Let the countdown begin, 9 more days of this craziness.

Day 51, Max Cardio Conditioning and Cardio Abs.  Yes that is an AND in the middle of that.  Two workouts, althought cardio abs is only 15 minutes, it’s still probably harder than YOUR workout

See that smile?  That’s the look of a man that has been with me for the last 51 days and seen me get stronger and faster as I continue to trim down.

The importance of a workout partner became paramount today as I really didn’t feel like doing this.  Kat got up and insisted we do our routine and i’m glad I did.  If you don’t have a workout partner or an accountability partner, message me!  I’m very serious.  One of the biggest benefits to being a beachbody coach is that I have access to people who continue to motivate me and I continue to help the people I coach stay motivated and accountable.  

One of the people i’m working with I email every morning and we make sure a workout was done or will be done later in the day.  if a workout is missed we talk about why, what and how to avoid that situation in the future.  It works and it’s free!

join my team

www.beachbodycoach.com/brucea

send me a message that you’re on my team and what goals you want to accomplish and i’ll help you do it.  that simple.

New Year, here we come!

I would really like to learn more about yoga when this is all over.  From what I understand, the various poses increase blood flow and random stuff like that.  Can someone explain to me WHAT THE SMURF THE 1/2 MOON POSE IS FOR?

OMG, i’m sore anyway from a run two days ago and the stretching is good for me but DAYUM!  I feel like a baby learning how to walk, weeble wooble all over the mat.  Sweat flying everywhere, oh and then the baby actually wakes up and totally shatters my concentration AND motivation so this session ended abruptly after the 1/2 moons.

I have a headache so I probably need to get more water in me, which is a must since my 2nd 3 mile run in the 10w2 1/2Marathon is this evening.  Hopefully it will cool down just a tad but i think i’ll carry a water bottle with me just to be shafe.

I feel nicely stretched which is exactly what I was needing as yesterday I was so sore and stiff.  My right neck and shoulder/collar bone area are still tight so I need to figure out what’s going on there but over all a solid session.

Workouts that I will continue to do from P90X when I start moving on to other things are Yoga-X and Ab ripper X.  I hate them both but I feel dramatic changes in my body when I do them.

Running blog coming tonight so until then…

Just push play!

I did kenpo this morning while holding a 9 month old who seems to be completely addicted to his fathers attention.  Now that he’s learned to crawl, if iI go in one room, he’s following me moments later.  He’ll crawl to me sit on his diapered butt and reach his arms up and smile that baby, teeth coming in smile that says “Pick me up, and hold me.”

So i did Kenpo-X holding a baby.  I did kicks with him in one arm, he got a huge thrill out of this.  I did blocks with him in one arm and then switched hom to the other.  I’m glad I actually do martial arts and have the balanced workout I need to be able to do this or i’d be in trouble.  He’s a 25lb baby.  That’s like doing a strength workout AND Kenpo.  Maybe Tony should put that in the P90X2 coming in November.  Hold your child and kick, now kick left, don’t drop the kid!

Ultimately, this is what started the journey and what it’s about.  I wanted to be in shape to hold and play with my sons no matter what.  Seeing him smile while i’m twisting and kick and completely able to hold his heavy butt up during the routine is P90X showing off what it’s done for me.

MY car is in the shop because of an accident when we went camping two weeks ago and i’m thinking about going to a movie this afternoon.  I didn’t bat an eye at the though of walking the 3 miles to the theater or the 3 miles home.  I’ve reached a point in my fitness and health were 3 miles is just a nice walk.  I didn’t get here by Not doing my workouts, eating crap food and wishing I could be healthy tomorrow when i’m done feeling sorry for myself today.  It’s hard but I’ve done harder workouts, it’s about being consistent and honest with yourself.  So what if you’re can only do 3 push-ups, do that 3 push ups consistently until you can do 4.  Change happens over time and with dedicated effort.  Changing your diet and eating habits is a struggle and takes work, so use the tools that are there to help you do it.  I drink Shakeology because it taste great and has everything I need in it to know, at the very least, i’m fueling my body.  That’s why I do P90X and that’s why i decided to become a beach body coach, to help and encourage others to find their fit goal and reach it, not over night but over time.

Keep pushing play and you’ll get there.

www.beachbodycoach.com/brucea
www.shakeology.com/brucea 

twitter: @bruceaveryheart

Day 73 of P90X, shoulders and arms and I’ve finally figured it out!

When a member of project P90X has an exceptional workout, that member then gets a name, and his name is Daniel Haas, his name is Daniel Haas, his name is Daniel Haas…” (if you’ve never seen fight club, you won’t get the joke, but more importantly, something is seriously wrong with you….go rent the movie).

Shoulders and arms…this was a GREAT workout, excellent burn, good form and I’ve reached the point that I can see veins in my shoulders and biceps when i’m working that muscle!  Daniel Haas is clearly the star of this workout as Tony goes to him almost as much as he flirts with Dreya.

My shoulders are getting round again and my biceps have peeks.  I probably should be doing much heavier weights but i’m happy working out with my 25lbs and i’m getting the slimming results I want instead of the bulk which i’m rapidly cutting down.

ARX is still killing me but i’m doing it with my arms in the air an i’m able to push through more of the pain.  I’m not as worried about a past oblique injury and i’m building a six pack.  Will it be in place in the next 18 days?  I hope so but i’m not holding my breath.  Will it be in place by the end of Aug?  I’m thinking so as I’m starting the Asylum workout Aug 1.

I think i’m going to run again tonight as I have to be in running shape by the end of the month to do another warrior dash type race but this one is on the beach in Chicago.  I’m really enjoying hearing from all the people who’ve I’ve been inspiring to get into better shape this year, I get about an email a day on my Facebook from old friend or people at work telling me how they’ve started working out because i’m always talking about it.  This is definitely the year to reclaim your health and fitness.  The government may have smurfed up our economy but you CAN control your health and I’d love to help you.  

www.beachbodycoach.com/brucea
twitter: @bruceaveryheart
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Just finished Yoga X.  Day 67 and I just remember that I haven’t taken my 60 day pictures yet.  Ugh!  I really need to focus on that todo list aspect of my life.

Any way, I have a headache, a lack of food and I need to drink more water today headache.  That being said, this morning’s yoga was pretty solid.  I still can’t really push past Warrior III but i’m ok with that.  This is where i’m at with my Yoga fitness right now and I’ll continue to workout on it.  I”m pretty sure most of it is mental concentration and that tends to break down doing yoga about 45 minutes in for me.  This stuff takes a lot of focus.  Focus that is not easy to come by with a headache.

I can tell you that the portion of the workout I did complete is much much much stronger.  The poses are solid with little to no shaking.  I can feel the stretching in the areas i’m suppose to feel it.  My lower back is loosening up nicely.  I keep expecting a final POP one day and a sudden feeling of AH!  Everything is aligned.  

This is the 3rd and final day of my Shakeology Cleanse!  I’m excited because this also seems like it will be the day I break 300.  I thought it was going to be last week but then that entire weight tug of war, followed by eating 1/2 a pig over the 4th of July weekend didn’t help me achieve that goal (No i didn’t really eat 1/2 a pig, more like 3/4 of a pig…just kidding).  On the scale this morning i’m at 300.1!  So close…so so close.  Fingers are crossed and willpower is steeled.  Much like feeling the need to run a solid 5 miles to have that under my belt and progress as a runner, Breaking 300 is one of those milestones that I NEED to hit….NOW!  Breaking 300 means I’ve lost 60lbs since January.  It means that I still have 1/2 a year to drop another 60lbs.  I means that by my November Birthday I could potentially hit 240  (this was my star football player weight in college).

I’m going to make this happen, god willing.  Because i fucking can!  I can feel my inner warrior waking up and looking around and he’s ready to kick some ass.  He’s ready try to tackle a 1/2 marathon and try to do a full in January.  He’s ready to DO SOMETHING AMAZING with fitness.

But first I have to remember to 

Just push play!

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When a person begins a weight loss and healthy lifestyle change, it’s a process and goes through phases.  For myself, I’ve attempted this journey, several times and always felt like I fell short, but again, that’s all part of the process.  

Phase I -is acknowledging that you don’t like your level of health or the way you look in a mirror.  Just coming to the acknowledgement takes a bit sometimes.  We make excuses like, ate wrong the day before, it’s water weight, it’s only a few lbs. I can drop them when i want, but this adds up to refusal to acknowledge and accept what we see is not what we want.  When you get to and accomplish this, you are ready to move on.

Phase II- What are you going to do about it?  Initially we diet, you know, just for a few days or a week or two, just to get the pudge out.  Only a diet is never the actual answer.  I’ll start jogging, a mile here or a mile there when i feel like I’ve eaten to much, get the blood pumping.  Never works, because it’s not consistent enough.  Phase II is knowing you need to do a little bit of something but not exactly sure what and not sure how often but if it starts to hurt you’re going to back off.  A lot of people get stuck in a Phase II loop and never break the plateau and end up yo-yo dieting or working out an never quite seeing the results they want.  

Phase III - I need to change and I’m going to change no matter what.  This is where the lifestyle improvement begins to happen.  This is when you don’t diet, you change the way you eat.  You don’t exercise, you have a workout plan or program.  You look in the mirror and you see what needs to change and you find an activity or a food to do what will help make that change occur.  This is the phase that once entered, will bring you on a journey that will make you wonder what took you so long to get here.  This is where the new energy and the new outlook begins to happen.  This is the phase that I have entered and that a lot of fitblr and fitness bloggers have entered.  Phase III, where you are actively taking control of the problem and making the steps to change it.

The tools are all different; in my case I’m using P90X, Insanity and Running.  I’ve been using Beach Body products for years and I’ve always told everyone how great they are but this is the first time I’m dedicating the time and focus to do the plan they laid out in front of me and getting the results from it.  Even this is a process.  I’ve moved from the mentality of I have to do this workout, to the mentality of I HAVE to do this workout.  I want the results and the challenge.  I’m no longer just working out and surviving until the end, I’m pushing for that extra pushup, and I’m actively pushing for that extra rep in Ab ripper X.  Just last week I was getting a tad down on myself because I only managed to squeeze out 19 reps of one of the ab exercises, I went to write it down and realized that thre previous week I had only 15 of the reps.  This is an improvement I would totally have not notice if I hadn’t been writing my workouts down, something I had not done effectively in the past.

I’m running.  I have ran in the past and tried to establish a running routine before but this time I’m not trying to establish a routine, I’m RUNNING.  I decided this year I was going to do P90X, Insanity and Asylum.  I also decided that I was going to do the Warrior Dash.  So I started Insanity in January and decided that the cardio benefits from it would allow me to be able to run, I started P90X for strength and toning.  I ran a 5k just to see if I was right about Insanity.  I was, only I wanted to do it faster, so I started running at night to get faster.  Last weekend I did a 10:15 mile.  Not the fastest but you show me another 300lbs guy that can do a 10:15 mile.  I’ve reached the point with running where I crave the challenge of going faster, getting in better shape.  I don’t want to just finish the Warrior Dash, I want to be able to compete.

Changing my diet has been a process.  I not only started eating healthy but I stopped taking unnecessary supplements and started looking at what my body really needs.  I don’t need Whey protein; I’m big and strong enough.  I need to get leaner and fit.  I started looking at products offered and I decided to start taking Shakeology.  This was not a natural decision for me and I even fought it for a bit.  I finally asked my BB coach about it and did some research and decided I’ll give it a try.  I have never been so impressed with a product!  When one of the tag lines for a product is “If you eat like a 2^nd grader, you need Shakeology”.  I get all the benefits of vitamins and minerals an veggies in one Chocolate or Greenberry shake that cost about 4 bucks a day.  This product led to other healthy eating habits and now for the first time in years I’m actually monitoring what I eat and making choices instead of just eating.  I have literally had the conversation, “wow, that cake looks good!  But I have to do Plyo-X tomorrow and it won’t sit well.  I guess I better skip the cake.”

Notice:  SKIP THE CAKE.  Bringing us back to the phase III mentality.  I’m craving the challenge of the workout more than the sweetness of the cake.  Not that I’m not eating cake but if would interfere with me reaching a new level and I don’t want that.

Phase IV- of the process is the desire to help other get to where we are.  I entered this phase and decided to become a Beach Body Coach.  Sure I get discounts on Shakeology and the workouts.  Yes I make a little money on things people buy, but you know what, I’m having fun answering people questions and helping them push through to levels of fitness they didn’t think they could reach.  If I never made a dime, I’d still be doing exactly what I’m doing because when you can remove Health and Fitness as a limitation for people, the world opens up.  Beachbody.com has provided tons of free tools I’ve recommended to people even if they don’t buy anything.  It’s about fighting negative body images and changing people so they can help others do the same.

Working out and getting into shape is all about the process, don’t ignore the process, don’t fight the process and don’t try to skip through the process.  Follow it, reach each level as you’re supposed to and enjoy the journey.  When you reach a point that you really WANT IT!  Not would like to lose weight, not would like to fit into whatever size clothing, not would like to turn heads when you walk down the street, but when you WANT IT!  When you WANT to get healthy and WANT to eat right and WANT to change your lifestyle.  Hold on to that and find an accountability group.  I would love you to join my team (teamuber) or any other group that helps you stay on track with your goals until you are automatically on track.

Anway, that’s my rant for now.  I’m just very proud of the people I’ve been working with and holding out hope for the people who are watching and on the fence about making the commitment to their health.  Stop watching from  the side lines and jump in.  Your time is now!

 If you got question, ask me and i’ll help you with whatever I can.

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Twitter @bruceaveryheart