Modify: The Way to Make it Your Own

Modify: The Way to Make it Your Own

     When starting anything (a new fitness program, a new project, etc.), a lot of  people have a hard time starting or being consistent because they feel like they have to do everything all at once and get it right the first time.  Heck, I'm guilty of that, even with doing this blog!

     When it comes to DDP Yoga, I hear this quite a bit from other people "Well, I can't do this (position, nutrition program) because I've got this special.... (insert excuse here)."  Some of these things are legitimate, while others are made up (consciously or unconsciously).

      This is not to knock those people that truly have something going on.  Several people have legitimate situations that make things difficult, even in the best of circumstances.  This is what Dallas refers to as the 10%, or the things that happen to us.  When the 10% happens, we can either throw up our hands and be defeated, or we can find a way over, around or through to get where we want to be.  This is what Dallas calls "Living Life at 90%".

     The act of finding a way over' around or through is to Modify. Another DDP quote you'll hear is "Check your ego at the door and Modify, wherever you need to." When I started doing DDP Yoga, I did the Beginners Level, meaning doing the Diamond Dozen 3 times a week.  As far as the Nutrition Plan goes, since there are 3 Phases that you can go to, I started on Phase One and knocking removing a few items from my meals every few days (sugar, fried foods, white flour, etc) and replacing them with the things I needed (real fruit & vegetables, healthy protein & fats, complex carbs).  Mind you, this was all happening right during the Holidays, the time where sweets & baked goods abound!

     When I felt that I had Phase I nailed down,  I stepped up to Phase 2 and attacked it the same way.  Eventually, I've gotten to the point that the only thing Sugar-wise I have is in the morning and only as a once every few weeks sort of deal.  I do Phase 3 in spurts, sans the Juicing (as I do not have a Juicer as of yet... that's a goal I need to will set).  I do a DDP Yoga routine once or twice a day (depending on what we do in the Dojo that day).

    The point is.... this all started with one modified step at a time.  So long as you are putting forth the effort, you will....

Own This Day and OWN YOUR LIFE!

 Travis 

Quick Sunday Update/Plan for the Week

Quick Update/Plan of Attack for the Week

     Hey Everyone!  I just got do doing Diamond Cutter to end the day right!  I'm taking a moment to work on a couple of Blog Posts, eat something, then hit the sack!

     The Plan of Attack  for the week, to end August strong, is to do Mixed Tape in the morning, and them either Diamond Cuter or Double Black Diamond in the evening, capping it off with a Bust-A-Move Position for time.  I will post the results at the end of that day.

There's going to be a lot going on this week!  So now, more than ever, is going to be time to put Own This Day into actoin!

Live Life at 90%!

Travis

    

Project KTA6P: 8 Month Update

Project KTA6P: 8 Month Update

     This is a short update on where I am right now (August 24, 2013).  

     A quick recap:

      When I started this whole DDP Yoga Journey back on November 26th, 2013, I decided to post Video Blogs up on YouTube under the heading "Project Keg To a Six-Pack (KTA6P)".  I was at 48 inches around the waist and 46 inches around the hips and at 245lbs.

As you can see by the video, I've come a long way since then.  I still have a little ways to go, but the goal is definitely in sight!  

The biggest thing to remember to see this home is to ...

Own This Day.... EVERY SINGLE DAY!

Motivate vs. Hesitate

     Now, to be clear here, I had had the DDP Yoga Max Pack in October 2012.   Before getting the program, I was working out with Morgan at the Dojo a couple of time a week and attending the occasional Adults Judo/JuJutsu class.  Food-wise,  I was averaging 2 pizzas a week and a lot of late night snacking and cheese, ice cream and dairy throughout the day.  There was no mindful eating here whatsoever, other than “Can I put more cheese on that?” or “What’s for dessert?”.  And guess what?  My nearly 255lb body showed it, both in how I looked and how my knees & back felt.

    When I got it, I worked on the Diamond Dozen (which, for those of you that don’t have the DVDs yet) is the basic positions that you’re encouraged to nail down.  For a little over a month, all I did was worked in the Diamond Dozen and the first Workout in the series, Energy, averaging 2 to 3 times a week along with working out with Morgan at the Dojo.   I also had started to clean up my way I was eating by trying to cut back on breads & wheat products and eating more vegetables.  But, in my mind, I was still hesitant on stepping up and doing what needed to be done.  The thoughts in my head were a combination of Procrastination and Doubt.

Things like:

“Well, I’ll get working on this tomorrow”

“Would I realistically see results with this?  I’ve tried programs like this before, but they don’t really last.” 

“The Holidays are coming up.  There are just too many things I would not get to do with my family and at work. It will be too hard to resist having all of those extra Christmas Treats.”

     Therein lies the reason why a lot of people’s quest to get thinner fail.  People have a well of excuses and convoluted logic as to why they can’t do something that has been shown to work for others.  Combine this with a lingering fear of failing or looking bad, and the result is another gimmick that collects dust in the corner or shelf.

     What it boils down to is looking for reasons why you can’t instead of ways that you can.  DDP loves to refer back to a quote from Henry Ford “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t… you’re right!” 

     So, on November 26, 2012, I decided to find a way to make this work!  Since one of the constant things I heard in the Diamond Dozen & Energy was to Modify wherever I needed to, I applied that to entire beginning of the journey.  Instead of tackling everything at once, I made one small change every few days with a goal on where I wanted to be by Christmas.  I also worked the Program Guide that came with the DDP Yoga DVDs, working with the Intermediate Schedule of workouts, which made sure that I was doing something at least 3 times a week for the first month and ramping up from there.  I also did Wake-Up, a good non-engaged short workout, in the morning to get me thinking about it right away.  I also set a Long-Term Goal of getting down to 185lbs.  I also start doing a Vlog on my YouTube Channel (ZenTwister) and sending out Tweets through my Twitter Account (@ZenTwister… see a theme here?).

     By the time December 26^th came, I had lost 14lbs and was Wheat/Gluten-Free and Diary-Free.   My knees, hips & back were all feeling a lot better than they were, which got me to start going to more of the Adult Classes with Morgan training with me instead of just doing the Kids Classes.

     Fast-Forward to today:  I’m down to 190lbs.  I’m doing DDP Yoga every day, in some form or another.  Some days are just Wake-Up and Red Hot Core (the DDP Yoga Ab Work-Out), while others see Mixed Tape & Double Black Diamond (which hits a little bit of everything in varying degrees).  I’m still Gluten/Wheat/Dairy-Free.  There have been a few times that I have had something out of that group, but it has definitely been the exception and not the rule!  I’m also in the Dojo for almost everything they do (Judo, JuJutsu & Karate).  I’m in the better shape than I have been in 15 years! I’m not at my goal yet, but I can definitely see top of the mountain from here!

     Don’t get me wrong, there are days that are still a struggle.  Even though, logically, I know I’m doing the right things, Procrastination & Doubt still rear their ugly head and I fall down.  The difference is, I get back up stronger than before!  The old Judo Sayings goes “Fall down 7 times, get up 8!”  We learn to fall in Judo & JuJutsu so that we can get back up and fight on, without hesitation.  It’s all a matter of taking it one day at a time.  Another DDP Adage is “Own Your Life”.  Well, in order to do that, you need to Own This Day to Motivate, not Hesitate!

The only question now is…. can you Own This Day?

First Step

First Step

Every Journey Begins with One

My name is Travis Roberts.  On November 26th, 2012. I took the first step of my journey with DDP Yoga.

Its a step that I'll never regret!

Last year, I was weighing around 260lbs.  I had decided it was time for my son, Morgan, to start Martial Arts, since he had been asking about the stuff I used to do in Karate & JuJutsu.  I wanted Morgan to start doing Martial Arts a lot sooner than did, as I didn't start doing anything until after High School. 

After looking around, visiting some dojos and doing some research, I found a small dojo called Dakota Budokan.  It had both JuJutsu and Shotokan Karate, plus the Sensei said that we could both train together.  That's something that is very important to me.  I wasn't going to be a parent that just watched on the sidelines.  I wanted to make sure that I had a hand in training  Morgan on what a good Martial Artist is.  It was also nice that I was able to get back into it, as well.

The problem, however, was that I really hadn't done much of anything for 3 years. The only thing I did Martial Arts-wise was go to my hometown of Aberdeen once for a JuJutsu/Pheasant Hunting Clinic.  Other than that, I was definitely not in prime condition for much of anything.  After the first couple of weeks of training, that became very apparent!  My knees & back were killing me!  I wore knee braces to try to keep me stable, but it was clear that I had to do something different if I was going  to keep up with the training!

After listening to the Roddy Roddy Piper's podcast with special guest Diamond Dallas Page and seeing the inspiring video from Arthur Boorman (see above).  I asked the natural question; "If he can do it, why can't I?" 

So, this is what my Day 1 looked like: