Plan? Plan? I Have to Have A Plan?

Image by Official U.S. Navy Imagery via Flickr

"What’s your plan?"

This question was posed to me by three different people over a one week period while trudging around the gym doing that thing it is that I do.

Hmm, I thought my plan was to get my health back, wear a size 12 pair of jeans, and do it without hurting myself or anyone else.

The anyone else is important.

While burning up the Precor machine a while ago I hit the cord on my earphones that somehow managed to flip my Blackberry up in the air and like a bullet it took off across the gym nearly taking out three other people!

Plan, eh? I have to have a plan?

Finding their question rather delightful I guess I never really thought that I had to have a plan - although I did have goals.

Since my entire career is based around goals and plans, plans and goals is does seem rather odd that I would not have a plan around my fitness goals.

However, I am also a bit of a creative - well maybe not a bit and there are times where I totally enjoy being a free spirit.

The gym a place were I just kind of let my spirit loose and decide what I am doing based on oh let's say my mood or what kind of music I want to listen to... ooohhh perhaps they caught on to that and I have been official busted. Damn.

In my own defense I had been following my previous trainer's fitness plan and in January of 2010 I had gotten a workout routine from Paul Plakas.

One of the things that Paul Plakas is known for is setting fitness goals.  

My first fitness goal was to wear high heels for one day without falling and breaking my neck.  For some reason he didn’t respond to that one! (Apparently he doesn’t wear heels and he probably didn’t understand the challenges associated with being able to wear them for a WHOLE day!)

The second fitness goal I threw out was to climb Garbage Hill without expiring. Still no response.

My third idea was to bike 24 kms. Still no response.

The fourth was to climb the Turtle’s Back with ease.  That got him excited. Me? Not so much and anyone who has trudge up that crazy hill knows exactly what I am talking about.

This past summer I completed all four. I even exceeded the biking goal, throwing my neck out for a week – but who cared I did it. My niece and nephew along with a couple of their buddies trudged up the Turtle’s Back with me and I appreciated that.  

All that being said this meant setting a new goal.

I decided that perhaps trying a half marathon would be a good challenge to work towards provided that my knee would hold out and began to arrange my workout to reflect that idea.  

Then my pals at the gym asked me about “my plan” and it got me to thinking.  

Is running a half marathon the right fitness goal for me? Ah, probably not. Maybe there is something else I could take a look at that would be more suitable to my personality.  

And, after thinking about it I have an idea. In the New Year I am going to send out some feelers to see if anyone else may be interested. However, it will require a partner, someone who knows what they are doing, and this time maybe someone a little closer to home.

One of the magical gifts that come with friends and good acquaintances is that they have an amazing ability to keep you on track and in check.

And, as the New Year approaches and as tradition dictates it is time to ask you: What is your plan?

ThInQ About It!

And to get you in the mood here is Eye of the Tiger as posted on Youtube.

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• My Half Marathon Training Plan (ferventfoodie.com)
• Happy Holidays! Happy Half Marathon Training! (carlybananas.com)
• 'Tis The Season - 2012 Goals (rockthedogs.wordpress.com)

Inspiration? Wasn't Expecting That!

A couple of weeks ago one of the people at the gym that I have gotten to know came up to me and said, “You inspire me.”

Wasn't expecting that.

Image via Wikipedia

While we were having a bit of a visit I kept thinking... how on earth could I be an inspiration to this woman? She is drop dead gorgeous. I am honoured and the same time befuddled.

The truth is she, along with a handful of others, are the ones that keep me going. (aside from the inner fear that one day Paul Plakas will make a surprise appearance and I will be made to run through some ridiculous obstacle course in front of everyone)

Last fall when I resumed my membership at the gym I knew it was going to be a big commitment. It was much harder than expected.

There are two parts of the gym one for women and the other coed. While getting my feet underneath me I hung out on the woman’s side. Everyday taking the electronic fitness test on the Precor machine and everyday failing.

One of my friends was taking Zumba and being the silly willy I can be I used to hide behind the machines making faces at her and shaking my bootie while she was dancing. All fun and games until the gal in front of her thought I was putting the moves on her and was winking back.

Time to move to the coed side.

And like my usually self I went over there with the intent of making new friends.  

(There was one individual in particular that I planned to meet. Big Red. Of course as luck would have it my tongue got wrapped around my tonsils, my inner 12 year old came out and to this day I have never been able to speak. If my ogling hasn’t gotten on his nerves I can guarantee you it has definitely gotten on mine. Although I am certain if I looked behind me there is a long line of people wanting to shake the hand of the one who actually rendered me silent! )

Aside from messing it up with Big Red I made a series of additional errors by saying hello to a couple of people. It was kind of an odd feeling when I was met with the laser hairy eyeball stare, as in “what in the hell are you doing?” I didn’t understand it. The third situation one little pup told me to get the “heck out of the road” when he wanted the bench I was using. I still have not found my forgiveness button and every time I see him I secretly want to trip him – although that wouldn’t be very nice. 


Right then and there I decided that if I was going to do this it was going to be done my way - with or without the Lulu Lemon headband.

Needless to say, and this took me a bit of time to understand, I hadn’t just entered a gym where I was going to work out and meet friends. I had entered into a community and it was going to take a bit of time before in-roads were going to be made and the friend thing was going to have to wait.

While waiting I was reminded that communication 80% body language and even though I was in a place  filled with people who have nearly perfect bodies (because they work at it) there were just a few who really popped out of the crowd. And, that has to do with their inner mojo  - they have a special bounce in their step and a sauce in their swagger. Interestingly enough they also seem to me to be the ones who are the most disciplined with their workout routines.

These are the folks who inspire me and fortunately I have gotten to know most of them.... except for Big Red and Curly.

My quick visits with Candace and on occasion with her man Alex are always the opening act.  I have been amazed by Courteney’s transformation. Jeannette who digs deep into her work outs and Mike who is always checking to make sure that life treating me well. If it wasn’t for the gym I probably would never see Roj.

There have been invitations to join classes and messages of encouragement.

My pal Jen is a spark in the dark and she has the most amazing laugh never mind killer abs. She reminds us via Twitter and through her Facebook posts that she isn’t always up.

And  - that is other great part of this community. Somehow we keep each other going with high fives and you go because without it would be too easy to go home and curl up on the sofa to watch the rerun of Bridgette Jones Diaries while munching on a box of bonbons.

Inspiring people are around you every single day. They are the ones who stir the tiny sparks of desire within so that you find yourself saying: I can do that! I can do that!

It is not the same as being competitive. It is really the beginning of a great adventure should you decide to take it. Where are you inspired to go?

ThInQ About It!

And while doing that how about a little Miley Cyrus as posted on Youtube.

Related articles

• Dance your way to fitness with Zumba (justsave.co.uk)
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• Woman Uses White Board Messages to Inspire Others on Michigan Ave. (the2012scenario.com)

Paul Plakas Asks Questions

Today Paul Plakas, personal education and fitness trainer and television host of X Weighted posted this on Facebook: Question to provoke discussion - This year I am going to ask questions that I would like a variety of opinions upon. Question #1 - Do people have a responsibility to the rest of society to take care of their own health? or the less politically correct question: Do people have the right to make themselves morbidly obese?

Plakas always seems to have a way of making one think. Even if it ruffles one’s skin the wrong way. It took me about two hours to sort out how I was going to respond to his provocative questions because there was at least 100 different ways I could go with this.

The only person that has a responsibility for your health is you. Society on the other hand has the responsibility to provide services and tools to help those with the desire take control of their own destinies.

A few years ago I was diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder. There is no denying that with amount of stress and trauma occurring around me this was a real possibility. At the same time I was also having problems with “strange attacks” that felt like butterflies in my chest and my hands would turn bright red.

To help with the post traumatic stress disorder I was put on the most fashionable drug of choice at the time for anxiety - starting out with half a pill of the lowest dose.

The affects were quick and profound. I was so keyed up I was nearing swinging from the chandeliers. To help with my sudden burst of non-stop energy I was then put on another drug to bring me down. All the while the “strange attacks” were not getting better, they were getting worse.

Already struggling with my weight the one good news story during that period was that I was experiencing amazing results with my trainer at the gym. For the first time in my life I was able to do chin ups and was jogging. That all fell apart when the cocktail of uppers and downers caught up resulting in a weight gained 40 pounds in two weeks.

I was immediately taken off the drugs, however, the “attacks” continued.



Outwardly I appeared calm. Inwardly I was hysterical. Desperate to get the weight off I attended a healthy eating class and took up walking as much and as often as I could.

While in class I had one of my episode and was ushered in to see a Nurse Practitioner.

Turned out those “strange attacks” were allergic reactions to the preservatives and chemicals added into our foods. Later I learned that tests could not be run to find out which chemicals were the culprits because they don’t know what is being put in our food and whatever the additives are they are constantly being changed and the medical community cannot keep up. I also learned that a symptom of an allergy attack is anxiety.

Ugg!

The Rule of thumb became eat nothing out of a box or a can and if I do – don`t just read the labels - study them.

Unfortunately my body could not hold the weight and I started to fall, successfully managing to embarrass my niece and nephew (and others) at the most inconvenient times and in most public places. Eventually I tore up the cartilage in my knee so badly I could barely stand never mind trying to walk. Advil and Tylenol became my friends for months until I was able to receive surgery to get things cleaned up.

The rips in my knee were so bad the surgeon took pictures of it and dropped

them off in the recovery room as a parting present. He also told me that that the surgery was not going to work and even though he wrote me the script for physiotherapy neither was it.

I chose not to hear him.

Off I went for physio learning very quickly the problem was not my knee it was the way I was walking. I spent that summer learning how to re-walk and dropped 30 pounds.

By the next summer I had taken up biking but a cyst on my foot, a popped knee cap, and a car accident put a damper on all of it. Even with physiotherapy the bike riding became too difficult.

Getting really fed up with the situation I got myself back to the gym, got focused, said the hell with everything. Eventually I got a hold of Paul Plakas who set up a couple of routines to help strengthen the injured areas and I went to work. Just over a year later another fifteen pounds lighter and four sizes smaller my health is now that much better. 

Do people have the right to make themselves morbidly obese?

Every person has their own unique story on how they found themselves in trouble with their weight and chronic obesity. To me obesity is just an outward reflection on what is occurring on the inside.  Every person’s weight story is complex and to try to put it all under one label as being this or that is being irresponsible and naive.

It is one of the most stigmatized conditions especially in Western society and reality television shows that offer prize money for weight loss in my mind is offensive. So is cutting funding in schools for things like physical education and then as a fundraiser having the students sell chocolate covered almonds.

What I have shared is just a tiny glimpse into all the work that has occurred during the past five years, but the work is paying off and I’m not done yet. Slowly yes, but every step with assured confidence.

The only person that has and can take responsibility for your health is you. The services and tools you need exist within society should you desire take control of your own destiny.

ThInQ About It

Manitoba's Drummer Boy Sean Quigley

Now, this kid looks like he is having fun. Only in Manitoba could you enjoy hammering out the drums in the middle of snow bank! 

ThInQ About It!