Hi and welcome to another week,
I wish I could say it was a great week of classes – the certainly looked pretty darned good on paper! – but for the second time in three weeks I was away from the gym…this time off on a family holiday in Kalbarri.
For me it was a really strange feeling just being ‘on holidays’. We hadn’t been away on a family holiday since January 2011 – two nights at Binningup – so being away for six nights was a real shock to the system. Everything was completely unfamiliar – but most unfamiliar was that somehow because of the lack of routine there simply like there was no time available to DO anything…don’t get me wrong – we did all of the 4wd’ing, fishing, canoeing, quad-biking and exploring stuff that everyone does when up in the North-West – but in between times, well, let’s just say there was a whole lot of nothing going on.
Now, don’t get me wrong – I can feel everyone telling me ‘Well, you were on HOLIDAYS’ from here – I get that there is going to be down time and I get that everyone needs it. But I can tell you that it was a heck of a lot easier getting motivated to jump out of bed and do some exercise on Monday morning than it was on Friday…and whilst we headed home on Saturday morning I have no doubt that had we stayed away for a few more days the idea of actually doing some exercise would have become harder and harder.
And then there was the food. Both Vanessa and myself are doing the challenge at the moment and – just like with the exercise stuff – it was a lot easier to say ‘NO’ on Monday than it was on Friday…and whilst we were able to ‘stay strong’ throughout the week I suspect if I was still in Kalbarri today I would be washing down my three scoops of (chocolate) ice-cream with cool drink and beer!
So – why does this stuff happen? And does it happen not just on holidays but when any of us take an extended ‘break’ from our training – because of work, or family, or injury…or whatever it might be? That at first being away from the gym is OK – we can stay focussed and on track and find some time somewhere to ‘Get it Done’. But then as time goes by – and it doesn’t have to be MUCH time – a combination of temptation and – well, laziness I guess? – takes over and makes getting back on track harder and harder? And once the habit is lost, it is LOST and getting back on the horse makes us all feel so much worse than when we started for the first time – because not only are we fighting to regain strength and fitness (and routine), we are fighting against ourselves because we are disappointed in ourselves for ‘allowing’ it to happen. And I guess the ultimate question is what can any of us actually do about it – how can we stop the whole cycle from ever starting?
I have to say the thing that got me out of bed when I was up in Kalbarri – up and either swinging a kettlebell / skipping or walking was the fact that I had to enter my exercise numbers on the challenge sheet. Basically, it was ego that got me up and at ‘em – that I had to enter my numbers in a spreadsheet that other people could see and I didn’t want those numbers to be ‘0’. But clearly that isn’t going to work all the time, and I am not so naïve as to thing that everyone else out there is as concerned about what everyone else thinks about them as I do. So what is the answer?
I guess the first answer is that we all need a break from time-to-time – from work, from the suburbs, from the traffic…and yep, even from the gym. So when this happens, don’t beat yourself up about it and certainly don’t worry about how hard it will be to get ‘started’ again – just acknowledge the break for what it is and embrace the ‘rest’. But before you sign off on taking a break, make sure you clearly commit to your return. Write it on your calendar, enter it in your phone, whatever you need to do to remind yourself to get back on track. And keep that commitment. Write it down, and when the day ticks over put on your hand-wraps and get back to the gym.
See you at Round 1,
Michael.
Our Membership Super Special is STILL ON. It is on for ALL of October!!!
If you join for 3 months, you get 4 months membership.
If you join for 6 months, you get 7 months membership.
If you join for 12-months, you get 13 months memberships.
This special applies to new memberships AND to renewals…and yep, if you want to renew early to take advantage of this you certainly can…after all, why should our most loyal clients be the ones to miss out when special offers come along?
In keeping with the usual “physical challenge followed by ‘other’ challenge” rhythm of previous challenges, this weeks challenge falls into the ‘other’ category.
Spend 30 minutes reading a BOOK (not a magazine) that fits into any kind of personal development type of category. In other words, you can’t read a novel. If you want to read a book about finance – fine. Diet? Fine. Training? Fine. I am sure you get the idea. Receive one point for every day that you read for a minimum of 30-minutes up to a maximum of 3 points.
Please note – this challenge is an attempt by me to get people into the habit of regular reading (after all, as Charles Jones famously said: ‘We will be the same person in 5 years that we are today except for the people we meet and the books we read’) so you can’t sit down for 90 minutes on ONE day and get 3 points…you must do the reading on 3 separate days.
We have some exciting news on the horizon. An additional two (2) new treadmills will be installed at Round 1 in the near future which will alleviate the demand for this equipment during peak times. I know we aren’t a big ‘pure’ cardio gym but it is good to know you can grab a tready when you need one and having two extras will make this that little bit easier.
In addition, a few people might have noticed the tardy state of our medicine ball stocks recently. Some new med balls are on the way – as well as some additional barbell racks which will make grabbing a barbell or trap-bar a lot easier out in the TANKS area.
As mentioned last week, we have new MMA gloves and Weightlifting gloves in stock. We ALSO have new bag mitts in stock. If you are keen for a new set of gloves, we have a heap in stock and available at the moment so check them out next time you are in the gym.
Remember
Once again – a bit of a quieter week on FACEBOOK due to my family holiday – there were some good links loaded though:
Pull-ups: http://www.elementcrossfit.com/the-road-to-pull-up-domination/
Lace-up for Lunch: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Healthier-Workplace-WA/153005094862625?v=app_150794994973742&rest=1
Exercise your MIND and your muscles: http://espn.go.com/sports/endurance/story/_/id/9796654/endurance-sports-diverse-background-helps-improving-crossfit-star-lindsey-valenzuela?src=mobile
High rep Olympic Lifting – For and Against: http://www.t-nation.com/training/crossfit-and-high-rep-olympic-lifting
A Lion in Iron: http://articles.elitefts.com/training-articles/a-lion-in-iron-women-be-more-not-less/
Enjoy!
Ross is Back! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ajq2Jl5ZOew (P.S. Tyres are back this week!).
See you in the gym!
Michael.
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