Focus T25 – Week 4 (Beta)

I honestly can’t believe I am at the home stretch with this fitness challenge I set out to do almost 10 weeks ago. Time flies when you’re sweating buckets! Haha.

Here’s what week 4 of the Beta phase looked like for me:

Monday – Rip’t Circuit
Tuesday – Dynamic Core + 2 mile run
Wednesday – Core Cardio
Thursday – 3.25 mile run
Friday – Speed 2.0 + Upper Focus
Saturday – REST!
Sunday – 3.25 mile power walk

*For a more detailed explanation of what each workout entails, please read my week one beta post.

The power of TODAY

If you haven’t watched Andie’s Tedx Talk, please do so NOW! It’s very real, very raw, very funny, and very relatable, whether you’ve struggled with weight or not. She talks about her struggle with food, obstacles she faced, her journey to losing half her body weight, and her thoughts about the present moment.

Andie’s talk came down to one important thing for me. The thing she touched on at the very end. The power of today. Right here, right now.

She suggests that when we find ourselves not focused on what is happening at this very second, we stop and ask ourselves, “Can I do it (whatever it is for you) today?”

This applies to anything and everything. Food, exercise, work, marriage, friendship, etc.

I found myself asking this very question this morning when my alarm went off. I honestly didn’t want to exercise, but I didn’t have a good reason not to. I wasn’t tired, I wasn’t sore, etc. So I sat up and thought to myself, “Can you get out of bed and successfully finish your 25 minute workout?” I then found myself thinking about the power walk from the night before and the longer run I had planned for the next day, so again, I had to stop and ask myself, “Can you work out TODAY? Don’t think about yesterday or tomorrow. Focus on today.” The answer was (an annoying) yes.  I got out of bed, changed, and finished my workout. At the end of a very sweaty 25 minutes, I was so glad I focused on today…on that very moment.

And if you don’t believe I had that conversation with myself, ask anyone who knows me in real life and they’ll tell you I did. Even though they weren’t there with me, they know that it totally happened.

The point is that the only moment we have any sort of control over is the one that is happening right now. So instead of thinking about decisions that have already been made or ones that may or may not need to be made tomorrow, think about what you can do today and base your decisions on that.

I know, I know. It sounds so simple yet is difficult to practice. But just try…the next time you find yourself reaching for cookie #3/thinking about skipping a workout for no good reason/running out of patience with your significant other…just ask yourself if you can stop at cookie #2 TODAY/if you can get moving for just 20 minutes TODAY/if you can take a deep breath and calmly say whatever it is that you need to say TODAY. Chances are the answer will be (an annoying) yes. And like me, I’m sure you’ll be happy that you focused on today.

And just in case you’re interested in my weekly recaps…

Alpha Week 1
Alpha Week 2
Alpha Week 3
Alpha Week 4
Alpha Week 5
Beta Week 1
Beta Week 2
Beta Week 3