Invent Yourself

“I believe that one defines oneself by reinvention.  To not be like your parents.  To not be like your friends.  To be yourself.  To cut yourself out of stone.”  –  Henry Rollins.

Some people will say that exercising and staying in shape is, to some degree, about mindset.  Well, I have been at this present routine for nearly 6 years and I can tell you without any doubt that exercise and fitness are TOTALLY about mindset.  Nothing is more important, since it is your mind that ultimately dictates the rules of the game.

OK, I will concede one point – it doesn’t have to be at 5 AM.  That’s just my own personal brand of insanity that I have crafted and perfected over the years.  But it HAS TO be early in the day, and it HAS TO be the first thing you do that day.

Diets are great and now as we approach the holidays, I see people scurrying around, looking for the best diet to fight off the incredible amount of calories we are likely to consume in the next few weeks.  But do you honestly feel that this is a zero-sum game?  You eat 500, you burn 500 and you are good to go?  If you do – awesome and you are probably in the majority of the popular opinion as far as this topic goes.

I disagree, if only because I know that we humans will occasionally cheat (especially on ourselves) and will violate the diet at some point sooner or later.  Wouldn’t you rather be in the position of not having to restrict yourself from any essential cravings?  Wouldn’t you literally kill for a chance to eat anything you want, with no diets or rules to follow?

Well, morning cardio is the answer, although I know that you don’t think so or refuse to put in the work.  You know another important part of that answer?  Not starving yourself!  Believe it or not, that is actually the worst thing anyone can do.  Other than torturing yourself, you accomplish absolutely nothing in terms of changing your metabolism, which is actually where the answer lies.  For lack of a better term, you gotta keep the engine going, all day long.  Don’t let your metabolism slow down, because you will then just store calories.  You know the perfect scenario – and I am speaking from my personal experience here – nice early morning cardio, followed by a substantial breakfast and then followed by a day-long series of small healthy snacks.  Dinner no later than 6 – 6:30 PM, nothing after that.  Then an early wake-up and more of the same.  Sounds crazy?  Think again.

Why not simply think of it as PREVENTION?!  Instead of eating like a madman / madwoman and then going to the gym to burn the calories off, do some cardio BEFORE you eat, to raise your metabolism beforehand and guess what – it will not be just about those 20-30 minutes of cardio any longer, you will be burning calories all day long!  This is not an empty promise, similar to ones you hear on TV and read on natural food packaging – this is personally time-tested by the most stubborn and skeptical 5 AM Runner of them all!  Give it a shot, if you feel like it, and

Keep that motivation running!