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Test to see if this works to post from my phone. It better since I paid good money for this app!



-- Post From My iPhone

Process over Results

A while ago, one of the coaches who I look up to and learn a lot of good things from, Dave Ward, posted an article that he got from Triathlon Magazine about athletes. It was called Are you a Level 6 Performer. It basically compares mediocre type athletes to "Level 6 Performers", which are those althletes that just have a higher midset for success. There was one point of his review of the article that really struck me and helped changed my mindset of working out. Here it is, word for word:

"Process over Results
This is probably my favorite principle. Level six performers focus on execution. They spend less time thinking about winning and more time focusing on what it takes to win. They are focused on the process, not the result. They understand that the process will lead to the desired result. By focusing on the process, they stay “in the moment” and are not distracted by their emotions.
This is not to say that you should not visualize. Personally, I’m a big believer in visualization, which I picked up from golf. What it means is that you need to focus on what you are doing when you are doing it.
Lower level athletes tend to focus on a desired result, rather than focusing on the
process that will lead them to a result. You simply cannot wish your way to a
higher level of fitness. It takes work and it takes time.
Focus on the process and the results will come. When you achieve your results that’s the time to enjoy them."

When we focus too much on our desired result (losing a certain number of pounds, getting into a certain size, etc) it is too easy to get discouraged because change takes time. Instead, we should be focusing on the process and staying in the moment. Putting every ounce of our energy and thought into what we are currently doing and giving our full 100%. Don't go through the motions and just jump around and do things half hearted. Do everything ON PURPOSE. Give your all so you can look back and say that you did. FOCUS on the process and the results WILL come.

Review of Renueva 2008

A few weekends ago, my church hosted their first (that I know of) Conference. I think it went very well. The purpose of the conference was to "refresh, renew and restore", and personally speaking, it did just that. After the conference, I certainly felt rejuvenated and had a new boost in my faith. I had been going through some personal issues, and was even considering to quit my worship leader position at the church. You know, sometimes things become too much, and you need to take the chance to recharge your batteries, so the conference was just what I needed.

I didn't actually do much for the conference, which was kind of a relief in itself. A lot of times I feel like, besides the pastor and his wife, that I'm the ONLY one who does anything, and sometimes that gets a little burdensome. I did play one song, though. I played the spanish version of "Never let go" by Chris Tomlin, but before I did it, I told a story about a scripture in Romans (8:30something) that had really spoke to me at a point in my life where I felt abandoned. I don't usually speak much before playing, which I am working on, but I felt led to this time and it actually went quite smoothly. The best part, though, was when I was done, a lady from our congregation came up to me and gave me a big hug. In preparing for this conference, it was really the first time I had taken the time to talk to her, and I think what I said really spoke into her, so I was very encouraged by that.

In fact, since that time, I have heard of several people who now want to help, which is pretty cool that we, as a church, are growing and people want to participate.

Even Pro Footballers use P90X!!

(See previous post titled "Take it to the Xtreme")
I am currently on day 71 of my 90 day P90X journey and found this article on an NFL football player who decided to use P90X to improve his kicking ability:

Philadelphia Eagles' David Akers gets a kick from new regimen

By Matt Gelb Inquirer Staff Writer

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - David Akers acknowledged he was embarrassed. The Eagles
kicker is a perfectionist. He keeps diligent track of his statistics in
practice, games and training camp. That's why his 2-for-10 clip from beyond 40
yards last season made him desperate to change something.Then one day, while in
Dallas during the off-season, Akers saw an infomercial for a new training
regimen called P90X."I said, you know what, it looks legit because it's not some
gimmick," Akers recalled. "It [involves] actually working hard and changing the
regimen all the time."He tried it for the sake of change. He did not intend to
lose weight, but he ended up dropping 20 pounds and 6 percent of his body
fat.And his leg feels stronger. He has shown that in camp. Akers, out to prove
last season was a fluke, has made two 60-yard field goals, including one
yesterday."I'd be real happy if I was able to keep this type of power and
consistency through the season," Akers said.Last season, Akers lacked on deep
kicks for the first time in his career. For a lifetime 68.1 percent kicker from
beyond 40 yards, 2 for 10 was like a slap in the face.Akers, though, was not
overly disappointed with last season. He made every field goal under 40 yards
that he attempted (22 for 22). Of the field goals he missed from beyond 40
yards, many were near-impossible kicks, he said. Plus, he was working with a new
holder, Sav Rocca, which caused some headaches."You don't lose it just like
that," Akers said.The distance was not the problem. A 57-yard attempt in Week 14
against the New York Giants that would have tied the game banged off the right
goalpost. He did not think he had a shot at making it from there, anyway.Still,
Akers questioned himself in the off-season. The 33-year-old cannot regain the
strength he had as a younger player, but he wanted to do something new.That's
when he saw the infomercial for P90X, which boasts on its Web site that users
can "get absolutely ripped in just 90 days.""I liked it because it really worked
a lot with the explosion of the legs," Akers said. "Jumping, cardio aerobic,
push-ups, pull-ups, jumping back and forth, it's crazy. Yoga, stretch, tempo . .
. it's all kind of mixed into one."

He convinced Eagles trainer Rick Burkholder, who said he lost 30 pounds on
the regimen. "And he was standing on a chair doing it at first," Akers said.
Burkholder has the injured Eagles doing parts of the training
system.Special-teams coordinator Rory Segrest sees a different Akers, who now
weighs 183 pounds."He's showing really good leg strength right now," Segrest
said. "He's hit them in warm-ups. He's hit them during our team reps."The first
day Akers came to camp, he was playing around with Rocca and long-snapper Jon
Dorenbos. He said he nearly hit a 70-yard field goal. That's when he realized
that maybe this regimen could pay off."There's something to it," Akers said of
his new training technique. "It's not like, 'Hey, take this pill, you're going
to lose 40 pounds of fat.' You bust your butt. It's tough."

If you are interested in trying out P90X, find it here: www.beachbodycoach.com/demaak in the store. And stay tuned for my 90 day results!!

What's been going on?

Yeah, I guess I haven't posted in a while! I guess I have kind of replaced this with a fitness forum that I post on, so I haven't been here as much as I should! I have a bunch of ideas in my head of things to post on, even some drafts, but I just haven't gotten around to actually doing them!

Well, one thing that is different is that I lost about 20 lbs. I talk a little bit about it in a previous post (which I can't figure out how to link!) in January. Well, I have stuck with the Beachbody programs and have been pretty successful. I think people are starting to notice the results. I think I posted a while ago about P90X. Well I'm past day 60 of the program. I will post my results with that on day 90.

I am really liking the whole losing weight and feeling go about myself thing. It's really working out for me. I'm more active now than I've been in a long time and feel much more fulfilled. If you would like to feel the same, you can visit my other site and sign up for more info, or just bop around. It is www.beachbodycoach.com/demaak . HOPEFULLY, I'll post more later!!

Food is Fuel

Your body is an AMAZING machine. It is filled with miles and miles of blood vessels that carry cells which travel precisely and completely to every single part of your body continuously from the day you were born until the day they stop, and you stop with them. It has many organs that are a team and work intricately together to perform hundreds, if not thousands of functions, from regulating your body temperature, to fighting off infections, to transferring oxygen from the air to all your little blood cells. It has hundreds of bones, muscles, tendons, and ligaments that all need to cooperate along with your hugely complicated and extensive sensory network, called the nervous system, in order to make all the millions of movements that you want to make. Without all these things and many many more, that I don't have time to list, you would not function the way you should.

I know that you probably already knew all those things, but I don't think that we think about them enough and truly appreciate the genius creation that is our bodies. Because if we did, we probably wouldn't be filling it with all the sludge and trudge and junk that we drop down our gullets.

Let's say that your body is a Cadillac. Cadillacs are considered high end luxury vehicles. A complex, expensive machine which the manufacture requires that you use a high performance of fuel, Premium Unleaded, in order for it to function they way it should. Your body is your high performance machine. If you want it to keep going and going and going, you have to use the best fuel. If you want to respect your body it is important to give it the fuel that it needs to keep going. It is not about what your taste buds want or what your brain thinks your body needs. Food is fuel. If you give your body the nutrients and clean energy that it needs to function, it will thank you by performing better and longer, giving you the higher quality of life you are striving for.

Know your Options..

And Know what they are NOT.

Once upon a time, my boyfriend asked me a silly question. He said "Do you even WANT to go to work tomorrow?" And I just looked at him, kind of puzzled because honestly, the thought never crossed my mind. Whether I want to or not, I still HAVE to go, and my feelings on the matter doesn't change that, so I don't even bother to think about it. The same thing can be applied to working out. We shouldn't even consider whether we WANT to or not, but just go DO IT! I think I learned that when I was a kid because whenever us kids got all whiney and said we didn't want to do something my dad would say "Well you are going to have to change your want-to-then!"

So what are your options? By saying what your options are NOT, you give your options more power and room to succeed.
Not working out is NOT an option.
Not giving your 100% is NOT an option.
Not meeting or exceeding your goal is NOT an option. (With the only exceptions being injury or death.)
Sugar comas are NOT an option.


Feel free to list yours in the comments or any you think I may have missed.