Beyond 90 Days!

As you may notice, this blog is transferring from "My P90X Mission" to "Tough Fitness."  The thought behind this is with the finish line of my first round of P90X in site, I realize that I don't want to stop.  I want to continue and keep going with this journey.  P90X was simply the catalyst I needed to spark a lifestyle change.  With that in mind, I'd like to thank Mike French, fellow Beachbody coach for letting me reprint the following article he wrote.  Its great stuff.

Our Society is obsessed with Fitness and Nutrition. There are new workout programs and nutrition “miracles” being produced everyday. Some people have decided that Fitness just “isn’t for them”. 

Our Society has grown to accept that is “ok” to be sluggish and overweight. Eating whatever people want and wondering why they feel and look worse, month after month.

People find every excuse to eat something they shouldn’t or to skip a workout. “When I get home from work, I just don’t have the energy to workout.” “Its too expensive to eat healthy.” 

My personal favorite is “I just don’t have the time to workout.” LOL! I have the same 24 hours that that person does and I manage to work a full and part time job, give my wife and children the attention they deserve, and workout EVERYDAY!

People are constantly looking for the “Secret” or something that will give them that extra edge. Doesn’t matter if it’s a diet, workout or supplement. “THE ONLY THING YOU NEED TO ACHIEVE FITNESS IS YOUR BODY, A MINDSET OF REFUSING TO QUIT, AND WHOLE HEALTHY FOODS THAT YOU PUT INTO YOUR BODY.”

Don’t fall into the trap of trying to use science as a crutch to make up for lack of workout effort and nutritional discipline. An example of this is someone that uses a “Fat Burner” and their Nutrition isn’t spot on. Its like eating a combination pizza and a “Diet” soda…What’s the point?

There is a saying that I absolutely love:

YOU CAN'T OUTRUN A BAD DIET!

What does this mean? You can't burn enough calories in a day to make up for poor nutritional choices. The calories it takes you an hour to burn can be ingested in 30 seconds! Not really fair, but its the hand we have been given! 

Want me to make it simple?

EXERCISE REGULARLY AND EAT HEALTHY FOODS IN MODERATION

Do both of those things every day, for the rest of your life. Stop making excuses and start taking responsibility for your own Fitness.

The Key to real Health and Fitness is consistency. Most people lack the commitment to get in shape and really make a difference in their lives. 

We live in a world of fast food results. We want our food NOW! (Why do fast food restaurants serve more people daily than any other type of restaurant? Why do people continue to eat there, even though they KNOW for a fact that there is nothing that could be worse for them and their health?) We want results NOW! When it doesn't happen we get frustrated and start looking for other ways to do it.

We want the quick fix. Six Pack Abs in 6 weeks! Get ripped for summer with the latest routine and diet in Muscle & Fitness magazine. Magazines LOADED with the latest supplements to add muscle, get rid of fat quicker than the next guy. Are they concerned with our health or making money?

That is why Beachbody products are such a blessing for all of us. Fitness first. REAL programs and supplements that WORK! We need to think beyond 90 days from now. Think 5, 10, 20 years from now! 

All that really matters is how long we live and how healthy we are during that lifespan. Our health is precious and we need to take care of it. 

Do everything TODAY to give yourself the best chance to live a long and productive life. Then replicate it tomorrow!

Fitness success comes from relentless hard work. Once you have it, you need to work to keep it. If you don’t it leaves allot quicker than it took to achieve it. Train hard. Be proud of your Fitness and don't apologize for it!

Get in shape and then NEVER put yourself in a position where you have to “Get back in shape.” 

Train to be ready for ANYTHING that might come your way. Running, swimming, and obstacle course, a pick up football game at a Family Reunion. 

I hope it never happens to any of us but what are we going to do if we have to swim out into the ocean to save a loved one, or your Family is involved in a car accident and you are forced to “run” to get assistance? Will you be ready? That is not the time to wish you had paid your dues with your workouts and nutrition. That is the ONLY reason that I run every week. I am NOT a runner. I would much rather lift something heavy over my head than run a step. Being in the Military, I have to prepare for the worst and in that preparation, I HAVE to run. Of course wearing 65+ extra pounds of body armor, chemical protective suit, Kevlar helmet, rifle and a full load of ammo makes it allot more interesting!

Granted, those are worst case scenarios but if you prepare for the worst, you will be prepared for anything.

Build lean, flexible, muscles, improve your cardiovascular Fitness, and burn calories. 

LEAN AND MEAN rules the day. 

CHALLENGE your heart and lungs everyday! True “MASS APPEAL” is a lean, trim, physique with long flexible muscles. It contributes to our overall health and longevity and makes us look and feel better!

WE CAN GET LEAN AND STAY LEAN ONCE WE HAVE COMMITTED TO TRAINING FOR LIFE.

Don't let your GOALS become your limits. Its easy to “relax” once you have achieved a goal. Don't waste time and let what you have achieved slip away slowly. Set new goals and then set out to accomplish them! Move forward and really see what you are made of and what you can accomplish!

One of my favorite quotes:

“YOU KNOW WHY I WILL ACCOMPLISH MY GOAL? BECAUSE YOU SAID I COULDN'T DO IT!”

Its not how much weight you lift, its how hard you work when you lift it. Remember, we are not just training for today but for many years down the road. Pay particular attention to your ABS and lower back. Your CORE is the key to your future health and fitness.

What you do today affects the rest of your life. We want to look and feel good right now, but we also want to look and feel good when we are eighty. Our lives are the sum total of our daily activities. 

Are your activities going to be positive and healthy, or negative and unhealthy? The choice is ours.

What should be EVERYONE’S goal? 

GET BETTER EVERY DAY!

Strive for daily improvement. Vow to get better every day. Forget about the past and don’t worry about the future. Concentrate on the present, what you can control RIGHT NOW. 

If you improve your Fitness today, the future will take care of itself...

Even the best exercise plan can be destroyed by eating too much or eating the wrong types of foods. Eating a dessert can add more calories than you could hope to burn in an intense hour long workout. 

Scary as it is, you could ruin your entire day of nutrition and hard work in your workouts in less than 5 minutes by eating junk food.

Exercise: Body Weight
130 lbs. 155 190
Calories Burned in 1 hour 
Calisthenics (Total Body PLUS), vigorous effort 472 593 690

(1)100 gram Kit Kat Candy bar has the following “Nutritional Value” 
a. 520 calories
b. 32 grams of fat
c. 46 grams of sugar

Depending on your body weight by eating ONE candy bar you have exceeded or almost exceeded ONE hour of a Butt Kicking workout like Total Body Plus.

It doesn’t need to be a candy bar. It could be a forkful of our kids macaroni and cheese followed by a “small” chocolate and “Only one soda”. It all adds up and before you know it you have taken in hundreds of extra calories that you don’t need. 

Believe me, I know because I did the same thing AFTER my spectacular Day 90 results in July 07. I “relaxed” and put on 15 extra pounds, quickly. (By Oct 07)

I had to fight each day to reclaim my “Abs” and conditioning. Don’t make the same mistake I did.

No more excuses. No more , “Well it was only something small, it won’t hurt me.” You better believe it will. Make no mistake about that. Once you get into the habit of having “something small” every once in while, it quickly becomes every day.

Am I saying NEVER eat cake or candy again? Of course not. Make it a special treat, like at a Birthday Party or Holiday, not something you do because you are bored.

No More Excuses, make a difference in your future...TODAY!

Live stronger EVERY day!

Mike