It’s been a while since I last updated my website. To be honest, after falling ill at the beginning of the year, I fell into a massive motivation hole—questioning whether waking up at 5 AM was even worth it or if there were easier ways to shed a few pounds and feel better. I even resorted to my favorite “I need more sleep” excuse to justify my behavior. Deep down, however, guilt crept in—especially since I’m always preaching “excuses are not okay” in my day-to-day job, urging people to take ownership and control rather than making excuses and pointing fingers.
So, it was high time I practiced what I preach: walk the walk, don’t just talk the talk.
Since then, I’ve established a workout routine and have been hitting the gym at least three times a week. My focus has mostly been on my upper body, with a little bit of leg exercises. My brilliant (and self-ironic) theory is that if my chest, shoulders, and arms are big enough, the rest is just a bonus.
Wanting too much too quickly, I attempted to deadlift over 225 lbs without paying much attention to proper form, resulting in wrenching my lower back. Thankfully, a cocktail of ibuprofen, ice packs, and heat patches allowed me to continue exercising the areas of my body that didn’t require too much of my back muscles being involved.
This week brought two major breakthroughs: I no longer needed my trusty ibuprofen, and I managed to bench press 225 lbs. for three reps. This was the first time I’ve hit that milestone since March 2024!
Heck, I even squeezed in multiple cardio workouts. After finally looking in the mirror and cutting back on my excuses, I decided it was time to face cardio, the very exercises I’d dodged for years. I tackled the cross trainer, the exercise bike, and even the echo bike (which was a brutal experience). I even tried the stair climber, but after three minutes which felt like three hours, I declared myself an elevator person and will stick to cross trainers and bikes instead.
The biggest challenges that remain in place are eating clean, practicing portion control, and cutting back on alcohol. Those are the battles I need to face next if I want to see progress not just in lifting heavier weights, but also on the scale.
All in all, I’m embracing the journey with a healthy dose of self-irony and a readiness to laugh at my missteps—because, at the end of the day, progress (and a little bit of pain) is still progress!
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