(357,1,'2017-01-08 11:16:18','2017-01-08 16:16:18','<div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/p/my-transformation.html\" target=\"_blank\">I lost 107 lbs.</a> I trained for 140 miles. I raised $2,520 for Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (so far). <a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/p/my-story.html\" target=\"_blank\">I spent one year of my life</a> turning around my health and fitness. I re-learned how to think about nutrition and what I put in my mouth. I got in tune with my body. I gave it my all. <b>And then I ran...&nbsp;</b> <br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HstNwartSZo/UghMjZ55oAI/AAAAAAAABMY/DZKjY9XAUGE/s1600/IMG_20130811_085545_822.jpg\" style=\"clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"></a><a href=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-53XecJMNMbU/UghdwnvLaFI/AAAAAAAABNo/v5yvEVClDGg/s1600/runkeeper+roadrace.jpg\" style=\"clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" src=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-53XecJMNMbU/UghdwnvLaFI/AAAAAAAABNo/v5yvEVClDGg/s400/runkeeper+roadrace.jpg\" height=\"297\" width=\"400\" /></a></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div>All I can say is...<b>wow</b>. What an experience! No wonder so many people want to run the <a href=\"http://www.falmouthroadrace.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Falmouth Road Race</a>! I had heard that it was the second most popular race in New England, the most desirable race in the country, etc...but I had <b>no idea</b> what an incredible <br /><a name=\'more\'></a>experience it would be! As you can see from the <a href=\"http://www.runkeeper.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Runkeeper</a> screenshot above (check out my <a href=\"http://runkeeper.com/user/dwmctague\" target=\"_blank\">Runkeeper profile</a> and <a href=\"http://runkeeper.com/user/dwmctague/activity/223465808\" target=\"_blank\">road race activity</a>), I got the time I was shooting for! Runkeeper reported 1:10:13 and my \"unofficial\" chip time was 1:10:04.<br /><br /><b>For the non-runners out there </b>- there are two different \"times\" many timed races will report - \"Gun Time\" and \"Chip Time\" (sometimes called \"Net Time\"). Gun Time is<br />the time from when the gun goes off and the race starts to when you cross the finish line. Chip Time (or Net Time) is the time from <b>when you actually cross the starting line</b> to when you cross the finish.&nbsp; You may think these times would be the same, but if you\'re in a large race you might actually cross the starting line one, two, five or even ten+ minutes after the gun goes off. Yesterday in the Falmouth Road Race I didn\'t cross the starting line until <b>more than 20 minutes </b>after the gun went off. They call it \"Chip Time\" because it\'s the time when your timing chip crosses the start and finish. They call it \"Net Time\" because it\'s the gun time minus the time it takes for you to get to the starting line (in this case, \"Net\" is a math term).<br /><br /><b>In terms of performance and results</b> - Yes, I got the time I wanted. I<i> </i>was pretty steady in my pace and stayed under 9:46 per mile the entire race. Once I got up the big hill in Falmouth Heights (the last challenge where lots of runners drop) I turned it on and zipped to the end on a mission. I felt great, due I\'m sure in part to a number of things including proper sleep the night before, being hydrated, good pre-race nutrition, my intra-workout drink during the race and a clear head with a positive attitude. Know what helped? <b>It was like I was the only person out there. </b>Nobody else mattered. I was doing my thing and the other 12,799 people were just...<i>there.</i> People zipped ahead of me early on and I smiled to myself thinking \"I\'ll see you around mile 5\" and I passed people walking from mile 3 onward thinking \"I was you during the Finish at the 50 10K\". I learned a lot and it paid off!<br /><a href=\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HstNwartSZo/UghMjZ55oAI/AAAAAAAABMY/DZKjY9XAUGE/s1600/IMG_20130811_085545_822.jpg\" style=\"clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" src=\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HstNwartSZo/UghMjZ55oAI/AAAAAAAABMY/DZKjY9XAUGE/s400/IMG_20130811_085545_822.jpg\" height=\"225\" width=\"400\" /></a><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><b>There are two things I want to put out there</b> for those of you who don\'t know: 1. I ran this race as a part of <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/pages/Team-Lanzoni/195301487166598\" target=\"_blank\">Team Lanzoni</a> - the <a href=\"http://www.99restaurants.com/community-jimmy-fund.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">99 Restaurants team</a>. Team Lanzoni is a part of the <a href=\"http://www.rundanafarber.org/\" target=\"_blank\">Dana-Farber Cancer Institute running program</a>. 2. I am a<a href=\"http://www.massfreemasonry.org/\" target=\"_blank\"> Freemason</a>, and so was my grandfather Peter. <b>What do these two things have in common?</b><br /><b>&nbsp;</b> <br />Last July my grandfather passed away. During his battle with cancer, he was taken care of in the Dana-Farber center at Faulkner in Boston. They took great care of him, were incredibly compassionate, and were there for my family when we needed them. They took the time to make sure they did everything they could and to make sure we were OK when we ran out of options. I wanted to be able to do something for them - help to give someone else a fighting chance. I ran this race for him, and I carried him with me the whole 7.4 miles (or maybe it was him that carried me). <br /><br /><b>Speaking of Team Lanzoni...</b><br />One of the guys in corral 5 with me was an interesting character. His name is Eric Parent, otherwise known as <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/Thesmoothbear\" target=\"_blank\">TheSmoothBear</a>...<br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cfVvJlD5RHg/UghM0qylKOI/AAAAAAAABM8/58bvbfIPXc8/s1600/IMG_20130811_124505_406.jpg\" style=\"clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" src=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cfVvJlD5RHg/UghM0qylKOI/AAAAAAAABM8/58bvbfIPXc8/s400/IMG_20130811_124505_406.jpg\" height=\"225\" width=\"400\" /></a></div><b> </b>This guy is a part of Team Lanzoni too. He\'s got a <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_ysTsVcPVvMDZc6T2DbslQ\" target=\"_blank\">vlog (video blog, check it out here)</a> where (among other things) he chronicles his running thing. I checked out some of his videos and he\'s pretty entertaining. In one of his videos <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vljs7vx3248&amp;list=UU_ysTsVcPVvMDZc6T2DbslQ\" target=\"_blank\">RFTF: Orange Is The New Black</a> he literally talks about the Netflix show OITNB while running. I mean, I know some runners can just have a conversation like its no big deal while they cruise along, but I guess I was kind of expecting that from those toothpicks in running shoes...TheSmoothBear (no offense buddy) is a big dude, not your typical running toothpick, so I was surprised. I know I sure as hell can\'t have a conversation like that while running, so kudos to you on that! As far as content - he just kinda tells it like it is, which I like. It\'s always good to see a big guy (read beasty, not fat) rockin\' out in fitness world, so more kudos to you on that! Keep on keepin\' on. Hopefully I see this guy again in next year\'s Falmouth Road Race. Be sure to check out <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_ysTsVcPVvMDZc6T2DbslQ\" target=\"_blank\">his vlog</a> and <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/Thesmoothbear\" target=\"_blank\">his Facebook</a> - let him know Darrell sent you from \"So THIS Is Fitness...\"!<br /><br /><b>But Perhaps The Best Part Of Yesterday...</b><br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PR1JvMqF12U/UghLZ0RSzYI/AAAAAAAABJ0/l9T1d6iFuT4/s1600/IMG_20130811_070044_443.jpg\" style=\"clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" src=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PR1JvMqF12U/UghLZ0RSzYI/AAAAAAAABJ0/l9T1d6iFuT4/s640/IMG_20130811_070044_443.jpg\" height=\"640\" width=\"360\" /></a></div>We may not have run next to each other, but being out there with my fiancee Megan was great! She\'s been right there next to me since day 1 of P90X when this whole thing started, and it was a great feeling to be out there with her for our biggest challenge yet. I\'m so proud of her and how far she\'s come. Despite knee issues (and no uber-knee brace like I have) and a history of debilitating cramps every time we run she achieved her best pace to date and <i>smashed </i>the time she expected to get, coming in at 1:21:48. Sounds like she plans on being a part of Team Lanzoni with me next year for this race, and in the more immediate future...hopefully she\'ll be a part of my next undertaking...more on that soon.<br /><br /><b>Oh, By The Way:</b><br /><a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/p/running-playlist.html\" target=\"_blank\">My Playlist</a> did me a lot of good. I find it ironic that <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEXHeTcxQy4\" target=\"_blank\">Chelsea Dagger</a> never came on through the whole run, but I did have <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-2yuGgp_U8\" target=\"_blank\">Lift Me Up</a> on for that last hill climb in Falmouth Heights, and let me tell you it felt pretty badass climbing that hill and flying to the finish rockin\' out to that.<b> </b><br /><br /><b>So, Overall?</b><br />The Falmouth Road Race<b> </b>was an incredible experience, I performed better than I could\'ve expected, felt great and I\'m looking forward to next year where hopefully I\'ll get a lower number and a better corral.<br />Just think - if I can do this, <b><u>anyone</u> can do it</b>. Get out there and <u><b>get to it</b></u>.','And Then I Ran... | Falmouth Road Race','','inherit','closed','closed','','118-revision-v1','','','2017-01-08 11:16:18','2017-01-08 16:16:18','',118,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/118-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),(358,1,'2017-01-08 11:16:42','2017-01-08 16:16:42','<div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Lym0hWbDKeY/Uga_wdROo8I/AAAAAAAABJY/XrddHCjnomM/s1600/IMG_20130810_123839_406.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"295\" src=\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Lym0hWbDKeY/Uga_wdROo8I/AAAAAAAABJY/XrddHCjnomM/s320/IMG_20130810_123839_406.jpg\" width=\"320\" /></a></div><br />So here we are. Tomorrow is the big day. Race day. I keep hearing that the Falmouth Road Race is the biggest, most popular race in New England second only to the Boston Marathon itself. All things considered, I believe it. I\'ve been preparing for this for months, and I feel like I was preparing for it before I even knew I was doing it. I\'ve logged over 140 miles training for this which, frankly, isn\'t<br /><a name=\'more\'></a> as much as I would\'ve liked. I suppose it was about the best i could do considering I\'ve been doing a bodybuilding program for the past 8 weeks...cardio and heavy iron aren\'t usually best friends...<br /><br />Anyway - in preparation for the race I gave special attention to my <a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/p/running-playlist.html\" target=\"_blank\">playlist</a>. Some songs were ditched and some added. This was a painstaking process and believe it or not I did \"road test\" most of the songs I was considering...kind of the only sure way to know you can run to it.<br /><br />First - additions:<br /><br />A couple of these are actually kind of working as <a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/2013/08/running-on-rocket-fuel-anatomy-of-power.html\" target=\"_blank\">Power Songs</a> for me <br /><a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wws7mnMewPw\" target=\"_blank\">135 BPM - Slipknot - Psychosocial</a><br /><a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9cM06Ok4TU\" target=\"_blank\">140 BPM - La Roux - Bulletproof (Chrispy Dubstep Mix)</a><br /><a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fVE8kSM43I\" target=\"_blank\">145 BPM - Slipknot - Duality </a><br /><a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PvebsWcpto\" target=\"_blank\">148 BPM - Florida Georgia Line - Cruise</a><br /><a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-2yuGgp_U8\" target=\"_blank\">150 BPM - Five Finger Death Punch - Lift Me Up</a><br /><a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLk75fFXqH4\" target=\"_blank\">152 BPM - Five Finger Death Punch - Under And Over It</a><br /><a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2icdM9KuHU\" target=\"_blank\">152 BPM - Five Finger Death Punch - Back For More</a><br /><br />Next up - cut from the team:<br />These songs were just really throwing off my rhythm. Overall they were too slow and I was trying to move too fast to them - ended up off-sync and with a weird stride. <br /><a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tolm-07if3c\" target=\"_blank\">108 BPM - The Ting Tings - Shut Up And Let Me Go</a><br /><a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyDUC1LUXSU\" target=\"_blank\">120 BPM - Robin Thicke - Blurred Lines (feat. T.I. and Pharrel)</a><br /><a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXBFun0ijYQ\" target=\"_blank\">120 BPM - Cobra Starship - Hot Mess</a><br /><a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlW1VYrETAM\" target=\"_blank\">120 BPM - Karmin - Brokenhearted (R3hab Remix)</a><br /><a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlOAMKTj0hU\" target=\"_blank\">125 BPM - Rammstein - Du Hast</a><br /><br />Last - tried and failed:<br />I really wanted to be able to run to these songs, but <a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/2013/07/the-music-while-running-controversy.html\" target=\"_blank\">you just can\'t force it</a>. Instead of my running playlist I\'ll have to be satisfied with having these on in the car or something. Maybe when I do a cycling playlist I can revisit these (cadence and pace is different)<br /><a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyDUC1LUXSU\" target=\"_blank\">120 BPM - Robin Thicke ft. T.I. - Blurred Lines</a> (too slow of a beat, couldn\'t match the rhythm to my stride)<br /><a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asOvnGHwtDU\" target=\"_blank\">138 BPM - The Vines - Get Free</a> (beat just wasn\'t quite right...almost)<br /><a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktvTqknDobU\" target=\"_blank\">150 BPM - Imagine Dragons - Radioactive</a> (song is kinda slow and draggy. Beat would be good but its a sluggish kinda song - not energetic enough for running)<br /><br />One thing is for sure - I. Am. Pumped. I feel like I\'ve trained and have gotten myself to a point where I can not only finish, but finish strong with a time I can be proud of. I\'ve run the course once for practice so I know what to expect and I\'ve re-tooled my <a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/p/running-playlist.html\" target=\"_blank\">playlist</a>. Just think - if in one year I can do what I\'ve done...anyone can.<br /><br />At this point, there\'s nothing to it but to do it. See you at the finish.','Primed And Ready - Falmouth Road Race (w/ playlist update)','','inherit','closed','closed','','119-revision-v1','','','2017-01-08 11:16:42','2017-01-08 16:16:42','',119,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/119-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),(359,1,'2017-01-08 11:16:57','2017-01-08 16:16:57','At this point a lot of people have heard, seen or read <a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/p/my-story.html\" target=\"_blank\">my story</a> and asked me <b>how I did it</b>. How I got started? How I stayed motivated to keep going? Turns out, a lot of people ask me that question because <b>they want to know how THEY can do it too</b>.<br /><br />Well, here we are. The \"Get Up And GO\" Guide. This will break down everything you need to know, do, and remind yourself in order to...well... Get Up and GO! Let\'s dive right in - <br /><br />First Thing\'s First<b> - Get Out Of Your Own Way!</b><br /><b></b><br /><a name=\'more\'></a><b><br /></b><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LH9jfUr-XhM/UgKqj7IHAOI/AAAAAAAABHE/CFvxtJCN2P8/s1600/stifstopsign.jpg\" style=\"clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" src=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LH9jfUr-XhM/UgKqj7IHAOI/AAAAAAAABHE/CFvxtJCN2P8/s1600/stifstopsign.jpg\" /></a></div><b>YOU </b>are the only obstacle in your way. Nobody can<br />tell you that <b>you can\'t do it</b>. <b>Your voice</b> is the only voice that matters. You are <b>perfectly capable</b> of achieving your goals. So, <b>stop the excuses</b>, <b>do</b> what you need to do to be in a position to begin your journey...and <b>do it!</b> I could go on for hours, but that\'s about all there is to say in this part of the guide. I\'ve already talked about the <a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/2013/07/the-inconvenience-factor-accepting.html\" target=\"_blank\">\"I Don\'t Feel Like It Syndrome\"</a>, <a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/2013/07/defeating-demotivators-1-fear-monster.html\" target=\"_blank\">The Fear Monster</a>, <a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/2013/07/why-workouts-fail-1-napoleon-complex.html\" target=\"_blank\">The Napoleon Complex</a> and <a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/2013/07/conquer-truth-about-motivation.html\" target=\"_blank\">motivation itself</a>, so we\'ve covered a lot of the bases concerning why you might not have been doing anything - it\'s time to figure out what\'s been keeping you away from a better you and <b>beat it</b>. Those other articles might <br />help.<br /><br /><b>So What Are You Gonna Do Now?</b><br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Meem0uxYX6U/UgPzfNL6fHI/AAAAAAAABHk/vf2fQbWEsgc/s1600/ok-now-what.jpg\" style=\"clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"240\" src=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Meem0uxYX6U/UgPzfNL6fHI/AAAAAAAABHk/vf2fQbWEsgc/s320/ok-now-what.jpg\" width=\"320\" /></a></div><b>&nbsp; </b><br />No, really...assuming you\'re ready to do something, you have to know <b>what it is</b> you\'re gonna do! That means you need to have a goal envisioned in your mind. What is your goal - <b>what do you want</b> in the end? It\'s going to be a long road, and you need a road map to get there. So, figure it out!<br /><b> </b><br />Are you trying to burn fat and get lean (known in fitness world as \"cutting\") or get big and build muscle (\"bulking\")? What do you want to look like? What size do you want to be? What weight are you shooting for? Where do you want to be in a year? I know it seems far off, but if you set your ultimate goal now you can figure out your plan and set little, more immediately attainable goals to achieve along the way. Trust me - little victories along the path to the Promised Land can do a lot more for you than you can appreciate right now.<br /><br /><b>OK, </b>So you know where you want to go - <b>How Do You Get There?</b><br /><br />This is the part where you have to choose your starting point - what you\'re actually going to do to start losing/gaining weight. This can be a big decision, and it IS an important one.&nbsp;<b> </b>Megan (my fiancee) and I were between two programs - P90X and INSANITY. We were familiar with the two from word of mouth, internet ads, and tv infomercials. We had a rough idea of what we were in for and what the two were like. In the end, the differences we were deciding between were:<br /><br />P90X - requires some equipment, allows lots of modification of moves, well-rounded program<br />Insanity - requires NO equipment, doesn\'t really allow much modification (or any at all), cardio HELL. <br /><br />We decided, in the end, to do P90X first. Frankly, <b>I\'m glad we did</b>. For what we were looking to do it was a good starting point. It allowed us to ease into things modifying moves and achieving little victories, still getting the full workout done instead of failing after one or two full-out intense reps. It allowed us to <b>feel good</b> about our achievements and see our <b>progress</b> as we went along. <b>Yes,</b> we would\'ve seen progress in INSANITY too, but the fact we couldn\'t go balls-to-the-wall and get more than a couple reps might have discouraged us from finishing the program. Doint P90X also helped us build a base of muscle and shed some initial weight (read: a LOT of weight) that helped make INSANITY suck a whole lot less.<br /><br />In the end, <b>we made the right choice for us</b>. Maybe the other choice would\'ve worked for you. That\'s probably the toughest part - in the end, <b>you have to make the call.</b> Look into your available options and choose what you think is going to serve you best. P90X allowed my 300 lb out-of-shape self to struggle for 10 pushups on my knees and still complete the workout. Progress is progress -<br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kLDUQomQlGk/UgRhkwa-zqI/AAAAAAAABH0/llsPETZ427c/s1600/dead-last-finish-meme.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"200\" src=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kLDUQomQlGk/UgRhkwa-zqI/AAAAAAAABH0/llsPETZ427c/s400/dead-last-finish-meme.jpg\" width=\"400\" /></a></div>Because let\'s be honest - you\'re already lapping the guy still sitting on the couch.<br /><br />Once you figure out what you\'re doing, you need <b>the tools for success</b>.<br /><br /><b>What are The Tools For Success?</b><br /><br />Generally, whatever the program you\'re doing calls for! If you\'re going to do a program like P90X that requires equipment, <u><b>you need that equipment!</b></u> Things like resistance bands, pull-up bars, push-up stands, yoga mats, etc can be found at stores like Marshalls, T.J. Maxx, Wal-Mart, or your favorite sporting goods store. I got my resistance band set for about $12, same with some nice push-up stands. Yoga mat was about $12 for a nice one and yoga block was $5 (worth it). Trust me,<b> the equipment</b> <b>is worth the investment</b>. Don\'t let a few extra bucks scare you away - it\'s worth it for your health, fitness and enjoyment. I\'d happily invest that $50 again to add enjoyable years onto my life. If you\'re going a little more hardcore with something like P90X2 or Body Beast, you\'ve probably already done some workout programs and have built up a collection of equipment already. <b>Don\'t choose a program simply because of a lack of required equipment</b>. I almost made that mistake, and if I had, I might have gotten discouraged and quit INSANITY, and I never would\'ve gotten in shape and started running.<br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RAPp4HY0GyQ/UgRt0lGoo_I/AAAAAAAABIk/MWs3CFqF70I/s1600/IMG_20130730_103135_867.jpg\" style=\"clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"360\" src=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RAPp4HY0GyQ/UgRt0lGoo_I/AAAAAAAABIk/MWs3CFqF70I/s640/IMG_20130730_103135_867.jpg\" width=\"640\" /></a></div><br />If the program you\'re doing has worksheets, trust me...<b>print them and use them. </b>I WISH I had printed and used the P90X worksheets - I\'d LOVE to see how far I\'ve come since then. Not only that, but the worksheets help you stay on track, remember what weight/how many reps you did last time, and <b>continue to steadily improve</b>. I thought I knew better. Guess what? <b>I didn\'t.</b><b> </b>I\'ve come so far that now, in Body Beast, not only did I use worksheets, but I found better worksheets online and modified them to suit my needs. <b>USE THE WORKSHEETS</b>. You\'ll thank yourself later.<br /><br /><b>Before and After Pictures &amp; Measurements are HUGELY Important!</b><br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><b><a href=\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-U7bfQ1zYljU/UgRmPd603xI/AAAAAAAABIE/a9_wxDme9Sk/s1600/885308_10101200011174872_1745072204_o.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"377\" src=\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-U7bfQ1zYljU/UgRmPd603xI/AAAAAAAABIE/a9_wxDme9Sk/s640/885308_10101200011174872_1745072204_o.jpg\" width=\"640\" /></a></b></div><br />Seriously, if you take one piece of advice, take this - <b>DO THE BEFORE AND AFTERS!</b> You have no idea how sorry I almost was...I waited until Day 6 of P90X to do before pictures.&nbsp;<b> </b>I was<i><b> so ashamed</b></i> of my body and <u>disgusted</u> with how I looked<b> I didn\'t even want to do before pictures</b>. <b>I wanted to forget all about it</b>. I am SO glad I finally did the before pictures. I can see how far I\'ve come! I can appreciate my achievements! It\'s such a great feeling and now that I\'m so much more fit people look at the before and can\'t believe it. (you can see all the <a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/p/my-transformation.html\" target=\"_blank\">before &amp; afters here</a>) I <b>wish </b>I had taken measurements before. The only one I have is my waist size, and that\'s not entirely accurate. It was likely bigger than I think. <br /><b>Take Pictures, take your measurements, document your journey. Fit-&amp;-Healthy You WILL thank yourself. </b><br /><br /><b>Once you do that, it\'s GO TIME</b><br /><br /><b>SO, </b>You\'ve got direction, you\'ve got a program, you\'ve got the tools and you\'ve taken the pics/measurements. Presumably, you have a <b>suitable space</b> to do your workout. Anywhere you can do your workout, use your equipment, not disturb others (too much) and not be disturbed by others will do. <b>Don\'t worry about people watching you</b> <b>- let the hater\'s hate. </b>I would think anyone that could see you in your workout space would be someone close to you, and I would hope someone that close wouldn\'t judge you. <br /><br /><b>NOW that we\'ve moved on from the haters - </b>Get your fit test done (if there is one). Some programs, such as P90X, have a fit test you do before and after the program, whereas other programs like INSANITY have a fit test that is part of the regular schedule. Whatever the case, DO IT. Again, <b>you\'ll thank yourself later</b>. <br /><br /><b>This Is The Easy Part</b><br /><br />Not to rip a line from Nike or anything...but...well...Just Do It! You\'ve got everything you need. Just. Freaking. <b>DO IT! </b>If you need motivation along the way, just think about where you came from, where you want to be, and how much you don\'t want to look like that before picture again. Think about how good it feels to finish a workout and have that little success under your belt. Think of how good it feels to see yourself shrinking week to week, see your clothes fitting looser, needing to go shopping to buy new ones. Think of your loved ones and how you\'d like to be around a little longer for them, or how you\'d like to look better for them. If you\'re like I was, think of <b>how much it sucks to get winded going up one flight of stairs</b>. Everyone has that one little nugget of <i>something</i> that will kick their butt into gear no matter how much the workout sucks, how much you\'re swearing at Tony Horton or Shaun T through the TV, or how much you REALLY just <i>don\'t </i>want to get out of bed and go work out this morning.<br /><br /><b>If you need a little outside help</b> keeping yourself accountable, be a part of a group designed for just such a purpose. There are many on Facebook, many in real life (with real people!) too. Enough people reached out to me talking about inspiration and asking for advice that I went and made one. If you want, you can become a part of it&nbsp;<a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/groups/sothisisfitness/\" target=\"_blank\">here</a>. I\'ve been a part of one for a while and I can tell you it was definitely a great motivator on the days I needed it. Other days, it\'s a great place to learn something or help motivate others. <b>Maybe having a workout partner </b>is what you need. I know having my fiancee there beside me every day doing the workout with me was a big deal. <b>I tried harder</b>. For her and for me. If she could do it, I could do it. If I could do it, she could do it. We were a <b>team</b>. Once we got to the end of Week 1 Day 6 we looked at each other and said \"If we can get through the first week, we can get through the whole thing.\" - and we did. <br /><br /><b>Fight off those last little excuses </b>that creep into your mind! Don\'t try to fool yourself and say you don\'t have time: no matter how long you work, how screwed up your hours, how awful your schedule, remember: <br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MxsTZj6guyg/UgRq8Uu1ZEI/AAAAAAAABIY/tTzzOSFUWF4/s1600/too-busy.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"240\" src=\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MxsTZj6guyg/UgRq8Uu1ZEI/AAAAAAAABIY/tTzzOSFUWF4/s320/too-busy.jpg\" width=\"320\" /></a></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\"><br /></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\">Think you<b> can\'t do it? </b>It\'s just<b> too hard </b>and you\'re <b>too out of shape?</b></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\"><br /></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-isFEI803Hzc/UgRxlKyUZzI/AAAAAAAABI0/QiEz6h3NlAI/s1600/no-excuses.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"320\" src=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-isFEI803Hzc/UgRxlKyUZzI/AAAAAAAABI0/QiEz6h3NlAI/s320/no-excuses.jpg\" width=\"310\" /></a></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\"><br /></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\">So <b>get to it, Nancy. <u>You got this. </u></b></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\"><br /></div><b> </b>','The \"Get Up And GO\" Guide','','inherit','closed','closed','','120-revision-v1','','','2017-01-08 11:16:57','2017-01-08 16:16:57','',120,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/120-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),(360,1,'2017-01-08 11:17:12','2017-01-08 16:17:12','So you\'re running along, you\'re doggin\' it, life sucks, and all of a sudden a song comes on that just hits you the right way. Your stride picks up, your breathing straightens out, there\'s a bounce in your step and you\'re running like you just got a power-up in a video game. <b>Ladies and gentlemen - </b>your playlist just gave you a Power Song! We\'re back in this thing!<br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WtE8WGQK6C4/UfzbrZ7R-OI/AAAAAAAABFY/nYt2joTan9c/s1600/super+mario+star.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" src=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WtE8WGQK6C4/UfzbrZ7R-OI/AAAAAAAABFY/nYt2joTan9c/s1600/super+mario+star.jpg\" /></a></div><br /><b>Wait...what?</b><br /><b><br /></b>The <a href=\"http://www.falmouthroadrace.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Falmouth Road Race</a> is 8 days away <br /><a name=\'more\'></a>and I\'m going on my last long run pre-race today...probably a 5 or 6 miler. I\'m going through my music to make sure my <a href=\"http://sothisisfitness.blogspot.com/p/running-playlist.html\" target=\"_blank\">playlist</a> is up to date (there will be a <a href=\"http://sothisisfitness.blogspot.com/p/running-playlist.html\" target=\"_blank\">playlist</a> update article soon) and the thought struck me that there might be some people out there that <b>don\'t know what a Power Song is</b>. Power Songs are like the secret weapon to success in the running / workout world (as far as I\'m concerned)! I mean, aside from proper nutrition, stretching and hydration of course. <br /><br />I searched the internet and I really couldn\'t find much<b> </b>about \"Power Songs\", which was disappointing. So, I suppose we\'ll start with the obvious question...<br /><br /><b>What IS a Power Song?</b><br /><br />A power song pumps. you. <b>UP.</b> You can be slowing down, losing steam, feeling like you want to stop - it\'s just TOO much...and then a Power Song comes on and you feel <b>recharged.</b> <b>Refueled.</b> Ready to <b>take <span style=\"font-size: small;\">ON</span> <span style=\"font-size: large;\">THE</span> <span style=\"font-size: x-large;\">WORLD</span></b>. A Power Song doesn\'t just bring you a second wind - it brings you a <span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b>HURRICANE</b></span>. If you\'re already cruising along? You cruise along <b>harder. Faster. <u>Stronger</u></b>. Each step is <i>effortless</i>. Each rep is <b>lighter </b>than the last. A power song is like <a href=\"http://www.mariowiki.com/Star\" target=\"_blank\">Super Mario\'s Invincibility Star</a>. Every time a power song comes on I feel as amped up as the <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRuNxHqwazs\" target=\"_blank\">Powerthirst video</a>, or the guy in the <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTvtFp_iPKc\" target=\"_blank\">Old Spice commercials</a>.<br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WkTYPDlSPLw/Uf1nDr_u3GI/AAAAAAAABFo/MYuJiwvHiR0/s1600/hqdefault.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"240\" src=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WkTYPDlSPLw/Uf1nDr_u3GI/AAAAAAAABFo/MYuJiwvHiR0/s320/hqdefault.jpg\" width=\"320\" /></a></div><br /><b>Seriously</b>, it\'s tough to put a hard definition on it, but basically a Power Song is like a turbo-shot of <b>GO</b>. And it will get you through the worst parts of your workout or run like you just started out and will leave you feeling fresh as a daisy. The beat is perfect, you sync up just right, you get your stride right, you get pumped up and super-motivated and you just <b>go. </b>It\'s a great feeling. So, naturally, you\'d like to know how to find the most awesome power song out there right?<br /><br /><b>You can\'t.</b><br /><br />Sorry, Charlie. That\'s not how it works. You can\'t <i>force </i>a Power Song - you can\'t choose it. <b>It </b>chooses <b>you.</b> I know, it sounds strange, but it\'s true...it just <i>happens</i>. You\'ll be listening to the radio and just start jamming out, feeling everything I just talked about. You can be at the gym and it comes on. You might even have thrown one in your own playlist and <b>not even have realized it</b>. But when it hits you, you\'ll know. It can be from any genre, it can be any length. It can literally be ANY song...and it\'s different for everyone. SOMEHOW, one of my fiancee\'s power songs is&nbsp;<a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-D1EB74Ckg\" target=\"_blank\">160 BPM - Selena Gomez - Come And Get It</a><b>. I can\'t understand it</b>. But it works for her. That\'s just how it is. My FAVORITE power song right now is&nbsp;<a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEXHeTcxQy4\" target=\"_blank\">154 BPM - The Fratellis - Chelsea Dagger</a><b>. Every single time</b> I hear that song I get amped up and want to run.<br /><b> </b><br /><b>That doesn\'t always happen</b>.<br /><br />There are some songs that I love that WERE Power Songs but just don\'t get me as amped up as they used to. They\'re still great to run to and work well on my playlist, but they somehow just aren\'t Power Songs anymore. Sometimes it works for me, sometimes it\'s just a regular running song. <b>Go figure</b>. While I do try to load myself up with songs that have Power Song potential...<br /><br /><b>You can\'t just make a playlist entirely of power songs</b><br /><br />Really, it won\'t end well. Either you\'ll stop getting amped up to many of them, as happened to me, or EVEN WORSE - you\'ll gas yourself (run yourself out of gas). The whole point of a Power Song is that it amps you up and puts you into overdrive...but you can\'t run like that for your entire run! <b>Maybe </b>if you\'re on a 5K you can, but anything more than that you\'ll regret it.&nbsp;<b> </b><br /><br />So, keep your ears open and give a listen - you might be surprised what songs you find yourself air-drumming or dancing in the car to. When you feel that adrenaline hit - write it down or Shazaam it and put it in your playlist! Give it a go, and if it works out as well as you think, <b>congratulations</b> - you just permanently increased your playlist by 1. And climbed a mountain later on.','Running on Rocket Fuel - Anatomy of a Power Song','','inherit','closed','closed','','122-revision-v1','','','2017-01-08 11:17:12','2017-01-08 16:17:12','',122,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/122-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),(361,1,'2017-01-08 11:17:27','2017-01-08 16:17:27','So apparently people are reading this blog and are getting inspired to get up off the couch and get fit and healthy. I have to say,<b> I\'m pretty happy about that</b>. That was part of the big picture here, I just wasn\'t sure when it would actually start happening. So...<b>yay</b>.<br /><br />People have asked me to write about a number of things and to review a number of things (there\'s even products being sent to me to be reviewed!) and I thought <i>well, if people want to hear about it, why not write about it</i>.<br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OQLFtgmXEl0/Ufh9zBLaG7I/AAAAAAAABEQ/GkQQbZG2aeE/s1600/fruitweights.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"192\" src=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OQLFtgmXEl0/Ufh9zBLaG7I/AAAAAAAABEQ/GkQQbZG2aeE/s400/fruitweights.jpg\" width=\"400\" /></a></div>So here we are. Nutrition. <br /><a name=\'more\'></a>Someone asked me to talk about the Paleo diet but that\'d be like trying to go into AP Calc without covering Algebra 1 first - so I thought I\'d start with <b>The Basics</b>. Yes, this information is available from other sources, and there\'s one in particular I really like, but it\'s kind of technical and assumes you know a lot more than you might if you\'re just starting out - so I\'m going to try to present it in an easy-to-digest way (no pun intended).<br /><br /><b>What\'s Up With The Watermelon dumbbell?&nbsp;</b><br /><br />This whole \"fitness\" thing, as I found out very early on, is <b>80% nutrition</b>. Back when this all started I learned very quickly that in order to survive the intense workouts of P90X, and later INSANITY and so on, I had to <b>eat right </b>to properly <b>fuel my body</b>. Because...well...<br /><br /><b>As it turns out, </b>potato skins and chicken tenders don\'t get it done.&nbsp; <br /><br />There are a few important things to know in order to meet your nutrition goals.<br /><br /><b>How Much Should I Be Eating To Gain/Lose/Maintain?</b><br /><br />I feel like many people don\'t know that there is a <b>magic number</b> of calories to eat to maintain your weight. To keep this simple, we\'ll call this your \"Caloric Maintenance Level\" or \"CML\".<br />There are several formulas out there and a million \"calculators\" to figure out your CML, but MANY of them are inaccurate. We\'ll use \"<b>The Mifflin St Jeor Equation\"</b> since it seems to be the most accurate one out there <i>for those who don\'t know their body fat %</i>. This equation will give you your \"BMR\" or \"Basal Metabolic Rate\" which is the base calories your body needs to survive if you were in a coma:<br /><br />MEN: BMR = [9.99 x weight (kg)] + [6.25 x height (cm)] - [4.92 x age (years)] + 5<br />WOMEN: BMR = [9.99 x weight (kg)] + [6.25 x height (cm)] - [4.92 x age (years)] -161<br /><br /><b>Now multiply that number</b> by what I\'m going to call \"The Fitness Factor\" (choose based on activity level)-<br />1.2 = Sedentary (Desk job, little \"real\" exercise - sit around a lot)<br />1.3 - 1.4 = Light Activity (light exercise 1 - 3 days per week, light activity job...walking a bit)<br />1.5 - 1.6 = Moderate Activity (moderate exercise 3 - 5 days/week, waitress or other \"moving\" job)<br />1.7 - 1.8 = High Activity (hard exercise 6 - 7 days/week, physically demanding lifestyle)<br />1.9 - 2.2 = Extreme Activity (athlete in endurance training, VERY Active physicaly-engaging job)<br /><br />Odds are you probably fall somewhere between Sedentary or Moderate. So, multiply your BMR by your \"Fitness Factor\" and that is ROUGHLY your Caloric Maintenance Level. THIS IS NOT AN EXACT SCIENCE but it\'s about as close as we can hope to come without some kind of sports performance lab.<br /><br /><b>That was a lot of math - now what?</b><br /><br />So that\'s your \"caloric maintenance level\". That\'s the number of calories you would need to eat in a day to remain the weight you are. Yes, I said that was a <b>magic number</b> of calories to eat to maintain your weight, but <b>that\'s only if you eat the right foods</b> (we\'ll come back to this).<br /><br /><b>I\'m assuming you\'d like to lose weight?</b>&nbsp;<b> </b>If so, you need to create a <b>calorie deficit</b>. What\'s that? That\'s eating less than your CML. You generally will lose 1 lb per week if you eat a daily 500 calorie deficit (ex. your CML is 2500 calories per day, you would eat 2000 per day to lose 1 lb per week). If you want to lose 2 lbs per week, 1000 calorie deficit. <b>Note: this works in reverse for gaining weight</b>.<br /><br />Most sources I\'ve seen out there say <b>it\'s not safe to try to lose more than 2 lbs per week</b>. I understand your results may vary, but it\'s not a good idea - <b>GENERALLY</b> - to go out there on a 2000 calorie deficit because you want to lose 4 lbs per week. There\'s also a base level of calories they say you shouldn\'t go under - I believe it\'s 1200 for women and 1700 for men. I could be wrong. <br /><br /><b>Another note: EATING TOO LITTLE IS JUST AS BAD AS EATING TOO MUCH</b>. Your body can go into \"starvation mode\" if it sees you\'re not getting enough food - you\'ll hold onto fat and may become \"catabolic\" - which means rather than breaking down fat and food for fuel, it will break down MUSCLE that you\'re working so hard to build! (That\'s bad). So make sure you keep it to a 500 or 1000 calorie deficit, NO MORE.<br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><span></span><span></span></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PAuQE0eYmOA/Ufpa6bvTkiI/AAAAAAAABEw/v88zHw9PouI/s1600/2121272.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"224\" src=\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PAuQE0eYmOA/Ufpa6bvTkiI/AAAAAAAABEw/v88zHw9PouI/s320/2121272.jpg\" width=\"320\" /></a></div><br /><b>OK - I know how much to eat...but what am I eating?</b><br /><br />No, the answer is not \"Pizza, chicken, veggies and soda\". In order to build a healthy meal plan for yourself you have to understand what exactly your eating. There\'s these things called <b>macro-nutrients </b>and <b>micro-nutrients</b>. We\'ll worry about micro-nutrients later - that\'s some advanced stuff. <br /><br /><b>Macro-nutrients?</b><br /><br />Don\'t worry, it sounds WAY more complicated than it is. <b>Protein</b>, <b>Carbohydrates</b> and <b>Fat</b> are the three macro-nutrients. I\'m no food scientist, but I\'ll be bold here and say everything you eat is, among other things, made up of these macro-nutrients. <b>NONE OF THESE THREE THINGS ARE BAD. </b><b><b>Protein</b> </b>is not just for muscle-heads at the gym<b>. Carbs</b> are not bad, no matter what some \"diet\" programs tell you (diet is a 4-letter word!). <b>Fat</b> is not bad, you need a certain amount of it to survive, but too much can be bad. <br /><br /><u><b>It\'s all about how much of each you take in</b>.</u> The right balance will take you a long way to getting the results you want. Many sources will tell you to follow a particular ratio - When I was following the P90X nutrition guide that\'s where I got this idea from. There are also some sources out there that tell you following ratios are bad. I\'ll go into all the specifics on this later, but to get you in the right direction I\'ll start you with what I started with:<br /><br /><br /><b>50% Protein, 30% carb, 20% fat. That\'s what one program I did called \"fat shredder\". </b><br /><br />It\'s a high-protein-based diet to help build muscle while burning fat. <b>PLEASE do not take this as \"the one true way\". </b>This is supposed to be \"The <b>Basics</b>\" and this is just <u><b>one</b></u> way to get you started. I am going to go in-depth on macro-nutrients in another article, but this is a starter to take you in the right direction. Also, this works best when you\'re putting forth some kind of effort to work out. Then again, <b>life </b>works best when you\'re putting forth some kind of effort to work out.<br /><br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6aL08Jo9dCU/UfpizV3KdnI/AAAAAAAABFA/BIvp_6OW-Qg/s1600/40222467.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"400\" src=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6aL08Jo9dCU/UfpizV3KdnI/AAAAAAAABFA/BIvp_6OW-Qg/s400/40222467.jpg\" width=\"337\" /></a></div><br /><b>NO.</b> It doesn\'t. I\'ve seen and heard about this \"If It Fits Your Macros\" thing. That is wrong - it\'s an excuse to eat something you want that you know isn\'t all that great for you. That\'s all I\'ll say on \"IIFYM\".<br /><b> </b><br />There are a lot of things that I stopped eating when I began my journey. I stopped drinking soda, I stopped eating deep-fried foods, I switched to whole grain bread instead of white, I SERIOUSLY dropped my fat intake, etc. I made a LOT of changes, some of them hard. It may not have been easy, but I had a pretty serious motivator (see <a href=\"http://sothisisfitness.blogspot.com/p/my-story.html\" target=\"_blank\">my story</a> if you need a refresher) so I stuck with it. I\'m not saying you have to <b>completely</b> cut all these things out, but you should start scaling back so that, eventually, you can cut it out. Once again, I\'ll go into more depth on what\'s not all that great and why later on (it ties in with macro-nutrients) but suffice it to say, all these bad-for-you things will take your macro-nutrients out of whack and GENERALLY increase your fat intake.<br /><br /><u><b>This isn\'t about depriving yourself.</b></u> This is about teaching yourself how to <b>eat right</b> and give your body what it <i>really </i>needs, not what you\'ve been made to think you want. I am super-happy with the things I eat, and people look at me sideways telling me I need to cheat once in a while. <b>I do</b>, it\'s just not what <i>they </i>would consider cheating. So many people \"diet\" then gain it all back, say <b>nothing works</b> because they don\'t really <b>learn</b> how to eat right and get better habits. I don\'t <b>\"diet\"</b>, <b>\"diets\" fail. \"Diets\" </b>don\'t <i>teach </i>you anything - they do the thinking for you. I just <i>follow good nutrition</i>. <br /><br /><u><b>You can too.</b></u>','So THIS Is Nutrition... The Basics','','inherit','closed','closed','','123-revision-v1','','','2017-01-08 11:17:27','2017-01-08 16:17:27','',123,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/123-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),(362,1,'2017-01-08 11:17:50','2017-01-08 16:17:50','<div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-roXayL-pktU/UfD-CtE2EVI/AAAAAAAABAo/ur-zuMH1c90/s1600/fat-scale2.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"211\" src=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-roXayL-pktU/UfD-CtE2EVI/AAAAAAAABAo/ur-zuMH1c90/s320/fat-scale2.jpg\" width=\"320\" /></a></div><br />I tried incredibly hard - probably WAY harder than I should have - to come up with a catchy title for this article...but when it comes right down to it...it\'s really simple. The Scale - the common bathroom scale - is a major reason why workouts fail.<br /><a name=\'more\'></a><br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9lacERfSFIM/UfHEZMkksnI/AAAAAAAABB0/mbAefPsgQzs/s1600/g137479893039795542.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"320\" src=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9lacERfSFIM/UfHEZMkksnI/AAAAAAAABB0/mbAefPsgQzs/s320/g137479893039795542.jpg\" width=\"288\" /></a></div><br /><b>Yeah,</b> you heard me right. The Scale is a problem. There are a few reasons why, but The Scale is Public Enemy No. 1 in workout world. The Scale contributes in a HUGE way to what I\'m calling \"Perceived Lack of Results\". \"PLOR\" is why an incredible number of people get frustrated and just <i>give up</i>.&nbsp; The scale can make you think you\'re on top of the world or a complete and total failure.<br /><br />It\'s all. About. <b>The Scale.</b><br /><br /><b>The Scale Doesn\'t Lie -&nbsp;</b><br /><br />As a matter of fact, The Scale is incredibly honest. <b>Too </b>honest. The Scale doesn\'t know how to lie - It knows how to do one thing: Tell you exactly what you weigh.<b>&nbsp;</b><br /><br /><b>Isn\'t that the point?</b><br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XMDGVH42Awo/UfD-F7uRiEI/AAAAAAAABA4/_U4ypkJ02d8/s1600/scaleislying.jpg\" style=\"clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" src=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XMDGVH42Awo/UfD-F7uRiEI/AAAAAAAABA4/_U4ypkJ02d8/s1600/scaleislying.jpg\" /></a></div>Yes and no. The Scale will tell you what you weigh, but the problem is there are a lot of factors that play into how much, exactly, you weigh RIGHT NOW. How much you weigh over time. Your weight loss or gain trends. <b></b>Stress, sodium intake, hydration (or lack thereof), sweating, fat loss/gain and muscle loss/gain all affect what you weigh. And don\'t forget - the food you actually eat throughout the day weighs something too! All of these things can play into a false sense of where you\'re at when you step onto the scale. <br /><br /><b>So far I\'ve thrown a lot of information at you</b>, even though it may not seem like it. Let\'s take it one bite at a time (hah, I made a funny).<br /><br /><br /><b>Stress -&nbsp;</b><br /><a href=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SmZanRfpS_I/UfHk_rNMQsI/AAAAAAAABCE/HQs9s8uGAKw/s1600/40052119.jpg\" style=\"clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"320\" src=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SmZanRfpS_I/UfHk_rNMQsI/AAAAAAAABCE/HQs9s8uGAKw/s320/40052119.jpg\" width=\"320\" /></a>Being under high levels of stress, which isn\'t uncommon these days, can lead to weight gain (or to the scale staying the same - we\'ll come back to that) as discussed in <a href=\"http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/can-stress-cause-weight-gain\" target=\"_blank\">this article on WebMD</a>, <a href=\"http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=77964\" target=\"_blank\">this article on MedicineNet</a>, and <a href=\"http://stress.about.com/od/stresshealth/a/weightgain.htm\" target=\"_blank\">this post on About.com Health.</a> I\'m taking away three distinct factors from all these (and more) discussions about stress and weight gain -<br /><br />1. When you\'re stressed your body enters a primal \"fight or flight\" mode and generates a number of hormones, including Cortisol. Cortisol serves to facilitate fat and carbohydrate metabolism, but it also triggers insulin release to help regulate blood sugar. The end result is YOU craving more high-carb high-sugar foods. Helloooooo tub-o-ice cream.<br /><br />2. Cortisol, a result of stress, causes your body to store fat deep in the abdominal area. This not only produces an INCREDIBLY attractive gut-like appearance in the belly, but it\'s also the kind of fat store that can lead to health issues.<br /><br />3. When you\'re stressed there\'s lots of nervous energy that needs to be expended - your body and mind have to find a comforting activity. Many times, eating becomes that comforting activity and, HOW CONVENIENT - you can go ahead and nom on that high-sugar high-carb stuff you\'re craving as a result of cortisol release. <u>Perfect</u>.<br /><br /><b>Sodium Intake, Hydration / De-hydration and sweating-</b><br /><table cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" style=\"float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;\"><tbody><tr><td style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rRdH4l3bDjY/UfJ9Htm42uI/AAAAAAAABDI/HYYHplGqsC4/s1600/sodium_chart.jpg\" style=\"clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"234\" src=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rRdH4l3bDjY/UfJ9Htm42uI/AAAAAAAABDI/HYYHplGqsC4/s320/sodium_chart.jpg\" width=\"320\" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style=\"text-align: center;\">Where does all that salt come from?</td></tr></tbody></table><br />The ideal daily sodium intake is around 2,300 mg. I don\'t know if you\'ve looked at sodium levels in some of the foods you eat, but it can be INCREDIBLY difficult to keep sodium levels low...<b>especially</b> if you eat out at all. The chart to the right shows you where all the salt in your food comes from - if you look at it you\'ll see why the more \"processed\" food you eat, and the more \"processed\" it is, the more salt you can\'t help but take in. Increased sodium levels make you retain water (don\'t believe me? Google it). Retaining water makes you weigh more - water has weight, right? Totally makes sense. If you decide you\'re gonna stop drinking water and get pretty dehydrated - yeah, the scale is probably going to look a little bit better, but you\'ll be disappointed next week/month when you weigh in and you\'re hydrated differently than the last time.<br /><br />And just like taking in or not taking in enough water can affect your weight - you\'re obviously going to weigh less after you\'ve just gotten done sweating out a bunch of water. In my experience, I can sweat out 1-2 lbs of water (maybe even more) during a super-intense workout (1+ hours), yours may vary, but that IS a significant amount of weight just from sweating. Your body will replenish it when you have that post-workout \"oh-my-god-I\'m-dying-of-thirst\" water guzzle, so this is an even more temporary fluctuation than the others, but it <b>is</b> a weight fluctuation just the same.<br /><br /><b>Food Weighs Something -&nbsp;</b><br />This one\'s quick, easy and obvious - the food you eat weighs something. If you weigh yourself before you eat in the morning you will weigh less than if you weighed yourself after eating. Every time. There is no food out there that makes you lighter after you eat it (and if there is, tell me!).&nbsp;<b> </b><br /><br />And this leaves me with my favorite point to make, and the one that, I think, really brings this whole article together:<br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TdPnZ9KnSJA/UfHocB09ynI/AAAAAAAABCU/cEgN_gC8F60/s1600/l560655519.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"246\" src=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TdPnZ9KnSJA/UfHocB09ynI/AAAAAAAABCU/cEgN_gC8F60/s320/l560655519.jpg\" width=\"320\" /></a></div><br /><u><b>MUSCLE WEIGHS MORE THAN FAT -</b></u><br />No, this is not just some kind of corny line - volume-wise, muscle weighs more than fat. Think of it like a pound of feathers and a pound of gold - it\'s gonna take a super-huge pile of feathers to weigh a pound - that pile is going to take up a lot of space. The same weight of gold is small, sleek and in a tight tiny package. Same goes for muscle and fat. Fat is less dense than muscle, thus 5 lbs of fat takes up a lot more real estate than muscle.<br /><br /><b>Let\'s put it another way that\'s easier to understand:</b><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4mnYqJRIzl8/UfJ7dz_-Y3I/AAAAAAAABC8/9Ud5_4q7-AE/s1600/deb155lbs-300x286.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" src=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4mnYqJRIzl8/UfJ7dz_-Y3I/AAAAAAAABC8/9Ud5_4q7-AE/s1600/deb155lbs-300x286.jpg\" /></a></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Vb_0iPtGfQA/UfHuoZaZuAI/AAAAAAAABCk/AhY-_JYGitQ/s1600/fat-vs-muscle1.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"166\" src=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Vb_0iPtGfQA/UfHuoZaZuAI/AAAAAAAABCk/AhY-_JYGitQ/s320/fat-vs-muscle1.jpg\" width=\"320\" />&nbsp;</a> </div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yQ_-RUP8-dE/UfD-J2HcexI/AAAAAAAABBI/P5NdKld4EJ0/s1600/tumblr_lx8xnaiI1I1qm62nmo1_1280.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"248\" src=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yQ_-RUP8-dE/UfD-J2HcexI/AAAAAAAABBI/P5NdKld4EJ0/s640/tumblr_lx8xnaiI1I1qm62nmo1_1280.jpg\" width=\"640\" /></a></div><b>&nbsp;</b> <b>Starting to get the picture?</b><br /><br />Muscle is tighter and denser than fat - same weight, smaller package. If the scale doesn\'t move, or barely moves, it\'s likely because you\'re building muscle while at the same time burning fat. The more muscle you have in your body the more calories you\'ll burn - your body has to burn calories to feed all the muscle on your body.&nbsp;<b> That\'s a good thing</b>. Don\'t be afraid of building muscle.<br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dNFc4U9EOrM/UfHBvAsh_qI/AAAAAAAABBo/0qts1JWS9qQ/s1600/g1374796551146990904.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"320\" src=\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dNFc4U9EOrM/UfHBvAsh_qI/AAAAAAAABBo/0qts1JWS9qQ/s320/g1374796551146990904.jpg\" width=\"251\" /></a></div><br /><b>No. Not necessarily.&nbsp; </b>Wasn\'t the goal to burn fat? Get healthy? Get fit? Yes, you\'ll lose some weight, but it\'s going&nbsp; to come to a point where you stop losing weight so rapidly. You might even stay the same for a while. This could be a true plateau or it could just be some muscle gain (I\'ll cover true plateaus in another article), but either one can be overcome. I lost 107 lbs so far - it did not steadily come off 5 - 10 lbs per week. There were weeks I didn\'t lose weight. There were weeks I GAINED a little. You have to think LONG TERM with your weight-loss and fitness goals. <b>Rome wasn\'t built in a day, and neither was your body</b>. Be confident in what you\'re doing and believe in yourself. If you get so frustrated that you want to smash the scale and throw it out the window...well...I\'ll pretend I didn\'t see you do it.<br /><br /><b>So, what? I can\'t trust The Scale?</b><br /><br />Like I said - The Scale will ALWAYS tell you <b>exactly</b> what you weigh...at that moment...with no regard for muscle vs. fat, hydration, stress, etc. <u>Weigh yourself at your own risk</u>. Don\'t weigh yourself more than once a week - definitely not daily. The number The Scale tells you is NOT the only number in the world that matters. <b><u>Trust other measurement methods</u></b><u>.</u> How do you FEEL? How do you LOOK? Are your clothes fitting looser? Can you tighten your belt more? Do you see more muscle definition when you flex? Has your body fat % gone down? Don\'t let the number The Scale tells you skew the image you see in the mirror.<br /><br />When you start a program and take your \"before\" pictures, whip out a measuring tape and get your measurements - neck, chest, waist, hips, thighs, biceps, calves, etc. You\'ll be glad you did, because THOSE are the measurements that count. If those are changing in a positive direction, <b>the weight will follow.</b> Believe in yourself and stay positive - don\'t let The Scale make you think you\'re failing. <br /><u><b> </b></u>','Why Workouts Fail #2 - The Scale','','inherit','closed','closed','','125-revision-v1','','','2017-01-08 11:17:50','2017-01-08 16:17:50','',125,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/125-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),(363,1,'2017-01-08 11:18:13','2017-01-08 16:18:13','<div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><br />6:20 AM. Only slept about 5 hours. Do I want to work out right now? No. Is it Leg Day again? Yes.<br /><br />Sh!t. It\'s gonna be one of those days.<br /><br />I would honestly love nothing more right now than to just go back to bed, pretend it\'s a rest day, and just relax. I\'m tired. <b>I don\'t feel like it.</b> Wah. I just lack motivation right now. As I sit here writing an article for my fitness blog. Ironic.<br /><br /><b>Or is it? </b>How many people out there in fitness land suffer from this exact same issue at LEAST every once in a while? How about every day? How do people motivate themselves to continually plug away at it. Day in and day out. Throwing themselves at a workout, hurling themselves down the pavement, turning on that motor that never seems to run out of gas?<br /><a name=\'more\'></a><br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-C5-whDW2v58/Ue5f-I2wptI/AAAAAAAAA_Q/jzWf68QBIYk/s1600/health-and-fitness-motivation-by-elisa.jpg\" style=\"clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"208\" src=\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-C5-whDW2v58/Ue5f-I2wptI/AAAAAAAAA_Q/jzWf68QBIYk/s320/health-and-fitness-motivation-by-elisa.jpg\" width=\"320\" /></a></div>Maybe it\'s the knowledge that if we don\'t get moving - if we don\'t kick-start ourselves - we\'ll regret it later. This is a post both for the fitness freaks and the workout newbies. Why? Because we all fight the <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siren\" target=\"_blank\">Siren</a>\'s Call of our pillow, of the couch, of anything that ISN\'T our running shoes, dumbbells, bike...or otherwise sweat-related item. <br /><br />In my last post (<a href=\"http://sothisisfitness.blogspot.com/2013/07/defeating-demotivators-1-fear-monster.html\" target=\"_blank\">Defeating Demotivators #1 - The Fear Monster</a>) I mentioned that for newbies or pre-newbies suffering from The Fear Monster being surrounded by positivity and encouragement was key to getting them to stick with it. I said it was <b>incredibly important </b>to be <u>gentle</u>. What about for those of us who are already hardcore into fitness? Or who have broken past the fear barrier and do work?<br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cUUMP6WVeaY/Ue5f_RrBZII/AAAAAAAAA_w/Xtpc0_egyYY/s1600/motivation-motivation-demotivational-poster-1276385776.jpg\" style=\"clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"311\" src=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cUUMP6WVeaY/Ue5f_RrBZII/AAAAAAAAA_w/Xtpc0_egyYY/s320/motivation-motivation-demotivational-poster-1276385776.jpg\" width=\"320\" /></a></div><b>&nbsp;We reach a point where \"gentle\" doesn\'t WORK anymore.</b><br /><b><br /></b>Sometimes a soft nudge doesn\'t do it anymore. Let\'s be real - if you\'re that guy on the lookout for people who can\'t get the courage to work out, if you\'re the person helping others...and YOU can\'t get yourself to the gym / road / mat / etc...maybe a shove is more like it. <br /><br /><b>Or maybe it\'s not.</b><br /><br /><br /><br /><b>What really motivates people?</b><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><b><a href=\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vlAYFt2tiOo/Ue5iCc2opRI/AAAAAAAABAQ/R_XVc-DDF04/s1600/maslows-hierarchy-of-needs1.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"297\" src=\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vlAYFt2tiOo/Ue5iCc2opRI/AAAAAAAABAQ/R_XVc-DDF04/s400/maslows-hierarchy-of-needs1.jpg\" width=\"400\" /></a></b></div><b>I am not</b> a psychologist, but there is a real psychological science to motivation. This, above, is called <a href=\"https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=2&amp;cad=rja&amp;ved=0CDwQFjAB&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FMaslow%27s_hierarchy_of_needs&amp;ei=cWfuUaiUC7Ol4AOSuYDQDw&amp;usg=AFQjCNE1hgavOArsQBk9HwO0e6X-U8qpng&amp;sig2=rab1uf4dbGT_HfsfQyb9sA&amp;bvm=bv.49478099,d.dmg\" target=\"_blank\">Maslow\'s Hierarcy of Needs</a> (created by <a href=\"http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=1&amp;cad=rja&amp;ved=0CC8QFjAA&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FAbraham_Maslow&amp;ei=cWfuUaiUC7Ol4AOSuYDQDw&amp;usg=AFQjCNGI6Jp4R78vGqzKYXvxA1Cr8M1fvw&amp;sig2=-Rqq4KD3t-G4aC0sGcXIsg&amp;bvm=bv.49478099,d.dmg\" target=\"_blank\">Abraham Maslow</a> - an American Psychologist). It breaks down the structure of people\'s motivation. It\'s not designed around fitness, but we can definitely apply it for our purposes. People work out for different reasons, and I would say these reasons all fall into the top four parts of the pyramid. Moving forward, an important principle of this hierarchy is to understand that Maslow said people will be more motivated to fulfill lower-order needs before higher-order ones - we\'ll also assume that you\'re properly fed, hydrated and rested so we can ignore the bottom tier (I\'m REALLY simplifying this).<br /><br /><br /><b>Safety Needs</b> - This is INTENDED to talk about people taking care of their own personal safety and security - ensuring they are not in immediate danger. Makes sense, right? Tough to paint a picture if someone\'s pointing a gun at your head. <b>That\'s the idea here</b>. Let\'s adapt this tier for fitness.<br /><br />This is where people who have a <b>dire </b>health issue from lack of fitness/nutrition get their motivation. When your doctor looks you in the face and tells you that you\'re so overweight you\'re going to get diabetes and potentially lose your sight or your foot...well I think that\'s enough motivation to get to the gym, don\'t you? These people generally don\'t need much more of a kick in the pants than that. I was not quite that large, so this wasn\'t enough for me.<br /><br /><b>Belongingness and Love Needs - </b>This is people\'s need for friends, intimate relationships, love, etc. We are social creatures, and once we\'ve taken care of the basic \"survival\" needs of food/water/rest and the safety need of not being in immediate danger we move on to the need for other people. <br /><br /><b>This is one of the biggest motivators out there</b>. This is why Crossfit is so successful. This is why so many people can\'t get off their butts and do work without a workout partner. <b>People need people</b>. So many people can\'t/won\'t do it for themselves, but if they can become accepted and part of a community...we have found the key to the kingdom. Crossfit (from my outsider perspective) is <b>a community</b> of people helping each other and kicking each other\'s butts into gear. People like to be a <b>part of something</b>. That\'s why people join clubs in school. If you know the other guy is going to give you a whole world of hassle for not showing up at the gym today, YOU\'RE GONNA GO. People who feel they are physically unattractive and want to be able to land a girlfriend/boyfriend would also fall into this category, but I am inclined to think most people who feel they are physically unattractive fall into the next tier.<br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lgAXtgyrWGA/Ue5gA2KhNPI/AAAAAAAABAA/GDxYQAfpJUE/s1600/tumblr_mkgrklfVOJ1s8wkh1o1_500.png\" style=\"clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"320\" src=\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lgAXtgyrWGA/Ue5gA2KhNPI/AAAAAAAABAA/GDxYQAfpJUE/s320/tumblr_mkgrklfVOJ1s8wkh1o1_500.png\" width=\"196\" /></a></div><b>Esteem Needs -</b> This tier is about people who have met the basic survival needs, who feel like they belong and have their people-needs met (for the most part, at least) and can focus on themselves. They can make themselves feel better. They can focus on their own self-esteem.<br /><br /><b>These are the people who are not happy with the picture in the mirror</b>. These are the people who want that ripped six-pack and are tired of the gut. The people who want to <b>accomplish </b>something. These people sometimes need the MOST motivation of all, because in general...they\'re pretty satisfied. I\'m pretty sure I fall into this category. The health issue wasn\'t enough for me, I was already in a committed relationship and had friends and family all around me, so I know it wasn\'t the other two tiers. <i>So how do I know I\'m not the next tier?</i> There are days when I\'m just <b>not feeling it</b>. I don\'t WANNA. I\'ll be bold and say that these are the people who, when they don\'t get off their butts, need a swift kick in the tail to get moving. These are the people who can do it, who usually want to do it, and generally <b>are </b>doing it - for themselves. When you\'re not doing it for someone else, for acceptance, for belonging...it\'s easy to skip a day. When <b>you\'re</b> the only one holding <b>you</b> accountable you\'re more inclined to <i>cut yourself some slack. </i>It\'s OK...you\'ve been working hard. You deserve a break. I won\'t tell the boss.<br /><br /><b>GARBAGE.</b><br /><br /><b>Get up. GET OUT. And <u>do work.</u>&nbsp; </b>You\'re not going to feel TRULY FULFILLED unless you go do that workout! Run that 5 miler. Whatever it is, it\'s for you. Make <b>you</b> happy. Because, really...<br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dJbQEsJuVHg/Ue5f_AnPn7I/AAAAAAAAA_o/zmNkhIq2LMo/s1600/too-busy.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"240\" src=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dJbQEsJuVHg/Ue5f_AnPn7I/AAAAAAAAA_o/zmNkhIq2LMo/s320/too-busy.jpg\" width=\"320\" /></a></div><div style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>Your excuse is invalid.</b></div><div style=\"text-align: left;\"><br /></div><div style=\"text-align: left;\"><b>Self-Actualization</b> - This tier is my favorite. The whole rest of the pyramid has been \"extrinsic\" motivation - people getting their motivation from outside sources. Something is pushing them to do their workout. People who are in the self-actualization tier are doing it from a completely intrinsic motivation.&nbsp;</div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GUQ5ELVNwX8/Ue5f-KghdUI/AAAAAAAAA_U/m_7IhQoM6J0/s1600/21110_448316405251402_917372794_n.jpg\" style=\"clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"320\" src=\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GUQ5ELVNwX8/Ue5f-KghdUI/AAAAAAAAA_U/m_7IhQoM6J0/s320/21110_448316405251402_917372794_n.jpg\" width=\"248\" /></a></div><b> </b><br /><div style=\"text-align: left;\"><b>These people love to work out. </b>They are doing it for the sheer <i>joy </i>of  it. They\'re trying to reach their full potential. They\'re trying to  make their masterpiece. They don\'t need a self-esteem boost - <b>they\'re already awesome.</b> They don\'t need acceptance. They\'re not facing a health risk. <b>These are the \"obsessed nutballs\" </b>who do an hour workout, run 5 miles in record time then come back and <b>DO ANOTHER WORKOUT</b>. They are climbing Mt. Freaking Everest and loving every minute of it. If you are one of these people, congratulations my friend -&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: left;\"><br /></div><div style=\"text-align: left;\"><b>You have reached the mountaintop.</b></div><div style=\"text-align: left;\"><br /></div><div style=\"text-align: left;\">I HOPE that I get to this point. Yes, I really enjoy the workout program I\'m doing right now. Body Beast is freaking AWESOME. It is, however, still <u>work.</u> And work sucks. For the \"obsessed nutballs\", workouts are not work at all. <b>They are fun. They are <u>playtime</u>. They are <i>recreation. </i></b></div><div style=\"text-align: left;\"><br /></div><div style=\"text-align: left;\">Whatever tier you fall into, whatever it is that motivates you...one thing holds true for everyone:</div><div style=\"text-align: center;\"><br /></div><div style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>You need to get out there and DO IT.</b>&nbsp;</div><div style=\"text-align: center;\">Be healthy. Be accepted. Be happy. Be <b>awesome.&nbsp;&nbsp;</b></div><div style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>&nbsp;</b>Take today by the balls and <b><u>own it</u>.</b></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kIRzLfkSPRs/Ue5f--CJE5I/AAAAAAAAA_k/anvIKB88Bgk/s1600/Arnold-Conquer-workoutmotivation.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"200\" src=\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kIRzLfkSPRs/Ue5f--CJE5I/AAAAAAAAA_k/anvIKB88Bgk/s320/Arnold-Conquer-workoutmotivation.jpg\" width=\"320\" /></a></div><div style=\"text-align: left;\"></div>','Conquer - The Truth About Motivation','','inherit','closed','closed','','126-revision-v1','','','2017-01-08 11:18:13','2017-01-08 16:18:13','',126,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/126-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),(364,1,'2017-01-08 11:18:34','2017-01-08 16:18:34','In the spirit of \"Motivational Monday\" I want to take a moment to touch on something I was talking about with a fitness friend at work over the last couple of days. It\'s actually a loose end I need to tie up from the last couple of articles I wrote. In <a href=\"http://sothisisfitness.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-inconvenience-factor-accepting.html\" target=\"_blank\">The \"I Don\'t Feel Like It\" Syndrome</a> I talked about people who just won\'t get off the couch, can\'t/won\'t get motivated to work out in the first place, and never take that all-important first step. In <a href=\"http://sothisisfitness.blogspot.com/2013/07/why-workouts-fail-1-napoleon-complex.html\" target=\"_blank\">Why Workouts Fail #1 - The Napoleon Complex</a> (my favorite article so far) I talk about people who take the leap, try going to the gym or working out and run into a big issue that drives them away.<br /><br />Ok...what about the people in the middle?<br /><br /><a name=\'more\'></a><br /><br />The people who aren\'t entirely opposed to working out, but haven\'t taken that step yet? Who haven\'t braved the gym, the home-gym, the pavement, trail, pool, whatever? Or tried and gave up? If these people aren\'t against it...and they might have some motivation to do it...why haven\'t they gotten to it yet?<br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-faudmiPbRak/UeyzCH_wxaI/AAAAAAAAA90/m5x8O_9cURQ/s1600/fear-is-a-prison.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"255\" src=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-faudmiPbRak/UeyzCH_wxaI/AAAAAAAAA90/m5x8O_9cURQ/s320/fear-is-a-prison.jpg\" width=\"320\" /></a></div><br /><u><b>Fear</b></u>. Fear can stop the most powerful locomotive in its tracks. Fear is, I think, one of the biggest demotivators out there. Fear of what, though? Fear of <b>failing</b>. Fear of not being <i>good enough</i>. Fear of embarassment. Fear of disappointing yourself or others. Fear of doing it wrong. Fear of <b>the unknown</b>.<br /><br />Fear can be one of the toughest demotivators to beat. Especially if someone doesn\'t have friends or family around them who are \"into\" fitness. Unfortunately, unless those people have a big life-altering event or a breaking point like I had (see <a href=\"http://sothisisfitness.blogspot.com/p/my-story.html\" target=\"_blank\">My Story</a>) that fear can be so paralyzing and show-stopping that they just never leave the safety of \"not trying\". I would go so far as to say that over time, those people can start to suffer from <a href=\"http://sothisisfitness.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-inconvenience-factor-accepting.html\" target=\"_blank\">The \"I Don\'t Feel Like It\" Syndrome</a>, forgetting the curiosity or motivation they had in the first place and losing it entirely to fear. It\'s tough to get past the fear when you\'re on your own little island and there\'s noone around to help you ease into fitness. If you ARE a fitness type, be on the lookout for these people. How do you tell who these people are, though?<br /><br />For one, <b>they\'re not already a fitness freak</b>. They don\'t work out, they probably don\'t eat \"right\" (but might try to or make half-efforts), and for all intents and purposes they closely resemble the people suffering from <a href=\"http://sothisisfitness.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-inconvenience-factor-accepting.html\" target=\"_blank\">The \"I Don\'t Feel Like It\" Syndrome</a> in all areas except their attitude towards fitness.<br />Though, I will say, that doesn\'t necessarily mean they haven\'t, at some point, attempted to do it on their own. Remember that part where Joey Howyadoin shows up and offers a spot (<a href=\"http://sothisisfitness.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-inconvenience-factor-accepting.html\" target=\"_blank\">IDFLI Syndrome</a>)? Where I\'d say \"Yeah, that was just a warm-up set, let\'s DO this!\", someone suffering from this demotivator would probably say \"Actually, that was my last set, I\'m all wrapped up. Thanks though!\" while they\'re thinking <i>sweet Lord, get me OUT of here!&nbsp;</i><br /><br />Aaaand that was probably the last time they set foot in anything resembling a gym.<i> </i><br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-l-HOeEs58jE/Uey6cPuQtFI/AAAAAAAAA-E/sMTfY4vGHR4/s1600/3px4zz.jpg\" style=\"clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" src=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-l-HOeEs58jE/Uey6cPuQtFI/AAAAAAAAA-E/sMTfY4vGHR4/s1600/3px4zz.jpg\" /></a></div><br />The biggest tell, though, is that <b>they\'re curious. </b>They\'ll poke their head in while you\'re working out. They\'ll ask you questions about your workout for the day or the program you\'re doing. They\'ll make little comments that could be a conversation starter. In some form or fashion, <u>they come to you</u>. This is very important - as mentioned before...you just can\'t <b>force</b> someone to get fit...they have to <b>want </b>it...and if they\'re curious, any traumatic workout attempt they might have had in the past is far enough out of their memory that now<b> they\'re open to it</b>.<br /><br /><br /><b>So how do I help this person defeat the demotivator?</b><br /><br /><b>GENTLY. </b>First off, yes - they\'re open to it, and that\'s incredibly important, but don\'t forget...the demotivator we\'re trying to beat is FEAR. I feel silly saying it but please don\'t forget that you can...well...<b>scare them away</b> if you\'re too aggressive. I know, seems obvious, right? What <b>you</b> might think is easy beans might be momentously challenging for them, so keep that in mind as you try to help them<b>, </b>and<b> think of super-easy ways to ease them in.</b><br /><br />Considering that they either have never worked out before or tried something and got scared away you might need to help them figure out what exactly works best for them. <b>&nbsp;</b><br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JLDJ2CCmSqU/Ue14cL33prI/AAAAAAAAA-o/yqmCQdc5QXk/s1600/66869_10152726509630062_1650984556_n.png\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"277\" src=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JLDJ2CCmSqU/Ue14cL33prI/AAAAAAAAA-o/yqmCQdc5QXk/s320/66869_10152726509630062_1650984556_n.png\" width=\"320\" /></a></div><br /><b>PRO-TIP: Something is better than nothing</b>.<br /><br />You might be a little disappointed when they seem like they\'re trying something that doesn\'t, to you, seem like a \"real\" workout - but again...what <b>YOU</b> think is easy and a waste of time might be super-challenging for them. <b>***Go at their pace***</b> There is no faster way to lose them to the fear than to go beyond their comfort zone. Too fast too soon is a recipe for disaster. I did this exact process with my mom - I started by working out and setting the example. She saw <a href=\"http://sothisisfitness.blogspot.com/p/my-transformation.html\" target=\"_blank\">my transformation</a> as it was happening and was there as <a href=\"http://sothisisfitness.blogspot.com/p/my-story.html\" target=\"_blank\">my story</a> was unfolding, so she was proud of me and wanted to see how I was doing it. I eased her in with Tony Horton\'s 10 Minute Trainer. Literally 10 minute workouts<b>. </b>Over time, she started working in Cardio X from P90X (a 40 minute relatively easy cardio routine), and not too long after that she took on P90X in its entirety and was talking about doing Les Mills COMBAT with me and my fiancee. For your fitness-fearing friend or family member it may be running that does it for them - start with walking. It may be biking - start with a couple miles. Whatever it is (and I can\'t say it enough) <b>ease them into it.</b><br /><br /><b>This may be a slow process. STICK WITH IT!</b><br /><br />What\'s going to be SUPER IMPORTANT with these people is to keep them surrounded by positive images, encouragement and support. If they\'re fighting against fear, its not going to be easy for them, and they\'re going to need continued support until they finally break past the wall and get confident. It could very well be the case that not only do they need a cheerleader on the sidelines, but they need a teammate right there next to them on gameday. If they need a workout partner...<b>be that partner </b>or maybe find one for them. My fiancee was side by side with me throughout four workout programs and 103 lbs - it DEFINITELY helps. Everyone has <i>something</i> that will help them break through the fear barrier - whatever it is, help them find it and make sure they understand that there\'s nothing in their way.<br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-L5f6n7gXfSA/Ue14jICLsnI/AAAAAAAAA-w/wGZB1scQyBo/s1600/fitness-motivation-running-Favim.com-326874.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"320\" src=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-L5f6n7gXfSA/Ue14jICLsnI/AAAAAAAAA-w/wGZB1scQyBo/s320/fitness-motivation-running-Favim.com-326874.jpg\" width=\"226\" /></a></div><br /><br /><b>At the end of the day it will all be worth it. </b>Don\'t worry - given time and support, they <b>can and will </b>get there. <br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><br />','Defeating Demotivators #1 - The Fear Monster','','inherit','closed','closed','','127-revision-v1','','','2017-01-08 11:18:34','2017-01-08 16:18:34','',127,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/127-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),(365,1,'2017-01-08 11:18:59','2017-01-08 16:18:59','I\'ve been doing a lot of thinking about all the reasons why people don\'t work out. I know I covered <a href=\"http://sothisisfitness.blogspot.com/2013/07/why-workouts-fail-1-napoleon-complex.html\" target=\"_blank\">the Napoleon complex</a> in another post, but that\'s just one of many reasons. While there are many people out there who suffer from the issues of the Napoleon complex, there are even more who didn\'t even get that far...they don\'t try to start working out in the first place (hence why I didn\'t even call this \"why workouts fail\"...we didn\'t get to the workout yet!). But WHY?<br /><a name=\'more\'></a><br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AjTPjwp6uQQ/UetkdSWAiaI/AAAAAAAAA80/ClwaGojX5WI/s1600/wall-e-human.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"238\" src=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AjTPjwp6uQQ/UetkdSWAiaI/AAAAAAAAA80/ClwaGojX5WI/s320/wall-e-human.jpg\" width=\"320\" /></a></div><br />The short answer is - It requires work, involves change, and people <i>just don\'t</i> <u><b>feel like it</b></u>. Why do we need to when everything is more or less handed to us and made easy? The average American eats what they feel like when they feel like it (and if cooking is required, it can usually be microwaved). They watch a lot of tv, relax on the couch, and don\'t do a whole lot of physical activity (unless required at their job). Yeah, there\'s yard work or some light home / car maintenance to do, but once in a while, or in short bursts of a couple days - nothing regular and routine. They go out for drinks when they feel like it or come up with reasons to have a drink or two (or three) almost every night at home \"because it was a rough day\". Maybe they\'re carrying a little extra weight. So what? All in all, life is good. Nothing stellar, but it\'s not awful.<b>We have achieved mediocrity.</b> Mediocrity is <i>easy</i>.<br /><br />So...why change that?<br /><br />Because, honestly...getting fit, eating right and making a change <b>requires work</b>. And this isn\'t just any kind of work - we\'re talking a complete lifestyle change. That kind of work is <b>hard</b>. People would have to give up or severely limit some of their favorite things - use free time they\'d otherwise spend watching the 100+ hours of DVR\'d T.V. shows they have to, instead, work out and sweat balls.<br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6M3jnHnNEuA/UevSvUs24WI/AAAAAAAAA9c/zUBTf2FL2sA/s1600/59087-funny-wish-me-luck.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"224\" src=\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6M3jnHnNEuA/UevSvUs24WI/AAAAAAAAA9c/zUBTf2FL2sA/s320/59087-funny-wish-me-luck.jpg\" width=\"320\" /></a></div><br />All manner of excuses come up at this point - on the surface they\'re all invalid and complete BS as far as I\'m concerned. I won\'t bother listing them all, but suffice it to say - \"I don\'t have time\" is not nearly the most creative one. People will come up with any reason to get people off their case about working out, and if that doesn\'t work, they\'ll either use humor or get hostile until you leave them alone. I was like that for a long time. There are just so many things that can demotivate a person, and they got me.<br /><br />So how do you change that? How do you convince <b>that</b> person to start working out or get healthy?<br /><b> </b><br /><br /><b>Generally...you can\'t.</b><br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cK7vcRLcbEI/Uetb8vg4nMI/AAAAAAAAA8k/DsI3aMVEcpk/s1600/1053.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"320\" src=\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cK7vcRLcbEI/Uetb8vg4nMI/AAAAAAAAA8k/DsI3aMVEcpk/s400/1053.jpg\" width=\"400\" />&nbsp;</a></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><br /></div>I know...not the revelation you were hoping for. Problem is, these people can\'t just be <b>forced</b> to do it. It\'s a big change, and they have to <b>want it. </b>There\'s way too much effort, change and plain ol\' <b>work</b> involved in something like this for it to work without SOME level of personal stake being in it. You can try to drag them into a workout with you, and they might go with it reluctantly...for a while. In the end, it just won\'t maintain. They\'ll complain and find reasons why not...and the first time you don\'t work out with them, they just won\'t do it. Why? Too many people are perfectly satisfied - or at the very least, able to <i>accept </i>- mediocrity.<br /><br /><b>This is the part where something has to happen within them.</b><br /><br />I talk about <b>what happened</b> for me in <a href=\"http://sothisisfitness.blogspot.com/p/my-story.html\" target=\"_blank\">My Story</a> - and boy was it bad - but it\'s going to be different for everyone. In the end, something has to happen - some kind of personal revelation or big change - to make them <b>want </b>it. The best you can do is keep making it appear as appealing as you can, <b>lead by example</b>. When they\'re ready, it\'ll make the whole thing much less intimidating. Many times these people will be hesitant to recant and join you since they\'ve been so adamantly, sometimes vocally opposed to this whole process - they can\'t just admit they were wrong and join you (<b>what a blow to the ego!)</b>. So be there and be available. When the time is right, they\'ll come to you. It takes something different for each individual person, but when the right motivation hits, they\'ll finally <b>want it</b>.<br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SsNI8S94fn4/UevTXcAAHZI/AAAAAAAAA9k/Aeylil0asq8/s1600/exercise-motivation-required.png\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"175\" src=\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SsNI8S94fn4/UevTXcAAHZI/AAAAAAAAA9k/Aeylil0asq8/s320/exercise-motivation-required.png\" width=\"320\" /></a></div><br />On that note - I\'m gonna go for a run before I work all day. What are YOU gonna do?','The \"I Don\'t Feel Like It\" Syndrome','','inherit','closed','closed','','128-revision-v1','','','2017-01-08 11:18:59','2017-01-08 16:18:59','',128,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/128-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),(366,1,'2017-01-08 11:19:14','2017-01-08 16:19:14','<div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Fw0jU5iLeow/UekvEA0gwTI/AAAAAAAAA70/FSZOEU-D1ig/s1600/napoleon.gif\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img alt=\"Napoleon Bonaparte\" border=\"0\" height=\"214\" src=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Fw0jU5iLeow/UekvEA0gwTI/AAAAAAAAA70/FSZOEU-D1ig/s320/napoleon.gif\" title=\"\" width=\"320\" /></a></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--tY10BME1TY/UektrjJFZZI/AAAAAAAAA7o/PLzfycTdFMU/s1600/toomuchweight.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><br /></a></div>So I got to thinking about why workouts fail - ultimately, why people don\'t work out. I was one of those guys for a long LONG time. I just...didn\'t work out. I\'d go to the gym with my Delta Chi brothers and do...kind of a workout. In the end I\'d only go a couple of times a month. I\'d try going on my own since there was a gym conveniently close to my dorm...didn\'t stick with it. Obviously there\'s a LOT of reasons people don\'t work out. Many of these reasons are completely lame and not an excuse...but some are actually pretty justifiable. My workout for today got me thinking about this...and about one reason in particular - the <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon_complex\" target=\"_blank\">Napoleon complex</a>.<br /><a name=\'more\'></a><br /><br />That\'s him, right at the top of this post - <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon\" target=\"_blank\">Napoleon Bonaparte</a>. I linked to Wikipedia for those of you who weren\'t in school that day, but the short version is, he was short and didn\'t like it. Wikipedia sums it up nicely:<br /><blockquote><i>(A Napoleon complex) is characterized by overly-aggressive or domineering social  behaviour, and carries the implication that such behaviour is  compensatory for the subjects\' stature. The term is also used more  generally to describe <b>people who are driven by a perceived handicap to  overcompensate</b> in other aspects of their lives.</i></blockquote>&nbsp;See that part I made bold? There\'s the workout problem right there. I think nearly every time I\'ve gone to the gym I\'ve seen other people working out, and I feel like as soon as I start putting weight on the bar I\'m going to be judged. And I sit there, with what I feel like is dinky weight, feeling like everyone\'s looking at me like...<br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HnIbI723FHk/UenRvsPPWRI/AAAAAAAAA8E/UKO-ne0a-Cg/s1600/34414-marilyn-monroe-Bro-do-you-even-fMI6.jpeg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img alt=\"Seriously, Bro. Do you even lift?\" border=\"0\" height=\"252\" src=\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HnIbI723FHk/UenRvsPPWRI/AAAAAAAAA8E/UKO-ne0a-Cg/s320/34414-marilyn-monroe-Bro-do-you-even-fMI6.jpeg\" title=\"\" width=\"320\" /></a></div><br />At that point many people just kinda...leave.<br /><br />\"Whoops! I forgot about an appointment!\"<br /><br />\"Crap! I totally midjudged my time, I\'m late for work!\"<br /><br />However, it is at precisely this moment that people like me do something stupid. Because it is at precisely this moment that Joey Howyadoin shows up like he\'s God\'s gift to lifting and goes <br /><br />\"Hey Bro, you need a spot?\"<br /><br />OF COURSE! Because that was just my <b>warm-up set</b>. Let\'s crank this up! Aaaaand on goes the weight. Next thing you know I\'m putting myself in a really bad position where best case scenario I embarrass the ever-loving bejeezus out of myself and worst case I end up hurting myself. Why? Because everyone else in the place looks like they\'re lifting this:<br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--tY10BME1TY/UektrjJFZZI/AAAAAAAAA7o/PLzfycTdFMU/s1600/toomuchweight.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img alt=\"Over 1000 lbs on a barbell\" border=\"0\" height=\"175\" src=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--tY10BME1TY/UektrjJFZZI/AAAAAAAAA7o/PLzfycTdFMU/s320/toomuchweight.jpg\" title=\"\" width=\"320\" /></a></div><br />and there I am with my two marshmallows on a straw. So the Napoleon complex kicks in and I try to go hard. Whoops...guess I\'m not showing my face in the gym for...ever. It\'s ok...my pals Mr. Couch, Tony the T.V. and Chester the Cheetah (Cheetos, anyone?) will comfort my ailing ego.<br /><br /><b>So what\'s the moral of the story?</b><br /><br />Don\'t worry about what everyone else in the gym is doing. Don\'t worry about that guy benching 400 lbs like its boring. Don\'t worry about the people on Facebook posting pics of their one-handed handstand when all you seem to manage is somersaults. Worry about <b>YOU</b>. Because at the end of the day, what they did doesn\'t matter in YOUR fitness world, and their mind-bending workout isn\'t what\'s building muscle on YOU. Or burning fat off YOUR body (even though watching them might make you feel worn out). <b>Don\'t be afraid to start with (</b>what you think is) <b>light weight</b>. Don\'t be afraid to take it easy the first time you do something. <span style=\"background-color: yellow;\"><u><b>It\'s good to feel out your abilities and test the water.</b></u></span> If you do it right <b>this will not be the last time you do this workout. </b>You <b><span style=\"background-color: yellow;\">will</span> </b>have the chance to up your weights next time...when you have a better idea of what\'s ACTUALLY a good idea. <br /><br />During every dvd at-home workout program I do, the coach/leader/whatever basically says this same thing in different ways, but I think Tony Horton (creator of P90X) said it best:<br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oM2rBjZZpN0/UenY_vlMoUI/AAAAAAAAA8U/5cuHUP0HnBg/s1600/3s27l9.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img alt=\"Do your best and forget the rest!\" border=\"0\" height=\"320\" src=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oM2rBjZZpN0/UenY_vlMoUI/AAAAAAAAA8U/5cuHUP0HnBg/s320/3s27l9.jpg\" title=\"\" width=\"233\" /></a></div><br />','Why Workouts Fail #1 - The Napoleon Complex','','inherit','closed','closed','','129-revision-v1','','','2017-01-08 11:19:14','2017-01-08 16:19:14','',129,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/129-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),(367,1,'2017-01-08 11:19:39','2017-01-08 16:19:39','<div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8LEdP8TY7uI/Ueh2Kn3CLTI/AAAAAAAAA68/bioat3OphxI/s1600/IMG_20130718_185043_332.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"225\" src=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8LEdP8TY7uI/Ueh2Kn3CLTI/AAAAAAAAA68/bioat3OphxI/s400/IMG_20130718_185043_332.jpg\" width=\"400\" /></a></div><br />So here\'s something I wish I had heard before I started running. Silly me, I just ASSUMED that you could listen to music while you run. How foolish of me! Apparently there\'s a big controversy in the running world about listening to music while you run. Many people argue that you shouldn\'t, that it will interfere with your run, that its better to listen to nature and whatnot...some even go so far as to say that it\'s dangerous (in the case of road running or urban running). Others (the camp I have fallen into) say that running while listening to music can help improve the quality of your run and help make it a more enjoyable experience. There is nothing I love more when I\'m on a run than a power song coming on and feeling a surge of energy hit my stride (<a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEXHeTcxQy4\" target=\"_blank\">Chelsea Dagger - The Fratellis</a> is a PERFECT example). <br /><a name=\'more\'></a><br /><br />That said, I COMPLETELY understand why the \"Anti-Tunes\" camp believes what they do, and THIS is the part I wish I had been told before I started: the wrong music can COMPLETELY ruin your run.<br /><br />When I started running I, enjoying music and having a large music library, had a number of playlists. I picked one, I put it on shuffle, and off I went down the street. THAT was my mistake. The playlist I picked was a lot of The Offspring (No Brakes, Walla Walla, etc) and other fast-paced tracks. I could not for the life of me run to that music. Something just wasn\'t right. I ended up going slower, my strides shorter...I couldn\'t sync up with the beat. After long enough trying to deal with that, I figured it out. CRACKED THE CODE!<br /><br />You have to pick songs that have the right BPM (beats per minute) for the pace you\'re running (or trying to run).<br /><br /><table align=\"center\" cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;\"><tbody><tr><td style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ARO0dmTM850/Ueh6m1P9GHI/AAAAAAAAA7M/dYtSapsxcFM/s1600/Herp-Derp-Derp-Derp-random-28593627-486-301.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"198\" src=\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ARO0dmTM850/Ueh6m1P9GHI/AAAAAAAAA7M/dYtSapsxcFM/s320/Herp-Derp-Derp-Derp-random-28593627-486-301.jpg\" width=\"320\" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style=\"text-align: center;\">That\'s about how I felt when I finally figured it out. (img from fanpop)</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Well, with that bit of genius finally unlocked I sifted through over 14,000 songs (between my own music library and outside suggestions) to put together a playlist. First I had to figure out that I ran about a 9:00 to 9:30 /mi pace and I\'d like to shoot for 8. As far as I was concerned, anything just below 8 all the way up to 9:30 pace for music was fine, so I searched. There are a TON of google results for \"Top running songs\" \"best running songs\", etc. I took ideas from many of these sites, but I will be so bold as to say...there CAN\'T be one perfect running playlist. That would imply that everyone runs the same, or that there is one standard of \"perfect\" in running world...if there\'s one thing I love about fitness its that there\'s never perfect, its the journey and the evolution that\'s important.<br /><br />Better, not perfect. <br /><br />Aside from everyone out there with a blog that thinks they\'ve figured out the definitive list of the best songs for running, there are other resources too, like <a href=\"http://jog.fm/\" target=\"_blank\">Jog.fm</a>. That site gives you a TON of song suggestions listed with (and sortable by) BPM/time (it matches up BPM with what pace that gives you). GREAT resource!<br /><br />While I did figure out a great playlist, it is not \"THE BEST\". Your playlist will need to evolve over time just like your run does. I have cut a bunch of songs from the list...some I wanted to be able to run to and they just weren\'t right, some I liked and then fell out of love with, and some I can\'t run to anymore because they\'re too slow. I threw <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyDUC1LUXSU\" target=\"_blank\">Blurred Lines (Robin Thicke)</a> on my playlist and I really want to run to it, but I have a feeling its going to end up cut.<br /><br />That said, here\'s my&nbsp;<a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.blogspot.com/p/running-playlist.html\" target=\"_blank\">current playlist</a> (current because I have no doubt I\'ll edit it soon). DISCLAIMER: Just because I\'d run to it doesn\'t necessarily mean I\'d listen to it in real life. <br /><br />','The \"Music While Running\" Controversy','','inherit','closed','closed','','130-revision-v1','','','2017-01-08 11:19:39','2017-01-08 16:19:39','',130,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/130-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),(368,1,'2017-01-08 11:20:03','2017-01-08 16:20:03','<div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ONzPg3iqFLs/UeaWsiJHU5I/AAAAAAAAAyM/wkdb16o11T4/s1600/legdaybeforeafter.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"320\" src=\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ONzPg3iqFLs/UeaWsiJHU5I/AAAAAAAAAyM/wkdb16o11T4/s320/legdaybeforeafter.jpg\" width=\"320\" /></a></div>So as I sit here, waiting for the basement workout space to free up, I\'m reflecting that in less than a month I\'m supposed to be running the <a href=\"http://www.falmouthroadrace.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Falmouth Road Race</a>, the big race I\'ve been working up to since March when I first started running, and I can only go for training runs about one day a week. Why? Leg Day. That\'s why. <br /><a name=\'more\'></a><br /><br />See, the trouble with Leg Day is...it\'s deceptive. During, its miserable - stumbling to my water bottle after putting the weights down. After, my legs are Jell-O as I try to ascend Mt. Everest to take a shower. But after that...I\'m fine! I feel great. Why not go for a run?<br /><br />Then tomorrow happens.<br /><br />Because you\'re not going to be all that sore ON Leg Day. No, no. Tomorrow you\'ll be sore. After you thought it was a good idea to add in a run, too. I have made this mistake, and I have learned.<br /><br />Why is Leg Day so damn awful?<br /><br />Just like any other workout, you\'re not REALLY gonna feel it until the next day. So why does it ache SO much when you get there?<br /><br />Leg Day seems to require the most recovery time of any workout I\'ve done - not just strength training, but workouts period. If I had to venture a guess, I\'d say its because they don\'t get to rest unless you sit. Think about it - every day for 16 (or more) hours a day your legs cart you all over creation. Even when you\'re not going anywhere, they\'re still holding you up. But once a week, when that just wasn\'t enough, we pound on them even harder in the spirit of fitness. During sets, they\'re on fire. Between sets, they\'re still on fire as you stumble to get water and write down your weights. It\'s a relentless pounding. I usually have to wait until the second or even third day after a serious Leg Day workout to be able to go on a run. I\'m sure there\'s a more scientific \"factual\" answer, but...I did say I\'m not a professional, right?<br /><br />The trouble with Leg Day is...its frickin\' hard! That\'s probably why so many people don\'t do leg day, or don\'t do it right. It\'s also easy to hurt your back or knees on Leg Day (but that\'s a topic for another blog post).<br /><br />When all is said and done, the trouble with Leg Day is it\'s a lot of hard work that knocks out your legs for a couple days. Nevertheless...<br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xWp_aCJOgkU/Ueb8LZgLgtI/AAAAAAAAAyc/6ZD5b4JqHv4/s1600/leg-day-1.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"320\" src=\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xWp_aCJOgkU/Ueb8LZgLgtI/AAAAAAAAAyc/6ZD5b4JqHv4/s320/leg-day-1.jpg\" width=\"224\" /></a></div><br /><i>****UPDATE 7/18/13 1:35 pm****</i><br /><i>A fitness friend tipped me off that apparently the whole \"it doesn\'t hurt till tomorrow\" thing is a legitimate condition called Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness. <br /><br />http://saveyourself.ca/articles/delayed-onset-muscle-soreness.php</i><br /><i><br /></i><i>&nbsp;See, we\'re learning together!</i>','The Trouble With Leg Day','','inherit','closed','closed','','131-revision-v1','','','2017-01-08 11:20:03','2017-01-08 16:20:03','',131,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/131-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),(715,1,'2017-01-16 19:05:27','2017-01-17 00:05:27','<b>Ladies and Gentlemen</b>, welcome to <u>my first official product review</u> - FitAid! I\'ve had so many things to talk about that I\'ve kind of just put off reviewing things, but today I have something I\'m really excited to get out there. So...without further ado...\r\n\r\n<strong>Let\'s talk about this little drink called FitAID.</strong> Long story short, they sent me a 4 pack to try out, I gave it a whirl, and I was very impressed. There\'s a lot to this versatile little drink - I had it before and after both a run and a strength training workout. Now that I\'ve experienced it, I\'m ready to talk about it!\r\n\r\n<!--more-->\r\n\r\n<img class=\"size-medium wp-image-567 alignright\" src=\"http://sothisisfitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/IMG_20130812_132634_341-170x300.jpg\" alt=\"FitAid Box Image\" width=\"170\" height=\"300\" />\r\n<h4><strong>So...what\'s the deal with FitAid?</strong></h4>\r\nFitAID is <i>not </i>an energy drink - it is a \"synergy drink\" (the company likes to be very clear on this point). The box has lots of artwork and information on it all about the benefits of the drink... including a <b>\"Paleo Friendly\"</b> stamp. I\'m going to cover the \"Paleo\" thing in a future article <em>(EDIT: 3 years later...still haven\'t covered it. whoops)</em>, but suffice it to say: it strives to remove everything \"processed\" from your life and bring things back to <u>caveman-basics</u>.\r\n\r\nAs you can well imagine, a hardcore nutrition plan like that would pretty much put the kibosh on most, if not all, pre-workout supplements and energy drinks. Paleo has more or less been adopted as the go-to nutrition plan for CrossFit (which has become massive)...so that left a <b>GAPING </b>hole in the fitness/nutrition world for someone to fill. Lo and behold - FitAID came along.\r\n<div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div>\r\n<h4><img class=\"wp-image-568 alignleft\" src=\"http://sothisisfitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/IMG_20130812_132656_038-271x300.jpg\" alt=\"FitAid Box Image\" width=\"245\" height=\"271\" /><strong>While there are a lot of great things in this drink,</strong></h4>\r\nwhat I think is just as important is <b>what isn\'t in it.</b> They say this product is 100% natural and they <b>mean</b> it. Right on the top of the box it lists off several things that DO NOT appear in this product: sucralose, aspartame, preservatives, high fructose corn syrup, crystaline fructose, \"artificial anything\". <b>This makes me very happy, </b>and it should make YOU happy too. Why? <em>Who</em> cares? Well, for one, aspartame - an artificial sweetener - has well-known ill-effects on your health, high fructose corn syrup is just bad news, and the general lack of artificial \"anything\" is just great.\r\n\r\nThink about it - your body has to <i>do something</i> with everything you put into it. If you\'re putting artificial things into it, your body has to figure out what to do with it - <b>our bodies aren\'t designed to process artificial things...we force our body to do it. </b>Many of these artificial things we put in our body on a regular basis end up hanging out for a while. Ever hear of someone doing a \"detox\"? More often than not, they\'re trying to flush the remnants of these artificial things out. <b>How about we just don\'t introduce them into our bodies in the first place.</b>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<h4><strong>So let\'s talk about what IS in FitAID.</strong></h4>\r\n<div style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-569 alignright\" src=\"http://sothisisfitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/IMG_20130812_133025_495-300x227.jpg\" alt=\"FitAid Box Sidepanel\" width=\"300\" height=\"227\" />It\'s pretty important to understand what exactly is <b>in</b> this drink that\'s helping to power you through your workout, and helping your recovery after. There\'s a pretty big range of ingredients in here! There are electrolytes and vitamins (like many other drinks contain), there are lots of amino acids (including L-Glutamine, which is HUGELY important for muscle recovery), and there are other things such as glucosamine, tumeric, CoQ-10, bilberry...some of these aren\'t things you generally see in a \"fitness drink\" or a \"pre/post workout drink\", but they are part of an overall supplementation picture that FitAID is going for.</div>\r\n<div style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\">These ingredients support flexibility, joint health, cardiovascular health, balance, provide antioxidants to your body...I\'ve never seen such an all-encompassing range of body-health ingredients in a drink! Check out the label below:</div>\r\n<div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"> <img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-572\" src=\"http://sothisisfitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/91YkeZO8FoL._SL1500_-277x300.jpg\" alt=\"FitAid Supplement Facts Label\" width=\"277\" height=\"300\" /></div>\r\n<b>Remember how I mentioned there\'s no </b>aspartame, sucralose, HFCS, etc? <b>So it tastes awful, right?</b> <u>No</u>. It actually tastes really good. <b>How, you ask?</b> It\'s sweetened with Blue Agave Nectar...just 9 grams of all-natural sweetening in this thing. 45 calories total in the drink. Pretty awesome if you ask me.\r\n<div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div>\r\n<h4><b>Actual Experience With The Drink Please? </b></h4>\r\n<img class=\"size-medium wp-image-570 alignright\" src=\"http://sothisisfitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/IMG_20130821_115725_432-170x300.jpg\" alt=\"FitAid Poured\" width=\"170\" height=\"300\" /><u>Take a look at that drink.</u> That\'s right after pouring it into the glass. <em>(Yes, you\'re meant to drink it from the can, I just did it to see the color, carbonation and clarity.)</em> That fizz died down pretty quickly - FitAID is very lightly carbonated to aid with absorption of all the supplements in it. The yellow/orange color is simply a result of the ingredients - there are NO artificial OR natural things added in order to color it. No dyes, no beet juice, no nothing. That\'s just what color it ended up being.\r\n\r\nIf you look closely, you\'ll notice its not crystal clear...it\'s kind of \"cloudy\". The company actually talks about this on its site, saying this is because it\'s so packed with supplements - 2343 mg of supplements and active ingredients, to be exact. They challenge you to ask why other sports performance drinks <b>aren\'t</b> cloudy (they\'re implying its because other drinks aren\'t packed with good stuff, in case you were wondering).\r\n<h4><strong>One of the things FitAID is clear on...</strong></h4>\r\n...is how large an amount of supplements is actually crammed into this little 12 oz can. Most vitamin drinks and sports performance drinks have relatively trace amounts of these things. The levels of concentration in FitAID makes it something you can take before an intense workout and <b>actually feel confident you\'re getting a boost. </b>This drink was designed by former athletes to power people through CrossFit - if it\'s good enough for them it\'s good enough for ANY workout. <b> In case you were worried - </b>there was no sediment in there...while it WAS cloudy, there was nothing floating, no sediment, and nothing separated out...it really was just cloudy because of how saturated with supplements it was. <b> </b>\r\n<h4><b>TASTE?</b></h4>\r\nIt\'s pretty yummy, I have to say. Kind of a faint orange taste, just sweet enough, not too sweet. They really nailed the taste in spite of all the nutrients they crammed in...most other performance drinks I\'ve tasted are either too sweet or too bitter/chalky...I\'d drink this for taste on an off-day. Can\'t say that about other performance drinks.\r\n\r\n<img class=\"size-medium wp-image-566 aligncenter\" src=\"http://sothisisfitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/fitaidxfit2-300x125.jpeg\" alt=\"FitAid Promo Image\" width=\"300\" height=\"125\" />\r\n<h4><b>So How About The Run You Tried It On?</b></h4>\r\nI was kind of an idiot that day. It was an early afternoon run - I was in an awkward post-breakfast pre-lunch time and I had not eaten enough, mainly because I kept delaying my run being distracted with other things. I also found out about a mile into the run just how dehydrated I was. I felt worn out through my run, had to walk more than usual, and was kind of slow all-around.\r\n\r\n<b>FitAID is probably the only reason I finished the run.</b> It was hot, humid, and I was dehydrated and under-nourished...I shouldn\'t have been able to make it through that. I should have had to walk all the way home. Somehow, I finished. I\'m fairly certain that FitAID is the only reason I actually made it. My muscles weren\'t fatigued (Thanks FitAID) and I had the focus, drive and determination to get it done. My problems were a direct result of being so dehydrated. I had a second FitAID after finishing the run, and I have to say I felt pretty good. After having the second drink and hydrating, it was like the run never happened (in terms of negative effects)...I felt good, great recovery. <b>Chalk up a win for FitAID.</b>\r\n<b></b>\r\n\r\n<img class=\"size-medium wp-image-565 aligncenter\" src=\"http://sothisisfitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/fitaidxfit-300x212.jpg\" alt=\"FitAid Promo Image\" width=\"300\" height=\"212\" />\r\n<div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div>\r\n<h4><b>FitAID During Strength Training?</b></h4>\r\nI used FitAID before my Body Beast Tempo: Chest &amp; Triceps workout. For those who don\'t know, Body Beast (by Beachbody) is a pretty intense strength training program. Tempo Chest &amp; Tri is all about the tempo with which you do the moves, up and down. You go much slower, which gives a great isolation effect on the muscle you\'re working and ends up making you feel like you\'ve REALLY hammered on that muscle. Oh, and going so slow on the reps...is <b>hard!</b> I took FitAID instead of my usual pre-workout and let me just say... <b>I Felt Like A Champ.</b> I felt the burn, I powered through the struggle, and it felt <b>great</b>.\r\n\r\nTo be honest, though, I was a little wary of going without my traditional N.O. boosting stimulant-filled pre-workout...but I felt great with FitAID! There\'s something to be said for a pre-workout without stimulants...it was a completely different feel to the workout. I wasn\'t working any harder, I was just deriving my power from somewhere else. It felt more...<b>natural</b>. Like I was more in-tune with my body. That\'s a great description of how I\'ve felt with my nutrition plan as a whole, so it\'s nice to experience that in my workout too. I had plenty of gas to get through the workout and the weight I was using didn\'t suffer for lack of N.O. / Stim-filled pre-workout. I had it after the workout as a recovery drink and y\'know what? <b>I\'m not sore today. </b>I feel like I worked out, but I\'m not sore. <b>Chalk up another win for FitAID.</b>\r\n<h4><b>So...the verdict?</b></h4>\r\nFitAID is great for runs, it\'s great for strength training...what CAN\'T this little drink do? It\'s loaded up with things your body wants, needs, craves, and even some things it might not know it needs, and there\'s <b>NOTHING </b>in it that you don\'t need or shouldn\'t have. Tastes great, designed to fuel you, and it\'s not CRAZY expensive. My recommendation? <b>Buy this.</b> No, they didn\'t pay me to say that. They just sent me a four-pack to try. Pretty brave of them, considering I could\'ve torn it apart and said it was awful. <b>They must be confident in their product</b>. Now I am too.','Review: FitAid','','inherit','closed','closed','','104-revision-v1','','','2017-01-16 19:05:27','2017-01-17 00:05:27','',104,'http://sothisisfitness.com/2017/01/104-revision-v1.html',0,'revision','',0),(374,1,'2017-01-08 21:14:31','2017-01-09 02:14:31','<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Every once in a while we lose our way, lose our reason...and fall off-track. Welcome to Darrell\'s past month. The short and sweet here is...every once in a while we have that epiphany moment that swings us back on track. Today, you get to hear Darrell\'s epiphany as it happens! hurrah.</span></p> <div> </div> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Find Darrell and So THIS Is Fitness online at:</span></p> <div> </div> <p><a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/\"><span style= \"font-weight: 400;\">www.SoTHISIsFitness.com</span></a></p> <p><a href=\"http://www.facebook.com/SoTHISIsFitness\"><span style= \"font-weight: 400;\">www.facebook.com/SoTHISIsFitness</span></a></p> <p><a href=\"http://www.instagram.com/SnuffyDX\"><span style= \"font-weight: 400;\">www.instagram.com/SnuffyDX</span></a></p> <p> </p> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and check out my sponsors:</span></p> <p><a href=\"http://www.addaday.com/\"><span style= \"font-weight: 400;\">www.addaday.com</span></a></p> <p><a href=\"http://www.healthwarrior.com/\"><span style= \"font-weight: 400;\">www.HealthWarrior.com</span></a></p> <p><a href=\"http://www.capecodnutritioncorner.com/\"><span style= \"font-weight: 400;\">www.CapeCodNutritionCorner.com</span></a></p>','#14 - Thankful','','inherit','closed','closed','','207-revision-v1','','','2017-01-08 21:14:31','2017-01-09 02:14:31','',207,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/207-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),(375,1,'2017-01-08 21:15:00','2017-01-09 02:15:00','<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Every once in a while it\'s important to get away, have a little fun, and spend some time with those you love. This weekend, that happened to coincide with the opportunity to run a marathon and do some good for a town that needed it!</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Darrell and Megan ventured up to Millinocket, ME for the Millinocket Marathon. Join them on this episode as they Roadtrip up LIVE as they record! Musings about the weekend, the event, coffee, and stick figure families abound.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can learn more about the Millinocket Marathon at</span> <a href= \"http://www.crowathletics.com/millinocket-marathon-half/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> http://www.crowathletics.com/millinocket-marathon-half/</span></a></p> <p> </p> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can find Darrell online at</span></p> <p><a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/\"><span style= \"font-weight: 400;\">www.SoTHISIsFitness.com</span></a></p> <p><a href=\"http://www.facebook.com/SoTHISIsFitness\"><span style= \"font-weight: 400;\">www.facebook.com/SoTHISIsFitness</span></a></p> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Instagram & Twitter: @snuffydx</span></p>','#15 - Roadtrip & Making Time','','inherit','closed','closed','','206-revision-v1','','','2017-01-08 21:15:00','2017-01-09 02:15:00','',206,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/206-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),(935,1,'2017-02-16 00:19:19','2017-02-16 05:19:19','<h2>It\'s an awfully long road you\'re on...</h2>\r\nYes, YOU. All of us, really. Life is a journey, our chosen goals and targets are a journey... all of this is a journey. Most journeys are gonna be pretty long. Every so often, along the way, it\'s important to stop and celebrate the little victories on the road to total success.<!--more-->\r\n<h2>Appreciation is pretty important, too.</h2>\r\nWe may not always be satisfied with our current lot in life... but it\'s important to be grateful and appreciative of what we CURRENTLY have. Once we\'ve wrapped our heads around THAT... we can start working towards where we DO want to be.\r\n\r\nSO, for our EPIC (har har) 25th episode - we tackle these two important points.\r\n\r\nYes, today\'s episode is that simple:\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>Appreciation</li>\r\n 	<li>Control what you can</li>\r\n 	<li>Celebration</li>\r\n 	<li>My challenge to YOU</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nThanks to all of you for sticking with me for 25 episodes - I fully intend to bring you (many more than) 25 more, and the quality is only gonna continue to improve - content, production values, and more.\r\n<h3>Resources:</h3>\r\n<a href=\"http://sothisisfitness.com/2017/02/podcast-episode-24-not-enough.html\">Episode 24 - \"It\'s Not Enough\" (time management resources)\r\n</a><a href=\"http://sothisisfitness.com/2013/07/why-workouts-fail-2-the-scale.html\">Why Workouts Fail #2 - The Scale</a>\r\n<h3>Connect with So THIS Is Fitness</h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li><a href=\"http://www.facebook.com/sothisisfitness\">Facebook</a></li>\r\n 	<li><a href=\"http://www.instagram.com/snuffydx\">Instagram</a></li>\r\n 	<li><a href=\"http://www.instagram.com/cardisandcardio\">The Fitwife\'s Instagram!</a></li>\r\n 	<li><a href=\"http://www.twitter.com/snuffydx\">Twitter</a></li>\r\n 	<li>Email - podcast@sothisisfitness.com</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<h3><strong>Listen to the So THIS Is Fitness Podcast</strong></h3>\r\nTo listen, you can either use the player below OR browse the following links:\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li><a href=\"https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/so-this-is-fitness/id1185769801?mt=2&amp;ls=1\">Subscribe On iTunes</a></li>\r\n 	<li><a href=\"http://subscribeonandroid.com/sothisisfitness.libsyn.com/rss\">Subscribe On Android</a></li>\r\n 	<li><a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.libsyn.com/rss\">Subscribe via RSS</a></li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<h3><strong>Support the show by supporting our sponsors!</strong></h3>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.foolproofbrewing.com\">Visit Foolproof Brewing Company\'s website</a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.hopheadevents.com\">Visit the Hophead Events website</a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.runtruenorth.com\">Visit the True North Running Co. website</a>','Podcast Episode 25 - Celebration','','inherit','closed','closed','','933-revision-v1','','','2017-02-16 00:19:19','2017-02-16 05:19:19','',933,'http://sothisisfitness.com/2017/02/933-revision-v1.html',0,'revision','',0),(934,1,'2017-02-16 00:13:38','2017-02-16 05:13:38','<h2>It\'s an awfully long road you\'re on...</h2>\r\nYes, YOU. All of us, really. Life is a journey, our chosen goals and targets are a journey... all of this is a journey. Most journeys are gonna be pretty long. Every so often, along the way, it\'s important to stop and celebrate the little victories on the road to total success.<!--more-->\r\n<h2>Appreciation is pretty important, too.</h2>\r\nWe may not always be satisfied with our current lot in life... but it\'s important to be grateful and appreciative of what we CURRENTLY have. Once we\'ve wrapped our heads around THAT... we can start working towards where we DO want to be.\r\n\r\nSO, for our EPIC (har har) 25th episode - we tackle these two important points.\r\n\r\nYes, today\'s episode is that simple:\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>Appreciation</li>\r\n 	<li>Control what you can</li>\r\n 	<li>Celebration</li>\r\n 	<li>My challenge to YOU</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nThanks to all of you for sticking with me for 25 episodes - I fully intend to bring you (many more than) 25 more, and the quality is only gonna continue to improve - content, production values, and more.\r\n<h3>Resources:</h3>\r\n<a href=\"http://sothisisfitness.com/2017/02/podcast-episode-24-not-enough.html\">Episode 24 - \"It\'s Not Enough\" (time management resources)\r\n</a><a href=\"http://sothisisfitness.com/2013/07/why-workouts-fail-2-the-scale.html\">Why Workouts Fail #2 - The Scale</a>\r\n<h3>Connect with So THIS Is Fitness</h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li><a href=\"http://www.facebook.com/sothisisfitness\">Facebook</a></li>\r\n 	<li><a href=\"http://www.instagram.com/snuffydx\">Instagram</a></li>\r\n 	<li><a href=\"http://www.twitter.com/snuffydx\">Twitter</a></li>\r\n 	<li>Email - podcast@sothisisfitness.com</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<h3><strong>Listen to the So THIS Is Fitness Podcast</strong></h3>\r\nTo listen, you can either use the player below OR browse the following links:\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li><a href=\"https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/so-this-is-fitness/id1185769801?mt=2&amp;ls=1\">Subscribe On iTunes</a></li>\r\n 	<li><a href=\"http://subscribeonandroid.com/sothisisfitness.libsyn.com/rss\">Subscribe On Android</a></li>\r\n 	<li><a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.libsyn.com/rss\">Subscribe via RSS</a></li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<h3><strong>Support the show by supporting our sponsors!</strong></h3>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.foolproofbrewing.com\">Visit Foolproof Brewing Company\'s website</a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.hopheadevents.com\">Visit the Hophead Events website</a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.runtruenorth.com\">Visit the True North Running Co. website</a>','Podcast Episode 25 - Celebration','','inherit','closed','closed','','933-revision-v1','','','2017-02-16 00:13:38','2017-02-16 05:13:38','',933,'http://sothisisfitness.com/2017/02/933-revision-v1.html',0,'revision','',0),(933,1,'2017-02-16 07:24:57','2017-02-16 12:24:57','<h2>It\'s an awfully long road you\'re on...</h2>\r\nYes, YOU. All of us, really. Life is a journey, our chosen goals and targets are a journey... all of this is a journey. Most journeys are gonna be pretty long. Every so often, along the way, it\'s important to stop and celebrate the little victories on the road to total success.<!--more-->\r\n<h2>Appreciation is pretty important, too.</h2>\r\nWe may not always be satisfied with our current lot in life... but it\'s important to be grateful and appreciative of what we CURRENTLY have. Once we\'ve wrapped our heads around THAT... we can start working towards where we DO want to be.\r\n\r\nSO, for our EPIC (har har) 25th episode - we tackle these two important points.\r\n\r\nYes, today\'s episode is that simple:\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>Appreciation</li>\r\n 	<li>Control what you can</li>\r\n 	<li>Celebration</li>\r\n 	<li>My challenge to YOU</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nThanks to all of you for sticking with me for 25 episodes - I fully intend to bring you (many more than) 25 more, and the quality is only gonna continue to improve - content, production values, and more.\r\n<h3>Resources:</h3>\r\n<a href=\"http://sothisisfitness.com/2017/02/podcast-episode-24-not-enough.html\">Episode 24 - \"It\'s Not Enough\" (time management resources)\r\n</a><a href=\"http://sothisisfitness.com/2013/07/why-workouts-fail-2-the-scale.html\">Why Workouts Fail #2 - The Scale</a>\r\n<h3>Connect with So THIS Is Fitness</h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li><a href=\"http://www.facebook.com/sothisisfitness\">Facebook</a></li>\r\n 	<li><a href=\"http://www.instagram.com/snuffydx\">Instagram</a></li>\r\n 	<li><a href=\"http://www.instagram.com/cardisandcardio\">The Fitwife\'s Instagram!</a></li>\r\n 	<li><a href=\"http://www.twitter.com/snuffydx\">Twitter</a></li>\r\n 	<li>Email - podcast@sothisisfitness.com</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<h3><strong>Listen to the So THIS Is Fitness Podcast</strong></h3>\r\nTo listen, you can either use the player below OR browse the following links:\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li><a href=\"https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/so-this-is-fitness/id1185769801?mt=2&amp;ls=1\">Subscribe On iTunes</a></li>\r\n 	<li><a href=\"http://subscribeonandroid.com/sothisisfitness.libsyn.com/rss\">Subscribe On Android</a></li>\r\n 	<li><a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.libsyn.com/rss\">Subscribe via RSS</a></li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<h3><strong>Support the show by supporting our sponsors!</strong></h3>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.foolproofbrewing.com\">Foolproof Brewing Company\'s website</a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.hopheadevents.com\">Hophead Events website</a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.runtruenorth.com\">True North Running Co. website</a>','Podcast Episode 25 - Celebration','','publish','open','open','','podcast-episode-25-celebration','','','2017-02-16 07:24:57','2017-02-16 12:24:57','',0,'http://sothisisfitness.com/?p=933',0,'post','',0),(379,1,'2017-01-08 21:17:10','2017-01-09 02:17:10','<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\'s funny to think how one decision, one feeling, can change the course of your life.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When you\'re staring down your first 100 mile ultramarathon, and it\'s less than 48 hours away...you tend to reflect on what you\'re about to do and, really...how you got here in the first place.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Join Darrell as he look at exactly what he\'s about to do, how he got here, and what exactly he\'s thinking going into this thing. Darrell also recaps this past weekend, his Mom\'s latest triumph, and does a fun new thing with Megan! WHAT\'S IN THE BOX?!</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is it... the time has come. Nothing left but to do the thing. See you on the other side.</span></p> <div> </div> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Follow Darrell at</span> <a href=\"http://www.facebook.com/SoTHISIsFitness\"><span style= \"font-weight: 400;\">www.facebook.com/SoTHISIsFitness</span></a> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and</span> <a href= \"http://www.instagram.com/SnuffyDX\"><span style= \"font-weight: 400;\">www.instagram.com/SnuffyDX</span></a> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">for live updates during the Ghost Train Rail Trail Race 100 Mile Ultramarathon!!! Race begins 9 am Sat 10/22 and cutoff is 3 pm Sunday 10/23.</span></p> <div> </div> <p><a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/\"><span style= \"font-weight: 400;\">www.SoTHISIsFitness.com</span></a></p>','#10 - Countdown To Oblivion','','inherit','closed','closed','','211-revision-v1','','','2017-01-08 21:17:10','2017-01-09 02:17:10','',211,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/211-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),(380,1,'2017-01-08 21:17:33','2017-01-09 02:17:33','<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Things don\'t always go according to plan...when the ceiling comes crashing down on you, it can be tough to find the drive to keep on plowing forward and sticking to the plan. When conditions are less than ideal, it\'s up to us to hunker down, toughen up, and make up the difference from within ourselves. Darrell recaps last weekend - Megan\'s triumphant Hartford Marathon run, the heinous weather nightmare that was Newport Marathon, and what its really all about.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can find Darrell online at:</span></p> <p><a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/\"><span style= \"font-weight: 400;\">www.SoTHISIsFitness.com</span></a></p> <p><a href=\"http://www.facebook.com/SoTHISIsFitness\"><span style= \"font-weight: 400;\">www.Facebook.com/SoTHISIsFitness</span></a></p> <p><a href=\"http://www.instagram.com/SnuffyDX\"><span style= \"font-weight: 400;\">http://www.Instagram.com/SnuffyDX</span></a></p>','#9 - Less Than Ideal','','inherit','closed','closed','','212-revision-v1','','','2017-01-08 21:17:33','2017-01-09 02:17:33','',212,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/212-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),(381,1,'2017-01-08 21:17:54','2017-01-09 02:17:54','<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fitness is hard. Life is hard. Why does everything have to be so hard? Often we want to shed the stuff that’s harder than we feel like it has to be. And often, the thing that’s easiest to shed...is health and fitness. The gym membership. The running. The whatever. We make things harder than they have to be. We give in.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That struggle is what keeps us from achieving the greatness we’re all capable of, and it’s up to us to find a way to break through. Darrell talks about his own struggle, how this stuff happens, and what, ultimately, it’s gonna come down to to bust out and make it happen.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Send your feedback and questions to Darrell@SoTHISIsFitness.com</span></p> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Find us online -</span> <a href= \"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/\"><span style= \"font-weight: 400;\">www.SoTHISIsFitness.com</span></a></p> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“Like” the FB page -</span> <a href=\"http://www.facebook.com/SoTHISIsFitness\"><span style= \"font-weight: 400;\">www.Facebook.com/SoTHISIsFitness</span></a></p>','#8 - The Struggle Is Real','','inherit','closed','closed','','213-revision-v1','','','2017-01-08 21:17:54','2017-01-09 02:17:54','',213,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/213-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),(382,1,'2017-01-08 21:18:28','2017-01-09 02:18:28','<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Even if you’re a fitness fanatic, or had that epiphany and “found fitness”...it can be tough to get those you care about to have that same kind of “awakening”. It can be frustrating, saddening, and even cause a little anger and resentment when friends and loved ones just refuse to do something you KNOW will be beneficial for them, and that they might even enjoy! So how do you get those YOU care about to the same place? You might not like the answer…</span></p> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Find Darrell & So THIS Is Fitness online!</span></p> <p><a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/\"><span style= \"font-weight: 400;\">http://www.SoTHISIsFitness.com</span></a></p> <p><a href=\"http://www.facebook.com/SoTHISIsFitness\"><span style= \"font-weight: 400;\">http://www.facebook.com/SoTHISIsFitness</span></a></p> <p><a href=\"http://www.instagram.com/SnuffyDX\"><span style= \"font-weight: 400;\">http://www.instagram.com/SnuffyDX</span></a></p> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Send your comments, questions, & feedback to Darrell@SoTHISIsFitness.com</span></p>','#7 - You Can Lead A Horse To Water...','','inherit','closed','closed','','214-revision-v1','','','2017-01-08 21:18:28','2017-01-09 02:18:28','',214,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/214-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),(383,1,'2017-01-08 21:18:59','2017-01-09 02:18:59','<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">All too often people find themselves in an unfulfilling cycle. Get up, go to work, stare at the clock, go home...with no sense of purpose, no sense of pride, and maybe no sense of your impact on the world at large.</span></p> <div> </div> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I, and many like me, spend our days differently. We wake up high on life, swipe a keyfob at the door, and walk into a world where we can help people make lasting, positive change in their lives.</span></p> <div> </div> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Today I want to talk about where I work, what I do, and why, no matter how hard some days might be... I love it every damn day. Today you find out what it means to #BleedPurple.</span></p>','#6 - #BleedPurple','','inherit','closed','closed','','215-revision-v1','','','2017-01-08 21:18:59','2017-01-09 02:18:59','',215,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/215-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),(384,1,'2017-01-08 21:19:33','2017-01-09 02:19:33','<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Darrell and Megan venture out to the Foolproof brewery to experience one of the more...off-color...athletic events out there - a “beer mile”. Learn what a beer mile is, how it came to be a “thing”, and what it\'s really to participate in one. Also… Learn why Darrell came frighteningly close to his first voluntary DNF. And in a shocking turn of events...Megan beats Darrell in a race! All this and more in episode 5!</span></p> <div> </div> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can learn more about Foolproof Brewing Company and the events they hold (both at and away from the brewery) at</span> <a href= \"http://www.foolproofbrewing.com/\"><span style= \"font-weight: 400;\">www.foolproofbrewing.com</span></a></p>','#5 - The Fool\'s Mile','','inherit','closed','closed','','216-revision-v1','','','2017-01-08 21:19:33','2017-01-09 02:19:33','',216,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/216-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),(385,1,'2017-01-08 21:20:03','2017-01-09 02:20:03','<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Megan & Darrell recap the mid-August race weekend of Anchor Down Ultramarathon and the Falmouth Road Race. They talk about each race, the experience they each had therein, and the big differences between the two. There was one BIG difference...and its what everything circles back around to...fun.</span></p> <div> </div> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can learn more about Anchor Down Ultramarathon at</span> <a href= \"http://www.anchordownultra.com/\"><span style= \"font-weight: 400;\">www.AnchorDownUltra.com</span></a></p> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Check out</span> <a href= \"http://www.runtruenorth.com/\"><span style= \"font-weight: 400;\">www.RunTrueNorth.com</span></a> <span style= \"font-weight: 400;\">to learn about their company and other events (including my favorite - Narragansett Summer Running Festival!).</span></p> <div> </div> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And check out</span> <a href= \"http://www.falmouthroadrace.com/\"><span style= \"font-weight: 400;\">www.FalmouthRoadRace.com</span></a> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">for more on THAT race.</span></p>','#4 - FUN','','inherit','closed','closed','','217-revision-v1','','','2017-01-08 21:20:03','2017-01-09 02:20:03','',217,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/217-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),(386,1,'2017-01-08 21:20:36','2017-01-09 02:20:36','<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Last time Darrell & Megan talked about their big goals and the training necessary for success. This time, they talk about the running journeys that led them here. Their stories aren\'t quite so crazy, and could easily be anyone\'s story...including yours. It all starts with that first step.</span></p>','#3 - The Long & The Short Of It (2/2)','','inherit','closed','closed','','218-revision-v1','','','2017-01-08 21:20:36','2017-01-09 02:20:36','',218,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/218-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),(387,1,'2017-01-08 21:21:00','2017-01-09 02:21:00','<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Darrell & Megan talk about the big goals they\'ve been working towards all year and what the final 3 months of training looks like. Delve into their training plans a bit and get some ideas for your own! It\'s not as out of reach or silly as it might seem - we promise :) All that, plus a lesson in...making the right call...</span></p> <div> </div> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Next time? The running journeys that led them to this point.<br /></span></p> <p>This episode backlogged - originally published on Athlete On Fire</p>','#2 - The Long & The Short Of It (1/2)','','inherit','closed','closed','','219-revision-v1','','','2017-01-08 21:21:00','2017-01-09 02:21:00','',219,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/219-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),(388,1,'2017-01-08 21:21:24','2017-01-09 02:21:24','<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I\'m Darrell McTague, and THIS is \"So THIS Is Fitness\". Join me as I share a little bit about myself, where So THIS Is Fitness came from (it\'s been around for a while, actually), and what its really all about. And, in the wake of my most recent ultramarathon experience...let\'s talk a little bit about failure.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This episode backlogged - originally published on the Athlete On Fire feed.</span></p>','#1 - Failure','','inherit','closed','closed','','220-revision-v1','','','2017-01-08 21:21:24','2017-01-09 02:21:24','',220,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/220-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),(389,1,'2017-01-08 23:25:45','2017-01-09 04:25:45','<span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b>I should have been SUPER sore.</b></span><br /><br /><a href=\"https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aGijIdCyO2c/VsxUDNI-nlI/AAAAAAAAjsk/K7c25j06C_Q/s1600/memerunamarathon1.jpg\" style=\"clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"200\" src=\"https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aGijIdCyO2c/VsxUDNI-nlI/AAAAAAAAjsk/K7c25j06C_Q/s200/memerunamarathon1.jpg\" width=\"193\" /></a>A couple of weeks ago I ran my fastest 20 miler EVER. I should\'ve been sore as hell at SOME point the following week. And I wasn\'t. The only thing that hurt was the new blisters I earned from being an idiot.&nbsp;<i><b>And even THOSE</b>&nbsp;</i>were fine by Tuesday<b style=\"font-style: italic;\">.</b>&nbsp;As a matter of fact, that Tuesday I knocked out a pretty fast 4 miles in the freshly blizzarded roads of my New England neighborhood.<br /><br /><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b>What Gives?</b></span><br /><br />Why was I not sore? Why did I feel nothing even&nbsp;<i>remotely</i>&nbsp;resembling the bedridden crippleness I would expect from such a (relatively) hard 3 hour and 38 minute effort Sunday?<br /><br /><b>It\'s because I found the secret sauce.</b><br /><a name=\'more\'></a><br /><b style=\"font-size: x-large;\">Step 1: Accept that there is no magic pill.&nbsp;</b><br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UDPvtz_DyHE/VsxXhhA1mdI/AAAAAAAAjtU/iMHCynaeAA4/s1600/Snake-Oil-Ad.jpg\" style=\"clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"172\" src=\"https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UDPvtz_DyHE/VsxXhhA1mdI/AAAAAAAAjtU/iMHCynaeAA4/s320/Snake-Oil-Ad.jpg\" width=\"320\" /></a></div>Sorry to break the news...but there is not some magic pill that saved me from being a useless human being this past week. There is no \"one true way\" for&nbsp;<i>anything</i>&nbsp;in the health &amp; fitness world. If there WERE, we\'d all be doing the&nbsp;<i>same</i>&nbsp;workout, using the&nbsp;<i>same</i>&nbsp;supplement brand, at the&nbsp;<i>same&nbsp;</i>gym,&nbsp;and someone out there would be a super-billionaire.&nbsp;The thing that works for the majority of people (or me)&nbsp;<b>MAY NOT WORK FOR YOU</b>. As long we have that understanding...we can move forward :)<br /><i style=\"font-weight: bold;\"><br /></i><b><span style=\"font-size: large;\">Now then - the basics.</span></b><br /><br /><b>Q: Why do we get sore from working out?</b><br /><b>A: During your workout, you\'re breaking down muscle so it can build back up stronger.</b><br /><br /><a href=\"https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jk_NzV4CtPk/VsxXZF_6SbI/AAAAAAAAjtQ/Z0MlD1P2yns/s1600/sponge-bob.jpg\" style=\"clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"170\" src=\"https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jk_NzV4CtPk/VsxXZF_6SbI/AAAAAAAAjtQ/Z0MlD1P2yns/s200/sponge-bob.jpg\" width=\"200\" /></a>That\'s the short version, anyway. This breakdown usually leads to DOMS (Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness) - you\'ve essentially damaged your body, so of course, you\'re likely to feel that damage. This soreness (DOMS) can occur, arguably, anywhere from 6 to 72 hours after exercise (usually about 24 - 48 hours after). It is&nbsp;<b>perfectly normal.&nbsp;</b><br /><b><br /></b><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b>OK, so what can I do about it?</b></span><br /><br />As I suggested...there\'s no one medically agreed-upon way to fix or prevent DOMS. If you scour the internet you\'ll find MANY ideas on how to fix it. Below are five things&nbsp;<i>I</i>&nbsp;do that work awesome for me and seem to be considered effective by the internet at-large.<br /><br /><b>1. Have a plan</b><br /><b><br /></b>You want to be sure you don\'t work the same muscle every day - they need a chance to recover. So,&nbsp;<b>have a plan </b>for how you\'re going to break things up<b>.</b>&nbsp;A plan for the day, of course, but a longer term plan too.&nbsp;<i>What are you doing today? Tomorrow? The rest of the week? Next week? How is next month laid out?</i>&nbsp;Having a plan will ensure that you don\'t waste time, your muscles can recover and work harder for you, and ultimately, over time, you can reach your goals.<br /><br />This whole \"have a plan\" thing...honestly...<b>it\'s something you should be doing anyway -&nbsp;</b>not just to avoid muscle soreness.<br /><b><br /></b><b>2. Hydrate</b><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><b><br /></b>Your body is mostly made of water...and it tends to perform better and do what you want when you stay well-hydrated. Everyone and their mother tells you to drink at least 8 glasses of water a day...<b>there\'s a reason.</b>&nbsp;To be safe, and to ensure your body has what it needs&nbsp;I say&nbsp;<i style=\"font-weight: bold;\">double that </i><i style=\"font-weight: bold;\">(hell, I drink even MORE than that)</i><i style=\"font-weight: bold;\">.&nbsp;</i>What\'s the worst that happens (<i>barring extreme circumstances)</i>? You pee more?&nbsp;<b>Good.</b><i>&nbsp;</i><br /><b><br /></b>This \"hydrating\" thing...it\'s&nbsp;<b>something you should be doing anyway.</b><br /><b><br /></b><b>3. Fuel</b><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZuIPtO47aes/VsxXA9j8dFI/AAAAAAAAjtE/TknxL35WWWQ/s1600/goku%2Beat.png\" style=\"clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"165\" src=\"https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZuIPtO47aes/VsxXA9j8dFI/AAAAAAAAjtE/TknxL35WWWQ/s320/goku%2Beat.png\" width=\"320\" /></a></div><b><br /></b>If there\'s no gas in the tank, the car doesn\'t go. Unfortunately, we humans can...and often DO...<i>force</i>&nbsp;our bodies to go when there\'s not enough fuel consumed. Whether you get abnormally tired or sore...you <i>will</i>&nbsp;feel it. The solution is simple:&nbsp;<b>EAT.&nbsp;</b>Your body needs fuel to power it through the day. On top of that, your body needs&nbsp;<i>more&nbsp;</i>fuel to get through whatever workouts your asking it to get through. Eat appropriately for your weight loss/gain goals and activity level. I\'m no expert, but <a href=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/?p=44\" target=\"_blank\">here\'s what I can offer for guidance on that front.</a><br /><b><br /></b>This, too, is&nbsp;<b>something you should be doing anyway.</b><br /><b><br /></b><b>4. Rest</b><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JYFDBMHFz_g/VsxWnPtf-VI/AAAAAAAAjs8/2sRITMGGAFY/s1600/sleep__square.jpg\" style=\"clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"128\" src=\"https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JYFDBMHFz_g/VsxWnPtf-VI/AAAAAAAAjs8/2sRITMGGAFY/s200/sleep__square.jpg\" width=\"200\" /></a></div><b><br /></b>A critical part of this whole process is rest. Not just rest days as part of your \"plan\"...but actual REST. In a bed. You have to allow time for your muscles to recover, rebuild, and undo the damage done to them causing this soreness in the first place. It\'s that simple.&nbsp;<b>Get some sleep.</b>&nbsp;If you\'re not getting 7 - 9 hours of sleep a night...you\'ll probably be more sore than you need to be.<br /><br />Yes...<b>You should be doing THIS anyway, too</b>.<br /><b><br /></b><b>5. Recovery Aides / Supplements</b><br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Cxdrz876cqI/VsxVVo6_KeI/AAAAAAAAjsw/_4MXucR2yQw/s1600/supplements_collage.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"161\" src=\"https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Cxdrz876cqI/VsxVVo6_KeI/AAAAAAAAjsw/_4MXucR2yQw/s320/supplements_collage.jpg\" width=\"320\" /></a></div>The harder your workouts, the more they demand from your body. Don\'t forget - how hard your workout is is relative to your athletic ability. A basic routine might still be pretty taxing if you\'re a total rookie. The short version here is: <u>use supplements.</u> There are a number of different supplements that can help give your body the raw materials it craves in order to build back up stronger, faster and thus&nbsp;<i>with less soreness. </i>Whey Protein, Creatine, BCAA\'s, Glutamine, \"Recovery Blends\" or \"Post-Workout supplements\"...there are a TON of options and ways to mix them.<br /><br /><b>So how do you sort it out and find the right one?</b><br /><b><br /></b><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1TIG0nI7qc4/VsxV_8onE_I/AAAAAAAAjs4/Rhed2TDfhEI/s1600/ccnc%2Bbanner.png\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"147\" src=\"https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1TIG0nI7qc4/VsxV_8onE_I/AAAAAAAAjs4/Rhed2TDfhEI/s400/ccnc%2Bbanner.png\" width=\"400\" /></a></div><br />You need a pro. My strongest advice here is to find a local supplement store. NO - <b>not a GNC/Vitamin Shoppe/Big Box</b>...a <b><i>local</i></b> supplement/nutrition store. If you live in Massachusetts I <b>STRONGLY</b>&nbsp;recommend you find a Cape Cod Nutrition Corner. I liked them so much I wiggled my way into becoming one of their team athletes! They only stock products they believe in, they are incredibly knowledgeable about those products, and they\'re going to give you unbiased opinions because <i style=\"font-weight: bold;\">they don\'t make commissions from vendors</i>.<br /><br />Budget yourself $30 or $40/month for this. Most of the solutions they offer will only cost you roughly $1/serving. If you\'re ok buying 10 for $10 yogurts at Stop &amp; Shop or a coffee on the way to work, you should be ok with this option too. Stop by and see what they recommend. It could totally change the game for you :)<br /><br /><b><span style=\"font-size: large;\">That\'s really it.</span></b><br /><br />In the end, no matter what,&nbsp;<i>if you\'re working really hard</i>...<b>you\'re going to be at least&nbsp;<i>a little</i>&nbsp;sore.</b>&nbsp;You CAN do a lot to deaden the blow...<b>it\'s not rocket science.</b> You need to plan, eat, drink and sleep...and using supplements can help put you over the top in terms of reducing that soreness issue. Try it...and let me know how it works out for you.<br /><br /><b style=\"font-style: italic;\">Disclosure: </b><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">As I mentioned,&nbsp;</span><i>I am a Cape Cod Nutrition Corner Sponsored Athlete.&nbsp;As always,&nbsp;<b>all&nbsp;opinions are my own</b>, never bought, sold or influenced. Trust me - if I ever come across something I think is awful, or even sub-par,&nbsp;<b>I won\'t be shy about it</b>. It simply hasn\'t happened yet.</i>','Solving Muscle Soreness - The Secret Sauce','','inherit','closed','closed','','24-revision-v1','','','2017-01-08 23:25:45','2017-01-09 04:25:45','',24,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/?p=389',0,'revision','',0),(390,1,'2017-01-08 23:28:25','2017-01-09 04:28:25','<div><b><span style=\"font-size: large;\">Mother Nature gave me an out.</span></b></div><div><br /></div><div>Taking place late February, the Hyannis Marathon was supposed to be my first full marathon. However, thanks to the worst snowfall in Massachusetts history...it was cancelled.&nbsp;<b>I easily could\'ve bailed. </b>I could\'ve just kept quiet, done the other races on my list, and never brought up \"26.2\" again.</div><div><br /><b>But I didn\'t.</b><br /><b><br /></b>And now I\'m sitting in a hotel room in Maine. And in 11 hours I\'ll be standing in the starting corral of the 2015 Maine Coast Marathon...<b>my first marathon.</b><br /><b><br /></b><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qcvY942YDfE/VU7GlXkB2pI/AAAAAAAAZhY/MT_w8IGu5L8/s1600/Screenshot%2B2014-12-29%2B20.19.28.png\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"140\" src=\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qcvY942YDfE/VU7GlXkB2pI/AAAAAAAAZhY/MT_w8IGu5L8/s400/Screenshot%2B2014-12-29%2B20.19.28.png\" width=\"400\" /></a></div><b><br /></b>Holy crap...<br /><a name=\'more\'></a><br /><b><span style=\"font-size: large;\">Oddly enough, I\'m not nervous.</span></b><br /><b><br /></b>I\'ve got this weird little sense of peaceful certainty going on. I was reasonably confident in my training when it was time for Hyannis to happen...but the last two weeks alone have shown me that I can not only finish this race, but I can hit my goal time too.<br /><br /><b><span style=\"font-size: large;\">So why didn\'t I bail?</span></b><br /><br /><b>I had already made the decision.&nbsp;</b>The scariest part was already done - <i>I had registered for the Hyannis Marathon. </i>Making the decision and clicking \"register now\"...it was like a switch flipped. Things were different. I was no longer afraid of the big bad marathon. It was no longer up on a pedestal - a mythical \"I\'ll never do that\" thing to be brushed off and nervously laughed about in conversation. In that moment...it became something to me.<br /><br /><b>So when Hyannis was cancelled...</b><br /><b><br /></b>There wasn\'t a sense of \"relief\" that I no longer \"had to do it\". Instead...I went through a range of emotions akin to the 5 stages of grief! I was in disbelief...in <i>denial</i>&nbsp;that it had been cancelled. Then I was angry as all hell. Then I was sad that all that effort, anticipation, and excitement was for naught. And finally I accepted it.<br /><br /><b>But then...there was still a void.</b><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><br /></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-e2FVL7g7buo/VU7JlhByY7I/AAAAAAAAZhk/J74qN2llSdQ/s1600/2015-05-09_22.57.36.jpg\" style=\"clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"281\" src=\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-e2FVL7g7buo/VU7JlhByY7I/AAAAAAAAZhk/J74qN2llSdQ/s320/2015-05-09_22.57.36.jpg\" width=\"320\" /></a></div><br />Almost immediately during the \"denial\" bit I started looking for other marathons in New England. I had to do it. And I found one. I found IT. The best option for my first marathon without waiting until fall. The Maine Coast Marathon. A gorgeous course through Kennebunk, the Maine coast, Kennebunkport, and then the Maine coast again. A great finisher\'s medal and post-race celebration. Hell, I can even get a finisher\'s jacket! In my favorite color!<br /><br /><b>And here I am.</b><br /><br />And by the time I cross that finish line tomorrow...I\'ll have travelled a lot farther than 26.2 miles.<br /><br />You\'ll never know what you\'re capable of until you take the plunge and try. See you on the other side.&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Thanks again to <a href=\"http://facebook.com/CapeCodNutritionCorner.Plymouth\" target=\"_blank\">Cape Cod Nutrition Corner</a> for sponsoring me!</i></div>','The Time Has Come - 26.2','','inherit','closed','closed','','39-revision-v1','','','2017-01-08 23:28:25','2017-01-09 04:28:25','',39,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/?p=390',0,'revision','',0),(391,1,'2017-01-08 23:34:39','2017-01-09 04:34:39','<div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bi4WILLVnm0/UfUjMKX4XhI/AAAAAAAABDY/sdft9DIatIc/s1600/nbfrr.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"152\" src=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bi4WILLVnm0/UfUjMKX4XhI/AAAAAAAABDY/sdft9DIatIc/s320/nbfrr.jpg\" width=\"320\" /></a></div>So, two weeks from this very moment (at least, the very moment I\'m typing this) the gun will go off and the 41st running of the Falmouth Road Race will begin. 10 minutes later the 5th corral will be allowed to start and off I\'ll go. A few minutes later, the 6th corral and off goes my fiancee Megan.<br /><br />Holy. <b>Crap.</b><br /><br />This is what we\'ve been working up to since March (whether we knew it or not) when we went for that first run.<br /><br /><a name=\'more\'></a><br /><br />That\'s great Darrell, but <b>what if I don\'t know what the Falmouth Road Race is?</b><br /><br />The&nbsp;<a href=\"http://www.falmouthroadrace.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Falmouth Road Race</a><b> (which is kind of a big deal) </b>is a 7.4 mile road race from Woods Hole to Falmouth Heights. The course goes by&nbsp;<a href=\"http://lighthouse.cc/nobska/\" target=\"_blank\">Nobska Lighthouse</a>, along some scenic roads, along Surf Drive (and its beaches), along the beach at Falmouth Heights, all the way around Grand Ave. down to the finish line in front of the British Beer Company. They cap the total number of race participants somewhere around <b>12,500</b>, and they have elite runners from around the world fly in to run this thing. <br /><br /><b>And then there\'s us</b>.<br /><br /><b>***UPDATE***</b><br /><br />So I took a break in writing this post to actually go run the course with Megan. <b>Boy am I glad I did</b>.&nbsp;<b> </b>We learned a lot about the course and we\'re definitely better prepared.<br /><br /><b>OK, so...w</b><b>hy are you two running this?</b><br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zoNCdnybAAs/UfVv5rJNztI/AAAAAAAABDo/JljZJHVx6xY/s1600/413342_10100859894935542_1060323499_o.jpg\" style=\"clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"233\" src=\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zoNCdnybAAs/UfVv5rJNztI/AAAAAAAABDo/JljZJHVx6xY/s320/413342_10100859894935542_1060323499_o.jpg\" width=\"320\" /></a></div><b>&nbsp;I\'m running</b> as a part of Team Lanzoni. That\'s the <a href=\"http://www.99restaurants.com/\" target=\"_blank\">99 Restaurants</a> team. Team Lanzoni is a part of <a href=\"http://www.runfordanafarber.org/\" target=\"_blank\">Dana-Farber Cancer Institute running programs</a>. That means that I\'m running to raise money for Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.<br /><br /><b>Why?</b><br /><br />My Grandfather - Peter Scuteri. A loving husband and father, retired Malden police officer and pilot of the Malden PD K-9 program, Freemason, Shriner, and all-around hero. He passed away from cancer last July. The short story is, during his battle with cancer, he received care from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. Dana-Farber helped my grandfather in his battle, and I wanted to use a run to raise money for them so someone else could have a fighting chance too. My other reasons for running, yes - even my new-found health and fitness, pale in comparison to this reason.<br /><br /><b>What about Megan?</b><br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ssbauTRk6ZQ/UfVyCQu7HuI/AAAAAAAABEA/rvVIyQVvoi4/s1600/977838_531255300265466_820475099_o.jpg\" style=\"clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"320\" src=\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ssbauTRk6ZQ/UfVyCQu7HuI/AAAAAAAABEA/rvVIyQVvoi4/s320/977838_531255300265466_820475099_o.jpg\" width=\"200\" /></a></div>My fiancee Megan is running the race for a different reason. Megan\'s brother - Chris Boselli - passed away last summer from complications with heart surgery. He was 27 years old. His passing rocked her family in a way I can\'t even properly describe to you. Her family set up a memorial scholarship fund in his name to honor him by helping others who share his love of theatre and the arts. Originally, Megan had been trying to run the Falmouth Road Race on a team to raise money for this scholarship fund. <b>UNFORTUNATELY</b>, the team was not selected in the lottery.<br /><br />She still wanted to run the race. For herself and, I think, for him.<br /><br />So, long story short, she (and her sister, Kim) are running as a part of the <a href=\"http://www.westfalmouthlibrary.org/\" target=\"_blank\">West Falmouth Library</a> team to raise money for them. Megan went with this because, of all the fundraising opportunities available to her, this one made the most sense. Megan always has a book on her and reads like its her job. If she couldn\'t raise money for her brother\'s memorial, being able to support a place that helps others with the same hobby/habit/problem (hah) as her is a great compromise. While I have surpassed my own fundraising goal through the help of the people at Team Lanzoni HQ, Megan has not yet achieved her fundraising goal.<br /><br /><b>This is where I\'m calling on you, faithful friends and readers</b>.<br /><br />Please visit <a href=\"https://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/MeganBoselli/2013-new-balance-falmouth-road-race\" target=\"_blank\">Megan\'s personal fundraising page</a> and consider making a donation to help her towards her $1,000 goal. As of my writing, she is at $170. There\'s a yard sale this coming weekend to raise money towards the goal, but it\'d take way more stuff to sell than we have in order to achieve that.<br /><br /><b>Please consider helping and contributing to a great cause</b>. Megan has until August 6th to raise the money she needs - I have a few weeks after that. It would mean a lot to me if you could help her out.<br /><br />That said - the training continues. Two weeks from this moment the two of us will be celebrating a great achievement and looking forward towards the next. It\'s all about the journey.','Our First REAL Challenge - Falmouth Road Race','','inherit','closed','closed','','124-revision-v1','','','2017-01-08 23:34:39','2017-01-09 04:34:39','',124,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/?p=391',0,'revision','',0),(393,1,'2017-01-09 00:09:14','2017-01-09 05:09:14',' ','','','publish','closed','closed','','393','','','2017-02-20 06:58:48','2017-02-20 11:58:48','',0,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/?p=393',2,'nav_menu_item','',0),(394,1,'2017-01-09 00:09:14','2017-01-09 05:09:14',' ','','','publish','closed','closed','','394','','','2017-02-20 06:58:52','2017-02-20 11:58:52','',0,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/?p=394',11,'nav_menu_item','',0),(395,1,'2017-01-09 00:09:14','2017-01-09 05:09:14',' ','','','publish','closed','closed','','395','','','2017-02-20 06:58:51','2017-02-20 11:58:51','',0,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/?p=395',10,'nav_menu_item','',0),(398,1,'2017-01-09 00:22:56','2017-01-09 05:22:56','<em><strong>\"Who\'s this jerk think he is?\"</strong></em>\r\n\r\nThis \"jerk\" is a regular guy...an \"Average Joe\"...just like you.\r\n\r\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>And that\'s the point.</strong></span>\r\n\r\nWhat\'s the difference between me and you? Maybe its that I lost 130 lbs. Maybe it\'s that I\'ve finished at least 5 marathons. Or a 50 mile ultramarathon. Or a <em>100 mile ultramarathon</em>. Maybe it\'s that <em>I started &amp; stuck to a fitness routine</em><em>.</em> <em><strong>Maybe its nothing.</strong></em>\r\n\r\n<em><strong>I\'m. nobody. special.</strong></em><em> </em>\r\n\r\nI\'m just a guy that hit a breaking point and finally did something about his situation. Changed what I had, until that point, viewed as my permanent reality. I <em>took control</em> and made a change. <strong>A big change.</strong> One that has reshaped my whole life and world view.\r\n\r\n<strong>It wasn\'t easy.</strong>\r\n\r\nThere were countless times I wanted to quit. Give up. It would\'ve been so much easier to just...<em>not</em>. It still IS easier.\r\n\r\n<strong>It\'s a constant struggle.</strong>\r\n\r\nAnd I know I\'m not the only one who fights that battle. <strong>So here I am - </strong>sharing my story - both the struggles AND successes...to show you...\r\n\r\n<strong>If <em>I </em>can do it...<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>anyone can.</em></span></strong>\r\n\r\n130 pounds lost? 100 mile ultramarathon finish? <em>I\'m just getting warmed up.</em>\r\n\r\n<em>Want a little more detail on the journey and my story (complete with pics)? Check it out here.</em>\r\n\r\n<strong>So...THIS is \"fitness\"...</strong>','About','','inherit','closed','closed','','187-revision-v1','','','2017-01-09 00:22:56','2017-01-09 05:22:56','',187,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/187-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),(399,1,'2017-01-09 00:26:54','2017-01-09 05:26:54','<h4 class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b>For as long as I can remember </b></span><strong>I\'d <i>always</i> been a \"fat kid\".</strong></h4>\r\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\">\"Finding fitness\" was never something seriously on my radar. I <i>always</i> got made fun of, I <i>always</i> made an effort to wear loose clothes, and I was <i>never </i>really all that athletic, nor did I REALLY desire to be. Occasional efforts were made to work on it, but nothing stuck.</div>\r\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\"></div>\r\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\">In my last year of high school I made real progress. I did Weight Watchers with my mom while playing sports (football/weight lifting/shotput). With this combo, I managed to lose 70 lbs dropping to 210 (though I told people I was 205 lbs). Still overweight... but it was enough. I was...average...but not truly happy.</div>\r\n<h5><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b><img class=\"alignleft wp-image-509 size-medium\" src=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/41351_847720569112_2734506_n-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"Me, Miles &amp; Julian on Bourbon Street - Delta Chi Convention\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" />So I went off to college.</b></span></h5>\r\nWith the help of party school drinking plus all the garbage food I could eat... I gained it all back. <b>And then some.</b> All the healthy habits and active lifestyle behaviors I had picked up at the end of high school were gone. It didn\'t happen all at once, but it did happen pretty quick.\r\n\r\nThe summer before my 5th year at UMass I went to Delta Chi Convention in New Orleans, and I was pretty close to getting my own zip code. I tried to pretend I was a 42 waist, but that was super-loose fit jeans. I would estimate I was really a 44.<b></b>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<h5><b><span style=\"font-size: large;\">And so it went. </span></b></h5>\r\nGraduation meant leaving the over-abundance of cheap food...but it didn\'t end the weight gain. Back home meant work at a restaurant where a send-back meant snack time on fried food. By the time I got to August 2012 it was pretty bad. I had reached the heaviest I had ever been. <b>300 lbs. </b>\r\n\r\n<b><span style=\"font-size: large;\">Then I hit my breaking point.</span></b><b>\r\n</b>\r\n<img class=\"alignright wp-image-507 size-medium\" src=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/705673_10101066393515732_1982462519_o-169x300.jpg\" alt=\"At my heaviest - about 305 lbs.\" width=\"169\" height=\"300\" />Constantly moving at the restaurant meant my legs rubbed together. <b>And wore through my work pants. </b><i style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Every three months.</i> I was embarrassed at how frequently I had to buy more 48 waist pants. It became clear this lifestyle wasn\'t sustainable...and <b>I\'d had enough.</b> I talked to my wife (girlfriend at the time) and we resolved to do it together.So we took our before pictures, got our gear together, and embarked on our fitness journey.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<h5><b><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><img class=\"alignleft wp-image-508 size-medium\" src=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/1064785_10101402791037402_1587750951_o-152x300.jpg\" alt=\"Slim &amp; Fit at my first 10K - Finish at the 50 10K!\" width=\"152\" height=\"300\" />Oh...results? </span></b></h5>\r\nFor the full breakdown (with pictures) check out the <a href=\"http://sothisisfitness.com/meet-darrell/my-journey\" target=\"_blank\">\"My Journey\" page</a>. Short version? In the first 10 months I broke 100 lbs, and within a year I had dropped 125 lbs, become a runner, and become happier with my body and health than ever before.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI went from an XXL shirt to a Medium/Small\r\nFrom a 48\" waist to a 31\"\r\nXL and XXL gym shorts to Medium/Small\r\nOverweight and in danger of diabetes to fit, athletic and energetic!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOne of the most important things I figured out is - <b>You don\'t have to do it alone.</b> I had my wife - be sure to find <b>your</b> support system. <i>It makes a difference. </i><b><span style=\"font-size: large;\">The journey isn\'t over</span></b> (it never will be), and I\'m glad I took the plunge.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Finding Fitness','','publish','closed','closed','','findingfitness','','','2017-01-13 22:25:27','2017-01-14 03:25:27','',187,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/?page_id=399',1,'page','',0),(511,1,'2017-01-11 23:22:33','2017-01-12 04:22:33','<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b>For as long as I can remember </b></span><strong>I\'d <i>always</i> been a \"fat kid\".</strong></div>\r\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\"></div>\r\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\">\"Finding fitness\" was never something seriously on my radar. I <i>always</i> got made fun of, I <i>always</i> made an effort to wear loose clothes, and I was <i>never </i>really all that athletic, nor did I REALLY desire to be. Occasional efforts were made to work on it, but nothing stuck.</div>\r\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\"></div>\r\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\">In my last year of high school I made real progress. I did Weight Watchers with my mom while playing sports (football/weight lifting/shotput). With this combo, I managed to lose 70 lbs dropping to 210 (though I told people I was 205 lbs). Still overweight... but it was enough. I was...average...but not truly happy.</div>\r\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-509 alignleft\" src=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/41351_847720569112_2734506_n-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" />So I went off to college.</b></span>\r\n\r\nWith the help of party school drinking plus all the garbage food I could eat... I gained it all back. <b>And then some.</b> All the healthy habits and active lifestyle behaviors I had picked up at the end of high school were gone. It didn\'t happen all at once, but it did happen pretty quick.\r\n\r\nThe summer before my 5th year at UMass I went to Delta Chi Convention in New Orleans, and I was pretty close to getting my own zip code. I tried to pretend I was a 42 waist, but that was super-loose fit jeans. I would estimate I was really a 44.<b></b>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<b><span style=\"font-size: large;\">And so it went. </span></b>\r\n\r\nGraduation meant leaving the over-abundance of cheap food...but it didn\'t end the weight gain. Back home meant work at a restaurant where a send-back meant snack time on fried food. By the time I got to August 2012 it was pretty bad. I had reached the heaviest I had ever been. <b>300 lbs. </b>\r\n\r\n<b><span style=\"font-size: large;\">Then I hit my breaking point.</span></b><b>\r\n</b>\r\n<img class=\"size-medium wp-image-507 alignright\" src=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/705673_10101066393515732_1982462519_o-169x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"169\" height=\"300\" />Constantly moving at the restaurant meant my legs rubbed together. <b>And wore through my work pants. </b><i style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Every three months.</i> I was embarrassed at how frequently I had to buy more 48 waist pants. I knew this lifestyle wasn\'t sustainable. <b>I\'d had enough.</b> I talked to my wife (girlfriend at the time) and we resolved to do it together.So we took our before pictures, got our gear together, and embarked on our fitness journey.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<b><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-508 alignleft\" src=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/1064785_10101402791037402_1587750951_o-152x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"152\" height=\"300\" />Oh...results? </span></b>\r\n\r\nFor the full breakdown (with pictures) check out the <a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/p/my-transformation.html\">My Transformation page</a>. Short version? In the first 10 months I broke 100 lbs, and within a year I had dropped 125 lbs, become a runner, and become happier with my body and health than ever before.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI went from an XXL shirt to a Medium/Small\r\nFrom a 48\" waist to a 31\"\r\nXL and XXL gym shorts to Medium/Small\r\nOverweight and in danger of diabetes to fit, athletic and energetic!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOne of the most important things I figured out is - <b>You don\'t have to do it alone.</b> I had my wife - be sure to find <b>your</b> support system. <i>It makes a difference. </i><b><span style=\"font-size: large;\">The journey isn\'t over</span></b> (it never will be), and I\'m glad I took the plunge.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Finding Fitness','','inherit','closed','closed','','399-revision-v1','','','2017-01-11 23:22:33','2017-01-12 04:22:33','',399,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/399-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),(400,1,'2017-01-09 00:26:54','2017-01-09 05:26:54','<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b>For as long as I can remember</b></span>\r\nI\'d <i>always</i> been a\r\n\"fat kid\". I <i>always</i> got made fun of, I <i>always</i> made an effort to wear\r\nloose clothes, and I was <i>never</i> really all that athletic, nor did I\r\nREALLY desire to be. Occasional efforts were made to work on it, but nothing stuck.</div>\r\n<table class=\"tr-caption-container\" style=\"float: right; text-align: right;\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\">\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\"><a style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" href=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Vdw5QKqNDow/UedbfP4nSDI/AAAAAAAAA0U/fWJ5jUY5QEo/s1600/34_537932327232_218_n.jpg\"><img src=\"https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Vdw5QKqNDow/UedbfP4nSDI/AAAAAAAAA0U/fWJ5jUY5QEo/s320/34_537932327232_218_n.jpg\" width=\"320\" height=\"240\" border=\"0\" /></a></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td class=\"tr-caption\" style=\"text-align: center;\">Me and a friend at a grad party summer before college</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody>\r\n</table>\r\nIn my last year of high school I made real progress. I did Weight Watchers with my mom while playing sports (football/weight lifting/shotput). With this combo, I managed to lose 70 lbs dropping to 210 (though I told people I was 205 lbs). Still overweight... but it was enough. I was...average...but not truly happy.\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b>So I went off to college</b></span>\r\nand with the help of party school drinking plus all the garbage food I could eat... I gained it all back. <b>And then some.</b> All the healthy habits and active lifestyle behaviors I had picked up at the end of high school were gone. It didn\'t happen all at once, but it did happen pretty quick.\r\n<table class=\"tr-caption-container\" style=\"float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\">\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\"><a style=\"clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" href=\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2plmGLIcc6A/UedcRsXckdI/AAAAAAAAA0g/GCPcordnf78/s1600/274_584599565712_7157_n.jpg\"><img src=\"https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2plmGLIcc6A/UedcRsXckdI/AAAAAAAAA0g/GCPcordnf78/s320/274_584599565712_7157_n.jpg\" width=\"320\" height=\"240\" border=\"0\" /></a></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td class=\"tr-caption\" style=\"text-align: center;\">Just bulging out of everywhere</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody>\r\n</table>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<table class=\"tr-caption-container\" style=\"float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\">\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td style=\"text-align: center;\"><a style=\"clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" href=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_4LkS-8mBGs/UedcciBqjRI/AAAAAAAAA0o/_pZZAJa895E/s1600/308_589489645952_8413_n.jpg\"><img src=\"https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_4LkS-8mBGs/UedcciBqjRI/AAAAAAAAA0o/_pZZAJa895E/s320/308_589489645952_8413_n.jpg\" width=\"320\" height=\"183\" border=\"0\" /></a></td>\r\n</tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td class=\"tr-caption\" style=\"text-align: center;\">Heavier, with loose clothes to match</td>\r\n</tr>\r\n</tbody>\r\n</table>\r\nThese photos are from summer after sophomore year working as an audio intern at Berkshire Theatre Festival. I had gained quite a bit of weight, but I definitely hadn\'t reached the mountaintop yet.\r\n\r\nI tried my best to hide it with baggy casual clothes, but too-tight work clothes from skinnier days made it tough.\r\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a style=\"clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\" href=\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZsD0i-aZCEc/UedQR-ke0LI/AAAAAAAAAz4/Oip0QnwDWfY/s1600/41351_847720569112_2734506_n.jpg\"><img src=\"https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZsD0i-aZCEc/UedQR-ke0LI/AAAAAAAAAz4/Oip0QnwDWfY/s320/41351_847720569112_2734506_n.jpg\" width=\"240\" height=\"320\" border=\"0\" /></a></div>\r\nThe summer before my 5th year at UMass I went to Delta Chi Convention in New Orleans, and I was pretty close to getting my own zip code. I tried to pretend I was a 42 waist, but that was super-loose fit jeans. I would estimate I was really a 44.\r\n\r\n<a style=\"clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;\" href=\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-z9N4OGQsklM/Uedhk6vl-wI/AAAAAAAAA1A/l1pquUgxO4M/s1600/705673_10101066393515732_1982462519_o.jpg\"><img src=\"https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-z9N4OGQsklM/Uedhk6vl-wI/AAAAAAAAA1A/l1pquUgxO4M/s320/705673_10101066393515732_1982462519_o.jpg\" width=\"180\" height=\"320\" border=\"0\" /></a><b><span style=\"font-size: large;\">And so it went.</span></b>\r\n\r\nGraduation meant leaving the over-abundance of cheap food...but it didn\'t end the weight gain. Back home meant work at a restaurant where a send-back meant snack time on fried food. By the time I got to August 2012 it was pretty bad. I had reached the heaviest I had ever been. <b>300 lbs.</b>\r\n\r\n<b><span style=\"font-size: large;\">Then I hit my breaking point</span></b>\r\n<b>\r\n</b>\r\nConstantly moving at the restaurant meant my legs rubbed together. <b>And wore through my work pants. </b><i style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Every three months.</i> I was embarrassed at how frequently I had to buy more 48 waist pants. I knew this lifestyle wasn\'t sustainable. <b>I\'d had enough.</b> I talked to my wife (girlfriend at the time) and we resolved to do it together.\r\n\r\nSo we took our before pictures, got our gear together, and embarked on our fitness journey by pushing play on the first video of P90X. We got great results and kept going.\r\n\r\nWe completed P90X, Insanity, Insanity: The Asylum, Les Mills COMBAT, Focus T25 and P90X3 together. Through July, August and September 2013 my mom and wife (then-fiancee) did ChaLean Extreme together while I did Body Beast to build muscle and fill out some loose skin!\r\n\r\n<b><span style=\"font-size: large;\">Oh...results?</span></b>\r\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a style=\"clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\" href=\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wtLp0biNyeU/UedjLCXYcpI/AAAAAAAAA1Q/OlpkVgRXwLk/s1600/1064785_10101402791037402_1587750951_o.jpg\"><img src=\"https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wtLp0biNyeU/UedjLCXYcpI/AAAAAAAAA1Q/OlpkVgRXwLk/s320/1064785_10101402791037402_1587750951_o.jpg\" width=\"162\" height=\"320\" border=\"0\" /></a></div>\r\nFor the full breakdown (with pictures) check out the <a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/p/my-transformation.html\">My Transformation page</a>, but the reader\'s digest version?\r\n\r\nIn the first 10 months I broke 100 lbs, and within a year I had dropped 125 lbs, become a runner, and become happier with my body and health than ever before.\r\n\r\nI went from an XXL shirt to a Medium/Small\r\nFrom a 48\" waist to a 31\"\r\nXL and XXL gym shorts to Medium/Small\r\nOverweight and in danger of diabetes to fit, athletic and energetic!\r\n<div id=\"stcpDiv\" style=\"left: -1988px; position: absolute; top: -1999px;\">If\r\nyou\'re interested, you can join our accountability / support /\r\nmotivation group on facebook here:\r\nhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/sothisisfitness/ - See more at:\r\nhttp://www.sothisisfitness.com/p/my-story.html?showComment=1377039495478#sthash.0BVZ7hQN.dpuf</div>\r\nOne of the most important things I figured out is - <b>You don\'t have to do it alone.</b> I had my wife - be sure to find <b>your</b> support system. <i>It makes a difference.</i>\r\n\r\n<b><span style=\"font-size: large;\">The journey isn\'t over</span></b> (it never will be), and I\'m glad I took the plunge. Every once in a while I look back on the journey and say \"hmph...So THIS is fitness...wish I figured THAT out sooner!\"\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b>So What IS This?<span style=\"font-size: small;\"> </span></b></span>\r\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b><span style=\"font-size: small;\"> </span> </b></span>\r\nThis blog is health, fitness and nutrition as I see it and as I work my way through it. <b>I am not a professional, I am not a doctor, I am not a nutritionist. My degree is not in health/fitness/nutrition. </b>This\r\nis just me trying to share my experiences, thoughts, opinions, and the\r\nwisdom I have gained along the path of my fitness journey (learned both\r\nthrough research and the hard way). If I make an assertion, its simply\r\nwhat I believe. If I reference studies or research, that\'s another\r\nstory. If I\'m writing a paid/compensated blog post, I\'ll disclose that as well.\r\n\r\nI try to take everything in, from people that\r\nare better at this than me, from people who are struggling like I used\r\nto, from people with ideas similar to mine and from people who are so\r\nfar on another planet that I don\'t even really understand what they\'re actually doing. I am open to opinions and CONSTRUCTIVE criticism, but\r\nthere\'s no place for hate here.\r\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b> </b></span>','My Journey','','inherit','closed','closed','','399-revision-v1','','','2017-01-09 00:26:54','2017-01-09 05:26:54','',399,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/399-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),(401,1,'2017-01-09 00:28:14','2017-01-09 05:28:14','<b><span style=\"font-size: large;\">This is my transformation. 300 lbs to less than 180 lbs in 14 months</span></b>\r\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\">\r\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\">When this all started, I was too afraid and overwhelmed to go to a gym...so I did at-home programs. When I was in the moment, I thought these programs were great and easy-to-do. To be fair, I realize after the fact...these are exceptionally hard to stick to unless you\'ve got a special kind of drive and motivation, like I did. Even then, I found it VERY difficult to keep going sometimes. Need help deciding what to do? reach out. Let\'s chat.</div>\r\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"></div>\r\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>Before it all began! 300 lbs and unhappy</b></div>\r\n</div>\r\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div>\r\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"> <img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-515\" src=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/beforebefore2-300x297.jpg\" alt=\"Before it all - 305ish lbs\" width=\"300\" height=\"297\" /></div>\r\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-516\" src=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/beforebefore1-300x229.jpg\" alt=\"Before it all - 305ish lbs\" width=\"300\" height=\"229\" /></div>\r\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div>\r\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div>\r\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\" href=\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YNiTGWMGjdQ/Ul8B2gOPqmI/AAAAAAAAB40/yD6mHGOCFO4/s1600/P90XLogo_low_res.jpg\"> </a></div>\r\n<b><b>August 2012 - </b></b>Megan and I decided together that it was finally time to DO something. We\r\nbegan our weight-loss journey.<b>\r\n</b>\r\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><b>After Phase 1 - 253 lbs</b></div>\r\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-517\" src=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/beforeinsanity2-286x300.jpg\" alt=\"After Phase 1 - down to 253 lbs\" width=\"286\" height=\"300\" /></div>\r\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-518\" src=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/beforeinsanity-300x233.jpg\" alt=\"After Phase 1 - down to 253 lbs\" width=\"300\" height=\"233\" /></div>\r\n<b>After Phase 2 - 233 lbs</b>\r\n\r\n<img class=\"size-medium wp-image-519 aligncenter\" src=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/beforeasylum2-300x276.jpg\" alt=\"After Phase 2 - down to 233 lbs\" width=\"300\" height=\"276\" />\r\n\r\n<img class=\"size-medium wp-image-520 aligncenter\" src=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/beforeasylum1-300x221.jpg\" alt=\"After Phase 2 - down to 233 lbs\" width=\"300\" height=\"221\" />\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div>\r\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div>\r\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div>\r\n<b>After Phase 3 - 219.5 lbs</b>\r\n\r\n<img class=\"size-medium wp-image-521 aligncenter\" src=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/beforecombat2-300x257.jpg\" alt=\"After Phase 3 - down to 219.5 lbs\" width=\"300\" height=\"257\" />\r\n\r\n<img class=\"size-medium wp-image-522 aligncenter\" src=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/beforecombat1-300x180.jpg\" alt=\"After Phase 3 - Down to 219.5 lbs\" width=\"300\" height=\"180\" />\r\n\r\n<b>After Phase 4 - 197.8 LBS! (August \'13)</b>\r\n\r\n<img class=\"size-medium wp-image-523 aligncenter\" src=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/beforebeast2-300x267.jpg\" alt=\"After Phase 4 - down to 197.8 lbs!\" width=\"300\" height=\"267\" />\r\n\r\n<img class=\"size-medium wp-image-524 aligncenter\" src=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/beforebeast1-300x190.jpg\" alt=\"After Phase 4 - down to 197.8 lbs!\" width=\"300\" height=\"190\" /><b></b>\r\n\r\n<b>After Phase 5 - 187.8 lbs! (Late October \'13)</b>\r\n\r\n<img class=\"size-medium wp-image-526 aligncenter\" src=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/afterbeast2-300x282.jpg\" alt=\"After Phase 5 - down to 187.8 lbs\" width=\"300\" height=\"282\" />\r\n\r\n<img class=\"size-medium wp-image-525 aligncenter\" src=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/afterbeast1-300x222.jpg\" alt=\"After Phase 5 - down to 187.8 lbs\" width=\"300\" height=\"222\" />\r\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"></div>\r\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div>\r\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\">\r\n\r\n<b>After Phase 6 - 175 lbs! (End of December \'13)</b>\r\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-527 aligncenter\" src=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/aftert251-300x271.jpg\" alt=\"After Phase 6 - down to 175 lbs!!\" width=\"300\" height=\"271\" /></div>\r\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-528 aligncenter\" src=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/aftert252-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"After Phase 6 - down to 175 lbs!!\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></div>\r\n</div>\r\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\"></div>\r\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\">Even after all that, though, the journey is never over. Keep plugging away, keep working, and never stop reaching higher.</div>','My Journey','','publish','closed','closed','','my-journey','','','2017-01-12 00:22:21','2017-01-12 05:22:21','',187,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/?page_id=401',2,'page','',0),(530,1,'2017-01-12 00:28:13','2017-01-12 05:28:13','<em><strong>\"Who\'s this jerk think he is?\"</strong></em>\n\nThis \"jerk\" is a regular guy...an \"Average Joe\"...just like you.\n\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>And that\'s the point.</strong></span>\n\nWhat\'s the difference between me and you? Maybe its that I lost 130 lbs. Maybe it\'s that I\'ve finished at least 5 marathons. Or a 50 mile ultramarathon. Or a <em>100 mile ultramarathon</em>. Maybe it\'s that <em>I started &amp; stuck to a fitness routine</em><em>.</em> <em><strong>Maybe its nothing.</strong></em>\n\n<em><strong>I\'m. nobody. special.</strong></em><em> </em>\n\nI\'m just a guy that hit a breaking point and finally did something about his situation. Changed what I had, until that point, viewed as my permanent reality. I <em>took control</em> and made a change. <strong>A big change.</strong> One that has reshaped my whole life and world view.\n\n<strong>It wasn\'t easy.</strong>\n\nThere were countless times I wanted to quit. Give up. It would\'ve been so much easier to just...<em>not</em>. It still IS easier.\n\n<strong>It\'s a constant struggle.</strong>\n\nAnd I know I\'m not the only one who fights that battle. <strong>So here I am - </strong>sharing my story - both the struggles AND successes...to show you...\n\n<strong>If <em>I </em>can do it...<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>anyone can.</em></span></strong>\n\n130 pounds lost? 100 mile ultramarathon finish? <em>I\'m just getting warmed up.</em>\n\n<em>Want a little more detail on the journey and my story (complete with pics)? Check it out the <a href=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/meet-darrell/findingfitness/\">\"finding fitness\"</a> and <a href=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/meet-darrell/my-journey/\">\"my journey\"</a> pages.</em>\n\n<strong>So...THIS is \"fitness\"...</strong>','About','','inherit','closed','closed','','187-autosave-v1','','','2017-01-12 00:28:13','2017-01-12 05:28:13','',187,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/187-autosave-v1/',0,'revision','',0),(531,1,'2017-01-12 00:29:22','2017-01-12 05:29:22','<em><strong>\"Who\'s this jerk think he is?\"</strong></em>\r\n\r\nThis \"jerk\" is a regular guy...an \"Average Joe\"...just like you.\r\n\r\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>And that\'s the point.</strong></span>\r\n\r\nWhat\'s the difference between me and you? Maybe its that I lost 130 lbs. Maybe it\'s that I\'ve finished at least 5 marathons. Or a 50 mile ultramarathon. Or a <em>100 mile ultramarathon</em>. Maybe it\'s that <em>I started &amp; stuck to a fitness routine</em><em>.</em> <em><strong>Maybe its nothing.</strong></em>\r\n\r\n<em><strong>I\'m. nobody. special.</strong></em><em> </em>\r\n\r\nI\'m just a guy that hit a breaking point and finally did something about his situation. Changed what I had, until that point, viewed as my permanent reality. I <em>took control</em> and made a change. <strong>A big change.</strong> One that has reshaped my whole life and world view.\r\n\r\n<strong>It wasn\'t easy.</strong>\r\n\r\nThere were countless times I wanted to quit. Give up. It would\'ve been so much easier to just...<em>not</em>. It still IS easier.\r\n\r\n<strong>It\'s a constant struggle.</strong>\r\n\r\nAnd I know I\'m not the only one who fights that battle. <strong>So here I am - </strong>sharing my story - both the struggles AND successes...to show you...\r\n\r\n<strong>If <em>I </em>can do it...<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>anyone can.</em></span></strong>\r\n\r\n130 pounds lost? 100 mile ultramarathon finish? <em>I\'m just getting warmed up.</em>\r\n\r\n<em>Want a little more detail on the journey and my story (complete with pics)? Check it out the <a href=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/meet-darrell/findingfitness/\">\"finding fitness\"</a> and <a href=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/meet-darrell/my-journey/\">\"my journey\"</a> pages.</em>\r\n\r\n<strong>So...THIS is \"fitness\"...</strong>\r\n\r\n<em>I\'m not a doctor, nutritionist, dietitian, or the like...I\'m just a guy who\'s been through it and done his homework. All opinions here are my own. You should probably consult a doctor before making radical changes to your health, fitness, or nutrition habits.</em>','About','','inherit','closed','closed','','187-revision-v1','','','2017-01-12 00:29:22','2017-01-12 05:29:22','',187,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/187-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),(402,1,'2017-01-09 00:28:14','2017-01-09 05:28:14','<b><span style=\"font-size: large;\">This is my transformation. 300 lbs to less than 180 lbs in 14 months</span></b>\r\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\">\r\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\">When this all started, I was too afraid and overwhelmed to go to a gym...so I did at-home programs. When I was in the moment, I thought these programs were great and easy-to-do. To be fair, I realize after the fact...these are exceptionally hard to stick to unless you\'ve got a special kind of drive and motivation, like I did. Even then, I found it VERY difficult to keep going sometimes. Need help deciding what to do? reach out. Let\'s chat.</div>\r\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"></div>\r\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>Before P90X...before EVERYTHING! 300 lbs and unhappy</b></div>\r\n</div>\r\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\" href=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dED0vVFuDe4/UkEH342YwbI/AAAAAAAABvI/Py-k2Y4UIeI/s1600/beforebefore2.jpg\"><img src=\"https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dED0vVFuDe4/UkEH342YwbI/AAAAAAAABvI/Py-k2Y4UIeI/s400/beforebefore2.jpg\" width=\"400\" height=\"395\" border=\"0\" /></a></div>\r\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div>\r\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div>\r\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\" href=\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-N4UaeSXHlT8/UkEHYHVEOBI/AAAAAAAABu4/QIdbboON7tM/s1600/beforebefore1.jpg\"><img src=\"https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-N4UaeSXHlT8/UkEHYHVEOBI/AAAAAAAABu4/QIdbboON7tM/s400/beforebefore1.jpg\" width=\"400\" height=\"305\" border=\"0\" /></a></div>\r\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\" href=\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YNiTGWMGjdQ/Ul8B2gOPqmI/AAAAAAAAB40/yD6mHGOCFO4/s1600/P90XLogo_low_res.jpg\"> </a></div>\r\n<b><b>August 2012 - Megan and I decided together that it was finally time to DO something. </b>We\r\npushed play on Day 1 of P90X and saw Tony Horton\'s smiling face. Our\r\nlives were about to be changed in a way I don\'t think we fully\r\nappreciated. </b>\r\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><b>After P90X - Before Insanity- 253 lbs</b></div>\r\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\" href=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cMpUzCrMLqM/UkEMC-bGTeI/AAAAAAAABv4/8FYmFEMO8iE/s1600/beforeinsanity2.jpg\"><img src=\"https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cMpUzCrMLqM/UkEMC-bGTeI/AAAAAAAABv4/8FYmFEMO8iE/s400/beforeinsanity2.jpg\" width=\"381\" height=\"400\" border=\"0\" /></a></div>\r\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\" href=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vzoMghfT2Xo/UkEMC-G0XpI/AAAAAAAABv8/kEs6XrQDqYo/s1600/beforeinsanity.jpg\"><img src=\"https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vzoMghfT2Xo/UkEMC-G0XpI/AAAAAAAABv8/kEs6XrQDqYo/s400/beforeinsanity.jpg\" width=\"400\" height=\"310\" border=\"0\" /></a></div>\r\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div>\r\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\">\r\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://www.beachbodycoach.com/SoTHISIsFitness\"><img src=\"https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YNiTGWMGjdQ/Ul8B2gOPqmI/AAAAAAAAB40/yD6mHGOCFO4/s1600/P90XLogo_low_res.jpg\" border=\"0\" /></a></div>\r\n</div>\r\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\"><b><b>P90X was GREAT!</b></b> It was such a great program, really for anyone!\r\n<b>Even at 300 lbs</b> and going from doing nothing, <b>I was able to do the\r\nprogram!</b> It\'s got a great mix of strength training, cardio, and\r\nstretch/flexibility. The nice thing about P90X is that it allows you to <b>modify the moves </b>-\r\nevery workout video has a few people working out with Tony - someone\r\ndoing a hardcore version of the move (for experienced athletic types), a\r\nmoderate version (for average joe) and a pretty easy version (for\r\nolder/bigger/less athletic types, like me at the time). Over time I was\r\nable to step it up and keep up with the moderate person, and now I bet I\r\ncould do some of the hardcore moves! <b>This program will never get old</b> -\r\nyou can do a 2nd round, a 3rd round, and just keep getting better (just\r\nlike with all BeachBody programs!). I lost 47 lbs doing P90X, and if I\r\nknew then what I know now, I bet I could\'ve gotten even BETTER results<b>. <b>Next up - INSANITY </b>(with Shaun T).  </b></div>\r\n<b>After Insanity / Before Insanity: The Asylum - 233 lbs</b>\r\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\" href=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-r4FTP_3JgSM/UkEKQAxTnRI/AAAAAAAABvY/HsePoNcy_T0/s1600/beforeasylum2.jpg\"><img src=\"https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-r4FTP_3JgSM/UkEKQAxTnRI/AAAAAAAABvY/HsePoNcy_T0/s400/beforeasylum2.jpg\" width=\"400\" height=\"367\" border=\"0\" /></a></div>\r\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\" href=\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Lk6t2s2Y0ns/UkEKP_9ny1I/AAAAAAAABvU/fHK4otFKRbI/s1600/beforeasylum1.jpg\"><img src=\"https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Lk6t2s2Y0ns/UkEKP_9ny1I/AAAAAAAABvU/fHK4otFKRbI/s400/beforeasylum1.jpg\" width=\"400\" height=\"295\" border=\"0\" /></a></div>\r\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://www.beachbodycoach.com/SoTHISIsFitness\"><img src=\"https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-w8Ks35EXoMs/Un51VRw4J-I/AAAAAAAAE8o/M10t0eFQXOA/s320/InsanityLogo1.jpg\" width=\"320\" height=\"143\" border=\"0\" /></a></div>\r\n<b>Good LORD, INSANITY was some hard work!</b> It was cardio hell, especially month 2! I remember saying while we were in the middle of it that INSANITY made\r\nP90X look like play-time in terms of difficulty level, and month 2 of\r\nINSANITY made month 1 look like play-time! That program is some SERIOUS boot camp, but <b>I lost another 24 lbs on it</b> in two months! <b>Shaun T is an incredible motivator</b>\r\n- he can get you to squeeze out that extra effort and not give up even\r\nin the face of his ridiculously strenuous cardio workouts! One thing I\r\nliked about the INSANITY videos was he had a whole gymnasium full of\r\npeople doing the workout...and lots of them were getting visibly pooped\r\njust like I was! I\'m not sure if that was scripted or not, but either\r\nway it was nice to feel like I wasn\'t some kind of a failure for feeling\r\nlike I wanted to lie on the floor and pass out. <b>Next up</b>, while we waited for my mom to finish her first round of P90X...<b>we went for INSANITY: The Asylum</b>\r\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>After Insanity: The Asylum / Before Les Mills COMBAT - 219.5 lbs</b></div>\r\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\" href=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3clOkCysBSk/UkEMV-_lXHI/AAAAAAAABwI/RBPDZ_1P6F4/s1600/beforecombat2.jpg\"><img src=\"https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3clOkCysBSk/UkEMV-_lXHI/AAAAAAAABwI/RBPDZ_1P6F4/s400/beforecombat2.jpg\" width=\"400\" height=\"342\" border=\"0\" /></a></div>\r\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\" href=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-c_4Xf4A-VIo/UkEMWL28L-I/AAAAAAAABwM/rgl88YDx-LA/s1600/beforecombat1.jpg\"><img src=\"https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-c_4Xf4A-VIo/UkEMWL28L-I/AAAAAAAABwM/rgl88YDx-LA/s400/beforecombat1.jpg\" width=\"400\" height=\"240\" border=\"0\" /></a></div>\r\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://www.beachbodycoach.com/SoTHISIsFitness\"><img src=\"https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-58PZ7HrSd9Q/Un51cqZ6CXI/AAAAAAAAE8w/x3DUL4SCI-4/s320/Insanity_Asylum_onwhite-lowres.jpg\" width=\"320\" height=\"116\" border=\"0\" /></a></div>\r\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\"></div>\r\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\"><b>INSANITY: The Asylum</b> <b>wasn\'t what I expected - in a good way! </b>This program, another from Shaun T, was only 30 days...and that was plenty! It was much more of a sports performance training program and less of \"mindless cardio\" like INSANITY was. I really enjoyed Asylum...and I was so focused on proper form and getting the move down that I didn\'t even notice the workout go by...<b>time flies when you\'re having fun, right?</b> Lots of agility, lots of endurance...great program for someone who\'s done a program or two and wants to refine their skills and work on agility, speed and strength! It\'s a great way to boost your skills and be able to really go hard on the next thing! Speaking of which...<b>next up, me, Megan and my mom all went hard on Les Mills COMBAT!</b></div>\r\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\"></div>\r\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>After Les Mills COMBAT / Before Body Beast - 197.8 LBS! (August \'13)</b></div>\r\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\" href=\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UFMz7tUlHfs/UkEMpP_hCfI/AAAAAAAABwY/rYsoz4v__fA/s1600/beforebeast2.jpg\"><img src=\"https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UFMz7tUlHfs/UkEMpP_hCfI/AAAAAAAABwY/rYsoz4v__fA/s400/beforebeast2.jpg\" width=\"400\" height=\"355\" border=\"0\" /></a></div>\r\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\" href=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YopO_kzQWzo/UkEMpaJcWKI/AAAAAAAABwg/qqZHPaeFftE/s1600/beforebeast1.jpg\"><img src=\"https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YopO_kzQWzo/UkEMpaJcWKI/AAAAAAAABwg/qqZHPaeFftE/s1600/beforebeast1.jpg\" border=\"0\" /></a></div>\r\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\">\r\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://www.beachbodycoach.com/SoTHISIsFitness\"><img src=\"https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oXRvvP1EGds/Un51jPWWgsI/AAAAAAAAE84/LJFYeiqtZvw/s1600/LMC_Logo_small.jpg\" border=\"0\" /></a></div>\r\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\"><b>Les Mills COMBAT helped me break the 200 lb mark!</b> I had <b>SO MUCH FUN</b> doing this program! It\'s all MMA and each movement is to the beat of popular music, techno, dubstep, etc. I can\'t get over how FREAKING FUN it is! I can\'t wait to go another round. It comes with a pair of padded MMA gloves, and I swear, the way you close your hand when you wear them makes you form a better fist, punch with better form, and work your arm differently. It\'s a discipline thing, I guess. I have to say, I burned as many or more calories during Combat than during INSANITY...but I didn\'t feel like I was dying or exerting myself nearly as much. Why? There is an incredible efficiency of movement in Combat - no wasted movement. Even when you\'re pulsing back and forth or jumping into a new stance - you\'re burning calories, keeping your HR up, and staying in the workout. I LOVED it, and I HIGHLY recommend it. There are three calendars to follow - Warrior, Supreme Warrior, and Ultimate Warrior. I followed the Supreme Warrior calendar, and next time I plan on following Ultimate Warrior! It has more action, uses more workouts, and looks like a great way to get the most out of the program! The \"Warrior\" calendar looks like a great one for beginners...it has 2 rest days per week and is less strenuous than the other calendars. After that great experience, my mom and Megan did Chalean Extreme together (kind of like Lady P90X with Chalene Johnson) and I broke off on my own - I decided I had a lot of loose skin and wanted to fill it out with some real muscle...<b>time to bulk and beast up with Body Beast!</b></div>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>After Body Beast / Before T25 - 187.8 lbs! (Late October \'13)</b></div>\r\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\">\r\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\" href=\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AFAs6j_1LTA/UkEN_CUMKKI/AAAAAAAABxE/idGIC-uXV-g/s1600/afterbeast2.jpg\"><img src=\"https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AFAs6j_1LTA/UkEN_CUMKKI/AAAAAAAABxE/idGIC-uXV-g/s400/afterbeast2.jpg\" width=\"400\" height=\"375\" border=\"0\" /></a></div>\r\n</div>\r\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\" href=\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CNL9zY4pBNI/UkENqA3WXKI/AAAAAAAABw8/j1H-Mhy0fpU/s1600/afterbeast1.jpg\"><img src=\"https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CNL9zY4pBNI/UkENqA3WXKI/AAAAAAAABw8/j1H-Mhy0fpU/s400/afterbeast1.jpg\" width=\"400\" height=\"296\" border=\"0\" /></a></div>\r\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\">\r\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://www.beachbodycoach.com/SoTHISIsFitness\"><img src=\"https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0vMPBrmTeW8/Un6KffuBlBI/AAAAAAAAE9E/lBmX0M4lo6w/s1600/be_logo.jpg\" border=\"0\" /></a></div>\r\n<b>Whoa! Body Beast was intense!</b> I felt like an animal beasting out that program! Weight training has been taken to the <b>next level</b> with Body Beast! I definitely built up some muscle (the pictures, while good, don\'t do it justice)! Even building all that muscle - I stayed the same weight throughout the majority of the program. What does that mean? I was leaning out and burning fat while putting on all that muscle! This is probably due in part to how I was eating, but I\'m happy with it. The vast majority of the 10 lbs I lost on this program happened in the last 3 or 4 weeks...it was like a switch got flipped and the fat was just falling off! SUCH a good program...anyone looking to bulk up and build some serious muscle should look into it. You can lean out or \"dirty bulk\", however you want to do it...it all depends on how you eat and feed the beast! <b>Next up, </b>my mom and Megan rejoined me to have a go at <b>Focus T25</b> - the new program from Shaun T!\r\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>After Focus T25 - 175 lbs! (End of December \'13)</b></div>\r\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\" href=\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JRi70va4otg/UsuoiDwGdJI/AAAAAAAAGLQ/rSaArIvgDn4/s1600/aftert251.jpg\"><img src=\"https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JRi70va4otg/UsuoiDwGdJI/AAAAAAAAGLQ/rSaArIvgDn4/s1600/aftert251.jpg\" width=\"400\" height=\"360\" border=\"0\" /></a><a style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\" href=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FEf5na_QHjQ/Usuon_rIkLI/AAAAAAAAGLY/aiZQoa8_I44/s1600/aftert252.jpg\"><img src=\"https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FEf5na_QHjQ/Usuon_rIkLI/AAAAAAAAGLY/aiZQoa8_I44/s1600/aftert252.jpg\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\" border=\"0\" /></a></div>\r\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://www.beachbodycoach.com/SoTHISIsFitness\"><img src=\"https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-f1LIBTcOXoM/UsuowlH2UlI/AAAAAAAAGLg/_kmiI85TN74/s1600/T25_logo_low_res.jpg\" border=\"0\" /></a></div>\r\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\"><b>OK - Focus T25 was definitely different!</b> You may only be working out for 25 minutes at a time, but WOW do they make you work for it for every second! The name of the game is non-stop movement and combo-moves. Yes, you\'re not just doing one move at a time...you\'re doing two moves at a time! You\'re working your <b>whole body</b> through each workout...even the upper-body focus days still work lower body...and EVERY day works your core to some extent. The Beta phase - month 2 - steps it up a notch, amping up the intensity and making you work even HARDER for it. Gamma phase, if you choose the optional/additional 3rd month, focuses on strength and getting ripped up/! Gamma phase adds in lots of weights/resistance band work...and lots of burpees. If you don\'t like burpees...DON\'T do Gamma. <b>I had a great time</b> doing Focus T25...but then again...I have not run into a BeachBody program I didnt\' like!</div>\r\n</div>','My Transformation','','inherit','closed','closed','','401-revision-v1','','','2017-01-09 00:28:14','2017-01-09 05:28:14','',401,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/401-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),(529,1,'2017-01-12 00:22:21','2017-01-12 05:22:21','<b><span style=\"font-size: large;\">This is my transformation. 300 lbs to less than 180 lbs in 14 months</span></b>\r\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\">\r\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\">When this all started, I was too afraid and overwhelmed to go to a gym...so I did at-home programs. When I was in the moment, I thought these programs were great and easy-to-do. To be fair, I realize after the fact...these are exceptionally hard to stick to unless you\'ve got a special kind of drive and motivation, like I did. Even then, I found it VERY difficult to keep going sometimes. Need help deciding what to do? reach out. Let\'s chat.</div>\r\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"></div>\r\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>Before it all began! 300 lbs and unhappy</b></div>\r\n</div>\r\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div>\r\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"> <img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-515\" src=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/beforebefore2-300x297.jpg\" alt=\"Before it all - 305ish lbs\" width=\"300\" height=\"297\" /></div>\r\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-516\" src=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/beforebefore1-300x229.jpg\" alt=\"Before it all - 305ish lbs\" width=\"300\" height=\"229\" /></div>\r\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div>\r\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div>\r\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\" href=\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YNiTGWMGjdQ/Ul8B2gOPqmI/AAAAAAAAB40/yD6mHGOCFO4/s1600/P90XLogo_low_res.jpg\"> </a></div>\r\n<b><b>August 2012 - </b></b>Megan and I decided together that it was finally time to DO something. We\r\nbegan our weight-loss journey.<b>\r\n</b>\r\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><b>After Phase 1 - 253 lbs</b></div>\r\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-517\" src=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/beforeinsanity2-286x300.jpg\" alt=\"After Phase 1 - down to 253 lbs\" width=\"286\" height=\"300\" /></div>\r\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-518\" src=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/beforeinsanity-300x233.jpg\" alt=\"After Phase 1 - down to 253 lbs\" width=\"300\" height=\"233\" /></div>\r\n<b>After Phase 2 - 233 lbs</b>\r\n\r\n<img class=\"size-medium wp-image-519 aligncenter\" src=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/beforeasylum2-300x276.jpg\" alt=\"After Phase 2 - down to 233 lbs\" width=\"300\" height=\"276\" />\r\n\r\n<img class=\"size-medium wp-image-520 aligncenter\" src=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/beforeasylum1-300x221.jpg\" alt=\"After Phase 2 - down to 233 lbs\" width=\"300\" height=\"221\" />\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div>\r\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div>\r\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div>\r\n<b>After Phase 3 - 219.5 lbs</b>\r\n\r\n<img class=\"size-medium wp-image-521 aligncenter\" src=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/beforecombat2-300x257.jpg\" alt=\"After Phase 3 - down to 219.5 lbs\" width=\"300\" height=\"257\" />\r\n\r\n<img class=\"size-medium wp-image-522 aligncenter\" src=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/beforecombat1-300x180.jpg\" alt=\"After Phase 3 - Down to 219.5 lbs\" width=\"300\" height=\"180\" />\r\n\r\n<b>After Phase 4 - 197.8 LBS! (August \'13)</b>\r\n\r\n<img class=\"size-medium wp-image-523 aligncenter\" src=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/beforebeast2-300x267.jpg\" alt=\"After Phase 4 - down to 197.8 lbs!\" width=\"300\" height=\"267\" />\r\n\r\n<img class=\"size-medium wp-image-524 aligncenter\" src=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/beforebeast1-300x190.jpg\" alt=\"After Phase 4 - down to 197.8 lbs!\" width=\"300\" height=\"190\" /><b></b>\r\n\r\n<b>After Phase 5 - 187.8 lbs! (Late October \'13)</b>\r\n\r\n<img class=\"size-medium wp-image-526 aligncenter\" src=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/afterbeast2-300x282.jpg\" alt=\"After Phase 5 - down to 187.8 lbs\" width=\"300\" height=\"282\" />\r\n\r\n<img class=\"size-medium wp-image-525 aligncenter\" src=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/afterbeast1-300x222.jpg\" alt=\"After Phase 5 - down to 187.8 lbs\" width=\"300\" height=\"222\" />\r\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"></div>\r\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div>\r\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\">\r\n\r\n<b>After Phase 6 - 175 lbs! (End of December \'13)</b>\r\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-527 aligncenter\" src=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/aftert251-300x271.jpg\" alt=\"After Phase 6 - down to 175 lbs!!\" width=\"300\" height=\"271\" /></div>\r\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-528 aligncenter\" src=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/aftert252-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"After Phase 6 - down to 175 lbs!!\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></div>\r\n</div>\r\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\"></div>\r\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\">Even after all that, though, the journey is never over. Keep plugging away, keep working, and never stop reaching higher.</div>','My Journey','','inherit','closed','closed','','401-revision-v1','','','2017-01-12 00:22:21','2017-01-12 05:22:21','',401,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/401-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),(510,1,'2017-01-11 23:09:38','2017-01-12 04:09:38','<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b>For as long as I can remember</b></span>\r\nI\'d <i>always</i> been a \"fat kid\". I <i>always</i> got made fun of, I <i>always</i> made an effort to wear loose clothes, and I was <i>never </i>really all that athletic, nor did I REALLY desire to be. Occasional efforts were made to work on it, but nothing stuck.</div>\r\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\"></div>\r\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\">In my last year of high school I made real progress. I did Weight Watchers with my mom while playing sports (football/weight lifting/shotput). With this combo, I managed to lose 70 lbs dropping to 210 (though I told people I was 205 lbs). Still overweight... but it was enough. I was...average...but not truly happy.</div>\r\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-509 alignleft\" src=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/41351_847720569112_2734506_n-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" />So I went off to college </b></span>and with the help of party school drinking plus all the garbage food I could eat... I gained it all back. <b>And then some.</b> All the healthy habits and active lifestyle behaviors I had picked up at the end of high school were gone. It didn\'t happen all at once, but it did happen pretty quick.\r\n\r\nThe summer before my 5th year at UMass I went to Delta Chi Convention in New Orleans, and I was pretty close to getting my own zip code. I tried to pretend I was a 42 waist, but that was super-loose fit jeans. I would estimate I was really a 44.<b></b>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<b><span style=\"font-size: large;\">And so it went.</span></b>Graduation meant leaving the over-abundance of cheap food...but it didn\'t end the weight gain. Back home meant work at a restaurant where a send-back meant snack time on fried food. By the time I got to August 2012 it was pretty bad. I had reached the heaviest I had ever been. <b>300 lbs. </b><b><span style=\"font-size: large;\">Then I hit my breaking point</span></b>\r\n<b>\r\n</b>\r\n<img class=\"size-medium wp-image-507 alignright\" src=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/705673_10101066393515732_1982462519_o-169x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"169\" height=\"300\" />Constantly moving at the restaurant meant my legs rubbed together. <b>And wore through my work pants. </b><i style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Every three months.</i> I was embarrassed at how frequently I had to buy more 48 waist pants. I knew this lifestyle wasn\'t sustainable. <b>I\'d had enough.</b> I talked to my wife (girlfriend at the time) and we resolved to do it together.So we took our before pictures, got our gear together, and embarked on our fitness journey.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<b><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-508 alignleft\" src=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/1064785_10101402791037402_1587750951_o-152x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"152\" height=\"300\" />Oh...results? </span></b>For the full breakdown (with pictures) check out the <a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/p/my-transformation.html\">My Transformation page</a>. Short version? In the first 10 months I broke 100 lbs, and within a year I had dropped 125 lbs, become a runner, and become happier with my body and health than ever before.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI went from an XXL shirt to a Medium/Small\r\nFrom a 48\" waist to a 31\"\r\nXL and XXL gym shorts to Medium/Small\r\nOverweight and in danger of diabetes to fit, athletic and energetic!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOne of the most important things I figured out is - <b>You don\'t have to do it alone.</b> I had my wife - be sure to find <b>your</b> support system. <i>It makes a difference. </i><b><span style=\"font-size: large;\">The journey isn\'t over</span></b> (it never will be), and I\'m glad I took the plunge.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','My Journey','','inherit','closed','closed','','399-revision-v1','','','2017-01-11 23:09:38','2017-01-12 04:09:38','',399,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/399-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),(403,1,'2017-01-09 00:30:55','2017-01-09 05:30:55',' ','','','publish','closed','closed','','403','','','2017-02-20 06:58:49','2017-02-20 11:58:49','',187,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/?p=403',4,'nav_menu_item','',0),(404,1,'2017-01-09 00:30:55','2017-01-09 05:30:55',' ','','','publish','closed','closed','','404','','','2017-02-20 06:58:48','2017-02-20 11:58:48','',187,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/?p=404',3,'nav_menu_item','',0),(449,1,'2017-01-10 18:12:00','2017-01-10 23:12:00','','IMG_20160529_052016','','inherit','open','closed','','img_20160529_052016','','','2017-01-10 18:12:00','2017-01-10 23:12:00','',0,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/IMG_20160529_052016.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(450,1,'2017-01-10 18:12:04','2017-01-10 23:12:04','','ads-78983-1443884053.73','','inherit','open','closed','','ads-78983-1443884053-73','','','2017-01-10 18:12:04','2017-01-10 23:12:04','',0,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/ads-78983-1443884053.73.png',0,'attachment','image/png',0),(451,1,'2017-01-10 18:12:07','2017-01-10 23:12:07','','ccnclogo','','inherit','open','closed','','ccnclogo-2','','','2017-01-10 18:12:07','2017-01-10 23:12:07','',0,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/ccnclogo-1.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(452,1,'2017-01-10 18:12:11','2017-01-10 23:12:11','','Screenshot_20160613-090047','','inherit','open','closed','','screenshot_20160613-090047','','','2017-01-10 18:12:11','2017-01-10 23:12:11','',0,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Screenshot_20160613-090047.png',0,'attachment','image/png',0),(453,1,'2017-01-10 18:12:16','2017-01-10 23:12:16','','PhotoGrid_1465822715567','','inherit','open','closed','','photogrid_1465822715567','','','2017-01-10 18:12:16','2017-01-10 23:12:16','',0,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/PhotoGrid_1465822715567.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(454,1,'2017-01-10 18:12:20','2017-01-10 23:12:20','','pineland 50 map','','inherit','open','closed','','pineland-50-map','','','2017-01-10 18:12:20','2017-01-10 23:12:20','',0,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/pineland-50-map.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(455,1,'2017-01-10 18:12:26','2017-01-10 23:12:26','','20160529_060009','','inherit','open','closed','','20160529_060009','','','2017-01-10 18:12:26','2017-01-10 23:12:26','',0,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/20160529_060009.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(456,1,'2017-01-10 18:12:31','2017-01-10 23:12:31','','IMG_20160228_071810','','inherit','open','closed','','img_20160228_071810','','','2017-01-10 18:12:31','2017-01-10 23:12:31','',0,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/IMG_20160228_071810.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(457,1,'2017-01-10 18:12:37','2017-01-10 23:12:37','','IMG_20161224_110526','','inherit','open','closed','','img_20161224_110526','','','2017-01-10 18:12:37','2017-01-10 23:12:37','',0,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/IMG_20161224_110526-1.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(458,1,'2017-01-10 18:12:43','2017-01-10 23:12:43','','IMG_20161231_175340_649','','inherit','open','closed','','img_20161231_175340_649','','','2017-01-10 18:12:43','2017-01-10 23:12:43','',0,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/IMG_20161231_175340_649-1.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(461,1,'2017-01-11 08:34:27','2017-01-11 13:34:27','','iTunes-Subscribe-button','','inherit','open','closed','','itunes-subscribe-button','','','2017-01-11 08:34:27','2017-01-11 13:34:27','',0,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/iTunes-Subscribe-button.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(462,1,'2017-01-11 08:34:29','2017-01-11 13:34:29','','rss-subscribe-button','','inherit','open','closed','','rss-subscribe-button','','','2017-01-11 08:34:29','2017-01-11 13:34:29','',0,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/rss-subscribe-button.png',0,'attachment','image/png',0),(463,1,'2017-01-11 08:34:33','2017-01-11 13:34:33','','SubscribeOnAndroid','','inherit','open','closed','','subscribeonandroid','','','2017-01-11 08:34:33','2017-01-11 13:34:33','',0,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/SubscribeOnAndroid.png',0,'attachment','image/png',0),(464,1,'2017-01-11 08:39:54','2017-01-11 13:39:54','','','','inherit','open','closed','','img_20161215_081557','','','2017-01-14 12:59:48','2017-01-14 17:59:48','',0,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/IMG_20161215_081557.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(465,1,'2017-01-11 08:40:12','2017-01-11 13:40:12','','','','inherit','open','closed','','wordswag_1484140624037','','','2017-01-12 02:21:23','2017-01-12 07:21:23','',0,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/wordswag_1484140624037.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(466,1,'2017-01-11 08:57:58','2017-01-11 13:57:58','','subscribeonitunes','','inherit','open','closed','','subscribeonitunes','','','2017-01-11 08:57:58','2017-01-11 13:57:58','',0,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/subscribeonitunes.png',0,'attachment','image/png',0),(467,1,'2017-01-11 08:58:00','2017-01-11 13:58:00','','SubscribeOnRSS','','inherit','open','closed','','subscribeonrss','','','2017-01-11 08:58:00','2017-01-11 13:58:00','',0,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/SubscribeOnRSS.png',0,'attachment','image/png',0),(468,1,'2017-01-11 08:58:04','2017-01-11 13:58:04','','SubscribeOnAndroid','','inherit','open','closed','','subscribeonandroid-2','','','2017-12-01 14:54:00','2017-12-01 19:54:00','',1547,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/SubscribeOnAndroid-1.png',0,'attachment','image/png',0),(470,1,'2017-01-11 09:26:07','2017-01-11 14:26:07','\"#20 - You Only Get One Shot To Live\" from So THIS Is Fitness by Darrell McTague. Released: 2017. Track 20. Genre: Health & Fitness.','#20 - You Only Get One Shot To Live','','inherit','open','closed','','20-you-only-get-one-shot-to-live','','','2017-01-12 02:17:30','2017-01-12 07:17:30','',0,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/STIF-Ep-20-You-only-get-one-shot-to-live.mp3',0,'attachment','audio/mpeg',0),(474,1,'2017-01-11 13:35:41','2017-01-11 18:35:41','.separate-containers .inside-article .page-header-image-single {padding-left: 50px;\n    width: 300px; float: right;\n}\n.social_icon {\nfloat: right;\n}','forefront','','publish','closed','closed','','forefront','','','2017-02-20 06:59:29','2017-02-20 11:59:29','',0,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/forefront/',0,'custom_css','',0),(475,1,'2017-01-11 13:35:41','2017-01-11 18:35:41','#lb-content img.wp-post-image {\n    float: left;\n    margin: 0 20px 10px 0 !important;\n}','forefront','','inherit','closed','closed','','474-revision-v1','','','2017-01-11 13:35:41','2017-01-11 18:35:41','',474,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/474-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),(477,1,'2017-01-11 13:36:53','2017-01-11 18:36:53','#lb-content img.wp-post-image {\n    float: left;\n    margin: 0 20px 10px 0 !important;\n	width: 30%;\n}','forefront','','inherit','closed','closed','','474-revision-v1','','','2017-01-11 13:36:53','2017-01-11 18:36:53','',474,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/474-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),(486,1,'2017-01-11 13:39:20','2017-01-11 18:39:20','','forefront','','inherit','closed','closed','','474-revision-v1','','','2017-01-11 13:39:20','2017-01-11 18:39:20','',474,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/474-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),(480,1,'2017-01-11 13:38:07','2017-01-11 18:38:07','#lb-content img.wp-post-image {\n    float: left;\n    margin: 0 20px 10px 0 !important;\n	width: 300px;\n}','forefront','','inherit','closed','closed','','474-revision-v1','','','2017-01-11 13:38:07','2017-01-11 18:38:07','',474,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/474-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),(769,1,'2017-01-19 02:03:31','2017-01-19 07:03:31','<h2><strong>It always easier to \"not\".</strong></h2>\r\nIt doesn\'t take much for us to stay in bed, sit on the couch, and otherwise simply NOT do it. When you factor in the bitter cold, snow, wind, and all-around poor conditions of winter... you can just forget the whole \"getting outside for a run\" thing. Maybe that\'s why folks who DO go out there and run despite the winter chill are called \"winter warriors\".','#21 - Winter Warriors & Why We Do It','','inherit','closed','closed','','768-revision-v1','','','2017-01-19 02:03:31','2017-01-19 07:03:31','',768,'http://sothisisfitness.com/2017/01/768-revision-v1.html',0,'revision','',0),(484,1,'2017-01-11 13:38:45','2017-01-11 18:38:45','#lb-content img.wp-post-image {\n    float: right;\n    margin: 0 20px 10px 0 !important;\n	width: 300px;\n}','forefront','','inherit','closed','closed','','474-revision-v1','','','2017-01-11 13:38:45','2017-01-11 18:38:45','',474,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/474-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),(488,1,'2017-01-11 13:43:44','2017-01-11 18:43:44','.page-header-image img {width: auto;}','forefront','','inherit','closed','closed','','474-revision-v1','','','2017-01-11 13:43:44','2017-01-11 18:43:44','',474,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/474-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),(768,1,'2017-01-19 08:53:53','2017-01-19 13:53:53','<h2><strong>It\'s always easier to \"not\".</strong></h2>\r\nIt doesn\'t take much for us to stay in bed, sit on the couch, and otherwise simply NOT do it. When you factor in the bitter cold, snow, wind, and all-around poor conditions of winter... you can just forget the whole \"getting outside for a run\" thing. Maybe that\'s why folks who DO go out there and run despite the winter chill are called \"winter warriors\".\r\n\r\nIt\'s not such a crazy concept, when you really break it down... and understanding the \"why\"? Well...if you\'re in this fitness thing, or you\'re even THINKING about it... I bet you\'ll get it.\r\n\r\nThere\'s plenty to go over in this episode...\r\n\r\n[podcast src=\"https://html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/5006647/height/90/width/450/theme/custom/autonext/no/thumbnail/yes/autoplay/no/preload/no/no_addthis/no/direction/forward/render-playlist/no/custom-color/88AA3C/\" height=\"90\" width=\"450\"]\r\n\r\n<!--more-->\r\n\r\nI wasn\'t really sure what to expect from this episode when the idea struck me. What I ended up with was...dare I say... pretty awesome. I had the opportunity to interview 4 people who all had some interesting and different ideas on why THEY get out there despite the bitter winter cold. Their stories ranged from pretty normal to pretty extraordinary.\r\n<h4>So what exactly is in this episode?</h4>\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>Revisiting my big goals for this year, and what kind of a start that\'s off to.</li>\r\n 	<li>Winter Warlock 5K, 10K, 13.1, &amp; 18 Miler 2017</li>\r\n 	<li>What\'s In The Box - January Edition</li>\r\n 	<li>On-site at Winter Warlock\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>Participant experience</li>\r\n 	<li>Why they are Winter Warriors</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n</li>\r\n 	<li>My thoughts on why to be a Winter Warrior</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nBe sure to check out the Dave\'s Antarctica marathon plan and the My Luu charity links below!\r\n\r\n<em><strong>Brief Video Summary of Dave\'s Plan to Run in Antarctica:</strong></em>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://youtu.be/xmEOPyxpeWY\">https://youtu.be/xmEOPyxpeWY</a>\r\n\r\n<strong><em>The My Luu Memorial Fund:</em></strong>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://www.crowdrise.com/myluufund\">https://www.crowdrise.com/myluufund</a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThanks to my sponsors!\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.hopheadevents.com\">www.hopheadevents.com</a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.runtruenorth.com\">www.runtruenorth.com</a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.foolproofbrewing.com\">www.foolproofbrewing.com</a>','#21 - Winter Warriors & Why We Do It','','publish','open','open','','21-winter-warriors-why-we-do-it','','','2017-01-19 18:10:02','2017-01-19 18:10:02','',0,'http://sothisisfitness.com/?p=768',0,'post','',0),(493,1,'2017-01-11 13:56:22','2017-01-11 18:56:22','&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<em>(Apologies for the double-publish...technical difficulties earlier)\r\n</em>\r\nThere\'s just not enough time in the day (or in the podcast) sometimes. So many things to talk about... Well, today I cover three BIG things! Two of them I cover REALLY well! One is...well...just tough to talk about with saying the same thing everyone else has already said.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><strong>The spotlight here is...The New England Spahtens.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWho, what, why, and how. And more, of course :) And I\'ve got Paul Jones to tell me allllll about it.\r\n\r\n<iframe style=\"border: none;\" src=\"//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/4948397/height/90/width/450/theme/custom/autonext/no/thumbnail/yes/autoplay/no/preload/no/no_addthis/no/direction/forward/tdest_id/454656/render-playlist/no/custom-color/ffac1a/\" width=\"450\" height=\"90\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"></iframe>\r\n\r\n<!--more-->\r\n\r\nHot off the heels of their big win in Mud Run Guide\'s \"Best Of\" OCR awards, I interview Paul Jones, the de facto face of the New England Spahtens! We get into:\r\n\r\n-OCR, and its roots\r\n-The growth of OCR, emergence of the \"Big 3\", and rise/fall of the \"little guys\"\r\n-The origins of The New England Spahtens, and where it is today\r\n-What \"community\" really means...and what it looks like\r\n\r\nIf you\'re interested in checking out the Spahtens, and maybe becoming a part of their crowd, visit the links below! Also, be sure to listen to The NE Spahtens Show. That\'s their podcast, and I assure you, it\'s lovely.\r\n\r\nvisit join.nespahtens.com for all the links you could want!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAfter the interview...I get into a bit about...well...New Year\'s Resolutions. because...well...why wouldn\'t I, right? I just can\'t help myself.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nPlease do find me at:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/\">www.SoTHISIsFitness.com</a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.facebook.com/SoTHISIsFitness\">www.Facebook.com/SoTHISIsFitness</a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.instagram.com/snuffydx\">www.instagram.com/snuffydx</a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.twitter.com/snuffydx\">www.twitter.com/snuffydx</a>\r\n\r\nSearch \"So THIS Is Fitness\" on iTunes or your favorite podcast listening app. Be sure to SUBSCRIBE, not just download one episode :)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd if you like the show, please consider giving us a rating and review on iTunes (or your podcast source of choice). Every little bit helps us pop up higher in search results and get found just a little bit easier.\r\n\r\nLastly, please don\'t be shy - EMAIL ME! <a href=\"mailto:Darrell@SoTHISIsFitness.com\">Darrell@SoTHISIsFitness.com</a>. I LOVE feedback, would love your questions, comments, or just a \"hey, liked the show!\".\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/podcast\" target=\"_blank\">Check out this episode!</a>','#18 - The New England Spahtens, OCR, & A New Year','','inherit','closed','closed','','7-revision-v1','','','2017-01-11 13:56:22','2017-01-11 18:56:22','',7,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/7-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),(494,1,'2017-01-11 13:57:38','2017-01-11 18:57:38','<em>(Apologies for the double-publish...technical difficulties earlier)\r\n</em>\r\nThere\'s just not enough time in the day (or in the podcast) sometimes. So many things to talk about... Well, today I cover three BIG things! Two of them I cover REALLY well! One is...well...just tough to talk about with saying the same thing everyone else has already said.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><strong>The spotlight here is...The New England Spahtens.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWho, what, why, and how. And more, of course :) And I\'ve got Paul Jones to tell me allllll about it.\r\n\r\n<iframe style=\"border: none;\" src=\"//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/4948397/height/90/width/450/theme/custom/autonext/no/thumbnail/yes/autoplay/no/preload/no/no_addthis/no/direction/forward/tdest_id/454656/render-playlist/no/custom-color/ffac1a/\" width=\"450\" height=\"90\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"></iframe>\r\n\r\n<!--more-->\r\n\r\nHot off the heels of their big win in Mud Run Guide\'s \"Best Of\" OCR awards, I interview Paul Jones, the de facto face of the New England Spahtens! We get into:\r\n\r\n-OCR, and its roots\r\n-The growth of OCR, emergence of the \"Big 3\", and rise/fall of the \"little guys\"\r\n-The origins of The New England Spahtens, and where it is today\r\n-What \"community\" really means...and what it looks like\r\n\r\nIf you\'re interested in checking out the Spahtens, and maybe becoming a part of their crowd, visit the links below! Also, be sure to listen to The NE Spahtens Show. That\'s their podcast, and I assure you, it\'s lovely.\r\n\r\nvisit join.nespahtens.com for all the links you could want!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAfter the interview...I get into a bit about...well...New Year\'s Resolutions. because...well...why wouldn\'t I, right? I just can\'t help myself.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nPlease do find me at:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/\">www.SoTHISIsFitness.com</a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.facebook.com/SoTHISIsFitness\">www.Facebook.com/SoTHISIsFitness</a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.instagram.com/snuffydx\">www.instagram.com/snuffydx</a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.twitter.com/snuffydx\">www.twitter.com/snuffydx</a>\r\n\r\nSearch \"So THIS Is Fitness\" on iTunes or your favorite podcast listening app. Be sure to SUBSCRIBE, not just download one episode :)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd if you like the show, please consider giving us a rating and review on iTunes (or your podcast source of choice). Every little bit helps us pop up higher in search results and get found just a little bit easier.\r\n\r\nLastly, please don\'t be shy - EMAIL ME! <a href=\"mailto:Darrell@SoTHISIsFitness.com\">Darrell@SoTHISIsFitness.com</a>. I LOVE feedback, would love your questions, comments, or just a \"hey, liked the show!\".\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/podcast\" target=\"_blank\">Check out this episode!</a>','#18 - The New England Spahtens, OCR, & A New Year','','inherit','closed','closed','','7-revision-v1','','','2017-01-11 13:57:38','2017-01-11 18:57:38','',7,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/7-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),(495,1,'2017-01-12 02:43:22','2017-01-12 07:43:22','<h4><strong>By now, we know how I feel about \"limits\".</strong></h4>\r\nIf you\'ve ever heard my podcast or read the blog you KNOW - I am a FIRM believer that the only limits we TRULY have are the ones we set for ourselves. Well, I might not have really stopped to think how or why we imagine those limits to exist in the first place.\r\n<h3>Now, I\'m thinking about it a little more.</h3>\r\nI think I understand, just a little bit better, what keeps some people from taking the plunge. Why some of the, seemingly, most interested people ultimately leave the gym without joining. Prepare for one of those... \"ooooohhhhh...\" moments.\r\n\r\n[podcast src=\"https://html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/4982888/height/90/width/450/theme/custom/autonext/no/thumbnail/yes/autoplay/no/preload/no/no_addthis/no/direction/forward/render-playlist/no/custom-color/88AA3C/\" height=\"90\" width=\"450\"]<!--more-->\r\n<h4>This might be one of my favorite chats yet.</h4>\r\nSteven Hall, head honcho of Hophead Events, joins me on the show for a great chat. It\'s always nice to have that like-minded discussion, right?\r\n<h4>In This Episode:</h4>\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>Who IS Steven Hall</li>\r\n 	<li>26.2 Challenge &amp; Hophead Events</li>\r\n 	<li>South Shore Food &amp; Wine Expo</li>\r\n 	<li>Risk vs. Reward</li>\r\n 	<li>Failure</li>\r\n 	<li>Attitude, positivity, and getting out there.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nYou can find Steven online:\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.facebook.com/thirstygreek\">www.facebook.com/thirstygreek</a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.twitter.com/thirstygreek\">www.twitter.com/thirstygreek</a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.instagram.com/thirstygreek\">www.instagram.com/thirstygreek</a>\r\n\r\nand find Hophead Events at <a href=\"http://www.HopheadEvents.com\">www.HopheadEvents.com</a>\r\n<h4>As always, you can find ME at:</h4>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.SoTHISIsFitness.com\">www.SoTHISIsFitness.com</a> (NEW SITE IS LIVE!!!)\r\n<a href=\"http://www.facebook.com/sothisisfitness\">www.facebook.com/sothisisfitness</a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.twitter.com/snuffydx\">www.twitter.com/snuffydx</a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.instagram.com/snuffydx\">www.instagram.com/snuffydx</a>\r\n\r\nPlease do consider leaving a rating and review on iTunes!','#20 - We All Only Get One Shot To Live','','publish','open','open','','20-we-all-only-get-one-shot-to-live','','','2017-01-14 21:18:27','2017-01-15 02:18:27','',0,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/?p=495',0,'post','',0),(496,1,'2017-01-11 14:17:44','2017-01-11 19:17:44','','#20 -','','inherit','closed','closed','','495-revision-v1','','','2017-01-11 14:17:44','2017-01-11 19:17:44','',495,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/495-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),(497,1,'2017-01-11 14:19:10','2017-01-11 19:19:10','[podcast src=\"https://html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/4982888/height/90/width/450/theme/custom/autonext/no/thumbnail/yes/autoplay/no/preload/no/no_addthis/no/direction/forward/render-playlist/no/custom-color/88AA3C/\" height=\"90\" width=\"450\"]','#20 -','','inherit','closed','closed','','495-revision-v1','','','2017-01-11 14:19:10','2017-01-11 19:19:10','',495,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/495-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),(498,1,'2017-01-11 14:19:56','2017-01-11 19:19:56','test text test test\r\n\r\n[podcast src=\"https://html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/4982888/height/90/width/450/theme/custom/autonext/no/thumbnail/yes/autoplay/no/preload/no/no_addthis/no/direction/forward/render-playlist/no/custom-color/88AA3C/\" height=\"90\" width=\"450\"]','#20 - You Only Get One Shot To Live','','inherit','closed','closed','','495-revision-v1','','','2017-01-11 14:19:56','2017-01-11 19:19:56','',495,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/495-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),(499,1,'2017-01-14 11:28:02','2017-01-14 16:28:02','<h3><strong>I continue to be floored &amp; impressed by the people I meet.</strong></h3>\nIf you believe the best in humanity, you\'ll encounter it...and that\'s exactly what happened on frigid Millinocket weekend. Katrina White is an AMAZING person, someone who\'s story I can only call a True Triumph. I am thrilled to have her on the show to share that story and shine a little light on the hope that awaits every single person out there hoping to make a transformation.\nThere was a lot to cover in this episode...\n\n<iframe style=\"border: none;\" src=\"//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/4934931/height/90/width/450/theme/custom/autonext/no/thumbnail/yes/autoplay/no/preload/no/no_addthis/no/direction/forward/tdest_id/454656/render-playlist/no/custom-color/ffac1a/\" width=\"450\" height=\"90\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"></iframe><!--more-->\n\nI\'m THRILLED to have Katrina on the show!\n<h4><strong>What\'s in Episode 17?</strong></h4>\n-Life Today for Katrina White\n-Katrina\'s AMAZING 150 lb weight loss journey\n-Discovering running, &amp; conquering her first marathon - Millinocket Marathon!\n-Thought on the journey, attitude, and what others can expect\n-Inspiring the next generation through Girls On The Run\n-much more!\n\nIt was so great to have someone on the show who\'s <em>been there</em>, and keenly understands the struggle...but also knows that just because she lost triple digits doesn\'t mean everyone else needs to. It\'s all relative, as I always say.\n<h4>Join Katrina as she shares her story!</h4>\nFind Katrina online:\nOn Facebook (Katrina Brynn White)\nOn Instagram (@momsrun_strong)\n\nAnd find Girls On The Run at <a href=\"http://www.girlsontherun.org/\">www.GirlsOnTheRun.org</a>\n\nYou can find So THIS Is Fitness online at:\n<a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com\">www.SoTHISIsFitness.com</a>\n<a href=\"http://www.facebook.com/SoTHISIsFitness\">www.facebook.com/SoTHISIsFitness</a>\n<a href=\"http://www.instagram.com/snuffydx\">www.instagram.com/snuffydx</a>\n<a href=\"http://www.twitter.com/snuffydx\">www.twitter.com/snuffydx</a>\nemail me at <a href=\"mailto:Darrell@SoTHISIsFitness.com\">Darrell@SoTHISIsFitness.com</a> with your feedback, questions, concerns &amp; more!\n\nAnd lastly - please consider taking a moment to rate &amp; review the show. Every single one of those helps us pop up a little higher in search results. Let\'s help others discover the inspiration Katrina, and future guests, will have to share!\n\n<a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/podcast\" target=\"_blank\">Check out this episode!</a>','#17 - True Triumph: Katrina White','','inherit','closed','closed','','8-autosave-v1','','','2017-01-14 11:28:02','2017-01-14 16:28:02','',8,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/8-autosave-v1/',0,'revision','',0),(501,1,'2017-01-11 14:34:14','2017-01-11 19:34:14','<strong>I continue to be floored &amp; impressed by the people I meet.</strong>\r\n\r\nIf you believe the best in humanity, you\'ll encounter it...and that\'s exactly what happened on frigid Millinocket weekend. Katrina is an AMAZING person, someone who\'s story I can only call a True Triumph. I am thrilled to have her on the show to share that story and shine a little light on the hope that awaits every single person out there hoping to make a transformation.\r\nThere was a lot to cover in this episode...\r\n\r\n<iframe style=\"border: none;\" src=\"//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/4934931/height/90/width/450/theme/custom/autonext/no/thumbnail/yes/autoplay/no/preload/no/no_addthis/no/direction/forward/tdest_id/454656/render-playlist/no/custom-color/ffac1a/\" width=\"450\" height=\"90\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"></iframe><!--more-->\r\n\r\nI\'m THRILLED to have Katrina on the show!\r\n<strong>What\'s in Episode 17?</strong>\r\n-Life Today for Katrina White\r\n-Katrina\'s AMAZING 150 lb weight loss journey\r\n-Discovering running, &amp; conquering her first marathon - Millinocket Marathon!\r\n-Thought on the journey, attitude, and what others can expect\r\n-Inspiring the next generation through Girls On The Run\r\n-much more!\r\n\r\nIt was so great to have someone on the show who\'s <em>been there</em>, and keenly understands the struggle...but also knows that just because she lost triple digits doesn\'t mean everyone else needs to. It\'s all relative, as I always say.\r\n\r\nJoin Katrina as she shares her story!\r\n\r\nFind Katrina online:\r\nOn Facebook (Katrina Brynn White)\r\nOn Instagram (@momsrun_strong)\r\n\r\nAnd find Girls On The Run at <a href=\"http://www.girlsontherun.org/\">www.GirlsOnTheRun.org</a>\r\n\r\nYou can find So THIS Is Fitness online at:\r\n<a href=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/\">www.SoTHISIsFitness.com</a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.facebook.com/SoTHISIsFitness\">www.facebook.com/SoTHISIsFitness</a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.instagram.com/snuffydx\">www.instagram.com/snuffydx</a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.twitter.com/snuffydx\">www.twitter.com/snuffydx</a>\r\nemail me at <a href=\"mailto:Darrell@SoTHISIsFitness.com\">Darrell@SoTHISIsFitness.com</a> with your feedback, questions, concerns &amp; more!\r\n\r\nAnd lastly - please consider taking a moment to rate &amp; review the show. Every single one of those helps us pop up a little higher in search results. Let\'s help others discover the inspiration Katrina, and future guests, will have to share!\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/podcast\" target=\"_blank\">Check out this episode!</a>','#17 - True Triumph: Katrina White','','inherit','closed','closed','','8-revision-v1','','','2017-01-11 14:34:14','2017-01-11 19:34:14','',8,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/8-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),(502,1,'2017-01-11 21:37:55','2017-01-12 02:37:55','','subscribeonitunes','','inherit','open','closed','','subscribeonitunes-2','','','2017-01-11 21:37:55','2017-01-12 02:37:55','',0,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/subscribeonitunes-1.png',0,'attachment','image/png',0),(936,1,'2017-02-16 07:18:16','2017-02-16 12:18:16','','Podcast cover image - celebration','','inherit','open','closed','','photogrid_1487221225849','','','2017-02-16 07:20:37','2017-02-16 12:20:37','',933,'http://sothisisfitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/PhotoGrid_1487221225849.png',0,'attachment','image/png',0),(937,1,'2017-02-16 07:22:10','2017-02-16 12:22:10','<h2>It\'s an awfully long road you\'re on...</h2>\r\nYes, YOU. All of us, really. Life is a journey, our chosen goals and targets are a journey... all of this is a journey. Most journeys are gonna be pretty long. Every so often, along the way, it\'s important to stop and celebrate the little victories on the road to total success.<!--more-->\r\n<h2>Appreciation is pretty important, too.</h2>\r\nWe may not always be satisfied with our current lot in life... but it\'s important to be grateful and appreciative of what we CURRENTLY have. Once we\'ve wrapped our heads around THAT... we can start working towards where we DO want to be.\r\n\r\nSO, for our EPIC (har har) 25th episode - we tackle these two important points.\r\n\r\nYes, today\'s episode is that simple:\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>Appreciation</li>\r\n 	<li>Control what you can</li>\r\n 	<li>Celebration</li>\r\n 	<li>My challenge to YOU</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nThanks to all of you for sticking with me for 25 episodes - I fully intend to bring you (many more than) 25 more, and the quality is only gonna continue to improve - content, production values, and more.\r\n<h3>Resources:</h3>\r\n<a href=\"http://sothisisfitness.com/2017/02/podcast-episode-24-not-enough.html\">Episode 24 - \"It\'s Not Enough\" (time management resources)\r\n</a><a href=\"http://sothisisfitness.com/2013/07/why-workouts-fail-2-the-scale.html\">Why Workouts Fail #2 - The Scale</a>\r\n<h3>Connect with So THIS Is Fitness</h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li><a href=\"http://www.facebook.com/sothisisfitness\">Facebook</a></li>\r\n 	<li><a href=\"http://www.instagram.com/snuffydx\">Instagram</a></li>\r\n 	<li><a href=\"http://www.instagram.com/cardisandcardio\">The Fitwife\'s Instagram!</a></li>\r\n 	<li><a href=\"http://www.twitter.com/snuffydx\">Twitter</a></li>\r\n 	<li>Email - podcast@sothisisfitness.com</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<h3><strong>Listen to the So THIS Is Fitness Podcast</strong></h3>\r\nTo listen, you can either use the player below OR browse the following links:\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li><a href=\"https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/so-this-is-fitness/id1185769801?mt=2&amp;ls=1\">Subscribe On iTunes</a></li>\r\n 	<li><a href=\"http://subscribeonandroid.com/sothisisfitness.libsyn.com/rss\">Subscribe On Android</a></li>\r\n 	<li><a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.libsyn.com/rss\">Subscribe via RSS</a></li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<h3><strong>Support the show by supporting our sponsors!</strong></h3>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.foolproofbrewing.com\">Foolproof Brewing Company\'s website</a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.hopheadevents.com\">Hophead Events website</a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.runtruenorth.com\">True North Running Co. website</a>','Podcast Episode 25 - Celebration','','inherit','closed','closed','','933-revision-v1','','','2017-02-16 07:22:10','2017-02-16 12:22:10','',933,'http://sothisisfitness.com/2017/02/933-revision-v1.html',0,'revision','',0),(504,1,'2017-01-11 23:26:53','2017-01-12 04:26:53','<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b>For as long as I can remember </b></span><strong>I\'d <i>always</i> been a \"fat kid\".</strong></div>\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\"></div>\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\">\"Finding fitness\" was never something seriously on my radar. I <i>always</i> got made fun of, I <i>always</i> made an effort to wear loose clothes, and I was <i>never </i>really all that athletic, nor did I REALLY desire to be. Occasional efforts were made to work on it, but nothing stuck.</div>\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\"></div>\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\">In my last year of high school I made real progress. I did Weight Watchers with my mom while playing sports (football/weight lifting/shotput). With this combo, I managed to lose 70 lbs dropping to 210 (though I told people I was 205 lbs). Still overweight... but it was enough. I was...average...but not truly happy.</div>\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b><img class=\"alignleft wp-image-509 size-medium\" src=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/41351_847720569112_2734506_n-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"Me, Miles &amp; Julian on Bourbon Street - Delta Chi Convention\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" />So I went off to college.</b></span>\n\nWith the help of party school drinking plus all the garbage food I could eat... I gained it all back. <b>And then some.</b> All the healthy habits and active lifestyle behaviors I had picked up at the end of high school were gone. It didn\'t happen all at once, but it did happen pretty quick.\n\nThe summer before my 5th year at UMass I went to Delta Chi Convention in New Orleans, and I was pretty close to getting my own zip code. I tried to pretend I was a 42 waist, but that was super-loose fit jeans. I would estimate I was really a 44.<b></b>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<b><span style=\"font-size: large;\">And so it went. </span></b>\n\nGraduation meant leaving the over-abundance of cheap food...but it didn\'t end the weight gain. Back home meant work at a restaurant where a send-back meant snack time on fried food. By the time I got to August 2012 it was pretty bad. I had reached the heaviest I had ever been. <b>300 lbs. </b>\n\n<b><span style=\"font-size: large;\">Then I hit my breaking point.</span></b><b>\n</b>\n<img class=\"alignright wp-image-507 size-medium\" src=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/705673_10101066393515732_1982462519_o-169x300.jpg\" alt=\"At my heaviest - about 305 lbs.\" width=\"169\" height=\"300\" />Constantly moving at the restaurant meant my legs rubbed together. <b>And wore through my work pants. </b><i style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Every three months.</i> I was embarrassed at how frequently I had to buy more 48 waist pants. It became clear this lifestyle wasn\'t sustainable...and <b>I\'d had enough.</b> I talked to my wife (girlfriend at the time) and we resolved to do it together.So we took our before pictures, got our gear together, and embarked on our fitness journey.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<b><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-508 alignleft\" src=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/1064785_10101402791037402_1587750951_o-152x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"152\" height=\"300\" />Oh...results? </span></b>\n\nFor the full breakdown (with pictures) check out the <a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/p/my-transformation.html\">My Transformation page</a>. Short version? In the first 10 months I broke 100 lbs, and within a year I had dropped 125 lbs, become a runner, and become happier with my body and health than ever before.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI went from an XXL shirt to a Medium/Small\nFrom a 48\" waist to a 31\"\nXL and XXL gym shorts to Medium/Small\nOverweight and in danger of diabetes to fit, athletic and energetic!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOne of the most important things I figured out is - <b>You don\'t have to do it alone.</b> I had my wife - be sure to find <b>your</b> support system. <i>It makes a difference. </i><b><span style=\"font-size: large;\">The journey isn\'t over</span></b> (it never will be), and I\'m glad I took the plunge.\n\n&nbsp;','Finding Fitness','','inherit','closed','closed','','399-autosave-v1','','','2017-01-11 23:26:53','2017-01-12 04:26:53','',399,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/399-autosave-v1/',0,'revision','',0),(509,1,'2017-01-11 23:08:14','2017-01-12 04:08:14','','41351_847720569112_2734506_n','','inherit','open','closed','','41351_847720569112_2734506_n','','','2017-01-11 23:08:14','2017-01-12 04:08:14','',399,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/41351_847720569112_2734506_n.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(508,1,'2017-01-11 23:07:36','2017-01-12 04:07:36','','1064785_10101402791037402_1587750951_o','','inherit','open','closed','','1064785_10101402791037402_1587750951_o','','','2017-01-11 23:07:36','2017-01-12 04:07:36','',399,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/1064785_10101402791037402_1587750951_o.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(507,1,'2017-01-11 23:04:26','2017-01-12 04:04:26','','705673_10101066393515732_1982462519_o','','inherit','open','closed','','705673_10101066393515732_1982462519_o','','','2017-01-11 23:04:26','2017-01-12 04:04:26','',495,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/705673_10101066393515732_1982462519_o.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(505,1,'2017-01-11 22:37:34','2017-01-12 03:37:34','','308_589489645952_8413_n','','inherit','open','closed','','308_589489645952_8413_n','','','2017-01-11 22:37:34','2017-01-12 03:37:34','',495,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/308_589489645952_8413_n.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(506,1,'2017-01-11 22:40:41','2017-01-12 03:40:41','','274_584599565712_7157_n','','inherit','open','closed','','274_584599565712_7157_n','','','2017-01-11 22:40:41','2017-01-12 03:40:41','',495,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/274_584599565712_7157_n.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(512,1,'2017-01-11 23:28:32','2017-01-12 04:28:32','<h4 class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b>For as long as I can remember </b></span><strong>I\'d <i>always</i> been a \"fat kid\".</strong></h4>\r\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\">\"Finding fitness\" was never something seriously on my radar. I <i>always</i> got made fun of, I <i>always</i> made an effort to wear loose clothes, and I was <i>never </i>really all that athletic, nor did I REALLY desire to be. Occasional efforts were made to work on it, but nothing stuck.</div>\r\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\"></div>\r\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\">In my last year of high school I made real progress. I did Weight Watchers with my mom while playing sports (football/weight lifting/shotput). With this combo, I managed to lose 70 lbs dropping to 210 (though I told people I was 205 lbs). Still overweight... but it was enough. I was...average...but not truly happy.</div>\r\n<h5><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b><img class=\"alignleft wp-image-509 size-medium\" src=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/41351_847720569112_2734506_n-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"Me, Miles &amp; Julian on Bourbon Street - Delta Chi Convention\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" />So I went off to college.</b></span></h5>\r\nWith the help of party school drinking plus all the garbage food I could eat... I gained it all back. <b>And then some.</b> All the healthy habits and active lifestyle behaviors I had picked up at the end of high school were gone. It didn\'t happen all at once, but it did happen pretty quick.\r\n\r\nThe summer before my 5th year at UMass I went to Delta Chi Convention in New Orleans, and I was pretty close to getting my own zip code. I tried to pretend I was a 42 waist, but that was super-loose fit jeans. I would estimate I was really a 44.<b></b>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<h5><b><span style=\"font-size: large;\">And so it went. </span></b></h5>\r\nGraduation meant leaving the over-abundance of cheap food...but it didn\'t end the weight gain. Back home meant work at a restaurant where a send-back meant snack time on fried food. By the time I got to August 2012 it was pretty bad. I had reached the heaviest I had ever been. <b>300 lbs. </b>\r\n\r\n<b><span style=\"font-size: large;\">Then I hit my breaking point.</span></b><b>\r\n</b>\r\n<img class=\"alignright wp-image-507 size-medium\" src=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/705673_10101066393515732_1982462519_o-169x300.jpg\" alt=\"At my heaviest - about 305 lbs.\" width=\"169\" height=\"300\" />Constantly moving at the restaurant meant my legs rubbed together. <b>And wore through my work pants. </b><i style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Every three months.</i> I was embarrassed at how frequently I had to buy more 48 waist pants. It became clear this lifestyle wasn\'t sustainable...and <b>I\'d had enough.</b> I talked to my wife (girlfriend at the time) and we resolved to do it together.So we took our before pictures, got our gear together, and embarked on our fitness journey.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<h5><b><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><img class=\"alignleft wp-image-508 size-medium\" src=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/1064785_10101402791037402_1587750951_o-152x300.jpg\" alt=\"Slim &amp; Fit at my first 10K - Finish at the 50 10K!\" width=\"152\" height=\"300\" />Oh...results? </span></b></h5>\r\nFor the full breakdown (with pictures) check out the <a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/p/my-transformation.html\">My Transformation page</a>. Short version? In the first 10 months I broke 100 lbs, and within a year I had dropped 125 lbs, become a runner, and become happier with my body and health than ever before.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI went from an XXL shirt to a Medium/Small\r\nFrom a 48\" waist to a 31\"\r\nXL and XXL gym shorts to Medium/Small\r\nOverweight and in danger of diabetes to fit, athletic and energetic!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOne of the most important things I figured out is - <b>You don\'t have to do it alone.</b> I had my wife - be sure to find <b>your</b> support system. <i>It makes a difference. </i><b><span style=\"font-size: large;\">The journey isn\'t over</span></b> (it never will be), and I\'m glad I took the plunge.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Finding Fitness','','inherit','closed','closed','','399-revision-v1','','','2017-01-11 23:28:32','2017-01-12 04:28:32','',399,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/399-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),(513,1,'2017-01-11 23:28:51','2017-01-12 04:28:51','&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[podcast src=\"https://html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/4982888/height/90/width/450/theme/custom/autonext/no/thumbnail/yes/autoplay/no/preload/no/no_addthis/no/direction/forward/render-playlist/no/custom-color/88AA3C/\" height=\"90\" width=\"450\"]','#20 - We All Only Get One Shot To Live','','inherit','closed','closed','','495-revision-v1','','','2017-01-11 23:28:51','2017-01-12 04:28:51','',495,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/495-revision-v1/',0,'revision','',0),(514,1,'2017-01-12 00:19:46','2017-01-12 05:19:46','<b><span style=\"font-size: large;\">This is my transformation. 300 lbs to less than 180 lbs in 14 months</span></b>\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\">\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\">When this all started, I was too afraid and overwhelmed to go to a gym...so I did at-home programs. When I was in the moment, I thought these programs were great and easy-to-do. To be fair, I realize after the fact...these are exceptionally hard to stick to unless you\'ve got a special kind of drive and motivation, like I did. Even then, I found it VERY difficult to keep going sometimes. Need help deciding what to do? reach out. Let\'s chat.</div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"></div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>Before it all began! 300 lbs and unhappy</b></div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div>\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"> <img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-515\" src=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/beforebefore2-300x297.jpg\" alt=\"Before it all - 305ish lbs\" width=\"300\" height=\"297\" /></div>\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-516\" src=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/beforebefore1-300x229.jpg\" alt=\"Before it all - 305ish lbs\" width=\"300\" height=\"229\" /></div>\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div>\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div>\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\" href=\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YNiTGWMGjdQ/Ul8B2gOPqmI/AAAAAAAAB40/yD6mHGOCFO4/s1600/P90XLogo_low_res.jpg\"> </a></div>\n<b><b>August 2012 - </b></b>Megan and I decided together that it was finally time to DO something. We\nbegan our weight-loss journey.<b>\n</b>\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><b>After Phase 1 - 253 lbs</b></div>\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-517\" src=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/beforeinsanity2-286x300.jpg\" alt=\"After Phase 1 - down to 253 lbs\" width=\"286\" height=\"300\" /></div>\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-518\" src=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/beforeinsanity-300x233.jpg\" alt=\"After Phase 1 - down to 253 lbs\" width=\"300\" height=\"233\" /></div>\n<b>After Phase 2 - 233 lbs</b>\n\n<img class=\"size-medium wp-image-519 aligncenter\" src=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/beforeasylum2-300x276.jpg\" alt=\"After Phase 2 - down to 233 lbs\" width=\"300\" height=\"276\" />\n\n<img class=\"size-medium wp-image-520 aligncenter\" src=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/beforeasylum1-300x221.jpg\" alt=\"After Phase 2 - down to 233 lbs\" width=\"300\" height=\"221\" />\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div>\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div>\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div>\n<b>After Phase 3 - 219.5 lbs</b>\n\n<img class=\"size-medium wp-image-521 aligncenter\" src=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/beforecombat2-300x257.jpg\" alt=\"After Phase 3 - down to 219.5 lbs\" width=\"300\" height=\"257\" />\n\n<img class=\"size-medium wp-image-522 aligncenter\" src=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/beforecombat1-300x180.jpg\" alt=\"After Phase 3 - Down to 219.5 lbs\" width=\"300\" height=\"180\" />\n\n<b>After Phase 4 - 197.8 LBS! (August \'13)</b>\n\n<img class=\"size-medium wp-image-523 aligncenter\" src=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/beforebeast2-300x267.jpg\" alt=\"After Phase 4 - down to 197.8 lbs!\" width=\"300\" height=\"267\" />\n\n<img class=\"size-medium wp-image-524 aligncenter\" src=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/beforebeast1-300x190.jpg\" alt=\"After Phase 4 - down to 197.8 lbs!\" width=\"300\" height=\"190\" /><b></b>\n\n<b>After Phase 5 - 187.8 lbs! (Late October \'13)</b>\n\n<img class=\"size-medium wp-image-526 aligncenter\" src=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/afterbeast2-300x282.jpg\" alt=\"After Phase 5 - down to 187.8 lbs\" width=\"300\" height=\"282\" />\n\n<img class=\"size-medium wp-image-525 aligncenter\" src=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/afterbeast1-300x222.jpg\" alt=\"After Phase 5 - down to 187.8 lbs\" width=\"300\" height=\"222\" />\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"></div>\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div>\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\">\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div>\n<b>After Focus T25 - 175 lbs! (End of December \'13)</b>\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\" href=\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JRi70va4otg/UsuoiDwGdJI/AAAAAAAAGLQ/rSaArIvgDn4/s1600/aftert251.jpg\"><img src=\"https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JRi70va4otg/UsuoiDwGdJI/AAAAAAAAGLQ/rSaArIvgDn4/s1600/aftert251.jpg\" width=\"400\" height=\"360\" border=\"0\" /></a><a style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\" href=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FEf5na_QHjQ/Usuon_rIkLI/AAAAAAAAGLY/aiZQoa8_I44/s1600/aftert252.jpg\"><img src=\"https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FEf5na_QHjQ/Usuon_rIkLI/AAAAAAAAGLY/aiZQoa8_I44/s1600/aftert252.jpg\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\" border=\"0\" /></a></div>\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://www.beachbodycoach.com/SoTHISIsFitness\"><img src=\"https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-f1LIBTcOXoM/UsuowlH2UlI/AAAAAAAAGLg/_kmiI85TN74/s1600/T25_logo_low_res.jpg\" border=\"0\" /></a></div>\n<div style=\"text-align: left;\"><b>OK - Focus T25 was definitely different!</b> You may only be working out for 25 minutes at a time, but WOW do they make you work for it for every second! The name of the game is non-stop movement and combo-moves. Yes, you\'re not just doing one move at a time...you\'re doing two moves at a time! You\'re working your <b>whole body</b> through each workout...even the upper-body focus days still work lower body...and EVERY day works your core to some extent. The Beta phase - month 2 - steps it up a notch, amping up the intensity and making you work even HARDER for it. Gamma phase, if you choose the optional/additional 3rd month, focuses on strength and getting ripped up/! Gamma phase adds in lots of weights/resistance band work...and lots of burpees. If you don\'t like burpees...DON\'T do Gamma. <b>I had a great time</b> doing Focus T25...but then again...I have not run into a BeachBody program I didnt\' like!</div>\n</div>','My Transformation','','inherit','closed','closed','','401-autosave-v1','','','2017-01-12 00:19:46','2017-01-12 05:19:46','',401,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/401-autosave-v1/',0,'revision','',0),(528,1,'2017-01-12 00:01:46','2017-01-12 05:01:46','','aftert252','','inherit','open','closed','','aftert252','','','2017-01-12 00:01:55','2017-01-12 05:01:55','',401,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/aftert252.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(535,1,'2017-01-12 02:37:30','2017-01-12 07:37:30','<h4><strong>By now, we know how I feel about \"limits\".</strong></h4>\r\nIf you\'ve ever heard my podcast or read the blog you KNOW - I am a FIRM believer that the only limits we TRULY have are the ones we set for ourselves. Well, I might not have really stopped to think how or why we imagine those limits to exist in the first place.\r\n<h3>Now, I\'m thinking about it a little more.</h3>\r\nI think I understand, just a little bit better, what keeps some people from taking the plunge. Why some of the, seemingly, most interested people ultimately leave the gym without joining. Prepare for one of those... \"ooooohhhhh...\" moments.\r\n\r\n[podcast src=\"https://html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/4982888/height/90/width/450/theme/custom/autonext/no/thumbnail/yes/autoplay/no/preload/no/no_addthis/no/direction/forward/render-playlist/no/custom-color/88AA3C/\" height=\"90\" width=\"450\"]<!--more-->\r\n<h4>This might be one of my favorite chats yet.</h4>\r\nSteven Hall, head honcho of Hophead Events, joins me on the show for a great chat. It\'s always nice to have that like-minded discussion, right?\r\n<h4>In This Episode:</h4>\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>Who IS Steven Hall</li>\r\n 	<li>26.2 Challenge &amp; Hophead Events</li>\r\n 	<li>South Shore Food &amp; Wine Expo</li>\r\n 	<li>Risk vs. Reward</li>\r\n 	<li>Failure</li>\r\n 	<li>Attitude, positivity, and getting out there.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nYou can find Steven online:\r\n\r\nwww.facebook.com/thirstygreek\r\nwww.twitter.com/thirstygreek\r\nwww.instagram.com/thirstygreek\r\n\r\nand find Hophead Events at www.HopheadEvents.com\r\n<h4>As always, you can find ME at:</h4>\r\nwww.SoTHISIsFitness.com (NEW SITE IS LIVE!!!)\r\nwww.facebook.com/sothisisfitness\r\nwww.twitter.com/snuffydx\r\nwww.instagram.com/snuffydx\r\n\r\nPlease do consider leaving a rating and review on iTunes!','#20 - We All Only Get One Shot To Live','','inherit','closed','closed','','495-revision-v1','','','2017-01-12 02:37:30','2017-01-12 07:37:30','',495,'http://sothisisfitness.com/2017/01/495-revision-v1.html',0,'revision','',0),(523,1,'2017-01-11 23:54:36','2017-01-12 04:54:36','','beforebeast2','','inherit','open','closed','','beforebeast2','','','2017-01-11 23:55:23','2017-01-12 04:55:23','',401,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/beforebeast2.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(524,1,'2017-01-11 23:55:50','2017-01-12 04:55:50','','beforebeast1','','inherit','open','closed','','beforebeast1','','','2017-01-11 23:56:23','2017-01-12 04:56:23','',401,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/beforebeast1.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(527,1,'2017-01-12 00:01:12','2017-01-12 05:01:12','','aftert251','','inherit','open','closed','','aftert251','','','2017-01-12 00:01:27','2017-01-12 05:01:27','',401,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/aftert251.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(525,1,'2017-01-11 23:58:52','2017-01-12 04:58:52','','afterbeast1','','inherit','open','closed','','afterbeast1','','','2017-01-11 23:59:55','2017-01-12 04:59:55','',401,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/afterbeast1.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(526,1,'2017-01-11 23:59:02','2017-01-12 04:59:02','','afterbeast2','','inherit','open','closed','','afterbeast2','','','2017-01-11 23:59:26','2017-01-12 04:59:26','',401,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/afterbeast2.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(533,1,'2017-01-12 00:41:59','2017-01-12 05:41:59',' ','','','publish','closed','closed','','533','','','2017-02-20 06:58:49','2017-02-20 11:58:49','',0,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/?p=533',6,'nav_menu_item','',0),(534,1,'2017-01-12 02:29:08','2017-01-12 07:29:08','<strong>By now, we know how I feel about \"limits\".</strong>\r\n\r\nIf you\'ve ever heard my podcast or read the blog you KNOW - I am a FIRM believer that the only limits we TRULY have are the ones we set for ourselves. Well, I might not have really stopped to think how or why we imagine those limits to exist in the first place.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[podcast src=\"https://html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/4982888/height/90/width/450/theme/custom/autonext/no/thumbnail/yes/autoplay/no/preload/no/no_addthis/no/direction/forward/render-playlist/no/custom-color/88AA3C/\" height=\"90\" width=\"450\"]<!--more-->','#20 - We All Only Get One Shot To Live','','inherit','closed','closed','','495-revision-v1','','','2017-01-12 02:29:08','2017-01-12 07:29:08','',495,'http://sothisisfitness.com/2017/01/495-revision-v1.html',0,'revision','',0),(522,1,'2017-01-11 23:46:53','2017-01-12 04:46:53','','beforecombat1','','inherit','open','closed','','beforecombat1','','','2017-01-11 23:47:10','2017-01-12 04:47:10','',401,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/beforecombat1.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(521,1,'2017-01-11 23:45:25','2017-01-12 04:45:25','','beforecombat2','','inherit','open','closed','','beforecombat2','','','2017-01-11 23:45:50','2017-01-12 04:45:50','',401,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/beforecombat2.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(520,1,'2017-01-11 23:42:49','2017-01-12 04:42:49','','beforeasylum1','','inherit','open','closed','','beforeasylum1','','','2017-01-11 23:43:54','2017-01-12 04:43:54','',401,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/beforeasylum1.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(536,1,'2017-01-12 02:41:18','2017-01-12 07:41:18','<h4><strong>By now, we know how I feel about \"limits\".</strong></h4>\r\nIf you\'ve ever heard my podcast or read the blog you KNOW - I am a FIRM believer that the only limits we TRULY have are the ones we set for ourselves. Well, I might not have really stopped to think how or why we imagine those limits to exist in the first place.\r\n<h3>Now, I\'m thinking about it a little more.</h3>\r\nI think I understand, just a little bit better, what keeps some people from taking the plunge. Why some of the, seemingly, most interested people ultimately leave the gym without joining. Prepare for one of those... \"ooooohhhhh...\" moments.\r\n\r\n[podcast src=\"https://html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/4982888/height/90/width/450/theme/custom/autonext/no/thumbnail/yes/autoplay/no/preload/no/no_addthis/no/direction/forward/render-playlist/no/custom-color/88AA3C/\" height=\"90\" width=\"450\"]<!--more-->\r\n<h4>This might be one of my favorite chats yet.</h4>\r\nSteven Hall, head honcho of Hophead Events, joins me on the show for a great chat. It\'s always nice to have that like-minded discussion, right?\r\n<h4>In This Episode:</h4>\r\n<ul>\r\n 	<li>Who IS Steven Hall</li>\r\n 	<li>26.2 Challenge &amp; Hophead Events</li>\r\n 	<li>South Shore Food &amp; Wine Expo</li>\r\n 	<li>Risk vs. Reward</li>\r\n 	<li>Failure</li>\r\n 	<li>Attitude, positivity, and getting out there.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\nYou can find Steven online:\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.facebook.com/thirstygreek\">www.facebook.com/thirstygreek</a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.twitter.com/thirstygreek\">www.twitter.com/thirstygreek</a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.instagram.com/thirstygreek\">www.instagram.com/thirstygreek</a>\r\n\r\nand find Hophead Events at <a href=\"http://www.HopheadEvents.com\">www.HopheadEvents.com</a>\r\n<h4>As always, you can find ME at:</h4>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.SoTHISIsFitness.com\">www.SoTHISIsFitness.com</a> (NEW SITE IS LIVE!!!)\r\n<a href=\"http://www.facebook.com/sothisisfitness\">www.facebook.com/sothisisfitness</a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.twitter.com/snuffydx\">www.twitter.com/snuffydx</a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.instagram.com/snuffydx\">www.instagram.com/snuffydx</a>\r\n\r\nPlease do consider leaving a rating and review on iTunes!','#20 - We All Only Get One Shot To Live','','inherit','closed','closed','','495-revision-v1','','','2017-01-12 02:41:18','2017-01-12 07:41:18','',495,'http://sothisisfitness.com/2017/01/495-revision-v1.html',0,'revision','',0),(519,1,'2017-01-11 23:41:42','2017-01-12 04:41:42','','beforeasylum2','','inherit','open','closed','','beforeasylum2','','','2017-01-11 23:42:15','2017-01-12 04:42:15','',401,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/beforeasylum2.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(669,1,'2017-01-14 21:33:25','2017-01-15 02:33:25','For the BEST podcast listening experience…we HIGHLY recommend you SUBSCRIBE! Or just search “So THIS Is Fitness” in your favorite app! Not sure how to listen to a podcast? – Read “How To Enjoy A Podcast In 5 Easy Steps” Reviews & Ratings: Please consider leaving a rating & review on iTunes – every single one helps bump our show up the iTunes rankings so we’re easier to find! Guests, Requests, & Feedback: Got a great idea? Have a topic you’d love to hear me cover, or maybe some questions for me to address on the show? Know of someone, big-time or regular Joe, you’d like to suggest as a guest? Email Podcast@SoTHISIsFitness.com! (no response? I promise I’m not ignoring you! Try again at Darrell@SoTHISIsFitness.com) Episode Archives: Every episode of So THIS Is Fitness is available on our feed in your podcast app of choice. Show notes for each episode are available on this page, & direct audio of each episode is in the below player. Note – listening this way DOES NOT deliver the newest episodes to you or your device as they’re published…we do still strongly recommend you subscribe in a podcast listening app.','','','publish','closed','closed','','669','','','2017-02-20 06:58:49','2017-02-20 11:58:49','',0,'http://sothisisfitness.com/?p=669',5,'nav_menu_item','',0),(517,1,'2017-01-11 23:38:42','2017-01-12 04:38:42','','beforeinsanity2','','inherit','open','closed','','beforeinsanity2','','','2017-01-11 23:38:55','2017-01-12 04:38:55','',401,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/beforeinsanity2.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(515,1,'2017-01-11 23:36:01','2017-01-12 04:36:01','','beforebefore2','','inherit','open','closed','','beforebefore2','','','2017-01-11 23:36:27','2017-01-12 04:36:27','',401,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/beforebefore2.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(516,1,'2017-01-11 23:36:49','2017-01-12 04:36:49','','beforebefore1','','inherit','open','closed','','beforebefore1','','','2017-01-11 23:37:02','2017-01-12 04:37:02','',401,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/beforebefore1.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(518,1,'2017-01-11 23:39:18','2017-01-12 04:39:18','','beforeinsanity','','inherit','open','closed','','beforeinsanity','','','2017-01-11 23:39:40','2017-01-12 04:39:40','',401,'http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/beforeinsanity.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(538,1,'2017-01-12 03:14:27','2017-01-12 08:14:27','.page-header-image-single {width: auto; float: left;}','forefront','','inherit','closed','closed','','474-revision-v1','','','2017-01-12 03:14:27','2017-01-12 08:14:27','',474,'http://sothisisfitness.com/2017/01/474-revision-v1.html',0,'revision','',0),(540,1,'2017-01-05 03:26:55','2017-01-05 08:26:55','If you\'re going to get somewhere...you have to know how to get there. In order to know HOW to get there... don\'t you first have to know WHERE it actually is you\'re going? Goalsetting. It\'s probably the most important step of the whole \"achieving your goal\" process.\r\n\r\nWelcome to the reason why New Year\'s (fitness) resolutions fail - all this ambition backed by no goal and no plan.\r\n\r\nSometimes you figure it out. Sometimes you can push. You keep achieving your goals as they get progressively harder. Eventually...the next logical goal makes you REALLY uncomfortable...\r\nWell gee...guess we just have to figure that out, eh? Don\'t worry...it\'s not as bad as it sounds :)\r\n\r\n<iframe style=\"border: none;\" src=\"//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/4963632/height/90/width/450/theme/custom/autonext/no/thumbnail/yes/autoplay/no/preload/no/no_addthis/no/direction/forward/tdest_id/454656/render-playlist/no/custom-color/ffac1a/\" width=\"450\" height=\"90\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"></iframe><span class=\"CmCaReT\" style=\"display: none;\">�</span>\r\n\r\n<!--more-->\r\nSo in this episode we talk about:\r\n-  Risk &amp; reward\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">- Where my journey has been and where I\'m about to take it...MY 2017 goals</span>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">- How exactly to go about goal setting</span>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">- How to know the difference between what\'s safe, what\'s a challenge, and what\'s unreasonable or even unsafe</span>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">- Gameplan… For me AND you.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can\'t GET there if you don\'t know where you\'re going or how to get there. Be smart, think about it, and you can plan for some MAJOR successes this year. Key is...gotta be smart. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And just like my own goals for 2017...sometimes the goals we set for ourselves make us a little uncomfortable. Or a LOT uncomfortable...It\'s important to remember that at a certain point...it\'s both good and <em>important</em> to get out of your comfort zone, push it, and find a thing to do that you didn\'t think you could do...and DO it!</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Please do reach out with questions, comments, or to share YOUR goals for some extra accountability - <a href=\"mailto:darrell@sothisisfitness.com\">darrell@sothisisfitness.com</a></span>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Find us online!</span>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/\">www.SoTHISIsFitness.com</a></span>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"http://www.facebook.com/SoTHISIsFitness\">www.Facebook.com/SoTHISIsFitness</a></span>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.instagram.com/snuffydx\">www.instagram.com/snuffydx</a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.twitter.com/snuffydx\">www.twitter.com/snuffydx</a>\r\n\r\nAnd big thanks to Anytime Fitness Pembroke for sponsoring my big races this season! Can\'t wait to see how it goes and to achieve success!\r\n\r\n<span class=\"CmCaReT\" style=\"display: none;\">�</span>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://sothisisfitness.libsyn.com/19-2017-goalsetting-getting-uncomfortable?tdest_id=454656\" target=\"_blank\">Check out this episode!</a>','#19 - 2017, Goalsetting, & Getting Uncomfortable','','publish','open','open','','19-2017-goalsetting-getting-uncomfortable','','','2017-01-23 10:45:01','2017-01-23 15:45:01','',0,'http://sothisisfitness.com/?p=540',0,'post','',0),(541,1,'2017-01-12 03:31:04','2017-01-12 08:31:04','If you\'re going to get somewhere...you have to know how to get there. In order to know HOW to get there... don\'t you first have to know WHERE it actually is you\'re going? Goalsetting. It\'s probably the most important step of the whole \"achieving your goal\" process.\r\n\r\nWelcome to the reason why New Year\'s (fitness) resolutions fail - all this ambition backed by no goal and no plan.\r\n\r\nSometimes you figure it out. Sometimes you can push. You keep achieving your goals as they get progressively harder. Eventually...the next logical goal makes you REALLY uncomfortable...\r\nWell gee...guess we just have to figure that out, eh? Don\'t worry...it\'s not as bad as it sounds :)\r\n\r\n<iframe style=\"border: none;\" src=\"//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/4963632/height/90/width/450/theme/custom/autonext/no/thumbnail/yes/autoplay/no/preload/no/no_addthis/no/direction/forward/tdest_id/454656/render-playlist/no/custom-color/ffac1a/\" width=\"450\" height=\"90\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"></iframe><span class=\"CmCaReT\" style=\"display: none;\">�</span>\r\n\r\n<!--more-->\r\nSo in this episode we talk about:\r\n-  Risk &amp; reward\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">- Where my journey has been and where I\'m about to take it...MY 2017 goals</span>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">- How exactly to go about goal setting</span>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">- How to know the difference between what\'s safe, what\'s a challenge, and what\'s unreasonable or even unsafe</span>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">- Gameplan… For me AND you.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can\'t GET there if you don\'t know where you\'re going or how to get there. Be smart, think about it, and you can plan for some MAJOR successes this year. Key is...gotta be smart. </span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And just like my own goals for 2017...sometimes the goals we set for ourselves make us a little uncomfortable. Or a LOT uncomfortable...It\'s important to remember that at a certain point...it\'s both good and <em>important</em> to get out of your comfort zone, push it, and find a thing to do that you didn\'t think you could do...and DO it!</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Please do reach out with questions, comments, or to share YOUR goals for some extra accountability - <a href=\"mailto:darrell@sothisisfitness.com\">darrell@sothisisfitness.com</a></span>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Find us online!</span>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/\">www.SoTHISIsFitness.com</a></span>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"http://www.facebook.com/SoTHISIsFitness\">www.Facebook.com/SoTHISIsFitness</a></span>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.instagram.com/snuffydx\">www.instagram.com/snuffydx</a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.twitter.com/snuffydx\">www.twitter.com/snuffydx</a>\r\n\r\nAnd big thanks to Anytime Fitness Pembroke for sponsoring my big races this season! Can\'t wait to see how it goes and to achieve success!\r\n\r\n<span class=\"CmCaReT\" style=\"display: none;\">�</span>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://sothisisfitness.libsyn.com/19-2017-goalsetting-getting-uncomfortable?tdest_id=454656\" target=\"_blank\">Check out this episode!</a>','#19 - 2017, Goalsetting, & Getting Uncomfortable','','inherit','closed','closed','','540-revision-v1','','','2017-01-12 03:31:04','2017-01-12 08:31:04','',540,'http://sothisisfitness.com/2017/01/540-revision-v1.html',0,'revision','',0),(542,1,'2017-01-12 03:32:37','2017-01-12 08:32:37','.page-header-image-single {width: 300; height: auto; float: left;}','forefront','','inherit','closed','closed','','474-revision-v1','','','2017-01-12 03:32:37','2017-01-12 08:32:37','',474,'http://sothisisfitness.com/2017/01/474-revision-v1.html',0,'revision','',0),(545,1,'2017-01-12 14:33:06','2017-01-12 19:33:06','','Food & Supp','','publish','closed','closed','','food-supp','','','2017-02-20 06:58:50','2017-02-20 11:58:50','',3,'http://sothisisfitness.com/?p=545',7,'nav_menu_item','',0),(546,1,'2017-01-12 14:33:07','2017-01-12 19:33:07',' ','','','publish','closed','closed','','546','','','2017-02-20 06:58:50','2017-02-20 11:58:50','',3,'http://sothisisfitness.com/?p=546',8,'nav_menu_item','',0),(549,1,'2017-01-13 22:21:18','2017-01-14 03:21:18','<em><strong>\"Who\'s this jerk think he is?\"</strong></em>\r\n\r\nThis \"jerk\" is a regular guy...an \"Average Joe\"...just like you.\r\n\r\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>And that\'s the point.</strong></span>\r\n\r\nWhat\'s the difference between me and you? Maybe its that I lost 130 lbs. Maybe it\'s that I\'ve finished at least 5 marathons. Or a 50 mile ultramarathon. Or a <em>100 mile ultramarathon</em>. Maybe it\'s that <em>I started &amp; stuck to a fitness routine</em><em>.</em> <em><strong>Maybe its nothing.</strong></em>\r\n\r\n<em><strong>I\'m. nobody. special.</strong></em><em> </em>\r\n\r\nI\'m just a guy that hit a breaking point and finally did something about his situation. Changed what I had, until that point, viewed as my permanent reality. I <em>took control</em> and made a change. <strong>A big change.</strong> One that has reshaped my whole life and world view.\r\n\r\n<strong>It wasn\'t easy.</strong>\r\n\r\nThere were countless times I wanted to quit. Give up. It would\'ve been so much easier to just...<em>not</em>. It still IS easier.\r\n\r\n<strong>It\'s a constant struggle.</strong>\r\n\r\nAnd I know I\'m not the only one who fights that battle. <strong>So here I am - </strong>sharing my story - both the struggles AND successes...to show you...\r\n\r\n<strong>If <em>I </em>can do it...<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>anyone can.</em></span></strong>\r\n\r\n130 pounds lost? 100 mile ultramarathon finish? <em>I\'m just getting warmed up.</em>\r\n\r\n<em>Want a little more detail on the journey and my story (complete with pics)? Check it out the <a href=\"http://sothisisfitness.com/meet-darrell/findingfitness\">\"finding fitness\"</a> and <a href=\"http://sothisisfitness.com/meet-darrell/my-journey\">\"my journey\"</a> pages.</em>\r\n\r\n<strong>So...THIS is \"fitness\"...</strong>\r\n\r\n<em>I\'m not a doctor, nutritionist, dietitian, or the like...I\'m just a guy who\'s been through it and done his homework. All opinions here are my own. You should probably consult a doctor before making radical changes to your health, fitness, or nutrition habits.</em>','About','','inherit','closed','closed','','187-revision-v1','','','2017-01-13 22:21:18','2017-01-14 03:21:18','',187,'http://sothisisfitness.com/2017/01/187-revision-v1.html',0,'revision','',0),(550,1,'2017-01-13 22:22:13','2017-01-14 03:22:13','<h4 class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b>For as long as I can remember </b></span><strong>I\'d <i>always</i> been a \"fat kid\".</strong></h4>\r\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\">\"Finding fitness\" was never something seriously on my radar. I <i>always</i> got made fun of, I <i>always</i> made an effort to wear loose clothes, and I was <i>never </i>really all that athletic, nor did I REALLY desire to be. Occasional efforts were made to work on it, but nothing stuck.</div>\r\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\"></div>\r\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\">In my last year of high school I made real progress. I did Weight Watchers with my mom while playing sports (football/weight lifting/shotput). With this combo, I managed to lose 70 lbs dropping to 210 (though I told people I was 205 lbs). Still overweight... but it was enough. I was...average...but not truly happy.</div>\r\n<h5><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b><img class=\"alignleft wp-image-509 size-medium\" src=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/41351_847720569112_2734506_n-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"Me, Miles &amp; Julian on Bourbon Street - Delta Chi Convention\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" />So I went off to college.</b></span></h5>\r\nWith the help of party school drinking plus all the garbage food I could eat... I gained it all back. <b>And then some.</b> All the healthy habits and active lifestyle behaviors I had picked up at the end of high school were gone. It didn\'t happen all at once, but it did happen pretty quick.\r\n\r\nThe summer before my 5th year at UMass I went to Delta Chi Convention in New Orleans, and I was pretty close to getting my own zip code. I tried to pretend I was a 42 waist, but that was super-loose fit jeans. I would estimate I was really a 44.<b></b>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<h5><b><span style=\"font-size: large;\">And so it went. </span></b></h5>\r\nGraduation meant leaving the over-abundance of cheap food...but it didn\'t end the weight gain. Back home meant work at a restaurant where a send-back meant snack time on fried food. By the time I got to August 2012 it was pretty bad. I had reached the heaviest I had ever been. <b>300 lbs. </b>\r\n\r\n<b><span style=\"font-size: large;\">Then I hit my breaking point.</span></b><b>\r\n</b>\r\n<img class=\"alignright wp-image-507 size-medium\" src=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/705673_10101066393515732_1982462519_o-169x300.jpg\" alt=\"At my heaviest - about 305 lbs.\" width=\"169\" height=\"300\" />Constantly moving at the restaurant meant my legs rubbed together. <b>And wore through my work pants. </b><i style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Every three months.</i> I was embarrassed at how frequently I had to buy more 48 waist pants. It became clear this lifestyle wasn\'t sustainable...and <b>I\'d had enough.</b> I talked to my wife (girlfriend at the time) and we resolved to do it together.So we took our before pictures, got our gear together, and embarked on our fitness journey.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<h5><b><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><img class=\"alignleft wp-image-508 size-medium\" src=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/1064785_10101402791037402_1587750951_o-152x300.jpg\" alt=\"Slim &amp; Fit at my first 10K - Finish at the 50 10K!\" width=\"152\" height=\"300\" />Oh...results? </span></b></h5>\r\nFor the full breakdown (with pictures) check out the <a href=\"http://sothisisfitness.com/meet-darrell/my-journey\">My Transformation page</a>. Short version? In the first 10 months I broke 100 lbs, and within a year I had dropped 125 lbs, become a runner, and become happier with my body and health than ever before.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI went from an XXL shirt to a Medium/Small\r\nFrom a 48\" waist to a 31\"\r\nXL and XXL gym shorts to Medium/Small\r\nOverweight and in danger of diabetes to fit, athletic and energetic!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOne of the most important things I figured out is - <b>You don\'t have to do it alone.</b> I had my wife - be sure to find <b>your</b> support system. <i>It makes a difference. </i><b><span style=\"font-size: large;\">The journey isn\'t over</span></b> (it never will be), and I\'m glad I took the plunge.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Finding Fitness','','inherit','closed','closed','','399-revision-v1','','','2017-01-13 22:22:13','2017-01-14 03:22:13','',399,'http://sothisisfitness.com/2017/01/399-revision-v1.html',0,'revision','',0),(551,1,'2017-01-13 22:22:13','2017-01-14 03:22:13','At this point a lot of people have heard, seen or read <a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/p/my-story.html\" target=\"_blank\">my story</a> and asked me <b>how I did it</b>. How I got started? How I stayed motivated to keep going? Turns out, a lot of people ask me that question because <b>they want to know how THEY can do it too</b>.<br /><br />Well, here we are. The \"Get Up And GO\" Guide. This will break down everything you need to know, do, and remind yourself in order to...well... Get Up and GO! Let\'s dive right in - <br /><br />First Thing\'s First<b> - Get Out Of Your Own Way!</b><br /><b></b><br /><a name=\'more\'></a><b><br /></b><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LH9jfUr-XhM/UgKqj7IHAOI/AAAAAAAABHE/CFvxtJCN2P8/s1600/stifstopsign.jpg\" style=\"clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" src=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LH9jfUr-XhM/UgKqj7IHAOI/AAAAAAAABHE/CFvxtJCN2P8/s1600/stifstopsign.jpg\" /></a></div><b>YOU </b>are the only obstacle in your way. Nobody can<br />tell you that <b>you can\'t do it</b>. <b>Your voice</b> is the only voice that matters. You are <b>perfectly capable</b> of achieving your goals. So, <b>stop the excuses</b>, <b>do</b> what you need to do to be in a position to begin your journey...and <b>do it!</b> I could go on for hours, but that\'s about all there is to say in this part of the guide. I\'ve already talked about the <a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/2013/07/the-inconvenience-factor-accepting.html\" target=\"_blank\">\"I Don\'t Feel Like It Syndrome\"</a>, <a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/2013/07/defeating-demotivators-1-fear-monster.html\" target=\"_blank\">The Fear Monster</a>, <a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/2013/07/why-workouts-fail-1-napoleon-complex.html\" target=\"_blank\">The Napoleon Complex</a> and <a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/2013/07/conquer-truth-about-motivation.html\" target=\"_blank\">motivation itself</a>, so we\'ve covered a lot of the bases concerning why you might not have been doing anything - it\'s time to figure out what\'s been keeping you away from a better you and <b>beat it</b>. Those other articles might <br />help.<br /><br /><b>So What Are You Gonna Do Now?</b><br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Meem0uxYX6U/UgPzfNL6fHI/AAAAAAAABHk/vf2fQbWEsgc/s1600/ok-now-what.jpg\" style=\"clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"240\" src=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Meem0uxYX6U/UgPzfNL6fHI/AAAAAAAABHk/vf2fQbWEsgc/s320/ok-now-what.jpg\" width=\"320\" /></a></div><b>&nbsp; </b><br />No, really...assuming you\'re ready to do something, you have to know <b>what it is</b> you\'re gonna do! That means you need to have a goal envisioned in your mind. What is your goal - <b>what do you want</b> in the end? It\'s going to be a long road, and you need a road map to get there. So, figure it out!<br /><b> </b><br />Are you trying to burn fat and get lean (known in fitness world as \"cutting\") or get big and build muscle (\"bulking\")? What do you want to look like? What size do you want to be? What weight are you shooting for? Where do you want to be in a year? I know it seems far off, but if you set your ultimate goal now you can figure out your plan and set little, more immediately attainable goals to achieve along the way. Trust me - little victories along the path to the Promised Land can do a lot more for you than you can appreciate right now.<br /><br /><b>OK, </b>So you know where you want to go - <b>How Do You Get There?</b><br /><br />This is the part where you have to choose your starting point - what you\'re actually going to do to start losing/gaining weight. This can be a big decision, and it IS an important one.&nbsp;<b> </b>Megan (my fiancee) and I were between two programs - P90X and INSANITY. We were familiar with the two from word of mouth, internet ads, and tv infomercials. We had a rough idea of what we were in for and what the two were like. In the end, the differences we were deciding between were:<br /><br />P90X - requires some equipment, allows lots of modification of moves, well-rounded program<br />Insanity - requires NO equipment, doesn\'t really allow much modification (or any at all), cardio HELL. <br /><br />We decided, in the end, to do P90X first. Frankly, <b>I\'m glad we did</b>. For what we were looking to do it was a good starting point. It allowed us to ease into things modifying moves and achieving little victories, still getting the full workout done instead of failing after one or two full-out intense reps. It allowed us to <b>feel good</b> about our achievements and see our <b>progress</b> as we went along. <b>Yes,</b> we would\'ve seen progress in INSANITY too, but the fact we couldn\'t go balls-to-the-wall and get more than a couple reps might have discouraged us from finishing the program. Doint P90X also helped us build a base of muscle and shed some initial weight (read: a LOT of weight) that helped make INSANITY suck a whole lot less.<br /><br />In the end, <b>we made the right choice for us</b>. Maybe the other choice would\'ve worked for you. That\'s probably the toughest part - in the end, <b>you have to make the call.</b> Look into your available options and choose what you think is going to serve you best. P90X allowed my 300 lb out-of-shape self to struggle for 10 pushups on my knees and still complete the workout. Progress is progress -<br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kLDUQomQlGk/UgRhkwa-zqI/AAAAAAAABH0/llsPETZ427c/s1600/dead-last-finish-meme.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"200\" src=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kLDUQomQlGk/UgRhkwa-zqI/AAAAAAAABH0/llsPETZ427c/s400/dead-last-finish-meme.jpg\" width=\"400\" /></a></div>Because let\'s be honest - you\'re already lapping the guy still sitting on the couch.<br /><br />Once you figure out what you\'re doing, you need <b>the tools for success</b>.<br /><br /><b>What are The Tools For Success?</b><br /><br />Generally, whatever the program you\'re doing calls for! If you\'re going to do a program like P90X that requires equipment, <u><b>you need that equipment!</b></u> Things like resistance bands, pull-up bars, push-up stands, yoga mats, etc can be found at stores like Marshalls, T.J. Maxx, Wal-Mart, or your favorite sporting goods store. I got my resistance band set for about $12, same with some nice push-up stands. Yoga mat was about $12 for a nice one and yoga block was $5 (worth it). Trust me,<b> the equipment</b> <b>is worth the investment</b>. Don\'t let a few extra bucks scare you away - it\'s worth it for your health, fitness and enjoyment. I\'d happily invest that $50 again to add enjoyable years onto my life. If you\'re going a little more hardcore with something like P90X2 or Body Beast, you\'ve probably already done some workout programs and have built up a collection of equipment already. <b>Don\'t choose a program simply because of a lack of required equipment</b>. I almost made that mistake, and if I had, I might have gotten discouraged and quit INSANITY, and I never would\'ve gotten in shape and started running.<br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RAPp4HY0GyQ/UgRt0lGoo_I/AAAAAAAABIk/MWs3CFqF70I/s1600/IMG_20130730_103135_867.jpg\" style=\"clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"360\" src=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RAPp4HY0GyQ/UgRt0lGoo_I/AAAAAAAABIk/MWs3CFqF70I/s640/IMG_20130730_103135_867.jpg\" width=\"640\" /></a></div><br />If the program you\'re doing has worksheets, trust me...<b>print them and use them. </b>I WISH I had printed and used the P90X worksheets - I\'d LOVE to see how far I\'ve come since then. Not only that, but the worksheets help you stay on track, remember what weight/how many reps you did last time, and <b>continue to steadily improve</b>. I thought I knew better. Guess what? <b>I didn\'t.</b><b> </b>I\'ve come so far that now, in Body Beast, not only did I use worksheets, but I found better worksheets online and modified them to suit my needs. <b>USE THE WORKSHEETS</b>. You\'ll thank yourself later.<br /><br /><b>Before and After Pictures &amp; Measurements are HUGELY Important!</b><br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><b><a href=\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-U7bfQ1zYljU/UgRmPd603xI/AAAAAAAABIE/a9_wxDme9Sk/s1600/885308_10101200011174872_1745072204_o.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"377\" src=\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-U7bfQ1zYljU/UgRmPd603xI/AAAAAAAABIE/a9_wxDme9Sk/s640/885308_10101200011174872_1745072204_o.jpg\" width=\"640\" /></a></b></div><br />Seriously, if you take one piece of advice, take this - <b>DO THE BEFORE AND AFTERS!</b> You have no idea how sorry I almost was...I waited until Day 6 of P90X to do before pictures.&nbsp;<b> </b>I was<i><b> so ashamed</b></i> of my body and <u>disgusted</u> with how I looked<b> I didn\'t even want to do before pictures</b>. <b>I wanted to forget all about it</b>. I am SO glad I finally did the before pictures. I can see how far I\'ve come! I can appreciate my achievements! It\'s such a great feeling and now that I\'m so much more fit people look at the before and can\'t believe it. (you can see all the <a href=\"http://sothisisfitness.com/meet-darrell/my-journey\" target=\"_blank\">before &amp; afters here</a>) I <b>wish </b>I had taken measurements before. The only one I have is my waist size, and that\'s not entirely accurate. It was likely bigger than I think. <br /><b>Take Pictures, take your measurements, document your journey. Fit-&amp;-Healthy You WILL thank yourself. </b><br /><br /><b>Once you do that, it\'s GO TIME</b><br /><br /><b>SO, </b>You\'ve got direction, you\'ve got a program, you\'ve got the tools and you\'ve taken the pics/measurements. Presumably, you have a <b>suitable space</b> to do your workout. Anywhere you can do your workout, use your equipment, not disturb others (too much) and not be disturbed by others will do. <b>Don\'t worry about people watching you</b> <b>- let the hater\'s hate. </b>I would think anyone that could see you in your workout space would be someone close to you, and I would hope someone that close wouldn\'t judge you. <br /><br /><b>NOW that we\'ve moved on from the haters - </b>Get your fit test done (if there is one). Some programs, such as P90X, have a fit test you do before and after the program, whereas other programs like INSANITY have a fit test that is part of the regular schedule. Whatever the case, DO IT. Again, <b>you\'ll thank yourself later</b>. <br /><br /><b>This Is The Easy Part</b><br /><br />Not to rip a line from Nike or anything...but...well...Just Do It! You\'ve got everything you need. Just. Freaking. <b>DO IT! </b>If you need motivation along the way, just think about where you came from, where you want to be, and how much you don\'t want to look like that before picture again. Think about how good it feels to finish a workout and have that little success under your belt. Think of how good it feels to see yourself shrinking week to week, see your clothes fitting looser, needing to go shopping to buy new ones. Think of your loved ones and how you\'d like to be around a little longer for them, or how you\'d like to look better for them. If you\'re like I was, think of <b>how much it sucks to get winded going up one flight of stairs</b>. Everyone has that one little nugget of <i>something</i> that will kick their butt into gear no matter how much the workout sucks, how much you\'re swearing at Tony Horton or Shaun T through the TV, or how much you REALLY just <i>don\'t </i>want to get out of bed and go work out this morning.<br /><br /><b>If you need a little outside help</b> keeping yourself accountable, be a part of a group designed for just such a purpose. There are many on Facebook, many in real life (with real people!) too. Enough people reached out to me talking about inspiration and asking for advice that I went and made one. If you want, you can become a part of it&nbsp;<a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/groups/sothisisfitness/\" target=\"_blank\">here</a>. I\'ve been a part of one for a while and I can tell you it was definitely a great motivator on the days I needed it. Other days, it\'s a great place to learn something or help motivate others. <b>Maybe having a workout partner </b>is what you need. I know having my fiancee there beside me every day doing the workout with me was a big deal. <b>I tried harder</b>. For her and for me. If she could do it, I could do it. If I could do it, she could do it. We were a <b>team</b>. Once we got to the end of Week 1 Day 6 we looked at each other and said \"If we can get through the first week, we can get through the whole thing.\" - and we did. <br /><br /><b>Fight off those last little excuses </b>that creep into your mind! Don\'t try to fool yourself and say you don\'t have time: no matter how long you work, how screwed up your hours, how awful your schedule, remember: <br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MxsTZj6guyg/UgRq8Uu1ZEI/AAAAAAAABIY/tTzzOSFUWF4/s1600/too-busy.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"240\" src=\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MxsTZj6guyg/UgRq8Uu1ZEI/AAAAAAAABIY/tTzzOSFUWF4/s320/too-busy.jpg\" width=\"320\" /></a></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\"><br /></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\">Think you<b> can\'t do it? </b>It\'s just<b> too hard </b>and you\'re <b>too out of shape?</b></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\"><br /></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-isFEI803Hzc/UgRxlKyUZzI/AAAAAAAABI0/QiEz6h3NlAI/s1600/no-excuses.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"320\" src=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-isFEI803Hzc/UgRxlKyUZzI/AAAAAAAABI0/QiEz6h3NlAI/s320/no-excuses.jpg\" width=\"310\" /></a></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\"><br /></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\">So <b>get to it, Nancy. <u>You got this. </u></b></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\"><br /></div><b> </b>','The \"Get Up And GO\" Guide','','inherit','closed','closed','','120-revision-v1','','','2017-01-13 22:22:13','2017-01-14 03:22:13','',120,'http://sothisisfitness.com/2017/01/120-revision-v1.html',0,'revision','',0),(552,1,'2017-01-13 22:22:13','2017-01-14 03:22:13','<div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><a href=\"http://sothisisfitness.com/meet-darrell/my-journey\" target=\"_blank\">I lost 107 lbs.</a> I trained for 140 miles. I raised $2,520 for Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (so far). <a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/p/my-story.html\" target=\"_blank\">I spent one year of my life</a> turning around my health and fitness. I re-learned how to think about nutrition and what I put in my mouth. I got in tune with my body. I gave it my all. <b>And then I ran...&nbsp;</b> <br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HstNwartSZo/UghMjZ55oAI/AAAAAAAABMY/DZKjY9XAUGE/s1600/IMG_20130811_085545_822.jpg\" style=\"clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"></a><a href=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-53XecJMNMbU/UghdwnvLaFI/AAAAAAAABNo/v5yvEVClDGg/s1600/runkeeper+roadrace.jpg\" style=\"clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" src=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-53XecJMNMbU/UghdwnvLaFI/AAAAAAAABNo/v5yvEVClDGg/s400/runkeeper+roadrace.jpg\" height=\"297\" width=\"400\" /></a></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div>All I can say is...<b>wow</b>. What an experience! No wonder so many people want to run the <a href=\"http://www.falmouthroadrace.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Falmouth Road Race</a>! I had heard that it was the second most popular race in New England, the most desirable race in the country, etc...but I had <b>no idea</b> what an incredible <br /><a name=\'more\'></a>experience it would be! As you can see from the <a href=\"http://www.runkeeper.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Runkeeper</a> screenshot above (check out my <a href=\"http://runkeeper.com/user/dwmctague\" target=\"_blank\">Runkeeper profile</a> and <a href=\"http://runkeeper.com/user/dwmctague/activity/223465808\" target=\"_blank\">road race activity</a>), I got the time I was shooting for! Runkeeper reported 1:10:13 and my \"unofficial\" chip time was 1:10:04.<br /><br /><b>For the non-runners out there </b>- there are two different \"times\" many timed races will report - \"Gun Time\" and \"Chip Time\" (sometimes called \"Net Time\"). Gun Time is<br />the time from when the gun goes off and the race starts to when you cross the finish line. Chip Time (or Net Time) is the time from <b>when you actually cross the starting line</b> to when you cross the finish.&nbsp; You may think these times would be the same, but if you\'re in a large race you might actually cross the starting line one, two, five or even ten+ minutes after the gun goes off. Yesterday in the Falmouth Road Race I didn\'t cross the starting line until <b>more than 20 minutes </b>after the gun went off. They call it \"Chip Time\" because it\'s the time when your timing chip crosses the start and finish. They call it \"Net Time\" because it\'s the gun time minus the time it takes for you to get to the starting line (in this case, \"Net\" is a math term).<br /><br /><b>In terms of performance and results</b> - Yes, I got the time I wanted. I<i> </i>was pretty steady in my pace and stayed under 9:46 per mile the entire race. Once I got up the big hill in Falmouth Heights (the last challenge where lots of runners drop) I turned it on and zipped to the end on a mission. I felt great, due I\'m sure in part to a number of things including proper sleep the night before, being hydrated, good pre-race nutrition, my intra-workout drink during the race and a clear head with a positive attitude. Know what helped? <b>It was like I was the only person out there. </b>Nobody else mattered. I was doing my thing and the other 12,799 people were just...<i>there.</i> People zipped ahead of me early on and I smiled to myself thinking \"I\'ll see you around mile 5\" and I passed people walking from mile 3 onward thinking \"I was you during the Finish at the 50 10K\". I learned a lot and it paid off!<br /><a href=\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HstNwartSZo/UghMjZ55oAI/AAAAAAAABMY/DZKjY9XAUGE/s1600/IMG_20130811_085545_822.jpg\" style=\"clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" src=\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HstNwartSZo/UghMjZ55oAI/AAAAAAAABMY/DZKjY9XAUGE/s400/IMG_20130811_085545_822.jpg\" height=\"225\" width=\"400\" /></a><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><b>There are two things I want to put out there</b> for those of you who don\'t know: 1. I ran this race as a part of <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/pages/Team-Lanzoni/195301487166598\" target=\"_blank\">Team Lanzoni</a> - the <a href=\"http://www.99restaurants.com/community-jimmy-fund.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">99 Restaurants team</a>. Team Lanzoni is a part of the <a href=\"http://www.rundanafarber.org/\" target=\"_blank\">Dana-Farber Cancer Institute running program</a>. 2. I am a<a href=\"http://www.massfreemasonry.org/\" target=\"_blank\"> Freemason</a>, and so was my grandfather Peter. <b>What do these two things have in common?</b><br /><b>&nbsp;</b> <br />Last July my grandfather passed away. During his battle with cancer, he was taken care of in the Dana-Farber center at Faulkner in Boston. They took great care of him, were incredibly compassionate, and were there for my family when we needed them. They took the time to make sure they did everything they could and to make sure we were OK when we ran out of options. I wanted to be able to do something for them - help to give someone else a fighting chance. I ran this race for him, and I carried him with me the whole 7.4 miles (or maybe it was him that carried me). <br /><br /><b>Speaking of Team Lanzoni...</b><br />One of the guys in corral 5 with me was an interesting character. His name is Eric Parent, otherwise known as <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/Thesmoothbear\" target=\"_blank\">TheSmoothBear</a>...<br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cfVvJlD5RHg/UghM0qylKOI/AAAAAAAABM8/58bvbfIPXc8/s1600/IMG_20130811_124505_406.jpg\" style=\"clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" src=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cfVvJlD5RHg/UghM0qylKOI/AAAAAAAABM8/58bvbfIPXc8/s400/IMG_20130811_124505_406.jpg\" height=\"225\" width=\"400\" /></a></div><b> </b>This guy is a part of Team Lanzoni too. He\'s got a <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_ysTsVcPVvMDZc6T2DbslQ\" target=\"_blank\">vlog (video blog, check it out here)</a> where (among other things) he chronicles his running thing. I checked out some of his videos and he\'s pretty entertaining. In one of his videos <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vljs7vx3248&amp;list=UU_ysTsVcPVvMDZc6T2DbslQ\" target=\"_blank\">RFTF: Orange Is The New Black</a> he literally talks about the Netflix show OITNB while running. I mean, I know some runners can just have a conversation like its no big deal while they cruise along, but I guess I was kind of expecting that from those toothpicks in running shoes...TheSmoothBear (no offense buddy) is a big dude, not your typical running toothpick, so I was surprised. I know I sure as hell can\'t have a conversation like that while running, so kudos to you on that! As far as content - he just kinda tells it like it is, which I like. It\'s always good to see a big guy (read beasty, not fat) rockin\' out in fitness world, so more kudos to you on that! Keep on keepin\' on. Hopefully I see this guy again in next year\'s Falmouth Road Race. Be sure to check out <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_ysTsVcPVvMDZc6T2DbslQ\" target=\"_blank\">his vlog</a> and <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/Thesmoothbear\" target=\"_blank\">his Facebook</a> - let him know Darrell sent you from \"So THIS Is Fitness...\"!<br /><br /><b>But Perhaps The Best Part Of Yesterday...</b><br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PR1JvMqF12U/UghLZ0RSzYI/AAAAAAAABJ0/l9T1d6iFuT4/s1600/IMG_20130811_070044_443.jpg\" style=\"clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" src=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PR1JvMqF12U/UghLZ0RSzYI/AAAAAAAABJ0/l9T1d6iFuT4/s640/IMG_20130811_070044_443.jpg\" height=\"640\" width=\"360\" /></a></div>We may not have run next to each other, but being out there with my fiancee Megan was great! She\'s been right there next to me since day 1 of P90X when this whole thing started, and it was a great feeling to be out there with her for our biggest challenge yet. I\'m so proud of her and how far she\'s come. Despite knee issues (and no uber-knee brace like I have) and a history of debilitating cramps every time we run she achieved her best pace to date and <i>smashed </i>the time she expected to get, coming in at 1:21:48. Sounds like she plans on being a part of Team Lanzoni with me next year for this race, and in the more immediate future...hopefully she\'ll be a part of my next undertaking...more on that soon.<br /><br /><b>Oh, By The Way:</b><br /><a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/p/running-playlist.html\" target=\"_blank\">My Playlist</a> did me a lot of good. I find it ironic that <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEXHeTcxQy4\" target=\"_blank\">Chelsea Dagger</a> never came on through the whole run, but I did have <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-2yuGgp_U8\" target=\"_blank\">Lift Me Up</a> on for that last hill climb in Falmouth Heights, and let me tell you it felt pretty badass climbing that hill and flying to the finish rockin\' out to that.<b> </b><br /><br /><b>So, Overall?</b><br />The Falmouth Road Race<b> </b>was an incredible experience, I performed better than I could\'ve expected, felt great and I\'m looking forward to next year where hopefully I\'ll get a lower number and a better corral.<br />Just think - if I can do this, <b><u>anyone</u> can do it</b>. Get out there and <u><b>get to it</b></u>.','And Then I Ran... | Falmouth Road Race','','inherit','closed','closed','','118-revision-v1','','','2017-01-13 22:22:13','2017-01-14 03:22:13','',118,'http://sothisisfitness.com/2017/01/118-revision-v1.html',0,'revision','',0),(553,1,'2017-01-13 22:22:14','2017-01-14 03:22:14','<b>That\'s right</b>. The <a href=\"http://www.falmouthroadrace.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Falmouth Road Race</a> is over, I finished in 01:10:04, raised (so far) $2,520.00 and feel on top of the world! So what do I do? I go and register for an even bigger race. Because 7.4 miles wasn\'t enough...<b>let\'s go for 13.1</b>. This is the official announcement -<br /><br /><b>I am officially registered for the <a href=\"http://www.capecodmarathon.com/halfmara.php\" target=\"_blank\">Cape Cod Marathon Half</a>.</b><br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2QzMewiZ9mk/UgMMzMJlegI/AAAAAAAABHU/Pd95FG9mHg8/s1600/meme-well-that-escalated-quickly.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"202\" src=\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2QzMewiZ9mk/UgMMzMJlegI/AAAAAAAABHU/Pd95FG9mHg8/s400/meme-well-that-escalated-quickly.jpg\" width=\"400\" /></a></div><br /><b>But Wait...It Gets Better - I\'m Sponsored!</b><br /><br /><a name=\'more\'></a><br />Yeah, that\'s right...I have a sponsor for my race entry! How \'bout that, huh? Look at me getting all legitimate up in here. So <b>who </b>would sponsor me? <br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1-2CYtLQjJA/UgobuUylIzI/AAAAAAAABO4/kDJWOMvtsGA/s1600/sportclips.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" src=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1-2CYtLQjJA/UgobuUylIzI/AAAAAAAABO4/kDJWOMvtsGA/s1600/sportclips.jpg\" /></a></div><br /><a href=\"http://haircutmeneastfalmouthma.com/\" target=\"_blank\">SportClips in Falmouth</a>. Yes, I actually get my hair cut there. <b>For those who don\'t know</b>, SportClips is a sports-themed men\'s \"haircut place\". I don\'t want to call it a barber shop, because it\'s not, and I don\'t want to call it a hair salon because that\'s not manly enough. It\'s kind of like a little man-spa. Seriously! There\'s tv\'s everywhere with sports on - in the waiting area and at each \"haircutter\"\'s chair. It\'s pretty sweet. The reason I call it a \"man-spa\"? They have this thing called the \"MVP\". It\'s 5 bucks extra and basically its like they bring back the old school barbershop thing and mix it with something...new? After your haircut you go back to \"the showers\" and get a hot towel, scalp massage / shampoo, another hot towel, facial massage - its pretty sweet. Worth the 5 bucks each month I go. If you\'re in Falmouth, check them out (they\'re next to Michael\'s and Wal-Mart). If you\'re not in Falmouth, <b>find one</b>. I used to go to Procuts or Supercutsand this place blows them out of the water. No offense if you work there (I\'m sure <b>you</b> don\'t suck) but now I don\'t have to worry about hoping I win the \"haircutter\" lottery so I don\'t look like I lost a fight with a lawnmower. Some just people shouldn\'t cut hair...<br /><br /><b>Anyway - </b>about this race!<br /><table cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" style=\"float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;\"><tbody><tr><td style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YqL-qDvCT4k/UgpfT3iZtkI/AAAAAAAABPI/Ny8opORtN3A/s1600/FalmouthTrackClub11.gif\" style=\"clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"188\" src=\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YqL-qDvCT4k/UgpfT3iZtkI/AAAAAAAABPI/Ny8opORtN3A/s200/FalmouthTrackClub11.gif\" width=\"200\" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style=\"text-align: center;\">Image from www.capecodmarathon.com</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Just so you know (in case you don\'t) - a marathon is 26.2 miles, and a half-marathon is, you guessed it - 13.1 miles. Ever see a sticker on someone\'s car that says 26.2 or 13.1? They ran one. There are many marathons throughout the country, with the Boston Marathon and the ING New York marathon being two that are both popular and nearby. The <a href=\"http://www.capecodmarathon.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Cape Cod Marathon</a> is put on by the <a href=\"http://www.falmouthtrackclub.org/\" target=\"_blank\">Falmouth Track Club</a> and has been around for a while - this is the 36th running. This year\'s half-marathon is only the third one they\'ve had, and it\'s very popular. They limit entry to 1,200 runners and from what I\'ve seen, it has filled up (early) both years they\'ve held it. <a href=\"http://www.capecodmarathon.com/maps/halfcourse.jpg\" target=\"_blank\">The course looks great</a>, and part of it is actually along the <a href=\"http://www.falmouthroadrace.com/course-information\" target=\"_blank\">Falmouth Road Race course</a>, so there\'ll be some familiar ground there. And it\'s right in town! How convenient for me!<br /><br /><b>Didn\'t you just start running at the end of March?&nbsp;You\'re gonna double your top distance again in 75 days?</b><br /><br />Well...yeah! Why not? Part of how I\'ve come so far is that I\'m <b>constantly challenging myself</b>, <b>pushing and testing my limits</b>. I don\'t know what my limit is and, frankly, I don\'t believe there IS a limit. There is only constant improvement. <b>Impossible is nothing</b>. In April I considered it an accomplishment that I made it 3 miles without stopping...now I can go 7 without stopping. By October, I\'m sure I can go further, and I have no doubt I can not only finish the half-marathon, but achieve a time I can be proud of. A while ago I said one of my goals was to run the Boston Marathon 2015...and I meant it. <br /><br /><b>And It\'s For A Good Cause, Too!</b><br /><br /><table cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" style=\"float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;\"><tbody><tr><td style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-stfiSqQsbic/Ugpm2HtDjEI/AAAAAAAABPY/SwCjLK9IAyQ/s1600/JimmyVLogo.gif\" style=\"clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"152\" src=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-stfiSqQsbic/Ugpm2HtDjEI/AAAAAAAABPY/SwCjLK9IAyQ/s320/JimmyVLogo.gif\" width=\"320\" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style=\"text-align: center;\">Image from www.jimmyv.org</td></tr></tbody></table>I felt great being a part of <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/pages/Team-Lanzoni/195301487166598\" target=\"_blank\">Team Lanzoni</a> and helping to do something incredible and raise so much money for Dana-Farber!&nbsp;<b> </b>I want to do it again - this time for the <a href=\"http://www.jimmyv.org/\" target=\"_blank\">V Foundation for Cancer Research</a>. The V Foundation is the official philanthropy of my college fraternity - <a href=\"http://www.deltachi.org/\" target=\"_blank\">The Delta Chi Fraternity, Inc.</a> I plan to raise and donate money to The V Foundation on behalf of <a href=\"http://www.sites.google.com/site/dxboston\" target=\"_blank\">The Boston Area Alumni Chapter of Delta Chi</a> (of which I am President). We\'ll see if I can get a team of Delta Chi Brothers and friends together to do this thing (before the half marathon fills up!). I\'m going to have to get creative to do this since I don\'t have those sweet raffle tickets Team Lanzoni gave us, but I\'m sure with the help of the <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/bostondeltachi\" target=\"_blank\">Boston Alumni Chapter</a> and my friends and family I can come up with some great ways to raise money! I\'ll be sure to let everyone know when the fundraising begins!<br /><br /><b>So Now It\'s Time To Start Training Again</b><br /><br />I feel good about this. I had such an incredible time at the Falmouth Road Race, and I feel like I can officially call myself a runner. So what am I gonna do? <b>Keep Running.</b> Keep on doing it. Keep on seeing how far I can go, how fast I can get there, how strong I can get, how much I can improve myself. The alternative is to get stagnant or maybe even lose everything I\'ve worked for, and honestly <b>that\'s not an option</b>. I didn\'t get through <a href=\"http://sothisisfitness.com/meet-darrell/my-journey\" target=\"_blank\">My Transformation</a> by deciding I had reached the mountaintop - I got where I have by continuing on. So, you know where I\'m at...the question is: what are <b>you </b>gonna do?<b> </b>','On To The Next One - 13.1','','inherit','closed','closed','','117-revision-v1','','','2017-01-13 22:22:14','2017-01-14 03:22:14','',117,'http://sothisisfitness.com/2017/01/117-revision-v1.html',0,'revision','',0),(554,1,'2017-01-13 22:22:14','2017-01-14 03:22:14','<div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-A8n99vhRQcg/UhSlDm5MViI/AAAAAAAABWg/QjTQLWq4hWM/s1600/e-bk-easy-readers-04goldilocks-pic3-anim.gif\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" src=\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-A8n99vhRQcg/UhSlDm5MViI/AAAAAAAABWg/QjTQLWq4hWM/s1600/e-bk-easy-readers-04goldilocks-pic3-anim.gif\" /></a></div><br />I thought I was pretty original with this one, but apparently some scientists thought they were clever too...so I guess I have to be specific in my title. I\'m sure you\'re all familiar with the story of Goldilocks, right? Goldilocks and the three bears, three of everything, one was always too cold/little, one was too hot/big, and one was just right? Yeah...today, think of us - the American People, as Goldilocks. Forewarning - this is, to some degree, going to piggyback off of <a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/2013/08/america-fat.html\" target=\"_blank\">America The Fat</a>, so having read that might help you understand where I\'m coming from with some of this.<br /><br />The problem we face in our society and our culture today is - we can\'t find \"just right\" like Goldilocks did.<br /><a name=\'more\'></a>That\'s not necessarily all our fault either...we aren\'t generally <i>encouraged</i> to find \"just right\". Instead, we\'re told to pursue \"too small\" or \"too big\".<br />Look at the media, at TV, at movies, at society in general...everything we see either encourages us to be (what <b>I consider</b>) too skinny or tells us that being fat is OK. The examples of \"fat being OK\" are glaringly obvious and easy to see (my opinion) as its <b>thrown in our faces </b>to make those who are fat feel better, but the \"too skinny\" message is a little more subliminal than that, so let\'s tackle that first.<br /><br /><b>What is too skinny?</b><br /><br />I assume its easy to understand what \"too big\" means, and I\'m sure many of you can visualize it...but what about \"too skinny\"? What, exactly, constitutes \"too skinny\"?&nbsp; <b>\"Too skinny\" is a stick figure. </b>\"Too skinny\" has no muscle definition and looks like you\'d blow away in a strong breeze. When I think \"too skinny\", I think of people doing whatever they can to lose weight, be \"thin\", and look as tiny as they can. Guess what weighs a lot? <b>Muscle</b>. The \"diets\" many people do in order to lose weight and achieve \"too skinny\" don\'t just make you burn fat, they also force your body to break down muscle as well. <b>That\'s not healthy!</b> If your body is at a point where it has to break down muscle, it means it is <b>malnourished</b> and not getting enough nutrients and fuel! Here\'s my prime example:<br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><br /><b>Giuliana Rancic. </b>Those of you who watch E!, any kind of gossip news, the TV Guide channel or any kind of red carpet anything have seen this woman. So what\'s my issue with Giuliana?<br /><table cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" style=\"float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;\"><tbody><tr><td style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0Qp4KBMzQgc/UhS1M02xtQI/AAAAAAAABW8/U0E4zzv6qFQ/s1600/Giuliana.jpg\" style=\"clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"320\" src=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0Qp4KBMzQgc/UhS1M02xtQI/AAAAAAAABW8/U0E4zzv6qFQ/s320/Giuliana.jpg\" width=\"213\" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style=\"text-align: center;\">Img Credit - Fame</td></tr></tbody></table>Well, for one, she\'s a perfect example of the kind of body being shown by Hollywood to women as ideal, and let\'s be honest - what we see on TV, <b>especially</b> <i>those</i> sorts of programs, is meant to be our model for ourselves. We\'re taught to idolize the famous, envy the rich and powerful, and do what we can to be more like them. That said, look at some of the celebrities we\'re either told or supposed to imply are the standard of \"attractive\" that <b>we</b> should be - Giuliana being one (who, by the way, started her own \"fitness\" website to \"help\" others get in the \"perfect shape\"...). Keira Knightley is another one - Pirates of the Caribbean anyone?&nbsp; It\'s tough to find if you go out <b>searching</b> for it, but its there and its sneaky. I had to think about it for a minute, but then I looked at some pictures of Megan Fox from Transformers, and I can\'t decide without watching the movie again, but from pictures I can see online, she definitely rides the line. What was the big reaction to her in that movie though? <b>Sexy</b>. The problem with things like that is, while she may not actually <b>be</b> \"too skinny\", women, especially teenage girls and women in their early 20\'s, want to <b>be</b> that skinny, so<b> they become \"too skinny\" as a result</b>.<br /><br /><b>I will say</b> - while this IS still a problem, its becoming <i>less </i>of a problem as we begin to demonize certain celebrities and their behaviors - certain celebrities who, in addition to drug problems and bad behavior, <i>happen </i>to also be too skinny, so that becomes bad too. As long as there are celebrities like Giuliana who are being praised, and movies showing near-toothpicks like Megan Fox in Transformers, it will still be an issue...and frankly I don\'t foresee Hollywood casting directors changing that anytime soon.<br /><br /><b>How About \"Too Big\"?</b><br /><br />I want to be clear here - when I say \"too big\", I\'m not talking about people who are riding the line and are somewhere close to being \"just right\"...I\'m talking about people who are <u>clearly</u> \"too big\". Visibly overweight. When you <b>get winded going up a flight of stairs</b>, you might be \"too big\". When <b>you can\'t see your toes over your belly</b> you might be \"too big\". When <b>you regularly put down over half a pizza by yourself in one sitting</b> you might be \"too big\". The worst part of \"too big\" is that this country is making it OK. Let me give some examples:<br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Sbc-b1-upK4/UhTIR7XfNKI/AAAAAAAABXI/gKQhDZ2OaDI/s1600/adele+fat.jpg\" style=\"clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"274\" src=\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Sbc-b1-upK4/UhTIR7XfNKI/AAAAAAAABXI/gKQhDZ2OaDI/s320/adele+fat.jpg\" width=\"320\" /></a></div>Some of you may be familiar with this popular recording artist - Adele. She\'s a well-known big girl and I\'ve actually read a quote from her saying she\'s not concerned about weight and being skinny - she never plans to lose weight. She basically said she could be a house but as long as she\'s making quality albums she\'s ok with that. <b>That is the wrong message to send.</b> But that\'s not <i>really </i>what I\'m talking about: Adele\'s attitude, I feel, just <i>implies</i> that being overweight isn\'t something to worry about. What I\'m talking about is much worse than that. What I\'m talking about is a culture that makes it <b>acceptable</b> to be overweight. Teaches us that everyone is beautiful and to love your body.<br /><table cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" style=\"float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;\"><tbody><tr><td style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-K7S7UthwIdo/UhTI3niIKjI/AAAAAAAABXQ/KtJ8Lgczw64/s1600/Fat-Amy-pitch-perfect-32534849-720-720.jpg\" style=\"clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"320\" src=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-K7S7UthwIdo/UhTI3niIKjI/AAAAAAAABXQ/KtJ8Lgczw64/s320/Fat-Amy-pitch-perfect-32534849-720-720.jpg\" width=\"320\" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style=\"text-align: center;\">Img credit - Fanpop</td></tr></tbody></table>Let\'s get this straight - <b>I thought Pitch Perfect was hilarious</b>. That said, now that I think about it, I have a <b>BIG</b> problem with the \"Fat Amy\" character. Basically, Fat Amy is teaching people that it\'s OK to be fat, that skinny girls (or \"twig bitches\") are mean and not to be admired, and that you should love yourself and your body regardless of your size. The movie uses her size for many jokes (both physical comedy and verbal jokes) which, of course, I would expect in a comedy. However, when you couple those jokes with the message the character is sending, you kind of <i>glorify</i> being big like that. They\'re portraying her as a strong character because she\'s overcoming adversity and being happy with herself. <b>I can\'t agree with that</b>. We shouldn\'t be teaching people that maintaining an unhealthy body fat percentage is ok. It creates health problems! High body fat percentage puts stress on your body in so many ways, it puts you at risk for heart disease, diabetes and more...<b>why are we telling people that\'s OK?</b> <br /><br /><b>I\'m gonna <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soapbox\" target=\"_blank\">get up on my soapbox</a> for a minute - this is going to be a long paragraph.</b><br /><a href=\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Pd_yBWoBcyA/UhTL-F-MQVI/AAAAAAAABXg/GGqh3CfDWt8/s1600/soapbox.jpg\" style=\"clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"320\" src=\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Pd_yBWoBcyA/UhTL-F-MQVI/AAAAAAAABXg/GGqh3CfDWt8/s320/soapbox.jpg\" width=\"304\" /></a><b>&nbsp;</b><br /><b>Your doctor </b>should be telling you what a healthy range is and helping you figure out a plan to get healthy. Your doctor should also be describing all the health risks associated with being overweight. One of my faithful readers and members of the <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/groups/sothisisfitness/\" target=\"_blank\">\"So Fit\" Family</a> messaged me a link a short while ago and I have to tell you it got me so fired up I wanted to pop. There are, apparently, doctors out there who are telling people <b>that it\'s OK to be fat</b>, that aren\'t making an issue of it, that aren\'t weighing you when you come in for a visit and tell you not to worry about losing weight. <b>I don\'t even know where to begin with this</b>.<br /><br />First off, a clarification - not all of the doctors on this list are internal <span></span><span></span>medicine - there is a wide variety. There are internal medicine, family medicine, naturopathic, OB/GYN, midwifery, psychologists, therapists, gastroenterologists, etc etc. What bothers me is that these are <b>doctors</b> making it <b>OK.</b> If nobody else in the universe tells you the health risks of being overweight and urges you to \"get healthy\", <b>your doctor should</b>. Frankly I think it\'s irresponsible and a violation of the <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippocratic_Oath\" target=\"_blank\">Hippocratic Oath</a> to tell people it\'s OK and to tell them they don\'t need to worry about their weight or think about losing any. When someone walks in your office door and is 400 LBS...you offer them <b>help</b>, not a mozzarella stick (there is no tall person alive tall enough for 400 lbs to be healthy...please correct me if I\'m wrong). Now, don\'t bite my head off here - I understand that many people don\'t go to the doctor because they\'re embarrassed about their weight and don\'t want to weigh in, yes I do believe these people should be able to see a doctor without having to be ashamed...but if you feel ashamed because your doctor is telling you about the health risks you\'re currently facing...<b>shouldn\'t that be a hint that you\'re not happy and it\'s time to do something about it?</b> If the doctor is being a jerk about it and is intentionally making you feel ashamed about it, that\'s another thing entirely and I <b>don\'t condone</b> that, but what we have out there is the exact opposite - doctors making you <i>feel good</i> about being overweight! That\'s something that needs to stop. Another part that gets me fired up is: some of those doctors out there who are psychologists or therapists are basically preying on those who are overweight. These doctors get the overweight to come in under the auspices of caring about them and not making their weight an issue. <b>That\'s deceptive and dirty</b>. Ok...off my soapbox...<br /><br />Add on to all of those things we just talked about the general culture of \"love your body\" \"it\'s OK to be big\" and \"be happy\" that these promote and what you have is a nation of overweight people who are empowered to pick up that chicken wing and chow down because y\'know what...<b>I\'m OK with this and it\'s OK to be big! </b>Add in <a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/2013/07/the-inconvenience-factor-accepting.html\" target=\"_blank\">\"The I Don\'t Feel Like It Syndrome\" </a>and you have a recipie for disaster.<br /><br />Y\'know...let me tell you...I was Mr. I\'m-Big-I\'m-Not-Ashamed for a while but y\'know what...when I stopped fooling myself and lying to myself...I admitted that I really wasnt\' happy. That\'s when <a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/p/my-story.html\" target=\"_blank\">My Story</a> and <a href=\"http://sothisisfitness.com/meet-darrell/my-journey\" target=\"_blank\">My Transformation</a> began. Don\'t forget...<b>I was a pretty big guy</b>...so on a lot of this, I\'m speaking from experience. I may have seemed happy or tried to be happy, but I really wasn\'t. It was the biggest thing dragging me down in my life.<br /><b> </b><br /><b>So What Is \"Just Right\"?</b><br /><br />Do we really know what \"just right\" is? We\'re pulled in two directions so much that many people don\'t actually find the way to \"just right\" or the tools to figure out what exactly that is. Where\'s the happy medium between \"too big\" and \"too skinny\"? Well, many would say to follow a \"body mass index\" (BMI) chart...but I\'m not sure I agree with that. BMI charts follow age and height to find what your ideal weight range is. The government website where I found a BMI chart DID make a point to say that it is inaccurate for those with an athletic or muscular build, or for those who are older or who have lost muscle weight. Not everyone who is 24 and 5\'8\" should weight the same...some are lean builds and some are athletic. <b>So BMI Chart is out. My vote </b>is to use the Jackson &amp; Pollock chart.<br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nJq_iaqOctk/UhTMzJvQuXI/AAAAAAAABXo/MPScp5ti340/s1600/Ideal-Body-Fat-Percentage-Chart2.jpg\" style=\"clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" src=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nJq_iaqOctk/UhTMzJvQuXI/AAAAAAAABXo/MPScp5ti340/s1600/Ideal-Body-Fat-Percentage-Chart2.jpg\" /></a></div><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nGBM0EcTxW8/UhTNcEkvyvI/AAAAAAAABX4/XKPYemPz99k/s1600/Ideal-Body-Fat-Percentage-Chart3.jpg\" style=\"clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" src=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nGBM0EcTxW8/UhTNcEkvyvI/AAAAAAAABX4/XKPYemPz99k/s1600/Ideal-Body-Fat-Percentage-Chart3.jpg\" /></a></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div>These charts, I think, hit the nail on the head. They go by age and gender, and there is a range! Lean, Ideal, Average, and Above Average. I\'m gonna go ahead and say that, since this IS \"<a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/2013/08/america-fat.html\" target=\"_blank\">America The Fat</a>\" that \"average\" is probably \"slightly overweight\" and \"above average\" is probably \"too big\". I\'m not sure where I fall right now because I can\'t for the life of me figure out how much pressure to use when I use my body-fat measuring calipers. I\'ll go more in-depth on this in a later article, but the basics here are: women have higher acceptable body fat %\'s than men because they have more need of it in their bodies. These charts use age because as you get older, you naturally have / need more fat in your body. Like I said, <b>this is a really REALLY basic explanation</b> but the gist here is, I think this is the chart to follow. Ask your doctor to help you figure out your body fat percentage and go from there. This is also good for those building muscle as it allows you to account for muscle in your body - notice this chart <b>doesn\'t use weight</b> as a measurement! Imagine that...<b>weight itself isn\'t everything</b>.&nbsp; I feel like <a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/2013/07/why-workouts-fail-2-scale.html\" target=\"_blank\">I\'ve heard that somewhere before...</a><br /><br /><a href=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AjTPjwp6uQQ/UetkdSWAiaI/AAAAAAAAA84/mALlnkHUDOk/s1600/wall-e-human.jpg\" style=\"clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"238\" src=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AjTPjwp6uQQ/UetkdSWAiaI/AAAAAAAAA84/mALlnkHUDOk/s320/wall-e-human.jpg\" width=\"320\" /></a>\"Just Right\" is different for everyone. Some of you might want to fall into the \"ideal\" category, some of you might want to be a little more in the \"lean\" category. Just make sure if you\'re gonna go down the \"lean\" road you have some muscle in there...don\'t go down the \"lean\" road in such a way that you become \"too skinny\". I don\'t want to sound like I\'m putting down the \"love yourself\" idea, but you should be able to love yourself <b>and be healthy too!</b> It\'s all well and good that people want others to be happy, but there\'s nothing wrong with being<b> fit and healthy</b> as a means to be happy<b> </b>. All too often the \"fit\" people are demonized as the jerks, the evil ones, the people <b>putting me down for being fat. The sad truth is, </b>there are \"fit\" people out there who DO actually do that. So my advice to you is - <b>Offer help, not hate.&nbsp; </b>Part of why this whole \"love yourself, fat is OK\" thing is out there is because of \"the jerks at the gym\". Let\'s try to turn that image around, ok? Otherwise Goldilocks is never going to find \"just right\" and we\'ll end up like the humans in <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WALL-E\" target=\"_blank\">Wall-E</a>. Nobody wants that. <br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div>','The Goldilocks Problem - Body Image','','inherit','closed','closed','','113-revision-v1','','','2017-01-13 22:22:14','2017-01-14 03:22:14','',113,'http://sothisisfitness.com/2017/01/113-revision-v1.html',0,'revision','',0),(555,1,'2017-01-13 22:22:14','2017-01-14 03:22:14','Let\'s have a little talk about <b>-Haters-</b>.<br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-80WmeXeDx6M/UhtMBo-Un6I/AAAAAAAABYI/i88hlw2LLJQ/s1600/hatersgonnahatethumb.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"225\" src=\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-80WmeXeDx6M/UhtMBo-Un6I/AAAAAAAABYI/i88hlw2LLJQ/s400/hatersgonnahatethumb.jpg\" width=\"400\" /></a></div><br />We all know what haters are. We all probably <b>know</b> some haters too. Odds are, many of you out there might even <b>have</b> haters of your <i>very own!</i> I\'ll go ahead and say that 90% or more of the haters out there are the people I\'m talking about in this post. Up to 10% might have a legitimate reason for hating...maybe. For the purposes of this article, let\'s assume we\'re talking about the 90% that I\'m about to describe.<br /><br />Ultimately, I have to say..<b>.I don\'t hate haters.</b> If you think about it the way I do...you can\'t help but love them just because of their very nature.<b> </b>Haters are <b>important! </b>Just not for the reason they wish they were. On this Motivational Monday morning, I think its time to talk about <b>the haters.</b><br /><br /><b>What drives a hater? What do Haters...hate? Why?</b><br /><br /><a name=\'more\'></a><br />So, before we go on...you might be wondering what exactly I mean by \"hate\". <b>What does it mean to be \"hated on\"?</b> How does someone \"hate on\" you?<br /><br />Think back to elementary school, middle school...yes even high school. The haters will <b>make fun of you. </b>The haters will <b>belittle you and your achievements. </b>The haters will try to <b>recruit others </b>to their side to make you feel like you\'re <b>all alone</b>. The haters will <b>bully you </b>and <b>badmouth you. </b>Haters will <b>spread rumors </b>about you. They\'ll try to make you feel like everything you\'re doing <b>doesn\'t matter </b>and no matter what you do, in the end you\'re <b>just a loser</b> wasting their time. <br /><br />If you\'ve seen people getting \"hated on\", you\'ve probably wondered what that person did to \"deserve it\". If <b>you\'re</b> getting \"hated on\" yourself, its probably bothering you that you <b>don\'t know why</b>! I\'m going to make this REALLY simple:<br /><br /><b><span style=\"font-size: large;\">Haters Hate Your Success&nbsp;</span></b><br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-76T_sSFFaFU/UhtNkxLQqwI/AAAAAAAABYU/lYjvob5e8hw/s1600/hatersmeme.jpg\" style=\"clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"320\" src=\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-76T_sSFFaFU/UhtNkxLQqwI/AAAAAAAABYU/lYjvob5e8hw/s320/hatersmeme.jpg\" width=\"320\" /></a></div><b>Yes. It really is that simple.</b> Haters are <b>bitter</b>. Haters are <b>jealous</b>. Haters see in <b>you</b> a reflection of everything they wish <b>they</b> were. Haters want to be able to achieve what <b>you</b> have achieved. Have you lost weight recently? <b>Your hater feels fat.</b> Have you run a race? <b>Your hater wishes they could run. </b>Your hater DID run that race? <b>You got a better time than them</b>. I\'m sure you get the point.<br /><br />I know this seems really childish and like something that belongs in grade school...but it\'s the unfortunate truth. Rather than celebrate your successes with you the haters try to wash it away and put you down. Rather than try to improve themselves and work on their shortcomings, they focus their energy on <b>bringing. you. down</b>.<br /><br />But <b>why?</b><br /><br /><b>Because the haters can\'t be bothered to do the work.</b><br /><br />Haters are often people who suffer from things like <a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/2013/07/the-inconvenience-factor-accepting.html\" target=\"_blank\">\"The I Don\'t Feel Like It Syndrome\"</a>.<b> </b>Maybe <a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/2013/07/defeating-demotivators-1-fear-monster.html\" target=\"_blank\">The Fear Monster</a> has them in it\'s grasp. <b>Maybe </b>they\'ve got a <a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/2013/07/why-workouts-fail-1-napoleon-complex.html\" target=\"_blank\">Napoleon Complex</a> or <a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/2013/07/why-workouts-fail-2-scale.html\" target=\"_blank\">The Scale </a>discouraged them so badly they just can\'t bring themselves to try anymore. <b>Maybe they\'re lost in <a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/2013/08/america-fat.html\" target=\"_blank\">\"America The Fat\"</a>. Or perhaps </b>they just can\'t drum up the<a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/2013/07/conquer-truth-about-motivation.html\" target=\"_blank\"> motivation</a> to get it done. Whatever the reason...<b>SOMETHING</b> is keeping the haters from getting what they want and being happy, and it\'s everything that <b>YOU </b>have managed to work past to reach your successes and keep on going. <b>That makes your haters very mad</b>. It <b>frustrates them</b>. People often get angry or begin to <b>hate </b>what frustrates them or what they can\'t understand.<b> </b>So since the hater can\'t get past whatever it is stopping them...the mindset becomes toxic.<br /><br /><b>If the hater can\'t have success, neither can you!</b><br /><br /><b>THAT,</b> in a nutshell, is why haters hate. If the hater can\'t be happy...if the hater can\'t lose weight...if the hater can\'t run a race, get an A+, get a girlfriend, get a promotion...<b>neither should you</b>. They <b>hate</b> seeing you get what they want. That\'s why they hate on you and try to bring you down - <b>they\'re trying to make you quit</b>.&nbsp;<b> </b>But <b>this </b>is why I <b>love </b>haters.<br /><br /><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b>Haters let you know you\'re doing a good job</b></span><br /><br />Honestly, the more hate I\'m catching...the harder my haters are hating, the <b>better</b> I must be doing. If they\'re hating on me <b>that much harder</b> then I <i>must </i>be making <b>that much greater</b> of an achievement. THAT is why I said haters are so important - <b>haters are your success meter!</b> Don\'t let them drag you down or discourage you - rather, let your haters <b>be encouragement</b> to go harder. See <b>how much</b> you can make the haters <b>hate </b>you. I\'d like to hope that eventually they\'ll either <b>give up hating</b> or start backing you, but it could very well be the case that they just <b>can\'t get past</b> whatever their own problem is...and they\'ll just keep on hating. <b>So what. Let them hate. </b>Just remember what it means.<br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rdYuObL40sc/UhtT3ipSrDI/AAAAAAAABYk/ibm6uS1uZFE/s1600/tumblr_md5tvm53DT1qmp520o1_500.jpg\" style=\"clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"292\" src=\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rdYuObL40sc/UhtT3ipSrDI/AAAAAAAABYk/ibm6uS1uZFE/s400/tumblr_md5tvm53DT1qmp520o1_500.jpg\" width=\"400\" /></a></div><br />By <b>continuing to do what you\'re doing </b>you\'re sending a message to your haters:<br /><br /><b>Your Opinion Does Not Matter. </b><br /><br />Your continued success and your positive attitude lets the haters know that <b>they are powerless to stop you.</b> In the end, you should probably <b>take pity on your haters - </b>they <b>wish</b> they could do what you\'re doing but they can\'t beat their own roadblocks. They <b>can\'t plow through </b>like you have and get down the road to success.&nbsp; <br /><br /><b>Sucks to suck.&nbsp;</b><br /><br />So next time someone starts hating on you or trying to bring you down...<b>just smile at them, </b>walk away, and know that <b>you </b>are what someone else wishes they could be. <b>Don\'t let the haters get you down or stop you - let them push you and encourage you </b>to keep achieving new heights. <b>Don\'t be afraid </b>to post those <a href=\"http://sothisisfitness.com/meet-darrell/my-journey\" target=\"_blank\">before &amp; after pictures</a>. Don\'t be afraid to <a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/p/my-story.html\" target=\"_blank\">talk about how you got where you are.</a><br /><br /><b>Don\'t be afraid to keep becoming a better you. </b>\"Haters gonna hate\".<br /><br /><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b>Let \'em. </b></span>','Haters','','inherit','closed','closed','','107-revision-v1','','','2017-01-13 22:22:14','2017-01-14 03:22:14','',107,'http://sothisisfitness.com/2017/01/107-revision-v1.html',0,'revision','',0),(556,1,'2017-01-13 22:22:14','2017-01-14 03:22:14','I\'ve been talking a lot about all these road races I\'m doing in the next two months - the 5K (from Sunday), the two 10K\'s, and of course the half-marathon. I\'m fortunate so many companies have signed on to sponsor me - they have made it possible for me to do these races and to continue to do work for a great cause (please be sure to check out <a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/p/sponsors.html\" target=\"_blank\">the sponsors page</a> and see who\'s helped me out - they\'re all great!). I\'ve only made a small announcement on Facebook, but the big news is -<br /><br /><b>I\'m fundraising for <a href=\"http://www.jimmyv.org/\" target=\"_blank\">The V Foundation For Cancer Research</a>!</b><br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><b><a href=\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-f70yhYqH3Mk/UkON7n9SwoI/AAAAAAAABzA/466xqGDiB7o/s1600/JimmyVLogo.gif\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"190\" src=\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-f70yhYqH3Mk/UkON7n9SwoI/AAAAAAAABzA/466xqGDiB7o/s400/JimmyVLogo.gif\" width=\"400\" /></a></b></div><br />Yes, this campaign of runs is a fundraising campaign, and the fundraising officially started a few days ago. <a href=\"http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/SoTHISIsFitness/ccm13\" target=\"_blank\">You can visit my online fundraising page here</a> if you\'d like to make a contribution. All of my training, <a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/p/my-story.html\" target=\"_blank\">My Story</a>, and <a href=\"http://sothisisfitness.com/meet-darrell/my-journey\" target=\"_blank\">My Transformation</a> has made this possible.<br /><br /><b> </b><br /><b>So...what IS The V Foundation and why do I (you) care?</b><br /><b></b><br /><a name=\'more\'></a><br /><b>&nbsp;</b>The V Foundation\'s mission statement, found on their website, is:<br /><br /><i>The V Foundation is a charitable organization dedicated to saving lives  by helping to find a cure for cancer.&nbsp; The Foundation seeks to make a  difference by generating broad-based support for cancer research and by  creating an urgent awareness among all Americans of the importance of  the war against cancer.&nbsp; The Foundation performs these dual roles  through advocacy, education, fundraising, and philanthropy.</i><br /><br />The V Foundation was founded in 1993 by former NCAA basketball coach and N.C. State Athletic Director Jim Valvano with the assistance of ESPN. It was announced in a tear-jerking speech at the 1993 ESPY awards (seen below).<br /><br /><br /><br />Basically, Jimmy V was diagnosed with terminal cancer and wanted to help find a cure. Going through it from the patient side of it, he realized just how slowly cancer research fundraising ended up benefiting the actual patient, so he sought to speed up the process. Jimmy V passed away just two months after his ESPY speech, but 20 years later The V Foundation is going strong, making an impact, and working hard towards realizing his ultimate goal of finding a cure.<br /><br /><b>So what exactly am I doing to help?</b><br /><br />I am running four races to raise awareness and raise money for The V Foundation. One of them has already happened, the other 3 are all in the month of October.<br /><b> </b><br />9/22/13 - <a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/2013/09/what-is-good-enough-tavern2tavern5k.html\" target=\"_blank\">Tavern to Tavern 5K - Cambridge, MA (finished 200/722 - time: 23:51 - 7:45 min/mile)</a><br />10/5/13 - <a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/2013/08/getting-things-in-mocean-running-update.html\" target=\"_blank\">Canal Run For The Troops 10K - Buzzard\'s Bay, MA</a><br />10/20/13 - <a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/2013/09/2-months-4-runs-one-great-cause.html\" target=\"_blank\">31st Annual Boston Firefighters Local 718 Memorial Road Race 10K - Dorchester, MA</a><br />10/26/13 - <a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/2013/08/on-to-next-one-131.html\" target=\"_blank\">Cape Cod Marathon Half - Falmouth, MA</a><br /><br />I\'m currently fundraising through word of mouth and online through social media. You can, again, reach my online fundraising page here:<br /><a href=\"http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/SoTHISIsFitness/ccm13\">http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/SoTHISIsFitness/ccm13</a><br />&nbsp;I\'m in the process of brainstorming a fundraising event to hold locally. More on that soon (I hope!).<br /><br /><b>Why The V Foundation?</b> <br /><br />I know there are a million charities out there I could be fundraising for and some people have asked me how/why I chose The V Foundation. The answer is very simple: My college fraternity - <a href=\"http://www.deltachi.org/\" target=\"_blank\">The Delta Chi Fraternity, Inc.</a> - partnered up with The V Foundation in 2006. Almost every philanthropy event I did as an undergraduate member of my Chapter was to benefit The V Foundation...needless to say I had a lot of exposure to it and what it stood for. After raising over $2,800 for Dana-Farber through my Falmouth Road Race run, I thought it\'d be nice to do something similar for the first charity I ever really worked with and that I had such ties to. All money raised through this campaign will be donated to The V Foundation on behalf of The Boston Area Alumni Chapter of Delta Chi. <br /><br /><b>So why should I care? And why should I contribute?</b><br /><br />These days it seems like everything causes cancer. We\'re figuring out every day that something else we\'ve gotten used to can give us cancer! Even some of those who do their best to avoid carcinogens can be struck by the disease, and unfortunately, nearly everyone has a friend or family member who has been touched by some form of cancer. Cancer has stumped the world\'s top scientists for years, and the research necessary to learn more and figure out how to beat cancer takes a lot of time, training and equipment which, of course, costs a lot of money.&nbsp; By contributing to fundraising for organizations like The V Foundation, we can help build up the funds needed for grants to help researchers who are working so hard to find a cure. <br /><b> </b><br /><b>Please help me make this a successful fundraising campaign!</b><br /><br />On behalf of The V Foundation for Cancer Research and The Boston Area Alumni Chapter of The Delta Chi Fraternity, Inc. I thank you all in advance for your help, support, and generosity! If you have any questions please don\'t hesitate to reach out and ask - Darrell@SoTHISIsFitness.com<br /><b> </b><br /><a href=\"http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/SoTHISIsFitness/ccm13\"><b>http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/SoTHISIsFitness/ccm13</b></a>','Do It For The V','','inherit','closed','closed','','99-revision-v1','','','2017-01-13 22:22:14','2017-01-14 03:22:14','',99,'http://sothisisfitness.com/2017/01/99-revision-v1.html',0,'revision','',0),(557,1,'2017-01-13 22:22:14','2017-01-14 03:22:14','I\'ve been thinking a lot lately about what moves people...what motivates us to get out there and GET IT on a daily basis? What moves us to make the lazy choices, the crazy choices...the choices PERIOD? On that note...I\'ve been moved to do something that I\'ve been kind of quiet about -<br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QC8YTfri-lI/UnekPXeyxqI/AAAAAAAAE1k/cCU1X4znnT4/s1600/Spartan-Race-Spartan-Logo2.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"125\" src=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QC8YTfri-lI/UnekPXeyxqI/AAAAAAAAE1k/cCU1X4znnT4/s400/Spartan-Race-Spartan-Logo2.jpg\" width=\"400\" /></a></div>Yup - I\'m doing an obstacle race now! On November 16th, right about noon, I\'ll be doing the<a href=\"http://www.spartanrace.com/\" target=\"_blank\"> Spartan Sprint Time Trial</a> at <a href=\"http://mlb.mlb.com/bos/ballpark/index.jsp\" target=\"_blank\">Fenway Park</a>. Because a regular 5K wasn\'t enough...let\'s throw in some obstacles. So what gives? Why would I do something like that? Why would someone else? Why would someone even get up off the couch to run a REGULAR 5K? On this chilly Motivational Monday morning...I\'d like to answer that question to the best of my ability.<br /><a name=\'more\'></a><b><span style=\"font-size: small;\">Yes, </span></b><span style=\"font-size: small;\">November 16th at 12:15 pm I will be running the Spartan Sprint TT at Fenway Park as a part of the Masonic Medical Research Lab\'s team - The Ruffians (that was the most badass name the Masons could come up with I guess. haha). I was pretty quiet about this because I wanted the attention to be on my big half-marathon and the fundraising campaign that went along with it (thanks again to those who donated!).&nbsp;</span><br /><br /><b>BUT! </b>Now that it\'s done, I\'ve completed the half-marathon, and the fundraising is complete...it\'s time to focus on the newest challenge. But what exactly is a Spartan Race? <b>It\'s an Obstacle Course Race (OCR). </b>Ok...what is THAT?<br /><br /><b>It\'s exactly what it sounds like.</b><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FYdFaqmyu6c/Uneor1ZCHxI/AAAAAAAAE14/jO7xPRu1V90/s1600/tough-mudder-numbers_fe.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"225\" src=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FYdFaqmyu6c/Uneor1ZCHxI/AAAAAAAAE14/jO7xPRu1V90/s400/tough-mudder-numbers_fe.jpg\" width=\"400\" /></a></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7CPbinDGRwc/UnepL7TiIQI/AAAAAAAAE2I/Kh-zyE_RKFc/s1600/Tough-Mudder.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"213\" src=\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7CPbinDGRwc/UnepL7TiIQI/AAAAAAAAE2I/Kh-zyE_RKFc/s320/Tough-Mudder.jpg\" width=\"320\" /></a></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-glP-ZweDUyM/Uneo5zEc2MI/AAAAAAAAE2E/xSeHLhzF-Zk/s1600/tough-mudder.png\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"210\" src=\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-glP-ZweDUyM/Uneo5zEc2MI/AAAAAAAAE2E/xSeHLhzF-Zk/s320/tough-mudder.png\" width=\"320\" /></a></div>An Obstacle Course Race, such as a Tough Mudder or Spartan Race, is just that...an race on an obstacle course! There are many different ones, and many different lengths. There\'s the Tough Mudder, which is roughly a half-marathon with about 20-something obstacles, there\'s the Spartan Race, which has a few different varieties within itself, and there\'s MANY others, all sprouting up from the original popularity of Tough Mudder and Spartan. Remember in <a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/2013/10/achievement-unlocked-131.html\" target=\"_blank\">\"Achievement Unlocked - 13.1</a>\" I mentioned every race half-marathon and up tends to give you a finisher\'s medal? <b>So do all these obstacle races. </b>Why? Because they\'re just as much of an accomplishment to finish as a half-marathon. Hell...some of them ARE a half-marathon!<br /><br /><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b>So Let\'s Talk about the Spartan Race</b></span><br /><br /><b>Spartan Races come in a number of flavors: </b>The Spartan Sprint (about 3+miles), Spartan Super (8+ miles), Spartan Beast (12+ miles), Spartan Ultra Beast (26+ miles), and Spartan Death Race (48 hours of ridiculous). There are also Time Trials (what I\'m doing) that seem to range in length from 1 mile to 3 miles, and other military-style races (as if a regular Spartan wasn\'t military enough). <br /><br /><b>How about the one I\'m doing? </b>Spartan Sprint Time Trial at Fenway Park. Let me tell you how FUN this looks! Many of you probably wouldn\'t consider carrying a 60 lb sandbag up, down and across the bleachers at a ballpark \"fun\"... I wouldn\'t have either a year ago.<br /><b> </b><br /><br /><b><span style=\"font-size: large;\">Which Brings Me To My Topic For Today: What Moves You?</span></b> <br /><br />What is it that makes you do what you do? What makes you run? What makes you bike? What makes you do P90X, INSANITY, COMBAT, etc? Why on EARTH would you run a freaking obstacle race? <b>What Moves You?</b><br /><br /><b>Everyone has something different</b> that moves them - that makes them do what they do. Some people want to make a change. Some people want to take on a challenge. Do you move in memory of someone? Because your friend is doing it? Because you\'re bored?<br /><b> </b><br /><b>I want to challenge you. </b>I want you to get out of your comfort zone. Do something <b>different</b>. Do something <b>challenging</b>. Get up off the couch and <b>start something</b>. If you\'re already off the couch and moving...take on a <b>bigger challenge. </b>Work <b>harder. </b>Go <b>farther.</b> <b>Push yourself</b>. Every day is valuable - it\'s up to us to take life by the horns and ride! If you get thrown off the bull, catch up, get back on, and <b>show it who\'s the boss!</b> I learned a valuable lesson throughout <a href=\"http://sothisisfitness.com/meet-darrell/my-journey\" target=\"_blank\">my journey</a> - every day counts - LIVE LIFE! So, <b>MY next challenge?</b><br /><br /><b><span style=\"font-size: large;\">THIS sure looks like fun:</span></b><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-My_WV7HXhHk/UnekxWHIqFI/AAAAAAAAE1w/A_k-VvQ1MEE/s1600/spartan+spartans.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"265\" src=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-My_WV7HXhHk/UnekxWHIqFI/AAAAAAAAE1w/A_k-VvQ1MEE/s400/spartan+spartans.jpg\" width=\"400\" /></a></div><b>So WHY exactly </b>would I want to get the stuffing beat out of me by <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Gladiators\" target=\"_blank\">Nitro and Gold from American Gladiators</a>? <b>Because I can. </b>Because <b>it\'s there</b>. Because I want to <b>challenge myself </b>and <b>push my limits. </b>I want to see <b>just how far I can go</b> and prove that with time and training, <b>anything is possible.</b>. Don\'t listen to those clowns that tell you something is impossible. <b>Nothing is impossible.</b> Get out there and <b>GET IT!</b>','What Moves You? - Obstacle Race Time!','','inherit','closed','closed','','91-revision-v1','','','2017-01-13 22:22:14','2017-01-14 03:22:14','',91,'http://sothisisfitness.com/2017/01/91-revision-v1.html',0,'revision','',0),(558,1,'2017-01-13 22:22:14','2017-01-14 03:22:14','2013 was such a huge year for me - I learned a lot about myself, my body, and my abilities. I learned that the only limits we <b>truly</b> have are the ones we set for ourselves - that\'s why I threw the <a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/2013/12/lose-your-limits-challenge-2014.html\" target=\"_blank\">\"Lose Your Limits Challenge 2014</a>\" out there. At the time, I didn\'t realize <b>I had already taken on this challenge myself.</b> As my 2013 running season drew to a close, I began lining up my 2014 season - that is where MY challenge lies - this upcoming year of races is jam-packed. If things continue the way they are I\'ll be running a race nearly every weekend! Lots of races are close together or back to back, and there are going to be some BIG ones later in the year. My 2014 season starts in 13 days, and I\'d like to share the first installment of that season with you today.<br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><a name=\'more\'></a>I\'m so fortunate to have a number of sponsors backing me for my 2014 race season! Without them, I wouldn\'t be able to run <b>nearly </b>as many races as I am. These first three races I want to share with you are sponsored by my&nbsp; very first sponsor - the one that made it possible for me to <a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/2013/10/achievement-unlocked-131.html\" target=\"_blank\">run my first half-martahon</a> -<a href=\"http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=1&amp;cad=rja&amp;ved=0CC8QFjAA&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fhaircutmeneastfalmouthma.com%2F&amp;ei=NEO4UrCEGOjv2QWuiYDQDA&amp;usg=AFQjCNFtc1JAvTbUMLqdzkdh92bZgrH5CQ&amp;sig2=zN0loStr8ORivGZ3VaRvwA&amp;bvm=bv.58187178,d.b2I\" target=\"_blank\"> <b>SportClips in Falmouth</b>. </a><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1-2CYtLQjJA/UgobuUylIzI/AAAAAAAABO8/0n6Q7101Shg/s1600/sportclips.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"200\" src=\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1-2CYtLQjJA/UgobuUylIzI/AAAAAAAABO8/0n6Q7101Shg/s400/sportclips.jpg\" width=\"400\" /></a></div>For those of you who haven\'t been there...as the logo implies, it\'s a sports-themed haircut place meant primarily for guys. There are tv\'s literally everywhere - including posted up between chairs for you to watch tv while you get a haircut. It\'s definitely an interesting concept, and I can dig it. They also do this thing called the \"MVP\" - it\'s like a little man-spa. You should check out their site and learn a little more - if you\'re anywhere near (or on) Cape Cod, the one in Falmouth <b>is</b><i> </i>the closest one to you - I\'m pretty sure it\'s the only one this side of Boston. <br /><br /><span style=\"font-size: x-large;\"><b>The Races</b></span><br /><br />George (the owner over at SportClips) was kind enough to sponsor me for three local races. The first one is on January 5th! I bet that\'ll be a cold one (or not, if this weird New England weather keeps up!).<br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-icCssMcGVs0/Urgx-WsctrI/AAAAAAAAGF4/TaOujXI2l04/s1600/IMG_8095.JPG\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"298\" src=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-icCssMcGVs0/Urgx-WsctrI/AAAAAAAAGF4/TaOujXI2l04/s400/IMG_8095.JPG\" width=\"400\" />&nbsp;</a> </div><b><span style=\"font-size: large;\">Cape Cod Road Runner\'s 34th Annual Winter Fun Run</span></b><br /><a href=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nvSQ-gFC2sY/Urg0dTJgcII/AAAAAAAAGGI/8kGzFoBQQ50/s1600/CCRRFunRunroute.jpg\" style=\"clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"320\" src=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nvSQ-gFC2sY/Urg0dTJgcII/AAAAAAAAGGI/8kGzFoBQQ50/s320/CCRRFunRunroute.jpg\" width=\"272\" /></a>This one looks like a lot of fun! The course takes you through some back-road area in Bourne / Monument Beach (just past the Bourne Bridge), with about a half-mile stretch along the beach itself. I\'m REALLY hoping it\'s not windy - that half-mile could be pretty awful. It\'s a weird length for a <span></span><span></span>course - 4.87 miles. I\'ve found that most, if not all, non-standard distance courses tend to have a story behind their distance. The <a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/2013/08/andtheniranfalmouthroadrace.html\" target=\"_blank\">Falmouth Road Race</a> began as a run from the Captain Kidd in Woods Hole to the BBC in Falmouth (hence 7.4 miles), and it looks like (in terms of having a story) this race is no different. It used to be a course along a dirt road, which began at The Weary Traveler Shrine Club (Shriners are a part of Freemasonry), but over time maintenance of the dirt road became an issue, so they chose a new course. The revised course fell just short of 5 miles, but they stuck with it. <br /><br />This is a \"fun run\". <b>What does that mean?</b> It means there is no chip timing, and those bibs you see in the picture are basic and, it would seem, to help them jot down some overall and age group award winners. This\'ll feel the same as any other race I\'ve run - not like I\'m the leader of the pack taking home the prize for running a 15 minute 5K yet! Hah. The entry fees from this go to support the <a href=\"http://www.bourneconservationtrust.org/\" target=\"_blank\">Bourne Conservation Trust</a> - a private non-profit that acquires land in order to leave it in its natural state. Sounds good to me :). <br /><br /><b><span style=\"font-size: large;\">Lovin\' L.I.F.E. 5K</span></b><a href=\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fzHSbPZwReY/Urg1dzW9s9I/AAAAAAAAGGU/DDJZ4ErfKKA/s1600/12400_605858926109550_962739796_n.png\" style=\"clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"313\" src=\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fzHSbPZwReY/Urg1dzW9s9I/AAAAAAAAGGU/DDJZ4ErfKKA/s320/12400_605858926109550_962739796_n.png\" width=\"320\" /></a><br /><b>This one has some special meaning for me</b>. This was not only my first 5K, but my first RACE ever! I\'m VERY excited to run it again and see how I stack up against myself from last year. Last time I ran this race it was just a month and a half after I started running in the first place. <span></span><span></span><br /><span></span><span></span><br />This race, if they keep the same course as last year, takes you through some back roads and neighborhoods in Mashpee, MA. The home stretch goes along Great Neck Road in Mashpee, and the finish line is right in the L.I.F.E. complex. <br /><a href=\"http://www.lifecapecod.org/\" target=\"_blank\">L.I.F.E. stands for Living Independently Forever.</a> It\'s a non-profit org that provides assisted living for adults with disabilities in its condominium complex. It\'s a great group doing some great work, and I\'m happy to support them! The race is on May 4th, 2014. Should be a nice spring day, just like last year!<br /><br /><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b>Falmouth Flag Day 5K</b></span><br /><a href=\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LgkoCZp99DA/Urg-7E1gmrI/AAAAAAAAGGg/JiloqDnbVzc/s1600/598812_436432483056708_1291712048_n.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"262\" src=\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LgkoCZp99DA/Urg-7E1gmrI/AAAAAAAAGGg/JiloqDnbVzc/s400/598812_436432483056708_1291712048_n.jpg\" width=\"400\" /></a><br />This race is still pending announcement, so it\'s tentative. I\'m PLANNING on running this one! This looks like a really fun race, and I ALMOST registered for it last year. I\'m not sure of the exact route of the course, but if photos are any indication it looks like the finish is right near the Falmouth Road Race finish - by the BBC in Falmouth Heights. If that\'s the case, I\'m sure this will be a very scenic race! This (hopefully) sunny June race will be a nice way to come down off of a half-marathon and an obstacle race...more on that soon ;)<br /><b></b><br /><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b>WHY Am I Doing This?</b></span><br /><br />These are just three of the 12 races I am (so far) registered for (through July), and there will be more coming. <b>Why </b>am I running so many races? And<b> why</b> would I register for races back to back? <b>I\'m doing it to show that you can</b>. If I can do it, anyone can. This time last year I was just beginning <a href=\"http://sothisisfitness.com/meet-darrell/my-journey\" target=\"_blank\">my fitness journey</a> - I had just finished <a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/p/beachbody-coach.html\" target=\"_blank\">P90X</a>, I was on the road to being healthy, but I never in a million years would\'ve thought I could go and <b>run</b>. A year and a half ago...I was still resigned to the \"fact\" <a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/p/my-story.html\" target=\"_blank\">that I was, and would forever be, <b>big</b></a>. Clearly, that is not the case. <br /><b><br />Running is the most simple form of fitness. </b>Some more...<i>enthusiastic</i> runners...can make it very complicated...but in its simplest form, you strap on a pair of shoes and hit the road, trail, or treadmill. <b>That\'s it.</b> No complicated moves, no fancy agility training, no weights, no special gear, just you and the road. There is <b>no reason</b> why someone can\'t get out there and <b>be </b>a runner. This is how I\'m losing <b>my</b> limits - I\'m running. I\'m running <b>more</b>, I\'m running <b>faster</b>, I\'m running <b>farther</b>. By the end of 2014, I want to have completed my first marathon. <b>I want that 26.2. </b><u>And I\'ll get it. </u><br /><br />I didn\'t identify, personally, as a runner until I finished that half-marathon. I don\'t really know why...maybe I felt like I had something to prove to myself, or had to accomplish something big...who knows. I\'ve come to find, however, that it\'s very easy to figure out if you\'re a runner. <br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yXwiwZTzSfk/UrhBOaTYQ1I/AAAAAAAAGGs/EFNqOoJ6xEM/s1600/definerunner.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" src=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yXwiwZTzSfk/UrhBOaTYQ1I/AAAAAAAAGGs/EFNqOoJ6xEM/s1600/definerunner.jpg\" /></a></div><br />So <b>get out there</b>. Challenge yourself. Do something amazing. <b>Lose your limits.</b> I promise you, if you lose your perceptions of what you\'re capable of, if you <b>challenge yourself</b>, and <b>put the time in</b> to train...you can accomplish some <b>mind-blowing</b> feats. If someone had come up to me in August 2012 (when this all started) and told me that as I entered 2014 I would be training for my first marathon...I would\'ve told them to their face they were <b>high</b>. Now...Now I\'m hoping to be training for an Ultra-Marathon by 2015. <b>Funny how things change.</b><br /><b>&nbsp;</b><br /><b>What are YOU training for? </b>Have you taken on <a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/2013/12/lose-your-limits-challenge-2014.html\" target=\"_blank\">the challenge</a>?','I\'m Running. A Lot. This Is The Start.','','inherit','closed','closed','','86-revision-v1','','','2017-01-13 22:22:14','2017-01-14 03:22:14','',86,'http://sothisisfitness.com/2017/01/86-revision-v1.html',0,'revision','',0),(559,1,'2017-01-13 22:22:14','2017-01-14 03:22:14','I know, this is gonna be another one of those corny \"I\'m reflecting on an amazing year\" posts, right? <br /><br /><b>...maybe...</b><br /><br /><b>But...</b>I mean...<b>COME ON!</b> When your life changes THAT MUCH in the course of ONE year...you\'re allowed to have a post like that...(excuse me while I go pout and cross my arms in the corner). <br /><br />Really though...2013 has been incredibly life-changing for me! So many things have happened, so many things have improved...And I never in a MILLION years would\'ve <b>ever </b>thought <b>any </b>of it could happen to me.<br /><br /><b>News Flash: </b>If it can happen for me...it can happen for <b>anyone</b>.<br /><br /><a href=\"http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/11554363/?claim=tn8ees7ud8b\">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a><br /><a name=\'more\'></a>So what are some of these ridiculous milestones I hit and changes I made in 2013?<br /><br /><b>Weight, for one</b>. <br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rjvzQd77Pjw/UegcZqAK2SI/AAAAAAAAA2k/BnyZWorX2uw/s1600/2012-07-25_09-00-15_455.jpg\" style=\"clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" src=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rjvzQd77Pjw/UegcZqAK2SI/AAAAAAAAA2k/BnyZWorX2uw/s320/2012-07-25_09-00-15_455.jpg\" height=\"320\" width=\"180\" /></a></div><br />I got back down under 250 lbs for the first time in years, and for the first time I can remember...I broke 200 lbs! I feel so disgusted with myself saying it, but I honest to God cannot remember, prior to 2013, when I last was 200 lbs or lighter. Probably middle school. Yeah...about that...<br /><br />I\'m now sitting at about 175 lbs, and a LOT of it is muscle. How do I know? <b>I can see it</b>. There\'s another something I\'ve never been able to do...see my own muscle! <b>Imagine that</b>. <br /><br /><b>What about this \"running\" thing?</b><br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GJxqwdI2ffI/Um3glwJ8W3I/AAAAAAAAB7o/GozBLla5nSU/s1600/IMG_20131026_094154_638.jpg\" style=\"clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" src=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GJxqwdI2ffI/Um3glwJ8W3I/AAAAAAAAB7o/GozBLla5nSU/s320/IMG_20131026_094154_638.jpg\" height=\"320\" width=\"180\" /></a></div><b>Oh, </b>right...<b>that</b>. The first time I ever \"went for a run\" happened in 2013 - March 23rd. I remember it vividly...three loops around Megan\'s neighborhood...3.25 miles. wow...some first run, huh? My first 5K happened early May, my first 10K on July 3rd...and my first Falmouth Road Race (7.4 miles) in August. Then...whoa...my first <b>half marathon finish</b> on October 26th. <b>WOW</b>. Seriously? You\'re gonna tell me that Fat Darrell ran a half freaking marathon? Guess I\'m not Fat Darrell anymore.&nbsp;<b> And now I did it again - </b>I finished out 2013 strong by running 14.17 miles in one shot...a new distance record! <b>No medal for this one</b>, but that\'s ok...I have the satisfaction I need :)<br /><br />So...First run ever, first 5K, first 10K, first Falmouth Road Race, and first 13.1! Not bad.<br /><br /><br /><br /><b>So how about all this cross-training I\'ve been doing?</b><br /><br />I\'ve completed 6 BeachBody workout programs now, 5 of which were completed in 2013 - P90X (2012), INSANITY, INSANITY: The Asylum, Les Mills COMBAT, Body Beast, and Focus T25! These programs are the main reason I lost so much weight and got fit, and they\'re the reason I was able to start running! I\'m excited to add another one to the books soon :)<br /><br />What else? Well...for one thing...my little inspiration/motivation journey began. 2013 was when the biggest changes of <a href=\"http://sothisisfitness.com/meet-darrell/my-journey\" target=\"_blank\">My Transformation </a>happened, and many of my friends and family told me how inspired they were by the change they saw - so inspired that they got up off the couch and started their own fitness journey! That made me think - I sure wish someone had told me all these things I had to figure out the hard way! And so, \"So THIS Is Fitness...\" was born. Now, as we\'re minutes away from 2014...it has grown from a little blog for sharing my thoughts to something way bigger than I could\'ve anticipated! I\'m so happy to be able to motivate, encourage, inspire and guide so many people to finding their fitness like I did! It\'s a great thing being able to spread the fitness bug :)<br /><br />I\'m so thankful for a great year, and there are some BIG things coming for 2014. 2013 was about making big change - 2014 is going to be about challenging myself, <a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/2013/12/lose-your-limits-challenge-2014.html\" target=\"_blank\">losing my limits,</a> and seeing what this new fit and in-shape body can do! Join me in the journey, and have an incredible year! I\'m sure I\'ll go a little more in-depth on the year within the next few days, just wanted to reflect before the ball dropped!<br /><br />Happy New Year!','2013...wow.','','inherit','closed','closed','','84-revision-v1','','','2017-01-13 22:22:14','2017-01-14 03:22:14','',84,'http://sothisisfitness.com/2017/01/84-revision-v1.html',0,'revision','',0),(560,1,'2017-01-13 22:22:14','2017-01-14 03:22:14','Yesterday, I woke up at 8 am on a cold early-January morning to get myself in gear, have some coffee, and get ready to chug my way along through 4.9 miles in the snowy, slushy, wet cold of Monument Beach, MA. Many people would think I\'m a nut and tell me to go back to bed. Many people would wonder what in the hell would possess me to go running in the snow. Others would call me a sicko for saying that it was \"ONLY\" 5 miles. <b>Bottom line</b>...many people look at me and ask...<br /><br /><b>Why do it?</b><br /><b></b><br />It\'s a question I\'ve been learning the answer to as I\'ve gone along. The answer has changed over time. For this Transformation Tuesday...the first of 2014...I want to give you an idea of just how yesterday\'s race went...<b>why</b> I do this...why I <b>started</b> doing this...and why I\'ll <b>keep </b>doing it. Hopefully my transformation will inspire you to begin yours :). <br /><a href=\"https://www.blogger.com/null\" name=\"more\"></a><br /><a name=\'more\'></a><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-icCssMcGVs0/Urgx-WsctrI/AAAAAAAAGF8/S_7uCJ_tcRY/s1600/IMG_8095.JPG\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" src=\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-icCssMcGVs0/Urgx-WsctrI/AAAAAAAAGF8/S_7uCJ_tcRY/s1600/IMG_8095.JPG\" height=\"298\" width=\"400\" /></a></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\"><a href=\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SJsWGtZtjdY/UsqQ3p2xkDI/AAAAAAAAGJ8/E2HHdlKDgw4/s1600/IMG_20140105_111405489.jpg\" style=\"clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" src=\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SJsWGtZtjdY/UsqQ3p2xkDI/AAAAAAAAGJ8/E2HHdlKDgw4/s1600/IMG_20140105_111405489.jpg\" height=\"400\" width=\"225\" /></a><b>Sunday was </b>the 34th annual Cape Cod Road Runners\' Winter Fun Run. Thanks again to my friends at <a href=\"http://haircutmeneastfalmouthma.com/\" target=\"_blank\">SportClips Falmouth</a> for sponsoring me (check them out)! I have to say, despite the conditions, I DID have a good time.That\'s a photo from last year\'s race (above). I don\'t have a TON of pictures since my phone was in my <a href=\"http://www.tunebelt.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Tune Belt</a> and my mom doesn\'t have a digital camera...I guess I didn\'t have the presence of mind to bring my digital camera along for her to use. <br /><br /><b>Anyway</b> - I had fun. While getting ready and stretching and whatnot I violated one of the cardinal rules of running - <b>nothing new on race day</b>. What was new, you ask? <b>THE SHOES!</b> Yeah, seriously...I couldn\'t have picked something more \"don\'t do that\" to do. <b>Why?</b> It was gross out on the roads and I was nervous that I\'d either take a digger (fall) or at the very least have to slow WAY down. So...I switched to my BRAND NEW New Balance 610 trail shoes. For the first couple of miles, I was  a little wary...I was kind of kicking myself and hoping they didn\'t  aggravate my feet or leave me sore. Once I got past the two mile marker, however, <b>I was instantly glad I wore them</b>. All of a sudden the road got very hilly and had lots of snow and slush. Thanks to having some grip, I was able to maintain my pace and not eat pavement. <b>Yay.</b></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\"><br /></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\"><a href=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ywud4Jo3Rfg/UsqSNbF-p4I/AAAAAAAAGKI/uWQNcPE4ALU/s1600/fuel.jpg\" style=\"clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" src=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ywud4Jo3Rfg/UsqSNbF-p4I/AAAAAAAAGKI/uWQNcPE4ALU/s1600/fuel.jpg\" height=\"320\" width=\"320\" /></a><b>I ended up doing way better than I anticipated</b>. I was CRUISING along.&nbsp;<b> </b>Almost every time I was going to stop running and walk for a minute, <b>I just kept going. </b>I only slowed or stopped a handful of times, and honestly...I don\'t know that I really needed to...I think that\'s just a mental hurdle I need to get past. I think part of why I was able to go so strong was because I had fueled properly. I had a <a href=\"http://healthwarrior.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Health Warrior Chia Bar</a> about 20 minutes before race start (in addition to a light race-day breakfast a few hours earlier) and let me just tell you...those little bars are <b>awesome</b>. There\'s a review article coming, but the short version is they\'re so <b>crazy packed</b> with nutrients and fuel, they\'re the perfect way to kick-start your run. No, they are not paying me to say that. <br />At the end of it all, I came in 99th place, and finished, officially, in 39:45. <b>That\'s ridiculous.</b> How did I <b>do</b> that? And...I got quite the surprise during the awards ceremony - I got 3rd place in the Open age division! Seriously?<b> How</b> did I place in my age group? Isn\'t my age group the one that <b>goes fast</b>? It\'s 19 - 29! How am I placing? Whatever, I\'ll take it! I\'ll only get a few of those, right? Might as well enjoy it!<br /><br /><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b>So...all of this begs the question - why do it?</b></span></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\"><br /></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\">Like I said, the answer to this question has changed over time for me. In terms of fitness in general... my reason began as a desperate need to make a positive life change and get healthy. Now that I <b>AM </b>healthy and fit... my reason has become... that I enjoy fitness and want to maintain where I\'m at.</div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-X1hWVdPG1oI/UsuZJWsW_jI/AAAAAAAAGKk/PTSZQnQqfz4/s1600/ffrunning.jpg\" style=\"clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" src=\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-X1hWVdPG1oI/UsuZJWsW_jI/AAAAAAAAGKk/PTSZQnQqfz4/s1600/ffrunning.jpg\" height=\"320\" width=\"284\" /></a></div>But... <b>running</b>... I don\'t even really remember why Megan and I <i>did</i> that first run. It might have been to see if we could do it at all. It might have been because we had come so far in our fitness, we wanted to see if our new abilities extended to running. It might have been to test ourselves. Or it might have just been because...well...<i><b>why not? </b></i>Whatever the reason...I\'m damn glad we did it. It opened my eyes to a whole new world of fitness...and it allowed me to find an activity...a SPORT...that I truly enjoy. <br /><br />Running is about more than just long (or short) distances and going fast. You have to learn your body, be <i>in tune </i>with it. You have to understand your body\'s wants and needs and tend to them properly. You have <b>no choice</b> but to fuel your body appropriately and treat it right...otherwise it won\'t perform properly and you <b>won\'t be having fun</b>. Running teaches you how to take care of yourself and be truly healthy, inside and out. <br /><br />Running is also...well...kind of peaceful. Y\'know, once you get past the monotony, boredom, and jaw-rattling pounding across the pavement. The first mile or two sucks, but once you get in a rhythm...it really is nice. One thing I\'ve come to appreciate with some of these races is the absolutely incredible scenery. For the majority of the Cape Cod Marathon Half...I was staring at beach and the ocean! Beautiful views, scenic vistas, and just <b>nature</b>. There\'s something to be said for taking \"me time\"...and running certainly provides that. <br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-c6CQ6zp7O_Y/UsuY1H6VFKI/AAAAAAAAGKc/ehNYp8VyefA/s1600/aftert25back2back.jpg\" style=\"clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" src=\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-c6CQ6zp7O_Y/UsuY1H6VFKI/AAAAAAAAGKc/ehNYp8VyefA/s1600/aftert25back2back.jpg\" height=\"400\" width=\"198\" /></a></div><br />On top of all of that...I do this so <b>I can enjoy a better, longer, happier life</b>. Health and fitness, for me, is about longevity and quality of life. <b>I feel so much better</b> now than I did when I was 300 lbs. Gee, that kinda makes sense, huh? I don\'t get winded going up a flight of stairs. I have so much more ENERGY now. My thighs don\'t rub together and chafe. I don\'t feel embarrassed about my body. <b>Clothing fits me properly</b>. Imagine that. The immediate benefits are simply STUNNING.<br /><br />The long-term benefits are great too. I have been told by a number of doctors that <b>I saved my own life</b> by losing 125 lbs. I have not escaped unscathed though - my knee cartilage is damaged from having carried so much extra weight for so long, and my feet are out of whack as well - plantar fasciitis, metatarsal periositis, and some other issues (to name a few). <b>What if I hadn\'t lost the weight?</b> What if I reached 40 and still had that extra weight on me? <b>For another 15 years?</b> Would I need a knee replacement by 60? Would I be in a wheelchair? Would I get diabetes? <b>Maybe</b>. At least now I know I have SIGNIFICANTLY reduced the odds of that happening. <br /><br />I\'ll be around longer for Megan, my kids, my family, my friends. I\'ll be able to <b>enjoy </b>my years rather than wasting away, becoming a bitter old man disgruntled with my lot in life. I\'ll be happy, healthy, energetic, and fit. <b>That is worth its weight in gold</b>, but by the time you reach that age...it\'s too late. <b><br /><br />That\'s why </b>I do this. That\'s why I get up at the crack of dawn, haul myself out of bed, and get ready for a workout. <b>That\'s why </b>I go running in the snow, slush, and frigid weather. <b>That\'s why headlamps and reflective gear </b>for runners exists. Because it\'s fun. Because <b>we enjoy it</b>. Becaues <b>it makes us happy. </b><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aqce_JPWhMQ/UsubdlYGmeI/AAAAAAAAGK0/NszU25ihyks/s1600/aftert25front.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" src=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aqce_JPWhMQ/UsubdlYGmeI/AAAAAAAAGK0/NszU25ihyks/s1600/aftert25front.jpg\" height=\"320\" width=\"320\" /></a></div><b>That\'s why </b>I\'m putting in the work now and making the change. Because <b>now is the time! Because it makes me happy. Because the guy on the right looks way better than the guy on the left. </b>(Check out the <a href=\"http://sothisisfitness.com/meet-darrell/my-journey\" target=\"_blank\">\"My Transformation\"</a> page for the new update from the completion of <a href=\"http://www.beachbodycoach.com/esuite/home/sothisisfitness\" target=\"_blank\">Focus T25</a>!)<br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><b><a href=\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RaTf1zgeDQ8/UsuiS6kxIUI/AAAAAAAAGLE/Qg4dYVLT9kA/s1600/whydoit.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" src=\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RaTf1zgeDQ8/UsuiS6kxIUI/AAAAAAAAGLE/Qg4dYVLT9kA/s1600/whydoit.jpg\" height=\"320\" width=\"320\" /></a></b></div><b><br />What\'s YOUR reason? </b>','Why Do It? (Plus Fun Run Recap)','','inherit','closed','closed','','83-revision-v1','','','2017-01-13 22:22:14','2017-01-14 03:22:14','',83,'http://sothisisfitness.com/2017/01/83-revision-v1.html',0,'revision','',0),(561,1,'2017-01-13 22:25:27','2017-01-14 03:25:27','<h4 class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b>For as long as I can remember </b></span><strong>I\'d <i>always</i> been a \"fat kid\".</strong></h4>\r\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\">\"Finding fitness\" was never something seriously on my radar. I <i>always</i> got made fun of, I <i>always</i> made an effort to wear loose clothes, and I was <i>never </i>really all that athletic, nor did I REALLY desire to be. Occasional efforts were made to work on it, but nothing stuck.</div>\r\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\"></div>\r\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\">In my last year of high school I made real progress. I did Weight Watchers with my mom while playing sports (football/weight lifting/shotput). With this combo, I managed to lose 70 lbs dropping to 210 (though I told people I was 205 lbs). Still overweight... but it was enough. I was...average...but not truly happy.</div>\r\n<h5><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b><img class=\"alignleft wp-image-509 size-medium\" src=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/41351_847720569112_2734506_n-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"Me, Miles &amp; Julian on Bourbon Street - Delta Chi Convention\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" />So I went off to college.</b></span></h5>\r\nWith the help of party school drinking plus all the garbage food I could eat... I gained it all back. <b>And then some.</b> All the healthy habits and active lifestyle behaviors I had picked up at the end of high school were gone. It didn\'t happen all at once, but it did happen pretty quick.\r\n\r\nThe summer before my 5th year at UMass I went to Delta Chi Convention in New Orleans, and I was pretty close to getting my own zip code. I tried to pretend I was a 42 waist, but that was super-loose fit jeans. I would estimate I was really a 44.<b></b>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<h5><b><span style=\"font-size: large;\">And so it went. </span></b></h5>\r\nGraduation meant leaving the over-abundance of cheap food...but it didn\'t end the weight gain. Back home meant work at a restaurant where a send-back meant snack time on fried food. By the time I got to August 2012 it was pretty bad. I had reached the heaviest I had ever been. <b>300 lbs. </b>\r\n\r\n<b><span style=\"font-size: large;\">Then I hit my breaking point.</span></b><b>\r\n</b>\r\n<img class=\"alignright wp-image-507 size-medium\" src=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/705673_10101066393515732_1982462519_o-169x300.jpg\" alt=\"At my heaviest - about 305 lbs.\" width=\"169\" height=\"300\" />Constantly moving at the restaurant meant my legs rubbed together. <b>And wore through my work pants. </b><i style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Every three months.</i> I was embarrassed at how frequently I had to buy more 48 waist pants. It became clear this lifestyle wasn\'t sustainable...and <b>I\'d had enough.</b> I talked to my wife (girlfriend at the time) and we resolved to do it together.So we took our before pictures, got our gear together, and embarked on our fitness journey.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<h5><b><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><img class=\"alignleft wp-image-508 size-medium\" src=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/1064785_10101402791037402_1587750951_o-152x300.jpg\" alt=\"Slim &amp; Fit at my first 10K - Finish at the 50 10K!\" width=\"152\" height=\"300\" />Oh...results? </span></b></h5>\r\nFor the full breakdown (with pictures) check out the <a href=\"http://sothisisfitness.com/meet-darrell/my-journey\" target=\"_blank\">\"My Journey\" page</a>. Short version? In the first 10 months I broke 100 lbs, and within a year I had dropped 125 lbs, become a runner, and become happier with my body and health than ever before.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI went from an XXL shirt to a Medium/Small\r\nFrom a 48\" waist to a 31\"\r\nXL and XXL gym shorts to Medium/Small\r\nOverweight and in danger of diabetes to fit, athletic and energetic!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOne of the most important things I figured out is - <b>You don\'t have to do it alone.</b> I had my wife - be sure to find <b>your</b> support system. <i>It makes a difference. </i><b><span style=\"font-size: large;\">The journey isn\'t over</span></b> (it never will be), and I\'m glad I took the plunge.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Finding Fitness','','inherit','closed','closed','','399-revision-v1','','','2017-01-13 22:25:27','2017-01-14 03:25:27','',399,'http://sothisisfitness.com/2017/01/399-revision-v1.html',0,'revision','',0),(563,1,'2017-01-16 19:04:46','2017-01-17 00:04:46','<b>Ladies and Gentlemen</b>, welcome to <u>my first official product review</u> - FitAid! I\'ve had so many things to talk about that I\'ve kind of just put off reviewing things, but today I have something I\'m really excited to get out there. So...without further ado...\n\n<strong>Let\'s talk about this little drink called FitAID.</strong> Long story short, they sent me a 4 pack to try out, I gave it a whirl, and I was very impressed. There\'s a lot to this versatile little drink - I had it before and after both a run and a strength training workout. Now that I\'ve experienced it, I\'m ready to talk about it!\n\n<!--more-->\n\n<img class=\"size-medium wp-image-567 alignright\" src=\"http://sothisisfitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/IMG_20130812_132634_341-170x300.jpg\" alt=\"FitAid Box Image\" width=\"170\" height=\"300\" />\n<h4><strong>So...what\'s the deal with FitAid?</strong></h4>\nFitAID is <i>not </i>an energy drink - it is a \"synergy drink\" (the company likes to be very clear on this point). The box has lots of artwork and information on it all about the benefits of the drink... including a <b>\"Paleo Friendly\"</b> stamp. I\'m going to cover the \"Paleo\" thing in a future article <em>(EDIT: 3 years later...still haven\'t covered it. whoops)</em>, but suffice it to say: it strives to remove everything \"processed\" from your life and bring things back to <u>caveman-basics</u>.\n\nAs you can well imagine, a hardcore nutrition plan like that would pretty much put the kibosh on most, if not all, pre-workout supplements and energy drinks. Paleo has more or less been adopted as the go-to nutrition plan for CrossFit (which has become massive)...so that left a <b>GAPING </b>hole in the fitness/nutrition world for someone to fill. Lo and behold - FitAID came along.\n<div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div>\n<h4><img class=\"wp-image-568 alignleft\" src=\"http://sothisisfitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/IMG_20130812_132656_038-271x300.jpg\" alt=\"FitAid Box Image\" width=\"245\" height=\"271\" /> While there are a lot of great things in this drink,</h4>\nwhat I think is just as important is <b>what isn\'t in it.</b> They say this product is 100% natural and they <b>mean</b> it. Right on the top of the box it lists off several things that DO NOT appear in this product: sucralose, aspartame, preservatives, high fructose corn syrup, crystaline fructose, \"artificial anything\". <b>This makes me very happy, </b>and it should make YOU happy too. Why? <em>Who</em> cares? Well, for one, aspartame - an artificial sweetener - has well-known ill-effects on your health, high fructose corn syrup is just bad news, and the general lack of artificial \"anything\" is just great.\n\nThink about it - your body has to <i>do something</i> with everything you put into it. If you\'re putting artificial things into it, your body has to figure out what to do with it - <b>our bodies aren\'t designed to process artificial things...we force our body to do it. </b>Many of these artificial things we put in our body on a regular basis end up hanging out for a while. Ever hear of someone doing a \"detox\"? More often than not, they\'re trying to flush the remnants of these artificial things out. <b>How about we just don\'t introduce them into our bodies in the first place.</b>\n\n&nbsp;\n<h4><b>So let\'s talk about what IS in FitAID.</b></h4>\n<div style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-569 alignright\" src=\"http://sothisisfitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/IMG_20130812_133025_495-300x227.jpg\" alt=\"FitAid Box Sidepanel\" width=\"300\" height=\"227\" />It\'s pretty important to understand what exactly is <b>in</b> this drink that\'s helping to power you through your workout, and helping your recovery after. There\'s a pretty big range of ingredients in here! There are electrolytes and vitamins (like many other drinks contain), there are lots of amino acids (including L-Glutamine, which is HUGELY important for muscle recovery), and there are other things such as glucosamine, tumeric, CoQ-10, bilberry...some of these aren\'t things you generally see in a \"fitness drink\" or a \"pre/post workout drink\", but they are part of an overall supplementation picture that FitAID is going for.</div>\n<div style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\">These ingredients support flexibility, joint health, cardiovascular health, balance, provide antioxidants to your body...I\'ve never seen such an all-encompassing range of body-health ingredients in a drink! Check out the label below:</div>\n<div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"> <img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-572\" src=\"http://sothisisfitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/91YkeZO8FoL._SL1500_-277x300.jpg\" alt=\"FitAid Supplement Facts Label\" width=\"277\" height=\"300\" /></div>\n<b>Remember how I mentioned there\'s no </b>aspartame, sucralose, HFCS, etc? <b>So it tastes awful, right?</b> <u>No</u>. It actually tastes really good. <b>How, you ask?</b> It\'s sweetened with Blue Agave Nectar...just 9 grams of all-natural sweetening in this thing. 45 calories total in the drink. Pretty awesome if you ask me.\n<div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div>\n<h4><b>Actual Experience With The Drink Please? </b></h4>\n<img class=\"size-medium wp-image-570 alignright\" src=\"http://sothisisfitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/IMG_20130821_115725_432-170x300.jpg\" alt=\"FitAid Poured\" width=\"170\" height=\"300\" /><u>Take a look at that drink.</u> That\'s right after pouring it into the glass. <em>(Yes, you\'re meant to drink it from the can, I just did it to see the color, carbonation and clarity.)</em> That fizz died down pretty quickly - FitAID is very lightly carbonated to aid with absorption of all the supplements in it. The yellow/orange color is simply a result of the ingredients - there are NO artificial OR natural things added in order to color it. No dyes, no beet juice, no nothing. That\'s just what color it ended up being.\n\nIf you look closely, you\'ll notice its not crystal clear...it\'s kind of \"cloudy\". The company actually talks about this on its site, saying this is because it\'s so packed with supplements - 2343 mg of supplements and active ingredients, to be exact. They challenge you to ask why other sports performance drinks <b>aren\'t</b> cloudy (they\'re implying its because other drinks aren\'t packed with good stuff, in case you were wondering).\n<h4>One of the things FitAID is clear on...</h4>\n...is how large an amount of supplements is actually crammed into this little 12 oz can. Most vitamin drinks and sports performance drinks have relatively trace amounts of these things. The levels of concentration in FitAID makes it something you can take before an intense workout and <b>actually feel confident you\'re getting a boost. </b>This drink was designed by former athletes to power people through CrossFit - if it\'s good enough for them it\'s good enough for ANY workout. <b> In case you were worried - </b>there was no sediment in there...while it WAS cloudy, there was nothing floating, no sediment, and nothing separated out...it really was just cloudy because of how saturated with supplements it was. <b> </b>\n<h4><b>TASTE?</b></h4>\nIt\'s pretty yummy, I have to say. Kind of a faint orange taste, just sweet enough, not too sweet. They really nailed the taste in spite of all the nutrients they crammed in...most other performance drinks I\'ve tasted are either too sweet or too bitter/chalky...I\'d drink this for taste on an off-day. Can\'t say that about other performance drinks.\n\n<img class=\"size-medium wp-image-566 aligncenter\" src=\"http://sothisisfitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/fitaidxfit2-300x125.jpeg\" alt=\"FitAid Promo Image\" width=\"300\" height=\"125\" />\n<h4><b>So How About The Run You Tried It On?</b></h4>\nI was kind of an idiot that day. It was an early afternoon run - I was in an awkward post-breakfast pre-lunch time and I had not eaten enough, mainly because I kept delaying my run being distracted with other things. I also found out about a mile into the run just how dehydrated I was. I felt worn out through my run, had to walk more than usual, and was kind of slow all-around.\n\n<b>FitAID is probably the only reason I finished the run.</b> It was hot, humid, and I was dehydrated and under-nourished...I shouldn\'t have been able to make it through that. I should have had to walk all the way home. Somehow, I finished. I\'m fairly certain that FitAID is the only reason I actually made it. My muscles weren\'t fatigued (Thanks FitAID) and I had the focus, drive and determination to get it done. My problems were a direct result of being so dehydrated. I had a second FitAID after finishing the run, and I have to say I felt pretty good. After having the second drink and hydrating, it was like the run never happened (in terms of negative effects)...I felt good, great recovery. <b>Chalk up a win for FitAID.</b>\n<b></b>\n\n<img class=\"size-medium wp-image-565 aligncenter\" src=\"http://sothisisfitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/fitaidxfit-300x212.jpg\" alt=\"FitAid Promo Image\" width=\"300\" height=\"212\" />\n<div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div>\n<h4><b>FitAID During Strength Training?</b></h4>\nI used FitAID before my Body Beast Tempo: Chest &amp; Triceps workout. For those who don\'t know, Body Beast (by Beachbody) is a pretty intense strength training program. Tempo Chest &amp; Tri is all about the tempo with which you do the moves, up and down. You go much slower, which gives a great isolation effect on the muscle you\'re working and ends up making you feel like you\'ve REALLY hammered on that muscle. Oh, and going so slow on the reps...is <b>hard!</b> I took FitAID instead of my usual pre-workout and let me just say... <b>I Felt Like A Champ.</b> I felt the burn, I powered through the struggle, and it felt <b>great</b>.\n\nTo be honest, though, I was a little wary of going without my traditional N.O. boosting stimulant-filled pre-workout...but I felt great with FitAID! There\'s something to be said for a pre-workout without stimulants...it was a completely different feel to the workout. I wasn\'t working any harder, I was just deriving my power from somewhere else. It felt more...<b>natural</b>. Like I was more in-tune with my body. That\'s a great description of how I\'ve felt with my nutrition plan as a whole, so it\'s nice to experience that in my workout too. I had plenty of gas to get through the workout and the weight I was using didn\'t suffer for lack of N.O. / Stim-filled pre-workout. I had it after the workout as a recovery drink and y\'know what? <b>I\'m not sore today. </b>I feel like I worked out, but I\'m not sore. <b>Chalk up another win for FitAID.</b>\n<h4><b>So...the verdict?</b></h4>\nFitAID is great for runs, it\'s great for strength training...what CAN\'T this little drink do? It\'s loaded up with things your body wants, needs, craves, and even some things it might not know it needs, and there\'s <b>NOTHING </b>in it that you don\'t need or shouldn\'t have. Tastes great, designed to fuel you, and it\'s not CRAZY expensive. My recommendation? <b>Buy this.</b> No, they didn\'t pay me to say that. They just sent me a four-pack to try. Pretty brave of them, considering I could\'ve torn it apart and said it was awful. <b>They must be confident in their product</b>. Now I am too.','Review: FitAid','','inherit','closed','closed','','104-autosave-v1','','','2017-01-16 19:04:46','2017-01-17 00:04:46','',104,'http://sothisisfitness.com/2017/01/104-autosave-v1.html',0,'revision','',0),(832,1,'2017-01-22 19:26:37','2017-01-23 00:26:37','','Bib Wall','','inherit','closed','closed','','831-revision-v1','','','2017-01-22 19:26:37','2017-01-23 00:26:37','',831,'http://sothisisfitness.com/2017/01/831-revision-v1.html',0,'revision','',0),(573,1,'2017-01-13 23:42:06','2017-01-14 04:42:06','','','','inherit','open','closed','','fitaidlogo','','','2017-01-13 23:42:18','2017-01-14 04:42:18','',104,'http://sothisisfitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/FitaidLogo.png',0,'attachment','image/png',0),(572,1,'2017-01-13 23:14:43','2017-01-14 04:14:43','','','','inherit','open','closed','','91ykezo8fol-_sl1500_','','','2017-01-13 23:15:47','2017-01-14 04:15:47','',104,'http://sothisisfitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/91YkeZO8FoL._SL1500_.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(564,1,'2017-01-13 22:53:49','2017-01-14 03:53:49','','','','inherit','open','closed','','fitaid-logo','','','2017-01-13 23:00:14','2017-01-14 04:00:14','',104,'http://sothisisfitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/FitAID-logo-.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(565,1,'2017-01-13 22:53:53','2017-01-14 03:53:53','','','','inherit','open','closed','','fitaidxfit','','','2017-01-13 23:17:41','2017-01-14 04:17:41','',104,'http://sothisisfitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/fitaidxfit.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(566,1,'2017-01-13 22:54:01','2017-01-14 03:54:01','','','','inherit','open','closed','','fitaidxfit2','','','2017-01-13 23:17:05','2017-01-14 04:17:05','',104,'http://sothisisfitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/fitaidxfit2.jpeg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(567,1,'2017-01-13 22:54:03','2017-01-14 03:54:03','','','','inherit','open','closed','','img_20130812_132634_341','','','2017-01-13 23:10:01','2017-01-14 04:10:01','',104,'http://sothisisfitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/IMG_20130812_132634_341.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(568,1,'2017-01-13 22:54:07','2017-01-14 03:54:07','','','','inherit','open','closed','','img_20130812_132656_038','','','2017-01-13 23:11:31','2017-01-14 04:11:31','',104,'http://sothisisfitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/IMG_20130812_132656_038.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(569,1,'2017-01-13 22:54:11','2017-01-14 03:54:11','','','','inherit','open','closed','','img_20130812_133025_495','','','2017-01-13 23:13:43','2017-01-14 04:13:43','',104,'http://sothisisfitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/IMG_20130812_133025_495.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(570,1,'2017-01-13 22:54:15','2017-01-14 03:54:15','','','','inherit','open','closed','','img_20130821_115725_432','','','2017-01-13 23:16:29','2017-01-14 04:16:29','',104,'http://sothisisfitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/IMG_20130821_115725_432.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(571,1,'2017-01-13 22:54:27','2017-01-14 03:54:27','','sealofapproval-fitaid','','inherit','open','closed','','sealofapproval-fitaid','','','2017-01-13 22:54:27','2017-01-14 03:54:27','',104,'http://sothisisfitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/sealofapproval-fitaid.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(932,1,'2017-02-15 09:15:58','2017-02-15 14:15:58','<h2>I have seen the full spectrum of \"taste\".</h2>\r\nI\'ve been that \"fat guy\" that eats everything indiscriminately. Overly greasy, fatty, salty, sauced and more. You reach a certain point where eating and drinking like that... you sort of deaden your taste buds. Then those terrible foods begin to... \"taste\" <em>good</em>.  <strong>Now? </strong>I\'m that \"fit guy\" who makes better choices. I avoid those things I used to eat. <strong>My taste buds came back to life.</strong> I can taste spices, nuance, subtlety, and the chef/creator\'s intent. It\'s why I drink my coffee black, why I love seltzer water, and why I say Grin Hola is not JUST granola.\r\n<h3>I realize that might sound a bit... over the top...</h3>\r\nBut have YOU tried Grin Hola? It\'s unlike any granola I\'ve ever picked off the shelf in the supermarket. <strong>And <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">YOU</span> might <em>never</em> get to eat it.</strong><!--more-->\r\n<h2>Grin Hola is made with love.</h2>\r\nHonestly, <strong>I don\'t even consider that to be <a href=\"http://www.dictionary.com/browse/hyperbole\">hyperbole</a>.</strong> Grin Hola is a tiny little hyper-local company - it\'s a guy in his kitchen. Jason Warren, the man behind the stove top, honest to goodness makes this stuff right in his home. He travels all over Cape Cod and Southeastern Massachusetts making connections with smaller, local places and getting his product on the shelves.\r\n<h3>The rest of the state... and <em>everyone</em>... is missing out.</h3>\r\nThis might just be the best breakfast food, munchable snack, or trail fuel you\'ve never eaten and WILL never eat. Due to certain constraints, right now it\'s not as widely available as some of us might like, and it\'s not readily available for online purchase (read on, though - I might be able to hook you up!). Nevertheless... this granola is so... GOOD... that I feel compelled to review it and tell the world about it. <strong>Even if 99% of you will never get to eat it <em>(maybe - more on that later)</em>.</strong>\r\n<h2>It starts with quality, natural ingredients.</h2>\r\nGrin Hola is made from pretty simple, pretty wholesome ingredients. The ingredients for the Apple Pie flavor, for example (see image) - I don\'t see anything artificial or difficult to pronounce there. The Peanut Butter &amp; Jelly flavor? It ACTUALLY has peanut butter and grape jelly in it! There\'s organic when it can be done, but sure, not EVERYTHING is organic. Honestly... not everything NEEDS to be. This isn\'t some elitist food blog - I\'m certainly not gonna dump on someone for not being 100% organic, 100% GMO free, etc. I\'m behind good, quality, healthy stuff. <strong>This fits the bill</strong><strong>. </strong>Besides...\r\n<h2>The flavor is <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">incredible</span>.</h2>\r\nI can\'t go on any longer without talking about this. Most granola is dry, mostly flavorless, and not super impressive. just a big bag of oats with maybe some nuts and fruit in there. Then there\'s Grin Hola. This guy is some kind of kitchen wizard... I don\'t know HOW he does it... but there\'s an incredible depth of flavor in this stuff.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Grin Hola - Review | It\'s Not JUST Granola...','','inherit','closed','closed','','27-revision-v1','','','2017-02-15 09:15:58','2017-02-15 14:15:58','',27,'http://sothisisfitness.com/2017/02/27-revision-v1.html',0,'revision','',0),(582,1,'2017-01-14 00:42:29','2017-01-14 05:42:29','','','','inherit','open','closed','','img_20160821_182203-2','','','2017-01-14 00:42:51','2017-01-14 05:42:51','',16,'http://sothisisfitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/IMG_20160821_182203-1.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(583,1,'2017-01-14 11:09:54','2017-01-14 16:09:54','<h2><b>I am genuinely impressed.</b></h2>\nWhen I first tried Puroast Coffee I think there were only three flavors. Now they have quite the variety...and I have to say - it was pretty exciting, as coffee goes, to try the new flavors as they came out. Every coffee roaster out there has their own array of flavors, some boasting a veritable <i>arsenal </i>of them. Many are passable, most need sugar to unlock the actual \"flavor\" of it...and some are downright awful, leaving a nasty aftertaste from the syrups used to create flavor.\n<h3><b>Puroast\'s flavors, however, are different.</b></h3>\n<b><a href=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/?p=36\" target=\"_blank\">As I\'ve made clear before:</a> </b>if you\'re not drinking Puroast, you\'re doing yourself a disservice. As trivial as it may sound to the casual coffee drinker... <b>not all coffee is created equally</b>, ESPECIALLY flavored coffee. How-so, you ask? <i>Oh let me count the ways...</i>\n\n<!--more-->\n<h3><b>It\'s no secret I\'m a big Puroast Coffee fan</b></h3>\nIf you follow this blog, you may have seen <a href=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/?p=36\" target=\"_blank\">my Puroast review</a> a while back. The short version is - I ran into them at an obstacle course race (Battlefrog New England) and was super impressed. I stayed in touch, obtained some coffee samples (they had espresso, not coffee, on site), and did a review. To say the review was <i>positively glowing...</i> would be an understatement.\n\n<b>Coffee is my spirit animal</b>...and Puroast just stands head and shoulders above the rest.\n\nI was SO over the moon, as a matter of fact, that after my initial product review I had a long chat with their founder and became a Puroast ambassador/athlete of sorts. At the end of the day, aside from the occasional Dunk\'s hot or iced hazelnut...I just can\'t go back to other coffees. <i>Puroast has ruined me for other coffees</i>. It\'s honestly that good. It\'s like Puroast is the One Ring and I\'m freakin\' Golum. <b>I could go on for days...instead <a href=\"http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/?p=36\" target=\"_blank\">go read my Puroast review</a>.</b>\n\n*ahem*...<i>sorry, I was drooling for a second there...</i>\n<i>\n</i><b>SO... as part of that ambassadorship</b> I had the opportunity to try just about every flavor they offer. I honestly have not run into one I didn\'t like.\n\n<hr width=\"40%\" />\n\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b>\"Roasts\"</b></span>\n\nSo, some of these \"flavors\" aren\'t really \"flavors\" like you might think. Instead, they\'re different <i>roasts</i>...and yes, they\'re just as different from each other as hazelnut is from vanilla.\n\n<b>Dark French Roast</b>\n\nI smell the coffee - both the unbrewed grounds and a brewed cup. Puroast\'s Dark French Roast has a great, deep, rich smell. Not burnt, like some dark roasts. <i>Deep. </i>It has a taste to match. It\'s rich, full-bodied, and dark as night...without being bitter. <b>I know, we\'ve established Puroast isn\'t bitter</b>...but sometimes in flavors where you kind of <i>expect</i> some bitterness...it still catches me off-guard.\n<b>\n</b><b>Dark Guatemalan Roast</b>\n<b>\n</b>The Dark Guatemalan Roast is very similar to the Dark French Roast...but it\'s a bit smokier. I NEVER in a million years would\'ve been able <i>to tell the difference between dark roasts</i> before Puroast.\n\n<em>Sorry</em><i> I\'m not sorry..</i>.I sound like a broken record, but there it is. The low acidity and lack of bitterness strikes again, allowing me to detect flavors...<i>and enjoy flavors</i>...that I have never been able to detect and enjoy before in a cup of coffee.\n<b>\n</b><b>Espresso Roast</b>\n\nI happen to be drinking Espresso Roast right now. This flavor always reminds me of when I first ran into Puroast, as it was their espresso I (unknowingly) tried first. Like, ACTUAL espresso...so smooth I thought it was coffee. Their Espresso Roast is very similar - very smooth, not offensive or bitter as you might expect espresso to be. Definitely a full-bodied profile - the \"true\" taste of espresso is able to shine through.\n\n<span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b>\"Flavors\"</b></span>\n\n<b>These are what you expect when you hear \"flavored\".</b> They are very different from each other, VERY different from the various \"dark roasts\" Puroast offers, but they are all VERY tasty. Puroast prefers to use natural flavorings. They blend in these flavors after roasting, when the bean is \"open\" and more receptive to infusion. Once the process is done they do a rigorous taste test, of course, to ensure the finished flavored coffees are nothing but the best.\n<b>\n</b><b>Chocolate Almond</b>\n\nI was pretty impressed with the depth of flavor I got out of this one. Puroast Chocolate Almond is a very light brew...not just color...it\'s just not a <b>heavy</b> coffee...if that makes sense. There\'s a subtle semi-sweetness of chocolate to it, which...<i>with the lack of bitterness</i>...you\'re able to get. Also...you almost get the dryness of a raw almond, with overtones of roasted almond. <i style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Imagine that</i>...a \"chocolate almond\" flavor that ACTUALLY tastes like chocolate and almond. I think I\'m in love.\n\n<b>Mistletoe Mocha</b>\n\nThis was another I really wish I could\'ve made last longer. Mistletoe Mocha had a subtle chocolate bitterness - not bitterness like coffee bitterness, more like the bitterness of a dark or semi-sweet chocolate. This flavor wrapped that pure chocolatey goodness up with a warm, medium body. I\'d like another, please.\n\n<b>Toasted Chestnut</b>\nVery light flavor - a sweet nutty smell hits you first, then a subtle nutty flavor. The warm, full flavor of the chestnut comes through later on the back of your palate. A nice treat for the holiday season.\n<b>\n</b><b>Vanilla Nut</b>\nIn keeping with the theme of most of their flavored roasts, Vanilla Nut was very subtle and light on the palate. You definitely got a bit of a sweet vanilla taste - a bit more gentle than most \"french vanilla\" coffees you find.\n<b>\n</b><b>Bourbon Pecan Torte</b>\nThis was actually the first Puroast coffee variety I ever tried. Sweet smell right out of the package, as if there\'s an actual pastry hiding inside! The scent after brewing is incredibly similar. Light to medium body, again...very easy on the palate. Aptly named, as it does taste like a rich bourbon pecan torte in your cup. Well Done!\n<b>\n</b><b>Hazelnut</b>\n<b>\n</b>I find I often judge coffee companies on their ability to execute a good hazelnut. Not like it\'s the one true coffee flavor to measure all coffee brands by...it just happens to be my favorite, so if you can\'t hack it I\'m probably going to dismiss you as a whole (whether that\'s fair or not). I am happy to report, Puroast nailed it. Their hazelnut has a great subtle, gentle, nutty hazelnut flavor. Not overpowering, but definitely there...just right. It\'s very light on the palate, I\'d call it light body, not quite medium. I could drink this all day.\n<b>\n</b><b>Nutcracker Sweet</b>\nLight bodied and gentle on the palate. It does have a hint of nuttiness to it, but I\'m not sure I\'d call it \"sweet\". A tasty &amp; pleasant brew nonetheless.\n\n<hr width=\"40%\" />\n\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>So WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!</b></div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"></div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\">Run, don\'t walk, to the supermarket (or...<a href=\"http://puroast.com/\">The Puroast Website</a>) and pick one up!</div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\">Beat the urge to stay in bed.</div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\">What\'s YOUR favorite flavor?</div>\n<div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\" href=\"https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1n7Gg_p7zXk/V8glEm1DIKI/AAAAAAAApOA/eI3xU3KWrAIpzySDs5e6jlGNz6F-iqudQCKgB/s1600/IMG_20160228_071810.jpg\"><img src=\"https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1n7Gg_p7zXk/V8glEm1DIKI/AAAAAAAApOA/eI3xU3KWrAIpzySDs5e6jlGNz6F-iqudQCKgB/s320/IMG_20160228_071810.jpg\" width=\"240\" height=\"320\" border=\"0\" /></a></div>\n&nbsp;','Flavor Round-Up - Puroast Coffee','','inherit','closed','closed','','16-autosave-v1','','','2017-01-14 11:09:54','2017-01-14 16:09:54','',16,'http://sothisisfitness.com/2017/01/16-autosave-v1.html',0,'revision','',0),(589,1,'2017-01-14 00:56:59','2017-01-14 05:56:59','I\'ve been doing a lot of thinking about all the reasons why people don\'t work out. I know I covered <a href=\"http://sothisisfitness.blogspot.com/2013/07/why-workouts-fail-1-napoleon-complex.html\" target=\"_blank\">the Napoleon complex</a> in another post, but that\'s just one of many reasons. While there are many people out there who suffer from the issues of the Napoleon complex, there are even more who didn\'t even get that far...they don\'t try to start working out in the first place (hence why I didn\'t even call this \"why workouts fail\"...we didn\'t get to the workout yet!). But WHY?<br /><a name=\'more\'></a><br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AjTPjwp6uQQ/UetkdSWAiaI/AAAAAAAAA80/ClwaGojX5WI/s1600/wall-e-human.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"238\" src=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AjTPjwp6uQQ/UetkdSWAiaI/AAAAAAAAA80/ClwaGojX5WI/s320/wall-e-human.jpg\" width=\"320\" /></a></div><br />The short answer is - It requires work, involves change, and people <i>just don\'t</i> <u><b>feel like it</b></u>. Why do we need to when everything is more or less handed to us and made easy? The average American eats what they feel like when they feel like it (and if cooking is required, it can usually be microwaved). They watch a lot of tv, relax on the couch, and don\'t do a whole lot of physical activity (unless required at their job). Yeah, there\'s yard work or some light home / car maintenance to do, but once in a while, or in short bursts of a couple days - nothing regular and routine. They go out for drinks when they feel like it or come up with reasons to have a drink or two (or three) almost every night at home \"because it was a rough day\". Maybe they\'re carrying a little extra weight. So what? All in all, life is good. Nothing stellar, but it\'s not awful.<b>We have achieved mediocrity.</b> Mediocrity is <i>easy</i>.<br /><br />So...why change that?<br /><br />Because, honestly...getting fit, eating right and making a change <b>requires work</b>. And this isn\'t just any kind of work - we\'re talking a complete lifestyle change. That kind of work is <b>hard</b>. People would have to give up or severely limit some of their favorite things - use free time they\'d otherwise spend watching the 100+ hours of DVR\'d T.V. shows they have to, instead, work out and sweat balls.<br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6M3jnHnNEuA/UevSvUs24WI/AAAAAAAAA9c/zUBTf2FL2sA/s1600/59087-funny-wish-me-luck.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"224\" src=\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6M3jnHnNEuA/UevSvUs24WI/AAAAAAAAA9c/zUBTf2FL2sA/s320/59087-funny-wish-me-luck.jpg\" width=\"320\" /></a></div><br />All manner of excuses come up at this point - on the surface they\'re all invalid and complete BS as far as I\'m concerned. I won\'t bother listing them all, but suffice it to say - \"I don\'t have time\" is not nearly the most creative one. People will come up with any reason to get people off their case about working out, and if that doesn\'t work, they\'ll either use humor or get hostile until you leave them alone. I was like that for a long time. There are just so many things that can demotivate a person, and they got me.<br /><br />So how do you change that? How do you convince <b>that</b> person to start working out or get healthy?<br /><b> </b><br /><br /><b>Generally...you can\'t.</b><br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cK7vcRLcbEI/Uetb8vg4nMI/AAAAAAAAA8k/DsI3aMVEcpk/s1600/1053.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"320\" src=\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cK7vcRLcbEI/Uetb8vg4nMI/AAAAAAAAA8k/DsI3aMVEcpk/s400/1053.jpg\" width=\"400\" />&nbsp;</a></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><br /></div>I know...not the revelation you were hoping for. Problem is, these people can\'t just be <b>forced</b> to do it. It\'s a big change, and they have to <b>want it. </b>There\'s way too much effort, change and plain ol\' <b>work</b> involved in something like this for it to work without SOME level of personal stake being in it. You can try to drag them into a workout with you, and they might go with it reluctantly...for a while. In the end, it just won\'t maintain. They\'ll complain and find reasons why not...and the first time you don\'t work out with them, they just won\'t do it. Why? Too many people are perfectly satisfied - or at the very least, able to <i>accept </i>- mediocrity.<br /><br /><b>This is the part where something has to happen within them.</b><br /><br />I talk about <b>what happened</b> for me in <a href=\"http://sothisisfitness.com/meet-darrell/findingfitness\" target=\"_blank\">My Story</a> - and boy was it bad - but it\'s going to be different for everyone. In the end, something has to happen - some kind of personal revelation or big change - to make them <b>want </b>it. The best you can do is keep making it appear as appealing as you can, <b>lead by example</b>. When they\'re ready, it\'ll make the whole thing much less intimidating. Many times these people will be hesitant to recant and join you since they\'ve been so adamantly, sometimes vocally opposed to this whole process - they can\'t just admit they were wrong and join you (<b>what a blow to the ego!)</b>. So be there and be available. When the time is right, they\'ll come to you. It takes something different for each individual person, but when the right motivation hits, they\'ll finally <b>want it</b>.<br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SsNI8S94fn4/UevTXcAAHZI/AAAAAAAAA9k/Aeylil0asq8/s1600/exercise-motivation-required.png\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"175\" src=\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SsNI8S94fn4/UevTXcAAHZI/AAAAAAAAA9k/Aeylil0asq8/s320/exercise-motivation-required.png\" width=\"320\" /></a></div><br />On that note - I\'m gonna go for a run before I work all day. What are YOU gonna do?','The \"I Don\'t Feel Like It\" Syndrome','','inherit','closed','closed','','128-revision-v1','','','2017-01-14 00:56:59','2017-01-14 05:56:59','',128,'http://sothisisfitness.com/2017/01/128-revision-v1.html',0,'revision','',0),(592,1,'2017-01-14 00:57:39','2017-01-14 05:57:39','In the spirit of \"Motivational Monday\" I want to take a moment to touch on something I was talking about with a fitness friend at work over the last couple of days. It\'s actually a loose end I need to tie up from the last couple of articles I wrote. In <a href=\"http://sothisisfitness.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-inconvenience-factor-accepting.html\" target=\"_blank\">The \"I Don\'t Feel Like It\" Syndrome</a> I talked about people who just won\'t get off the couch, can\'t/won\'t get motivated to work out in the first place, and never take that all-important first step. In <a href=\"http://sothisisfitness.blogspot.com/2013/07/why-workouts-fail-1-napoleon-complex.html\" target=\"_blank\">Why Workouts Fail #1 - The Napoleon Complex</a> (my favorite article so far) I talk about people who take the leap, try going to the gym or working out and run into a big issue that drives them away.<br /><br />Ok...what about the people in the middle?<br /><br /><a name=\'more\'></a><br /><br />The people who aren\'t entirely opposed to working out, but haven\'t taken that step yet? Who haven\'t braved the gym, the home-gym, the pavement, trail, pool, whatever? Or tried and gave up? If these people aren\'t against it...and they might have some motivation to do it...why haven\'t they gotten to it yet?<br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-faudmiPbRak/UeyzCH_wxaI/AAAAAAAAA90/m5x8O_9cURQ/s1600/fear-is-a-prison.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"255\" src=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-faudmiPbRak/UeyzCH_wxaI/AAAAAAAAA90/m5x8O_9cURQ/s320/fear-is-a-prison.jpg\" width=\"320\" /></a></div><br /><u><b>Fear</b></u>. Fear can stop the most powerful locomotive in its tracks. Fear is, I think, one of the biggest demotivators out there. Fear of what, though? Fear of <b>failing</b>. Fear of not being <i>good enough</i>. Fear of embarassment. Fear of disappointing yourself or others. Fear of doing it wrong. Fear of <b>the unknown</b>.<br /><br />Fear can be one of the toughest demotivators to beat. Especially if someone doesn\'t have friends or family around them who are \"into\" fitness. Unfortunately, unless those people have a big life-altering event or a breaking point like I had (see <a href=\"http://sothisisfitness.com/meet-darrell/findingfitness\" target=\"_blank\">My Story</a>) that fear can be so paralyzing and show-stopping that they just never leave the safety of \"not trying\". I would go so far as to say that over time, those people can start to suffer from <a href=\"http://sothisisfitness.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-inconvenience-factor-accepting.html\" target=\"_blank\">The \"I Don\'t Feel Like It\" Syndrome</a>, forgetting the curiosity or motivation they had in the first place and losing it entirely to fear. It\'s tough to get past the fear when you\'re on your own little island and there\'s noone around to help you ease into fitness. If you ARE a fitness type, be on the lookout for these people. How do you tell who these people are, though?<br /><br />For one, <b>they\'re not already a fitness freak</b>. They don\'t work out, they probably don\'t eat \"right\" (but might try to or make half-efforts), and for all intents and purposes they closely resemble the people suffering from <a href=\"http://sothisisfitness.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-inconvenience-factor-accepting.html\" target=\"_blank\">The \"I Don\'t Feel Like It\" Syndrome</a> in all areas except their attitude towards fitness.<br />Though, I will say, that doesn\'t necessarily mean they haven\'t, at some point, attempted to do it on their own. Remember that part where Joey Howyadoin shows up and offers a spot (<a href=\"http://sothisisfitness.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-inconvenience-factor-accepting.html\" target=\"_blank\">IDFLI Syndrome</a>)? Where I\'d say \"Yeah, that was just a warm-up set, let\'s DO this!\", someone suffering from this demotivator would probably say \"Actually, that was my last set, I\'m all wrapped up. Thanks though!\" while they\'re thinking <i>sweet Lord, get me OUT of here!&nbsp;</i><br /><br />Aaaand that was probably the last time they set foot in anything resembling a gym.<i> </i><br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-l-HOeEs58jE/Uey6cPuQtFI/AAAAAAAAA-E/sMTfY4vGHR4/s1600/3px4zz.jpg\" style=\"clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" src=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-l-HOeEs58jE/Uey6cPuQtFI/AAAAAAAAA-E/sMTfY4vGHR4/s1600/3px4zz.jpg\" /></a></div><br />The biggest tell, though, is that <b>they\'re curious. </b>They\'ll poke their head in while you\'re working out. They\'ll ask you questions about your workout for the day or the program you\'re doing. They\'ll make little comments that could be a conversation starter. In some form or fashion, <u>they come to you</u>. This is very important - as mentioned before...you just can\'t <b>force</b> someone to get fit...they have to <b>want </b>it...and if they\'re curious, any traumatic workout attempt they might have had in the past is far enough out of their memory that now<b> they\'re open to it</b>.<br /><br /><br /><b>So how do I help this person defeat the demotivator?</b><br /><br /><b>GENTLY. </b>First off, yes - they\'re open to it, and that\'s incredibly important, but don\'t forget...the demotivator we\'re trying to beat is FEAR. I feel silly saying it but please don\'t forget that you can...well...<b>scare them away</b> if you\'re too aggressive. I know, seems obvious, right? What <b>you</b> might think is easy beans might be momentously challenging for them, so keep that in mind as you try to help them<b>, </b>and<b> think of super-easy ways to ease them in.</b><br /><br />Considering that they either have never worked out before or tried something and got scared away you might need to help them figure out what exactly works best for them. <b>&nbsp;</b><br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JLDJ2CCmSqU/Ue14cL33prI/AAAAAAAAA-o/yqmCQdc5QXk/s1600/66869_10152726509630062_1650984556_n.png\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"277\" src=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JLDJ2CCmSqU/Ue14cL33prI/AAAAAAAAA-o/yqmCQdc5QXk/s320/66869_10152726509630062_1650984556_n.png\" width=\"320\" /></a></div><br /><b>PRO-TIP: Something is better than nothing</b>.<br /><br />You might be a little disappointed when they seem like they\'re trying something that doesn\'t, to you, seem like a \"real\" workout - but again...what <b>YOU</b> think is easy and a waste of time might be super-challenging for them. <b>***Go at their pace***</b> There is no faster way to lose them to the fear than to go beyond their comfort zone. Too fast too soon is a recipe for disaster. I did this exact process with my mom - I started by working out and setting the example. She saw <a href=\"http://sothisisfitness.com/meet-darrell/my-journey\" target=\"_blank\">my transformation</a> as it was happening and was there as <a href=\"http://sothisisfitness.com/meet-darrell/findingfitness\" target=\"_blank\">my story</a> was unfolding, so she was proud of me and wanted to see how I was doing it. I eased her in with Tony Horton\'s 10 Minute Trainer. Literally 10 minute workouts<b>. </b>Over time, she started working in Cardio X from P90X (a 40 minute relatively easy cardio routine), and not too long after that she took on P90X in its entirety and was talking about doing Les Mills COMBAT with me and my fiancee. For your fitness-fearing friend or family member it may be running that does it for them - start with walking. It may be biking - start with a couple miles. Whatever it is (and I can\'t say it enough) <b>ease them into it.</b><br /><br /><b>This may be a slow process. STICK WITH IT!</b><br /><br />What\'s going to be SUPER IMPORTANT with these people is to keep them surrounded by positive images, encouragement and support. If they\'re fighting against fear, its not going to be easy for them, and they\'re going to need continued support until they finally break past the wall and get confident. It could very well be the case that not only do they need a cheerleader on the sidelines, but they need a teammate right there next to them on gameday. If they need a workout partner...<b>be that partner </b>or maybe find one for them. My fiancee was side by side with me throughout four workout programs and 103 lbs - it DEFINITELY helps. Everyone has <i>something</i> that will help them break through the fear barrier - whatever it is, help them find it and make sure they understand that there\'s nothing in their way.<br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-L5f6n7gXfSA/Ue14jICLsnI/AAAAAAAAA-w/wGZB1scQyBo/s1600/fitness-motivation-running-Favim.com-326874.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"320\" src=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-L5f6n7gXfSA/Ue14jICLsnI/AAAAAAAAA-w/wGZB1scQyBo/s320/fitness-motivation-running-Favim.com-326874.jpg\" width=\"226\" /></a></div><br /><br /><b>At the end of the day it will all be worth it. </b>Don\'t worry - given time and support, they <b>can and will </b>get there. <br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><br />','Defeating Demotivators #1 - The Fear Monster','','inherit','closed','closed','','127-revision-v1','','','2017-01-14 00:57:39','2017-01-14 05:57:39','',127,'http://sothisisfitness.com/2017/01/127-revision-v1.html',0,'revision','',0),(590,1,'2017-01-14 00:56:59','2017-01-14 05:56:59','In the spirit of \"Motivational Monday\" I want to take a moment to touch on something I was talking about with a fitness friend at work over the last couple of days. It\'s actually a loose end I need to tie up from the last couple of articles I wrote. In <a href=\"http://sothisisfitness.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-inconvenience-factor-accepting.html\" target=\"_blank\">The \"I Don\'t Feel Like It\" Syndrome</a> I talked about people who just won\'t get off the couch, can\'t/won\'t get motivated to work out in the first place, and never take that all-important first step. In <a href=\"http://sothisisfitness.blogspot.com/2013/07/why-workouts-fail-1-napoleon-complex.html\" target=\"_blank\">Why Workouts Fail #1 - The Napoleon Complex</a> (my favorite article so far) I talk about people who take the leap, try going to the gym or working out and run into a big issue that drives them away.<br /><br />Ok...what about the people in the middle?<br /><br /><a name=\'more\'></a><br /><br />The people who aren\'t entirely opposed to working out, but haven\'t taken that step yet? Who haven\'t braved the gym, the home-gym, the pavement, trail, pool, whatever? Or tried and gave up? If these people aren\'t against it...and they might have some motivation to do it...why haven\'t they gotten to it yet?<br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-faudmiPbRak/UeyzCH_wxaI/AAAAAAAAA90/m5x8O_9cURQ/s1600/fear-is-a-prison.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"255\" src=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-faudmiPbRak/UeyzCH_wxaI/AAAAAAAAA90/m5x8O_9cURQ/s320/fear-is-a-prison.jpg\" width=\"320\" /></a></div><br /><u><b>Fear</b></u>. Fear can stop the most powerful locomotive in its tracks. Fear is, I think, one of the biggest demotivators out there. Fear of what, though? Fear of <b>failing</b>. Fear of not being <i>good enough</i>. Fear of embarassment. Fear of disappointing yourself or others. Fear of doing it wrong. Fear of <b>the unknown</b>.<br /><br />Fear can be one of the toughest demotivators to beat. Especially if someone doesn\'t have friends or family around them who are \"into\" fitness. Unfortunately, unless those people have a big life-altering event or a breaking point like I had (see <a href=\"http://sothisisfitness.com/meet-darrell/findingfitness\" target=\"_blank\">My Story</a>) that fear can be so paralyzing and show-stopping that they just never leave the safety of \"not trying\". I would go so far as to say that over time, those people can start to suffer from <a href=\"http://sothisisfitness.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-inconvenience-factor-accepting.html\" target=\"_blank\">The \"I Don\'t Feel Like It\" Syndrome</a>, forgetting the curiosity or motivation they had in the first place and losing it entirely to fear. It\'s tough to get past the fear when you\'re on your own little island and there\'s noone around to help you ease into fitness. If you ARE a fitness type, be on the lookout for these people. How do you tell who these people are, though?<br /><br />For one, <b>they\'re not already a fitness freak</b>. They don\'t work out, they probably don\'t eat \"right\" (but might try to or make half-efforts), and for all intents and purposes they closely resemble the people suffering from <a href=\"http://sothisisfitness.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-inconvenience-factor-accepting.html\" target=\"_blank\">The \"I Don\'t Feel Like It\" Syndrome</a> in all areas except their attitude towards fitness.<br />Though, I will say, that doesn\'t necessarily mean they haven\'t, at some point, attempted to do it on their own. Remember that part where Joey Howyadoin shows up and offers a spot (<a href=\"http://sothisisfitness.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-inconvenience-factor-accepting.html\" target=\"_blank\">IDFLI Syndrome</a>)? Where I\'d say \"Yeah, that was just a warm-up set, let\'s DO this!\", someone suffering from this demotivator would probably say \"Actually, that was my last set, I\'m all wrapped up. Thanks though!\" while they\'re thinking <i>sweet Lord, get me OUT of here!&nbsp;</i><br /><br />Aaaand that was probably the last time they set foot in anything resembling a gym.<i> </i><br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-l-HOeEs58jE/Uey6cPuQtFI/AAAAAAAAA-E/sMTfY4vGHR4/s1600/3px4zz.jpg\" style=\"clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" src=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-l-HOeEs58jE/Uey6cPuQtFI/AAAAAAAAA-E/sMTfY4vGHR4/s1600/3px4zz.jpg\" /></a></div><br />The biggest tell, though, is that <b>they\'re curious. </b>They\'ll poke their head in while you\'re working out. They\'ll ask you questions about your workout for the day or the program you\'re doing. They\'ll make little comments that could be a conversation starter. In some form or fashion, <u>they come to you</u>. This is very important - as mentioned before...you just can\'t <b>force</b> someone to get fit...they have to <b>want </b>it...and if they\'re curious, any traumatic workout attempt they might have had in the past is far enough out of their memory that now<b> they\'re open to it</b>.<br /><br /><br /><b>So how do I help this person defeat the demotivator?</b><br /><br /><b>GENTLY. </b>First off, yes - they\'re open to it, and that\'s incredibly important, but don\'t forget...the demotivator we\'re trying to beat is FEAR. I feel silly saying it but please don\'t forget that you can...well...<b>scare them away</b> if you\'re too aggressive. I know, seems obvious, right? What <b>you</b> might think is easy beans might be momentously challenging for them, so keep that in mind as you try to help them<b>, </b>and<b> think of super-easy ways to ease them in.</b><br /><br />Considering that they either have never worked out before or tried something and got scared away you might need to help them figure out what exactly works best for them. <b>&nbsp;</b><br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JLDJ2CCmSqU/Ue14cL33prI/AAAAAAAAA-o/yqmCQdc5QXk/s1600/66869_10152726509630062_1650984556_n.png\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"277\" src=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JLDJ2CCmSqU/Ue14cL33prI/AAAAAAAAA-o/yqmCQdc5QXk/s320/66869_10152726509630062_1650984556_n.png\" width=\"320\" /></a></div><br /><b>PRO-TIP: Something is better than nothing</b>.<br /><br />You might be a little disappointed when they seem like they\'re trying something that doesn\'t, to you, seem like a \"real\" workout - but again...what <b>YOU</b> think is easy and a waste of time might be super-challenging for them. <b>***Go at their pace***</b> There is no faster way to lose them to the fear than to go beyond their comfort zone. Too fast too soon is a recipe for disaster. I did this exact process with my mom - I started by working out and setting the example. She saw <a href=\"http://sothisisfitness.blogspot.com/p/my-transformation.html\" target=\"_blank\">my transformation</a> as it was happening and was there as <a href=\"http://sothisisfitness.com/meet-darrell/findingfitness\" target=\"_blank\">my story</a> was unfolding, so she was proud of me and wanted to see how I was doing it. I eased her in with Tony Horton\'s 10 Minute Trainer. Literally 10 minute workouts<b>. </b>Over time, she started working in Cardio X from P90X (a 40 minute relatively easy cardio routine), and not too long after that she took on P90X in its entirety and was talking about doing Les Mills COMBAT with me and my fiancee. For your fitness-fearing friend or family member it may be running that does it for them - start with walking. It may be biking - start with a couple miles. Whatever it is (and I can\'t say it enough) <b>ease them into it.</b><br /><br /><b>This may be a slow process. STICK WITH IT!</b><br /><br />What\'s going to be SUPER IMPORTANT with these people is to keep them surrounded by positive images, encouragement and support. If they\'re fighting against fear, its not going to be easy for them, and they\'re going to need continued support until they finally break past the wall and get confident. It could very well be the case that not only do they need a cheerleader on the sidelines, but they need a teammate right there next to them on gameday. If they need a workout partner...<b>be that partner </b>or maybe find one for them. My fiancee was side by side with me throughout four workout programs and 103 lbs - it DEFINITELY helps. Everyone has <i>something</i> that will help them break through the fear barrier - whatever it is, help them find it and make sure they understand that there\'s nothing in their way.<br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-L5f6n7gXfSA/Ue14jICLsnI/AAAAAAAAA-w/wGZB1scQyBo/s1600/fitness-motivation-running-Favim.com-326874.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"320\" src=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-L5f6n7gXfSA/Ue14jICLsnI/AAAAAAAAA-w/wGZB1scQyBo/s320/fitness-motivation-running-Favim.com-326874.jpg\" width=\"226\" /></a></div><br /><br /><b>At the end of the day it will all be worth it. </b>Don\'t worry - given time and support, they <b>can and will </b>get there. <br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><br />','Defeating Demotivators #1 - The Fear Monster','','inherit','closed','closed','','127-revision-v1','','','2017-01-14 00:56:59','2017-01-14 05:56:59','',127,'http://sothisisfitness.com/2017/01/127-revision-v1.html',0,'revision','',0),(591,1,'2017-01-14 00:56:59','2017-01-14 05:56:59','So apparently people are reading this blog and are getting inspired to get up off the couch and get fit and healthy. I have to say,<b> I\'m pretty happy about that</b>. That was part of the big picture here, I just wasn\'t sure when it would actually start happening. So...<b>yay</b>.<br /><br />People have asked me to write about a number of things and to review a number of things (there\'s even products being sent to me to be reviewed!) and I thought <i>well, if people want to hear about it, why not write about it</i>.<br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OQLFtgmXEl0/Ufh9zBLaG7I/AAAAAAAABEQ/GkQQbZG2aeE/s1600/fruitweights.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"192\" src=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OQLFtgmXEl0/Ufh9zBLaG7I/AAAAAAAABEQ/GkQQbZG2aeE/s400/fruitweights.jpg\" width=\"400\" /></a></div>So here we are. Nutrition. <br /><a name=\'more\'></a>Someone asked me to talk about the Paleo diet but that\'d be like trying to go into AP Calc without covering Algebra 1 first - so I thought I\'d start with <b>The Basics</b>. Yes, this information is available from other sources, and there\'s one in particular I really like, but it\'s kind of technical and assumes you know a lot more than you might if you\'re just starting out - so I\'m going to try to present it in an easy-to-digest way (no pun intended).<br /><br /><b>What\'s Up With The Watermelon dumbbell?&nbsp;</b><br /><br />This whole \"fitness\" thing, as I found out very early on, is <b>80% nutrition</b>. Back when this all started I learned very quickly that in order to survive the intense workouts of P90X, and later INSANITY and so on, I had to <b>eat right </b>to properly <b>fuel my body</b>. Because...well...<br /><br /><b>As it turns out, </b>potato skins and chicken tenders don\'t get it done.&nbsp; <br /><br />There are a few important things to know in order to meet your nutrition goals.<br /><br /><b>How Much Should I Be Eating To Gain/Lose/Maintain?</b><br /><br />I feel like many people don\'t know that there is a <b>magic number</b> of calories to eat to maintain your weight. To keep this simple, we\'ll call this your \"Caloric Maintenance Level\" or \"CML\".<br />There are several formulas out there and a million \"calculators\" to figure out your CML, but MANY of them are inaccurate. We\'ll use \"<b>The Mifflin St Jeor Equation\"</b> since it seems to be the most accurate one out there <i>for those who don\'t know their body fat %</i>. This equation will give you your \"BMR\" or \"Basal Metabolic Rate\" which is the base calories your body needs to survive if you were in a coma:<br /><br />MEN: BMR = [9.99 x weight (kg)] + [6.25 x height (cm)] - [4.92 x age (years)] + 5<br />WOMEN: BMR = [9.99 x weight (kg)] + [6.25 x height (cm)] - [4.92 x age (years)] -161<br /><br /><b>Now multiply that number</b> by what I\'m going to call \"The Fitness Factor\" (choose based on activity level)-<br />1.2 = Sedentary (Desk job, little \"real\" exercise - sit around a lot)<br />1.3 - 1.4 = Light Activity (light exercise 1 - 3 days per week, light activity job...walking a bit)<br />1.5 - 1.6 = Moderate Activity (moderate exercise 3 - 5 days/week, waitress or other \"moving\" job)<br />1.7 - 1.8 = High Activity (hard exercise 6 - 7 days/week, physically demanding lifestyle)<br />1.9 - 2.2 = Extreme Activity (athlete in endurance training, VERY Active physicaly-engaging job)<br /><br />Odds are you probably fall somewhere between Sedentary or Moderate. So, multiply your BMR by your \"Fitness Factor\" and that is ROUGHLY your Caloric Maintenance Level. THIS IS NOT AN EXACT SCIENCE but it\'s about as close as we can hope to come without some kind of sports performance lab.<br /><br /><b>That was a lot of math - now what?</b><br /><br />So that\'s your \"caloric maintenance level\". That\'s the number of calories you would need to eat in a day to remain the weight you are. Yes, I said that was a <b>magic number</b> of calories to eat to maintain your weight, but <b>that\'s only if you eat the right foods</b> (we\'ll come back to this).<br /><br /><b>I\'m assuming you\'d like to lose weight?</b>&nbsp;<b> </b>If so, you need to create a <b>calorie deficit</b>. What\'s that? That\'s eating less than your CML. You generally will lose 1 lb per week if you eat a daily 500 calorie deficit (ex. your CML is 2500 calories per day, you would eat 2000 per day to lose 1 lb per week). If you want to lose 2 lbs per week, 1000 calorie deficit. <b>Note: this works in reverse for gaining weight</b>.<br /><br />Most sources I\'ve seen out there say <b>it\'s not safe to try to lose more than 2 lbs per week</b>. I understand your results may vary, but it\'s not a good idea - <b>GENERALLY</b> - to go out there on a 2000 calorie deficit because you want to lose 4 lbs per week. There\'s also a base level of calories they say you shouldn\'t go under - I believe it\'s 1200 for women and 1700 for men. I could be wrong. <br /><br /><b>Another note: EATING TOO LITTLE IS JUST AS BAD AS EATING TOO MUCH</b>. Your body can go into \"starvation mode\" if it sees you\'re not getting enough food - you\'ll hold onto fat and may become \"catabolic\" - which means rather than breaking down fat and food for fuel, it will break down MUSCLE that you\'re working so hard to build! (That\'s bad). So make sure you keep it to a 500 or 1000 calorie deficit, NO MORE.<br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><span></span><span></span></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PAuQE0eYmOA/Ufpa6bvTkiI/AAAAAAAABEw/v88zHw9PouI/s1600/2121272.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"224\" src=\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PAuQE0eYmOA/Ufpa6bvTkiI/AAAAAAAABEw/v88zHw9PouI/s320/2121272.jpg\" width=\"320\" /></a></div><br /><b>OK - I know how much to eat...but what am I eating?</b><br /><br />No, the answer is not \"Pizza, chicken, veggies and soda\". In order to build a healthy meal plan for yourself you have to understand what exactly your eating. There\'s these things called <b>macro-nutrients </b>and <b>micro-nutrients</b>. We\'ll worry about micro-nutrients later - that\'s some advanced stuff. <br /><br /><b>Macro-nutrients?</b><br /><br />Don\'t worry, it sounds WAY more complicated than it is. <b>Protein</b>, <b>Carbohydrates</b> and <b>Fat</b> are the three macro-nutrients. I\'m no food scientist, but I\'ll be bold here and say everything you eat is, among other things, made up of these macro-nutrients. <b>NONE OF THESE THREE THINGS ARE BAD. </b><b><b>Protein</b> </b>is not just for muscle-heads at the gym<b>. Carbs</b> are not bad, no matter what some \"diet\" programs tell you (diet is a 4-letter word!). <b>Fat</b> is not bad, you need a certain amount of it to survive, but too much can be bad. <br /><br /><u><b>It\'s all about how much of each you take in</b>.</u> The right balance will take you a long way to getting the results you want. Many sources will tell you to follow a particular ratio - When I was following the P90X nutrition guide that\'s where I got this idea from. There are also some sources out there that tell you following ratios are bad. I\'ll go into all the specifics on this later, but to get you in the right direction I\'ll start you with what I started with:<br /><br /><br /><b>50% Protein, 30% carb, 20% fat. That\'s what one program I did called \"fat shredder\". </b><br /><br />It\'s a high-protein-based diet to help build muscle while burning fat. <b>PLEASE do not take this as \"the one true way\". </b>This is supposed to be \"The <b>Basics</b>\" and this is just <u><b>one</b></u> way to get you started. I am going to go in-depth on macro-nutrients in another article, but this is a starter to take you in the right direction. Also, this works best when you\'re putting forth some kind of effort to work out. Then again, <b>life </b>works best when you\'re putting forth some kind of effort to work out.<br /><br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6aL08Jo9dCU/UfpizV3KdnI/AAAAAAAABFA/BIvp_6OW-Qg/s1600/40222467.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"400\" src=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6aL08Jo9dCU/UfpizV3KdnI/AAAAAAAABFA/BIvp_6OW-Qg/s400/40222467.jpg\" width=\"337\" /></a></div><br /><b>NO.</b> It doesn\'t. I\'ve seen and heard about this \"If It Fits Your Macros\" thing. That is wrong - it\'s an excuse to eat something you want that you know isn\'t all that great for you. That\'s all I\'ll say on \"IIFYM\".<br /><b> </b><br />There are a lot of things that I stopped eating when I began my journey. I stopped drinking soda, I stopped eating deep-fried foods, I switched to whole grain bread instead of white, I SERIOUSLY dropped my fat intake, etc. I made a LOT of changes, some of them hard. It may not have been easy, but I had a pretty serious motivator (see <a href=\"http://sothisisfitness.com/meet-darrell/findingfitness\" target=\"_blank\">my story</a> if you need a refresher) so I stuck with it. I\'m not saying you have to <b>completely</b> cut all these things out, but you should start scaling back so that, eventually, you can cut it out. Once again, I\'ll go into more depth on what\'s not all that great and why later on (it ties in with macro-nutrients) but suffice it to say, all these bad-for-you things will take your macro-nutrients out of whack and GENERALLY increase your fat intake.<br /><br /><u><b>This isn\'t about depriving yourself.</b></u> This is about teaching yourself how to <b>eat right</b> and give your body what it <i>really </i>needs, not what you\'ve been made to think you want. I am super-happy with the things I eat, and people look at me sideways telling me I need to cheat once in a while. <b>I do</b>, it\'s just not what <i>they </i>would consider cheating. So many people \"diet\" then gain it all back, say <b>nothing works</b> because they don\'t really <b>learn</b> how to eat right and get better habits. I don\'t <b>\"diet\"</b>, <b>\"diets\" fail. \"Diets\" </b>don\'t <i>teach </i>you anything - they do the thinking for you. I just <i>follow good nutrition</i>. <br /><br /><u><b>You can too.</b></u>','So THIS Is Nutrition... The Basics','','inherit','closed','closed','','123-revision-v1','','','2017-01-14 00:56:59','2017-01-14 05:56:59','',123,'http://sothisisfitness.com/2017/01/123-revision-v1.html',0,'revision','',0),(593,1,'2017-01-14 00:58:12','2017-01-14 05:58:12','At this point a lot of people have heard, seen or read <a href=\"http://sothisisfitness.com/meet-darrell/my-journey\" target=\"_blank\">my story</a> and asked me <b>how I did it</b>. How I got started? How I stayed motivated to keep going? Turns out, a lot of people ask me that question because <b>they want to know how THEY can do it too</b>.<br /><br />Well, here we are. The \"Get Up And GO\" Guide. This will break down everything you need to know, do, and remind yourself in order to...well... Get Up and GO! Let\'s dive right in - <br /><br />First Thing\'s First<b> - Get Out Of Your Own Way!</b><br /><b></b><br /><a name=\'more\'></a><b><br /></b><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LH9jfUr-XhM/UgKqj7IHAOI/AAAAAAAABHE/CFvxtJCN2P8/s1600/stifstopsign.jpg\" style=\"clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" src=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LH9jfUr-XhM/UgKqj7IHAOI/AAAAAAAABHE/CFvxtJCN2P8/s1600/stifstopsign.jpg\" /></a></div><b>YOU </b>are the only obstacle in your way. Nobody can<br />tell you that <b>you can\'t do it</b>. <b>Your voice</b> is the only voice that matters. You are <b>perfectly capable</b> of achieving your goals. So, <b>stop the excuses</b>, <b>do</b> what you need to do to be in a position to begin your journey...and <b>do it!</b> I could go on for hours, but that\'s about all there is to say in this part of the guide. I\'ve already talked about the <a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/2013/07/the-inconvenience-factor-accepting.html\" target=\"_blank\">\"I Don\'t Feel Like It Syndrome\"</a>, <a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/2013/07/defeating-demotivators-1-fear-monster.html\" target=\"_blank\">The Fear Monster</a>, <a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/2013/07/why-workouts-fail-1-napoleon-complex.html\" target=\"_blank\">The Napoleon Complex</a> and <a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/2013/07/conquer-truth-about-motivation.html\" target=\"_blank\">motivation itself</a>, so we\'ve covered a lot of the bases concerning why you might not have been doing anything - it\'s time to figure out what\'s been keeping you away from a better you and <b>beat it</b>. Those other articles might <br />help.<br /><br /><b>So What Are You Gonna Do Now?</b><br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Meem0uxYX6U/UgPzfNL6fHI/AAAAAAAABHk/vf2fQbWEsgc/s1600/ok-now-what.jpg\" style=\"clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"240\" src=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Meem0uxYX6U/UgPzfNL6fHI/AAAAAAAABHk/vf2fQbWEsgc/s320/ok-now-what.jpg\" width=\"320\" /></a></div><b>&nbsp; </b><br />No, really...assuming you\'re ready to do something, you have to know <b>what it is</b> you\'re gonna do! That means you need to have a goal envisioned in your mind. What is your goal - <b>what do you want</b> in the end? It\'s going to be a long road, and you need a road map to get there. So, figure it out!<br /><b> </b><br />Are you trying to burn fat and get lean (known in fitness world as \"cutting\") or get big and build muscle (\"bulking\")? What do you want to look like? What size do you want to be? What weight are you shooting for? Where do you want to be in a year? I know it seems far off, but if you set your ultimate goal now you can figure out your plan and set little, more immediately attainable goals to achieve along the way. Trust me - little victories along the path to the Promised Land can do a lot more for you than you can appreciate right now.<br /><br /><b>OK, </b>So you know where you want to go - <b>How Do You Get There?</b><br /><br />This is the part where you have to choose your starting point - what you\'re actually going to do to start losing/gaining weight. This can be a big decision, and it IS an important one.&nbsp;<b> </b>Megan (my fiancee) and I were between two programs - P90X and INSANITY. We were familiar with the two from word of mouth, internet ads, and tv infomercials. We had a rough idea of what we were in for and what the two were like. In the end, the differences we were deciding between were:<br /><br />P90X - requires some equipment, allows lots of modification of moves, well-rounded program<br />Insanity - requires NO equipment, doesn\'t really allow much modification (or any at all), cardio HELL. <br /><br />We decided, in the end, to do P90X first. Frankly, <b>I\'m glad we did</b>. For what we were looking to do it was a good starting point. It allowed us to ease into things modifying moves and achieving little victories, still getting the full workout done instead of failing after one or two full-out intense reps. It allowed us to <b>feel good</b> about our achievements and see our <b>progress</b> as we went along. <b>Yes,</b> we would\'ve seen progress in INSANITY too, but the fact we couldn\'t go balls-to-the-wall and get more than a couple reps might have discouraged us from finishing the program. Doint P90X also helped us build a base of muscle and shed some initial weight (read: a LOT of weight) that helped make INSANITY suck a whole lot less.<br /><br />In the end, <b>we made the right choice for us</b>. Maybe the other choice would\'ve worked for you. That\'s probably the toughest part - in the end, <b>you have to make the call.</b> Look into your available options and choose what you think is going to serve you best. P90X allowed my 300 lb out-of-shape self to struggle for 10 pushups on my knees and still complete the workout. Progress is progress -<br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kLDUQomQlGk/UgRhkwa-zqI/AAAAAAAABH0/llsPETZ427c/s1600/dead-last-finish-meme.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"200\" src=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kLDUQomQlGk/UgRhkwa-zqI/AAAAAAAABH0/llsPETZ427c/s400/dead-last-finish-meme.jpg\" width=\"400\" /></a></div>Because let\'s be honest - you\'re already lapping the guy still sitting on the couch.<br /><br />Once you figure out what you\'re doing, you need <b>the tools for success</b>.<br /><br /><b>What are The Tools For Success?</b><br /><br />Generally, whatever the program you\'re doing calls for! If you\'re going to do a program like P90X that requires equipment, <u><b>you need that equipment!</b></u> Things like resistance bands, pull-up bars, push-up stands, yoga mats, etc can be found at stores like Marshalls, T.J. Maxx, Wal-Mart, or your favorite sporting goods store. I got my resistance band set for about $12, same with some nice push-up stands. Yoga mat was about $12 for a nice one and yoga block was $5 (worth it). Trust me,<b> the equipment</b> <b>is worth the investment</b>. Don\'t let a few extra bucks scare you away - it\'s worth it for your health, fitness and enjoyment. I\'d happily invest that $50 again to add enjoyable years onto my life. If you\'re going a little more hardcore with something like P90X2 or Body Beast, you\'ve probably already done some workout programs and have built up a collection of equipment already. <b>Don\'t choose a program simply because of a lack of required equipment</b>. I almost made that mistake, and if I had, I might have gotten discouraged and quit INSANITY, and I never would\'ve gotten in shape and started running.<br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RAPp4HY0GyQ/UgRt0lGoo_I/AAAAAAAABIk/MWs3CFqF70I/s1600/IMG_20130730_103135_867.jpg\" style=\"clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"360\" src=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RAPp4HY0GyQ/UgRt0lGoo_I/AAAAAAAABIk/MWs3CFqF70I/s640/IMG_20130730_103135_867.jpg\" width=\"640\" /></a></div><br />If the program you\'re doing has worksheets, trust me...<b>print them and use them. </b>I WISH I had printed and used the P90X worksheets - I\'d LOVE to see how far I\'ve come since then. Not only that, but the worksheets help you stay on track, remember what weight/how many reps you did last time, and <b>continue to steadily improve</b>. I thought I knew better. Guess what? <b>I didn\'t.</b><b> </b>I\'ve come so far that now, in Body Beast, not only did I use worksheets, but I found better worksheets online and modified them to suit my needs. <b>USE THE WORKSHEETS</b>. You\'ll thank yourself later.<br /><br /><b>Before and After Pictures &amp; Measurements are HUGELY Important!</b><br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><b><a href=\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-U7bfQ1zYljU/UgRmPd603xI/AAAAAAAABIE/a9_wxDme9Sk/s1600/885308_10101200011174872_1745072204_o.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"377\" src=\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-U7bfQ1zYljU/UgRmPd603xI/AAAAAAAABIE/a9_wxDme9Sk/s640/885308_10101200011174872_1745072204_o.jpg\" width=\"640\" /></a></b></div><br />Seriously, if you take one piece of advice, take this - <b>DO THE BEFORE AND AFTERS!</b> You have no idea how sorry I almost was...I waited until Day 6 of P90X to do before pictures.&nbsp;<b> </b>I was<i><b> so ashamed</b></i> of my body and <u>disgusted</u> with how I looked<b> I didn\'t even want to do before pictures</b>. <b>I wanted to forget all about it</b>. I am SO glad I finally did the before pictures. I can see how far I\'ve come! I can appreciate my achievements! It\'s such a great feeling and now that I\'m so much more fit people look at the before and can\'t believe it. (you can see all the <a href=\"http://sothisisfitness.com/meet-darrell/my-journey\" target=\"_blank\">before &amp; afters here</a>) I <b>wish </b>I had taken measurements before. The only one I have is my waist size, and that\'s not entirely accurate. It was likely bigger than I think. <br /><b>Take Pictures, take your measurements, document your journey. Fit-&amp;-Healthy You WILL thank yourself. </b><br /><br /><b>Once you do that, it\'s GO TIME</b><br /><br /><b>SO, </b>You\'ve got direction, you\'ve got a program, you\'ve got the tools and you\'ve taken the pics/measurements. Presumably, you have a <b>suitable space</b> to do your workout. Anywhere you can do your workout, use your equipment, not disturb others (too much) and not be disturbed by others will do. <b>Don\'t worry about people watching you</b> <b>- let the hater\'s hate. </b>I would think anyone that could see you in your workout space would be someone close to you, and I would hope someone that close wouldn\'t judge you. <br /><br /><b>NOW that we\'ve moved on from the haters - </b>Get your fit test done (if there is one). Some programs, such as P90X, have a fit test you do before and after the program, whereas other programs like INSANITY have a fit test that is part of the regular schedule. Whatever the case, DO IT. Again, <b>you\'ll thank yourself later</b>. <br /><br /><b>This Is The Easy Part</b><br /><br />Not to rip a line from Nike or anything...but...well...Just Do It! You\'ve got everything you need. Just. Freaking. <b>DO IT! </b>If you need motivation along the way, just think about where you came from, where you want to be, and how much you don\'t want to look like that before picture again. Think about how good it feels to finish a workout and have that little success under your belt. Think of how good it feels to see yourself shrinking week to week, see your clothes fitting looser, needing to go shopping to buy new ones. Think of your loved ones and how you\'d like to be around a little longer for them, or how you\'d like to look better for them. If you\'re like I was, think of <b>how much it sucks to get winded going up one flight of stairs</b>. Everyone has that one little nugget of <i>something</i> that will kick their butt into gear no matter how much the workout sucks, how much you\'re swearing at Tony Horton or Shaun T through the TV, or how much you REALLY just <i>don\'t </i>want to get out of bed and go work out this morning.<br /><br /><b>If you need a little outside help</b> keeping yourself accountable, be a part of a group designed for just such a purpose. There are many on Facebook, many in real life (with real people!) too. Enough people reached out to me talking about inspiration and asking for advice that I went and made one. If you want, you can become a part of it&nbsp;<a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/groups/sothisisfitness/\" target=\"_blank\">here</a>. I\'ve been a part of one for a while and I can tell you it was definitely a great motivator on the days I needed it. Other days, it\'s a great place to learn something or help motivate others. <b>Maybe having a workout partner </b>is what you need. I know having my fiancee there beside me every day doing the workout with me was a big deal. <b>I tried harder</b>. For her and for me. If she could do it, I could do it. If I could do it, she could do it. We were a <b>team</b>. Once we got to the end of Week 1 Day 6 we looked at each other and said \"If we can get through the first week, we can get through the whole thing.\" - and we did. <br /><br /><b>Fight off those last little excuses </b>that creep into your mind! Don\'t try to fool yourself and say you don\'t have time: no matter how long you work, how screwed up your hours, how awful your schedule, remember: <br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MxsTZj6guyg/UgRq8Uu1ZEI/AAAAAAAABIY/tTzzOSFUWF4/s1600/too-busy.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"240\" src=\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MxsTZj6guyg/UgRq8Uu1ZEI/AAAAAAAABIY/tTzzOSFUWF4/s320/too-busy.jpg\" width=\"320\" /></a></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\"><br /></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\">Think you<b> can\'t do it? </b>It\'s just<b> too hard </b>and you\'re <b>too out of shape?</b></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\"><br /></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-isFEI803Hzc/UgRxlKyUZzI/AAAAAAAABI0/QiEz6h3NlAI/s1600/no-excuses.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"320\" src=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-isFEI803Hzc/UgRxlKyUZzI/AAAAAAAABI0/QiEz6h3NlAI/s320/no-excuses.jpg\" width=\"310\" /></a></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\"><br /></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\">So <b>get to it, Nancy. <u>You got this. </u></b></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: left;\"><br /></div><b> </b>','The \"Get Up And GO\" Guide','','inherit','closed','closed','','120-revision-v1','','','2017-01-14 00:58:12','2017-01-14 05:58:12','',120,'http://sothisisfitness.com/2017/01/120-revision-v1.html',0,'revision','',0),(594,1,'2017-01-14 00:58:13','2017-01-14 05:58:13','<div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><a href=\"http://sothisisfitness.com/meet-darrell/my-journey\" target=\"_blank\">I lost 107 lbs.</a> I trained for 140 miles. I raised $2,520 for Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (so far). <a href=\"http://sothisisfitness.com/meet-darrell/my-journey\" target=\"_blank\">I spent one year of my life</a> turning around my health and fitness. I re-learned how to think about nutrition and what I put in my mouth. I got in tune with my body. I gave it my all. <b>And then I ran...&nbsp;</b> <br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HstNwartSZo/UghMjZ55oAI/AAAAAAAABMY/DZKjY9XAUGE/s1600/IMG_20130811_085545_822.jpg\" style=\"clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"></a><a href=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-53XecJMNMbU/UghdwnvLaFI/AAAAAAAABNo/v5yvEVClDGg/s1600/runkeeper+roadrace.jpg\" style=\"clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" src=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-53XecJMNMbU/UghdwnvLaFI/AAAAAAAABNo/v5yvEVClDGg/s400/runkeeper+roadrace.jpg\" height=\"297\" width=\"400\" /></a></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div>All I can say is...<b>wow</b>. What an experience! No wonder so many people want to run the <a href=\"http://www.falmouthroadrace.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Falmouth Road Race</a>! I had heard that it was the second most popular race in New England, the most desirable race in the country, etc...but I had <b>no idea</b> what an incredible <br /><a name=\'more\'></a>experience it would be! As you can see from the <a href=\"http://www.runkeeper.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Runkeeper</a> screenshot above (check out my <a href=\"http://runkeeper.com/user/dwmctague\" target=\"_blank\">Runkeeper profile</a> and <a href=\"http://runkeeper.com/user/dwmctague/activity/223465808\" target=\"_blank\">road race activity</a>), I got the time I was shooting for! Runkeeper reported 1:10:13 and my \"unofficial\" chip time was 1:10:04.<br /><br /><b>For the non-runners out there </b>- there are two different \"times\" many timed races will report - \"Gun Time\" and \"Chip Time\" (sometimes called \"Net Time\"). Gun Time is<br />the time from when the gun goes off and the race starts to when you cross the finish line. Chip Time (or Net Time) is the time from <b>when you actually cross the starting line</b> to when you cross the finish.&nbsp; You may think these times would be the same, but if you\'re in a large race you might actually cross the starting line one, two, five or even ten+ minutes after the gun goes off. Yesterday in the Falmouth Road Race I didn\'t cross the starting line until <b>more than 20 minutes </b>after the gun went off. They call it \"Chip Time\" because it\'s the time when your timing chip crosses the start and finish. They call it \"Net Time\" because it\'s the gun time minus the time it takes for you to get to the starting line (in this case, \"Net\" is a math term).<br /><br /><b>In terms of performance and results</b> - Yes, I got the time I wanted. I<i> </i>was pretty steady in my pace and stayed under 9:46 per mile the entire race. Once I got up the big hill in Falmouth Heights (the last challenge where lots of runners drop) I turned it on and zipped to the end on a mission. I felt great, due I\'m sure in part to a number of things including proper sleep the night before, being hydrated, good pre-race nutrition, my intra-workout drink during the race and a clear head with a positive attitude. Know what helped? <b>It was like I was the only person out there. </b>Nobody else mattered. I was doing my thing and the other 12,799 people were just...<i>there.</i> People zipped ahead of me early on and I smiled to myself thinking \"I\'ll see you around mile 5\" and I passed people walking from mile 3 onward thinking \"I was you during the Finish at the 50 10K\". I learned a lot and it paid off!<br /><a href=\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HstNwartSZo/UghMjZ55oAI/AAAAAAAABMY/DZKjY9XAUGE/s1600/IMG_20130811_085545_822.jpg\" style=\"clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" src=\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HstNwartSZo/UghMjZ55oAI/AAAAAAAABMY/DZKjY9XAUGE/s400/IMG_20130811_085545_822.jpg\" height=\"225\" width=\"400\" /></a><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><b>There are two things I want to put out there</b> for those of you who don\'t know: 1. I ran this race as a part of <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/pages/Team-Lanzoni/195301487166598\" target=\"_blank\">Team Lanzoni</a> - the <a href=\"http://www.99restaurants.com/community-jimmy-fund.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">99 Restaurants team</a>. Team Lanzoni is a part of the <a href=\"http://www.rundanafarber.org/\" target=\"_blank\">Dana-Farber Cancer Institute running program</a>. 2. I am a<a href=\"http://www.massfreemasonry.org/\" target=\"_blank\"> Freemason</a>, and so was my grandfather Peter. <b>What do these two things have in common?</b><br /><b>&nbsp;</b> <br />Last July my grandfather passed away. During his battle with cancer, he was taken care of in the Dana-Farber center at Faulkner in Boston. They took great care of him, were incredibly compassionate, and were there for my family when we needed them. They took the time to make sure they did everything they could and to make sure we were OK when we ran out of options. I wanted to be able to do something for them - help to give someone else a fighting chance. I ran this race for him, and I carried him with me the whole 7.4 miles (or maybe it was him that carried me). <br /><br /><b>Speaking of Team Lanzoni...</b><br />One of the guys in corral 5 with me was an interesting character. His name is Eric Parent, otherwise known as <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/Thesmoothbear\" target=\"_blank\">TheSmoothBear</a>...<br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cfVvJlD5RHg/UghM0qylKOI/AAAAAAAABM8/58bvbfIPXc8/s1600/IMG_20130811_124505_406.jpg\" style=\"clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" src=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cfVvJlD5RHg/UghM0qylKOI/AAAAAAAABM8/58bvbfIPXc8/s400/IMG_20130811_124505_406.jpg\" height=\"225\" width=\"400\" /></a></div><b> </b>This guy is a part of Team Lanzoni too. He\'s got a <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_ysTsVcPVvMDZc6T2DbslQ\" target=\"_blank\">vlog (video blog, check it out here)</a> where (among other things) he chronicles his running thing. I checked out some of his videos and he\'s pretty entertaining. In one of his videos <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vljs7vx3248&amp;list=UU_ysTsVcPVvMDZc6T2DbslQ\" target=\"_blank\">RFTF: Orange Is The New Black</a> he literally talks about the Netflix show OITNB while running. I mean, I know some runners can just have a conversation like its no big deal while they cruise along, but I guess I was kind of expecting that from those toothpicks in running shoes...TheSmoothBear (no offense buddy) is a big dude, not your typical running toothpick, so I was surprised. I know I sure as hell can\'t have a conversation like that while running, so kudos to you on that! As far as content - he just kinda tells it like it is, which I like. It\'s always good to see a big guy (read beasty, not fat) rockin\' out in fitness world, so more kudos to you on that! Keep on keepin\' on. Hopefully I see this guy again in next year\'s Falmouth Road Race. Be sure to check out <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_ysTsVcPVvMDZc6T2DbslQ\" target=\"_blank\">his vlog</a> and <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/Thesmoothbear\" target=\"_blank\">his Facebook</a> - let him know Darrell sent you from \"So THIS Is Fitness...\"!<br /><br /><b>But Perhaps The Best Part Of Yesterday...</b><br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PR1JvMqF12U/UghLZ0RSzYI/AAAAAAAABJ0/l9T1d6iFuT4/s1600/IMG_20130811_070044_443.jpg\" style=\"clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" src=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PR1JvMqF12U/UghLZ0RSzYI/AAAAAAAABJ0/l9T1d6iFuT4/s640/IMG_20130811_070044_443.jpg\" height=\"640\" width=\"360\" /></a></div>We may not have run next to each other, but being out there with my fiancee Megan was great! She\'s been right there next to me since day 1 of P90X when this whole thing started, and it was a great feeling to be out there with her for our biggest challenge yet. I\'m so proud of her and how far she\'s come. Despite knee issues (and no uber-knee brace like I have) and a history of debilitating cramps every time we run she achieved her best pace to date and <i>smashed </i>the time she expected to get, coming in at 1:21:48. Sounds like she plans on being a part of Team Lanzoni with me next year for this race, and in the more immediate future...hopefully she\'ll be a part of my next undertaking...more on that soon.<br /><br /><b>Oh, By The Way:</b><br /><a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/p/running-playlist.html\" target=\"_blank\">My Playlist</a> did me a lot of good. I find it ironic that <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEXHeTcxQy4\" target=\"_blank\">Chelsea Dagger</a> never came on through the whole run, but I did have <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-2yuGgp_U8\" target=\"_blank\">Lift Me Up</a> on for that last hill climb in Falmouth Heights, and let me tell you it felt pretty badass climbing that hill and flying to the finish rockin\' out to that.<b> </b><br /><br /><b>So, Overall?</b><br />The Falmouth Road Race<b> </b>was an incredible experience, I performed better than I could\'ve expected, felt great and I\'m looking forward to next year where hopefully I\'ll get a lower number and a better corral.<br />Just think - if I can do this, <b><u>anyone</u> can do it</b>. Get out there and <u><b>get to it</b></u>.','And Then I Ran... | Falmouth Road Race','','inherit','closed','closed','','118-revision-v1','','','2017-01-14 00:58:13','2017-01-14 05:58:13','',118,'http://sothisisfitness.com/2017/01/118-revision-v1.html',0,'revision','',0),(595,1,'2017-01-14 00:58:13','2017-01-14 05:58:13','<div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-A8n99vhRQcg/UhSlDm5MViI/AAAAAAAABWg/QjTQLWq4hWM/s1600/e-bk-easy-readers-04goldilocks-pic3-anim.gif\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" src=\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-A8n99vhRQcg/UhSlDm5MViI/AAAAAAAABWg/QjTQLWq4hWM/s1600/e-bk-easy-readers-04goldilocks-pic3-anim.gif\" /></a></div><br />I thought I was pretty original with this one, but apparently some scientists thought they were clever too...so I guess I have to be specific in my title. I\'m sure you\'re all familiar with the story of Goldilocks, right? Goldilocks and the three bears, three of everything, one was always too cold/little, one was too hot/big, and one was just right? Yeah...today, think of us - the American People, as Goldilocks. Forewarning - this is, to some degree, going to piggyback off of <a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/2013/08/america-fat.html\" target=\"_blank\">America The Fat</a>, so having read that might help you understand where I\'m coming from with some of this.<br /><br />The problem we face in our society and our culture today is - we can\'t find \"just right\" like Goldilocks did.<br /><a name=\'more\'></a>That\'s not necessarily all our fault either...we aren\'t generally <i>encouraged</i> to find \"just right\". Instead, we\'re told to pursue \"too small\" or \"too big\".<br />Look at the media, at TV, at movies, at society in general...everything we see either encourages us to be (what <b>I consider</b>) too skinny or tells us that being fat is OK. The examples of \"fat being OK\" are glaringly obvious and easy to see (my opinion) as its <b>thrown in our faces </b>to make those who are fat feel better, but the \"too skinny\" message is a little more subliminal than that, so let\'s tackle that first.<br /><br /><b>What is too skinny?</b><br /><br />I assume its easy to understand what \"too big\" means, and I\'m sure many of you can visualize it...but what about \"too skinny\"? What, exactly, constitutes \"too skinny\"?&nbsp; <b>\"Too skinny\" is a stick figure. </b>\"Too skinny\" has no muscle definition and looks like you\'d blow away in a strong breeze. When I think \"too skinny\", I think of people doing whatever they can to lose weight, be \"thin\", and look as tiny as they can. Guess what weighs a lot? <b>Muscle</b>. The \"diets\" many people do in order to lose weight and achieve \"too skinny\" don\'t just make you burn fat, they also force your body to break down muscle as well. <b>That\'s not healthy!</b> If your body is at a point where it has to break down muscle, it means it is <b>malnourished</b> and not getting enough nutrients and fuel! Here\'s my prime example:<br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div><br /><b>Giuliana Rancic. </b>Those of you who watch E!, any kind of gossip news, the TV Guide channel or any kind of red carpet anything have seen this woman. So what\'s my issue with Giuliana?<br /><table cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" style=\"float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;\"><tbody><tr><td style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0Qp4KBMzQgc/UhS1M02xtQI/AAAAAAAABW8/U0E4zzv6qFQ/s1600/Giuliana.jpg\" style=\"clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"320\" src=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0Qp4KBMzQgc/UhS1M02xtQI/AAAAAAAABW8/U0E4zzv6qFQ/s320/Giuliana.jpg\" width=\"213\" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style=\"text-align: center;\">Img Credit - Fame</td></tr></tbody></table>Well, for one, she\'s a perfect example of the kind of body being shown by Hollywood to women as ideal, and let\'s be honest - what we see on TV, <b>especially</b> <i>those</i> sorts of programs, is meant to be our model for ourselves. We\'re taught to idolize the famous, envy the rich and powerful, and do what we can to be more like them. That said, look at some of the celebrities we\'re either told or supposed to imply are the standard of \"attractive\" that <b>we</b> should be - Giuliana being one (who, by the way, started her own \"fitness\" website to \"help\" others get in the \"perfect shape\"...). Keira Knightley is another one - Pirates of the Caribbean anyone?&nbsp; It\'s tough to find if you go out <b>searching</b> for it, but its there and its sneaky. I had to think about it for a minute, but then I looked at some pictures of Megan Fox from Transformers, and I can\'t decide without watching the movie again, but from pictures I can see online, she definitely rides the line. What was the big reaction to her in that movie though? <b>Sexy</b>. The problem with things like that is, while she may not actually <b>be</b> \"too skinny\", women, especially teenage girls and women in their early 20\'s, want to <b>be</b> that skinny, so<b> they become \"too skinny\" as a result</b>.<br /><br /><b>I will say</b> - while this IS still a problem, its becoming <i>less </i>of a problem as we begin to demonize certain celebrities and their behaviors - certain celebrities who, in addition to drug problems and bad behavior, <i>happen </i>to also be too skinny, so that becomes bad too. As long as there are celebrities like Giuliana who are being praised, and movies showing near-toothpicks like Megan Fox in Transformers, it will still be an issue...and frankly I don\'t foresee Hollywood casting directors changing that anytime soon.<br /><br /><b>How About \"Too Big\"?</b><br /><br />I want to be clear here - when I say \"too big\", I\'m not talking about people who are riding the line and are somewhere close to being \"just right\"...I\'m talking about people who are <u>clearly</u> \"too big\". Visibly overweight. When you <b>get winded going up a flight of stairs</b>, you might be \"too big\". When <b>you can\'t see your toes over your belly</b> you might be \"too big\". When <b>you regularly put down over half a pizza by yourself in one sitting</b> you might be \"too big\". The worst part of \"too big\" is that this country is making it OK. Let me give some examples:<br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Sbc-b1-upK4/UhTIR7XfNKI/AAAAAAAABXI/gKQhDZ2OaDI/s1600/adele+fat.jpg\" style=\"clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"274\" src=\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Sbc-b1-upK4/UhTIR7XfNKI/AAAAAAAABXI/gKQhDZ2OaDI/s320/adele+fat.jpg\" width=\"320\" /></a></div>Some of you may be familiar with this popular recording artist - Adele. She\'s a well-known big girl and I\'ve actually read a quote from her saying she\'s not concerned about weight and being skinny - she never plans to lose weight. She basically said she could be a house but as long as she\'s making quality albums she\'s ok with that. <b>That is the wrong message to send.</b> But that\'s not <i>really </i>what I\'m talking about: Adele\'s attitude, I feel, just <i>implies</i> that being overweight isn\'t something to worry about. What I\'m talking about is much worse than that. What I\'m talking about is a culture that makes it <b>acceptable</b> to be overweight. Teaches us that everyone is beautiful and to love your body.<br /><table cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" style=\"float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;\"><tbody><tr><td style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-K7S7UthwIdo/UhTI3niIKjI/AAAAAAAABXQ/KtJ8Lgczw64/s1600/Fat-Amy-pitch-perfect-32534849-720-720.jpg\" style=\"clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"320\" src=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-K7S7UthwIdo/UhTI3niIKjI/AAAAAAAABXQ/KtJ8Lgczw64/s320/Fat-Amy-pitch-perfect-32534849-720-720.jpg\" width=\"320\" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style=\"text-align: center;\">Img credit - Fanpop</td></tr></tbody></table>Let\'s get this straight - <b>I thought Pitch Perfect was hilarious</b>. That said, now that I think about it, I have a <b>BIG</b> problem with the \"Fat Amy\" character. Basically, Fat Amy is teaching people that it\'s OK to be fat, that skinny girls (or \"twig bitches\") are mean and not to be admired, and that you should love yourself and your body regardless of your size. The movie uses her size for many jokes (both physical comedy and verbal jokes) which, of course, I would expect in a comedy. However, when you couple those jokes with the message the character is sending, you kind of <i>glorify</i> being big like that. They\'re portraying her as a strong character because she\'s overcoming adversity and being happy with herself. <b>I can\'t agree with that</b>. We shouldn\'t be teaching people that maintaining an unhealthy body fat percentage is ok. It creates health problems! High body fat percentage puts stress on your body in so many ways, it puts you at risk for heart disease, diabetes and more...<b>why are we telling people that\'s OK?</b> <br /><br /><b>I\'m gonna <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soapbox\" target=\"_blank\">get up on my soapbox</a> for a minute - this is going to be a long paragraph.</b><br /><a href=\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Pd_yBWoBcyA/UhTL-F-MQVI/AAAAAAAABXg/GGqh3CfDWt8/s1600/soapbox.jpg\" style=\"clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"320\" src=\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Pd_yBWoBcyA/UhTL-F-MQVI/AAAAAAAABXg/GGqh3CfDWt8/s320/soapbox.jpg\" width=\"304\" /></a><b>&nbsp;</b><br /><b>Your doctor </b>should be telling you what a healthy range is and helping you figure out a plan to get healthy. Your doctor should also be describing all the health risks associated with being overweight. One of my faithful readers and members of the <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/groups/sothisisfitness/\" target=\"_blank\">\"So Fit\" Family</a> messaged me a link a short while ago and I have to tell you it got me so fired up I wanted to pop. There are, apparently, doctors out there who are telling people <b>that it\'s OK to be fat</b>, that aren\'t making an issue of it, that aren\'t weighing you when you come in for a visit and tell you not to worry about losing weight. <b>I don\'t even know where to begin with this</b>.<br /><br />First off, a clarification - not all of the doctors on this list are internal <span></span><span></span>medicine - there is a wide variety. There are internal medicine, family medicine, naturopathic, OB/GYN, midwifery, psychologists, therapists, gastroenterologists, etc etc. What bothers me is that these are <b>doctors</b> making it <b>OK.</b> If nobody else in the universe tells you the health risks of being overweight and urges you to \"get healthy\", <b>your doctor should</b>. Frankly I think it\'s irresponsible and a violation of the <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippocratic_Oath\" target=\"_blank\">Hippocratic Oath</a> to tell people it\'s OK and to tell them they don\'t need to worry about their weight or think about losing any. When someone walks in your office door and is 400 LBS...you offer them <b>help</b>, not a mozzarella stick (there is no tall person alive tall enough for 400 lbs to be healthy...please correct me if I\'m wrong). Now, don\'t bite my head off here - I understand that many people don\'t go to the doctor because they\'re embarrassed about their weight and don\'t want to weigh in, yes I do believe these people should be able to see a doctor without having to be ashamed...but if you feel ashamed because your doctor is telling you about the health risks you\'re currently facing...<b>shouldn\'t that be a hint that you\'re not happy and it\'s time to do something about it?</b> If the doctor is being a jerk about it and is intentionally making you feel ashamed about it, that\'s another thing entirely and I <b>don\'t condone</b> that, but what we have out there is the exact opposite - doctors making you <i>feel good</i> about being overweight! That\'s something that needs to stop. Another part that gets me fired up is: some of those doctors out there who are psychologists or therapists are basically preying on those who are overweight. These doctors get the overweight to come in under the auspices of caring about them and not making their weight an issue. <b>That\'s deceptive and dirty</b>. Ok...off my soapbox...<br /><br />Add on to all of those things we just talked about the general culture of \"love your body\" \"it\'s OK to be big\" and \"be happy\" that these promote and what you have is a nation of overweight people who are empowered to pick up that chicken wing and chow down because y\'know what...<b>I\'m OK with this and it\'s OK to be big! </b>Add in <a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/2013/07/the-inconvenience-factor-accepting.html\" target=\"_blank\">\"The I Don\'t Feel Like It Syndrome\" </a>and you have a recipie for disaster.<br /><br />Y\'know...let me tell you...I was Mr. I\'m-Big-I\'m-Not-Ashamed for a while but y\'know what...when I stopped fooling myself and lying to myself...I admitted that I really wasnt\' happy. That\'s when <a href=\"http://sothisisfitness.com/meet-darrell/my-journey\" target=\"_blank\">My Story</a> and <a href=\"http://sothisisfitness.com/meet-darrell/my-journey\" target=\"_blank\">My Transformation</a> began. Don\'t forget...<b>I was a pretty big guy</b>...so on a lot of this, I\'m speaking from experience. I may have seemed happy or tried to be happy, but I really wasn\'t. It was the biggest thing dragging me down in my life.<br /><b> </b><br /><b>So What Is \"Just Right\"?</b><br /><br />Do we really know what \"just right\" is? We\'re pulled in two directions so much that many people don\'t actually find the way to \"just right\" or the tools to figure out what exactly that is. Where\'s the happy medium between \"too big\" and \"too skinny\"? Well, many would say to follow a \"body mass index\" (BMI) chart...but I\'m not sure I agree with that. BMI charts follow age and height to find what your ideal weight range is. The government website where I found a BMI chart DID make a point to say that it is inaccurate for those with an athletic or muscular build, or for those who are older or who have lost muscle weight. Not everyone who is 24 and 5\'8\" should weight the same...some are lean builds and some are athletic. <b>So BMI Chart is out. My vote </b>is to use the Jackson &amp; Pollock chart.<br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nJq_iaqOctk/UhTMzJvQuXI/AAAAAAAABXo/MPScp5ti340/s1600/Ideal-Body-Fat-Percentage-Chart2.jpg\" style=\"clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" src=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nJq_iaqOctk/UhTMzJvQuXI/AAAAAAAABXo/MPScp5ti340/s1600/Ideal-Body-Fat-Percentage-Chart2.jpg\" /></a></div><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nGBM0EcTxW8/UhTNcEkvyvI/AAAAAAAABX4/XKPYemPz99k/s1600/Ideal-Body-Fat-Percentage-Chart3.jpg\" style=\"clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" src=\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nGBM0EcTxW8/UhTNcEkvyvI/AAAAAAAABX4/XKPYemPz99k/s1600/Ideal-Body-Fat-Percentage-Chart3.jpg\" /></a></div><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div>These charts, I think, hit the nail on the head. They go by age and gender, and there is a range! Lean, Ideal, Average, and Above Average. I\'m gonna go ahead and say that, since this IS \"<a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/2013/08/america-fat.html\" target=\"_blank\">America The Fat</a>\" that \"average\" is probably \"slightly overweight\" and \"above average\" is probably \"too big\". I\'m not sure where I fall right now because I can\'t for the life of me figure out how much pressure to use when I use my body-fat measuring calipers. I\'ll go more in-depth on this in a later article, but the basics here are: women have higher acceptable body fat %\'s than men because they have more need of it in their bodies. These charts use age because as you get older, you naturally have / need more fat in your body. Like I said, <b>this is a really REALLY basic explanation</b> but the gist here is, I think this is the chart to follow. Ask your doctor to help you figure out your body fat percentage and go from there. This is also good for those building muscle as it allows you to account for muscle in your body - notice this chart <b>doesn\'t use weight</b> as a measurement! Imagine that...<b>weight itself isn\'t everything</b>.&nbsp; I feel like <a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/2013/07/why-workouts-fail-2-scale.html\" target=\"_blank\">I\'ve heard that somewhere before...</a><br /><br /><a href=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AjTPjwp6uQQ/UetkdSWAiaI/AAAAAAAAA84/mALlnkHUDOk/s1600/wall-e-human.jpg\" style=\"clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"238\" src=\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AjTPjwp6uQQ/UetkdSWAiaI/AAAAAAAAA84/mALlnkHUDOk/s320/wall-e-human.jpg\" width=\"320\" /></a>\"Just Right\" is different for everyone. Some of you might want to fall into the \"ideal\" category, some of you might want to be a little more in the \"lean\" category. Just make sure if you\'re gonna go down the \"lean\" road you have some muscle in there...don\'t go down the \"lean\" road in such a way that you become \"too skinny\". I don\'t want to sound like I\'m putting down the \"love yourself\" idea, but you should be able to love yourself <b>and be healthy too!</b> It\'s all well and good that people want others to be happy, but there\'s nothing wrong with being<b> fit and healthy</b> as a means to be happy<b> </b>. All too often the \"fit\" people are demonized as the jerks, the evil ones, the people <b>putting me down for being fat. The sad truth is, </b>there are \"fit\" people out there who DO actually do that. So my advice to you is - <b>Offer help, not hate.&nbsp; </b>Part of why this whole \"love yourself, fat is OK\" thing is out there is because of \"the jerks at the gym\". Let\'s try to turn that image around, ok? Otherwise Goldilocks is never going to find \"just right\" and we\'ll end up like the humans in <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WALL-E\" target=\"_blank\">Wall-E</a>. Nobody wants that. <br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"></div>','The Goldilocks Problem - Body Image','','inherit','closed','closed','','113-revision-v1','','','2017-01-14 00:58:13','2017-01-14 05:58:13','',113,'http://sothisisfitness.com/2017/01/113-revision-v1.html',0,'revision','',0),(596,1,'2017-01-14 00:58:13','2017-01-14 05:58:13','Let\'s have a little talk about <b>-Haters-</b>.<br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-80WmeXeDx6M/UhtMBo-Un6I/AAAAAAAABYI/i88hlw2LLJQ/s1600/hatersgonnahatethumb.jpg\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"225\" src=\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-80WmeXeDx6M/UhtMBo-Un6I/AAAAAAAABYI/i88hlw2LLJQ/s400/hatersgonnahatethumb.jpg\" width=\"400\" /></a></div><br />We all know what haters are. We all probably <b>know</b> some haters too. Odds are, many of you out there might even <b>have</b> haters of your <i>very own!</i> I\'ll go ahead and say that 90% or more of the haters out there are the people I\'m talking about in this post. Up to 10% might have a legitimate reason for hating...maybe. For the purposes of this article, let\'s assume we\'re talking about the 90% that I\'m about to describe.<br /><br />Ultimately, I have to say..<b>.I don\'t hate haters.</b> If you think about it the way I do...you can\'t help but love them just because of their very nature.<b> </b>Haters are <b>important! </b>Just not for the reason they wish they were. On this Motivational Monday morning, I think its time to talk about <b>the haters.</b><br /><br /><b>What drives a hater? What do Haters...hate? Why?</b><br /><br /><a name=\'more\'></a><br />So, before we go on...you might be wondering what exactly I mean by \"hate\". <b>What does it mean to be \"hated on\"?</b> How does someone \"hate on\" you?<br /><br />Think back to elementary school, middle school...yes even high school. The haters will <b>make fun of you. </b>The haters will <b>belittle you and your achievements. </b>The haters will try to <b>recruit others </b>to their side to make you feel like you\'re <b>all alone</b>. The haters will <b>bully you </b>and <b>badmouth you. </b>Haters will <b>spread rumors </b>about you. They\'ll try to make you feel like everything you\'re doing <b>doesn\'t matter </b>and no matter what you do, in the end you\'re <b>just a loser</b> wasting their time. <br /><br />If you\'ve seen people getting \"hated on\", you\'ve probably wondered what that person did to \"deserve it\". If <b>you\'re</b> getting \"hated on\" yourself, its probably bothering you that you <b>don\'t know why</b>! I\'m going to make this REALLY simple:<br /><br /><b><span style=\"font-size: large;\">Haters Hate Your Success&nbsp;</span></b><br /><br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-76T_sSFFaFU/UhtNkxLQqwI/AAAAAAAABYU/lYjvob5e8hw/s1600/hatersmeme.jpg\" style=\"clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"320\" src=\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-76T_sSFFaFU/UhtNkxLQqwI/AAAAAAAABYU/lYjvob5e8hw/s320/hatersmeme.jpg\" width=\"320\" /></a></div><b>Yes. It really is that simple.</b> Haters are <b>bitter</b>. Haters are <b>jealous</b>. Haters see in <b>you</b> a reflection of everything they wish <b>they</b> were. Haters want to be able to achieve what <b>you</b> have achieved. Have you lost weight recently? <b>Your hater feels fat.</b> Have you run a race? <b>Your hater wishes they could run. </b>Your hater DID run that race? <b>You got a better time than them</b>. I\'m sure you get the point.<br /><br />I know this seems really childish and like something that belongs in grade school...but it\'s the unfortunate truth. Rather than celebrate your successes with you the haters try to wash it away and put you down. Rather than try to improve themselves and work on their shortcomings, they focus their energy on <b>bringing. you. down</b>.<br /><br />But <b>why?</b><br /><br /><b>Because the haters can\'t be bothered to do the work.</b><br /><br />Haters are often people who suffer from things like <a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/2013/07/the-inconvenience-factor-accepting.html\" target=\"_blank\">\"The I Don\'t Feel Like It Syndrome\"</a>.<b> </b>Maybe <a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/2013/07/defeating-demotivators-1-fear-monster.html\" target=\"_blank\">The Fear Monster</a> has them in it\'s grasp. <b>Maybe </b>they\'ve got a <a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/2013/07/why-workouts-fail-1-napoleon-complex.html\" target=\"_blank\">Napoleon Complex</a> or <a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/2013/07/why-workouts-fail-2-scale.html\" target=\"_blank\">The Scale </a>discouraged them so badly they just can\'t bring themselves to try anymore. <b>Maybe they\'re lost in <a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/2013/08/america-fat.html\" target=\"_blank\">\"America The Fat\"</a>. Or perhaps </b>they just can\'t drum up the<a href=\"http://www.sothisisfitness.com/2013/07/conquer-truth-about-motivation.html\" target=\"_blank\"> motivation</a> to get it done. Whatever the reason...<b>SOMETHING</b> is keeping the haters from getting what they want and being happy, and it\'s everything that <b>YOU </b>have managed to work past to reach your successes and keep on going. <b>That makes your haters very mad</b>. It <b>frustrates them</b>. People often get angry or begin to <b>hate </b>what frustrates them or what they can\'t understand.<b> </b>So since the hater can\'t get past whatever it is stopping them...the mindset becomes toxic.<br /><br /><b>If the hater can\'t have success, neither can you!</b><br /><br /><b>THAT,</b> in a nutshell, is why haters hate. If the hater can\'t be happy...if the hater can\'t lose weight...if the hater can\'t run a race, get an A+, get a girlfriend, get a promotion...<b>neither should you</b>. They <b>hate</b> seeing you get what they want. That\'s why they hate on you and try to bring you down - <b>they\'re trying to make you quit</b>.&nbsp;<b> </b>But <b>this </b>is why I <b>love </b>haters.<br /><br /><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b>Haters let you know you\'re doing a good job</b></span><br /><br />Honestly, the more hate I\'m catching...the harder my haters are hating, the <b>better</b> I must be doing. If they\'re hating on me <b>that much harder</b> then I <i>must </i>be making <b>that much greater</b> of an achievement. THAT is why I said haters are so important - <b>haters are your success meter!</b> Don\'t let them drag you down or discourage you - rather, let your haters <b>be encouragement</b> to go harder. See <b>how much</b> you can make the haters <b>hate </b>you. I\'d like to hope that eventually they\'ll either <b>give up hating</b> or start backing you, but it could very well be the case that they just <b>can\'t get past</b> whatever their own problem is...and they\'ll just keep on hating. <b>So what. Let them hate. </b>Just remember what it means.<br /><div style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rdYuObL40sc/UhtT3ipSrDI/AAAAAAAABYk/ibm6uS1uZFE/s1600/tumblr_md5tvm53DT1qmp520o1_500.jpg\" style=\"clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"><img border=\"0\" height=\"292\" src=\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rdYuObL40sc/UhtT3ipSrDI/AAAAAAAABYk/ibm6uS1uZFE/s400/tumblr_md5tvm53DT1qmp520o1_500.jpg\" width=\"400\" /></a></div><br />By <b>continuing to do what you\'re doing </b>you\'re sending a message to your haters:<br /><br /><b>Your Opinion Does Not Matter. </b><br /><br />Your continued success and your positive attitude lets the haters know that <b>they are powerless to stop you.</b> In the end, you should probably <b>take pity on your haters - </b>they <b>wish</b> they could do what you\'re doing but they can\'t beat their own roadblocks. They <b>can\'t plow through </b>like you have and get down the road to success.&nbsp; <br /><br /><b>Sucks to suck.&nbsp;</b><br /><br />So next time someone starts hating on you or trying to bring you down...<b>just smile at them, </b>walk away, and know that <b>you </b>are what someone else wishes they could be. <b>Don\'t let the haters get you down or stop you - let them push you and encourage you </b>to keep achieving new heights. <b>Don\'t be afraid </b>to post those <a href=\"http://sothisisfitness.com/meet-darrell/my-journey\" target=\"_blank\">before &amp; after pictures</a>. Don\'t be afraid to <a href=\"http://sothisisfitness.com/meet-darrell/my-journey\" target=\"_blank\">talk about how you got where you are.</a><br /><br /><b>Don\'t be afraid to keep becoming a better you. </b>\"Haters gonna hate\".<br /><br /><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b>Let \'em. </b></span>','Haters','','inherit','closed','closed','','107-revision-v1','','','2017-01-14 00:58:13','2017-01-14 05:58:13','',107,'http://sothisisfitness.com/2017/01/107-revision-v1.html',0,'revision','',0),