Just Go For It

 Hey there campers! How are you all? Hopefully you have all been keeping active and achieving those goals. Todays post is about the age old quote - 'Just go for it'. It came to me today as I was tidying the house as I do every day off I have. I have a day off work one weekday a week (plus every other weekend) and usually one the week day day off I start with hitting the gym, then make some breakfast followed by washing and general house work and in the afternoon I kick back with a film or gaming. However, this day off was different. It started with an early morning gym session (which was amazing) and the the usual house duties. But then, the urge came and I just fancied going for a walk. Out of the blue, I looked out my front window and thought why not. So I put my  jumper on, headphones in; locked up and off I went. I didn't know where or how long but I was determined to make the most of it. Spare of the moment decisions are sometimes the best decisions. 

Out the front door I went and around a mile into it I came across the option of a new footpath. I've never used it before, had no idea where it would bring me out, but decided to use it. And just look at the views. I could see for miles. There was no one else with me and to top it off, all I could hear was the birds singing and the faint breeze. With all that is going on with the world and what I have going on in my own life, I felt free. Felt as if nothing would ever harm me. And you just cannot beat that feeling.

Fast forward a few more miles, I came across a fork in the road. Again, I have never been here before and really had no idea which path lead where. It would have been easy to just get out my phone, open up Google maps and find where I was and where each path lead. But this was not what the walk was about. It was about making new, spare of the moment choices. 

In life, we all have to choose which path to go down without the knowledge of what lies ahead. One piece of advise I can give you, is to grab the bull by its horns and head down whichever path you decide with 110%. From choosing a random path on a walk to a new career path, a sporting path. Just go for it! Give it all of your effort, embrace the difficulties and enjoy the scenery. 

My Workout From Home Playlist

Doing a workout at home for me is so much harder than when I workout in a gym. I think this is because my workout area in my home is not lined with Arnold Schwarzenegger showing off his Mr Olympia win or other people working out which in turn pushes me to train harder and lift heavier. (I'll admit, a little ego lifting does come into effect, but hey, I am only human!) And I don't think I'm the only one with this problem.Welcome... Music.

Music is so important to us when working out. Whether we're getting ready to lift a new Personal Best Deadlift or aiming to run a 5K in record time. Music will help achieve any goal. Why? because music attaches to our emotions. Music interacts with our mood. We've all been there, when we are feeling sad, what is it we do, we stick on some sad music, music that makes us cry because it attaches itself to out emotions. a Workout music will do the same. If your aiming to run a mile as fast as you can, maybe try and listen to something with a quick upbeat tempo. 

Why not take the time to make your own Workout from Home playlist. An example of my would consist of 3 parts:

Part 1) Warm up. Before I do any form of training, whether it be lifting weights or cardio, I always warm up, something to get the blood running through the muscles and get the joints loose. The music I would listen to would be something that gets me motivated, something that attaches itself to my emotions. For example:

Eminem - Loose Yourself
Meek Mill - Championships
Eminem - 'Til I Collaspe

Part 2) The Workout. Now the blood is pumping, I'm ready to train, ready for my muscles to be educated in pain, ready to show my body just how far I can push it. To help me to do this while training from home, the tracks need to be right

Linkin Park/ JayZ - Numb
Oh The Larceny - Another Level
Gashi - My Year
Meek Mill - Uptown Vibes

Part 3) Cool Down. Now I've taught my body a lesson in how to push itself, the thing to do is to cool down and relax and repair the muscles. For this, I'll stretch and take in depth breaths and really try to relax.

Ludivico Einaidi - I Giorni
Fearless Motivation - Most People
Fearless Motivation - I Made It

These are just a few examples of the music that really does help me Workout from Home and to train hard and push myself as I would if I was training at a gym.

When Health Comes Before Fitness

Let's start by rewinding time shall we? 9 months to be exact (and no, I've not had a baby!). I was at the peak of my fitness journey thus far - I hit the gym every morning before work and some evenings after, I'd started running again after a knee injury ended my running career at 18 (couch to 5k works wonders!), and I was meal prepping like a boss! I had a fantastic personal trainer who helped me break new barriers and lift new personal bests, and I felt like I was on top of the world. All the while I was sharing this journey on Instagram - videos of my workouts, stories of my meal prepping, and progress updates. I posted my last video in September just before my birthday and it looks like I dropped off the edge of the world. And in some respects I did.

It all started with back pain in October. Now, I'd started deadlifting in the gym and knew from both experience and my personal trainer that my form had to be spot on, so I'd been making sure I kept up with this. I thought maybe I'd overstretched or pulled it slightly when increasing the weights. I decided to take a step back from the gym and have a few rest days. I was desperate to go to the back and maintain all the hard work I'd done, but I didn't know it would last so long.

By the end of October, it was crippling. I'd tried rest, I'd tried anti-inflammatory tablets, I'd tried various gels and nothing shifted it. I remember going for dinner with my partners grandad on Halloween and being barely able to stand or drive without the pain causing me to wince. He couldn't help but remark how ill it was making me look. Still I managed to dress as Harry Potter and celebrate Halloween at the weekend!

Less than a week later on Bonfire night, I could feel abdominal pain. I was hunched over and clutching my side. I ended up being rushed into hospital with a suspected appendicitis, although I did get a fantastic view of the fireworks! A few nights in hospital, numerous scans, and some very high fashion socks later, I was discharged as no one really knew what was wrong. Still the pain persisted.

I still couldn't manage the gym. A 9 hour working day was more than enough to tire me out and cause the pain to worsen. 2 weeks passed and the pain was the worst it had been. I was rushed back to the hospital and told to go to A&E in case my condition worsened quickly. More scans, more doctors, more drips later, I was told my appendix was what they call in their line of work 'Juicy'. 10cm swollen in fact. Within 48 hours I'd had my first surgery and said goodbye to my appendix.

I don't remember too much from that first night after surgery (although I have been told I started quoting Team America and offered the nurse a lot of snacks!) except the pain. Not the same appendix pain from earlier, but a pain that made my hands shake as I tried to get out of bed. I only had 3 tiny incisions but that pain was intense - hats off to women having a cesarean, you're bloody warriors! It took my all my strength and a good 10 minutes to get from lying in bed to the toilet only a few metres away.

I was discharged less than 24 hours post surgery and spent 2 weeks with both mine and my partners families coming to visit and look after me 24 hours a day while she went to work. I realised very quickly I wouldn't be seeing another gym this side of New Year and that wasn't me at all. It was (still is) a huge part of my life ripped from me due to something out of my control. But I came to realise something - sometimes health comes before fitness. 

So here we are again. At the beginning of my fitness journey, slowly easing myself in to training and fitness again, and getting back to those weights! After all a setback is merely a set-up for a comeback!

Who knows, maybe we all need a setback now and then to refocus ourselves on our goals . . .

About Me

I'm Steve and I'm on a mission to get lean.

Steve is a 27 year old northern lad who loves nothing more than fitting in a gym or exercise session around his 6 day 9am-6pm working week as a sales executive. If he's not in the gym doing his 7am pre-work workout, he's doing his daily quota of sit-ups, or cycling somewhere between Liverpool and Manchester. He has such a passion for health, nutrition, fitness and exercise, he's begun sharing and documenting his workouts, meals, and progress through his instagram page @leanwithsteve and recently secured an ambassadorship with innovative sports nutrition brand Bio-synergy.

When he's not getting lean, you'll find him enjoying a spot of whiskey, having a 'sesh' on his Xbox, or perfecting his skincare routine. He currently lives pretty much halfway between Liverpool and Manchester (and only 20 minutes from the gym!) and blogs about his workouts, meals & recipes, skincare, health, gym motivation, and life. Follow his journey @leanwithsteve - he posts crackin' stories.

Peace out x

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