Sherry and me in Washington, D.C. this past weekend.
It has become readily apparent to me that it’s time to buckle down, tighten the screws, and get back to eating healthy and exercising without anymore excuses. I’ve allowed far too much alcohol into my diet as well as making sketchy food decisions while drinking.
It’s not that I drink a lot. I honestly don’t. But this summer has had many occasions that socially led me to imbibe alcoholic beverages, and when I’m drinking, my self-control slides away and I find myself eating in a way that is not conducive to my best health. It’s not that I go completely off the rails (except sometimes), but I tend to over-eat. Even healthy foods in large amounts results in too many calories.
So, starting today, I’m back to my very strict Paleo diet. If it’s not compliant, it’s not going in my mouth, and that includes alcohol. I’m also sticking to the healthy portion sizes and not going for seconds. It’s going to be tough for the next few days as my body has to get used to the reduced calorie intake, but it’s become necessary.
I’m also starting my 6-day/week exercise plan. Don’t worry; I’m not going, “All out.” I’m still being very careful and slow with my progress, but I am increasing the number of days I’m committing to the exercise.
I’ve had to resort to the “Fake it ‘til you make it” mindset when it comes to my running and weightlifting. I keep repeating to myself throughout the day, “I get to run. I get to lift weights!” in a positive manner. It’s kind of funny. Even though I know I’m not all-in on feeling motivated, repeating it over and over actually has an effect, and I do find myself more motivated and excited to get started. Attitude is so important.
I am searching for something to do in addition to StrongLifts 5×5 and my running. I’m not sure yet what that will be, but I feel like it’s just not enough. I do ride my mountain bike on the “Off” days from lifting, and I don’t want to add anything for those days, but on my “On” days, I feel like I need more. I’ll continue to investigate the options and I’ll report back here when I find something.
I haven’t weighed myself yet. I’m not sure I’m going to, to be honest. While the scale is the easiest measure of our overall health, I’m going to forego that. I, instead, will be focusing on how my clothes fit, how I look, how I feel, and how fit I am. I’m less concerned with a number and more concerned with the holistic approach to my health: the sum of all the different measures. The scale has a lot of power over how we feel, and I honestly want to avoid that this time. I’m not sure how it’s going to work out, but time will tell. I’m optimistic that this is a good approach.
I will be going on active duty in the military starting in October, and I need to be in good shape by then both physically and in terms of my fitness levels. I have very specific goals to reach, and I’m going to do my best to reach them without sabotage. So, while to some, what I’m starting today may seem very strict and restrictive is actually a path toward liberation and freedom. Liberating myself from a lack of good fitness right now, and freedom to do whatever I want physically without restraint.
I have to admit that my recovery has been going well, although a little slower than I expected. Well, let me rephrase that; it’s going slower than I planned for. As for what I really expected? Well, I didn’t expect anything. I hoped and assumed, but didn’t necessarily have any expectations.
When I was in that six-week period of no exercise, I found myself getting upset more easily, feeling grouchy, feeling out of sorts, and feeling myself get pudgy and soft. I watched my arms get thinner, and my legs getting more tired after mundane activities; all things that I worked hard to fight against. Mentally, it was tough (and I posted about that aspect here quite often, as it was a struggle I had to deal with). Once I was given the green light to resume exercise, I was elated. But, my doctor was quick to point out that I needed to take it slow and easy.
I initially set out a rather aggressive reintroduction to exercise that I believed was going to be a gradual progression back to where I was. What I failed to take into consideration, however, was that I needed to listen to my body and take it from there. Any plans I made had to be flexible.
What ended up happening was that I have been running far less than I initially planned for. What was supposed to be a run day/rest day cycle turned out to be 1 run day followed by 3 rest days. Then, a run day followed by 2 rest days. Another run, and then another 2 days of rest. So, in the past 10 days, I only ran three times. While that sounds really bad, in actuality, it’s been necessary. I felt so much pain after that first run that I needed those 3 days to let my muscles feel better. Then, the following two runs had 2 day rest periods which turned out to not only be necessary, but actually helped me make increases in both speed and stamina. The last run I had (yesterday) felt amazing, went well, and I increased my pace and the distance ran.
My next run is scheduled for this weekend. I don’t know whether it’ll be Friday or Saturday, but I’m not pushing it. Well, not yet. I know that the time is quickly coming for me to start really pushing myself toward being able to take the ACFT again (for the third time), but for now, it’s all about getting back to a base level of fitness that will be the foundation upon which I can build. That also means I’ll start my weightlifting next week which is a week later than I had planned for. At first, I felt bad about that, but now, I’ve accepted and understand the importance of listening to my body. I wasn’t ready this week, and you know, maybe on Monday, my body will tell me to take it easy, but then again, it might say, “Let’s do this!” in which case, I’ll be ready.
Recovery is tricky as it’s different for everyone. I know people who have had the same procedure I had and they were back to exercising three weeks after their surgery. They’re also much younger than me and they may not have had the same amount of work done internally as I had. But for me, recovery has been a long process that I understand can’t be cheated, shorted, or quickened. It has to be ridden out, and it has to be respected. I’ve hurt myself in the past trying to do too much too soon. I won’t make that mistake again.
This morning at 5:30 a.m., the alarm went off for me to wake up for my run. I really didn’t want to do it; the bed was comfy, it was warm, and it just felt nice to lay in bed. But, I have set Alexa to tell me the weather when I stop the alarm, and something she said stirred me; “The temperature is 71 degrees. Expect thunderstorms and a high temperature of 89 degrees with a low of 71.” I knew what this meant; 71 was the coolest it was going to be all day.
I didn’t want to miss an opportunity to get a nice, cool run in. Especially here in Texas where it gets very hot in July, taking advantage of cool mornings is not something you take lightly. I pulled myself up and out of bed and got dressed. I stepped outside and felt the cool, albeit humid air, and smiled. “This run is going to be perfect,” I thought to myself.
As soon as my GPS watch was synchronized with the satellites, I took off for my run. I’ve been running a 2-mile course during my recovery and rebuilding period, and I set out for that same course with a goal of being a little faster than the last three runs. With that said, I didn’t really push myself hard. It’s not time for me to do that yet. But I did make sure that I was moving well.
When I hit the half-way point, I found that I’d cut over a minute off my previous one-mile time. That felt great! I knew my second mile would be slower, but that didn’t deter or dissuade me from continuing with a comfortable pace, pushing only as far as to run within my comfort zone. I also decided that I was feeling amazing, and that adding a little bit of distance would be a good thing. My goal is to run 4 miles per run, so adding a little distance every few runs is part of my long-term plan. I added a quarter of a mile, and when I finished, I found that I’d cut two minutes off my two-mile time.
I did my quarter-mile cool-down walk, and when I got in the house for my shower, I found that I felt great. No muscle pain, not winded, and generally mentally sharp and ready for my day.
As I look back on the series of events that took place this morning, it’s funny to me that there was a moment when I almost stayed in bed and skipped this run. I’m glad that I didn’t.
Mentally, I’ve been struggling with motivation. I’ve allowed myself to talk myself out of runs lately, and I found it’s because I’ve had an aversion to adding to the pain my body is in. I decided to go back to an old trick I used when I first started running; I tell myself repeatedly throughout the day whenever I think about running and start feeling any kind of dread that I am fortunate that I can still run; I get to run.
I get to run.
In other words, I am not only able to run, but I’m healthy enough to be able to run. I’m physically fit enough to run. I’m not injured, and I’m not disabled. I’m not wounded and I’m not dead.
I get to run.
So I run. After I repeat this to myself over and over throughout the day, I find that it changes my mindset and when the time comes to make the decision to run or not run, I am far more likely to decide to run. The decision is easier, and it even affects my attitude and performance throughout my run.
Our mindset is the most important ingredient to our success. We become what we believe, and what we think. If we think we can’t do something, the chances of us being able to do it are decreased.
If you want to make a serious change in your life or just get back to some good habits, start telling yourself that you can do it, that it’s a good thing, and that you get to do it. There are many out there who don’t have that ability or luxury, and you should treasure it.
We all fall down. Whether it’s literally falling down on a run or figuratively by falling off a diet or falling behind on a workout plan. Everyone falls. I fall all the time. But what I would rather be defined by is not how often I fall, but how I keep getting back up. It’s all about resilience.
Resting between sets. Sometimes, it’s tempting to just stop, but I never do.
In the Army, we have resilience training every year. Why? Because the Army feels that it’s important for us to receive continuous training on how to deal mentally and emotionally with the challenges of not only our garrison work, but of combat. How a person frames their ability to get past obstacles defines the result. An example of this is how you think you will do on a strength test. If you think you can’t do it going in, it’s likely you won’t be able to. On the other hand, pumping yourself up, psyching yourself up for a big lift makes it much more likely you can succeed.
I tried losing weight many times in my life before I was finally met with success through Whole30 and the Paleo Diet. Each time prior, I was always doubtful of either the program’s efficacy or my ability to follow through. As a result, I wasn’t as disciplined and I failed over and over again. Somehow, I tried one last time, but the difference this time was that I went into it with determination and a better mindset. I possessed pure determination to succeed. I told myself I would not fail, and I didn’t. I told myself I could not have cheat meals, cheat days, or succomb to temptation (or what I call sabotage), and I didn’t. I decided what my reality would be, and it came true.
This is a really powerful mindhack. Heck, it’s a lifehack. You can create your own reality by telling yourself that you will accept nothing else but your goal, and that you will do whatever it takes to get there. You’ll take however much time it takes to get there, but you will get there. Nobody can do the work for you; it’s all on your shoulders. There will be people who try to derail you or talk you out of the hard work; Don’t let them. You can create the best version of yourself you can, and you do that by believing in yourself, in your ability to get the work done, and your ability to dust yourself off and to get back up when you do fall.
You get to decide your future. Is it sedentary or active? Adventurous or safe? Are you going to sit on the couch and eat chips or are you going to take the time to make healthy food that your body will use as fuel to live your best life? It’s all about choices, and they’re all in your power to make. Sure, it requires resilience to reach a goal, but you can do this. We’ve all fallen down before. Just remember to keep getting back up.
When I was on active duty in the Marines, exercise was a way of life and a big part of our jobs. We had “PT,” or physical training at least once or twice a week with the platoon, once every other week with the Company, and about once per quarter with the Battalion. We were also expected to conduct “Personal PT,” or to exercise on our own for another three times a week to stay in peak condition. I have to admit that I rarely did personal PT, and when I did, it was usually not something I enjoyed. As an NCO, I had to conduct PT one-on-one with troops who needed extra help to pass the physical fitness test (PFT) or whose PT standards were slipping, but otherwise, I relied on the resilience of youth to see me through the regular PT sessions we had.
Once I left the Marines, I left behind exercise. It was a conscious rebellion; I wanted nothing to do with exercise ever again. This lasted almost 20 years as evidenced by my refusing to do any form of exercise during my first year in my new healthy lifestyle where I lost 110 lbs. I abstained from exercise not only because I wanted to see how much weight I could lose without any exercise, but because I truly disliked it. The Marine Corps had killed any enjoyment I possibly could have gotten out of exercise. It’s not because the Marine Corps doesn’t do fitness right (it does), but because past boot camp, I was never really fit, and my exercise sessions were filled with soreness and a lot of effort. There was the occasional fun run where we ran as a large group around the base, and we actually enjoyed ourselves, but those were few and far in between for me. As a whole, I didn’t enjoy exercise or fitness.
After leaving the Marines, I thought that exercise was what a person did to counter-act caloric intake or what a person did to get all muscled-up (aka ripped, jacked, swoll, etc). I felt like exercise was a punishment for eating unhealthy or too much food. In other words, every association I had with exercise was negative. That made it hard for me to ever get into a good routine, to make any lasting habits of an exercise routine, or to realize any real benefit from exercise. I did actually try for the sake of improving my fitness and (mistakenly) to try to lose weight, but no plan or routine ever stuck.
After losing 110 lbs, I began to see the need for exercise. I had lost a lot of weight, but I still looked soft. I wanted to look healthy, and I came to realize that the only way to accomplish that goal was to exercise. I actively thought about how I had succeeded with the weight loss and also thought about how I had repeatedly failed to sustain an exercise regimen. I came the the following conclusion: mindset was the key. I was able to stick to my new lifestyle (diet) through a very positive mindset and believing in the process. With exercise, I had always done the exact opposite and the results were exactly the opposite of the results from my diet. A lightbulb went off in my head.
In the Marines, we used to say, “Fake it ’til you make it,” whenever we had to do something we were uncomfortable with. Leading PT for the first time? Act confident even when you aren’t, and eventually, you will be. Need to teach classes to the platoon and you’re nervous about coming off as scared? Pretend to be confident, and eventually, you will be. I decided that I would fake excitement for exercise until it became a reality. I reasoned with myself that if a positive attitude could have such a positive impact on my weight loss and overall health, perhaps it could carry over to my fitness.
Every day, when I awoke, I would start telling myself, “I get to workout today,” or “I get to run today.” I framed it as a gift because I know so many people who want to run or exercise but cannot. As a veteran, I know more than my fair share of men and women who are no longer with us that would likely rather be runnning or working out. I began to think of the many veterans who are physically disabled due to their service who would do anything to have one more run. I began to see myself as fortunate, and my ability to exercise as a gift. Even though I felt it was cringey at first to say, “I get to run today,” a strange thing happened; I began to believe it. The reasons behind the mantra became very real and evident to me, and instead of being an abstract statement, I began to see the faces of the many people I know who can’t run anymore. I began to think about people I knew and missed.
I took it a step further, and sometimes on runs, when things got tough or I felt like it was too hot to be running or that maybe I was too worn out, I would think of someone in particular who was no longer with us, and dedicate my run to them. It was a different person every time, but I felt like they were watching me, and since I dedicated my effort on that run to them, I was not going to let them down. It would lead me to pushing harder and pushing through the barrier.
Now, it’s become second nature to me. Every day that I wake up, I tell myself, “I get to exercise today,” and it makes me smile. At my age, my body still lets me exericse. I am still able to get out there, to lift weights, to do pull-ups, push-ups, and then run 3+ miles without pain afterwards, and that’s truly a gift. It wasn’t something that was given to me or that I inherited; I had to work for it, and in another sense, that’s what makes it truly valuable.
I have a 4 mile ruck (road march) coming up in three weeks, and if it’s like any of the other rucks I’ve done in the past few years, it’ll start with a shuffle, which is a sort of run you do with a 48+ lbs rucksack on your back while wearing a helmet and carrying a rifle. It’s not easy, but you do it to give yourself as much benefit to complete the ruck within the allotted time (under 17 minutes/mile). That sounds slow, but trust me; with all that weight on your back, on your head, and carrying a rifle while in full uniform wearing combat boots, it’s not that easy. But, strangely enough, typically about a mile into each ruck, there’s a moment when it hits me: I get to do this. There are so many people I know who would give anything to be in my boots, doing what I’m doing, discomfort and all. That makes me fortunate. And then it happens: I smile and I pick up the pace and shuffle some more.
Your mindset is the single most important thing as it pertains to your success in health and fitness as it is in any facet of your life. You’ve heard the saying, “You reap what you sow.” The same holds true for attitude. If you believe you’re going to fail, or that you have no chance for succeeding, the likelihood of success is greatly diminished. Sure, overconfidence is also a bad thing, but confidence is not. A positive mindset can never hurt you. Believe that you can do it, trust in the process, harness your motivations, and no matter what, remember that your ability to exercise is a gift that countless others would give anything for. Don’t squander it.
This was me after my assessment and selection to the SFAB. I got through a lot more than I thought I was capable of back then, too.
Those were the words my daughter left me with on Friday afternoon as I ended our call before I went on post to attend my first official week of Warrant Officer Candidate School (WOCS). I had expressed to her some anxiety and a little bit of fear about some of the physical aspects of the training I was about to undertake. Later that day, I was to take the Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT) which is a newly-implemented fitness test that currently has a high failure rate. I had taken one three weeks prior, but I was unable to complete one primary event (the leg-tuck) and had to substitute it with a 2-minute plank (which I was able to complete).
I had set my goal on improving each of the six areas of the ACFT which include:
Repetition Strength Deadlift (three deadlifts)
Standing Power Throw (throw a 10 lbs medicine ball behind you)
Arm Extension Push-Up
250-Meter Sprint, Drag, Carry
Leg Tuck
The 2-mile Run
My results last time were good enough to pass:
140 lbs deadlift
7.2m standing power throw
20 arm extension push-ups
2:30 250m sprint-drag-carry
0 leg tucks, but successful 2-minute plank
19:47 2-mile run
Those were good, but personally, not good enough. I wanted to not only be able to show improvement through my efforts between drills, but I wanted to push myself to improve for personal reasons. I never like passing any sort of assessment with bare minimums; I want to have some wiggle room just in case I’m not able to perform at my best, I know I can still pass. So, I put in the work, and the following were my results:
180 lbs deadlift
8.5m standing power throw
26 arm extension push-ups
2:12 250m sprint-drag-carry
4 leg tucks
19:17 2-mile run
These are good improvements, but I’m setting a goal for myself to reach the next level of success. There are three levels of testing: Moderate, Significant, and Heavy. As a Warrant Officer, we are required to pass the ACFT at the Moderate, or “Gold” standard which is:
140 lbs deadlift
4.5m standing power throw
10 extension push-ups
3:00 250m sprint-drag-carry
1 leg tuck
21:00 2-mile run
The Significant standard is:
180 lbs deadlift
6.5m standing power throw
20 extension push-ups
2:30 250m sprint-drag-carry
3 leg tucks
19:00 2-mile run
Comparing my results against the Significant standard, I completed everything go Significant standard except for the run. For me to get there, I just needed to run a little faster. It is kind of painful knowing I missed making the significant standard by 17 seconds. 17 seconds is what seperated me from making significant standard across the board.
However, like anything, I have a goal, and I have a process to get me there. I will continue to train and push myself to attain the results I want. Will I ever make it to Heavy standard? Here’s what it takes for the Heavy standard:
200 lbs deadlift
8m standing power throw
30 extension push-ups
2:10 250m sprint-drag-carry
5 leg tucks
18:00 2-mile run
I think that getting the deadlift will be easy. My workouts will have me at 200 lbs deadlifts within the week, so doing a three-lift repetition for the test when I do 5 lift repetitions will be easy. I already can meet the standing power throw, and getting to 30 push-ups shouldn’t be problematic. The 2:10 sprint-drag-carry is a goal I’m already very close to, and with some more High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), I should be able to meet that standard. I’m only 1 leg tuck away from meeting the 5 leg tucks standard, and I think I will be able to get there and beyond soon enough. The most challenging of the six events for me will be the 2-mile run in 18 minutes. I have short legs, and running has never been my forte. However, I’ve actually run as fast as 16:47 in my two-mile runs in the past, but not after a smoke session like the ACFT.
The ACFT, unlike the older Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT) is an endurance event that tests not only our physical capabilities and strength, but also our ability to balance our effort between the six events. If I smoke myself on the deadlifts to get a high score, that could detrimentally effect my ability to complete the sprint-drag-carry and the 2-mile run later in the test.
So, how does my daughter come into play with my experience this past friday with the ACFT? It’s because her words echoed to me throughout the entire text period. Every time I had some sort of doubt in myself or my abilities, I heard her saying, “You’re stronger than you think you are. You’ve got this.” Every time I heard those words, I pushed harder. I didn’t want to let her down, and I also needed to take her words to heart. It’s easy to slow down on a run when you’re feeling tired, but her words made me analyze how I was feeling. Am I out of breath? No; just breathing hard. Are my legs smoked? A little, but they aren’t sore or hurting. Can I push a little harder? Probably; let’s do this!
I challenge anyone reading this to consider that you are stronger than you think you are. There is more inside you than you likely are willing to admit, or want to admit. It’s easy to slow down or to stop, but if you slow down and aren’t breathing hard or aren’t exerting yourself during exercise, are you realling going to get the results you’re after? My dad always used to say if you’re going to do something, do it right the first time. That can apply to exercise: put in the work, and make it good, solid work. You will never see the results you’re after unless you push yourself, and the strength within you is greater than you think.
This is a slogan I saw in an advertisement for t-shirts, and it’s become a sort of mantra for me these past few weeks as I ramp up my exercise and work-outs in preparation for my attending Warrant Officer Candidate School. In that school, I will have to perform the new Army Combat Fitness Test which replaced the tried and true Army Physical Fitness Test. The new ACFT is much harder than the APFT, and requires more cross-discipline fitness than the latter test. But I digress.
Comfort is something we all crave. It’s the goal of every human to achieve a state of less work/effort for more comfort. The problem we have in our modern world is that comfort is too easy to attain, just as calories are too easy to attain. We are able to eat thousands of calories a day without any energy expenditure which leaves us obese. I was in that category for two decades. Then, Sherry and I got out of our comfort zone, embraced our first Whole30, and five years later, we’ve kept the weight off, kept up with the new lifestyle, and kept up with our fitness.
Are we comfortable? Can we ever rest and stop exercising? Well, I can’t speak for Sherry, but I will not stop. I am no longer comfortable being stationary. I need to be moving; I need to exercise just to feel right. I become uncomfortable when I’m not exercising for too long.
Funny aside: every year, we take a two-week vacation. My biggest lament is that I lose my ability to lift weights and run properly when we are traveling. This year, we went camping/Overlanding, and there was no way for me to run or lift weights at all. That was two weeks of lost progress, and two weeks of feeling my legs get jittery with anticipation for a run.
I take comfort in knowing that by exercising regularly, I’m keeping my heart, muscles, and bones strong. I take comfort in knowing that when I get sick, my body is at it’s strongest to fight off whatever bug I’ve contracted. I have found that small cuts even heal faster (like they did when I was younger). I take comfort in knowing that my weight is more easily controlled when I’m using calories at a higher rate than when I’m sitting at a desk all day.
So, while comfort may be slow death, it’s easy enough to find comfort even when you’re undertaking the uncomfortable like exercise. Right now, as I push myself (gently, I must add) to greater physical fitness, I take solace in the fact that I’m getting stronger, faster, and more prepared to get through the next year and a half of schools that I’m required to attend. Afterwards? I can relax my standards a little bit, but the reality is that I likely won’t. I hate giving back fitness gains I’ve worked so hard for, and I want to give my body the best chance it has to keep going for as long as it can. I’m sort of addicted to breathing.
When I was in boot camp, the drill instructors would sing songs they called “Jodies,” and I remember one of the verses went like this:
Up in the morning with the rising sun,
We’re gonna run all day ’til the running’s done.
Mile one; just for fun
Mile two; just for you
Mile three; a PFT
Good for you; not for me
Mile four; want some more
Mile five; I feel alive
Mile six; just for kicks
Mile seven; I’m in heaven
Mile eight; feels great
Mile nine; doin’ fine
Mile ten; let’s do it again
Ooh-rah; feels good; oh yeah!
So, I never get past the “…a PFT,” on my runs, but it’s good enough. Many times when I’m running, even if I’m listening to music, my mind will wander, and I will hear these Jodies as sung by my drill instructors going on in my head. I hear their voices, their motivation, their yelling at us to keep up the pace. 32 years later, I find myself bringing up the pace to not let them down.
I ran hard yesterday. Probably the biggest effort I’ve put into a run in about a year, and I surprised myself. I also tried a new breathing technique that didn’t tie itself to my steps. Usually, since running in the military forces you to have to time your breathing so you can sing on cue, you get used to running with a pattern of breathing. This is good, because it helps build stamina. But for speed running, it’s not quite so good. Yesterday, I let myself breathe as I needed while running as hard and as fast as I could. The result was the fastest two miles I’ve run in nearly a year, and a great 3 mile time.
I felt good afterward, and as I did my nearly mile-long cool-down walk with the dog (who always enjoys my post-run walks), I looked at my run data on Strava and found that my heart rate stayed about 20 BPM lower than slower runs where I tied my breathing to my steps. It seems that the key to running faster for me is to breathe independent of my steps and more in line with the effort I’m pushing with.
This is earth-shattering.
I have, as I have mentioned yesterday, an APFT (Army Physical Fitness Test) coming up in a month, and while I could pass it well today, I want to do my very best on it. I will continue to work hard, and I will crush that APFT. I don’t know if I can beat my last APFT run time, but I’m hoping for it. With a little luck and a lot of sweat, I’ll get there.
As for my weight, I was back down near my lowest this month even after a weekend of food and alcohol. The body is resilient, and if you treat it right, it will reward you. I also feel like a pair of trousers I wore in Ireland and Scotland were much looser today off the hangar than they were when I was there on vacation. So, even if the weight isn’t coming off right now, my size is decreasing (which is good).
Stick with it, keep your eye on your goal, and never waver.
One of my recent slow runs under the hot Texas sun.
I’ve worked for over a year and a half on being healthy. I’ve worked for the past eight months on being fit. I’ve talked a lot about what losing weight and becoming healthy has brought into my life, but I haven’t talked about what being fit has changed for me.
I can go up and down stairs without getting winded or being in pain. Most healthy and fit people take this for granted, but when I was at my heaviest weight, even a flight of stairs would make me winded. Now, I can go up and down stairs, even running, without raising my heart rate.
I am more flexible. This one is weird, but true. As I’ve been doing more exercise, my joints, tendons, and ligaments allow for greater range of motion which makes me far more flexible than I have been for decades. I can sit on our couch with my legs up against my chest, and it feels not only comfortable, but good to stretch my muscles in my legs. It also makes tying my own shoes much easier.
Early morning PT in the National Guard.
Service in the military. This one is pretty obvious, but without being fit, service in the National Guard would have been impossible for me. Now, I can run, do my push ups, do my sit ups, and more importantly, be physically ready for any task or challenge I’m faced with. I’m not the strongest guy in the unit, but I’m able to pull my own weight and do what’s expected of me in my job and then some. It’s important to me to set an example for the junior troops, and I am doing that with my physical fitness.
Ability to do projects around the house. This is something I struggled with when I was fat and unfit. Just lifting a drill would make me break out into a severe sweat. Putting up a shelf was a major job not due to difficulty of the task, but due to the physical toll it would take on me. Something I also never realized before was that the injuries I would sustain while doing these household projects was in large part to being out of shape and unfit. When you drop things or take shortcuts which are unsafe, you tend to get injured more often. I can now tackle projects without it being a problem for my physically.
Running with my son. He motivates me to keep getting better.
Running. Duh, right? What I didn’t expect was that I would enjoy it. I didn’t expect that I would be continuously challenging myself to improve. I did’t expect to become an inspiration to my son who is currently getting into running with me. My wife also enjoys it and it’s something we can share together from time to time.
Body image. This one I didn’t expect either. When I lost a lot of weight, my body looked better (thinner) but I was “Soft.” Now, after seven months of running and push ups, my muscles are looking defined, and I don’t look “Soft” anymore. My arms are more vascular, and my muscles are more pronounced. This has improved my self esteem a bit, and I now like the way I look. I haven’t been able to say that in a very, very long time.
I’m sure there are more things I could list if I think about it, but this is a pretty solid list of the things that I’ve noticed on a daily basis. Losing weight is good for your overall health, but fitness is important to allow you to get more out of life by being physically able to accomplish any task put before you, whether it’s a task related to work or fun.
I made a short video on my running blog in which I talk about getting started with exercise, and how sometimes, I really am not in to it. I said it was discipline that gets me past not wanting to do it, and keeps me going. That’s completely true. But I think I didn’t go into how I do that, because I think I made it sound like, “All you have to do is just do it and it’ll get done.” That’s kind of silly. Like, “No kidding!”
What I was trying to say and didn’t do as good a job of as I’d have hoped for was that the single-most difficult part of exercise for me is getting started. From the time I just decide to do it and when I get started, it’s pretty easy. But to get to the point where I commit mentally and begin preparations for a run? That’s the difficult part.
Me after running my first 5k distance since starting running in September, 2016.
I run every other day. As an older guy, I need the recovery time. I know there are lots of folks my age out there who run 5-6 times a week. That’s great for them! However, for me, it’s just not feasible. I don’t want to invite the possibility of injury, and so far, this regimen has been doing well for me. My run times are steadily decreasing, my pace increasing, and my resting heart rate decreasing. My cardio health is improving, and I continue to make solid, steady progress. The down side of running every other day is it gives me a lot of time to begin dreading a run.
I don’t dread every run. Not even every other run. But every now and then, the last thing I want to do is go out, run hard, and be out of breath with my heart beating out of my chest. Don’t get me wrong: I actually do enjoy running now, and there are days when I really look forward to my runs. Heck, there are days when I’m obsessed with getting out on the road and running. But for the times when I’m not so motivated, I need to draw on an inner strength and discipline that sometimes is hard to harness.
That’s where perseverance and discipline really comes into play. I talked about perseverance on my PaleoMarine blog, and it’s the single most important factor in my success in losing over 140 lbs. This is another case of the answer being simple but implementation being difficult. It’s easy to say, “Just push past the negativity and start and get it done,” but actually doing it is another thing entirely.
I get it. I’m right there with you.
I don’t know how you motivate yourself, or what drives you to make yourself better, healthier, or more fit. That’s something you need to discover for yourself. I don’t have the answer here for you for that one magical thing that can make getting started easier. Heck, if I knew that, I’d be using it myself! The only things that have helped me and may help you are the following:
Fake it ’til you make it. This has been a big one for me. I used to hate running and all exercise. One day on a run, I realized that I would do better during my runs if I liked them, so I decided on the mantra, “I love running.” I would repeat it to myself often during runs, and lo and behold, it worked! I actually enjoy running now!
Setting a goal for running pace and distances. I’m not overly competitive, but I do like to take on challenges. I set goals for myself for running pace and distance based on the Marine Corps PFT standards. Now as a National Guard Soldier, I make sure I can exceed those standards to the best of my ability. This drives me to keep going and to get better.
Technology. I love tech, and having a Garmin Fenix 3 HR has made collecting data during my runs not just neat, but downright amazing. The data collected during my runs really allows me to analyze my runs from many different angles to compare my efforts and results with previous runs.
When all else fails, discipline. I have decided that I will run a minimum of three times a week, with no more than two days off in a row. When I get to that third day, I leave myself no option to consider not running. Perhaps that’s the trick: I don’t allow myself to even consider not running on those days. I can’t put it off if I don’t allow myself the opportunity to call it off. The exception to this rule is bad weather. I won’t run in the rain. Sorry. It’s not happening.
While those work for me, you may have to find what works for you is different. Heck, it may be the same (yay!) and if so, get out there and do it! My life has been improved dramatically not only through my weight loss, but through my fitness. Being more fit has enabled me to experience things I would otherwise not be able to do, and opportunities that would not have been possible for me. It honestly has been a life changer. Getting started can be tough, but once you get going, the momentum will carry you. Just give yourself that nudge to get rolling.
Paleo Marine 