Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Round 7: Day 10: Just Arms

Like I did a couple of days ago, I decided to repeat Just Arms this week because I was a bit underwhelmed by my performance last week, and wanted to challenge myself to do better. I'm competitive with myself in that respect, never really being quite satisfied with the status quo, and desiring to push for a better me. That is, after all, one of the key reasons I work out: I want to be a better me.

Tony (Horton) gives some food for thought during this workout when he states (paraphrasing, here) that you do well with the things you're good at; you get great when you do the things you struggle with. I wouldn't say that I particularly struggle with exercises in this workout. Lifting weights is not quite the same thing as struggling to complete a single pushup, because you can always lift lighter weights if necessary. The importance of what Tony is saying is his message to jolt you out of your comfort zone. Doing so will stimulate your body to respond. When you stress different parts of your body by working out and force previously sedentary or underused body parts to work, those parts grow and improve. The result will be a better you.

That's why I pursue a varied workout routine, not repeating on consecutive days a particular type of exercise. I give my body an off-day between resistance workouts to rest; similarly, there are rest days between cardio workouts. I may not be good at all the workouts, but I do a bit of everything to ensure that my body continues to grow and to improve. Variety is the key to staying interested, to sticking with your program (whatever it may be), to positive changes (physically and mentally) and ultimately, to overall success.

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