You are probably wondering why I have a picture of Tony Horton on an Asylum blog post?? Well there is a small story to go along with it...
So yesterday was just an all around crazy day, was all sorts of busy and it seemed like I was everywhere. On top of it all, I didn't get my workout in, beings that it was sunny outside, I figured it be best to work on some farm equipment and make a few repairs before it got crummy out and before bees had a chance to make hives, especially those european hornets. After I got done with everything, spent some time in the shower washing all the grease off and got changed for night, I figured I'd jump on the scales just to see what if anything happened over the past few days. I read it the first time, was stupefied, walked off to fill my water bottles up, came back, got on again, still puzzled, walked off and did some more errands around the house, came back for a 3rd time, and once again, weighed myself. Each time I set foot on that scale, it kept reading 200lbs. I was stunned by that!
I remember a long time ago when I was a very different person, I had said to myself, "Gosh it would be nice to become skinny!" This thought was back when I was in college full time, seeing my fraternity brothers and how good they looked compared to me. I was envious, it was something that I wish I had, but didn't. Well, when I wanted to make a change, at that time, life got in my way and I didn't have the tools to deal with it like I do now. So I went on, doing what I did best, drinking beer, eating bad food, and being lazy. It wasn't until June 2009 that I would come the repercussions of that choice, when I went to my orthopedic doctor to have some hip pain looked at. I had injured them about 10 years before that playing football and a side effect of the injury caused a bone spur to grow across the top of the femoral arm on both sides to support that slipped epiphysis. It was a bad injury, was down for a year an a half and lost all eligibility to play sports in HS. Having remembered this, I was left with 2 choices, I could undergo another surgery, be down for a year, possibly 2 again, or loose weight, become more flexible, and learn to deal with it.
I sat on those decisions and finally on Sept 5, 2009, I made a choice, I was watching a info-commercial for P90X, and saw what they were doing, listened to Tony Horton talk about the program, and more importantly, it was like he was talking to me motivationally. It was at that moment, I made what I feel would become one of the most life changing decisions I have ever made. 632 days ago, I went out of my comfort zone, I reached out, and I set my first goal. At that time, I was 285 pounds and probably on the verge of a heart attack at 30. My first goal happened to be that by the time I was done with the program, I wanted to be down to 200 pounds. 200 pounds, did I fall on my head or something. You might wonder why in the heck I set my goal for the moon? I knew that if I kept my eye on the moon, and kept pushing for it, eventually, I would get there. If you really want something that bad, you'll do whatever it takes to get there. Shaun T reminded me of that fact along the way continuously when I started INSANITY and The Asylum.
Well, the magic number was 632. It took that long to reach my first goal, granted, I had other small steps along the way, sometimes even doubting myself, but I had this nagging need to push through and strive for my potential. And thats what I did. I proved that a guy like me, who has struggled most of his life with weight and sickness can change the tides with his bare hands. I shown that with effort and the right frame of mind, you can do ANYTHING that you set your mind to!! (Thanks again Shaun T for setting me straight!)
I've also had this pursuit to survive The Asylum, and I'm doing pretty good with it as well. It's been 25 days since being committed and it was my best and worst Gameday yet. Some things I was very good at, like the track stuff, the wrestling, the soccer drills, and surfing. Others, not so much, just struggled with the tennis drills, swimming, and rock climbing. Its just the way it goes sometimes, everyday cannot be easy. There will always be challenges for you to deal with. Overtime was rough too, but I made the best out of it and gave it my all. My control has come along way from day 1, my lungs have opened up a bit more, and my endurance is amazing. Now that I have better agility, I can work on my speed in the ladder and my control on the jump rope. Its amazing how you can change in such a short time.
I wish I would have got video today instead of having to type, but the weather didn't want to cooperate here in Michigan. Oh well, in the meantime, think really hard about this.... You can be your own biggest diehard fan, pushing yourself to the goals that you want to succeed, or you can be your own worst enemy, holding yourself back from achieving your potential and your goals... Which one would you want to be?
