Here's what Olaf has to say about the past couple weeks.
Josh
(by the way, the picture here is with my littlest agent, Lucy...but check out Olaf's new dew, if Lucy's isn't too distracting for you...just one more change he made recently...and we think he looks great!)
Wow...has it already been 2 weeks smoke free? It has! And, to be completely honest, it has not been as difficult as I expected. I suspect that is in part due to the amount of training I have been doing. I have worked out 11 of the past 14 days. That has been a combination of functional, strength and cardiovascular training. I'm still trying to overcome bad eating habits. Although I am very conscious of when I have made a poor nutritional choice, however being conscious of that choice is progress from where I used to be. But I don't let that deter me from getting back on the path of "clean eating" (as Josh refers to it).
As far as my workouts over the past two weeks, there have been a couple days that have really resonated with me. The first being last Thursday. After 2 hours of shoulder and core work with Josh (as if that wasn't enough), Josh felt it necessary to do 25-minutes of interval StairMaster training...I cringe even saying StairMaster today. I wanted to give up at about 20-minutes and even stepped off for about 5 seconds towards the end. I then got encouragement from Josh, actually he was yelling to get back up, which I did. I finished the rest of the workout. Later that evening Josh called to tell me that I had learned a very important lesson that morning. The lesson was to know what it feels like to be at or close to your "Max" or limit. He said to embrace that feeling...because I would soon look back on it and surpass that days accomplishment.
The second experience was actually this morning. Josh asked if I would like to come to his BOSU/TRX class and see if I could hang with them. I was nervous, fearful and excited wondering if I would be able to "hang" with the rest of the class. Of course, I was hoping I could. Had all my hard work paid off? About halfway through the class, I looked around the room and quickly realized that I was doing what everyone else was...I've made significant progress since we started!
One thing I want to emphasize to all who may read this, is the fact that when I am training I often times am doing it begrudgingly. My mind creates excuses, reasons, you name it. I get to the gym, meet Josh and probably come off as whiny...but somehow I keep pushing. I get through it. It gets better. I AM NOT GIVING UP THIS TIME. And, I am not giving up on any of the other agents either. Their support is a driving force for my desire to succeed, and I want to give back what has been so freely given to me.
So how am I doing that. Extra cardio tonight with Erin (003), from there, I head over to volunteer with The Rock Steady Boxing Foundation/Kristy (002) and then tomorrow going to try and catch Sarah (004) before my Josh workout and do her walking with her.
I know how hard it can be to ask for help...so I am taking it upon myself to offer it more.
Back with more soon.
Olaf (005)