The Fountain of Youth.
As I make my way to the gym, I have about 15 minutes of driving to contemplate on my training. Today was going to be a brutal chest workout, plus calves, middle abs, and cardio. I find it’s better for me to start my training with a mental image and get myself prepared. It gets me in the right mindset. With my new program, I find myself strong in the first 2-3 exercises. Then, muscle fatigue sets and my weight slowly starts to drop. The weight drop doesn’t bother me, as long as I know I’m keeping good form and focusing on the muscle group, it’s all good! I have to admit though, when I’m lifting that heavy weight when my muscles are fresh, it feels fantastic, a nice ego boast. I was able to go up in weight for my final DB Pull Overs, 45lb DB for 6 reps.
It was awkwardly dead in the gym today. Did anyone make New Year’s resolutions this year? It seems like last year, people were on this health kick, as if it were some fad. I expected my gym to be buzzing with new comers. That hasn’t happened. I hope that being healthy and training wasn’t “just a fad”. It’s sad to see people so out of shape. I wish they could peer into their future, maybe 10 years later, and see their health status. I bet that will certainly open their eyes and help change their habits. No one’s perfect and even the best of us cheat from time to time. The saying “all in moderation” is a misunderstanding to some. I have a friend that tried to eat clean. But when those sweets, or junk passes by, they will eat it and think since it’s been awhile that they ate chocolate cake, or had ice cream, etc. it’s okay since it’s in moderation. Well, if you consume a different “moderation” everyday just because you haven’t eaten it in a while doesn’t make it okay. Remember in elementary school when they taught the basic food groups? The saying you are what you eat? It’s time we all go back to those basics. Every athlete has a different kind of food group they need to consume to meet their goals. High endurance athletes need a higher carb consumption to give them that energy. Bodybuilders need higher protein to help build muscles. So what about those every day, normal people who aren’t involved in a sport? A balance between proteins and carbs are needed. It’s amazing the difference you see when you cut out those processed foods and sugars, and keep to clean whole foods. Our society is so influenced by super sizing, that people don’t even know what a normal sized meal portion is. Even our coffee houses get into the action…tall, grande, or a venti? And half of those drinks are made with heavy cream and loaded with flavored syrups and sugar! I guess what fired me up about this topic is when I noticed the empty gym today even after the New Year. Then sitting there at my daughter’s gymnastics listening to the mom’s yell at their children to go out there and train harder. All the while, they sit in their seats, munching on their 7-11 snacks and drinking soda or frappachinos.
*Sorry for venting.*
So….Make a change today…start out small if you have to. If that means you’ll pass on that coffee house drink and have a plain coffee, or skip the soda and go with water. Instead of getting chips out of the office vending machine, pack some fruit. Make a difference for yourself. The real fountain of youth is all in your diet and training program.
