How's That Workin' for Ya?

"Awareness without action is worthless!"

- Dr Phil McGraw

That's the last thing that popped into my head last night as it hit the pillow, and I'd been thinking of the year I'd had with all its' challenges..."How's that workin' for you?"

In a nutshell...it didn't.

It would have been nice though to realise that much earlier in the year, but that's part of journey and figuring it all out. And here's another Dr Phil quote to explain what I mean... "Life is a marathon, it's not a sprint."

So without the experience of hindsight, I would not have known that it wasn't working for me. I don't mean the year so much, but the goals I wanted at the start of the year. There was plenty of action, but not always in the right places.

At the start of the year it was all about Crossfit, and what amazing things I was going to achieve in doing it. I was actually starting to go okay until my hip gave me curry and I discovered the start of degeneration in the RHS hip socket and a bone spur in RHS ball (femoral head). That put an end to Crossfit. I mean...I could have persevered, but I would have to have changed the W.O.D (workout of the day) so much and constantly, it would have been too difficult and self-defeating after a while. Sometimes we just have to accept our limitations. And as much as I loved Crossfit and how it pushed me to my physical and mental limits, I knew in my heart that my body could not sustain the punishment long-term.

What I also found with Crossfit, is that I couldn't physically do anything else BUT Crossfit. There was just not enough juice left in the tank to do the others things I wanted to do, and I needed all that extra recovery time just to be able to get through the next session. I came to the realisation that as much as I wanted to do Crossfit, it wasn't completely aligned with what I wanted to achieve in other areas of my life. From my perspective, and this is just my opinion, it was either Crossfit OR nothing else, and I wasn't prepared to make that sacrifice. But you know, I'm proud of myself for having a go and trying my best. Otherwise I would have been left wondering.

Getting back into martial arts was one of my goals for 2010. Crossfit just took so much out of me that I couldn't do that, as well as martial arts. My body was just too fatigued. As it worked out, I haven't been able to get very far in my martial arts training this year. I've only just been able to maintain my skills and only because I've been doing it for so long. But I haven't been able to make progress. It wasn't entirely due to injury, but also to changed circumstances where I just couldn't get to training because AW is now travelling more often.

Army PT also played havoc with my injuries and with all of these things in the mix...Crossfit, martial arts, army...my body just wasn't getting the necessary recovery time to get over the hip injury. So I had to make some tough decisions.

Firstly, I had to admit that I'm not invincible. Secondly I had to fess up about the fact I was physically hurting. Now that was the hardest thing, because I have a bit of an ego when it comes to pushing myself. I've had this 'stop being a wuss' mentality and just sucked it up! Well that wasn't working for me either (because I would keep re-injuring), so I had to put my tail in-between my legs and admit I was in fact hurting and that in order for me to get over the injury and get stronger, I needed to give my body a break from the punishment.

From the army point of view it was hard, because I didn't want to jeopardise my medical class and be known as someone who 'jacked' on their mates. Yes...the army indoctrination is alive and well, and that's why it works as good as it does when things come to the crunch.

But in the end, it wasn't as bad as I imagined it to be. I basically had a medical and described my problem and requested abstaining from certain activities for a period of time to allow my hip injury to heal. It didn't adversely affect my medical class. And after everytihng was said and done, the break did allow just that, and I was able to continue with my normal PT sessions after a period of time. I'm still very cautious though and have a long way to go, but it's better now, and I bought some time.

I like the above illustration because it shows that the core doesn't just involve your abdominals, but takes into account the muscles of legs and back. It's more about 'mid-section' stability, rather than just the core of your body, i.e. as though you were sliced in half at the waist and looking down from above at the inner and outer layers, starting from skin, then working toward the centre, and looking at the muscles and ligaments surrounding the spine, and then the spine itself.

It's important to have a strong mid-section, but it can't remain that way unless we develop strong legs, including the quads, thighs, hamstrings, glutes and also a strong back. They all work together to maintain a strong mid-section. When one part fails to do it's job, the adverse flow-on affect to other parts of the body can be detrimental to your physical health and long-term well-being.

So this is what I've discovered. The only way around is to create stability in the mid-section as well as strength. And I've been pondering upon this lately as my goals begin to change. I've discovered that stability and flexibility, when it comes to the core are quite different things indeed, and depending on what we want to achieve, one is better than the other.

I've realised that in order to overcome my injuries, stability is my no. 1 priority! In fact, it is not only mine, but I believe that it should also be the priority of most people, especially as we get older.

When I have core stability, it will allow me to improve my core strength and I then will have the ability to incrementally progress towards flexibility. Anyway, that's what I hope I can achieve.

I say this, because I've realised that what was previously working for me in relation to my exercise program, may not completely work for me right now. My life, compared to when I did my Ideal Bodies Online programs is vastly different, and I can't expect that 'exactly' the same program will deliver the same results.

Well, actually...it would if I could stick to it as I did back in 2008, but my life, now that I'm in the army, and I'm back training in martial arts, and my rehab focus is different, determines that I need a different approach.

I've realised that I need a more flexible approach, and one that is more intuitive. But I'm finding it difficult to do that. I know what I want to achieve in 2011, but can I have it all? I love a program that everything is set out for me...no. of days doing weights and what body parts...no. of sets and reps and recovery-time...no. of cardio sessions. Nothing is left to chance.

I don't know how to bridge that gap between the want of being 'anal' about my programs and having everything set out for me to follow without straying from the program, to listening to my body and making the adjustments intuitively, depending on what my body is telling me at the time.

I know I can get results doing it the way I know best, and it's hard for me at the moment, because I'm grappling with this situation. But I know things have to change, and I can't just use the same formula, because my life has changed so dramatically. But I don't know how to get from where I am to where I want to be, and it's driving me crazy. I don't know how to formulate a plan for where I am right now. Thankfully, I will be talking to the divine Miss Liz to help me formulate an updated plan and give me a bit of a slap around the chops and set me straight. I just wanted to share what's going on in my head at the moment though. So hopefully this time next week I'll not only be much clearer about my plans for 2011, but more importantly, how I'll be able to achieve them. :)

I've been at a crossroad, because I'm not that person I was when I started my Ideal Bodies Online journey two years ago. What worked for me then, I've only just realised, will not work for me now, and it's not saying anything less about IBO, because I still strongly believe in them and the principles of the program. Otherwise I wouldn't be a Personal Success Mentor for them now. I know it works! I understand the principles and I endeavour to live those principles as best as I can. Hell...I'm still following my IBO nutrition plan (though I've been a naughty girl for a few months now...lol...). That's how I've been able to mostly maintain the results two years after first starting. It's a testament to the program!

However, there comes a time when we grow and it's time to move on. Don't worry...I'm not going to quit IBO! There are still alot of people who need my help and I really enjoy being able to help, motivate and inspire them. It also keeps me on my toes and is a constant reminder to be vigilant!

It's just a different phase of my life I'm about to enter. It's an exciting one, because I can see possibilities and those dreams I've been harbouring for so long, I'm beginning to see that just maybe, I can achieve them. I've proven to myself I can overcome, and I can find solutions. I've found that regardless of what your dreams and goals are, even if you may not be able to achieve them to the full extent of your desires, you can still achieve them. Regardless of how slowly you're making progress, remember that YOU ARE MOVING FORWARD. You are a winner, because you've had the courage to begin and to keep persevering through the challenges!

So ask yourself...is what you're doing working for you? Because if it isn't, maybe you need to find out what does!

Of course, I'd recommend you make sure you give the tree a good shake before you decide to move on and try another tree. It's important you understand the difference between making a change because it isn't working for you OR making a change just because you have a habit of not finishing what you start (a bad habit) and you're a lazy SOB who is into quick fixes!

So I'll finish of with my last Dr Phil quote...

“Are you doing what you're doing today because you want to do it, or because it's what you were doing yesterday?”