This was one of my more successful challenges. Not only did I beast mode through it, but I plan on mostly continuing the challenge going forward. With the chronic pain I suffer from, consistent extensive exercise is not just good for me, but necessary for my sanity. Without further ado, here is what I learned from the experience:

• Don’t give up after a failed start. The month started not that long after I fell off the wagon with regards to my TV/movie abstinence. I wasn’t in the best spot mentally. The first 2 days of the challenge I didn’t follow it at all. It would have been easy at this point to just scrap the whole thing. However, one of the biggest skills I have been practicing is choosing middle path. 28 days is not a month (unless it’s February) but it is still an accomplishment, and much much better than nothing.
• It’s not everything, but it is enough. Two hours of daily physical conditioning doesn’t remotely cover all the physical therapy regimens I’ve been given for my back over the years. It also isn’t enough time to fit in all I would like: yoga, running, biking, swimming, calisthenics, foot exercises, body rolling, etc. However, it is enough for me. I feel content with it. Everyone needs to find this point for their body and mind – for some it is 5 minutes, for others 4 hours. Find your sweet spot.
• Beast mode is uncomfortable and awesome. That is what makes it beast mode. As much as I love Bikram Yoga (and I do!), it does not put me into beast mode. However, pumping out 200 push-ups or cranking out 100 hyper-extension repetitions definitely does. There is nothing like the feeling of complete exhaustion mixed with sheer triumph. It’s amazing, but something I have to will myself into every time.
• Having an exercise partner is a huge plus. The last week of the challenge my sister Rachel was visiting. This gave me the opportunity to run and do yoga with her every day. What a tremendous blessing this was! I do like completing a yoga class meditatively in a dark room by myself sometimes or turning on solo beast mode. However, the added motivation, accountability, and energy of exercising with a friend is quite palpable.

What will I change going forward? Not a lot actually. As I said previously, the challenge was a smashing success. However, here are a few modifications I will make:

• Put more emphasis on exercising first and last thing of every day. I naturally fell into this pattern by the end of the challenge. The reason I started with a more segmented approach at the outset was to make the challenge seem less intimidating. Two hours of exercise in the day sounds like a lot, but a bunch of 10-15 minute segments doesn’t. However, once I got into the habit, my body started expecting and enjoying the process and it became easier to put the bulk of the responsibility at the borders of the day, while still saving half an hour or so to be interspersed as helpful throughout the day.
• Find connections that encourage fitness. This is for those days when I’m just not feeling it. The idea that you are accountable to more than just yourself can be very empowering when the self is deflated. When I lived in Houston, I paid $45 a month for a gym membership, which added a financial imperative to fitness. I don’t do this currently, so creating alternative incentives is helpful to keep me on track and healthy.

It’s amazing how awesome I can feel sometimes despite the chronic pain when I channel my energy towards fitness. My goal is to default to physical conditioning during times of stress. This is far superior to my recent default of binge-watching TV shows. Additionally, one of my Christmas presents was medical-grade gel toe separators, which have been super helpful for enjoying yoga and planks despite my drop foot.

Namaste.