Ask a Geologist

“I'd love to know a good exercise routine to make me a badass. I do pushups and planks and situps while I watch Battlestar Galactica in the evenings, but it's pretty haphazard (except the pushups- I'm doin a 6 weeks to 100 pushups thing.) I need some structure.”

Aw, sweetie. You’re already a badass. Don’t change a thing.

But if you want to be MORE of a badass then I can get behind that. There’s never too much badassery.

First things first, imagine yourself as a badass. What are you doing? What specific qualities make you a badass in this scenario? When was the last time you were doing something that made you feel like a badass? You can look at some of the clips of badasses below and find the one you relate to the most if you are lacking in inspiration.

Martial arts training is a sure way to feel like a bad ass and it offers plenty of structure. In fact, I had to quit my Hapkido class because I felt like too much of a bad ass and well, I’ve never been much of a bad ass. Classes combine aerobics, yoga, strength training and self defense and they are very accessible to beginners. My Hapkido and Kung Fu instructors were two of the most patient people I have ever met and for someone who has no idea where her limbs are at any moment that is saying something.

The thing that most clips of people being bad ass have in common is simple: music. With a killer playlist you can turn the most mundane activities into potential opportunities for imaginary ass kicking. Listen to this and do some sit ups and push ups:

It makes it 10X MORE EPIC. Don’t you feel like a boxer now? Getting ready for the big…uh..match?

The key is to find something you like to do. You’re not going to become a bad ass by forcing yourself to go to step aerobics every week. You can walk your dog like a badass. You can dance like a badass. You can swim like a badass. The key is to love what you are doing HARD and to do it a lot.

As for structure you have a few options based on your personality. Some people like routine. Do your thing at the same time on the same days and don’t make excuses. If it’s fun for you it won’t be as hard. On days where you’re sick or can’t hang you should read about your activity or do some other preparations for it like make a new play list. Don’t use that time for something else.

Joining a team or a class is the best way to provide structure because it provides accountability you don’t have when you’re solo. Even just getting a work out buddy can help motivate you. Then you can have a sidekick!

For lone wolves you can use spreadsheets to track your progress, websites like sparkpeople.com keep data and give positive feedback or you can set short term goals for yourself to work toward. A lot of this depends on which flavor of ass you’d like to be bad at.

Ultimately though, this a mental thing, you need to FEEL SUPER AWESOME so stay positive and don’t get frustrated. Every ounce of effort you put into this is a good thing and even if you’re not great at something now you’re not getting worse. Right?