I would love to claim that my reasons for getting in shape, for training, for trying to get stronger were all for altruistic reasons. You know the pep talk... "I want to get in shape to run a marathon for cancer research" or "I want to become strong enough to make a real difference in work projects that matter to my community". I'm sure there are people out there that have these sentiments. I just don't happen to be one of them. Truth be told, I rarely get myself in shape for any reasons that are not entirely self driven or self-motivated... well, OK, that's not entirely true; I did go into overdrive back in 2007 because my wife did pointedly tell me when I had an elevated ADL blood test "I don't want you to die!" I'll admit, that is motivating and in a selfless way :).
But still, left to my own devices, I'm happy to be left to my own devices. Something of either immense importance, or at least appealing to my baser vanity must come to the fore for me to *really* get serious, and that something has now happened, or at least the potential for it happening is very great... HIGH WIRE is actively in the discussion and searching phase for a venue to hold a reunion show. HIGH WIRE in its finished form came together in November of 1989, so 2009 is the 20th anniversary of that forming. We want to play live to celebrate that fact. Which means I'll have to get on stage and sing. Do you think I'll hop on stage fat, flabby and out of shape?!
NOT ON YOUR FREAKING LIFE (LOL!)!!!
Thus, Ego Over Matter gets re purposed again, and this time it's "training for the show". I remember full well the effort it took to sing for over an hour "back in tha' day", and that was when I was young, resilient and in practice. I am none of those things today, or to be more honest, I'm a lot less of those things today. Thus it stands that I must take the bull by the horns, make a commitment, and go for broke, here and now, and give it all I've got.
The last time I made a firm goal, I made it to get to a particular body weight. I'm not going to do that this time around. Nope, I want to get all nerdy and really go for a target, perhaps a crazy one; I want to reach 10% body fat by the day of the show. If that sounds like it's lean to you, that's because it is, especially for me. I routinely float around 25% body fat, which means I need to make nearly a 50% total reduction of fat stores by our performance date (currently looking to be around mid August). That's six months. It's ON!!!
Usually, attitude has to come first, then resolve, and then concrete actions. Attitude and resolve I now have, and the concrete actions are already starting to come into play, including my "triple play". Everyone who knows me knows there are three "concrete items" that appear, and when all of them are in place and in active use, they know that Michael is in "Serious Mode". Those concrete items are:
* the increased supply of bulk chewing gum (usually Trident) and packs just about everywhere.
* the increased consumption of strongly made Cinnamon and Lemongrass Sweet Tea (this is a rooibos/red tea and thus entirely herbal and thus entirely kosher within LDS standards and following the letter and spirit of the Word of Wisdom, and yes, I've checked repeatedly :) ).
* the consistent purchase of frozen mixed vegetables and the bulk purchase of Tapatio Hot Sauce
Everyone claims they have a "secret weapon" or a talisman they use regularly when they want to get to goal. These are my triple threat, and they are my most oft used tools. I will say here and now that, when I try to drop pounds and get in shape, my spice-o-meter goes to an absolute extreme, to the point where I am practically drinking shot glasses of Tapatio and other hot sauces (LOL!). I associate the capsaicin burn with progress, and thus I welcome it :).
No EOM entry is complete without the "statement of truth", so it has to start here and now, with a declaration: Today I weighed in at 232 pounds. It's ten pounds down from my all time high of 242, but it's 40 pounds up from my 30's and 40's all time best of 190. Again, this time, I'm going to try to steer clear of just looking at weight, and I'm going to pay a lot more attention to actual body fat percentages. And this time, I'm going to get even geekier... I'm going back in time and using some techniques that I learned from an old compatriot of a fitness newsgroup I used to participate with. Using those techniques, in 2000, I went from 235 to 200 in 12 weeks, and was the most ripped I'd ever been. It's time to see if I can make lightning strike twice, and oh yes, I will share it all here :).
Goal determined: check
Purpose defined: check
Goal sufficient to get ego invested: oh heck yes (LOL!)
Start Date: February 19th, 2009
Estimated Completion: Mid August, 2009
Proof of Success: pictures, videos and live recordings of the actual show
And away we go :)!!!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment