Just Do It

Nike's Just Do It has to be one of my all time favorite slogans. I find myself repeating it to myself quite frequently. It doesn't just apply to exercise, but rather it goes for any task that I want to achieve, but somehow feel lazy to push forward and get them done.

I always kinda shake my head at myself when I find myself in a situation where I know what I want - like I want to lose weight - but then I do something that does not fall in line with working towards that goal. If I want it, surely I'll work for it, right? What is it in my head that starts the thought process of -- nah, you can get to it later/you don't have to?

Some people have commented (on my blog and in emails) how they don't know how I get through my exercise routines, especially on days when I've worked out for almost 4 hours.

All I say to myself is: Just Do It.

I know I want this. I know that I have the physical ability to do this -- all the other excuses are in my head.

In the mornings I sometimes feel lazy but I tell myself - Just do it - you'll feel so much better once it's done. Plus I know if I don't get my workout in and something comes up later and I don't make it to the gym, I'll feel like crap.

When I'm at the gym and I look at the treadmill after my weights workout and think - man, I'm exhausted, I really don't want to run -- I tell myself, Just do it - If you don't do it now (and running really is something I want to achieve) then you'll never get it done. You need to work at it if you want to progress.

After coming home in the afternoon and doing things around the house plus relaxing a bit, it's sometimes a struggle to get back up again and get ready to workout. There's nothing else to really say to myself other than Just do it. If I want to lose weight, if I want to get stronger, if I want to improve my technique and build up my skills, then I have to work for it. I have to put in the effort. I have to Just do it.

Thinking about food and preparing a nutritious, delicious, clean, and healthy meal can sometimes be tedious. Chopping vegetables takes time. Washing up takes time. Wouldn't it just be easier to eat out? It would, but then I wouldn't feel good. I know that I would end up regretting it. I also know that whatever extra calories I consumed would mean extra time at the gym. So instead, I get out those vegetables and start chopping. Just do it!! Within half an hour, a great meal can be prepared and enjoyed. No guilt. All good clean food. No excuses. Just do it.

For my 60 burpees a day challenge, when I'm on my 25th burpee and I'm breathing hard and drenched in sweat, I tell myself - Just do it; 5 more and get to 30; then at 30 I say, you're halfway there, just do it; then at 40 (which is when it gets quite a bit more challenging), I tell myself - Just do it, one at a time, you're almost done; at 50 I tell myself, come on, push through, what's another 10 burpees -- Just do it!!

I do it. I'm exhausted, but I feel great.

I've written about the mental struggle to lose weight quite a lot (as have other people in the blogging world). It really is about conquering your mind and knowing that not only do you have the strength and capability to Just do it, but also you deserve to do it for yourself.

It has taken me a long time to get to this point. I should have done it a long time ago. I know I tried many times, but I never made it because my head wasn't in the right place. You have to believe that you can do it and believe that the effort is worth it ... and on days when you just don't feel like it - tell yourself to Just do it anyway.

Your life is in your hands. You are in control. You CAN do this. Be brave. Be Bold. Just Do It. 

Today's Exercise
General: Martial arts conditioning exercises (15 minutes) + jump rope
Weights: NROL Workout 5A (45 minutes)
Cardio: HIIT on treadmill (15 minutes)
MMA training: Taekwondo and Jiujitsu (1 1/2 hour)

Today's Food
Breakfast: 3 dates + 1 tablespoon of peanut butter; banana
Lunch: Leftover chili from last night with 1/4 cup of rice
Dinner: Tuna burger (homemade) on a portobello mushroom
Snacks: 2 walnuts, 3 almonds, 2 raisins

Khartoon Ohan

I had a lot of things I wanted to post about today, but then I came across this article about a friend of mine from college. Over the past few years she's been an inspiration as she took on the task to learn how to swim and worked her way to doing triathlons and most recently her first Ironman.

One of the main things that struck me was her - go get'em attitude. She had a goal and just went for it. No hesitation. No fear of hard work. Just go for it and try your best.

I know that I have many fears and insecurities, not just about fitness but about other things in life. I've found over the past few months, as I've been getting stronger, lifting heavier weights, and running a little longer (not faster yet), that the less time I give myself to build any self-doubt, the more likely I am to get out there and tackle my task. More often than not, I come away with a success story.

Following Khartoon's practices and races as well as reading about her victories keeps inspiring me to lace up my running shoes and get out there. After all, I can't get to where I want to be just sitting at home!

Had to give her a shout out! She is a huge inspiration of mine!

Six Figures: Khartoon Ohan says, “Just do it”

by Kristina Puga, @kristinapuga

11:08 am on 08/27/2012 [article source]

The native New Yorker, Khartoon Ohan, knew she liked to push herself to the limits since she was 6-years-old. She says her mom took her to The Julliard School to take ballet lessons with “evil Russian ballet masters,” and while most kids were intimidated, Ohan loved the terrifying experience. Until this day, she says what made her get ahead in life was the fact she dives head first into whatever challenges or scares her.

At 34, after more than a decade in the advertising field, she is now the vice president of integrated media for Clear Channel Connections. Ohan says one of the things she enjoys most is the diversity her job provides such as, the people and businesses she gets to work with, from entertainment to technology.

She got her start in the media world during her time studying psychology and marketing at theUniversity of Rochester, where she and other minority students started a publication called “The Messenger,” which had a multi-cultural focus.

“I was always fascinated by people – mind and body,” says Ohan.

The physically-toned triathlete says she didn’t get ahead in her career by dancing the corporate two-step.

“Just be as confident as possible, and do good quality work,” she says in her matter-of-fact way. “I figure if I do the work, I am bullet-proof.”

Ohan’s strong exterior matches her mindset. She says for years she was often the only woman, and only person of color during board meetings. She remembers her parents used to always tell her, “You could do anything you want,” but she says she didn’t really understand, or own that, until she turned 30.

“At 30, I jumped in a pool, and I learned how to swim,” says Ohan. “I got hooked and I’m doing triathalons…I’m still scared of the water, but I can swim for miles.”

Ohan works hard, and she also plays hard. She says she tries to fit in everything that’s important to her in about 20 hours, each day. She even completed a half Iron Man a few days ago.

“My day starts at 5am training, then work, and at night I absolutely make time to see my friends and family,” says Ohan who likes to have dinner with her mom and then drinks with her friends. “I think I can have it all – so I squeeze it into one day.”

Ohan says when she worked at her last advertising agency, she started a program where she recruited and mentored college students to help them get into the advertising and media industry.

“I looked for the best, most passionate talented [students], and groomed them to think, behave, and thrive in the advertising community,” she says. “That was four years ago, and I recruited 15 students from around the country.  Today, I mentor each and every one of them still, and added another six to the group. I feel like a mother hen and love and connect with them often.”

She plans on getting married and having her own children one day. The energetic career woman says, that is a given. But in the meantime, she enjoys traveling outside of New York City whenever she can, and looking for her next challenge – like the NYC marathon in November. Ohan says she wants to infect others with the same sense of adventure.

“I have to do what I don’t think I’m going to do, and go for that,” she says.