After a long Summer of playing music, partying and tomfoolery, there are some consequences that us mere mortals must reconcile with: lighter wallets and heavier results on the weighing scales. I didn't think I'd ever write about losing weight again, nor did I think I'd ever write about fitness.
For those of you who have read my previous post about a relatively easy way to shed a few pounds, you'll know that there is one thing I hate in every day life; exercising. The amusing truth about that is the fact that it's quite difficult to avoid, if you want to remain "in shape". So, for the last couple of months, as I've been writing music and preparing for the next 6 - 12 months of performing, I've also been gathering information regarding the best ways to not only lose those dreaded pounds that one acquires through carefree fun making but also to get fit and, dare I say, "tone-up". When it comes to exercise, I always look for shortcuts because the idea of spending copious hours in a gym, quite literally, makes me feel ill. Especially when, as one enters a gym, one if faced with a room filled with dozens of "what could bes". Those "what could bes" are the people who possess the discipline to get off their asses and make the trip to the gym to do their couple of hours exercise, several times per week to keep fit, feel and look good. But, as I said, shortcuts are what I adore when it comes to this facet of my life.
I have scoured numerous blogs and online magazines for the "best" and "quickest" ways to get in shape and regain some sort of personally acceptable body shape. There have been literally thousands of articles about getting "in shape for the Summer" aimed at both men and women. Many of these seem legitimate but I never trust the "before" and "after" videos (click here for an example of why). On the other hand, there are those plans that fall under headings, like the Geordie Shore lads tried, such as "No Carbs Before Marbs". Personally, as crazy as it might sound, I have a little more faith in these types of super-publicised plans simply due to the fact that these louts are constantly visible on 'red top' websites such as The Sun and The Mirror. If there was heavy cheating happening, the savages in tabloid 'journalism' would expose it. So, I'm making a compromise for myself and seeing what I can achieve with a few weeks of discipline and determination.
This past week, my kid sister moved to Australia, like so many of our generation, for a year. As we spoke about what we had planned for the next 12 months, I joked that I would have a 6-pack by the time she came home from her travels. 12 months is a huge amount of time for one to totally transform their body, it really is. So, I've decided that I'm going to try and obliterate this informal target. But, first of all, let me explain my motivation.
Firstly, this is not an endeavour of vanity. If I have learned one thing since I first decided to lose weight, it is this: success is only as marked by one's self. By that, I mean, that your ability to achieve a fitness or weight-loss goal can only be measured if you have a target in mind. For example, if you want to lose weight; how much weight do you want to lose? If you want to get fit; what distance to you want to be able to comfortably run, walk, row, cycle? The key to all of these is finding your own finish line and learning to be satisfied with your achievement. If you are one of those people who looks at buffed up gym bunnies on the cover of a magazine and covets their abs or pecks or arms or whatever, you'll ultimately fail because you are, most probably, not taking into account the fact that your body is different to theirs. This is, in my experience, is why so many perceive their achievements as failures. They don't set realistic targets for themselves and lose motivation when they don't see results quickly enough. Yet, here I am about to publicly set a target that is perhaps unreachable within the time-frame I have set for myself.
Secondly, my 'mission', if you want to call it that, is not an effort to undermine any of the existing fitness and body-sculpting plans that are out there. I know my limits in terms of exercise and I plan to write on a weekly basis about my experience and how I have increased, or decreased, in progress. A lot of you sent some great messages to me about my last weight-loss post and it was great to see that you found the details useful for yourselves. The purpose of this post and future posts related to this endeavour is to: A) Inform you as to what works for me and B) by writing about it online, with the 25,000 - 30,000 regular readers who visit this page, it'll push me to stick to my guns and see out the challenge.
So, here's my plan...
From today, Monday, September 16th, 2013, until Saturday, November 16th, 2013 I will be taking part in my own fitness plan with a view to toning-up, getting fit, and, the ultimate goal, having the outline of a 6-pack abdomen. The reason I added the third goal is because I've never had one or anything really close to one. I have no real reason to want to have one but, I just want to see if I can do it. 9 weeks is not an overly long period of time for this exercise but I am curious to see if it is achievable. I won't be using the "Insanity" fitness plan, that is 12 weeks and far too intense for a novice gym-goer, like me. I also won't be taking any protein supplements or creatine/whey products. Having two family members with careers in sports and fitness, I've come to learn that, while these products are very useful, the long term effects are potentially dangerous and surprisingly unresearched to the point that I feel uncomfortable using them.
With today being just my first day, I'm not going to give any details about what I am doing or what I plan to do every day but, I will in the next post. All I will state is that I'll be staving off quick-release carbs i.e. white rice, pasta, potatoes and bread, as well as abstaining from alcohol for the next 30 days. After that, I will slowly re-introduce these glorious elements of life back into my diet and will have, hopefully, increased my exercise levels to the point where I can moderately enjoy them without worrying too much about their ability to hinder my progress. Oh, and I won't be posting any pictures of the progress either, until the very end. I find people posting shots of themselves to be a little off-putting so I'll spare myself and you folks, those details. However, I will, no doubt, post a before and after shot at the end of the 9 weeks, especially if all this goes my way ;-)
So, if you are interested in what I am about to embark on. Feel free to subscribe to this blog in the column to the right and to write to me at smokinghotcoffee@gmail.com
