How bad do you want it?
I’ve been asked this question numerous times recently when I’ve been lifting and have wanted to give up.
It always manages to amp me up just enough to push hard until the end even when I thought I had nothing left to give.
It even got me through my workout on Friday – and I literally almost skipped the workout because my body was just so tired.
I was bruised and beaten down. Just about every muscle was sore. I was on the verge of being completely overtrained.
And I talk a lot about NOT overtraining. But there are some points where you just have to give everything you’ve got and more.
There are going to be the rare times, like when training for competition, when you might have to overload your body to really get the results you want.
This overload isn’t prolonged. At most it is a couple of weeks. But still…those weeks leave you feeling destroyed and sometimes even emotionally drained.
But you push through knowing that the harder you work, the bigger the payoff in the end.
You push yourself because you know this isn’t the norm.
You fight even when you want to give up.
You prove how bad you want it.
Now I ask you, when is the last time you wanted something so bad that you fought through sweat, blood and tears?
When was the last time you pushed until you really had nothing left to give?
Never?
Well than maybe you just haven’t yet found something worth fighting for.
In my opinion though, being fit and strong and healthy is sometimes worth the pain. It is worth sometimes feeling like the odd man out because you aren’t indulging in junk food at the party. It is worth sometimes going to the gym even when you just want to go home.
It is worth a little sweat, blood and tears.
Do you?
I love the high carb days!
So right now Ryan and I are doing a carb cycling experiment and so far I LOVE it. ABSOLUTELY LOVE!
Also, I’ve seen great results over just about two weeks. We will see how things continue over the next month or so.
But anyway, one of the things I love the most is that I can now add in one of my favorite meals that I used to make when Ryan and I did our low-fat (ICK!) experiment.
FRIED RICE….or at least my version of the dish!
We’d stopped eating fried rice because we used soy sauce in it and soy sauce has gluten in it.
We also stopped making the dish because we in general preferred to get our carbs from fruits and veggies.
HOWEVER, I’ve found that I feel better during my intense workouts when I consume a few more carbs so I started to add back in potatoes and rice. This summer I even went through a big homemade corn tortilla phase, which I’ve now grown out of.
Anyway, since we started adding in more carbs, I started to want to make the Fried Rice again since I’d loved the dish.
Which is when we found Organic Tamari, which replaces soy sauce and has no gluten. YUM!
I now make this dish as often as I can. We literally have had it every single high carb day during our carb cycling!
With a little chicken or fish and the gluten-free Tamari, this is a great lower fat, high carb meal…that is still perfectly Primal!
Below is the recipe. I hope you enjoy it as much as Ryan and I do!
Fried Rice
Ingredients:
1 lbs chicken breasts
2 cups uncooked white rice
3 chopped green onions
1 cup bean sprouts
2 eggs
1 tbsp sesame oil
1/4 cup Tamari
Cook the rice based on the directions on the package. We usually get the “slow” cooking rice but that is up to you.
Chop up the chicken and cook it in a separate pan. Once the chicken is basically cooked, add in bean sprouts and green onions. Add cooked rice to meat mixture. Put in sesame oil and Tamari.
Make sure the heat is up on your pan so you can get a little crisp to the rice.
Then make two holes in the mixture and crack an egg into each hole. Let the egg cook for a second before tossing the rice with both eggs.
Once everything is mixed, enjoy!
On our high carb days we keep our protein intake the same, but try to get no more than 50 grams of fat, which isn’t easy after being so used to eating high fat!
However, there are only 42 grams of fat if you eat ALL of the fried rice that the above recipe makes. This really should serve about 4-6.
(Picture to come tonight after I make it!!)
Also, a big shout out to Epic! Awesome training session today! Haven’t climbed a rope in a while. Also got to experience my first faux knife fight! LOVE IT! You guys are awesome!
Cold Turkey
There are many ways to go about creating a healthy diet change.
The most common is the cold turkey approach.
When people do this, they literally cut out all bad food and start a new completely clean diet. They quit “cold turkey.”
For some people this really works.
For others…well they can’t maintain it and end up back where they started usually in only a few short months if not weeks.
For many the widely accepted cold turkey approach just doesn’t work.
But you have to know yourself to know what kind of approach is going to work best for you. Do you know?
Have you tried the cold turkey approach before and had the diet fail?
Maybe it wasn’t the diet that didn’t work. Maybe it was the go all in, drastic change approach that was the problem.
So maybe you aren’t a cold turkey kind of person. That doesn’t mean you can’t change your lifestyle! You just need to try a different approach!
Another great way to start a healthier lifestyle is to make small changes. I’ve talked about this approach before and I’ve found that, all in all, it works best when you aren’t looking for a quick fix but a true lifestyle change.
How does it work?
Basically, you make small changes until you’ve found a combination of healthy and unhealthy that you can handle that will get you the results you want. The combination that usually works to get great results, while keeping you from going insane, is 80% clean and 20% cheat. (Reaching 80/20 is the goal not what you should necessarily start out with…Perfect IS NOT the goal…80/20 is!)
Each week or two you try to cut out one bad thing slowly and replace it with something good. For instance, if you drink soda, you could start by cutting out all soda for the week (go cold turkey) OR you could simply cut out one soda per day for the first week and then all soda three days a week the next week and so forth until you’ve removed all soda from your diet except for the occasional cheat!
This can honestly be done with anything. It can even be done in terms of adding in good things! Like even if you really don’t like veggies, maybe you start by adding in veggies to one meal every other week. Then one meal every day. Then two meals every day…and so forth.
Small changes add up quickly!
And usually when you make small changes, they really really take root! You’ve actually TAUGHT yourself to live with the new lifestyle.
Sometimes when you go cold turkey, you get sick of the diet. And so you cheat. But most of the time, you can’t get yourself to go back to that super strict diet and so you fall off the wagon until you find another diet to try and go cold turkey with that!
Most of the time when people go cold turkey they seek perfection!
When you make small changes, you aren’t looking for perfection. You are looking to become better – to become healthier!
So next time you start a diet, think about making small changes instead of going cold turkey. Don’t seek perfection! Remember the 80/20 rule!
Act as if
So one of the things that really stuck with me from the Training for Warriors course was the statement “act as if.”
Martin mentioned that “you will become what you act.”
I live by this statement.
I truly believe that if you “act” confident/strong/happy you will BE confident/strong/happy.
It doesn’t happen overnight.
It takes time…It takes action.
I’ve said it before….you’ve got to fake it till you make it.
If you want to actually be confident, you’ve got to act the part.
It means telling yourself everyday about the great things that you do. It means presenting a confident appearance to those around you. It means FAKING the confidence.
And before you know it, you won’t be faking it. Somewhere along the way, you will fall for your own story. You will actually start BEING confident.
It sounds strange, but what you are actually doing is fooling yourself into believing something, which in turn ends up making it true.
You aren’t lying to yourself. You aren’t just telling yourself, “Oh I’m so confident.”
You are actually acting the part. You are standing tall. Walking with confidence. Speaking with confidence.
You are fooling yourself into believing in yourself because you are ACTING the part.
You are faking the confidence, putting on the act, until you finally realize that it is no longer an act – You’ve gotten to be the person you’ve wanted and worked to be!
So whatever your resolution for this new year is, don’t give up yet. Take a new approach.
Want to be a person who lives a healthy lifestyle? Tell yourself you are and start doing things that a person who lives a healthy style would do.
Soon you won’t be acting the part. Soon you will be committed to being that healthy person!
Fake it till you make it!
All talk?
Do you love talking about health and fitness?
Yes?
Do you love to find the latest trend and read about it and go all gung-ho for like three days and give up?
WELL STOP!
I feel like over the past few years I’ve met a ton of people who seem to like TALKING about healthy eating and working out, but that DON’T actually do it.
And those are the same people who wonder why they aren’t getting results.
Sorry but talking about being healthy doesn’t make you health.
You’ve got to actually WORK AT IT.
You’ve got to PRACTICE what you preach.
I don’t sit on the couch eating chips and bread as I tell you to eat only meat and veggies.
I don’t ask anyone to do something that I haven’t done before or am not willing to do myself.
I don’t try a new diet or workout program AND RAVE ABOUT IT only to give up on it a few days later.
Every guideline, every recipe, every workout or tip I’ve written about I’ve tried…And believed in.
As with everything, I’ve evolved. I haven’t given up…I’ve just found better ways of doing things.
So what I’m saying is…
For one, you’ve got to actually give something a try. You can’t just get all pumped about a new diet and talk about it to everyone. And rave about how great it is going for the first week only to give up because of some dumb excuse the next week.
For two, once you give something a try…like really give it a chance to find out if it works, you CAN’T stick with it after it has PROVEN not to work for you.
Basically I’m telling you that you can’t just talk about being healthy or rave about something that isn’t getting you results.
And if you want results, you’ve got to give your diet and exercise experiments a chance to prove if they work. At least a month is needed of strict adherence to know if that program works for you.
On the flip side, if you want results, you also can’t stick with something that you’ve tried and hasn’t work. You can’t just stick with something because it worked for someone else. Don’t just keep following something like a drone. Think about it!
Anyway, the point is that you won’t get results by just talking about being healthy. You’ve actually got to go after it. You’ve got to try things…and I mean really try them. You’ve got to find things that work and things that don’t work and you’ve got to keep growing and evolving.
So stop talking about getting fit and start DOING IT!
ZZZ….ZZZ….
Let me tell you a little secret…Actually it is the true key to success if you want to get stronger, fitter, healthier and happier….
GET MORE SLEEP!
Click on this cartoon for some more reasons why sleep is important!
That’s it…Get more sleep.
You don’t need any fancy supplements or to do crazy workouts or the latest diet fad.
All you need to do is get more sleep.
Don’t believe me? Think sleep is overrated?
Do you love to BRAG about how little sleep you’ve gotten and how much caffeine you’ve consumed?
Well stop. Because all you are bragging about is BEING STUPID. (And who really wants to brag about being an idiot?)
Anyway, if you could only do one thing this year to make yourself better, I would recommend that you get more sleep.
Sleep affects how well both your mind and body operate. If you think you are doing fine now on only 4 hours of sleep just think about how well you would do if you got the eight you needed!
Why settle for fine when you could be great!?!
Why not do everything you can to make your performance and your health better?
Because you supposedly don’t have time?
COME ON! You have time to sleep. You just don’t choose to MAKE time.
If you don’t believe me that you have the time to get enough sleep, take a look at your schedule. I bet you will find a ton of “time” that you are wasting on stuff that you could be using to get more sleep.
But then again…You have to VALUE sleep if you are going to make the effort to get more.
The question is, “How can you NOT value sleep?”
How can you not value something that makes your mind function better? I mean who doesn’t want to be more productive each day?
How can you not value something that improves your health and helps you lower your risk of heart disease? I mean who doesn’t want to live longer?
How can you not value something that helps your body prevent illness? I mean who doesn’t want a strong immune system so that you don’t get sick?
How can you not value something that makes all of your healthy eating finally pay off? I mean who wants to deprive themselves of delicious bad food all of the time if they aren’t losing weight and feeling great because of all the healthy, whole foods they are consuming?
How can you not value something that makes all your workouts worthwhile? I mean who doesn’t want their workouts to pay off because they aren’t giving their body enough rest and recovery to rebuild itself stronger than before?
So…How can you not value sleep?
I know I do. And that’s why I made some changes. So are you ready to make some changes?
Are you ready to really make all your dieting and hard work in the gym pay off?
THEN GET SOME SLEEP!
WHY!?!
So before the weekend I wrote a post about you PUSHING YOURSELF – about you MOTIVATING yourself.
I wrote that you need to motivate yourself if you really want to get the most out of any workout that you do. I wrote that you don’t need fancy moves or to do things at break-neck speed to have a great workout.
But I didn’t get into HOW you motivate yourself.
Then this weekend I attend a Training for Warriors certification course, which was absolutely amazing. (I’ve honestly never enjoyed a seminar so much! Anyway, more about the course later…)
But one thing I really want to discuss now after my post last week is what Martin Rooney said about motivating yourself….He said you have to have a big enough “WHY.”
Saw this on the Innovative Results facebook page and just had to steal it! 🙂
When you have a big enough reason as to WHY you should do something, you will do it.
So if you have a big enough reason WHY you should push yourself during a workout or WHY you should eat well, you are going to do it.
Which honestly makes perfect sense. Saying you want to be healthy or be in shape isn’t a clear WHY. There also is no TIMELINE in which you want to accomplish the goal so why work hard right now?
But a wedding or a competition or any other BIG EVENT is a great motivator because it does give you a reason, a WHY, you should be committed and work hard right now.
So then the question arises of, “How do you motivate yourself when there is no big event, BUT you still need to eat well and workout because you logically know it is the right thing to do and you want to live a long healthy life.”
How do you get that sense of urgency that a big event creates when realistically you are just trying to make healthy habits a way of life?
You create that big event. You don’t allow yourself to slack off and put things off. You set immediate and pressing goals that force you to get started!
They don’t have to be huge daunting goals they just have to be something that you can measure that have some sort of reward or consequence.
I know I definitely am more committed and focused when I have a “big” event. When I wanted to hit those VersaClimber mile-markers, I did everything I could to reach that goal. I stayed focused on working hard each and every workout. I made sure to do the proper recovery in between. I made sure to get enough sleep and to eat well EVEN when it meant not binging on Thanksgiving.
I had a big enough WHY. I didn’t just want to hit the mile-markers…I also wanted to be the first woman to do it at our gym, which meant that I couldn’t wait – I needed to start training and do it NOW.
I had a sense of urgency which made my reason for working out even more important – it gave me a big WHY that wouldn’t let me put off training and made me give everything I had each and every day.
So even if you don’t have a big event coming up, create one. Give yourself a real reason to do all the things you want or know you should do, but haven’t done.
Create “tests” at the end of each month to monitor your progress. Have weigh ins. Have performance evaluations. See if you can do better each and every time.
Heck maybe even add in a little competition. I know that when I’m competing against other people I definitely push harder!
Take a second and really hammer in WHY you should achieve some of the things you’ve been slacking on…like eating well or working out. You may just then get the results that you’ve always wanted!
You make the workout hard
So this month we’ve changed up our training a bit at the gym and have been on a new progression.
A “back to basics” progression.
And apparently a few people complained that it was “too easy.” Which honestly made my jaw drop.
I’ve done basically all of the workouts in the progression and I’m sore as all get out. There have even been a few that have made my legs want to give out or my food to come up.
The workouts in our progression…Easy?!?!?
HAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAH! NOPE!
But as I began to really watch people around me do the workouts with me, I realized one big thing….They weren’t pushing THEMSELVES.
They were used to a more complex workout that forced them to become fatigued and when we simplified it, they just didn’t know how to push themselves through simple moves.
They didn’t know how to challenge themselves with weight….or rest…or reps…or ANYTHING!
And the worst part is that being able to push yourself is the KEY to success!
Any success for that matter.
I can write someone up a workout and diet plan, but if they don’t do it when I’m not there to push them….well they won’t make near the progress they could.
They need to be able to PUSH THEMSELVES.
Anyway, so I was watching people cruise through the same workout that was literally destroying me….And it started to piss me off.
Why are they wasting their time using weights that are way too light? Or why are they doing only 10 reps when they could do 12? How can they complain that crawling is easy when their butts are way up in the air!?!
And then I realized another key thing…Most people don’t really know what it means to push themselves. Their workouts have to be an hour long or they have to do some crazy moves to be satisfied that they got a great workout because they can’t challenge themselves enough with a simple squat.
Well let me just clarify something right here…YOU DON’T NEED FANCY MOVES OR HOURS OF WORKING OUT TO GET IN A KILLER WORKOUT!
You just need to make sure that you are challenging yourself with weights and reps and even rest times. You just need to make sure that you are doing moves correctly and getting the most out of them.
Not to ramble or side track, but let’s just pause a moment to think of a move that most people do incorrectly – THE PUSH UP.
Most people don’t do the push up….They do the worm.
Their core is flopping around and the have scapular winging and their heads are jutting forward and their arms are out at some odd angle.
Found this on a crossfit website…The caption they had is that she is “working on her push ups.” I really hope someone corrected this form….OUCH…Sorry chica.
So of course they aren’t getting the most out of the move.
BUT neither are those guys who do keep a decent push up line but only move up and down an inch when they do their push ups.
THOSE DON’T COUNT! Think push ups are easy…THEN DO A FULL ONE! Lock your arms out at the top and hit your chest to the ground!!!
And then if that is too easy, PROGRESS THE MOVE. Move your feet up to a chair. Add a weight to your back.
Don’t just whine that it is easy and think you need to be doing some other fancy move.
MAKE THE MOST OUT OF SIMPLE MOVES!
Anyway, I’ve ranted enough. I’m just sick of hearing about how a workout is too easy because if you give a workout 100% effort, trust me….It won’t be easy!
So try this workout and REALLY REALLY give it everything you’ve got.
WARM UP
SAQ x5 rounds with a little rest in between each
Ladder ICKY Shuffle
Zigzag cone shuffle
Lateral step and throws x6 reps
REST
STRENGTH x5 rounds with little rest in between each round
Sandbag pull throughs x 8 each side
Sandbag Zercher lateral lunges x 8 each side
Circle crawls x 10
CONDITIONING x 5 at least double the rest to work
Sidewinders 25 seconds on as fast as you can
(The last can be subbed for any full body “sprint” activity for 25 seconds if you don’t have ropes)
This workout left me fatigued and sore. And I only did 8 reps on two of the strength things when many people did more. It is all about choosing a weight that you want to give up on before you’ve completed all your reps. Like with the lunges…I wanted to give up around 6 reps….Like literally just wanted to drop the bag and NEVER pick it up again! BUT choosing a challenging weight DOESN’T mean choosing a weight that you can’t use correct form with.
Anyway…CHALLENGE YOURSELF! Take a seemingly “easy/simple” workout and really focus on doing everything perfectly. Really choose a weight that makes your muscles scream. Push yourself to rest less or do more reps. PUSH YOURSELF!
Man Bicep 