Fitness – Page 2 – HIKES & HAMSTRINGS

The Year of… 2014

Each year I spend some time over the holidays to think about the upcoming year. I tend not to think about resolutions, which in my mind, have a connotation of success or inevitable failure. Instead, I like to outline my focus for the coming year. Think of it as a vision statement that guides my goals. It’s important to jot these things down because ideas swirling in my head result in little action. Writing down my areas of focus act as a roadmap for the journey throughout the year.

Throughout the ups and downs related to my job, my mind would wander to three main topics:

1) Travel
2) Health and Fitness
3) Financial Freedom

And a fourth topic came to light over the past couple of months:

4) Managing my digital life

Travel

It’s no secret that I love to travel and experience new places, cultures, and all of the emotions that come with those adventures. I spent most of November reading the travel blogs of inspirational people who had left their growing careers for a nomadic lifestyle. Oftentimes we tell ourselves that there’s never enough money or time to travel. This is clearly false; if so many others can change their lifestyle to one of travel, then why can’t I? These people aren’t rich; they’ve just shifted priorities. These people don’t spend a fortune; they just adopt strategies for near-free flights and elite status upgrades. These people aren’t unique in thinking about an unconventional life; they’ve just decided to take action. And I’m jumping on that bandwagon: Travel Hacking. Couch Surfing. House Sitting. Remote Living. Discount travel of any kind. It’s all in the realm of possibility. I’m not saying I want to be completely nomadic and go off the grid, but I do want to travel more. That’s what it comes down to. And I’ll figure out how. Of course, I also have a list of places I would love to visit, but more on that in a subsequent blog post.

Health and Fitness

Admittedly, choosing to be as healthy as I can be and adapting my schedule to include fitness is a lifestyle, not a fad. So this focus is nothing new, but I write it down every year. I have been plagued with several injuries. My ankle hurts; I have tendonitis in my right elbow; curses to the chronic neck and back pain; and the entire right side of my body from the waist down feels like it requires some major physiotherapy. All excuses though! I’ll be taking control of these health issues in the New Year. A costly endeavour, but health comes first. Nutrition will also be a priority again this year after a miserable attempt last year. At the very least, I should try some new recipes. And then there’s my workout routine. I plan to complete P90X3, organize fitness challenges, and begin running again. It’s time to conquer some more races and inch my way toward that triathlon. Hiking will be a predominant activity as always.

Financial Freedom (well… sort of.)

No, I don’t want to retire… yet. But I will be exploring ways to add value to my current skills through workshops and certificates while I expand into contract work. This involves learning about small business ownership and how I can offer my statistical and data analysis services remotely. I also plan to look into the process of becoming a Beachbody coach and what all of that entails. Financial freedom is definitely a work in progress, but it’s on my radar this year.

Managing My Digital Life

This will be ongoing, but I’m so bogged down with different emails, software that I don’t use to its potential, gigabytes of photos that are spiralling out of organizational control, and an online presence that requires full-time hours to manage. There has to be a way to make things easier. There just has to be.

And those are the 4 areas of focus. Everything sounds fine and good, but how do I translate these points into actionable goals? I use the SMART acronym, of course. SMART goals are ones that are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time Oriented. I’ll be creating my SMART goals within the next few days.

So what will 2014 bring?

A lot of excitement! I know there will be many great experiences and changes as always. It will be busy, but I’ve come to realize I’m at my best when I’m busy. However the year unfolds, I know it will be a good and overall positive 2014.

The 90-Day Fitness & Accountability Challenge

I sent this e-mail to some people today. This is a focus of one of my goals for the New Year.

*****

Hello and Welcome to the 90-Day Fitness & Accountability Challenge!

If you are receiving this email, it means that I’ve babbled on about this 2014 challenge and you expressed some interest. Wouldn’t it be awesome and fun to get a group together where we all work toward our fitness goals in a motivating and accountable way? Exciting!

So what exactly is the challenge?

When:

Monday, January 6th – Saturday, April 5th. That’s only 90 days.

The Fitness Goal:

Task 1: Set your fitness or physical activity goals.

“Resolutions” often come with lofty expectations and usually fall off the radar after a few weeks. As I began chatting with different people in December and during the holidays, it became clear that many of us have fitness or physical activity goals for 2014. Many of those goals require a training routine. Here are some that were mentioned:

Increasing cardio activity to N number of days per week
Practicing yoga at least 3 times per week
Training for the Vancouver half-marathon in May
Conquering the Tough Mudder race this summer
Creating a routine to train for a triathlon in September
A cross-country skiing schedule to prepare for the Lake Louise loppet
A 90 day round of P90X3: 6 days per week, 30 minutes per day

Think about what you want to accomplish in the 90 days, and determine what you are working toward. What do you hope to achieve with this 90-Day Fitness & Accountability Challenge? It’s completely up to you!

How Often?

Task 2: Set the number of days per week you are willing to commit to physical activity.

We all lead busy lives, but there is always time to dedicate to your health. How many days are you willing to commit to uninterrupted exercise or physical activity in order to achieve your goals? For each day, you should complete at least 30 minutes of whatever helps you reach your goal: yoga, running, a P90X3 workout, XC skiing, stretching. It doesn’t have to be the same activity for all days. Change things up and vary your workouts, but keep your goal in mind.

If you think you can do 4 days, then consider choosing 5! Remember, this is a challenge group, so take yourself out of your comfort zone and challenge yourself. It may require you to reassess where your time is going, but trust me, you can always find at least 30 minutes a day for an intense, focused workout. Consider doing above and beyond the 30 minutes, or throwing in a stretching activity after each workout.

To make this a challenge and to ensure that fitness and physical activity become a routine, you must be willing to be accountable for at least 3 days a week.

Tracking and Accountability

Since this is a 90-Day Fitness & Accountability Challenge, we need to be accountable. This means tracking your fitness and progress each week. Accountability will help us all stay focused. It’s far easier to fall off the fitness wagon when it’s just you, but as a group, we want each other to succeed. Know that there are others working toward their own goals, while going through successes and difficulties that are similar to your own.

I will be checking in with each of you each week (yes, you’ll get sick of me by the end!), and centrally tracking everyone’s progress on a spreadsheet. The spreadsheet will contain your name, your fitness goal, and your number of “accountable” days. Then each week, I’ll record how many days you’ve completed and send out the spreadsheet to the group. Even though this is a group challenge, it is important to note that this is a very personal 13 weeks and the only person to compete against is yourself.

Some Perspective

90 Days, or 13 weeks, may seem like a long time. It is! But let’s use the New Year momentum and really create a scheduled fitness routine. It takes about 3 weeks of repetition before the workouts feel like a habit.

Remember, too, there is quite a connection between the mind and the body. A positive attitude will go a long way! Thinking that you’re lazy will make you feel lazy. Thinking that you are awesome and can conquer any workout and achieve your fitness goals will make it much easier to complete your challenge. Keep your eye on the prize: a healthy, happier and fitter you.

Action Items:

1) Please confirm if you would like to be part of the challenge. If not, please let me know- I will not take any offence. If I do not hear from you, I will assume your answer is “no”.

2) Set your fitness goals. What are you working toward? What do you hope to achieve with this challenge?

3) Set your frequency of fitness and workout activity per week. How many days are you willing to commit to per week? This will be your number of “accountable” days. (The minimum is 3 days a week and each workout should be at least 30 minutes. Take yourself outside of your comfort zone! If you think you can do 3 days a week, then consider choosing 4!)

4) Let me know by Saturday, January 4th.

Any questions, please ask!

I’m excited to be taking on this challenge with you all and I’m equally as excited to hear about everyone’s goals.

Rick

P90X3- It’s Here! It’s Here!

Christmas has certainly come early for me! My Beachbody P90X3 Deluxe package arrived today! The contents include:

16 Extreme P90X3 Workouts
P90X3 Nutrition Guide and Fitness Guide (this will be my holiday reading this year!)
3 Additional Extreme Workouts
E&E Energy and Endurance powder
3 Pro-grade Resistance Bands

I’m so excited to start on January 6th!! Weeee!

P90X3. So. Stoked!

P90X3!

I can’t believe it’s already here. The release date was December 10th, and according to the interwebs, orders are being placed like crazy! Even though I had a disastrous go at P90X2 (i.e. injuring myself on day one and then never finding the motivation to attempt it again :S), I’m very excited about this new program. It has been quite a while since I’ve completed the many rounds of the original P90X, and though my activity level in general has shot way up with half-marathons, hiking, and other Beachbody fitness DVDs, P90X will always have a special hold on me. It was January 2010 when I decided to commit to the program and I completed my first round without missing a day. Success! I had awesome results, my nutrition changed completely, and I knew that going forward, fitness, health and athleticism would always be important in my life :). I continue to advocate for Beachbody programs because I know they work and can be truly life-changing.

And now it’s time to challenge myself again (and anyone else who wants to join!) with the same gusto as before. I’ve put my order in, and now I’m waiting patiently for its arrival. Until then, here are a few things I’ve learned about P90X3:

1. Workouts are exactly 30 minutes long, with the warm-up being the first two minutes. How awesome is that? After completing Focus T25, I’m loving the approach of completing intense workouts in a shorter period of time. And it’s 6 days a week. That’s only 3 hours a week of working out to get in the best shape of your life :).

2. P90X3 is for anyone, beginner or advanced. You do not need to complete P90X or P90X2 before conquering this program. It’s actually the opposite- according to Tony Horton, creator of the P90X series, P90X3 can actually set you up to have a stronger foundation for P90X and P90X2.

3. Some of the workouts include isometrics (strength/balance/flexibility), cardio with weights, and mixed martial arts. FUN!

4. The base system has 16 workouts, and the deluxe system includes 3 additional routines: Complete Upper Workout, Complete Lower Workout, and X3 Ab Ripper.

5. In the test group, 39 out of 40 people lost at least 10% of their body fat!

I’m curious to see the workout calendar. I believe there will be multiple goals from which to choose, whether that’s becoming lean, or building muscle. I’ve also decided to go with the Deluxe version for the extra workouts and the bands. My 2014 goals are in the formulating stages, but they centre around fitness and travel. The two are not mutually exclusive, and for me, travel is no longer a reason to pause the fitness and ‘let myself go’. The bands are easy to pack and will be great for those times away from my adjustable weight set.

Undoubtedly, this will be an awesome program. With the number of varied workouts, I think P90X3 will keep anyone interested and engaged for a full 90 days. And with 30 minutes a day, there are no excuses. We all lead busy lives, but carving out 30 minutes from the schedule to devote to working out is very doable and achievable. I can’t wait to get started!

Focus T25: Time for Gamma

So after a very successful Focus T25 round of Alpha and Beta, I decided to take a break. I initiated my yoga and stretch challenge, and all was great for a week! But then I thought- I need to do more. Not surprisingly, I got a bit antsy, and have now doubled up on my activity. Yoga and stretching are still important over the next few weeks as I head into day 10 of the challenge, but on Monday, I decided to start T25’s Gamma round!

Gamma is all about strength. Of course, the usual speed workout and high intensity cardio are still there, but now, many of the moves are done with weights- burpees and weights, balancing with weights, push ups with weights, and the list goes on. I may be tired these days, but I’m loving the amount of fitness activity this fall. Other than generally staying fit and healthy, there is a purpose to rebuilding my muscles, emphasizing stretching and yoga, and attending physiotherapy to get my arm all fixed up (I think I have a case of tennis elbow :S). It’s all in preparation for the new fitness regimen, starting January 2014. Oh there’s a plan… and I can’t wait!