Bryan Parady's Blog, page 14

A Better You

Have you ever wanted something more health wise?  Have you made resolution, joined a gym, or thought about joining one, but never followed through?

Have you wanted to improve how you feel, how you look, but just didn’t know where to start?

The truth is anyone who has ever wanted to get in better shape, for whatever reason has struggled, even those who are in good shape.

Getting healthy is not an easy task, it requires a lot of discipline.  It requires sacrifice, and guts….doesn’t sound like fun right?  But it is.

Wait what?

It is.  When you really begin to work out and eat better you truly begin to feel better, you begin to have a more positive attitude, you begin to have more confidence.  You begin to feel good, and yes you begin to enjoy it.

Now I’m not saying it’s always fun, anything enjoyable takes work.  You don’t get to take that awesome vacation without working to pay for it, you don’t get that dream job without going out and making it happen.

So if you have wanted to start but just haven’t known whether you really should.  Do it! You have what it takes and you can reach your goals.

 

Photo credit: Your Mildura

 

Stepping Back

This will be my last post for a little over a week.   My wife and I are headed on vacation to get away for a little while.  We try to do this once a year.  It’s a time we take just the 2 of us, to get away from the craziness of life, reconnect, make goals, and recharge the batteries.

While we can’t always take opportunity of this, I think it’s super important to take a step back from all types of media for a certain time.  To get away from staring at a screen and figuring out what’s going on inside of you, figuring out where you are on your path to your goals, and how you need to outline  your next steps.

So  in your fast paced life, try to take some time this weekend to reconnect with yourself.  Do something you love that doesn’t involve any technology. Discover something new about yourself.

Hope everyone has a great week, and I’ll talk to you the week after.

The Hard Stuff

So I know I talk about my fitness goals a lot and that’s because I am constantly adding to them.  I am sitting here drinking my protein shake.  Two a day, and they are far from good, but with being on the go all the time, I don’t have time to eat 6 meals a day.

My shakes are a great way to get in the calories and protein I need.  I’ve go 3 weeks left and still am not quite at my goal that I set for this year.  I’m close, and have come a long way but not quite there.  It’s going to be close to pull it off, but I am gunning for it with all I have.

Then it will be time to set goals for the next year.  If you are into fitness at all you know that nutrition and diet is probably even more important and way harder than getting in the gym.  The gym is an hour a day and your done.  Diet is day in day out, every minute.

Food prep is key, you’ve got to plan your meals for the week on the weekend, otherwise the craziness of each week will swallow you up and instead of eating clean, you’ll be swinging through the Mcdonalds drive-thru.

So what are some of your goals, either for this or next year?

And in case you are curious what I drink to cram in my cals, it’s a banana, 2 T. peanut butter, 6 T. heavy whipping cream, Jym protein powder, creatine, whole milk, and yogurt.

If you want some great info on nutrition check out: Jim Stoppani Nutrition Overview

Get Ready

So 2016 is fast approaching.  To think that 2015 is almost over blows my mind.  When I was making plans in 2014 for 2015 I remember thinking how long 2015 would be because I had to go through some stuff that wasn’t the most fun, but now here I am in December and it’s almost the new year and I’m like “where the heck did this year go!?”

Now as we count down the days till Christmas and the new year I am starting to plan next year.  What do I want to achieve, what do I want to accomplish, where do I want to be?

I encourage you to take the next few weekends or evenings that you have this month to sit down with your tablet, computer, or with some actual pen and paper and just start writing.  Start pouring out everything you want to do and accomplish.  Put it out on paper and make plans.

Think about how you want to feel next December in 2016 and what you want to look back on that you’ve done.  You are only limited by the limits you place on yourself.  No one is in your mind, you control your life.  Make and achieve your goals.

This video has some great tips for following through with your goals. Tony Robbins

Something That Matters

Have you ever had a longing for something more than the normal day to day?

When It Counts

What happens when your back is against the wall? What happens when you find yourself questioning so much of what you used to know?  When you discover that the answers you once had are wrong.

I’ve been here, and in some areas I am here.  It’s not a great place to be, but it can be a place of growth.  It can be a place to learn new things.  But all that depends on our reaction to it. 

Are we willing to try to discover a new way of thinking?  Are we willing to accept that we need to and must change our thinking, admit we were wrong so that we can move forward?

It sounds scary.  Who wants to admit we’re  wrong or change up everything we’ve known or thought we’ve known?  But there’s a freedom that comes with accepting new things, with opening up our thinking.

So if there’s things you are questioning, embrace it.  Maybe a whole new world is waiting for you to change your viewpiont.

No You Can’t

How many times has someone told you in life that “you can’t”, or “you shouldn’t”.   I personally have been told these things, and know tons of people who have had this said to them.

But here’s the real question…what did you do when someone told you this?  I’ve been on both sides of the fence, there have been times when I gave in to the voice telling me not to, and other times when I’ve stood  my ground and done it anyway.

There are always going to be voices saying not to do things.  Many of those voices come from people who feel guilty because they are not doing something themselves.  But when you get down to it, it’s not really important the reasons why people try to discourage you from making bold daring decisions.  Adventure scares people, people who live adventurous lives scare them more.

Don’t listen to others, they are not you.  Listen to you, that gut feeling you have deep down that no one else understands.  Listen to you.   To your dreams, your goals.  Don’t let others say you can’t, but let their words of doubt be the fuel that propels you.  You’ve got this. Go get it.

Need some extra motivation?  Watch this Give Yourself A Pep Talk

Getting Back the Wonder

Do you remember what it was like to be amazed by something.  Maybe it was a long time ago.  Maybe it was recent.  I’m a pretty steady guy, I don’t get excited easily, sometimes this is good, sometimes I feel like it’s bad, because I don’t get a huge sense of wonder.  But every now and then there are things that come along.

I think it’s vital to not lose our sense of wonder. I saw a video of a little boy truly amazed at automatic doors.  In it a child reacts to sliding doors and you can see that look in his eyes, that first sense of wonder when you see something that blows your mind.

That wonder that we find is usually a spark of something that truly means something to us deep down.  It should be nurtured, not shunned.  Our sense of wonder can fuel our dreams, can motivate us towards goals, and to be a better person.

So the next time you find yourself awestruck at something, stop and think about what it is that truly captures your attention, and ask if you should be doing more about that.  Maybe that spark needs a little fuel to ignite into a life quest, into a brand new adventure that you hadn’t considered before.

Bring back the wonder.

I Want It Now

So I just watched a video displaying a new service from Amazon Prime Air showing how they are working on a fleet of drones in order to deliver packages within 30 minutes.  One one hand I think technology is fascinating, the things we take for granted now that weren’t even possible a short while ago.

On the other I tend to worry that we are going to lose so much touch with reality that there is not going to be any “real” life that doesn’t involve technology left.

It made me really think about how we want things now.  I’m no exception to this.  Normally when I get something in my head, the next thought is “what do I need to do to get it done”.   If I have a to do list, it’s not about getting out of it, it’s about how fast I can get everything on it done.

But at the same time I really have to remind myself that true things are developed over time.  If I’ve found this to be true in anything it’s both my marriage, and my fitness.

I’ve hit it hard in the gym now for years and still up my goals every year.  Trying to make it better.  The same is true in marriage, it gets better with time, and sticking it through is so worth.

Everything has it’s rough days.  Every day isn’t perfect in marriage, and every day I don’t have motivation to go to the gym.  But both still need to be fought for and done.  Keep going, persevere, and be patient.  These are things that don’t happen overnight, or in 30 minutes.  I’ll save the 30 minutes for my package delivery.

Push It

My body has continually been getting pushed as I work through Kris Gethin’s 12 week muscle building plan.  I am so thankful for BodyBuilding.com and their free workout plans.

Even with all my workouts, all my clean eating, I still feel like I am nowhere close to where I want to be, but that’s okay. While I definitely have some very real short term goals, I hope I never truly reach some sort of peak.  I always want to still be better, still push harder.

I’m going into week 4 now of this plan, and my muscles are aching.  I’ve pushed it hard with the workouts, now it’s time to push it hard with the diet.  You can only gain so much unless you start pounding the clean calories, which is what I have to do.

To say it’s not challenging would be a lie.  Hardly any of have time like many trainers we look up to, to just pause and eat 6 times a day.  I have a very active job, where I am on the go and on my feet a lot.  Sometimes I feel like I’m burning more calories than taking in. But it’s more a mind-set.  There are ways around any crazy schedule.

So if you feel like you want to be more, you can.  Keep it up.  It takes being creative, especially when you lead a very crazy lifestyle, but stick with it!