Skippy71’s BodyBlog

Motivations.  We all have them.  That’s why we hit the gym 5 times a week, why we pedal our butts off on those LifeCycle’s until our legs feel like they are on fire.  It’s all about meeting that next goal, testing the next limit.  Perhaps you just want to be healthier.  Maybe you’ve been eyeballing a new bikini and know you need to drop just 5 more pounds to be able to show it and yourself off at your very best next summer at the beach.  What ever the reason, its never an easy thing and as we get well and truly into the Christmas season some of us are probably finding it harder and harder to keep things moving along.

When the thermometer drops, when the kids have been tailing you bugging you for this, that and the other as you fight through lines during Midnight Madness at the mall, when you see the credit card balance dwindle away to near nothing, when you catch that all too tempting whiff of apple strudle and cranberry stuffing its easy to allow yourself to slip a little and think "Nah.  I really don’t feel like doing my 5 miles on the treadmill today.  I’ll make it up tomorrow…or the next day…or next week."

That was the trap I fell into a year ago when I first tried to improve myself and better my health.  It got colder and I just didn’t feel like going out in it if I didn’t have to.  Work would wear me down and all I wanted to do was dump my butt infront of the TV with a hot cup of coffee instead of dragging it to the gym.  I’d get home from a trip to the mall for pictures with Santa and just couldn’t see myself going back out and dealing with the line-ups at the leg press.  So in the end, I ended up not going at all…all winter..and the next thing I knew it was July and all that time I’d be paying for a membership I wasn’t using.

Not this time.

It’s not easy to stay motivated under any circumstances, especially when you are looking at the rolls in the mirror and thinking "How long am I gonna have to do this before I see my shoes again, before I can move the entertainment unit without needing a chiropractor afterwards?"  But as we’ve all heard time and time again…physical transformation takes committment, its about building good habits and most importantly having some patience.  The results may not come for weeks or months, but if you stick with it, keep telling yourself you can do this — you WILL do this — they will come.

So what’s different this year for me as opposed to last year?  Well…not the weather that’s for sure.  If anything, its gotten colder, earlier than it had 12 months ago.  It was easily -35C when I went to the gym yesterday. If I remember correctly, it was more like -10C at this time last year.

Honestly, I think my big kick in the A$$ this year has been work.  I hate my job.  I’m a customer service rep in a call center, which means I get paid to listen to people complain all day.  Not so bad, in that many complaints are justifiable and I get some satisfaction in sorting out some of these issues.  My employers on the other hand, well let’s just say that it’d be nice to see my colleagues and myself treated more like our efforts are appreciated.  Basically, I go into work thinking this is going to be a good day and I come out ready to see if I can break 11 miles per hour on the elliptical and kick my chest press up another 10 lbs - as opposed to wanting to kick my supervisor in the chest and out the nearest window.

I’m sure you get the idea.  That’s one motivator. 

It’s true what they say.  Exercise has this amazing overall effect on the body.  It helps to release stress, improves your ability to sleep and gives you an almost euphoric feeling that’s better than any drug out there.  I don’t think I’ve been in this good of shape since I was in my early 20s. One of my big problems the past year was illness, I was sick constantly through the spring and summer months.  But you know something…I haven’t had so much as a head cold in about 4 months now.  My athsma hasn’t be bothering me nearly as much - even with the drop in temperature - and I generally feel more limber and less tired.  Working in a call center, its hard to avoid picking up every known bug out there.  We’ve had staff booking off constantly and my kids have already had a couple of good bouts of the flu since school started. 

Motivator #2.  Can I get through the whole winter without having to take a day off for any reason other than wanting a stress day just to spend it in the gym? 

I’m actually not sure who’s been happier with the progress I’ve been making recently, myself or my wife.  She’s been very supportive of what I’m doing, eventhough it’s keeping me away from home that little more often.  Alot of the pictures that are going up on my page are taken by my wife.  Just yesterday she was commenting that I am not the same man she married.  I think here words were "I’m not sure what you’ve done with the old Royce, but I hope you buried him good and deep cause I like you waaay better". 

Motivator #3.  Having my new shoulders and pecs groped constantly LOL!

As for the 4th.  Well this one is purely for me.  Who doesn’t remember Hugh Jackman as Wolverine from the first X-Men movie?  Especially near the beginning of the movie where he’s getting all feral in that cage fight in some nameless bar in Northern Canada.  Here’s a refresher….

I didn’t think so a year ago, or even 5 months ago when I started all this…but I think I can get to looking like this by my next birthday in April 2008.

This is what’s keeping me going, keeping me on track through the grip of winter and chaos of the Holiday season.   What about everyone else?  What’s motivating you?  Feel free to drop me a quick note letting me know.  I’d love to hear about it.

Cheers  

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 12th, 2007 at 3:44 pm and is filed under Training. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.