For the last two months, I’ve been going to the gym five days a week. I haven’t done five every week, but my general rule is if I work that day (even if I work from home), I go to the gym. This means I skip on days like Thanksgiving, but I’m averaging over four with the holidays, so that counts in my mind. It’s become a part of my weekday routine and I’m willing to adjust my schedule to accommodate the need to be at work early, stay late or do some other random thing after work. Going to the gym is now my default position and if you know me, you know how monumental that is.
When I started my campaign more than four years ago, I never really had a goal to be “one of those people.” In fact, I always thought of exercising as something I was sacrificing my free time to do, so spending that much time there wasn’t even a consideration. This all changed for me two months ago while discussing my efforts with a friend. I said I was exercising three days a week and he very bluntly responded “that’s only enough to maintain, not lose.” In the seconds following that statement I thought about how much I love good food/alcohol, how unlikely that was to change and realized he was absolutely right. No more excuses, three days was not enough.
Interestingly, five days a week is easier than three days a week. Yes, there is a larger time commitment… but not having to figure out which day I was going and to how to fit it in my schedule makes it a lot more brainless. It has also become easier to motivate to go in the morning (when I do) because the excuse of “oh I’ll go tomorrow” is no longer an option. Yes, I will go tomorrow… but I’m also going today.
What’s next? Well, it’s only December and I’m really looking forward to riding outside again. The gym is a nice way to not freeze my ass off, but it’s fairly boring. Beyond that, I’m thinking of trying P90X when the weather gets too hot next summer. At this point it’s just talk, so we shall see.
Merry Christmas everyone!
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