Spiritual Cultivation: Day 148

Evolution Two – week ten

Monday, July 27, 2009

Hello Folks,
I had another hard day of construction work. This time I held up board and hammered it into the ceiling; I don’t recommend this for folks with neck problems. I am getting closer to my quadathlon. I, hopefully, will be recording the event. Once again I am pretty tired so I am going to keep this short. I took my pics of me in my bathing suit that I will be wearing for the quadathlon. I am actually pretty excited about the event even though right now I am feeling pretty tired from a week of hard labor, hopefully my body will recover enough for the event.

Exercise: Free

Menu: Protein and veggies

Until next time…

Think, Believe, Act, Achieve

Dakota

Today’s Mantra: Spiritual cultivation is a daily activity.

Tired And Sore And Sleepy: Day 147

Evolution Two – week nine

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Hello Folks,

Today was yet another day of construction workout. I have a basement apartment I am trying to make livable so that I can rent it out for extra income. I am really excited about the prospect of having a little extra income, but, man, this kind of work is really hard on the body. I have the funniest looking bruises all over my legs and arms; not to mention cuts and splinters. I also have very sore arms and neck; which I suspect has to do with holding up drywall to ceilings and trying to screw them into the beams or maybe it is hammering and removing nails, I don’t know. I do know that I have a lot of respect for the people that do this kind of work every day, it is brutal.

When I see guys using jackhammers I can’t imagine that is good for the body or the ears. My hands are so sore right now I am having trouble typing. I think I will be taking some more Arnica Montana tonight. I will be sleeping like a baby tonight! I decided to only do cardio today and let the construction workout be my resistance training.

I have exactly 7 days until the quadathlon....should be interesting.

Exercise: Interval (bike 45 min.), Construction Workout

Menu: protein and veggies

Until next time…

Think, Believe, Act, Achieve

Dakota

Today’s Mantra: For a true master, sitting on a throne is no different than sitting on dirt.
~Deng Ming-Dao

Work Hard And Play Hard: Day 146

Evolution Two – week nine

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Hello Folks,

This whole weekend I am doing my construction project, so I am pretty sore right now. I am also finding my appetite to be really high. It reminds me of when I was a kid and I used to go swimming all day and I was perpetually hungry. It feels good to be working this hard. I have been taking Arnica Montana at night to help with my soreness. I am pretty beat, so I am going to make this another short blog.

Exercise: Interval (bike 45 min.), Construction work

Menu: Protein and Veggies

Until next time…

Think, Believe, Act, Achieve

Dakota

Today’s Mantra: Work hard, play hard....better yet make work and play the same thing and then it won't be hard at all.

Construction Work Killer Workout: Day 145

Evolution Two – week nine

Friday, July 24, 2009

Hello Folks,

I just spent 7 hours doing construction type work and I am so tired and sore it is unbelievable. I decided not to do weight training today, because I feel like I did more than my share of lifting today. I was doing mostly drywall and believe me, by yourself is very difficult. I came up with a little system to assist me when I had to lift up really heavy drywall. Overall I feel really good. But you can see I am not smiling in my picture, mostly because I am tired. Hope you all are good. Talk to you later.

Exercise: Interval (bike 45 min.), Construction work - 7 hours

Menu: Protein and Veggies

Until next time…

Think, Believe, Act, Achieve

Dakota

Today’s Mantra: Do what you want, as long as you are not itnerferring with anyone else's right to do the same -this is the definition of morality. ~Dr. Dyer

No Power: Day 144

Evolution Two – week nine

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Hello Folks,

Today I have an electrician coming and I won’t have power all day. So I am going to do a quick blog to get you my pictures before the power goes off.




Exercise: Free

Menu: Veggies and Protein

Until next time…

Think, Believe, Act, Achieve

Dakota

Today’s Mantra: Without power how do we see?

Psychology And Achieving Goals: Day 143

Evolution Two – week nine

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Hello Folks,

Why I think the psychological/mental training is more important than the physical training...

Everyone, for the most part, knows what exercise is and how to do it. Everyone, for the most part, knows what eating healthy, well balanced meals looks like....but it is the mind that gets us to do it.

For anyone who has ever struggled with weight or making some changes in their lives, it is pretty clear that it may just come down to believing in yourself; knowing deep down that you are capable of achieving your desired outcome.

For those of us who have struggled most of our lives with not getting the desired outcome in a given area, we have it programmed into our brain that we will fail at it. That programming can be very self sabotaging for anyone.

Another popular pattern is making excuses...an easy way of saying it is not my priority. I have seen people with the most ridiculous schedules achieve their goals because they knew how to prioritize what they wanted for themselves and found a way to do it no matter what.

I am famous for excuses, so I am not saying that it is a perfect science, but I do think that whatever we choose to focus on will dictate the outcome. For example, if I choose to watch TV for an hour a day (which I do sometimes) and then I say I didn’t have time to clean my house, then it is clear that my priority is watching TV; and it really only takes an hour to clean my house.

How do we get our head on straight? Write down our priorities first. Then make a schedule of each day. Then make an action plan for our goals around that schedule. For example, when I know that I have something planned in the evening that will not give me access to my computer, I will plan to blog in the morning on that day. Or when I know that I will be out of town, I start to make preparations early for what I will do to keep to my fitness schedule and eating schedule. I do have days that don’t quite come together perfectly because I planned it to, but I learn how to be flexible with that too.

Planning is key. But there is still the believing in yourself piece. I think I have talked about this before but I believe it must come down to using as many tools as you can to trick yourself into believing that you will achieve your goals. Whether it be watching video or reading books about other people who have succeeded against all odds or forcing yourself to blog and take photos.

Tricking the mind is training the mind to get out of the rut.

Exercise: Interval (run 30 min., bike 25 min.), Continuous training

Menu: Raw food experiment

Until next time…

Think, Believe, Act, Achieve

Dakota

Today’s Mantra: The mind is the rut.

Nurturing Yourself With Exercise: Day 142

Evolution Two – week nine

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Hello Folks,

There are a few factors that I must face in order to keep going on this fitness schedule....

Number one is that I have to expect that I will achieve all of my fitness goals. Since I am still confronted by my progress plateau I am faced with this number one thought. Do I expect to reach my goal? I set the final goal for when I turn forty, which makes me feel like I have a long time to achieve it. However, this can act as a deterrent as well as a motivator. For me, if I don’t set short term goals ~which is what I originally started off doing~ then it makes it all that much harder to achieve my long term goal.

Number two is that if I actually believe in the law of cause and effect (which I do) then as long as I put effort towards this goal there will be results. By working with the law of Karma I can use it in my favor.

Number three is that I have to ask myself how determined I am to achieve this goal. If I can apply inner strength, will power, discipline, and stamina to stay on course then I can achieve anything.

Number four is that I ask myself how much I place value on this part of my life. Do I feel that health and fitness are important and a high priority in my life. This is when I look a little into my past and compare my quality of life now as to then. On many levels my quality of life increases as I “Take Care” of myself. This is really what is most important to me, since exercise and nutrition have been self-nurturing activities for me.

Last is to believe in myself and follow the priniciples that apply to weight loss. Emotional eating can be a big opponent on the path to fitness. The laws that apply say that energy consumption and output leave a blueprint on your body. If I apply these laws and challenge the old opponent I will succeed.

I know that effort is key to success. I am also suspicious that if I learn how to be more present with my feelings and really know them and sit with them in the moment that my opponent “Emotional Eating” will soon lose its power over me. I have a very old habit of detaching from my feelings when I am hurting. What would it feel like to stay with them for a while and feel them rather than placate them with food?

Finally, exercise can be a meditation on all of these things....emotions, self-awareness, staying present. I know when I am present exercising because nothing else enters my mind, because I am so body aware and since body and emotions are truly one and the same, what better place to start.

Exercise: Interval (run 30 min., bike 25 min.)

Menu: veggie and protein

Until next time…

Think, Believe, Act, Achieve

Dakota

Today’s Mantra: If you wonder about the difference between attachment and enjoyment, ask yourself how you would react if suddenly an object you valued was gone.