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Saturday, April 16, 2011

Practical Application


We give a lot of theory on this blog for the most part so I thought I might throw in some application.

I’m really big on self-assessment. The practice of taking inventory of your skills, personality, choices, and appearance. It’s good to take an honest look in the mirror from time to time and attempt to give an objective opinion about one’s self. This isn’t an easy practice by any means. Sometimes we make excuses for better or worse.

So, I did a little self-assessment myself this week before I went to work. My career game is on track and I’m making the proper connections and continuously mastering my craft by learning from other’s with more experiences and keeping up with the changes within my field. Spiritually, I know the importance of having a personal relationship with my creator and I am satisfied with the progress I am making everyday. Also, I develop my mind on the daily by exposing myself to new ways of thinking by picking up literature on a variety of topics. Right now I am tackling the new biography of the life of Malcolm X by Manning Marable. Eventually I am going to do a review on that so stay tuned.

The aspect of my life I am currently lacking is the physical. Before I moved to the DMV I worked at a job that gave me some crazy hours. Basically, I was on call 24 hours a day. As crazy as that job was it allowed focus on a variety of things such as my career which allowed me to get a better job in the first place. One of the things I was able to do was lift weights.

Now as a 25 year old male I must admit I was rather weak compared to those in my age group. So I thought why not bulk up? I went to the store and bought a supply of protein shakes. After I guzzled down a shake I hit the weights hard and in three months time I doubled my work rate. I’m one of those people that if I have a goal I can become obsessive to a degree and in this case it paid off.

Fast forward, I got the call from the company out in Northern VA and took the job. It was a great choice and I couldn’t be happier with my decision. The only downside was that I didn’t have or didn’t find the time to keep up my work out regiment and my body suffered.

So last Wednesday I looked in the mirror and the scale and realized that I gained a good 20 pounds since my move. I didn’t look like I gained that much but the combination of loosing that muscle and gaining fat took effect.

Instead of sulking I laughed for a moment and asked myself what I was going to do about my problem. I knew I didn’t have time to hit the weights hard so I thought the easiest way was to start slow for the time being.


My first thought was if I can’t dedicate hours at the gym, at least I could do some workouts at home. So, I found a crazy ab workout video by Manny Pacquiao and went in! For the time being I am unable to keep up with him but I believe as I continue to develop my wind I have no doubt in my mind I can complete the exercise.








Second, I thought about how I was going to drop some of my unnecessary fat in a timely fashion. I have a track where I work and many people take off their slacks and collar shirts and throw on some shorts to have a run. At first I was apprehensive about running since I hadn't done it in awhile and I was worried that my legs were not going to be able to carry the weight.

Good News....I was wrong. I was able to run a full mile without stopping and I feel like I could have done more. It felt good that my wind was not totally shot and I’m closer to getting back my build.



I have a lot going on in my life right now but having the total package is important to me. I talk a big game about being a well developed person but I also enjoy the challenge of practicing what I preach.

2 comments:

Samson said...

Hit the weights man. You'll get better and faster results.

Anonymous said...

True. When I am able to free up time eventually I will hit the weights hard again. But until then I will focus on cardio and body resistance exercises.

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