Adventures In Lawnmowing

I hate mowing the lawn. It was my job as a kid, I hated it then, I hate it now. Of course it doesn't matter that I bought a house with a huge lawn...I'm really not that smart. Anyway...this is what mowing the lawn usually turns out to be for me.

I have 2 lawnmowers: one is easy, light, no bells and whistles. The other is one of these huge green things with the bag you have to empty every 5 minutes, self propelled at a wheelie-popping pace. I don't usually use that one.

So it's lawnmowing day. I get out there to start my nice easy mower. Won't start. I pull the starter cord. I pump the little suction ball thing I figure wizards must have put on these things to aid in starting (I don't know what its for..its all magic to me) and try again. Nothing. I pull. I curse. I remember the guy next door has kids. I do the half-cursing thing.  You know..."God firkafrack, Son of a muckarafa, Mothergagamarka," etc.

So I get the green monster mower and it starts right up. I make one pass down the side of the house and notice something sticky on my finger. It appears to be some type of bug wing so I peel it off. Ow, it feels like there's some type of stinger in my finger, so I pull at the corresponding area. Ow...still stingy. And then I do the smart thing and actually look at my finger. Not a bug wing.

I had pulled that starter cord so hard, so many times, I gave myself several blisters on my hand and the inside of my index finger. The bug wing was, in fact, this huge blister down the inside of my finger which, in my zeal, I had now pulled off. Really pulled off. "Is that muscle?" pulled off.

So I finished that side of the house - only 3 or 4 up and down trips, stop, pull the cord on the light, unstarting mower I wanted to use in the first place and it starts right up. The riding mower I use for the back started right up. Time to edge. I pull the cord on the light small edger I have and the cord stays right there in my hand. Sigh.

Yes, I have another edger. A Parks and Recreation castoff that has 4 wheels and you have to stand on the back wheel and pull the cord straight up to get it started. Which it did. I wrestled that around the yard for a bit. Needless to say there was no yard cleanup that day, no raking, no sweeping, no nothing.

Man, I hate mowing the lawn.

Joe

Results Take Time!

I've been seeing quite a few posts on the Beachbody message boards lately saying things like:

"I'm on week 3 and haven't lost any weight" or
"I'm 3 days in and haven't changed" or
"I weigh myself everyday and the scale hasn't moved."

My response is always the same - Its not called P21X for a reason! It's not "Insanity - the 7 day body makeover" for a reason.

Results take time. That is one of the immutible laws of fitness. One must be realistic. If you come in weighing 280lbs and want to get ripped in 90 days...well...that may not happen. I guarantee you'll make amazing progress but it may take you another 90 days..and possibly another. Results take time + consistency + effort!

Tony Horton (Mr. P90X himself) says in one of the first P90X DVD's you'll do that "Rome wasn't built in a day and neither was your body!" It took you some time to get where you are, it's just going to take some time to get where you want to be.

Give yourself the time and you will give yourself the results.

Now go Push Play!

Replace One Meal a Day - Healthily!

I cannot recommend this highly enough! I drink it everyday so you know it has to be great! To learn more click here for Shakeology!

Monkey See, Monkey Do

I'm sure by now we all know the basic principles behind doing the P90X, or Insanity, etc programs - put in the DVD, push play, and follow along. You lose weight, get in shape, change your life...well, the benefits are astounding.

However...you sort of have to do the exercises the way they're doing them on the screen! If you're supposed to do 1-2-3's, don't just run willy nilly from side to side! If you're supposed to do knee/back kick with the right leg don't do a knee with the left and a side kick with the right!

Well, you get the idea. One of the things you hear a lot in these programs is "Form is fundamental." It's true. Do it right to prevent injury and make the greatest strides in your personal health and fitness. I understand if you can't straighten your leg because you're not very flexable (like me), or, heck, even have one leg, but Shaun T (Mr. Insanity) has said, "Don't tell me you can do 100 switch kicks and then be doing them wrong!"

So try to do the moves as best you can.

Monkey out!

Joe

Don't Be An American Idle!

I'm sure you've noticed, in our celebrity obsessed culture, that we're constantly watching these people walk down the red carpet at some gala. Or at an awards show. Or at some premire, charity event, convention, or other public venue.

You ever notice what these people are not doing? They're not at home watching TV! They may be on the television but very few ever watch it! That's how most of them became so successful - they got up and went out to grab what they wanted. I'm sure that hard work was true in every case...well, I suppose we can take those Jersery Shore, Teen Mom, and other reality show "stars" off the list.

What I'm trying to get at is no one sees the years of hard work that leads up to being an overnight sensation. No one sees the countless hours of throwing a football by the star quarterback. No one talks about the hockey superstar who spent years on the ice after the rink closed to practice. No one mentions the hours and nights spent in class, on the field, in the studio. Its these little things no one sees or talks about that leads to success, wealth, stardom, etc.

They weren't watching hours of television everyday. They were up and out.

They weren't idle!

Joe

Video Friday!

 This is what I'm doing to help others reach their fitness goals so they may lead healthy, fulfulling lives. Beachbody is a People Helping People company dedicated to ending the trend of obesity in the United States. Learn more here and join me!

A Rambling Wednesday

I got behind in my workouts for a few days so I had the bright idea to do doubles to catch up. It was only four workouts so I knew 2-a-days were doable.

So Monday I did two - one in the morning and one in the afternoon. No worries...I am much man! Tuesday I did the next two back to back because I had a Fit Club to go to that night. For those not in the know, a Fit Club is just a group of Beachbody Coaches and interested others who get together to do a workout from the Beachbody catalog of exercise programs - P90X, Insanity, Turbo Fire, RevAbs, etc.

At Fit Club we did Insanity: Pure Cardio and Resistance. Ouch. Believe me, there were a few times I thought the Shakeology I had a couple hours before was going to make an appearance! Sweat flew. The group groaned. There was cursing (me). And a few tears (me again).

And I still thought it was fun!

Something wrong with me - seriously wrong with me! Although I learned my lesson - Stick to the schedule and don't get behind again!

Joe

Dedicate It!

I've written to you before that no one can do it for you. You are responsible for your current levels of health and fitness. You are responsible for getting out there and working out. You have to do it.

Now I want to ask you: Who are you doing it for? Why are you doing this? Who are you dedicating your workouts to?

First, I know you're doing it for yourself. You want to be in better health. You want to be fit. You want to look good in that bathing suit, or cocktail dress, or you finally want abs, or do a decent pull-up.

But now I need you to think - who else needs you to be fit? Your spouse, your kids, your friends, even your pets! They need you to be healthy. They Need You! I know of one woman who's children said to her, "Mommy, please stop smoking because we don't want you to die!" Ouch! I'm happy to say she completely transformed her life and health. In fact, I get into arguments with people because she doesn't even look like the same person!

So dedicate your workouts to those that matter. Tell yourself "I'm working out today for my wife so I'll be here for her for a long time." Do it for your kids.

Do it for yourself.

Dedicate it!