Pursue Fit Around the Clock

Hey readers!

I appreciate all of the clicks and reads on this blog. In order to better connect with you, please feel free to reach out and connect to Pursue Fit anytime.

You can email the blog at: pursueyourfit@gmail.com. I'll take the time to read and reply to each of your emails and would love to hear from you about any of the following:

• Suggestions for the site
• New topics to cover
• 'Read-aheads' for future posts
• Posts you might like to submit

You can also follow Pursue Fit on twitter with the handle @Pursue_Fit. Be sure to follow Pursue Fit on Twitter, as additional content is added to that profile on a daily basis than what is posted to this blog.

One last important note, one of the goals of Pursue Fit is to empowers you to find what motivates you to pursue your fitness goals. As such, I openly invite anyone to email Pursue Fit at any time if you need an extra bit of motivation, a pep talk email, or even just a couple workout ideas to get you out of a workout block.

Know that you can look to Pursue Fit as a partner to help you get to your goals. We know that getting there is a long journey, and a journey that might never actually complete. Since this can be arduous, it is often helpful to have a resource you can refer to for a little inspiration and boost.

Please let Pursue Fit know anything else that can be done to help you out on your way.

Please Make Fitness Fun!

Tony Horton made a plea in P90X3 to 'please make fitness fun!'. Gotta say something I find myself saying pretty darn often, Tony Horton's totally right. For nearly all of the population, working out is not their job and, thus, many people even see it as a hobby. Hobbies are supposed to be fun, right? When they're not fun anymore, no matter how challenging or enriching, they just cease to be a part of our daily rituals. 

So many people quit because the workouts fall out of habit, but what might be one of the causes of that? At the root, I think that it really does have to do with not having fun. Of course, there are other things that are very powerful drivers like needs for improved health or self-esteem. Those might take precedence on the 'Fitness Hierarchy of Needs', but there certainly is a place for fun on there. When it comes to a point in the early morning, how many times have we probably thought, 'dang, this going to be a serious drag' as opposed to 'Wow! Can't wait to do 5 sets of 24 lunges!' I'd like to think that the second one crosses my mind more often than not, but when the former hits my brain first, that's the sure-fire indicator that it's time to switch up what I'm doing. 

Speaking personally, I find that there are a number of programs that I've simply stopped doing a few weeks in just because I got bored with all of the repetition of the same routines and lack of diversity. I'd become sluggish and generally lost any enthusiasm to wake up early to get going for the gym. To me, the best programs are the ones that keep challenging you by trying to keep the training fresh by introducing different exercise pairings, schedule variations, and more imagination and do all of this early and often. New ways of challenging me, equals continued excitement for the day's workout. 

Regardless of whether or not you're a gym goer or a runner, etc., there are so many great, fun ways to keep fitness in our lives. All sorts of lower intensity activities like yoga to higher intensity activities like rock-wall climbing and whitewater rafting can be channeled to fight the good fight and incorporate physical activity into our lives. Not just any physical activity though, amazingly fun activities that challenge our minds and bodies. Sometimes the overall goal is to just keep moving, but we need to find something that charges us to move. 

However, I will add that proper physical training (whether it be cardio or resistance) is certainly a force multiplier that will help you excel at the things you love to do, thereby, upping your enjoyment of the sport or activity you've been enjoying!

In my daily routines, I've found that playing on organized teams (or even with the pick-up football crew) has become a motivator for pushing hard in the gym. Once we find something that we love to do, something to apply our fitness to, it seems natural, in a way, to use our desire to excel at that activity and use it as motivation for training. The premise of this almost seems to be physical activity begets more physical activity. If so, I like that idea. 

Coming full circle though, we have to find what makes us happy and what we find fun and challenging. What one person finds fun will not necessarily drive someone else. I think what I typically find fun is the general progress, the pursuit, of meeting the goals I set for myself. Setting benchmarks doesn't necessarily excite someone who finds lifting iron dumbbells completely overrated, no matter the program. This, again, brings us back to one of the above statements: just keep moving. Once we stop moving, we start regressing. 

If you're at a point where you need to find a little motivation, my suggestion is to think about the physical activities that you find the most fun to do. Don't just think about how to find ways to do them, but think about how to get even better at doing them once you start (or even before you start). This is this week's main charge from Pursue Fit. We've focused on a lot of introspection this past week! My apologies for that, but the mental side of fitness is such a crucial component to your overall success, so please do find the time to think and plan out your fitness.

The Status Symbol of Being Fit

The below quote has stuck with me for a long time. This line is attributed to well-known bodybuilder Ashley Horner  and there is just something about it truly resonates with me and is something I've come to use for some sort of motivation when the daily grind slows me down. Check this quote out:

I've shown this quote to different people and has received a couple different reactions. Some friends thought it to be spot-on while others even found it a tad bit arrogant. I've reflected a bit and while I whole-heartedly agree with what she's saying, I would address that what's being said here is actually proud, vice arrogant, and that's a completely different ballgame.

Is a well-built physique a status symbol? Absolutely, yes. If you go back to the very first Pursue Fit post (found here), this is something we touch on, at least as one of my personal motivations. Speaking for me (and I'm sure many others to some extent), a lot of the heroes we looked up to in movies, sports, etc. likely had very chiseled physiques, and I think that at a young age we make associations that show that to be something to be proud of and something that is fundamentally good that we should be driven to attain.

That should be piled on further to the discussion of hard work. For me, a high level of fitness is almost all about achieving a higher level of what I deem to be 'good'. To achieve this means relentless hard work and the fruits you harvest from that hard work result in a product that is uniquely yours and yours alone. This is your body and you've worked so hard to get to where you are and to get to where you want to be that your results are a source of pride. The only person that can take that away from you is you and it requires just as relentless of a pursuit to keep it as it did to get there.

Ultimately, all of your work and all of your results still boils down to one very fundamental premise and that's being truly happy with you. While I believe that a well-built physique is a status symbol, it's also important to point out that the definition of a well-built physique can be very relative and open to interpretation. It has often been said or alluded to in Pursue Fit but fitness is not anyone else's fitness it's your fitness.

Fitness doesn't just show someone a bit about who we are, it can sometimes scream it. Our physique lets others know that you have commitment, vision, and self-respect. This brings us full circle to the physique operating as a status symbol. Sometimes all we have before we speak to anyone or before anyone knows us are simply the first impressions we give off by your own appearance and that can make or break a personal/professional relationship in some cases. People will make a read on us and then develop core assumptions before the first words are ever spoken. All this to mean that our own fitness can be a true tool or ally in some cases in marching forward in other aspects of our lives.

This belief is a powerful motivator for me and is part of a complex picture of what gets me up early in the morning to start training. Fitness means different things to different people, but that's really the point of it, isn't it? The point is about transforming yourself into the good that you want be. It's not about being anyone else version of good, it's about developing and pushing you to be satisfied with yourself.

While I'm interested in whether or not you agree with what is being said here, it is much more important for us to sometimes have these conversations with ourselves. We need to ask ourselves questions like what is it mean to me to be fit or why is this lifestyle so important to me? If anything, I just hope that this post challenges us to take a step back for a second to evaluate and then re-affirm to ourselves why we drive ourselves.

Thanks for checking out today's post. Any comments are always welcome!

Headphones In, World Off

All bad workouts begin with forgetting an iPod, headphones, or an updated workout playlist. Overhead music at a gym can't account for your specific tastes and what motivates you to be at your best. I imagine it's much of the same way for so many runners, I'm more of a silent runner myself, but still, without the proper ambiance, your workout can start to feel pretty unsuccessful. 

Aristotle once wrote:

"Music directly represents the passions of the soul. If one listens to the wrong kind of music, he will become the wrong kind of person."

I like what Aristotle is saying here. No matter what your musical tastes are or no matter what it is that motivates you when you get your workouts in, the music you listen to is your tool that helps drive you that much more.

The right songs and the right playlists can whip us back into focus and push us through one more set and one last mile. For me, music is that boost of adrenaline to overcome the obstacles that are in front of me. Time and time again, the right song and the follow-on ability to block out the rest of the world and focus on the moment right in front of me is exactly what I need to push me through.

Now that I think about it while I'm typing this out, there has been no other dietary supplement that has had quite the same impact on my overall health and fitness than the musical sound waves have supplemented me. The right multi-vitamin, protein, or amino supplements only mean as much as the work that you put in. Without that work, we do not get that change that we seek. So, over everything else, I prioritize those things that push me to do my workouts that much more effectively.

A Muscle and Fitness article from a few years ago ranked the top 25 workout songs across all genres. Here are the top 10:

1) "Welcome to the Jungle," Guns N' Roses
2) "Enter Sandman," Metallica
3) "Back in Black," AC/DC
4) "Fight the Power," Public Enemy
5) "Eye of the Tiger," Survivor
6) “Hit ‘Em Up,” 2Pac
7) "Smells Like Teen Spirit," Nirvana
8) "Mama Said Knock You Out," LL Cool J
9) “Gonna Fly Now,” Bill Conti/The Rocky Orchestra
10) “1812 Overture,” Pyotr Tchaikovsky

For the entire list: 25 Best Workout Songs of All Time

Admittedly, only three of these are on my entire workout playlist, though all perhaps unarguably deserve a spot in the all time top 10. To give you a bit of a peak behind the curtain, my tastes are a bit harder for the gym, but these are the songs that get me pushing myself.

1) "Coming Undone," Korn

2) "Metalingus," Alter Bridge

3) "I Walk Alone," Saliva

4) "Original Don," Maor Lazer

5) "The Clincher," Chevelle

6) "Southtown," P.O.D.

7) "This Fire Burns," Killswitch Engage

8) "Psychosocial," Slipknot

9) "Magnolia Blvd," Butcher Babies

10) "Knights of Cydonia," Muse

Please share any of your top 10 workout songs below. Personally, I always welcome new additions to the playlist and any of your favorites might also help motivate others Pursue Fit readers too!

Total Body Circuit Workout (Birthday Edition)

Hey Pursue Fit Readers!

The most common roadblock we always face to meeting our fitness goals is the fight against time. We all lead very busy and packed lives and it's not easy to find time for a workout every day. One of the most significant contributors to our overall success is our ability to make fitness a habit, but without time, it's difficult to form a habit.

With that being said, check out the below workout that Pursue Fit put together. It's a total body circuit trainer that hits cardio, resistance, and core workouts. Timing this all out the workouts can range from about 15-20 minutes in length. Admittedly, it does not necessarily give you the same effect as 30 minutes running or a gym session, but the brevity ensures that you have time in your day to burn some calories. Here's how it works:

• You'll notice that there are cardio, resistance, and ab workouts and each corresponds to a day/month/year combination. Everyone has two numbers to choose from for each workout. I went ahead and used a birth date as a simple example. Say that your birthday is on October 17, 1994 (10/17/94), you would take each number and do the corresponding workout in order.
• Do each circuit of six workouts at least 3 times. 18 total sets should be enough to put you in that 15-20 minute range, but certainly feel free to grind out additional sets if time permits or if you made quick work and finished well before that 15-20 minute mark.
• Birth date is only used as an example. You can put a date combination for the current date, a milestone date in your life, or any random combination of numbers!

Cardio (Month)

0: 60 Jumping Jacks

1: 60 seconds jump rope

2: 45 seconds burpees

3: 20 box jumps

4: 30 plyometric lunges

5: 60 seconds mountain climbers

6: 30 Jump knee tucks

7: 60 seconds sprint-squat (3 seconds sprint-1 squat)

8: 45 seconds high knee spring

9: 45 seconds butt-kick springs

Resistance (Day)

0: 30 push-ups

1: 15 pull-ups

2: 15 two arm shoulder press

3: 15 dips

4: 30 body-weight squats

5: 12 plyometric push-ups

6: 25 body-weight squats into calf raise

7: 45 seconds wall squat

8: 20 step-ups

9: 10 handstand push-ups

Core (Year)

0: 25 In-Outs

1: 45 seconds high plank

2: 45 seconds low plank

3: 50 oblique twists

4: 30 second planks

5: 15 side-plank oblique-ups (per side)

6: 25 seated leg lifts

7: 50 lying flutter kicks

8: 25 sit-ups

9: 25 bicycle crunches

One of Pursue Fit's biggest aims to find ways to encourage you to get your workouts in and achieve your fitness goals. I hope that you enjoy this challenge and incorporate it (or any variations to it you make) to keep building on the positive habits that you have already established!

Let Fitness Pick You Up

My favorite part about fitness is and always been not the impact had on the body but the impact that it has on the mind. The medical community abundantly backs the understanding that physical activity has tremendous impacts on our mental well-being. It's a productive, inexpensive means to a positive and healthy end.

Many friends and family-members have struggled with depression and some hit some fairly low points. One of the most commonly shared remedies by these people was exercise; all types of cardio, lifting, yoga, and recreational sports. While not a single-source cure-all, but many of these folks attribute the positive influences that fitness have had on them to leading renewed and happier lives.

Here are a few of the things that regular fitness and activity can do for your mind and transform your well-being.

1. Working out increases your energy level. A simple boost in natural energy levels has significant impacts on your mood and general outlook. Physical activity releases a chemical called endorphins. This chemical is said to reduce our perception of pain, reduce anxiety, and even improve the quality of our sleep. Shifts in these three categories can cause a wholesale shift in our moods and, when done on a consistent basis, combat that negative energy.


2. Exercise can help our self-image. We're talking about building up our confidence here. Succinctly put, in addition to the feeling good that exercise can do for us, looking and feeling more healthy can go a long way when we look at and perceive ourselves. If self-image is ever a cause for any negativity or depression, exercise is the natural protagonist. It's never easy, but the end result is feeling better about ourselves and feeling more confident in the process. When we feel confident, we're better equipped to take on the world and do good.


3. Achievement is always the best feeling. A certain satisfaction comes with just getting stuff done; setting goals and not just achieving, but surpassing those goals. One workout, leads to a routine, which leads to a regimen, which leads to results. This progression and building yourself, all while keeping high energy and boosting our confidence, gives us a sense of drive and even a sense of purpose in some cases. At the very least, the achievements of general fitness allow us to find positives in ourselves and the things that we set our minds to. That continual ability to find the positive and strive for something good will inevitably combat the bad.

The mental aspect of fitness can so often be overlooked, but, my friends, the body is nothing without the mind. A healthy mind leads to a healthy body, and a healthy body feeds back into building an even healthier mind. This is a symbiotic relationship in which each are mutually dependent on the other for long-term sustainability. Never discount the pure value our minds have for our overall fitness. I can't stress enough how important of a topic this is for me, and I encourage all of you to reflect not only on the physical perks, but take time to reflect on what fitness does for your mind.

Please leave comments or send me an email with some of your thoughts how fitness keeps us mentally strong as well. Thanks for reading today!