The Wanderer

Today was a great day. 3 weeks into the new year and the new challenge, I find myself finally seeing some results and progress not only in the gym but in many other facets of my life. Things are coming up my way lately. Work has been great, lots new opportunities are coming up solely because I’m reaching out to find them. I sometimes have to remind myself that consulting is almost entirely dictated by the people you know and the moves you make, and these past few weeks I’ve really been putting this concept into practice. Opportunities don’t just fall into your hands, most of the time you have to find them and take them. This is something I’ve seen in consulting, but also in life. I think of all the times I wanted something, a job, a girlfriend, a degree, and I just waited around hoping someone will notice I want it. The only times I achieved these accolades was when I actually went a did something about it. There’s a passive way to living and an active one, and lately I’ve been choosing to be active.

Speaking of active (king of segues over here), let’s talk about working out. I’ve been feeling really strong lately, and much to my dismay I think it’s because I’m slowly bulking. I feel pretty good about the amount I’m lifting so my goal was to cut down my weight a little, maybe 5 to 10 pounds, just for that lean toned look. I know its not necessary, and looking at the scale can cause issues with self esteem and body positivity, but I think it’s also important to stay healthy, so for my own personal goals in the coming months I plan on cutting down. The issue now is that because I’m not drinking I’ve found solace in the cookie jar. I’m eating so much lately, partially because of the extra workouts, partially because of work travel, and partially because there’s not much else to do. It’s something I need to keep in mind as I move forward through this journey. Regardless, this extra weight, along with the copious amounts of caffeine I’m consuming, means I’m lifting a lot heavier than I’m used to. Which brings us to the workouts for today.

Today my girlfriend and I did a HIIT workout followed by a 15 minute yoga stretch. The HIIT workout focused mainly on shoulders and triceps with a bit of abs in there. It was a really interesting workout, there were no weights involved so we were holding difficult positions for 45 seconds on with a 15 second break in between. We did workouts like the bear hold and the crab walk, with variations to engage the core or the shoulders more. The workout, just 27 minutes, was strenuous and challenging, but really fun and rewarding. We ended with a nice yoga video (By the one and only Yoga with Adrienne) to finish our 45 minutes. We finished feeling accomplished and strong, which is always a good feeling to have in the morning. After a nice breakfast and some episodes of The Bear, I went home to continue my day. My second workout of the day brought me to my regular gym. I hit a very heavy leg day today, and I’ll walk you through the workout below, just in case you’re following along with me!

Kshaun’s Leg Buster Split

• Leg press 4×8 @ 430lbs
• Quad Extensions 4×12 @ 175lbs
• Hamstring Curls 4×12 @ 140lbs
• Superset Calf Raises 4×12 @ 230lbs + Ab Crunches @ 50lbs

This is a quick workout, as for the past 3 weeks all of my workouts have been designed to be completed in around 45 minutes, but as you can see I went pretty heavy on the weights. I loaded 4 plates on the leg press, which is about 80% of my max (or at least the max I’ve tried), so getting to 8 reps was a challenge every set. After this the with my blood pumping, the caffeine running through my veins and my edm playlist blasting through my headphones, I knew this workout was going to be a good one.

I hit quads and hams for heavy before ending with calf raises and a quick ab workout. I’ve been experimenting with this concept of supersetting every workout with abs, just to keep my heart rate up and burn some extra calories, and it’s been really fun. Finally I feel like I’m getting to the point where my abs are popping out and it feels great. I left the gym feeling accomplished, ready to take on the rest of my day.

My mom used to say that it takes 21 days to make a habit. She would tell me this in grade school, saying if I clean my room or do my homework every day It’ll become a part of my daily routine. It didn’t mean much back then, but just as most life lessons my mom told me in childhood, I’ve grown to see how impactful this actually is. As I got older I saw this adage was true, that if you really put in the effort to do something for just 3 weeks, you can integrate it into your life. This cuts both ways however, and I’ve seen and lived through that in my college days. For an easy example, if I start eating ice cream after dinner for a little night cap, my friends from college can attest I did do this, at some point it’ll be hard to sleep if I don’t have ice cream.

Today is the 21st day of this challenge, and I’ve noticed slowly but surely that these habits I’ve added into my life are starting to stick. 21 days of working out twice a day, and now if I skip morning yoga I feel stiff. 21 days of drinking a gallon of water, and now if I drink a diet coke at lunch my lips get dry. 21 days of putting myself first, and now I feel like I’m on top of the world. I’ve been here for 24 years now, and there have been a lot of habits formed, lots of 3 week periods where I come out with regret, wanting change and not knowing where to start. This is probably one of the first times in my life where I come out feeling powerful, strong, and excited for the days to come.