But "What's my Motivation?"

For the past several years I've always felt a little bit deceptive when I've spoken to others about my fitness regimen. The source of my motivation was totally unknown to anyone except for a small select few. After all, not everyone has the motive of saving ones job and his very standard of living riding on whether they stay fit and maintain the discipline to eat right and rise early as religiously as I have.  I have however recognized the substantial gift I've been given throughout this entire situation. The motivational speaker Zig Ziglar said "What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals." I've completed my goal of retaining my position and career as long as I have but I am, without question, a different person than what I was 5 years ago.

I am surprised with what I've become.

Things are changing though. While I still intend to maintain a strict adherence to a high level of fitness in order to achieve a certain level of mental focus, the pressure is off. But what about my motivation? I'd have to say that the person I've become is every bit as motivated as I've been during the last 5 years. I've BECOME an advocate for healthy living and am witness to what a commitment to exercise can mean to our health both mental and physical.

Nathan Pritikin known for his work in the area of longevity and diet sums up what I've determined about the importance of exercise with the following:

Priority of Exercise
Exercise must have top priority, one that supercedes everything except your
spouse, your children and the food that you eat.

The excuse of not being able to find time to exercise is a cop out. We find
the time to sleep because it is mandatory. So is exercise.

If you don't owe daily exercese to yourself, you owe it to the people who
love you -- your family and friends.

It is unfair to think of exercise as taking extra time. It simply doesn't.
With the new energy you've got you'll  get more done and probably sleep an
hour less every night.

Schedule your exercise the day before and then fit your work schedule
around IT!

I'm also convinced that for most people, the morning is the best time to get the most regarding a workout and making the most of your day. Steven Covey in his 7 Habits of Highly Effective People uses the analogy of "Sharpening the Saw" meaning to take care of yourself first in order to get the most efficiency from yourself on a daily basis. I'd even like to take it a little further and ask if it is wiser for a workman to sharpen his saw in the morning or mid-day?

I'm not really dogmatic about the above statement, but I think most people should seriously consider it.  Here is something I picked up from the people over at www.sparkpeople.com that I think has merit:

Top 5 Reasons to Love A.M. Exercise
1). Exercising early in the morning "jump starts" your metabolism, keeping it elevated for hours, sometimes for up to 24 hours! As a result, you'll be burning more calories all day long--just because you exercised in the morning.

2). Exercising in the morning energizes you for the day - - not to mention that gratifying feeling of virtue you have knowing you've done something disciplined and good for you. (Much better than a worm!)

3). Studies have shown that exercise significantly increases mental acuity--a benefit that lasts four to ten hours after your workout ends. Exercising in the a.m. means you get to harness that brainpower, instead of wasting it while you're snoozing.

4). Assuming you make exercise a true priority, it shouldn't be a major problem to get up 30 to 60 minutes earlier--especially since regular exercise generally means a higher quality of sleep, which in turn means you'll probably require less sleep. (If getting up 30 to 60 minutes earlier each day seems too daunting, you can ease into it with 10 to 20 minutes at
first.)

5). When you exercise at about the same time every morning--especially if you wake up regularly at about the same time--you're regulating your body's endocrine system and circadian rhythms. Your body learns that you do the same thing just about every day, and it begins to prepare for waking and exercise several hours before you actually open your eyes.

Exercise Extra: More than 90% of those who exercise consistently have a morning fitness routine. If you want to exercise on a regular basis, the odds are in your favor if you squeeze your workout into the a.m.

So my motivation has changed but it has not waned. I think another surprising aspect that I've learned is how my spirit is edified by the daily act of pushing my limits and in learning that these limits can be continually challenged and expanded.... I think perhaps the knowledge of my ability to consistantly grow and improve could very well be motivation enough.

I'm skipping my weekly tabulation of exercise and diet this week. I'm lucky I found the time to finish the blog this week...

If anyone is interested however, I've still tracked my daily calorie inputs and expenditures and it can still be perused here:
http://www.livestrong.com/thedailyplate/diary/who/Stairclimber_D/