It gets easier. It really does.
When beginning a fitness push, you inevitably sacrifice something. Remember, there is a balance between action pattern sacrifices and physical results. To improve the physical results, you must alter your action patterns.
The sacrifice may be extra time in the gym. It may be less sweets. It may be extra vigilance when out with friends for the second night in a row. It may be extra preparation time in the kitchen. It may be less tv time on behalf of improved sleep. You get the idea.
These sacrifices require initial focus. Initial effort. Initial difficulty.
It’s important to understand that the hardest part of going from 0 to 60 is going from 0 to 1. Going from inertia to forward motion.
Then things get easier. Momentum builds. The snowball rolls faster downhill.
All of a sudden you’re at 60 and flying down the road, wind in your hair, and physical results in your back pocket.
If you can take this to heart from day one when you’re stuck at 0, you can use the knowledge to your advantage. You can stomach the difficulty because you know that it’s only temporary.
Are you stuck at 0? Take action right now. Floor it.
Day 26 and 27 Recaps
On Saturday the exercise world included the machine workout formerly known as “the bro”. As I improve and increase the amount of weight that I’m pushing, the workouts are breaking down into smaller supersets. This trend will continue throughout muscle mass phase. The protocol:
3x through, no rest between exercises, 1:00 between circuits:
- Lat Pulldown
- Chest Press
- Leg Press
- Cable Row
- Shoulder Press
3x through, no rest between exercises, 1:00 between circuits:
- Triceps Press
- Bicep Curl
- Leg Extension
- Hamstring Curl
- Ab Machine
- Lower Back Hyperextension
3x through:
- Shoulder Shrugs
- Calf Raises
Saturday steps and miles checked in at 17,802 and 9.6 (add 20%).
Sunday steps and miles checked in at 5,669 and 3.04 (add 20%).
Saturday sleep (due to the late comedy show) checked in at an underwhelming 7 hours and 1 minute (10 restless minutes, 1 awake minute).
Sunday sleep checked in at a huge catch-up of 10 hours and 4 minutes (15 restless minutes, 2 awake minutes). Necessary and glorious.
The nutrition…
Saturday Breakfast: Grass-fed yogurt, (28g) whey protein isolate, (5g) creatine, (cacao nibs were out!), chia seeds, coconut flakes, organic blueberries, banana, cinnamon. Black gold.
Saturday Pre-Workout: Raw Tea.
Saturday Post-Workout: Grass-fed whole milk.
Saturday Lunch: Leftover ground bison, organic chopped bacon, wild rice, spinach, organic cucumber, kimchi.
Saturday Afternoon Snack: Rise Bar.
Saturday Dinner (not pictured): Two great friends came into town to spend the afternoon and evening, and I made an important decision surrounding pictures and food. When we’re out socializing, I’m ditching the pictures and instead will recap via text later. Putting that new habit into practice, the four of us went to Zama Sushi for dinner. I’ll call this my first treat of the experience, but a really, really controlled one. We ate family style and sampled seaweed salad, edamame, crudo, and a ton of assorted sushi rolls, sashimi, and nagiri. No drinks, no dessert. I’ll take it. We capped the night at Helium Comedy Club and stuck to sparkling water.
Sunday Early Morning: Unfortunately the standard breakfast goods were tapped out, so improvisation was necessary. First and foremost, the day began with a Rise Bar and a cup of Stumptown Hair Bender on the homefront.
Sunday Morning Breakfast: Knowing that we’d be at an event and traveling for the bulk of the day, we hit Cafe Lift for a full meal. I practiced one of my favorite pre-event strategies: eat! It really, really helps to be satisfied when you’re staring down all sorts of good looking food. Scrambled eggs, house-made sausage, spring mix salad and tomatoes, greek yogurt and honey, assorted fruit.
Sunday Lunch (not pictured): We went to the baptism of a friend’s baby, and there was an outdoor after-party with food. I stuck to a very light meal: 2 pieces plain steak, 1 piece chicken breast, assorted raw veggies (carrots, cucumbers, red and orange peppers). The early day strategy paid off, and I never felt tempted by the food spread.
Sunday Afternoon Snack: Rise Bar.
Sunday Dinner: 1/2 Rotisserie chicken, organic green beans, organic sweet potato with ghee and sea salt, Sea King sauerkraut.
Daily Fuel
Over the weekend I ran into this quote via @JasonFerruggia:
“A little nonsense now and then is cherished by the wisest men.” -Roald Dahl
First of all, I loved Roald Dahl as a child. Second of all, I love this quote as an adult.
The message of the quote is a critical juxtaposition with my main passage today.
In pursuit of your fitness excellence, it’s important to relax from time to time. It’s important to break up your stretches of unrelenting commitment and dedication. It’s important to experience your own brand of nonsense on occasion.
Make sure that within the next few weeks you do something nonsensical for the sake of pure enjoyment. You deserve it.
Image Credit: Car Push – http://ezpass.co.uk
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