fitness

by Winston Ash on #Fitness

# Fitness Update

Time to get serious. Health is my priority.

Here are some of my fitness goals for this year:

  1. Weight

    1. Current Weight: 271 lbs.
    2. Goal Weight: 235 lbs.
    3. Action Plan: Lose 36 lbs. by October 8th, 2016 – Weigh-In @ 9:00 AM

  2. Running

    1. Finish 5K
    2. Finish 10K
    3. Finish Spartan Race or Tough Mudder
    4. Complete Endurance Run of 13.1 Miles

  3. Overall Health

    1. Body Fat Percentage under 15%

  4. Diet

    1. No Soda
    2. 3 Day Fast once per Quarter
    3. Limited Sugar Intake
    4. 1 Gallon of Water Daily
    5.  Read more about Ketogenic Diet & Explore other options; Low-Carb, High Protein

All of this is towards the ultimate goal of being healthy. Better than I was each day. Long and healthy life.

 
by Winston Ash on #Fitness

#Fitness: August 2016 Recap

Things I noticed:

  1. I started the month focused on fitness. Then I put more emphasis on my business. And fitness took a hit. Need to adjust my schedule to make both priorities.
  2. Running is getting a lot easier. I am in a good rhythm now. Any day I can jump on the treadmill and push out 3 miles. I am very satisfied.
  3. Need new music, now!
  4. NEW PERSONAL RECORD: On Aug. 12th I ran my fastest mile @ 8:01

Stats:

Start Month – 254.1 lbs.

End Month – 253.7 lbs.

Miles Ran – 21.2

Average Pace – 10:57 min./mi.

Training Schedule:

Cardio – Following a schedule put together on Runkeeper to get me in shape for a 10k. Missed 55% of the scheduled training sessions. However, I made up most of them by doing the work on different days.

Weights – Still not getting back into lifting, yet.

Summary

Overall, it was a mediocre month. I need to do a much better job staying consistent. That will be my key to success.

Grade: C

 
by Winston Ash on #Fitness

#Fitness: Hurt vs. Injured

Each breathe comes faster than the last. And then I hit my rhythm. Two heartbeats per breath. And I can feel my chest thumping. Thump. Thump. Breathe.

And then my left ankle speaks up. You know what I mean. It says “What are you thinking? You can’t do this. I’m in pain.”

And from this convo I learned a trick while running.

Identify the defective system. Sorry, left ankle. No disrespect.

Thank the pain. It means you’re still alive. I say, “Thank you left ankle for letting me know.”

But that is just information.

To decide what to do next I go one level deeper.

Are you hurt or injured?

Why the 20 questions you ask?

To make sure that I know the difference

[Tweet “So I can identify my limit and push it.”]

Because I said so.

Hurt vs. Injured – What’s the difference?

Here’s how I see it. Hurt = pain but I can push through it. Injured = I have to stop and should get medical care.

Those are hard standards. But it has allowed me to push right up against my comfort zone.

So next time your body screams at you to stop. Ask yourself that question.

And if nothing else, you just went 5 more seconds. Sounds win-win to me.

 
by Winston Ash on #Fitness

#Fitness: July 2016 Recap

90 Days of Running

via @ RunKeeper.com

The chart above is from RunKeeper. An app I have been using over the past three years to keep track of my workouts.

July was a good month for me. I spent a lot of time focusing on getting back into shape. Finally, my foundation is set. I can run 3-5 miles. It’s a good feeling. My focus on fitness is not new but reinvigorated.

Why Now?

I just feel it is time. I need to ensure that I take care of myself. I am optimistic about the future. And the best way to take advantage of the opportunities I see is to be healthy. So the real question is why not? I have the time and it does not take that much effort. The hardest part was the start.

Why Running?

So, this is actually an illuminating answer.

[Tweet “Because I hate it. And because running is hard.”]

I know not good reasons on the surface, but when you dig deeper it makes sense. There are a lot of things I do becuase they are easy. BUT I never feel that sense of satisfaction and accomplishment. My choice of running is becuase I can win at it. Running is a personal journey and no one can do it for me. My choice is because the only one who wins or loses is me. And I decide everything about it.

I know … that is a lot of thought about running. But at the end of the day. My choices matter.

What’s the goal?

Good question. Maybe next month I’ll have a long-term goal. Right now it’s just RUN.

Lessons Learned

Don’t stop running. Restarting after a few weeks off is Hard. And not in the good way of picking running as my activity. My body does not adjust well to starts and stops. I crave consistency.

 
by Winston Ash on #Fitness

#Fitness: August 2016 Goals

Here are some goals I want to hit in the month of August. I haven’t defined my overall goal for running, but I have a few short term goals.

Goals

  1. Run 60 total miles
  2. Break my PR per mile – Currently at 8:49 set in 2013.
  3. Get ready for a 5k race in September

That’s it for now. 3 simple goals that will keep me moving and motivated.

 

Hope you guys have a great month!