What was different before.

It was eight years ago that I was on my first part of my first weight loss journey. I had struggled for years with my weight, but for the first time I started actually seeing results. I had just come off 10 months of my back being out and barely able to walk, and I knew with me being point where I could move with limited pain, that it was time to start being serious. My first 30 days I lost 30 LBS, my body was feeling much better. Over the course of 10 months I continued dropping weight until I had gotten down to 197 LBS. But I was in my twenties then, things were different.

So that brings us to now. Over the past couple of years, I have tried to restart my weight loss journey, but keep hitting roadblocks. The first road block came when my uncle had passed away. I had to come off of my workout schedule to attend the funeral and slowly started losing motivation. When I was able to start back up, my back went out again, causing me unbearable pain for months. After that got resolved, I moved. When I moved I thought that everything was going to change, that I was going to work out all the time and get back to where I was. But workouts were few and far between, and then my back went out again.

So I have been thinking recently why am I hitting so many hiccups in this weight loss journey? What is different now than back the first time? I know I'm older, and with age weight loss becomes for difficult, but I should still be losing some. Sure, my back is still bothering me, but that isn't stopping me much from doing light cardio and workouts. I've even been in the apartment fitness center a couple of times a week. But my halt in weight loss and motivation, I believe is from one thing. Distractions.

When I first embarked on initial weight loss in 2010, I had zero distractions. Sure, I had to have a job and work, but that job was a part time job and I had a ton of time to workout and prepare food every day. I also wasn't dating or trying to date, and I stopped hanging out with friends. I had zero distractions in my life. I was selfish, I did everything for myself. My food was for me, my choices were for me, I worked out every single day. Now my life seems full of distractions. While I am single, I have been trying to date more, I am trying to be more social, I work a full time job that has a much higher stress level, and when I come home from work I turn on the TV and get lost in YouTube.

Distractions are part of life, but I need to work on minimizing them as much as possible. I am getting older, and while some will say 36 isn't old, my body doesn't agree. I need to make choices for food for me. I need to not binge when there is food that I really want. I need to make healthy habits into permanent habits. It's time to put the distractions that I can control out of the my sight, and focus one me. Only with this focus, can I truly change.

We are all bodybuilders

You have decided to change your life, you have put the first step forward into living a healthy lifestyle. Maybe you have been living this lifestyle for a while now. The simple fact is, you don't think you are a bodybuilder, that word might even make you shudder a little bit. But you are, in fact, a bodybuilder.

Oh yes, you may want to argue and say "But I'm not lifting heavy weights" or "I don't want to be a bodybuilder". Well TOO BAD! Ok, maybe that was a little rough, and you are not a bodybuilder in the way that you traditionally hear about it or that you may even think you know it as. You are building yourself a new body.

Yes! You are tearing down the old body that you don't want anymore, and building a new one that you want, that you want to share, that will last you a full and fun filled life. Just because you are a "Bodybuilder" doesn't mean you are hulking out. Look at bodybuilding shows, they have the ranks of Bikini, Figure, Physique, Fitness, and Bodybuilding. But all of those fall under bodybuilding. Look up bikini competitors like Alexis Burke, she is not big and bulky, but I can tell you now, she goes to the gym and lifts, she works her whole body.

So let's look at your bodybuilding in this way, shall we? You are changing your life. You have torn down the original structure of your body to force new habits, and to start building it to last. You may not fit into the general meaning of the word bodybuilder, but what else would you call it? Getting fit? Getting healthy? Embrace what you have become, and have fun with it. But don't scare the children, no one wants to scare children..ok, you can scare the children.

The Journey into X2!

While one door closes, another one opens. This of course to me is about working out though. It was the end of November 2011 when I jumped into Insanity the Asylum, that of course was right after Insanity. During the month of December I completed a full program. Granted Asylum is only 30 days long, but going non-stop for 30 days is a lot harder than most think. On top of that, I started having serious back pain around the last week and a half. But I survived it and with enough time to rest before taking on my next big program...

It's already January 3rd in 2012 and I am 2 days into P90X2. I made a promise to myself to start it at the beginning of the year and make it my program for 2012. Like all the programs I have done over this last year, it is difficult starting out. I can actually hang fairly well, but let me tell you, I am sore! I opted for P90X2 for a few reasons. I wanted to be among the first to do the program while others where doing the program, and I really wanted something to challenge me in a different way. I love Insanity and the Insanity programs, and I can't wait for more. But I fell my cardio is pretty decent at this time. What I really wanted to work on was one of my weakest areas, and that is strength. I knew if any program would help me in strength, it would be a P90X program. So here I am, 2 days in, and my body is screaming at me. Muscles sore and aching, I just want to smear icy hot all over my body at this point. But I feel great too. I am pushing myself in a whole different way. But we should see how I survive this week. Tomorrow will be my first recovery day, and on friday I will be doing yoga for the first time since I was in high school. Stay tuned for what the journey holds for me....

17 days in the Asylum!

Seventeen days ago, I decided to take my Insanity training to the next level with Insanity The Asylum. The last seventeen days have been more brutal than the whole 60-day Insanity program.  But it's a whole different kind of brutal. With Insanity, you want to quit because your muscles and body tell you that you have exhausted yourself, in Asylum, you want to quit because your mind tells you, you can't take any more. It really is a whole different ball game.

The Asylum has a total of 7 workouts - Speed and Agility, Strength, Back to Core, Vertical Plyo, Relief, Game Day and Overtime. Back to Core is by far my favorite of all the workouts, due mostly to it focusing on lower back strength. Because of my low back problems, it provides not just a new challenge, but really has helped me on stabilizing those muscles. Game Day is great too, a full 60 minutes of balls to the wall cardio working drills from running, to wrestling and everything in between.

Relief has been the biggest surprise for me though. I am not normally a fan of stretching workouts. Normally they are boring, or go to a place that I just can't get. Also most are really long. Relief in the Asylum though is only about 20 minutes and really gives a nice slow stretch. Maybe I like it so much because I actually feel that my body needs this stretch in this program.

Either way, I am super excited to only have 13 days left in the Asylum. It has been great, and I can't wait to try out some hybrids with it next year.

Leaving everyday Insanity for THE ASYLUM!!

It's crazy thinking that this time last year I was still the shape of a ball, well more a football, but a ball none the less. I could barely workout, and what I was doing was just barely pushing myself. Fast forward to just a couple Sundays ago, and I finished one of the most intense workout programs on the markte! Yes, I finished my 60 day Insanity program! Ok, so if you have been following my blog, you know it was more than 60 days that I have been doing Insanity. In fact, I started Insanity back in May 2011, but due to some medical issues, I was unable to complete the program. After trying and trying to start from where I left off, I decided to do a full reboot. This was one of the best things I could have done. While I still had issues along the way with my back and at the end of the program my shoulders acting up, I finished.

Pushing play with Insanity was sometimes a chore, I admit it. It is a hard workout and really makes you question your sanity for doing it. Shaun T tells you to "Dig Deep" and sometimes it's hard to do when you barely have the energy left to stand on your two feet. But it has been so worth it. The best part, is I have my proof that I finished Insanity with my T-shirt that I earned! But I'm not done yet.

Last Monday I started Insanity The Asylum! I again have been humbled by Shaun T. I knew it was going to be tough, but I figured I would fair well with the program. It feels like I am starting Insanity for the first time ever! I am digging deep and powering through, but my body has not been through this kind of workout before. It is exciting though. I am already noticing changes in my legs after just 9 days in the program. I feel stronger and can jump higher. So far my favorite workout is Back To Core. It is one of the few workouts that I have found of any of the programs I have done that gives my low back a good workout. This is important to me because of my low back issues from the past.

I am down to just 20 days left in the Asylum, and I'm looking to earn another shirt. I am pushing myself even further, and will be doing Asylum a few times over in the future. But there is another Program on my list, and that is P90X2...Oh yeah, I am insane!

Two weeks in again

Well, back in May I started Insanity. I only made it two weeks before I was forced to quit because of medical reasons. I attempted to get back into the grove in june and august, but just couldn't keep up and was getting discouraged. So about 3 weeks ago, I decided I would just Re-boot the program and start fresh. I just finished up week 2 again, and I am so pumped to knock week 3 out!

I am doing things a bit different this time around too. I decided not to do the fit test the first week or at the beginning of week 3. While I know these numbers are important to see how I'm progressing, I also find it important to not let myself get stuck on these numbers. I will resume my fit test in month 2 though to see how I am coming along then. I will be finishing Insanity on November 5th and that following week I'll be starting Insanity the Asylum. I am so pumped, I can't wait.

First week of Insanity...Done!

It has been a crazy week. I started Insanity on Sunday and have pretty much died every single workout. The funny part is, I thought the fit test would be moderately easy. Boy was I wrong. I was pouring sweat after the warmup, and of course that made things quite a bit more difficult. But that seems to be the theme with Insanity. The warmup is truly insane.

When I was doing RevAbs, it would be around the middle of the workout before I would start sweating, and it wouldn't be a massive amount of sweat either. Within the first 10 minutes I am pouring sweat with Insanity, and that is just the warmup. Then I'm expected to actually do the rest of the workout!

I know it sounds like I'm complaining, but I'm not. I actually love the program, and love that it pushes me to the limits. Shaun T is an amazing trainer, and he really pushes you to go harder, even it if is through the tv. He also knows the workout is hard and tells you to take breaks if you need them. Even the people on the program are taking breaks and they have been through the workout a few times.

Even though it's only been a week, I do feel stronger. It's strange to say that, but I feel I have much more power in my core and legs. My abs feel much more solid as well. But thank goodness, that today is a rest day. I'll be jumping back on the workout tomorrow and trying not to keel over.

Insanity is coming

Ok, well Insanity is already here. However, I officially start my next journey in my new life with Insanity next Monday!! I am so excited. But I did jump the gun a little bit. Yes, I was a bit too excited and decided to go ahead and workout to Insanity: Fast and Furious. I was humbled by the workout. Never in my life do I remember sweating so much.

So sweating, big deal right? Well I was pouring sweat in just the 5 minute warmup. Yes, the warmup was a workout in it self. By the time the real deal came around, I was gasping for air trying not to die. Keep in mind Fast and Furious is only a 20 minute disc. It's meant for those times that you want to do your Insanity workout, but don't really have the time for 45 minutes to an hour.

I caught myself a few times sitting out just to catch my wind and jumping back in. I can see that this is going to be a huge challenge for me, and I welcome it with open arms. With Insanity being a 60 day program, I expect to get my butt handed to me the entire 60 days. That being said, Shaun T is an amazing trainer on this set. He pushes you, and it feels like he is there pushing you. It was also nice to see that he dies during the workout as well.

So keep checking back on me with my progress and my journey. You can follow me on Twitter or friend me on Facebook

90 days with RevAbs has passed

So Wednesday was my last official day of RevAbs. The 90 days flew by, but I have to admit, I got some great results!

Starting Weight - 256 lbs

Starting Body Fat % - 21.9%

Starting Waist - 46"

Ending Weight - 219 lbs

Ending Body Fat % - 15.7%

Ending Waist - 38"

All of that in just 90 days. I feel great, I look great and I'm ready for the next step in my journey.

45 days of RevAbs

It's hard to believe it has been 45 + days since starting the RevAbs program, but I am just getting into Phase 2.

When I started the program I was at 254 LBS, 22% body fat and 46" around my waist. I fought hard through every workout, and I tell you what, I was so sore the first week, I didn't know if I would make it through the whole thing. But I kept on trucking along doing my 6 workouts a week. Workouts designed to make me work my abs, fire my abs and burn calories, and it has paid off. By the end of the last week I was actually sad to see that the workouts I had grown so accustomed to were coming to an end, but excited to see what was coming in phase 2.

As I start on my journey to phase 2, I have a whole new body already. Currently I am weight in at 235 LBS, 18.5% body fat and 41.5" around my waist. It's incredible to see the change and I am so close to goal weight it is unbelievable. I have already completed two workouts on the second phase and needless to say, they are kicking my butt. But if feels so good. I honestly don't know if I could do it without Brett Hoebel as the trainer. He is so motivational the whole time, he makes you want to keep working and reaching to your maximum potential.

These next 45 days are going to be hard, but I know that I am going to make myself proud and Brett proud. Rev it High people!

The Ab Revolution has started

So on Monday February 7th, 2011 I started the RevAbs workout. While that was only yesterday, I feel every bit of the workout. When just watching it, it looks easy enough, but actually doing it is a different story. My body feels like it has been through a car accident. I know, that shouldn't be too different since I have spent a portion of my life as a wrestler, but it's crazy. I could barely move this morning when I woke up, the slightest movement brings on muscle pain.

I had another workout this morning which I did, I barely kept up with it, but I did finish. I can tell that RevAbs is going to change me, and I am looking forward to that change. Hopefully by this time next week, my body will not be hurting during the workouts though. While I don't mind the burn, it's going to get annoying when I have to work with it.