Fitness

I've had several false starts this year with my fitness goals. I'm hoping my current motivation doesn't wane so easily.

I've set an arbitrary target date of August 3rd for myself. I don't have a measurable result I'm looking for by then. Rather, my idea is to see just how much I can accomplish in that short amount of time. Basically, I'm committing to making good great decisions with regard to my diet and exercise every day for the next 5-and-a-half weeks or so. I'm just going to take it one day at a time and live by the mantra:

"Every decision counts".

So last night, I didn't eat the skin of the chicken I BBQ'd the night before (the skin is my favorite part!). I stayed clear of the "Ooey Gooey" dessert bars my wife made, and opted for a banana instead. I drank only water. I put in my Hip Hop Abs DVD, intending to do the 30-minute workout, but decided I've had enough of that one for a while. I put on my gi pants, and made up my own routine:

• 2 rounds of the ground mobility cycle (on a heavy bag grappling dummy)
• a set of crunches
• a set of push ups
• another set of crunches
• a set of bench pressing the grappling bag
• repeat from the top

I started out at a moderate pace, focusing on correct form (particularly with my holds and transitions during the ground mobility cycle). I increased speed and intensity with each round of the routine. Pressing the heavy bag was pretty cool, because it's oddly shaped and balanced, with no places to grip, which added to the difficulty of lifting it. It weighs around 50 pounds. After 35 to 40 minutes of this cycle, I was dripping sweat. Way more so than I usually am after 30 minutes of Hip Hop Abs. I like this routine better anyway - it provides a chance to drill judo holds.

We'll see how this goes!