bigcory19

The Flywheel

Picture in your mind a giant medieval flywheel, like an old turn wheel on a mill. This wheel is huge, iron, rusty, about 30 feet tall, heavier than all the weights in your gym, and has an axis in the middle. There are also 4 giant buckets in 4 equal distant areas of this giant iron circle. Now imagine you have to turn this flywheel yourself, could be quite a chore, the only way to turn it is to fill up these buckets with weight. 

I recently read a book called, Good to Great by Jim Collins, in this book he talks about a Flywheel Concept. The Flywheel Concept is used to describe how Good to Great companies move slowly from stage to stage, starting to become better companies, but when they breakthrough, they are able to maintain the performance by the same or slightly less effort and process. There is no one single step to turning the Flywheel, no one instance that a company can remember that made it turn, no ‘miracle’, no fast fix, and no ‘aha’ moment. The book talks about how there was no single strategy or single person that was responsible for the transition. Instead, the author points out using the analogy of the flywheel, a single push to a giant medieval flywheel barely moves it, but if you exert that same effort, constantly, pushing it a little at a time, it will gain momentum, moving faster and faster, until it reaches breakthrough and is able to sustain its movement with fewer pushes than before - BUT it still requires that push otherwise it slows down. The pushes must never wane, they must never end, and they must continue to drive with the task at hand, disciplined and focused. They continued to fill the buckets to move the flywheel toward reaching their goal. 

          Now being an exercise nerd, of course, I thought about how this concept applied to my workout goal. I have written about a quick fix before and how I used to think there was one, this concept describes I changed my thinking about my goals, and this was when I had my breakthrough. 

          Each time I go to the gym to workout, each time I lift, each time I eat the right foods, and each time I learn more about health, fitness, and nutrition, I am filling buckets. With every minute or hour that I spend during my day to attaining my goal, I am gaining momentum. Set backs can take things out of buckets we have filled, yet once you have a level of momentum it is easier to get the flywheel moving faster again. Set backs are a part of life and we all will have them, what matters is how soon or how well we are filling our buckets after these set backs. 

          Some things fill the buckets more than others, like proper nutrition. In my experience, proper nutrition has been the best thing I can do to gain speed on the wheel. My diet is the best way for me, when it is on point, to shed those extra pounds, feel better, and continue toward my goal. 

          A great way to monitor how you are doing filling buckets is with a journal. There are some sites online that you start a journal on that you can go to at home or at work. For me I use my Google® calendar, because it is easily accessible from anywhere and easy enough for me to use. If you really want to get after it, you could set up a spreadsheet with different categories for nutrition, cardio, and lifting with a numbered rating. You could rank yourself daily, then accumulate or average it out over a set period of time. But, an easier approach for me was just setting up my month long calendar and adding what I did that day for a workout or if I missed a workout. I can look back and see how I am doing filling my buckets for the month and see if I need to start filling more often or faster. 

          It is very important to be honest with yourself, if you do badly, then admit it, if you do well, reward yourself with a cheat night. I think it is important to have a reward here and there because it is a pretty long and grueling process. Turning the flywheel can take a long, long time. This is a lifestyle change or lifestyle improvement process that you have decided to pursue. 

          One word that stuck out in the book was ‘zeal’. Zeal by definition means, an enthusiastic devotion to a cause, ideal, or goal and tireless diligence in its furtherance – which is also the same as the Flywheel concept. Never forget that this is a journey that matters, yes; cliché, but very much true. I encourage you to find your zeal, lay out your goals, and remember to fill your buckets daily. Enjoy the journey folks, it is good to have an end to journey toward, but it is the journey that matters, in the end. 

Good luck yall! 

Cory J

Why do we wait until the end of a calendar year to change our habits?

by CORY J

As I drove to one of my many Christmas celebrations, I began to wonder why I hear so many resolutions about diet and exercise. Everyone has either made a similar resolution or knows someone who has, or is probably thinking of what theirs is going to be as they read.  Being that I was one of these said people, I kind of understand the logic behind the weight loss resolution. But this year was different for me, this year I had a different outlook on the holiday season, this year my year end was not really a time to start anew. To me this year and its end was a reward.

            As the holiday season swiftly approached my game plan was extremely different than in years past. My outlook was not about how to avoid the foods that gave me the extra pounds, it was not about leaving the baked goods and sweets alone, rather it was my time to indulge.

Since I had started my journey to health more than two years ago, I have always kept in the back of my mind which foods to avoid and when. I even keep a little laminated card in my wallet for when I go to the grocery store of foods to buy. I made a conscious choice to maintain discipline this past year and did for the most part, except, of course, for my cheat meals. So, as the Christmas get-togethers approached, I was not worried to any large extent, I indulged. My fiancé and I even had a weigh-in to see who could put on the most weight over a five day period.

            Now that may sound like a bit of a left turn for my norm, but I know I can take it right back off and continue on my journey. Of course, I dominated her with a 7 pound weight gain, 3 of which were gone a day later. And actually as I right this article I am about 5 pounds heavier that a week and a half ago. Not too bad for a weight gain huh?

            My outlook, however, is not bleak, nor is it to the point where I feel I need to change my whole life. Right now, all I have to do is get back into my routine, do a bit more cardio starting out to get rid of the extra weight gain and continue on my course.

            It seems that this outlook, however unrealistic it may seem, has really alleviated much of the stress about weight and body image I have had in my past. It was much more relaxed and guilt-free, much more enjoyable, and much more fun. I would highly recommend that your resolution is to start a journey to the next holiday season, whatever your holidays may be, and use it as a reward for hard work and dedication.

            As I rub my little belly, I encourage you…it IS possible… you CAN do it… YOU decide to do it and DO IT!

THE DIET HABIT 

Changing your diet, which can be your worst ‘habit’, is like doing everything opposite handed. Try relearning how to write with your opposite hand, or using the mouse on your computer with the other hand. It’s a habit we have learned and one that would be almost impossible to change overnight. It takes the same mental concentration to change your diet as it would to learn to do these things in your daily life opposite handed or in reverse.

            The dietary supplement industry is a 14 billion dollar per year industry. I am only responsible for about half of that total. For a while during my weight loss journey I did believe the hype of a ‘quick fix’ pill. I mean, it took me only a short time to put on the weight; taking if off should take the same amount of time, right? Not even close. I even did the thing where I would wake up after taking the pill the day before to see if there was change. I would jump on the scale hoping there were 5 pounds magically gone over night. As if a love handle went, poof!  Lifting up your shirt, flexing your abs, and sucking in sometimes gives us false hope, well, most of the time. Yet, we do not want to face reality and change our reality. It is hard to admit that we let ourselves go and now have to work it all off in a painful manner. Making yourself eat healthy and go to the gym everyday is so against the norm and has become a taboo in social standards. I am sure all

of you know the ‘workout freak’. Who wants to be that guy/girl? I will admit that I am that person, but this is now, not then.

After many failed pills, supplements, and what I thought were great diets, I went back to my training and education. I remember thinking about how I had fallen into the trap that so many people today do with dietary supplements. I thought about how the solution was in my hands the whole time. I had the key to unlocking what was under the layer of fat and Buffalo Wild Wings that had become my body. If I were to look at the layers of fat I had like a cross section of earthly layers, I would see a layer of beer, a layer of fast food, one harsh winter with a long lazy period lasting two years, and finally, the oil or my blood that needed a good long cleaning. May a rainy season to wash it out?
            The key was my choices. The things I chose to eat daily and the exercise I had decided was too difficult had to change. The combination of the two was to become my diet pill, my solution, and my soon to come way of life that would get me to where I am today. Now I am sure you are all sick of hearing how I have made my goal, how "YOU CAN TOO!", and how I make it sound so easy.

            I had a very hard time breaking my habits. Most of the time I tapped out or submitted to my favorite foods and continued the bad habits. They had a hold of me. What was making me return to pay these fattening foods a visit, the very same foods that made me fat? What was underneath all this laziness that had never been around my life? I could not figure out why this habit was being so hard to take control of; I had to figure it out.

Mine was fairly easy for me to figure out. I am stubborn, plain and simple. Just like I decided I was mad about not making the NFL and was going to rebel like a teenager, I decided I was going to have muscles again. This long journey has reassured me of how strong willed and determined I can be. But that is a choice, just like I would decide to go to Burger King and get a mound of ketchup with my meal; I decided to eat a Subway instead. It was on my own shoulders to make the right choices daily, me and only me. Just like you choose how to spend your money, you can choose how to spend it on your meals. What you get for that purchase is up to you, and how you feel and look will reflect your own spending habits.

            A few good things that helped along the way that may help you as well; The Abs Diet, by David Zinczenko and a ton of Men’s Health magazines,  I also researched and reread my textbooks from college. Of course, this was also around the time I found Real Gainz online.  Knowledge was my back-up and ammunition against my eating habits. Make your choices your power, learn about eating healthy, try new ideas, and see how your own body reacts. This is a process or a journey and not an easily reversed problem; it takes time and has to involve you changing your lifestyle.

I wish you all well and will keep you posted on my own progress. I am cutting weight as we speak and will have pictures soon.  Good luck and remember it IS possible… you CAN do it… YOU decide to do it and DO IT!

WAKE UP!