Need Inspiration? Watch this! - 3/15/12

This video never fails to inspire me. A brief set up. British sprinter Derek Redmond is entering in the 400m final at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. I gather from the video that, given his age, this will be his last Olympics. About halfway through the race, he pulls his hamstring and falls down to the track. What happens afterward is magical! You just have to see it.

I'm inspired by this video because:
I want to be the type of performer, like Derek Redmond, that won't quit regardless of the circumstances.

I want to be the type of father, like Derek's father, that demonstrates that level of pride in and compassion for his son.

I want to always remember that there is honor in finishing what you start regardless of where you finish.

I want to be that courageous on the biggest moments I face in my life.

If this video doesn't move you, you may want to check your pulse!

Top 10 Ways to Stay Motivated - 3/14/12

I know how hard it is to get motivated and stay motivated. There have been times in my life during which wild horses couldn't drag me to the gym.  But today, those same wild horses can't keep me away. My friends ask me all the time, "how to you stay motivated?" Here are my Top 10 keys to staying motivated to stay fit.  I hope this helps you find the motivation to stay your course!


10) Ease into it 
When I was younger, I would get all jacked up after returning to the gym from a long...um..."hiatus."  I would invariably push myself so hard that I would be sore for a week, causing another...umm...hiatus. Go slow and build up. You have no one to impress but yourself, so pump the brakes when you are starting out.


9) Stretch
Stretching is generally the last thing I want to do.  When I get to the gym, I want to get after it and when I get done, I want to "get gone."  However, stretching before and after workouts will help you beat back the soreness, giving you one less reason to give up.


8) Be consistent
I have heard it said that it takes 21 days to develop a good habit.  Exercising is no different.  You have to develop the habit of working out consistently. In the beginning, in these first 21 days, it is more important to show up on every scheduled day than it is to go hard.  Even if it's just 10 minutes, make sure you show up!


7) Sleep well
For those of us who work out in the morning, the biggest threat to a workout is often the snooze button.  He's a sneaky brotha and he'll trip you up if you don't allow yourself enough sleep.  Often, a great workout (or a skipped workout) starts the night before.


6) Eat well
I used to workout on an empty stomach in the wee hours of the morning. However, I find that I'm stronger when I eat at least a little sumpin' sumpin'. For me, it's protein bars or whey protein shakes. Not enough to get full, but enough that the sound of my stomach growling doesn't drown out my iPod.


5) Set Short Term Goals
I used to get overwhelmed by knowing that I had to work out for ... the... rest... of... my...life.  I thought, "what's the use. Pass the Oreos".  Now I keep myself motivated by breaking up "the rest of my life" into 30 to 90 days increments.  It's much easier for me to push to the end of a 90 day program than to keep pushing with no end in sight.


4) Mix it Up
The folks at P90x have done a great job of popularizing the notion of "muscle confusion." The concept is that, in order to get the best results, you have to keep your muscles "confused" by varying your workouts.  This works on two levels.  Mixing up your workout keeps you from being stuck at a "plateau," but it also keeps you from getting bored so easily.  If your workout is fun, you'll keep at it.


3) Set Long Term Goals
Everyone needs a vision. I have long terms goal as well - lofty goals that will take some time, but inspire me to keep going.  I plan to finish a marathon (first) and then qualify for the Boston Marathon (next).  I plan to maintain my current weight for another year and then another year after that.  None of this will be accomplished tomorrow, but they are tangible, measurable goals that keep me moving forward.


2) Make Your Program Fit Your Lifestyle
Don't set yourself up for failure by making your "workout appointment" difficult to keep.  If you are a night person, forget about working out early in the morning. If you travel a lot, don't choose a program that you can't do on the road.  Don't choose a gym that is way out of your way or you'll quickly stay out of its way.  Make your work out program fit your lifestyle and you will be more likely to stay with it.


1) Work Out With a Purpose
I work out for several reasons that are meaningful to me. Some are "higher calling" reasons (I.e. - setting a good example for my kids) and others are not (I.e. - I'm can be straight up vain too). Each morning, I have a purpose. One of these reasons is meaningful enough to me to get my butt to the gym.  If you believe in your mission, even wild horses won't keep you from completing it! 

My Top 10 "Pump Up" Songs - 3/13/12

Working out is so often a mind over matter deal. The right music can make all the difference.  It puts me in the right frame of mind to push myself to the limit and beyond. This is my list of favorites.  I hope you enjoy this list and feel free to add your own favorites in the comments!

And if you want to see how these songs helped me lose 80 pounds, click to check out my FB page!


10) Gonna Fly Now - Bill Conti
This is the mother of all pump up songs and probably should be much higher than #10. For anyone who has seen a Rocky movie, which must be at least every American over 30, this song will make you run through a brick wall. As Eddie Murphy once said though, don't watch the movie (or listen to this song) before going out to a bar if you're 5'2" and weigh a buck twenty. It may cause you to write a check that your ass can't cash!

9) Touched a Dream - R Kelly
This is not a conventional pump up type of song. It's not especially fast- more of a ballad than a "danceable" song. But, I like R&B songs in which the singer "goes off". The passion that R Kelly brings to this song is inspirational to me, gets me in gear!

8) Lose Yourself - Enimem
Gotta love the guitar riff in this song. Always makes me run faster, because I just can't help but set my stride to it. Love the message too. This whole song is a challenge. Will you rise to the occasion, or will you let your opportunity slip away? If you've seen the move 8 Mile, the song is even more meaningful.

7) Mama Said Knock You Out - LL Cool J
When I here this song, I think of the video with Uncle L in the boxing ring. I wonder they use these lyrics in a speech therapy class somewhere. "Pass me a sissy, soft, sucka. I'll slay him". Say that three times fast - but I digress. But, I dare you to hear this song without throwing hook, uppercut combo.

6) Run This Town - Jay Z, Rihanna, Kanye West
Another song that gives me "an attitude" when I hear it. Who doesn't want to be running things? I love the combination of voices here - RiRi, Jigga and Crazy Kanye - especially the little hook that RiRi sings throughout.

5) No More Drama - Mary J. Blige
I've written a entire blog about this song alone.  It speaks for itself!

4) Cupid Shuffle - Cupid
This one is personal for me as it's one of my kids' favorite songs. When Cupid says "Down, down, do your dance," I think of my little girl saying "down, down, do-wa-day" and smile. If I'm feel especially frisky, I'll even lean "to the right, to the right, to the right, to the right" as I'm running!

3) Stronger - Kanye West
"Th-th-th-that that don't kill me, will only make me stronger". You know it's true. The best and the electronic vocals make to want to run faster or push out a couple extra reps.

2) All I Do Is Win - DJ Khaled
"All I do is win, win, win no matter what". What else do you need to hear? And if you quit running while this song is playing, you better have a pulled hammy. The beat is fast and the message is clear.

1) Victory - P Diddy and the Family
This song is no nursery rhyme, but I love the "attitude" in the song. Attitude in a rap song? Really? Not exactly uncommon, it works really well for me here.  And the combination of the Rocky sample and the hip- hop beats is unstoppable - at least, that's the way I feel when I'm running to it!

Why I'm "obsessed" with working out - 3/9/12

Some might say that I am "obsessed" with fitness.  Most mornings, I wake up at about 4:30am to work out.  On occasion, I have been known to get up at 2:30am to get a work out in when I have an early morning flight and know it will be my only chance to get it in.  On the road, I will drive for miles to find a suitable local gym.  But am I obsessed? No.  I call it "driven."

I am driven by visions of the future.  Driven by a vision of my son walking across the stage to accept his diploma, looking into the crowd but not seeing me.  Driven by a vision of my daughter being walked down the aisle on her wedding day by her brother because her daddy died of a heart attack when she was 12.  Driven by the thought of all the lonely walks they would take in their lives if I insisted upon looking like the top picture on this page rather than the bottom one.

Am I obsessed? No, but I am focused like a mother - check that, like a father.  Obsession is a word often used by people who don't recognize focus, drive or passion when they see it.  They are confused by the strength of your "why."  They cannot comprehend how you are able to find the motivation that so often eludes them.

I have no such confusion.  Check the picture above.  My "why" is crystal clear...

Monday Motivation - Ninety Percent

Ninety percent…

Ninety percent of the world swears they will start tomorrow, never understanding that there are only two relevant measures of time - now and not now.  One gets no credit for what may happen tomorrow, only for what is happening now.

Ninety percent does not understand that the effort itself, even a failed effort, is a noble act.  They do not understand that the effort itself is the difference between courage and cowardice. 

Ninety percent does not realize that even an inch of progress today is far better than the promise of miles of progress at some undetermined later date.  Inches, become feet, which become yards, which become miles when you string enough of them together.

Ninety percent of the world rests while they could be working.  Ninety percent are seeking an alibi, permission for delaying their quest for something better.  Other “ninety percenters” are happy to oblige as they seek the same alibi. 

The rest see it differently. 

The rest are all about "now" so they go get it right now. They understand that tomorrow is not promised.  They understand that one-hundred percent effort means zero percent regret.

The rest see intrinsic value in the effort, regardless of its outcome, and feel shame on the rare occasions when they fail to put forth that effort.  They hold themselves accountable, even when no one else sees their fleeting moment of weakness.

The rest understand the value of an inch, so they treasure every single one.  They may fall often, but they work to fall forward and always rise from a fall.  Their determination to collect inches leaves them miles ahead. 

The rest don't give themselves any room for excuses. Their consciences hold them to a higher standard than the world ever could.  Therefore, they would never give a "ninety percent" effort.

Every day, I seek to earn a spot among them, these other ten percent. 

So I work.

I'm Just Big Boned (Fatback and Jelly Rolls)

Somewhere along the way, I stopped trying to bullshit myself.  My line was that "I come from a long line of short -and wide - folk," so I was born to be fat.  I could resist it for a little while, but long term, I really has no choice in the matter.  That's the way I used to feel about my body.  I was just "big boned."  And then I finally came clean.

I used to be 10 pounds stuffed in a 5 pound bag!  More specifically, I was 230 pounds crammed into a mere 65 inch skeleton.  Genetics were not my problem.  My problem was that I loved beer and chicken wings more than I feared my mortality.

The brutal truth is that I chose my fatback and my jelly rolls.  I chose the hot dog folds on the back of my neck.  I chose all three of my chins and each and every one of my 230 pounds.  I took me years to understand this, but when I finally did it was liberating!

Because if I chose fatback and jelly rolls, it was within my power make a different choice.  Choosing differently is not easy, it's never easy, but it least it was an option.  I finally embraced the message of something my father likes to say.  When he is playing the role of the Cranky Old Man and feeling particularly ornery, one of his favorite lines is "the only two things I have to do is stay Black and die."  Being fat is not something I have to be.  And that was a revelation!

Somewhere along the way, I decided that I was a product of my past choices, not my genetics, so-called bone size, metabolism, gland problem, culture, upbringing, busy schedule or any other foolishness I used to tell myself.  I decided that if I could just string some good choices together long enough, I knew I would be living in a new reality.  And today I am.  And I have discovered that my bones are no larger than anyone else's.

Are you big boned too?  Isn't it funny that one's "bone size" seems to be perfectly aligned with how much they love beer and chicken wings?  I'm jus' sayin'...