When I heard about the NODK Challenge, I shrieked a little bit… out loud actually. To be honest, I was worried about the proposed challenge. Granted I am not out of shape for a 27 year old; in fact, I love cycling, I’ve trained for a full marathon and completed a few half marathons. Heck, I used to rock climb every day with my college roommates… but for some reason, this challenge frightened me.
My concerns were:
- Pressures of having to change my diet. Just to be transparent, I LOVE JUNK FOOD!
- Fitting a consistent workout routine into my already over-booked life (more on that to follow)
- Beating everyone else in the office. It just so happens I am VERY competitive.
I realized at the beginning that I needed to lose a few pounds and that I had physically let myself go from my years of working as a traveling auditor. With that established, my first step was to find a partner who could push me… Luckily, he only sat 3 feet away. Drew and I promised to hold each other accountable during the challenge. We joined a gym 10 minutes from the office and swore we would workout EVERY day that our workload allowed. I think he even made me sign a contract in blood.
Through many tough weeks of Drew pushing me to the point of “reversal of fortune” (hotdog eating contest terminology for those who are unaware)… I finally made it to the end. While I didn’t lose any significant amount of weight, I did gain muscle and I trimmed down quite a bit.
Through this entire process, I learned many things. Here are my key takeaways:
- Dedication determines results
- Accountability brings sustainability
- Defining “The Win” makes the difference (it’s all about meeting goals we set)
Reflecting on these takeaways a little more, the first was essential for me. Dedication to a work out plan was a challenge for me. When I was a college student, I worked as a front desk manager and a rock climbing belayer at a gym in Columbia, SC. Most would assume I would be the best candidate for a competitive body builder, considering the amount of hours I spent there. However, this was not the case. After working long and early hours (5am start most days), the last thing I wanted to do was workout in the same gym. So you can see I had a hurdle to overcome. How was I going to stay dedicated through this challenge? Enter Drew Malone and his accountability.
Moving along to point number two, accountability. Had Drew not been the cornerstone of my change, I don’t think I would have made it through to the end of the 90 days. Truly, I think this was the best advantage I had going for me. Everyday, Drew pushed me to eat better, workout harder, and make smarter life choices. He was in my corner from the start and stayed there until the finish. If someone brought in fresh brownies, Drew would watch over me like a hawk to make sure I didn’t have 17 (trust me, I can eat 17 brownies in one sitting). When I had a bad night of eating something unhealthy, I would confide in Drew. Luckily, he wouldn’t rub my nose in my poor choice; he simply encouraged me to make better ones each day. In the gym, I would want to quit on an exercise (especially on leg day… don’t even get me started), but Drew would make me push through the pain and finish the drill knowing that it would help me reach my goal of looking like Ryan Reynolds (too much disclosure? Maybe). Ah, goal-setting…
I learned most of what I know about goal-setting from my wife, Angela. She is serious when it comes to setting goals and reaching them. For most, scratch that, all of my life, I have been a “go with the flow” type person. I never truly set goals for myself, but rather, would just tackle any challenge that came my way. Upon meeting Angela, I realized how important goal-setting really was. This small task proves to be very large in terms of returns. By setting goals, we can benchmark our progress, make adjustments to our plan, and ultimately reach the finish. Each day, I set a goal of trying to do at least 5 – 7 of the items on our NODK point tracker. Just setting that goal ultimately brought me to the finish line of the whole process-as the winner.
I bet by now, you are ready to see what my results were. Well take a look at these images. I noticed substantial muscle definition in my arms. I could also see that my stomach trimmed down significantly. In terms of energy, I noticed that once I came back from our lunchtime workouts, I had way more to finish out the day. Heck, I even saw changes at my recent visit to the dentist. One of our point tracker items was to floss daily, which I honestly hated to do, but since it was an “easy win” I made sure to check it off every day. After the NODK Challenge was over, I had my 6 month checkup, and get this; they praised me on my flossing! WHAT!? That was the first time I had EVER been praised for flossing.
All in all, this challenge wasn’t something for me to be afraid of. It did not force me to stop eating junk food, it held me accountable and encouraged me to cut back and use moderation. It did not clog up my overly busy schedule; it was a challenge that showed me I could unwind in the gym. And as for my last fear… well, I won a sweet iPod Nano for my efforts.
