Under the influence of Eric Thomas' T.G.I.M. series I decided to make my challenge going to the gym for 21 days straight. I have heard that it takes 21 days to create a habit, while I don't believe this, it at least provides a concrete number to shoot for. I completed the challenge and felt good after doing it. I was less tired during the day after working out the morning, and it helped me wake up as my body began to become accustomed to the routine. Some days were shorter than others, sometimes only 20 minutes, but it was more about the process than the duration. One day I had stayed up late so slept in until 10 and planned on only staying at the gym for 10 minutes. Fast forward that same day and I just finished my third mile on the treadmill, so I realized that the hardest part of a workout for me is just simply showing up. Instead of developing some intricate workout program as was my first impulse, I decided to just go and figure out which exercises to do once I got there. I like to do compound movements, such as bench press, squats, dead-lifts to work multiple muscles groups at the same time. I would do high sets of these exercises, 5 or 6, simply to take the guesswork out of which exercise I'm going to do next. Sometimes having too many options can become paralyzing.
That's one of the problems with our diet crazed society. Everything becomes overcomplicated, where sometimes simplicity is the answer. Sometimes the smallest steps, such as giving up soda, lead to slow albeit the best results. Detox diets and workouts such as insanity are more glamorous, but take significantly more discipline, which is also a muscle that should be developed by making small successes and building self-confidence.
My next challenge is going to blog for the next 21 days straight. I guess we'll see how that goes.
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