Insanity Is No Joke

So its been two days, and already I need a wheelchair. It has been the most painful workouts of my life. Its nonstop cardio!! You know its hard when you're sweating during the warmups. You're running, jumping, using your own body weight. This is the workout that I need. I've been so sluggish in my workouts for the past few weeks, but Insanity is definitely changing all of that. As much pain as I'm in, I can't wait for tomorrow's dvd. I know when a routine leaves me in pain the next day, then I know it works. So I highly recommend it, after only just two days. You won't be disappointed. I know there will be some great results after the two months if you stay committed. My friends Oginga and Phreddy are joining me in the movement as well. Its always good to have a support system backing you up and cheering you on. So get to it guys and order INSANITY!!!!

Here Comes Insanity

     As I like to say to you guys, variety is the key to losing weight and maintaining that loss. In that spirit, I've decided to order the Insanity workout dvds. Last summer, it was all about P90X. I kinda started a P90X revolution amongst my friends. But to be honest, I wasn't satisfied with my results. It was mostly my fault because I didn't stick to the diet portion of the program. I did gain some muscle, but now I just want more definition and to cut the fat. Now, it's gonna be all about Insanity. This time, I'm gonna monitor my eating better. Last summer, I would do a dvd, then go out for ice cream and burgers. Doesn't really work that way. My biggest things to give up is bread, cheese, and peanut butter. I went 40 days without peanut butter, so I know it can be done. If I put my mind to it, there's so much that I can accomplish. It should be delivered sometime next week, so I'm ready for the challenge. I hate working out in the summer, but I gotta be slim & sexy on that beach mannnnnnn!

Always Important to STRETCHHHHHHHHH

    


     As with most of my posts, I get inspired at the most random of times. This time, I pulled a muscle in my abdominal area. That caused me to write this post. I can't emphasize just how important it is to stretch before AND after your workouts. But let me just say, it is SOOO important to stretch before and after your workouts.
     One of the main reasons is to prevent injury. You can't give 100 % if your muscles start to tighten and cramp up. Not only that, but stretching on a regular basis gives you improved flexibility. You become much more limber and agile. Honestly, I do not like to stretch and tend to forget occasionally. For me, I find it to be more painful than my actual workouts. Especially when I stretch out my legs or my lower back. But it'a something that needs to be done, so I suck it up.
     All you need is at least five to ten minutes before your workout to warm up and do simple stretches. Then, once you've cooled down from your session, stretch out those worked muscles. You'll feel so relaxed afterwards. So take it from me guys, stretch before AND after your workouts to prevent injury and gain that flexibility. You can do it!!

The OMG Experience!

Two weeks ago, I saw possibly one of the greatest shows that I will ever see in my life. I went to the Usher OMG concert. And literally, OMG!!!! It was two hours of awesomeness, and definitely got my money's worth. Once again, I respect perfomers like him and Janet because they give you a full show. He danced and sang at the same time, and did both extremely well. All the ladies were screaming their heads off (some guys too). It was like he sang every song he ever did in his career. 20 something songs in two hours? Awesomeness. Although one complaint, I swear those explosions were trying to give me a heart attack. I was close to the stage so the BOOM was intense. But anywho, it truly was a great event. I was his unofficial backup singer and dancer. Except when I did it, it didn't look as cool. I'll keep my day job. And after seeing his show, I'm sooo ready to go hard in the gym. Damn him and his six-pack, making me look bad. Another thing that I really enjoyed was his MJ tribute. Gotta admit, it brought a tear to my eye. Seeing how truly inspired he was by the man was great. I highly recommend everyone to go out and see his show. Trust me, every dollar you pay will be WORTH IT. And one more time, OMG OMG OMG!!!!

Happy Birthday to My Wife!!!

Hello readers, it has been quite some time. Well, I'm finished with my junior year of college. It was a rough one, but I got through it. Now my vacation can begin, and I can get back to this blog. First off, I just wanna give a birthday shoutout to Fitness Guru/Future Wife, Janet Jackson!! What can I say? She's an inspiration to me and I'm a big fan of her work. I love and respect the woman very much. She's 45 today, and looks amazing. I hope that she has an amazing day and keep up the good work.

Love Yourself

"Don't compare your body to others. Instead, work to be your personal best".

I know I've talked about this many times on this blog. But believe you me, I know there are people that constantly need to be reminded to love themselves, myself included. We all wanna be loved and accepted by others in this world. Anyone that says otherwise is a damn liar. If it weren't true, people wouldn't spend millions of dollars each year altering their appearances and trying to lose weight. What makes matters worst is constantly feeling the fat one in your group of friends. Even though my friends don't view me in that way, I still feel this from time to time. It's like"why can't I look this way"? "Why do I have all this extra meat on me"? I can't really blame anyone but myself for my old habits. I work as hard as I can to lose weight and remain healthy, but those feelings of inadequacy and doubt still creep up from time to time. When I go to the gym, I occasionally feel like I'm embarassing being around all these big, jacked-up dudes. I'm slowly getting to accepting my body. I'm not meant to be skinny, it's not gonna happen. However, I am gonna work as hard as I can to be the best Vaughn that I can be. Honestly, that's all I can do. So to all of those who are feeling the same way I've felt for some time, it gets better. Loving yourself for the person you are is not bad at all, and if you feel that its necessary for you to change how you look, then do it healthily. Just be the best you that you can be.

If You're Going to Run, BUY RUNNING SHOES ! !

  Sounds simple enough right? Well to be honest, I never had proper running shoes until this weekend. So here's the story: For the past few weeks, I have been running on a daily basis in basketball shoes. Basketball shoes should be used for playing basketball and that is that! Because of this foolish blunder, I was putting unnecessary strain on my feet and joints. I soon began to have pain in my big toe (had an injury last year). I went to get it examined by a doctor. Their prognosis: that I either had the gout or arthritis in my toe. Really??? I don't eat high sodium foods anymore, and arthritis, I highly doubt it. Then the doctor asked me do I engage in regular physical activity. I told her yes I run and jumprope. Then she asked if I wear proper running shoes, which I said nope. That was the problem. I had to give up my running for an entire week. It was torture, to say the least. As much as I hated running in the beginning, I've grown to accept it as apart of my life. I consider myself to be a runner now and I need it in my life. This weekend, I went out and bought myself a pair of running shoes. Today was my first day in a week where I went back to my routine of running and jumprope. It felt great to work up a sweat like that again. And my toe is feeling better, which is most important. So once again, if you're going to run, BUY RUNNING SHOES!!!