This next segment is a four part segment on a subject that I have brought up in previous blogs. It is a subject that can be completely devastating positive gym morale and overall fitness drive. It is a subject that I feel needs to be discussed in a little more depth. This subject is referred to by people I associate myself with as the “long-day-itis.” It is a disease that many of us face on a daily basis and although you might have a different name for it, no matter what you call it, it still becomes a detrimental factor in accomplishing personal fitness goals. “Long-day-itis” is a term a use to refer to that feeling of absolute exhaustion that comes over you after a long 8-12 hour day of grinding at the office, out in the fields, at the job site or at home with the kids. This little bug that is commonly caught by the average person on daily/weekly basis can be an extremely derailing factor when making that trip to the gym or running those five miles when you get home.

I personally hit the wall after a 9-10 hour day at the office and the last thing I want to do is go to the gym, but I try and force myself to make that journey because my physical fitness is something that I value very much. But if I have anything else that I need to do when I get home from work, the gym is the first thing that goes because I know I will be an absolute wreck if I don’t get some rest at some point. This “itis” is a creeper, and it can gain on you in rapid time and without any warning. For instance, about a month ago (before I initiated a comprehensive game plan to battle this) I had 30 minutes left at work and was really excited about going to the gym, which is literally about 2 blocks from work, the second that I got off. But when that clock struck 5 PM I got into my car and saw that the left turn lane that leads to the gym was just a little too long for my liking at that particular moment (which in reality meant that I would have to wait about 1min- 1.5 min – normally not a big deal). So I thought to myself “screw it” I will just drive home and work out at the gym at home. I got into the house and my roommate was eating a fantastic dinner and I thought to myself again, you know what, I need some dinner: I will just go after I eat. Well, turns out that if you eat a whole meal and a half from “Wings and Things” and work a 9 hour day and then plop down on the couch, you are pretty much guaranteeing that you are going to be stuck for the night – and I mean embedded into that couch like Wiley Coyote at the bottom of a canyon after trying an Acme flying device.

If you can’t tell by my blogs I am a very motivated person, especially when it comes to fitness. But scenarios like this one and others that tend to poke their heads about from time to time seem to take root within my fitness routines on a weekly/monthly basis. And if you are anything like I am one day of getting hit with this “itis” can throw your whole weeks routine off and in many cases you are not able to meet your weekly goals. So about a month ago, specifically right after I realized how much the disease affects me “on the reg” (i.e. the instance described above), I started to develop several different methods to help me curb this mini plague and it’s horrendous effects.  So for the next for the next four blogs I will be offering up some suggestions about how I go about battling this illness. With these quips of advice I will also be offering some pros and cons that come with each. And as usual I will have my relentless and unfiltered opinions about it all as I go down the line.  Once again these are simply the opinions of a guy has opinions about anything and everything, take it or leave it as you will.