change it.  If you can’t change it, change your attitude.”

 

 

 

 

10
Aug
12

Go Ahead Take That First Step

By garagegym107 5 Comments
Categories: Morphing of a Fit Woman
Tags: , , , , , ,

Setting a new goal is all well and good.  Taking those initial steps to solidify the decision on the other hand, can be daunting.

Tools that have worked for me, in no particular order, have been:

– Tell someone who you trust, whom you know will hold you accountable.

– Make it specific.  Don’t say “I want to lose weight” instead say “I want to lose 10# by Dec. 31st”.

– Set a date to have this goal accomplished, no matter how long-term.

– Break the long-term goal down in to smaller goals that support the outcome of the long-term goal.

– Start today, not next Monday, working toward the smaller goal.

– Write things down!  Be specific, both in goal setting and when logging workouts and nutrition.  If you get stuck and don’t feel yourself progressing, you want good solid specific data to share with a trainer or friend to help you determine what you may need to change.

– Set a plan and stick to that plan. 

– Be consistent.

– Be committed.

– Take the first daunting steps of putting your plan in action and don’t look back in doubt.  There is so much more to see when you look through the windshield than in the rearview mirror!

 

 

08
Aug
12

No More Crap Reps

By garagegym107 4 Comments
Categories: Morphing of a Fit Woman
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Pull-ups, push-ups.  Give and take.  I’m so stinking close to the perfect pull-up it is not even funny.  What I’ve learned through the process is that I’m about 5# off from getting them both.

I’ve had this terrible habit of worming my push-ups.  I get within 2″ of having my chest to the deck and find myself unable to push out of it.  What does this have to do with pull-ups?  I get my eyeballs at eye level with the bar and then stall, lacking the strength to pull that last 2 inches of my chin over the bar from the dead-hang.  Kipping yes, no problem, but strict pull-ups two inches off. 

Maybe I’m naïve but they must be connected.  They simply must be.

No more crap reps for me.  If I’m worming a push-up I stop.  Even if it means using a harness made out of resistance bands to keep perfect form, I’m doing it.  Crap reps get me further behind.  Instilling in my work bad form & bad habits.  Is it humbling? Absolutely.  Is it necessary? Absolutely.

Letting go of ego enough to recognize your own weaknesses is vital to improvement. 

I tell my friends that want to start CrossFit to focus strictly on the technical part of the movement for the first six months to a year.  No one listens.  We go in and rush more weight on the bar, thinking that some how makes us better.  

Wrong.  

Technique or lack there of will catch up to you.  By then you will have developed bad habits from rushing through the technique to lift heavier.  Then comes the agonizingly slow process of retraining and unlearning.

So I’m a slow learner.  I’m still doing what I need to do to get better.    My mantra has changed to “NO. MORE. CRAP. REPS.”

No matter what the movement is.  Air squats, clean & jerk, snatch, overhead squat, dead lift, push-ups, pull-ups.  No. More. Crap. Reps.

 

03
Aug
12

Let’s Talk About Time

By garagegym107 4 Comments
Categories: Morphing of a Fit Woman
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

How long did it take you to lose all that weight?  I get that question a lot.  Through clean eating and working out 6 days a week in 12 week cycles, it took me the better part of a year to lose the first 125#.  

I’m sure there are people out there thinking “That’s like forever!”.  Well it may seem like an eternity but in reality that was pretty fast and consistent.

What other choice do you have?  You are not going to wake up one morning and be magically thin, so just get busy doing what must be done.

Don’t think I’m unkind or harsh, that’s not it.  But the truth is it is just a waste of precious time sitting there saying I’ll start Monday.  Or I’ll start when I finish this exercise book.  Or I’ll start working out after I lose 10# or 20# or 30#.  Or I’ll start once little Johnny starts school. 

Does it really matter how long it takes?  I used to think that I had to have spectacular results in x amount of time.  Now I just focus on doing the work each and every day and the results naturally follow.

It’s time to get busy!

01
Aug
12

It Is Not About Them

By garagegym107 1 Comment
Categories: Morphing of a Fit Woman
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

In the world of weight-loss it’s easy to play the victim.  Blame all of our shortcomings and lack of results on our upbringing, our past relationships, our lack of relationships, our jobs, our family time, our lack of money, and the list could go on for a full paragragh.  In all honesty, it is not about them, it is about you.

You can make valiant attempts to make lasting change, but until you realize that you are ulitmately responsible for your food intake and moving your butt, you are playing victim.  Sure life will give us lemons on occasion and we’ve got two choices, sit and sour along with the juice or make some lemonade.

Today I was heading outside to work-out with a coworker.  As I turned the corner to go down to the locker room I glanced to the left and saw two gentlemen coming into the facility to enjoy lunch in our cafeteria. 

One was suffering from health related issues, I have no idea what, but he struggled to walk slowly with his friend supporting his arm on one side and walking with a cane in the other hand. 

I smiled and nodded as I usually do and as I continued on to the locker room I was overcome with gratitude.  Gratitude that the man had a friend to lean on and walk with and emmense gratitude that I am now healthy.

When I weighed 328# I used to see the obstacle of weight-loss as  chore.  I used to pout when I would have to eat a salad and someone around me would be eating crap, that whole “why me” thing. 

Over time (not overnight) I realized that I was starting to feel better, my clothes fit better and then it got easier.  My mind shifted from this is a chore to this is a choice.  That one little switch changed everything.  The sooner you acknowledge that you are willing to do whatever is takes willingly to succeed the easier this path will become.

Hat Tip: Elements of Your Life

 

27
Jul
12

Do You Have Commitment?

By garagegym107 Leave a Comment
Categories: Living Fit Daily
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

“Commitment is what transforms a promise in to reality.  Commitment is the words that speak boldly of your intentions and the actions which speak louder than words.  Commitment is making time when there is none.  Commitment is coming through time after time, year after year, after year.  Commitment is the stuff character is made of, the power to change the face of things.  Commitment is the triumph of integrity over skepticism.” ~unknown

I wish I could remember who wrote this so I could give them credit.  It has been hanging on my bulletin board in my office for years now.   I moved it higher so I could read it daily.  Do you have commitment to your health and fitness? 

26
Jul
12

Patience Grasshopper

By garagegym107 3 Comments
Categories: Nutritional Cleanse Experiment
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When I first started doing CrossFit two years ago this month, I was fanatical about it.  I went all the time, trashed my body as often as I physically could whether I needed to or not.  For whatever reason (my age most likely) I felt like I had to get better faster.  I felt literally like I was watching an hour-glass as the sand passed through.  I wanted to get better overnight. 

No one was forcing me to lift heavier or go faster except for me.  Over time I went trough a bunch of cycles of self awareness, self-awkwardness and most importantly self-protection.  I wanted to remain injury free so I could keep doing what I love to do.

The one thing that no one can train in to you is patience.  Patience for progress is the skill I’ve needed the most.  And it’s been the most hard-fought internal battle.  Getting better at any skill requires practicing of that skill.  Repetitive movement over and over until you can do it to the best of your own ability is what reaps the rewards.

Sure, there will be days you leave with a stinging ego because we are all superhero’s in our own mind.  When reality shows up and teaches us that we are flawed and we require more work it’s hard on our MOJO.

For me, I take that time to reflect on the journey. Where I’ve been, the people I’ve met, and exactly why I started getting fit in the first place.  It keeps me grounded and it reminds me to be patient.

This morning patience paid off for me.  After several months of practicing this movement, slowly and methodically increasing the weight in small increments it felt just right this morning.  I finally broke the 100# plateau for multiple reps.  Patience grasshopper.  A big thanks to my friend Christina Barnett for catching this photo!

 

 

25
Jul
12

Leaning on Accountability

By garagegym107 3 Comments
Categories: Nutritional Cleanse Experiment
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Some of us require accountability.  Not someone to police us, but instead a person that knows our intent and that will call us out when we are not holding ourselves to the standard of which will take us closer to our goals.

I have a couple of these accountability buddies.  They know who they are.  

Recently I talked about a goal I had and made the comment to my friend “What if such and such is still there?”.   It took her all of 3.2 seconds to send me a response that simply said “Oh, I didn’t realize we were living in the world of “what if.”

I love her for it.  It was an eye opener of the underlying lack of belief I still carry in some areas.  That just means there is more work to be done on my personal belief system. 

I have another accountability buddy that shares daily meal structure along with pictures of her meals.   We strive for small balanced meals every 3 hours.   I’ve begun to do the same with her.  It keeps my meal plans fresh because I know she will call me out for not having a variety of fresh veggies. 

I also have hard-core friends that never ever need anyone to hold them accountable, they don’t judge me just as I don’t judge anyone else.  It’s not my place.  Weight loss and fitness are a process, that process is different for everyone.

I like having someone to lean on from time to time.  It makes leaning solely on myself much more doable. 

Want to eat cleaner and work harder?  Find someone that will call you out, even if it stings a little.  You’ll be better for it!

24
Jul
12

Community

By garagegym107 3 Comments
Categories: Living Fit Daily
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I love it when I meet new people who are struggling.  This morning I saw a woman walk by my door and as I glanced up I noticed what a pretty dress she had on. 

A little later my boss pushes open my office door and there stands the woman in the pretty dress and she was saying “I knew she was the one!”   Hmmm…

Well, needless to say she wanted to talk workouts.  I love that.  I work for a company with over 1600 people.  When someone says “I knew she was the one” man that’ll make your day. 

Anyway, she was telling me about a recent weight gain, low iron and the fact that she’d been put on medication for it.  She is struggling with her mojo for sure.  Lack of energy, poor diet, etc.

As we talked, she mentioned knowing all about meal-timing etc., and that she wanted to get back in to shape.

My first comment was simply “get back to basics”.  You know about meal timing and working out so the only thing I see missing is community.  I asked her when the last time she hung out with like-minded people? 

It doesn’t matter what you do, whether it’s Zumba, Body Pump, Jazzercise, CrossFit or Running, remember to find like-minded people to do it with. 

Everyone struggles, everyone has an “off” day or even an off week.   Food may be spot on but workouts stink or just the opposite, workouts are great but food stinks. 

In a community though there will be days you will push, pull or drag each other along but that’s the point. 

Do it. 

It’s not always about YOU.  You soon realize that the greatest part of community is what you can offer to another person in the way of support. 

 

17
Jul
12

Getting Fit! Tami Rose

By garagegym107 42 Comments
Categories: Living Fit Daily
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I’d like to take a moment to introduce you to a woman I know.  I met Tami a year ago when she joined the CrossFit Box I attend. 

With her permission, this blog is for her.  To celebrate the victory of consistency with both her nutrition and her workouts.  Tami has made changes that have now become visible results.  No super secret code or plan. 

Clean conscious eating and working out.  I do not train Tami.  She works out at CrossFit Impulse.  She does this on her own with the support of other CrossFit community members, friends and trainers at the box.

For all of you out there struggling, use this as motivation. 

Instead of me saying a thousand words, I’ll let the photo’s do the talking.  Congratulations Tami!

March vs July 2012 Congratulations Tami!!

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