Sunday 25 September 2011

Self-Discipline

I have been spending a lot of time lately thinking about self-discipline. Why? Because I don't have much of it and I NEED it. I need self-discipline for this fitness competition (ahem eating habits i.e. eating 12 cookies = bad idea); for my career (think about how well I could do if I didn't procrastinate ever); and for my family (I hate it when I get impatient and take over a task for Nia).

Anyway, eventually I decided to look to Google because as we all know, if Google can't answer my question there is little hope that an answer exists ;) I came across a blog post with a list of questions to help evaluate self-discipline in various areas of life. I really liked the questions because I found they had a dual purpose in giving me a direction for improvement as well as a reminder that I do have some strengths. For instance, I am not so great with a strict diet but I am fantastic at sticking with an intense exercise program. I am not so great at staying on top of mopping my floors but my children always have weather-appropriate clean clothes to wear and healthy food to eat.

I have posted the questions below and provided a link to the article. Once the questions are answered, and the areas you want to work on identified, the next step is to design a progressive overload program (like weight training) for yourself. Start small and work your way up. I would like my house to be ready for company 24/7. If people drop by I don't want them to find chaos. However, with small children this is a task and a half so in order to keep things simple I am creating a weekly cleaning list to follow. For instance, Thursdays will be bathrooms (this is where I regret all the bathrooms in my house lol) and Fridays will be floors (on the upside here I have a steam mop that I am in love with). Ok, so maybe my house wont look like it came out of a magazine all the time but I can do the best with what I've got.You will probably still find Thomas the Tank Engine sitting in front of my dish washer and craft supplies all over the dining room table BUT my floors and my bathrooms will be shiny.

Anyway, here are the questions:

  • Do you get up at the same time every morning? Including weekends?
  • Are you overweight?
  • Do you have any addictions (caffeine, nicotine, sugar, etc.) you’d like to break but haven’t?
  • Is your email inbox empty right now?
  • Is your office neat and well organized?
  • Is your home neat and well organized?
  • How much time do you waste in a typical day? On a weekend?
  • If you make a promise to someone, what’s the percentage chance you’ll keep it?
  • If you make a promise to yourself, what’s the percentage chance you’ll keep it?
  • Could you fast for one day?
  • How well organized is your computer’s hard drive?
  • How often do you exercise?
  • What’s the greatest physical challenge you’ve ever faced, and how long ago was it?
  • How many hours of focused work do you complete in a typical workday?
  • How many items on your to do list are older than 90 days?
  • Do you have clear, written goals? Do you have written plans to achieve them?
  • If you lost your job, how much time would you spend each day looking for a new one, and how long would you maintain that level of effort?
  • How much TV do you currently watch? Could you give up TV for 30 days?
  • How do you look right now? What does your appearance say about your level of discipline (clothes, grooming, etc)?
  • Do you primarily select foods to eat based on health considerations or on taste/satiety?
  • When was the last time you consciously adopted a positive new habit? Discontinued a bad habit?
  • Are you in debt? Do you consider this debt an investment or a mistake?
  • Did you decide in advance to be reading this blog right now, or did it just happen?
  • Can you tell me what you’ll be doing tomorrow? Next weekend?
  • On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your overall level of self-discipline?
  • What more could you accomplish if you could answer that last question with a 9 or 10?
http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2005/06/self-discipline-acceptance/

Sunday 18 September 2011

Doing Something That Scares You


Today I did something terrifying. My trainer recommended taking a one-hour introductory posing seminar. If you aren’t familiar with posing for a physique competition, just youtube IFBB Figure or IFBB Bikini Competition The walking and posing you see is a little trickier than it looks so coaching is a must. Anyway, this seminar was not a lecture style. It was a participatory instructional class, which meant I had to don my figure suit and heels to prance about in front of perfect strangers.
As, I drove up to the gym where the seminar was being held, I actually felt sick to my stomach and I was literally shaking. I seriously considered turning around, getting back in my car, and driving away… far, far away. I was the first to arrive so as I put on my figure suit in the change room I was terrified that I was going to look like the frumpy ugly duckling next to all these amazingly fit women.  Now, before anyone wants to reach through the screen to slap me, let me explain that last statement. Don’t misunderstand, on any given day I am very happy with my body BUT this is not your average day. I was about to walk into a room in a teeny-weeny bikini (which fyi I don’t even wear those to the beach) filled with women who look like they could be in a fitness magazine AND people are intentionally comparing/judging you.  Furthermore, I still have 7 weeks of hard training and clean eating to get my body competition ready.
As it turns out, although a few of the women looked jaw-dropping amazing (one woman had the most beautiful abs I have ever seen) most of the women there were in the same boat as me – still 7 weeks of clean eating and hard training needed. In fact, there were a few women that I was probably ahead of in terms of my physique. That totally shocked me. As if that weren’t shock enough, as we got started I found myself actually having fun! I loved playing pretend as a child, and that is exactly what this felt like. I felt like I was playing dress-up and walking around in my mom’s heels. So, as it turned out, I had nothing to be afraid of. Doing it afraid was worth it!
I, also, got an illustration of a life lesson. While on stage you have to keep smiling the whole time… the whole time while the posing hurts (think arch your back and flex your muscles) AND you are wearing giant pinchy stilettos AND you could possibly be doing this for a long, long time. However, if you look like you are in pain you will probably lose. Where is the life lesson in this? It is in the smiling. Being miserable when things aren’t going your way does nothing for you, but smiling through your trials can actually he

Wednesday 14 September 2011

Tuesday Nights and C.S. Lewis


Tuesday nights in my world have become my night out. I hire a babysitter and I am out on the town. Where you may ask? Church. Yes, I said church. This church is particularly awesome, but my extremely exciting nightlife as a suburban mom is not what this post is about. (Side note though, you can check out the church at http://www.newrenaissance.ca/index.php)
What I am trying to talk about is some inspiration that came out of a combination of last night and C.S. Lewis. In full disclosure, my favorite author is C.S. Lewis. I can read and re-read everything he has written, getting something new out of it every time. If there were one person I could be like, it would be him. I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to be able to leave such a brilliant legacy. I mean seriously the man invented Narnia… umm awesome!
Anyway, on to the quote that sets my thought up for today. It is the opening from his book ‘Paved with Good Intentions’: ‘It does not matter how small the sins are provided their cumulative effect is to edge the man away from the Light and out into the Nothing. Murder is no better than cards if cards can do the trick. Indeed, the safest road to Hell is the gradual one – the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.’
Although this quote is referencing a demon’s perspective on separating man and God, it is also relevant to any of our goals in life. In fitness or nutrition, how frequently have we all let ice cream, cheesecake or a hamburger separate us from our goal of looking and feeling our best? How many times have we hit the snooze button in the morning when we were supposed to be getting up to go to the gym or go for a run? How many excuses of “I’m too busy to work out or eat healthy’ have we made when we still make time to check Facebook one hundred times a day? There are no signposts to tell us we are off track when we make these decisions. It is a slow, gradual, cumulative slope into ill health with every ‘just this once’ or ‘I deserve a treat after my day’. 
My suggestion? Let’s all get really intentional about our goals, not only in fitness or nutrition but in every area of life.  I don’t want to look back and think I allowed ‘cards’ to amount to ‘murder’ or in this case have junk food amount to a miserable overweight self just because I wasn’t focused. I want to feel great and look great. I want to accomplish everything I set out to do AND I think you do too. I also truly believe that it is possible for everyone to make the necessary changes in life to be satisfied with their health and appearance.  Make today the day you move forward. Pick a goal – even if it isn’t fitness related – and decide that you are going to get there.  You can do it!

Friday 9 September 2011

Friday is Tip Day - Bracing


I think we have all heard someone at one time or another say ‘engage your core’ or ‘make sure you brace yourself for this exercise’. Sooo what exactly does that mean, why does it matter, and how do you do it properly? Keep reading for a way to make every exercise more effective.
1)   What is bracing or engaging your core?  Bracing is a combination of breathing and tension. You are creating tension in your muscles, particularly in your abdominal area, while continuing to breath through your exercise. You want to do this in every exercise from pushups to squats to crunches.
2)   Why does it matter? Keeping your muscles engaged is important because it ensures proper form, therefore decreasing your chance of injury and it makes your exercises more effective. We all want more effective. I can tell you I didn’t get up at 5:15 am this morning to waste my time. I want every second of every movement to count!
3)   How do you brace? I want you to imagine you are a 15-year-old boy at your high school locker. You see your friend coming down the hall and in true 15-year old fashion, you know he will shove you as he walks by. What do you do with your muscles when you know someone is about to push you? You ‘brace for impact’. Try it… Voila, bracing. You should notice all your muscles tighten – remember that feeling and before you start any exercise remember to ‘brace for impact’.
Have a happy weekend folks!

Wednesday 7 September 2011

8 weeks

8 Weeks... 8 weeks... 8 weeks.... There are only 8 weeks until National Capital Fit Day. For some reason I got it into my head that a brilliant thing to accomplish while on maternity leave would be to enter a fitness competition.Yes, I know that sounds insane... it probably is insane, but apparently that isn't stopping me. I have paid my fees, hired a trainer, bought my suit and I am in preparation mode to drop the last few pounds and gain some muscle.

This brings us to today - 8 weeks away from competition. I am terrified - terrified that I don't have the self-control to stick with the meal plan or the ability to transform my body into something reminiscent of a fitness magazine. In the last two days, I have certainly strayed far from the straight and narrow of my eating plan of 7 meals a day of perfectly balanced protein and complex carbohydrates. I have consumed Greek Yogurt and All Natural Peanut Butter in quantities that would horrify my trainer and I have also come to the conclusion that what has been getting in the way of self-control is mostly fear.

Part of my aim for putting myself through this whole process was to develop a better sense of self-control. I have noticed, at least in myself, that living in a 'microwave generation' has done nothing to help me gain self-control. But I don't want to be a product of my generation - I want to shape a generation. What does this have to do with a fitness competition? A whole lot... it means deciding my mind, my will, and my emotions are in submission to a plan bigger than just this moment. It means giving up my temporary sense of control or satisfaction in a cinnabon and a latte for an accomplishment that will give me greater strength for the future.

Tonight that just means forgiving myself for the peanut butter.