Christmas has certainly come early for me! My Beachbody P90X3 Deluxe package arrived today! The contents include:
I’m so excited to start on January 6th!! Weeee!
Yesterday was a good day. After starting Beachbody’s and Shaun T’s Focus T25 program several months ago, I finally completed the last week of the Beta phase. To sum up: the program was awesome!
Looking back at my calendar, I began the program on July 15th, and ended on November 10th. The 10 week program took much longer than I had hoped, but I’m okay with this. Hiking was my priority activity throughout the summer, and with visitors and trips, I had to space out the Alpha workouts. Beta began on September 30th, and minus the one week of being sick that I took off, I had a very consistent Beta phase.
Twenty-five minutes a day. That’s all it really took. As the months went on, I noticed my cardio health improving. I was able to do more push-ups. I could stretch out my muscles more and more. And I never became bored. What I loved about the program was how enjoyable I found it (except for Rip’t Circuit, which did not keep me as engaged as some of the other workouts). My favourites: Speed 2.0 and Core Speed. These non-stop heart-pumping workouts always flew by, which makes sense when you’re moving and sweating like crazy for 25 minutes straight. I definitely feel healthier after the program, but admittedly, I don’t see as many physical results as I had hoped. With that said, I did manage to lose some of the post-Ireland pounds that I gained :).
I can’t say I was the best at keeping track of measurements, but I did manage to follow a decent nutrition schedule. My hopes for the next round of fitness: drink more water, get more sleep, increase my caloric intake, and learn to incorporate more variety into my meal preps.You know… same ol’ same ol’ :). And even though the program is over, I’ll continue with the Focus T25 workouts (Gamma phase is most likely next). When there’s a busy schedule, you just can’t beat 25 minutes a day!
It’s the fall. I love this time of year. There’s something about the start of September that has me pumped to start new adventures and conquer goals. No doubt this is due to the scholastic schedule that I experienced for many years. And now, working in an academic setting again where I’m on main campus with all the new and returning students, there’s a sense of ambition brewing in me.
I knew I had to cultivate that ambition somehow. Which, of course, translated into reflection, lists, and a catchy tag line: “What the “F”! My Fall Focus”. I’ve come up with a game plan to tackle the next few months. Work is important and a must-do, so the list doesn’t include work-related activities like learning R or brushing up on my statistical methodology. Relationships and friendships are very important and will always get my full attention. So other than those, I’ve included the following “for-me” items into which I need to put energy. And they all start with the letter “F”:
Finances. Let’s just say that quitting my job in March and then going on a crazy expensive trip to Ireland a few weeks later were not the best decisions for my finances. (The trip, though, was great, so I wouldn’t change it for anything…). It would be many months following the trip that I’d see my first pay cheque, and though I had several people helping me out or offer to help me out, it was quite the financial hit. Here I am, at the end of September, and I finally feel like things are on the up and the cash flow is steady. But I’m still in the red. My goal for the fall is to be completely aware of my finances: where my money is going, how much I can spend, and then spend less than that. In the last month, I’ve completely rejigged where I store my money, my expenses, how much I contribute to RRSPs, and what I can budget for the month. I’ve also done a bit of consolidation, closed accounts, and paid off loans, which has been pretty awesome!
Fashion. It’s no secret that my fashion has gone down hill. I’m not saying that I don’t have fashion sense- I actually think I have a good idea of what fits my body well. I will say I’m not that adventurous with colours, but I’m trying to change that. But the aspect of fashion I’m most concerned with is my work attire. I actually showed up for work in shorts and running shoes two weeks ago. This prompted someone to say, jokingly, that it’s no longer summer. I don’t think it was jokingly. I think it was a polite way of saying that I need to step it up. So as much as I’m on a budget, I do have to put a little bit of money into sprucing up my wardrobe. I’m thinking Express will be a good place to try. Their clothes fit me well, look presentable, and are always on sale. I may be funding new clothes, but I’ll certainly be as thrifty as possible.
Fitness. After a summer of laziness and travel, I gained some weight (true story). So on June 24th (my scheduled start day of my new job), I made a commitment to start ramping up my fitness. I’m no stranger to initiating long bouts of fitness activity, and although I’ve made it a lifestyle choice, I certainly do better when I’m on a “#”-day program. I recently passed the 90 day mark since June 24th and I’m seeing results. The reason? Doing as much hiking as I could fit in, and starting Beachbody’s / Shaun T’s Focus T25 program. Shaun T has quickly become my fitness idol. I find him incredibly motivating. Through Instagram and Facebook, it’s clear that he puts everything into living a healthy and active lifestyle and inspires others to do the same. But he also has crazy cheat days and cravings and still looks the way he does. That point keeps me in check: I continue to watch my nutrition and what I eat, but it’s okay to indulge every now and then. To me, the most important part of my Fall Focus is my fitness. I’ll be tracking my workouts, cooking as many healthy meals as time permits, taking progress photos, and trying to push my limits as much as possible. Nutrition was 2013 goal of mine, and I’m putting it back into focus. I recently committed to the Banff Subaru Triathlon next year, so this fall goal may include some swimming. Apparently I need to know how to swim in order to survive the triathlon. Yikes. Oh, and cross-country skiing, because it’s a crazy complete body workout. And it’s fun. Fun starts with “F”.
Needless to say, I’m quite excited about the next few months, especially with the fitness aspect. I just found out that P90X3 will be released in December, so this will prepare me well for the 2014 Winter Challenge! More on that later, of course.
How is it that the years just seem to fly by? I guess with age, time seemingly passes more quickly. That doesn’t mean that life gets any more dull! On the contrary. I’m hoping for a wonderful 2013 filled with all the ups and downs that make life worth living (cough cliché). With that said, hoping for a wonderful year is very different than taking actions for a wonderful year. I joked with some people that I would be coming up with vision and mission statements in order to promote action. That’s probably more formalized than how I would like to approach the year; however, I do enjoy creating lists, setting goals, and documenting progress, so perhaps it is appropriate to think about 2013 in the context of a few important focal points rolled into a personal vision. How do I want to approach the next 365 days? I take this question fairly seriously, but not in a new year’s resolution sort of way. I feel like the holiday season provides an opportunity to reflect on the past year, to become (re)grounded by family and friends, and to think about the upcoming choices and attitude of the next year.
2012 was the year to be inspired by love; love for the things I choose to do, the experiences for which I yearn, and the relationships that are so important in my life. I also wanted to be more introspective and try to understand and trust the emotions that the year would throw at me. In retrospect, I experienced things within and beyond my control that caused strong emotional responses, both incredible and not so good. 2012’s goal to be “inspired by love” did not end last night at midnight, and it’s something I will be working on in the coming year. That aside, it was a great year with some important life changes, as well as amazing experiences like the Banff Challenge and the Inca Trail hike. I wonder what exciting things will happen next!
When I was thinking about my vision statement for 2013, I began reflecting on the important points on which I wanted to focus. There were many jumbled thoughts…
Action. Complacency is not an option. As someone once told me, “Do something and something will happen”. Life offers so much opportunity, and it’s really a shame not to take advantage of what’s in front of me. Don’t waste time! Time, once it’s gone, is something I can’t get back. In that regard, I truly want to live life as if it were my last day. I’ve updated my list and I’m ready and committed to crossing things off. And for the things not on my list that will present themselves within the next year- I’m ready to seize the opportunities and embrace the adventure.
Financial Control. I need to get a better handle on my own finances. This includes monitoring my spending over the next month, cutting costs where necessary, and creating a budget to follow. My list includes paying off certain loans by the end of the year, and I’m going to do my best to make that happen.
Health and Fitness. I know the importance of preventive health. This includes regular, scheduled physical activity (because for me, without a schedule, it won’t get done). But it has to be within the restrictions of my never-ending injuries. Exercise makes me feel so much better about myself. I can’t fail on this. I need to push myself even more. Sleep needs to be higher on the priority list. I also want nutrition to be extremely important, which involves actually learning about nutrition, understanding the relationship between diet and exercise, and implementing new recipes!
The Outdoors. Push myself outside of my comfort zone even more. Explore. Experience. Enjoy. Travel. Be in awe.
Ownership. Own my choices, and be honest with myself. Acknowledge there are things I cannot control; just work on ways to be okay with myself and my own choices. Know and/or create my own boundaries. Again, own my choices, and be honest with myself.
Peace.
So what will 2013 bring? My personal vision is to work toward achieving a sense of peace while living a life dedicated to honesty, commitment, challenge and happiness. I think the extent of this will become more clear as time progresses, but it involves staying true and honest with myself and with the people in my life; committing to the improvement of myself, my relationships, my health and my fitness; facing challenges head on, whether they are personal, financial or professional; and remembering that I am the only person responsible for my own happiness. This approach to the year may sound lofty, involved, and me-centric, but we work the hardest for the best things in our life, and this is where I feel focus and work are needed. My hope is that other aspects of my life will fall into place, and my actions will be aligned with this goal. However the year unfolds, I know it will be a good and overall positive 2013.
HIKES & HAMSTRINGS 