Patience is a Virtue- Goals

When you don't achieve your goals right away, don't get discouraged. Transformations take time. When you are making goals it is important that you pick realistic timelines for completion. Your goals need to have a specific timeline as well. If you create a goal and say, "I'm going to achieve (blah blah) sometime in the next 3 months" you lose all credibility for that goal. You'r making it easy for yourself to put it off until the last month. Instead, say, "On this date (blah blah)  I will achieve (blah blah)." Set a realistic goal at a point that is challenging yourself a little but not too hard to accomplish. If you set a three month goal, and you don't achieve what you want after 3 weeks, you cannot get discouraged and just quit. You need to have determination and stay patient, results will follow. This advice can be used in any type of goals. Use it for your goals today.



Today's Workout-

3x5 Close Grip Bench
3x5 Squat
2x12 Skull Crushers
2x5 Dead Lift
2x8 One Arm Tricep Extension
2x8 Two Arm Tricep Extension
2x12 Tricep Pushdown

Abs-
2x20 Plate Twists
2x30 second Front- Side- Side Planks

Don't Be a Slave to Your Scale

A scale can be a very beneficial tool used in your weight loss/ weight gain goals when used efficiently. You cannot however base where you want to end up on a number on that scale. If you do this, it can lead to you to be disappointed because your hard work isn't getting that number lower. If your body looks better, YOU'RE GETTING SOMEWHERE. Who cares about that number on the scale. I personally weigh myself multiple times a day. This is mostly because of my obsession with how much and for how long things I put in my body affect my body weight. It's okay for me to see what my weight is whenever I want because I don't let it bother me if I'm not where I want to be. I know there are many reasons why the scale might not react to my efforts right away and I am okay with that. My goals are to look better, feel better, and be healthier. I use the scale as a helpful tool rather than let it get me down. It is always nice to look at the scale after a workout and hit a new low you've never hit before. YES I know it's water weight, but if I make a surprise jump down a few pounds it feels good. If you can't just listen to the positives the scale tells you and forget about the negative results, weigh yourself once a week. IF you're more confident, weigh yourself whenever you want. I know that if I keep working hard I'll get to where I want to be, whether or not a scale is telling me I'm getting there. So don't be a slave to your scale, use it as a tool, use it to better yourself and don't forget to take it with a grain of salt.

Excellence- My thoughts

The word excellence by definition means the quality of being outstanding or extremely good. I think about how I can attribute to my excellence each and every day. If you are not working towards your own excellence, then you are working against it. There are only 24 hours in the day, and 8-10 of those hours are recommended to be spent sleeping. That gives you 16 to do with as you wish. 16 hours to either hurt your excellence or propel you towards your excellence. Don't waste your potential, we all have it, it just comes down to who wastes more of it. I was having a conversation with a close friend today and I was talking to him about how I could help myself achieve what I want by making a simple decision. It would only help a little and I wasn't sure if I should because of that. He told be, "at least it's better than doing nothing." Those words clicked. If you have a chance to do something to better your position, or propel yourself towards your excellence, take it. Whether it's a bottle rocket sized propulsion or smaller. It will still benefit you. I read an article today that talked about this quote, "The best time to plant an apple tree was 20 years ago, the second best time is today." You can't go back 20 years. Do what you should have years ago today because you don't want to have to regret not making a move later. Go make a move today to help you get to where you want to be tomorrow.

Today's Workout- Power Clean/ Curl Day

2x 15 Gorilla/ Hammer Curls

3x6 Bicep Pull Down

2x5 Power Clean

4x5 Straight bar curl

3x10 Box Jumps

3x8 Straight Leg Dead Lift

2x5 Hang Clean 

Abs- Plate Dips/ Plate Twists   2x20

Squats and Triceps

      Great combo right? Today's workout had me feeling nauseous most of the time. I kind of screwed up when I took my pre-workout compared to the last food intake I had, and that could have played a role in my nauseousness. Or it could have just been that it was the first time that I squatted to leg fatigue rather than knee fatigue in the last 8 months. It felt great, even though I felt like I was going to pass out after. I can't stress how good that makes me feel though. Every time I squat to that extreme I get a rush of energy running through me for the rest of the day. I get that workout high from squatting and that's why I like it.

Remember that compound exercises (exercises that use more than one muscle and joint) burn more calories and get better results with less reps. Another thing to keep in mind is that when you use your lower body in a lift you burn a lot more calories than upper body lifts. This is because your legs are (or should be) bigger than your upper body. Working your legs hard is better for fat loss than only working your upper body. If you want to get a better body faster, go do some squats. Do it.

You don't need to go to a gym to do squats. Do body weight squats, Grab something heavy around the house and hold that and squat. There are tons of ways to get around going to the gym. Utilize these ways.


Today's workout-

3x8 Close Grip Bench
2x10 Parallel Squats
2x10 Sumo Squat Jumps
2x10 Skull Crushers
2x8 Straight Leg Deadlift
2x10 Step-ups
2xFail Dips
2x10 Overhead Tricep Extensions
2x10 Tricep Pushdown

Abs
2x24 Plate Twist
2x24 Plate Oblique Dips
2x30 Three-way Planks

Pole Sculpt Review and Today's Workout

Pole Sculpt Review

Yesterday I went to try out the "Pole Sculpt" Class at the same place that I do ZUMBA. Going into it, I was nervous that I was going to have to spin around and such, like a stripper. I wasn't really excited for that idea and was happy when she explained that we wouldn't be spinning around like a stripper and would be climbing and holding our body weight up in different ways to work different muscles. When we were starting the instructor told us that we could use some sticky wax to help keep our grip, at first I thought that I would be fine. I was wrong. We had just finished ZUMBA and I was really sweating it up. I put the grip on and it helped quite a bit. It was still hard getting the hang of the grip techniques to prevent slipping and I was having a lot of trouble. The instructor said that eventually I would get much better and the gripping the pole would be easier. Looking past the grip aspect, the class was HARD. I could really feel the burn in my shoulders and arms as we were going along. My goal is to be able to do the flag (arms extended above your head with legs straight out horizontally) eventually so I will be going to these classes as much as possible. It was a good time and I would suggest it to anyone who wants to work hard at something.


The last few days I have been doing workouts twice a day and I've been feeling great. On Monday I went to the playground with a friend who is joining the army and we made up a workout on the spot and it turned out to be a really good workout. You don't need to go to a gym to get a workout. Just crossing the monkey bars can be a really good workout. You can do push-ups and pull-ups and dips and all sorts of exercises on playground equipment that you would normally do in gym. If you want to succeed, you have to be willing to do things that are out of your norm. Don't make excuses, you can go workout.


Today's Workout-


2 rotations of Max
          -Wide grip pullups, Narrow pullups, neutral grip pullups
3x10 Lat Pull Down
3x10 Lat Hammerstrength Row
3x8  Bent-over Rows
2x20 Back Extensions
2x 30 second Supermans

I'm about to go for a nice jog, I plan on running more and more to work my knee so that I can eventually run as much as I want without being sore. That's my goal right now.

Daily Workout-Power Clean Day and Zumba Review

Power Clean Day-

       ZUMBA Review

    Last night I attended my first ZUMBA class and, to say the least, it was interesting. It had me sweating pretty quickly. It reminded me that I can't even pretend to dance, yet it was fun trying. My legs were burning after only a little bit. Now that I think about it, I probably got a better workout out of it because jumping movements are really hard for me still most of the time. The answer to the question "Were you the only guy?" is yes, I was. It was a little awkward but it felt like a good enough workout that it's worth going to. I feel as though it will help me with my rehab to get back to being able to hop, jump, and cut. My knee was very sore from all the hopping movements that are all over in the class. I feel that if I go a few more times I will be able to actually do all the movements rather than just getting a little overwhelmed in my inability to dance. I would definitely go again. Even if I feel awkward shaking my hips around. 

  Today I had my last therapy and worked really hard there and then went and had a great workout with some varsity football players. I forgot how much I like to Power Clean. There isn't many exercises that make me feel the same way as when I Power Clean. My legs get tired and my arms get droopy, but it makes me feel great afterwards. It was a great day for working out and my body feels fantastic. Check out everything I did between my two workouts below. 

  As I'm still working on how to get the page with exercise descriptions up and running. The link below is a link to show how to properly do a Power Clean.

http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/OlympicLifts/PowerClean.html

Today's Workouts-

     

    Therapy-

       Do everything for as long as possible

       

       Bosu Ball Squats

       Bosu Ball Squat Medicine Ball catches

       Bosu Ball Side and Front Lunges

       Box Toe Taps

       Box Jumps

   Workout-

   

     2x8 Power Clean

     4x5 Straight Bar Curls

     Abs

          2x20 Plate twists, 2x20 Plate dips, 2x 30 Second Front, Side, Side Plank.

     Hang Clean Progession (Shrugs, Upright Rows, Hang Clean)

     2x Fail Gorilla Curls/ Hammer Curls

     3x10 Straight Leg Dead Lifts

       

Bench DAYYYYYYYYY! and Legs

Bench Day, and some Legs.

     Today was bench day, my favorite day of the week. Everything went alright.. I failed on my last rep but besides that everything went well. I didn't get quite as much weight as I wanted to get but it felt like it was an alright for the amount that I've benched in the last few weeks. My knee felt great doing the workouts I did today. When it gets sore, it doesn't stay sore for as long as it had in the past. I think I'm coming to the homestretch on my recovery. I ran a little bit after lifting and my knee still feels fine. In a little while I am going to be attending my first real ZUMBA class of my life. I'm a little worried, I think it'll be fun. I'm not really sure how great of a workout it will be, but I think that I am always willing to try anything. My mom just signed my sister and I up for unlimited fitness classes for the next 2 months. Classes include Yoga, Zumba, Core, Pilates and Pole Sculpt classes. I intend to try all of them so be watching for updates on how they go. Have any of you tried any of these types of classes and have a review of how they are? Comment below. :) P.s. Thanks Mom :)

    I am still working out how to get the page with descriptions of each workout up. I've hit a few roadblocks that I have to maneuver around. For now, if you don't know what a lift is check out.http://www.exrx.net/Exercise.html or google the exercise name with "description" after it and pick the exrx link. Very helpful website with tons of information.




Today's Workout-

3x 10  Platform Step ups
Abs
   -V Situps
   -Leg in and outs
3x 10/8/6 Bench Press
3x8 Front Squat
3x10 Hammer Strength Dead Lift
2x 20 Incline and Decline Pushups


I'm off to go Zumba. (Can Zumba be a verb?) I will have an update on my opinions of it tomorrow. Wish me luck. Lots and lots and lots of luck.