Yoga for Regular Guys: The Best Damn Workout on the Planet!

I definitely wanted this guy in the book. But the Yoga-Doc told me Ted had just undergone surgery on his knee two weeks earlier. I said, “Well, we’re not shooting for another two weeks. Do you think he could be ready?” Yoga-Doc said, “Dude, this guy is seventy years old. I wouldn’t bet on it.” And then we both laughed our asses off.
    But when it came time for the photo shoot, I’ll be damned if the tough SOB wasn’t ready. Four weeks after his surgery, I flew Ted out to LA from Atlanta to be a part of the YRG workout. And to no one’s surprise, he did it like the warrior that he is. Now
that’s
inspirational! No one can ever tell me that they’re too old or too beat up to do YRG.

MAKING A DECISION
    I want to give you guys a goal. You see, if you don’t know where you’re going, how the hell are you ever going to get there?
    But we need to be clear about something first. Before you can even set a goal, you have to make a decision. Making a decision is the most important thing you can do. Why? Because the true meaning of the word
decide
can get you to the Promised Land. You see, most people don’t really make true decisions. The Latin root of
decide
means “to cut off all possibility.” So a person who actually made a true decision to accomplish something would have no alternative but to do what they decided.
    It all comes down to the difference between “hoping” something is going to happen and “knowing” something is going to happen. Think about your goal and just “hope” that it’s going to happen. When you just hope for something to happen, the picture isn’t clear, the colors aren’t that bright, and the vision isn’t that exact.
    Contrast that with what happens when you “know” a future goal is going to occur. You expect it, and you know with absolute certainty that it will come. The picture is very clear, the colors are very bright and vivid, and the vision is very exact, specific, and focused. Try this with something you want. How about getting into the best shape you have ever been, using the YRG workout? Visualize yourself doing the 20-Minute Workout three times a week. Remember,
everyone has twenty minutes!
    After you have made a
decision
, you have to put it to work …
    Applying Your Decision
    The formula we are going to be using is called SMACK:
    S: SPECIFY
    M: MONITOR
    A: ACHIEVE
    C: CHOOSE
    K: KEEP IT GOING
    Specify: Know exactly what you want to accomplish with your YRG workout. Let’s say for example that you want to lose thirty-six pounds—wow!!! That’s a shit-load of weight to lose. But if you know that you are going to change your lifestyle by sticking with your workout and dropping the weight, then the weight will come off! This can work with any goal, from building more muscle mass to gaining greater flexibility—just be specific about your goal.
    Monitor: Monitor your progress by breaking your goal down into doable increments. Break a year down into months. So if your goal is to lose thirty-six pounds in a year, then you’re losing only three pounds a month. That’s less than a pound per week! If you are sticking to your YRG workouts, this should not be a problem.
    Achieve: To understand whether your goals are truly attainable or not really depends on your lifestyle. Most times, you have to change your lifestyle to achieve your goals. It may be your time management skills that need attention—then again it may just come down to true dedication. Either way, it will come down to what you really want, because once you find that out, you can trust that your goal is attainable. If you are breaking your goal into measurable goals and not setting the bar too high, too fast, you are allowing yourself to really believe you can achieve—and then, well, achievement is possible.
    Choose: Are you choosing actions that are compatible with your goal? Now this is a big one. If you’re drinking half a case of beer a night, eating crap every night, and slouching on the couch whenever you can, then the answer is absolutely not! But if you’re going to live life in moderation, and you have decided to live a healthier lifestyle in combination with your YRG workout sessions, then your actions are definitely compatible with attaining your goal.
    Keep it going: This is your ritual. You must discipline yourself to do the work necessary and to do it continuously. Do it each day, without fail. If your goal is to do your YRG twenty minutes per day or twenty minutes three