Newbie New Year: The Resolution Revolution

According to howstuffoworks.com, only one out of every 1,000 eggs laid by salmon survive. The New Year’s resolution rush is no different. Everyone is excited to try out their newest fitness gadgets. People are infused with a new sense of hope for the year, promising themselves that they will improve mentally, physically, and spiritually. It’s an exciting time even for us veterans because it infuses us with renewed commitment to our goals; our finish line (which is just another starting line for us).

However, like our salmony kin, we face a few natural obstacles. We face complacency. We face stress. We face temptation. We face a whole slew of things that serve no other purpose than to derail our efforts. I once read somewhere that the universe is good at creating life, but it is absolutely masterful at ending it. So too are the obstacles we face. How easy is it to say I give up? How easy is it to blame you, and gorge yourself into a depressed stupor from overeating? It’s too easy. We are electricity. We like to take the easiest path. However, I say be water. Bruce Lee said that water can flow or it can crash. It is also the most powerful force on earth. You can be that force. Do not believe in the numbers on the scale, your watch, your gadget, your do hickey, or your thinga ma jiggy. Believe in yourself and trust in your journey.

You are here. You have all the support and all of the friends you need to be successful. Finances got you down? Well we’re all broke. Boyfriend or girlfriend just left you? We’ve all been there and done that! The local Fried Chicken joint gave you mayo for your chicken tenders instead of honey mustard sauce? We have badges aplenty for that one. Use the resources that are given to you and make the best decision based on your situation. Running too hard for you? Slow down. Lifting weights causing pain? Reduce the weight. Workouts too long? Shorten them! Do not imagine yourself as being chased by the wolf to keep you motivated; instead, imagine yourself as the wolf doing the chasing! Now that’s BAWSS!

Many will enter, but few will win. I encourage you to not be the ones to drop out of the race. You are racing for your life, your health, and most importantly yourself. I will not sugar coat it and say that it will be easy; I will only tell you that it will be worth it! Don’t wait until January 1^st to start! As a test of your commitment to yourself, I would encourage you to drop right now, wherever you are, and give me 10 pushups! Give me 20 if you’re extra BAWSS! See? You’ve just done the hardest part ever: You have taken that first step! We’ll see you at the finish line if you don’t beat us to it! Good luck!

Morning Runs So Far

The morning runs have been quite interesting so far. Outside of having a total stranger run along with me at 4:30am and hearing what I could have sworn were footsteps snapping a few twigs, nothing eventful has happened.

While uneventful, I would have to say that the mornings are hardly less than interesting. While the world slumbers, I'm also reminded of how much is constantly moving. The night seems to envelope you and things like time and distance appear to fade away into the blackness of the night. In fact, the only time I really notice myself is when I am called back from my thoughts by the mechanical meanderings of my GPS application as it vies for my undivided attention. It will tell me my time, pace, and distance. However, the longer I run the less I care. It is my time. I am breathing with mother earth and she is breathing with me. Together we consummate each other's existence with an intimacy unmatched between two mortal lovers.

Morning runs reminds me of the rhythm of the people. I see firetrucks whir past. Cars soldier on to their destinations. Scragglers walk past me with a passive curiosity. Even the police continue their rounds, content with me as long as I'm not running with a VCR under my arms. The Krispy Kreme Hot light cuts through the night, and the smell of guranteed comfort from the warmth of succulent doughnuts tries to hijack my thoughts.  I stay the course.

It is a sexy time. The world has not quite awakened, yet it is far from being asleep. The cool night air is caressing me and ushering me towards my goal at the same time and I bask in her attention. When she is done, I'm a total mess! I have spent part of my night with her. I pant heavily at first, then slow my breathing as I cool down from the run. I look to mother earth, and I promise her that the next time I run, I'll be sure to give her as much of an experience as she gives me! 

Chasing The Dragon (Inspired by GoLeanWendy)

One of my MFP battle buddies, GoLeanWendy, posted a blog regarding her thoughts on a size 0 little black dress that she wore in high school. To make a short story even shorter, she outlined the mindset shift it took to no longer chase her high school weight. She could most certainly achieve it, but she stated that it was unhealthy to have been so small. Now she's rocking solid, building muscle, and feeling better than ever before!

How many of us "Chase the Dragon?" Chasing a real dragon is difficult because not only are they elusive, they cannot be fully tamed. Certainly we can handle them for a while, but in the end the dragon will rear it's ugly head and bite us hard. The dragon can be anything:

• The weight on the scale
• Your high school weight
• Fad diets
• Slimming Pills
• Surgery for weight loss
• Too many other things to mention

Of course, that list is by no means comprehensive, but if you were to research the negative psychological effects of those dragons, you may be surprised at what you find. Instead, chase fitness. Being fit is to your well being what hope was to Pandora's Box. Sure, it's the smallest thing in our closets sometimes. Certainly the benefits don't happen overnight. However, of all the dragons you'll ever chase, this one small thing will slowly grow into something great. In the beginning you'll have to carry fitness because it is weak and feeble. However, through continued dedication and grooming, fitness will most assuredly carry you. Never chase a pipe dream or quick scheme. Pull fitness out of your Pandora's box and begin to experience the world like you never have before. As long as the snakes strike at our heels, we should continue to move forward with fitness as our guide. Keep pushing forward my friends! 

Exercise is for LOSERS!!!!! UGH!!!

That's right! I said it! I regret NOTHING! Exercise is for losers. I see you running and lifting weights. I see you with those smug grins on your faces and that sense of community that you call "camaraderie." I see it all. You think you're special, huh? You think that you are somehow different than the rest of the world because you get up every day and find a way to move and twist your body in all kinds of weird ways to drop weight or get in shape. Don't even get me started on counting calories! Isn't that something? Instead of enjoying the Earth's bountiful harvest, you have to pause every single day to critique and criticize it instead of stuffing your face and just letting it be! So yeah, you guys are total and complete LOSERS! Here's the thing though: So am I!

We exercise to lower our carbon footprint. We exercise to better our minds, our temples (the body) and our spirits. We exercise to inspire others not to our full potential, but to their own personal potential. We are special because we have chosen to read the labels. We have chosen to not blindly indulge in the man made foods that continue to draw us away from our natural selves year after year. I'm no conspiracy theorist, but I sometimes wonder if the food companies are in cahoots with pharmaceutical companies. Think about it! There is no cure for diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, or general obesity. These things, outside of exercise (unless it’s a genetic predisposition) can only be "treated" with expensive drugs and therapies, but I digress!

We choose to move and twist our bodies, as our primal ancestors did, for the very same reason: SURVIVAL! Sure, we're no longer being chased by Mammoths and Saber tooth tigers (unless you're that homeless guy that sits outside of my workplace), but we are being chased by all manners of malicious ailments threatening our way of life and ultimately our very existence. We have chosen to eschew complacency and embrace change the likes of which Obama could have never hoped to manifest.

During Thanksgiving, I was telling my uncle-in-law that I was planning on eating like never before. However, I was going to be logging every calorie that I consumed. He gave me this look and asked "So you're one of THEM?" You know what uncle-in-law (who is in great shape by the way)? You're damned right I'm one of them. If that is what my journey involves, then that is what I'm going to do. If that is how I define my success, then 2 minutes in front of a computer or on my phone logging calories isn't going to burden anyone but myself.  I will eat the biggest, greasiest burger and top it off with a beer with you, but you best believe your tight glutes that I'm going to log it!

The camaraderie cannot be underestimated either. We need support like your grandmother who just got into running needs a sports bra (seriously... someone needs to talk to her ASAP).  It reinvigorates us and keeps us in check with our goals, both realistically and otherwise. So we're all losers in this game. We are losing complacency. We are losing fat. We are losing depression, shame, fatigue, and self loathing. With all this losing, it's a wonder we gain anything at all. We do gain many things, of course, but there is something that is gained that trumps all others: We gain our true SELVES! Keeping rocking and being BAWSS!