Today is the 12th day of a brand new year. I'm happy to say that so far this year, I have worked out 9 of the 11 days! (Not counting today, because it's early in the day yet and I haven't hit my mat or met my step goals.)
My eating is back under control after the holidays and I'm walking as much as possible every day. I gained about 5 pounds between Thanksgiving and January 1. I'm fine with that. I lived my life, I visited family I don't see very often, and I attended several holiday parties. I can own those 5 pounds, and they won't stay, because I'm already working on them!
As many know, back in early November, I sprained my wrist. It was a bad sprain. I am not really sure how I did it, all I know is that the minute I tried to put ANY weight on my left wrist, I was in a lot of pain. The kind of pain you don't ignore. The chiropractor adjusted and adjusted and adjusted, but it just wasn't responding. Finally, in mid-December, I bought myself an incredibrace, and honestly? Within 5 days, my wrist started responding. During that time, I took some vacation from work, so I wasn't typing as much, and I also did a bit of travel, taking a short break from doing DDP Yoga (about 4 days.) In the time before and since the 4 days off, however, I've been focused in on modifying whatever I needed to and getting my workouts in. Here's where I'm at, right now. (I use a program called Everymove.org which tracks active days. Active days are any day where you get more than 45 minutes of physical activity.) Out of the last 30 days, spanning from 12/11 to 1/11, I clocked 21/30 as "active days." I will take it!
Working with my accountability partner, Mark Furniss, I have started using the schedule in the DDP yoga manual, again, as of January 4, the official end of vacation. Last week, I followed the Advance schedule, week 5, with the exception on Diamond Cutter, which got left out on purpose. I realized that if I made the week start on Sunday instead of Monday, I could have Friday and Saturday off. This works MUCH better for me as Friday night is date night in our home, and I LOVE a long workout on a Sunday morning! So, I purposefully skipped Diamond Cutter on Friday, and started out the week with a Sunday morning Diamond Cutter! It was an awesome first Diamond Cutter in 2015, and a first DC since October. There were modifications and adjustments, but who cares, I still burned over 400 calories and I had fun doing it! That's what matters.
This week will be:
Sunday: Diamond Cutter
Monday: Fat Burner/Red Hot Core
Tuesday: Rest
Wednesday: Below the Belt
Thursday: Stand Up, Red Hot Core
Friday: Rest
Saturday: Rest
On the weight loss front, as I admitted at the beginning, I'm up about 5 pounds, but I'm not sweating it. My clothing is still getting looser and looser, and I'm clearly losing and seeing more muscle definition everywhere!
I am so very happy right now. So happy with my loss, my progress, my workouts. Just happy. And incredibly grateful for so much. It's a wonderful way to start the new year, feeling happy and grateful. I hope you are enjoying your journey as much as I'm enjoying mine, or at least are finding the good things, to offset some of the bad. :) Let's work to make 2015 a year of awesome and amazing.
Showing posts with label motivation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label motivation. Show all posts
Monday, January 12
Friday, February 14
ddp yoga and motivation
In June of 2013, I started doing DDP Yoga. That was 8 months ago. Eight long months. In that time, I've trained hard and worked hard to teach my body new things, ways of moving it has never done and I've aligned my thinking to match up. DDP has a video that he encourages new folks to watch. You can find it here: Living Life at 90%. The password is ddp (all lower case).
I'm writing this blog post because I am listening to people around me make excuses. I'm listening to people say things like "well, I can't do that by myself, I need someone to push me" or "I don't know how you find time to do this." These kinds of comments have really gotten me thinking. I started by watching Living Life at 90% again, and then I talked to a few friends who, like me, are committed to this program. You know what came out? I don't FIND time to work out, I MAKE time to work out. Do I like working out alone? Yes, I kind of do. Know why? I am completely focused on me and my workout. I'm not having to stop and wait for someone to catch up, I'm not fighting to keep up with some 20 year old instructor who has no idea what it's like to be making a 53 year old body pretend to be Gumby. Instead, I'm able to pause the DVD, catch my breath, get a drink of water, mop the gallon of sweat off my mat, and restart.
Am I perfect at making time? Am I perfect at working out alone? Heck no. But, I am owning my life and I am proving to myself just how far I can go and how much I can do. With every workout I do, it's one step toward being healthier and happier. I've reduced by 28 pounds and 37 inches. That's a whole lot! Sometimes I catch myself comparing myself to some of my friends who are doing this program, and losing a ton of weight. I look at them and think I haven't lost much, but go ahead and lift 28 pounds and let me know how heavy it is, because for me? 28 pounds is very heavy. Look at a yardstick, look at that 36 inches. I've lost one of those!
So what am I saying, exactly? I am saying that motivation comes from within. You can't expect a video to motivated you to the point where it makes you check in and do your program. It's not fair to expect a teacher to do that either, right? When you sign up for a class, like an aerobics class, the teacher doesn't call you and make sure you are coming. You paid your money, it's your job to make sure you spend wisely and actually show up. I think it's the same with this program-- you have to show up.
You have to motivate yourself to do the work. We all know that there's no such thing as a free lunch. There's no such thing as a program that will do the work for you. You have to commit and you have to show up and do the work. Is it easy? Nope. Is it impossible? Nope. Is it fun? Heck yea! As DDP says constantly during the workouts, "there's always someplace to go". This means that no matter how long you've done DDP Yoga, there is always a way to modify a position or move to make it more challenging.
After 8 months, there are still things I can't do yet. (Notice the yet, I'm not saying I'll never do them, I'm just saying that, right now, these things are not easy for me, and I am still learning.) Also, there are days when my heart rate just doesn't behave. Days when I have no balance. Days when I don't want to work out. But you know what? My accountability partner, Mark Furniss has taught me that on the days that I don't want to work out, those are the most important days, because, typically, those are the days when you have the best workout.
So, in closing, I want to challenge you. If you are one of those people who purchased DDP Yoga and you haven't even opened it yet, or if you are one of those people who did one or two workouts and thought "holy cow, this is hard, this guy is crazy." Get those DVDs out and commit to do a month's worth. A solid 30 days. Then tell me how you feel. I can just about guarantee that you will have lost inches, pounds, and gained confidence and strength. I find that with each workout I do, I gain a bit of flexibility or refine a movement a bit more. Really, it happens that fast. If it can happen that fast for me, it can for you too. What do you say? Leave me a comment and let me know when you're starting, ok? You can do this. OWN YOUR LIFE!
I'm writing this blog post because I am listening to people around me make excuses. I'm listening to people say things like "well, I can't do that by myself, I need someone to push me" or "I don't know how you find time to do this." These kinds of comments have really gotten me thinking. I started by watching Living Life at 90% again, and then I talked to a few friends who, like me, are committed to this program. You know what came out? I don't FIND time to work out, I MAKE time to work out. Do I like working out alone? Yes, I kind of do. Know why? I am completely focused on me and my workout. I'm not having to stop and wait for someone to catch up, I'm not fighting to keep up with some 20 year old instructor who has no idea what it's like to be making a 53 year old body pretend to be Gumby. Instead, I'm able to pause the DVD, catch my breath, get a drink of water, mop the gallon of sweat off my mat, and restart.
Am I perfect at making time? Am I perfect at working out alone? Heck no. But, I am owning my life and I am proving to myself just how far I can go and how much I can do. With every workout I do, it's one step toward being healthier and happier. I've reduced by 28 pounds and 37 inches. That's a whole lot! Sometimes I catch myself comparing myself to some of my friends who are doing this program, and losing a ton of weight. I look at them and think I haven't lost much, but go ahead and lift 28 pounds and let me know how heavy it is, because for me? 28 pounds is very heavy. Look at a yardstick, look at that 36 inches. I've lost one of those!
So what am I saying, exactly? I am saying that motivation comes from within. You can't expect a video to motivated you to the point where it makes you check in and do your program. It's not fair to expect a teacher to do that either, right? When you sign up for a class, like an aerobics class, the teacher doesn't call you and make sure you are coming. You paid your money, it's your job to make sure you spend wisely and actually show up. I think it's the same with this program-- you have to show up.
You have to motivate yourself to do the work. We all know that there's no such thing as a free lunch. There's no such thing as a program that will do the work for you. You have to commit and you have to show up and do the work. Is it easy? Nope. Is it impossible? Nope. Is it fun? Heck yea! As DDP says constantly during the workouts, "there's always someplace to go". This means that no matter how long you've done DDP Yoga, there is always a way to modify a position or move to make it more challenging.
After 8 months, there are still things I can't do yet. (Notice the yet, I'm not saying I'll never do them, I'm just saying that, right now, these things are not easy for me, and I am still learning.) Also, there are days when my heart rate just doesn't behave. Days when I have no balance. Days when I don't want to work out. But you know what? My accountability partner, Mark Furniss has taught me that on the days that I don't want to work out, those are the most important days, because, typically, those are the days when you have the best workout.
So, in closing, I want to challenge you. If you are one of those people who purchased DDP Yoga and you haven't even opened it yet, or if you are one of those people who did one or two workouts and thought "holy cow, this is hard, this guy is crazy." Get those DVDs out and commit to do a month's worth. A solid 30 days. Then tell me how you feel. I can just about guarantee that you will have lost inches, pounds, and gained confidence and strength. I find that with each workout I do, I gain a bit of flexibility or refine a movement a bit more. Really, it happens that fast. If it can happen that fast for me, it can for you too. What do you say? Leave me a comment and let me know when you're starting, ok? You can do this. OWN YOUR LIFE!
Thursday, December 19
art checkpoint
Recently, I’ve made a decision to pursue my art more regularly and get back to creating the way I was at the start of the year. Somehow, this year has morphed into less art and more of other things. I’ve been reviewing the year, as I do around now, and trying to see what worked and what didn’t. Clearly, being away from my art did not work. What started out as a year filled with painty hands and exciting ideas has ended up with less accomplished than in previous years. With that in mind, I decided to rekindle by looking at what inspires me. I found my artist statement:
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I create art to share the feelings in my soul and express my heart. I create many different kinds of art, including mixed media canvases, pen and watercolor doodles, acrylic paintings, quilts, and photographic works. I am constantly looking for new ways to express myself, and constantly challenging myself to try new materials and tools. I am inspired by color, in nature, in the world around me, and even in the art aisle. Sometimes I will see a color and know that I need it, just because it makes my heart sing. There’s a hum that goes through me when I find the right color or paint, which is a joyous feeling. I am often influenced by situations around me, quotes that I’ve seen, or comments made by people. I am additionally inspired and influenced by the works of other artists, including Georgia O’Keefe and Melody Ross.
I am often daunted by a blank canvas, so a typical part of my process is to just paint something on the canvas, be it a color or a scene, which is often expendable and covered over with other materials and paints, which may or may not be related to the base in color or topic. I love to repurpose vintage and old materials, using them in unexpected ways that may be different from their original intent.
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Having an artist statement is a big for me and being true to my artist statement is something I’m going to strive toward and support as this year closes and 2014 opens.
With all of this in mind, I am going to move forward, create, share, and nourish my artist self!
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