It’s hard to believe the last week of 2010 is already here. By Saturday, we’ll be into another new year. This is always the time that people come up with their new year’s resolution. I had a friend tell me recently after asking “So do you have your new year’s resolution ready for 2011?” I had told him my plan, what I’m going to discipline myself to do, then asked him the same thing. His answer: “My resolution is to stick to my resolution.” He added that it’s always that first couple weeks that the energy is there to accomplish what he set out to do, but with no one physically there to motivate him all the time, it’s tough to keep it going. I told him it’s a lack of self-discipline, which he agreed with.
Asking for pointers on how to keep a resolution longer than two weeks, I went through some things with him. His main resolution much like many: get to the gym and get in shape.
Reading is one thing that has helped me a lot. My friend also mentioned that he’s logged on to my website (www.philcosfreedomteam.net) several times, especially at the start of the year and kept track of my weekly blogs, which seemed to help motivate him at that point. But not many gyms have the accessibility to bring a laptop you can set somewhere while you run on a treadmill or lift weights I guess.
“I wish you lived closer” & “Mahnomen’s too far to drive for me to go work out with you consistently” are two of the comments I heard from him when we chatted. I tried talking to him on the phone about certain things and how to stay motivated – the inner motivation, not external where you actually need someone right beside you all the time when you work out.
The question of, “What gets you going and would keep you going?” There’s got to be something…there is for all of us.
The conclusion I found out about my friend, which may be true for you reading this too, is that no one can force you to do what your mind doesn’t tell you to. When you set your mind on the fact that “I’ll do that later,” or “I’ll just start next week” you’re instantly setting yourself up for trouble.
Everyone is busy. No matter when you try to schedule something, there’s going to be conflicts sometimes. What it comes down to is another tough thing that people don’t like to do: sacrifice.
In order for me to schedule time for working out, I need to sacrifice at least some time from other activities to accomplish it. I learned this from a mentor of mine that I’ve never met in person, but have heard him speak at a conference and read many of his books. His name is John Maxwell. Again, much like motivation – your mentor doesn’t need to be right next to you pointing out what you’re doing right or wrong; what you want to change in your life or how you want to do it. That has to be done by you! Others can only offer a helping hand momentarily or give words of encouragement. They don’t have to be spoken either. They can be in a book that you set time aside to read.
Some of the things I cut out when it comes to focusing on training include less TV, computer time (Facebook especially) and if need be, some sleep. I’d go for the first two long before sacrificing sleep.
I don’t know what the average person watches when it comes to TV in a week, but say you watch it for seven hours a week – that’s one hour a day. For many, that’s probably a low number! So let’s say two hours a day, every day. That’s fourteen hours per week. If you cut thirty minutes out of each day from watching TV to work out, that’s still ten and a half hours of TV time and only three and a half hours of working out. There you go, you’re still getting way more time of watching those awesome shows, movies or sporting events that help increase your stamina, improve your train of thought and make you feel better about yourself. Or wait, no that’s the three and a half hours of working out that make those possible, I’m sorry…
Nutrition is important too when it comes to starting out in training. I just weighed myself tonight for the first time in two weeks. Since the start of Thanksgiving to today (12/27/2010) I’ve gained just over eight pounds. I thank my parents, grandma and everyone else that made me any type of treats this past month…you’ve helped contribute to the Make Philco Plump-a-thon! It’s hard to resist though, and I know I’ll burn it off once I really get into training now. I’m 5’8” and now 181. My run weight I want to get to: 160. Will I get to that point? Of course I will. I’ve already got my plan ready, just not typed out yet like I tend to do. Anyway, about the nutrition, when I lost twenty-one pounds two years ago in three months, all I did was three things. Were they hard to do you are probably asking? I’d say one of them was. Well, all of them at first were, but once I got them going, it was simple.
1. Cut out pop/soda. Diet pop is just as bad for you as regular pop that has all the great sugar that settles in your body, giving you those sweet ‘love handles’.
2. Cut out sweets/candy. The one sweet I kept in my nutritional supply periodically when needed, was Snickers. I’ll never leave my Snickers hangin’. The rest is very temping, but once you stop eating it for a while, your body responds in a positive way. Same with the pop. Give up pop for a month, then try it again after a month. It doesn’t have the same taste as it did before. I’ve done it, so can you.
3. Train/workout CONSISTENTLY. You don’t need to do it every day. If you’re just starting out, do it 3-4 days a week. What I mean by consistently is do it for more than just two weeks. Losing weight takes time. Like my chiropractor had explained to me in a conversation we had a while back about people asking about weight loss and hearing their stories, “You don’t gain weight over night, don’t expect to lose it that quick either.” It may seem like you gain weight quicker, which may be the case when it comes to shagging those unwanted pounds, but stay steady. Don’t give up just because you don’t get the results you want in a short amount of time. When I lost twenty one pounds back in 2008, the first month I lost four pounds. That means the following two I lost seventeen. Thank goodness my dad was a math teacher! Made that equation soooo easy.
So of those three, the last one was the toughest. Keeping steady, staying consistent with your training. The thing I had to do was remember why I was doing it. What I did when I went to the gym….brought a shirt that had the reason for my running. You ready for this?...
The final thing I can leave you with is something I think about a lot at this time of year. Find a purpose to run, don’t just do it to say you did it. Whether it’s with a group, for a cause, a challenge from a friend or co worker, maybe even a family member. Make it fun!
I never thought I’d do anything like this in my life. Before December of 2006 I told many people that my sister was crazy and that I would never run anything more than a marathon relay with family or friends. It’s amazing what the loss of a friend can do to you. The loss of a friend who sacrificed for not only me, but you too. This friend of mine, Corey Rystad who was KIA (killed in action) in Fallujah, Iraq back on December 2nd, 2006, would be 25 years old this coming Friday, December 31st. Pretty sweet birthday, isn’t it?? He was killed before his 21st birthday. Every time I run I think about how much of an impact he’d have on so many people back in this area. He’d be back in school now, possibly finished by now after exiting the National Guard. Instead, when his family and friends want to visit him, they have to drive a mile out of my hometown, Red Lake Falls, MN to a cemetery where he’s resting. It’s painful to even think about. Not physically painful, but emotionally. To know his family doesn’t get to have him around to hear him laugh, hear his stories and jokes, and just his enjoyment of everyday life.
My purpose is to keep Corey’s name alive. Every time I hear of another soldier killed, it’s like adding gas on a fire that’s burning all the time in me. It’s keeping the engine running. A little something called inner motivation. He’s with me every single day, training or not. Running in an event or not, he’s with me. I’m reminded of him before every game I broadcast – right before that Star Spangled Banner starts up, I open my sports folder that contains a picture of Corey and Bryan McDonough who was also killed in the same blast. I keep that with me because Corey had told me his senior year of high school that when he got back to save him a spot next to me at games so he could join me. I have done that. He’s with me at every game now. Staring at that flag, listening to the singer, band or CD blaring that song, everything else just fades away and I see that picture of Corey that’s on my shirt during every race.
I hope you find a purpose in 2011. I believe you will! Much like my sister believed in me to run my first half marathon, first full marathon and many other events, I believe you can do it too. Even when I didn’t believe in myself, someone did. Know that there are people out there ready to encourage you every step of the way. But it starts with you and that first step. That’s your part! Get out there, get the ball rolling and take that first step now! Let the journey begin and enjoy the ride!
“One of the greatest discoveries a man makes, one of his greatest surprises, is to find he can do what he was afraid he couldn’t”
– Henry Ford
Asking for pointers on how to keep a resolution longer than two weeks, I went through some things with him. His main resolution much like many: get to the gym and get in shape.
Reading is one thing that has helped me a lot. My friend also mentioned that he’s logged on to my website (www.philcosfreedomteam.net) several times, especially at the start of the year and kept track of my weekly blogs, which seemed to help motivate him at that point. But not many gyms have the accessibility to bring a laptop you can set somewhere while you run on a treadmill or lift weights I guess.
“I wish you lived closer” & “Mahnomen’s too far to drive for me to go work out with you consistently” are two of the comments I heard from him when we chatted. I tried talking to him on the phone about certain things and how to stay motivated – the inner motivation, not external where you actually need someone right beside you all the time when you work out.
The question of, “What gets you going and would keep you going?” There’s got to be something…there is for all of us.
The conclusion I found out about my friend, which may be true for you reading this too, is that no one can force you to do what your mind doesn’t tell you to. When you set your mind on the fact that “I’ll do that later,” or “I’ll just start next week” you’re instantly setting yourself up for trouble.
Everyone is busy. No matter when you try to schedule something, there’s going to be conflicts sometimes. What it comes down to is another tough thing that people don’t like to do: sacrifice.
In order for me to schedule time for working out, I need to sacrifice at least some time from other activities to accomplish it. I learned this from a mentor of mine that I’ve never met in person, but have heard him speak at a conference and read many of his books. His name is John Maxwell. Again, much like motivation – your mentor doesn’t need to be right next to you pointing out what you’re doing right or wrong; what you want to change in your life or how you want to do it. That has to be done by you! Others can only offer a helping hand momentarily or give words of encouragement. They don’t have to be spoken either. They can be in a book that you set time aside to read.
Some of the things I cut out when it comes to focusing on training include less TV, computer time (Facebook especially) and if need be, some sleep. I’d go for the first two long before sacrificing sleep.
I don’t know what the average person watches when it comes to TV in a week, but say you watch it for seven hours a week – that’s one hour a day. For many, that’s probably a low number! So let’s say two hours a day, every day. That’s fourteen hours per week. If you cut thirty minutes out of each day from watching TV to work out, that’s still ten and a half hours of TV time and only three and a half hours of working out. There you go, you’re still getting way more time of watching those awesome shows, movies or sporting events that help increase your stamina, improve your train of thought and make you feel better about yourself. Or wait, no that’s the three and a half hours of working out that make those possible, I’m sorry…
Nutrition is important too when it comes to starting out in training. I just weighed myself tonight for the first time in two weeks. Since the start of Thanksgiving to today (12/27/2010) I’ve gained just over eight pounds. I thank my parents, grandma and everyone else that made me any type of treats this past month…you’ve helped contribute to the Make Philco Plump-a-thon! It’s hard to resist though, and I know I’ll burn it off once I really get into training now. I’m 5’8” and now 181. My run weight I want to get to: 160. Will I get to that point? Of course I will. I’ve already got my plan ready, just not typed out yet like I tend to do. Anyway, about the nutrition, when I lost twenty-one pounds two years ago in three months, all I did was three things. Were they hard to do you are probably asking? I’d say one of them was. Well, all of them at first were, but once I got them going, it was simple.
1. Cut out pop/soda. Diet pop is just as bad for you as regular pop that has all the great sugar that settles in your body, giving you those sweet ‘love handles’.
2. Cut out sweets/candy. The one sweet I kept in my nutritional supply periodically when needed, was Snickers. I’ll never leave my Snickers hangin’. The rest is very temping, but once you stop eating it for a while, your body responds in a positive way. Same with the pop. Give up pop for a month, then try it again after a month. It doesn’t have the same taste as it did before. I’ve done it, so can you.
3. Train/workout CONSISTENTLY. You don’t need to do it every day. If you’re just starting out, do it 3-4 days a week. What I mean by consistently is do it for more than just two weeks. Losing weight takes time. Like my chiropractor had explained to me in a conversation we had a while back about people asking about weight loss and hearing their stories, “You don’t gain weight over night, don’t expect to lose it that quick either.” It may seem like you gain weight quicker, which may be the case when it comes to shagging those unwanted pounds, but stay steady. Don’t give up just because you don’t get the results you want in a short amount of time. When I lost twenty one pounds back in 2008, the first month I lost four pounds. That means the following two I lost seventeen. Thank goodness my dad was a math teacher! Made that equation soooo easy.
So of those three, the last one was the toughest. Keeping steady, staying consistent with your training. The thing I had to do was remember why I was doing it. What I did when I went to the gym….brought a shirt that had the reason for my running. You ready for this?...
The final thing I can leave you with is something I think about a lot at this time of year. Find a purpose to run, don’t just do it to say you did it. Whether it’s with a group, for a cause, a challenge from a friend or co worker, maybe even a family member. Make it fun!
I never thought I’d do anything like this in my life. Before December of 2006 I told many people that my sister was crazy and that I would never run anything more than a marathon relay with family or friends. It’s amazing what the loss of a friend can do to you. The loss of a friend who sacrificed for not only me, but you too. This friend of mine, Corey Rystad who was KIA (killed in action) in Fallujah, Iraq back on December 2nd, 2006, would be 25 years old this coming Friday, December 31st. Pretty sweet birthday, isn’t it?? He was killed before his 21st birthday. Every time I run I think about how much of an impact he’d have on so many people back in this area. He’d be back in school now, possibly finished by now after exiting the National Guard. Instead, when his family and friends want to visit him, they have to drive a mile out of my hometown, Red Lake Falls, MN to a cemetery where he’s resting. It’s painful to even think about. Not physically painful, but emotionally. To know his family doesn’t get to have him around to hear him laugh, hear his stories and jokes, and just his enjoyment of everyday life.
My purpose is to keep Corey’s name alive. Every time I hear of another soldier killed, it’s like adding gas on a fire that’s burning all the time in me. It’s keeping the engine running. A little something called inner motivation. He’s with me every single day, training or not. Running in an event or not, he’s with me. I’m reminded of him before every game I broadcast – right before that Star Spangled Banner starts up, I open my sports folder that contains a picture of Corey and Bryan McDonough who was also killed in the same blast. I keep that with me because Corey had told me his senior year of high school that when he got back to save him a spot next to me at games so he could join me. I have done that. He’s with me at every game now. Staring at that flag, listening to the singer, band or CD blaring that song, everything else just fades away and I see that picture of Corey that’s on my shirt during every race.
I hope you find a purpose in 2011. I believe you will! Much like my sister believed in me to run my first half marathon, first full marathon and many other events, I believe you can do it too. Even when I didn’t believe in myself, someone did. Know that there are people out there ready to encourage you every step of the way. But it starts with you and that first step. That’s your part! Get out there, get the ball rolling and take that first step now! Let the journey begin and enjoy the ride!
“One of the greatest discoveries a man makes, one of his greatest surprises, is to find he can do what he was afraid he couldn’t”
– Henry Ford
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