365 Workout Plan Part 2

Author

Ken Wimberly

Success isn’t always about greatness. It’s about consistency. Consistent hard work leads to success. Greatness will come. – Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson

Today is day 195 of my 365-day workout challenge. Some days have been easy. Some days have been really, really hard. Some days I just wanted to sleep in and rest. Some days I got an early start. Some days I cranked out my final reps just before bedtime. Through it all, there has been one constant. NO. DAYS. OFF.

I continue to learn about myself and my natural behavior as I go through this endeavor. As a reminder, I am increasing the amount of my daily reps at the beginning of each month. I started with 400 reps per day in January and am now at 1,000 reps per day in July. Those reps consist of:

• Push-ups
• Ab exercises
• Pull-ups
• Burpees
• Dips
• Squats
• Lunges
• Jumping Jacks

I am also running 10+ miles per week to keep my cardiovascular system in shape. Through all this exercise I have noticed a few things that are worth discussing.

First, there is incredible power in the DAILY consistency. It has now become a simple fact of who I am and what I do. Each day I am going to spend the time it takes to complete my workout. No excuses and no days off. Having that kind of commitment in my life gives me an internal power of knowing that I can and will accomplish any goal I set.

Second, music is a wonderful instrument for motivation. Whether I am cranking out my daily reps or going on a 10-mile run, music almost always plays a role in my workouts. I have created two different playlists filled with music to fuel me with excitement and energy. On some occasions I will just walk and be at peace with myself and nature, but if I am going for a long run, give me some TUNES!

Third, little hacks can help. Two little hacks I use daily are accountability and the 4-count exercise. I have an accountability group that I text every morning after my workout to report my results. If they don’t hear from me, I certainly hear from them. And for that I am extremely gratefully. I have been using the 4-count pushup since my days at Kemper Military School back in the mid-80’s. Doing a 4-count exercise tricks my brain into thinking I am only doing half as many reps (get it….25 4-count push-ups really = 50 push-ups). Sounds corny, but it works for me!

Fourth, injuries are a fact of life, but it doesn’t mean you have to quit exercising. Let me state that I am NOT a doctor (though I play one on TV…just kidding). I have had several weeks over the past quarter where I had weird injuries (two weeks of vertigo and one week of a very sore rotator cuff). With all the different exercises I am doing, there was no need to quit, just a modification of which exercises I was doing for a few days. This allowed me to keep the consistency and keep building strength for my body while giving the sore muscle groups a rest. Yes, if I had some kind of compound fracture or if I was laid-up in bed with the flu, I WOULD take a few days off.

My fifth and final observation is best stated with one of my favorite quotes by Dallas and Melissa Hartwig in their book It Starts With Food. It reads, “You cannot ‘out-exercise’ poor food choices and the resulting hormonal disruption.” I have known this to be true for several years, yet I am living proof of it at the moment. For the past month I have been eating pretty “wheels off” of any real plan. Yep, that includes chips, red wine, and my favorite…ice cream! So even though I have been running regularly and knocking out 900 to 1,000 reps per day, I have gained 6 pounds in the past month. And NO, it is not muscle. It has all manifested as a nice cushion around my abs! Time to get back on the Whole 30!

Well, time for me to get back at it. I will report back after the end of Q3 with updated results. Until then, cheers!

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