The Power of the Buddy System

This is always a difficult time for people to keep working out and eating right. Everywhere you turn there is a plate of cookies and plenty of reasons to not take the time to work out.

I am as human as anyone else, have the same excuses and temptations, and just plain don't feel like working out sometimes. Add to that an injured shoulder and shin splints that just started creeping up and I've got more than enough excuses to put my workouts off until I feel like doing them again. That's just how it is.

One of the only things keeping me on track right now is knowing that other people are looking to me for guidance with their health and fitness goals. They say that life is 10 percent what happens to you and 90 percent what you do about it. If my example to my family, friends, and people I coach is to give up when things get tough, then that's exactly what I would expect to see from them.

There are also a lot of people who motivate me. People like Jesse, who I coach. Jesse has done three rounds of P90X and is in phase two of his fourth round. Every time he gets done with a round of P90X he jumps right back in and finds ways to work around a busy schedule. My Team Beachbody workout Buddy Lynn, who works nights as a 911 dispatcher. Working out literally paid off as she won the $500 daily prize this week for logging her workout in the Online SuperGym. Fred and Rob, who have shown me how fit and ripped you can be into your 50's. Fred just won the monthly Beachbody Challenge, transforming his body after a total hip replacement, and Rob is still running times in track meets that I wish I could run now. I've mentioned IceBandit before and my quest to match his Insanity fit test numbers. I did the fit test this past week and used his numbers as my challenge again. I don't know that I would have pushed myself nearly as much without knowing that he did it, and so could I.

I could go on and on, but these are just some of the people who are my workout Buddies. They inspire me and give me motivation to keep going and push harder. I know that peer support is a major piece of the puzzle to keep going when times are tough. Hopefully I help to keep my Buddies and people I coach accountable, because I know that they do that for me.

Happy New Year.

Insanity Month 2

It's been a busy week with the P90X2 pre-orders coming to an end and working with a whole bunch of new Beachbody customers. I haven't posted here for a while, but I wanted to update a few things and briefly recap the week.

I finished the recovery week and thought I was ready to get back into the regular Insanity workouts. Anyone who has done Insanity knows that month 2 is more difficult than month 1. I did not preview any of the workouts ahead of time. I wanted it to be a nice surprise. Well, the first day has a fit test and a workout. That's the first time that the fit test isn't the workout. So I though maybe the workout would be short. Oh no. It is a full hour. And that's after the 25 minute fit test.

One thing I did for this one was write down the results of one of my workout buddies. I looked at his number right before I started and tried to hit it or surpass it. It was a great help because I know I probably would have given up earlier if I didn't have those numbers to shoot for. So thanks IceBandit. He just finished his last fit test and I don't know how I'm going to match his new numbers, but I guess I'll have to just do my best and forget the rest.

Here are the results for my third fit test with the first two for reference:

1. Switch Kicks
Day 1 - 41
Day 15 - 47
Day 36 - 61

2. Power Jacks
Day 1 - 42
Day 15 - 48
Day 36 - 48

3. Power Knees
Day 1 - 62
Day 15 - 80
Day 36 - 82

4. Power Jumps
Day 1 - 24
Day 15 - 30
Day 36 - 32

5. Globe Jumps
Day 1 - 7
Day 15 - 8
Day 36 - 9

6. Suicide Jumps
Day 1 - 14
Day 15 - 16
Day 36 - 19

7. Push-up Jacks
Day 1 - 25
Day 15 - 30
Day 36 - 33

8. Low Plank Oblique
Day 1 - 44
Day 15 - 45
Day 36 - 62

I had great improvement on some of my numbers simply because I was not just trying to beat my own numbers, but going for something more. That's going to help me get even better results because the brain usually gives out long before the body. So thanks again IceBandit.

"I've got 5 more in my brain. Can my body match my brain?" - Tony Horton (trying to crank out 5 more reps on push-ups)