Tuesday, February 18, 2014

True friends run stairs, while you do weighted burpees...

"What keeps you motivated?"

And, my answer is a myriad of things...but most recently, it's been my gym peeps.  

I've been seeing the ninja twice a week for personal training for the last 13 months, and I believe I have only called off one session due to illness.  There was that accountability, i.e. someone waiting for me to show up, warm up, train, and then do some cardio after - but he also works at the Crystal Pool & Fitness Centre most mornings, so if I were not to show up...he'd notice.  My own health and fitness is ultimately my responsibility, but it's nice to have someone else at the gym that knows what I want, and how I am going about getting what I want (because he's most likely told me what to do and when to do it and designed the circuit training, weigh routines, and cardio combinations that I am doing).  So, what has changed lately?  Well, I have continued with the personal training, and ninjas are extremely motivational as I wish to be one some day, but it's the other people that have become involved in my workout routine who are inspiring me to push harder.      
Enter, my friends in fitness.  Whether it's Skylar, Barb, Dawn, Dana or anyone else at the front desk of the Crystal Pool, or Michele (one L) on the treadmill around 9AM most days, or her mother Doris with a pool noodle, or Kombucha Geoff sweating up a storm on the spin bike and then a yoga mat, or kickboxing Nathan on the bag, roaming the halls, or giving pointers in the weight room, or anyone, for that matter, that has stopped to talk health 'n' fitness with me, run next to me on a treadmill while egging me on, or high-fived me after a session on the big ropes, these people are my new community...my extended support system...my fitness ninjas.  People who make time each day at the gym for themselves, for self care, and in turn give me strength to do the same.     

I will tout the praises of having a personal trainer (Jonathan Carpenter of MIJO Sport), a yoga teacher (Taryn Strong of Anahata Moon Yoga), spin instructors that make me push harder than I ever thought possible (Mary-Kay and Teresa of Quadra Sport & Fitness), and every other expert that I see on a regular basis to challenge me physically, but it's also the comradery that I feel with people in the same boat as I.  Yes, I'm talking about the workout buddies.  Namely, Jacqueline and Troy at the moment.

I have about 10 pounds to lose before I reach yet another goal I set...weighing 137 pounds (remember, I like odd numbers!)  Yes, folks, it's the last 10 pounds.  And it's always good to stack the odds in your favour, right?  So not only do I have a lot of sport professionals involved, but I have some die-hard workout neophytes in my corner as well.  We're all in the similar situations when you break it down.  We want to lose weight by eating clean and exercising.  Are these guys going to pry the Doritos out of my hot little hands after I lose my inhibitions after a girls' night?  No, that's all on me.  Are they going to notice if I'm not at the gym when I say I'm going to be?  Yes.  Am I going to make plans to meet them regularly so we can walk, run, bike, stair-climb, box, kick, elliptical, burpee, lift, circuit and cross-train together?  You betcha.  And, should you find a workout buddy or two to inspire you?  If you're in it for the long haul, then yes, yes you should!

Saturday, February 15, 2014

"Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment."

Buddha said that.  And, I must remember to:

Be present.

Be mindful.

And..well...just be.

Find happiness and contentment in the moment.  संतोष Santosha for the yogini in me...finding satisfaction in everything.

What does this have to do with my quest to find health and fitness?  Well, time has past...and I don't want to dwell in it, because on my 53rd weigh-in...I went up 5 pounds.  And then one week later, I went down 7.5.  And then the week after that went up again...and then down...like this:

Starting weight:  292.1 - A very long time ago...January 16th, 2013
52nd weigh-in 146.8 - 1 year later!
53rd weight-in 151.8 - January 22nd, 2014 - 5lbs up?  Oh dear.
54th weigh-in 144.3 - January 29th, 2014 - And down 7.5...pheuff! 
55th weigh-in 149.2 - February 5th, 2014 - And up 4.9 again?  Fantastic.
56th weight-in 146.1 - February 12th, 2014 - And down...but only 3.1 so, still up 2...

But...

"Concentrate the mind on the present moment."  

So where am I now?

I am here.  I am hovering around the same weight, some weeks I go up, some I go down.  Does it bother me?  Not really.  Should it?  Not really.  Do I still have pounds to cut?  Yes.  That goal of 137 pounds is just so friggin' close.  Is it because I'm slacking off?  Hell no!  In fact, I am working even harder.  So when the scale doesn't go in the right direction, what do I do?  Well, I grumpily stomp around a bit and then I get over it and hit the gym even harder.  I bike to the Crystal Pool daily for my morning workout, get my arse on the some form of cardio equipment, or train circuits, or box, or spin, or aqua-fit...that's my mornings, and at night?  I go back to the gym with my lovely husband and do it again, and/or go to taekwondo even though I can't participate (because of my hanging by a thread ACL), or I take a lovely yoga class with Taryn.  I am a hard core ninja in training, and I can't let what the scale says dictate how I feel from moment to moment.  I'm chalking my gain up to muscle mass.  And besides, I took my measurements and even though I went up in weight, my measurements stayed the same...and my bust, waist, and hips shrunk 6cm.  

Om.