I’m slipping, falling off the horse and need to get back up and try again.

At this point in my life, I’m not sure if it is easier or harder that I know I have done it in the past.

In the past, I’ve been in great shape. In the past, I’ve gone from obese to 18% or less body fat multiple times. In the past, I’ve been as strong as an ox. In the past, I could have accomplished anything physically.

So I know I can do it… or could have done it?

I’m not sure…

But here I am. The three fitness factors I look at aren’t getting much better. Or at least as fast as I want.

I’m putting on weight… which pisses me off.

I’m riding my bike at a slow pace with my friend and very, very slowly getting faster again.

I’m getting stronger in the gym… but very, very, very slowly. And painfully.

I don’t remember it taking that long before?

The question is what to do about it? When you hit platoes, which is the nice way to say no longer moving forward what do you do?

Do you give up and just go backwards? Do you double down on what you are doing now? Do you hire someone to fix what you can? Do you get a coach?

The answer is change. Something has to change or you will continue to get what you have gotten in the past.

You have to let the past go. What you could have done doesn’t matter to the here and now. What matters now, is what you can do and what you can grow into.

Live in the present. The past just shows us what has, hasn’t, and is working. What I’m doing right now isn’t working the way I want so I’m changing.

I’m back on a diet I can stick to. It is not great, but better then it was. I’m doubling down on my workouts and changing them. I’m going to the gym four times this week and going for at least one long ride this weekend. But at the gym I’m adding 10 to 15 minutes on the stationary bike. And working into intervals in another week.

All this should help me lose weight, get stronger, and ride faster.

What is the one area in your life that you really want to make better? Break it down into the two or three measurable things you can quantify. I want to lose weight. So I step on the scale everyday. I also want to get stronger and that is all about getting more weight on the bar for four big lifts (bench, squat, dead life, and press). I also am watching the pace of my one hour rides. I’m trying to get that average MPH to go up.

Find those measurable verables and then track them. Write it down and review it. If you are moving in the right direction, smile and keep going. If things are going in the wrong direction, change what you are doing.

You are the only one that can change you. I’m old, fat, and out of shape. I can fix two out of three of those.

What part of your life can you apply this to?

Ben Branam

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