Category: Health and Fitness

Oh List of 30 before 30, why do you pressure me so? Once something is written down on the list, I feel compelled to complete it. I guess this is why the list was formed in the first place, right?

Number 22 on my list is to complete at least 5 rounds of P90X.

First of all, here is my shameless plug for Beachbody products: they’re awesome! Specifically, I’ve completed 3 rounds of P90X (each round is 90 days long with workouts 6 days a week) and half a round of Insanity. This past Monday, I started my 4th round of P90X. A google search of these programs will return TONS of information on them, either from the official website (www.beachbody.com) or from countless blogs and youtube videos with AMAZING success stories. This posting is more about my motivation for doing these programs and my decision to make health and fitness a priority in my life.

So what made me decide to do P90X in the first place? Well, the program has been all the craze! And if you’ve seen the informercial, it’s no secret that it’s not a get fit fast plan.  Instead, it requires a ton of work, dedication and commitment, after which you’ll be ‘ripped in 90 days’ (which is pretty quick, so maybe it is a get fit fast plan!). Of course, even if you follow the program exactly, you may not get the results like you see on TV, or like some of the incredible transformations you can find on youtube. Everyone’s body type is different. Mesomorphs, for example, can have that muscularly defined athletic look, but can also gain weight easily should they lead a sedentary life. In terms of males, they are those guys at the gym that look all ripped and awesome and can bench press double my weight and have ridiculously built chests. I, on the other hand, happen to be more of an ectomorph: slim, with a lower percentage of body fat, but also an inability to gain muscle mass easily (it’s not impossible, but it definitely takes longer). The good thing, however, is that it’s also difficult for me to gain fat. In either case, for whichever body type, the program can be successful as long as you put in the work and follow a fairly strict diet! Before I started the program, I always wondered if it would actually give me significant results. The answer is yes, I did get significant results (p < 0.001). (Oh yeah, I TOTALLY just put in a significant p-value!)

I’m always my own worst critic. When I wake up in the morning, look in the mirror, give myself the wink and the gun and say “Hey. Yeah you. You’re alright!”, right before fireworks come shooting out of my nipples, there’s always that other part of me that isn’t quite happy with everything I see despite my sheer awesomeness. Let’s face it: for our own reasons, I’m sure we all struggle with body image insecurities. Now, I don’t want to say that I struggle with my weight, because that is not the case, and some may say I’m ludicrous to even suggest that I do. But for a long time, I just wasn’t in good shape… I was tired, lazy, and lethargic. I didn’t exercise, and I didn’t eat healthy. This probably describes most of my university life, since my head was in the books most of the time. Every year, like most people, I made resolutions to become more fit. I wanted to run more, or do some strength training, or join some athletic anything to force me to be more active. But then it would only last so long. I remember hiring a personal trainer back in 2007, and in a very short time, I saw some substantial gains in my overall fitness level and strength. But then I fell off the wagon… and kind of realized I didn’t like going to the gym.

Then I started working in the stressful world of the Contract Research Organization. Even though I very much enjoyed working with data from pharmaceutical drug trials, the stress was through the roof at times. And I let myself go a little. Some may call this a skewed sense of self, but I’m bothered by the photo below from May 25, 2008. It was an amazing day, as my goddaughter was being baptized, and I was becoming a godfather. However, I was at one of my highest weights at the time, and it was months into my new job. The stress level went from zero to hero in such a short time, and I couldn’t figure out how to achieve a work-life balance. I had a lot of Tim Hortons pastries. Pastries are my ultimate weakness. When I look at this photo, I remember the kind of person I was then when I put my health on the back-burner. This photo reminds me not to do that again.

I managed to get back on track later that summer, but in general, I continued to live a pretty sedentary lifestyle. I moved out to Calgary to add a new adventure to my life, and things were good. But then there were some dating fiascos, lol, which threw me for a loop! (We don’t need to go into any details about this, and oh no you di’nt just ask me about that!…but needless to say, there were dramatics of epic proportions! Okay, not really, but there were some feelings and stuff involved.) I came home for Christmas 2009, and my main resolution was to figure out how I was going to take control of my life. I thought: ‘2010 is going to be all about me. I’m done with it! I need to refocus. I need to channel the inner awesome I know that’s inside me somewhere.’ I felt that my awesome alter ego (let’s call him Sasha Fierce) was lost somewhere. Focus. And that’s when I decided that once I returned to Calgary, I would shelve the dating scene temporarily, and I would give this P90X hoopla a try in order to get into the Best. Shape. EVER! And that’s what I did.

I’m happy to have found a set of work-outs that have worked for me. In doing so, I’ve slowly gained the confidence to pursue other fitness goals like #15, Run a Half Marathon. Part of my motivation to continue is knowing that I’ve worked this hard to get myself into shape, and why would I let all of that work go to waste?

This year, my plan is to increase my muscle mass (and, you know, maybe look like Daniel Craig below). There was a joke around my office a while back, before I started the program, that I was losing muscle mass and withering away :O. I’m not sure how this joke came about, but it’s my motivation to continue to work on building muscle, which is quite difficult for me. There’s only so much working out I can do, and so much food I can consume. Clearly I need to take a smart approach to this, and I’m still working on figuring it all out. Nevertheless, I think my goal for this year is to, in as healthy of a way as possible, consume as much food as I can! (Or should I saw, as many calories as I can). It may not be the best strategy, but I’m sure it’ll be interesting :). This will be in addition to doing P90X, some of Insanity, and training for a half marathon, all in pursuit of my other goal: to GET ABS! Why is that so difficult to achieve when I’m so close!?! Just gotta keep working at it. I got this.

So for my own reasons, I have “5 rounds of P90X” on my list, as well as run a half marathon and try hot yoga (and hopefully continue with it). It always starts with something, and then the awesomeness grows. Goal-setting is important for me, and I realize it keeps me inspired, motivated, and on track. Until God and I have a chance to chat face to face, I want to be as healthy as I can be in whatever finite time is in store for me.   Before I know it, I’ll be running a full marathon in Honolulu (http://www.honolulumarathon.org/) or travelling to India for a yoga retreat! 😀 Well… maybe. But never say never, right? AWESOME!