My daily routine is a critical component in my drive towards achieving my fitness goals. But, as ardent as I've been in my pursuit of those goals, a few things that happened recently have reminded me how a bit of spontaneity can be equally important to my success.
On the weekend signaling the end of Week 8 and the start Week 9 - in celebration of my wife's birthday - my family and I packed up the car for a long weekend, and spent 3 days on the beaches of Florida. I wasn't aware of it at first, but it was just the respite that we all needed.
For them, it was their first 'real' beach experience; however, we all got to take in the beautiful scenery, get plenty of fresh air and exercise, dine on spectacular seafood, and spend lots quality time together as a family. All-in-all, it was the perfect disruption to the grind that life in a family of 4 (particularly with two young children) can sometimes be.
We brought along enough of our healthy snacks to make sure that we'd always have 'plan approved' foods on hand. We also did our research beforehand, and took advantage of the the culinary options that allowed us to stay mostly on track. But for the first time in this current journey, I did relax my diet just a bit.
My guilty pleasure of choice? 4 slices of meat lover's pizza from a regional chain.
To be honest, I didn't even enjoy it for that long... The way that stuff made me feel a few hours after eating it was NOT worth the price of admission. And my wife - who's been my partner on this meal plan for the past 6 weeks - felt the exact same way. We couldn't get back to eating healthy soon enough!
After returning from vacation at the start of Week 9, I switched up my weight training routine again. Simple changes; swapping one set of movements for others. Replacing barbell presses with dumbbell presses, and vice-versa. Going from bench-presses to push-ups. Going from free weight movements to cable movements in certain exercises. It may not seem like a lot, but when incorporated into the exercise philosophy that I've been employing for the past few weeks, it introduces the much-ballyhooed 'muscle confusion' that you hear so much about. The proof is in the results; there are few things more rewarding and encouraging than the soreness I feel the morning after a taxing workout, and making musculature and strength gains on a weekly basis.
Week 10 has me feeling as though I've been on this path for much longer than a couple months. So much has changed in the way that I think, look and feel during that time frame. From habits and behaviors, to getting reacquainted with my body's physical potential, I simply can't understand why I ever stopped doing this in the first place. Part of what I hope to accomplish isn't just addressing the deep-seated psychology that nurtured the unhealthy habits from my distant past, but also what allowed those same habits to reform after years of dormancy.
Less than a month now until weigh-day. My re-dedication to fitness just happens to have coincided with several friends and acquaintances who've embarked on weight loss journeys of their own; some with the help of surgery, others who've either gone keto, paleo, or some hybrid between the two. My success will be made manifest regardless... But I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I'm eager to see how my own weight loss results stack up against theirs.
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