Beast Life: Embrace The Hate!

There are three things that I hate more than any other when it comes to physical fitness.
Dieting, cardio, and sit-ups.
 

“Abs are made in the kitchen.”

 
The first time I heard that I didn’t believe it. I always told myself that if I put my time in at the gym and worked hard, I would have six pack abs.
I was an idiot.
I was spending an hour at the gym, six days a week, working my ass off, and I had nothing to show for it.
What was I doing wrong? Am I not hitting the right core muscles? Is there a magic workout that I haven’t discovered yet?
Never mind the fact that my diet was garbage. No, that couldn’t be it!
 
In a time span of 8 months, I had lost exactly zero pounds. All the hard work was being wasted, and I was starting to lose steam.
That’s when I started to do research, and it all said the same thing.
If you’re eating like garbage, you’re not going to get the results you want, period.
My diet now is high in protein.
I basically live on tuna, and lean meats like turkey and lean beef.
Fruits and vegetables are always in my lunchbox.
I’ve lost 15 lbs in two months, and the weight continues to come off.
 
I still hate dieting, but I’m loving the results.
 

“Cardio sucks”

 
Working out an hour a day, six days a week, was making me bigger and stronger.
I didn’t mind the weight gain. It was muscle, so no big deal. But I was getting slower and didn’t have much stamina.
I was starting to get frustrated with my results. While researching diets, I realized I wasn’t doing any cardio.
There wasn’t room for it in the workout!
My gym time is now more level, and I spend 45 minutes weight training, 25 minutes core training, and 30 minutes of cardio.
I don’t limit my cardio to running on a treadmill. 5 to 10k ruck marches, 30 minutes on my bicycle, 25 and 50 meter sprints, and hiking are some of the things I do for cardio.
 

“Sit-ups”

 
I don’t just hate sit-ups, I hate core training.
What’s the big deal? Abs are made in the kitchen, so I could get the results I wanted by dieting.
I fought myself over this for almost a month. I just didn’t want to do it.
The more I fought it, the more I realized I was being a bitch.
I was bitching out because it was hard.
The thought sobered me.
Instead of just doing some crunches and leg lifts (they’re easy to do), I wanted to challenge myself.
I started to research my abs and obliques and what they did.
This is what the Mayo Clinic says,

“Core exercises train the muscles in your pelvis, lower back, hips and abdomen to work in harmony. This leads to better balance and stability, whether on the playing field or in daily activities. In fact, most sports and other physical activities depend on stable core muscles.”

I was ignoring an important muscle group out of pure laziness.
My core training is now an important part of my daily workouts, with my upper and lower abs specifically targeted.
Four sets of 25 sit-ups on a slight incline hit my upper abs.
5 sets of 1 minute flutter kicks hit my lower abs and hip flexors.
I finish with an ab wheel, 4 sets of 10 reps.
Every other day, I workout my obliques.
4 sets of 25 Russian twists, 5 sets of 15 cable woodchoppers, and 5 sets of 1 minute side planks.
All my core training is done at a medium pace.
 
Take a look at your daily workout.
Is it a routine or are you challenging yourself?
Don’t rush your workouts and don’t be a bitch!