Whether you celebrate Easter this year on the 1st or the 8th one thing is for certain, it is coming up very quickly. Easter is one of my favorite holidays. The celebration of Easter starts as a celebration of spring long before Christianity began. The idea of resurrection is embedded in the very foundation of the holiday as the spring equinox signals the end of winter as well as the reemerging of light and life into the world.
Easter is a fertility holiday, a holiday signaling rebirth and a holiday that heralds the coming spring and summer. For us people living that fitness life we should take this opportunity to reflect on our goals. Eight weeks ago I told you all that spring was coming. Did you set goals for the spring? Are you on track to meeting them? Whether the answer is yes or no, I have some good news for you. We are going to rebuild ourselves as even more dedicated, stronger and more passionate adherents to this discipline.It may be the case that those 8 weeks ago when I told you spring was coming that you didn’t believe me, but now I will tell you something else. It is 77 days until Memorial Day. Memorial day is the unofficial start of the summer. So if you had goals for having a summer ready body you have 77 days to achieve them. This is indeed good news because, if used properly, 77 days is quite a lot of time.
Totally ordering this for lifting on Easter Sunday
In a mere 11 weeks you are going to be getting ready to spend a few months going to beaches and parks. Go look at your body in the mirror. Are you ready? No? Great, let’s kill it. The first steps to getting where we want to go is to have a goal and a plan. I can say to you with 100% certainty, if you are popping in and out of the gym and in and out of eating healthily hoping for some miracle or thinking that a half assed approach will get you where you want to go that you will be disappointed. There is no supplement or magic workout or quick fix diet that is going to replace sacrifice and hard work in 10 weeks when you realize you aren’t where you are and you wasted a lot of time. I am not here to tell you if you should or should not take your physique seriously, but if you do I will tell you that a half assed approach will leave you making excuses all summer and promises about 2019.
For those of your guys on #teambeater who think weeks 9-12 are looking hard….just wait.
So having 11 weeks, we need a goal and plan. Your goal is something only you can say. Do you just want to lose a few pounds? Do you want to get jacked? Do you want a massive overhaul of body composition? Every goal is a valid goal, but the plan is going to be goal dependent. A solid plan should take a realistic view of your current state, your bodies tendencies (are you a hard gainer? do you carry weight in your midsection? does your chest take forever to grow?) and include your diet and workouts. Your diet and workouts should not be geared to your free time, should not be geared to your energy level or anything else other than your goals. You know what your goal is. You can’t have a goal and then make a plan that won’t achieve that goal because it is easy. If you are working a plan that isn’t taking the reality of your situation and your goal into account you might as well just save your time.
Make sure your plan takes everything into account. In fact, take the first full week of the 11 weeks to set yourself up on a 10 week plan. There are even a couple of bodybuilding.com that I highly recommend that come prepackaged and ready to go. So eat healthy, get daily workouts in and do some serious soul searching. Do you want to lean out? Bulk up? Loose weight? 10 weeks, if used to their full potential, will make a huge difference in your body.
Ok, now you have your plan. You know what you want. You have a solid diet and exercise plan to get there. The next thing to do is stick to it. Don’t feel like getting out of bed in the morning? Fuck you, get to the gym. Feeling sick? Fuck you get to the gym. Crazy day at work, family funeral did you break your arm? Fuck you, stick to your plan. Not most the time. Not almost all the time. Not 99% of the time. Every day, every minute, all the time always.
Tommy Chong shows us it is never too late. He is an avid bodybuilder now.
Are you ready for the beach?
So whether there are 19 or 26 days until Easter for you you should take some time to think about who you are, who you want to be and how you can get from one point to another. It is my tradition on Easter to reflect a little about what my goals for the rest of the year are…much the same as many people do on New Year’s Eve. However, I try to keep in mind one other very important thing. Winter is the preseason for getting into shape. During the winter we set our goals, create our plans, lay our foundation and start getting our bodies into shape for the hard push that comes at the start of spring. Easter is the beginning of regular season. Easter is the starting line. If you have been giving it 100% all winter, good for you. You should enjoy the fruits of your labor this spring. If you haven’t put your all into it, there is no more time for waiting. It isn’t hopeless. You still have 11 weeks before summer and that is plenty of time, but this is really it. Let this time slide and you will regret it later. Take advantage of this time and put in that work and you will feel a great sense of accomplishment and happiness. Easter is the starting line. Summer will be our playoffs, but in just a few short weeks we are starting the big show. Do not wait one second longer. Jump in on the last few days of winter and get a running start. 11 weeks until Memorial Day people, how are you going to feel when you are in your bathing suit on the beach?