Today marks the halfway point of my personal 16 week fitness challenge. So how am I doing, you ask (if you didn't ask, just pretend you did, okay?)
*I haven't missed a single workout. That may not seem like a big deal to you, but it is to me. I have never, ever gone 8 weeks without missing a workout. And my other attempts were only 3 days a week instead of 6 days. I just always had a "good" reason not to work out.
*I am beginning to see more tone. This would seem pretty comical to someone who is 20 years old and has lived in the gym all their life, but I'm...um...not that person. I'm almost 42 and I have had 4 kids. Need I say more? So I'm really happy to actually see my muscles emerging instead of just having to believe they are there because the textbook says they are.
*On the same note. Did you know that I have abs? No, really. They are hidden in there. I had begun to think that I had got gypped and that I had only got a bowl of jello when the fitness gurus got their abs. But now, if the lighting is just right, I tighten them really hard, I stand in a completely abnormal pose and I squint one eye, I can see my upper abs. They are actually in there!! If I keep working out and eating right, maybe I will discover my lower abs, too. I feel like an archaeologist digging for lost artifacts....
*My strength and stamina are increasing. I'm still not where I want to be (I want the stamina my 9 year old son has...), but I have seen a big change in this area. Four years ago, almost to the day, I had a full adrenal crash. I was on complete bed rest. Not bed rest because I felt lousy and didn't want to do anything -- bed rest because I could. not. get. up. It was a life altering experience for me. For the next 2 years I was almost completely bedridden. I could get up for a few hours and fool everyone by doing what I needed to do at church, etc. but there was absolutely no reserve energy. When my duties were over, my husband would have to help me into the car and I would have to crash on the couch when we got home. It took me days after a service to gain enough strength to do the next one. My life became all about struggling just to do the most basic things. It took 2 years to get back to being able to keep up with my regular responsibilities. It has taken another 2 years to get strong again. Gaining ground in the stamina department is a major goal and a major accomplishment for me.
What I am learning about meeting your fitness goals:
*Attitude is everything. When I adjusted my thinking patterns, my workouts and eating habits automatically changed. I talked about it here.
*Make room in your schedule for your health and then stick to it. I learned the hard way that your body can only go so long without care before it begins to break down. Taking care of yourself properly puts you in a better position to care for others.
*Stay focused and don't get sidetracked. It really helps me to get my workouts finished before the rest of the family even wakes up. I don't know about your house, but at my house, we can have a lot going in the mornings (really, all day). It can leave me scrambling from one job to the next without stopping for breath. Before I know it, the sun is setting and I am too tired to do my workout. But if I worked out before the mayhem hit, it's all good.
*Start where you are and gradually work your way to where you want to be. You can actually hinder yourself from meeting your goals by doing too much too soon. Your chances of injury go way up because your joints and bones aren't ready to handle the stress yet. You also set yourself up for burnout because no one can keep up that frenzied pace for very long. And when you make yourself too sore, it makes it much harder to give your best at your next workout.
*Patience. You didn't get where you are overnight and you won't get where you want to be overnight either. We tend to want everything yesterday. But it is far better to be consistent over time than to exert tremendous effort and then stop.
*Listen to your body. I don't mean that you should listen to your body when it says to grab a bag of chips and the TV remote. Or when it tells you the bed is warm and it is too early. That's when you have to have the attitude of an athlete and "Just Do It." What I mean is that when your body is telling you that you need to take the run a little slower today, it's okay. Your next run will go better. A lot of things affect our stamina -- late nights, bad food, stress. Sometimes your body is even fighting a cold or something that you don't know about. Our bodies are bombarded by all kinds of bacteria and viruses all the time. When things are working right, we don't even notice it. Our bodies fight it off and we go on without symptoms. But it does take energy for our bodies to do this, and that energy is no longer available for our workouts that day. It doesn't mean you are backtracking. It just means your immune system is strong and your body is using the available energy where it is needed. Do your best and don't worry about the rest.
I'm sure that I will learn a great deal more as I go, but that is what I have learned so far.
Have a great day and enjoy your workouts!
