Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is

          Welcome to afitnewyou!  As we are now a good ways into the holiday season, it becomes obvious that an unfortunate focus (especially for those of us here in the States) tends towards holiday spending instead of reflecting on the true "reason for the season."  But with that deeper subject aside, we all know that this time of year brings a lot of spending.  And having already passed Black Friday and Cyber Monday, it makes me think about what we spend our money on.  I do believe there are times when we buy things simply for the sake of obtaining things; there are times when we purchase things for the wrong reasons.  However, I believe that most of the times when we spend money that it is on things that we truly value.  This is why we call it investing.  Furthermore, when we are investing our money wisely, we usually have the goal of gaining some sort of return on it.  So as you continue your holiday spending, I think you should consider investing a little bit of your budget on yourself and your health.  Treating yourself to something that will help you achieve your fitness goals shouldn't be looked at as a selfish act, rather it should be looked at as an investment in your health.

          On "Day Three" of their book, The Love Dare, authors Stephen and Alex Kendrick express the value which we place on things that we spend our money on.  They say, "Whatever you put your time, energy, and money into will become important to you.  It's hard to care for something you are not investing in."  While they referring to what could help you restore a relationship, I believe this also pertains to your health.  I would like to restate their sentiment in regards to your vitality...It is hard to not care for something that you are investing in.  Although I am usually against the idea of feeling like you need to spend money in order to achieve health (because that isn't 100% true), I am in favor of you taking whatever steps are necessary to get you on the path to a healthier, fitter new you.  And a good part of that is placing value on your own health and even more so developing value for being healthy.  So, just as the Kendricks suggest with restoring a relationship, investing some money into your own health can have long term dividends.

          The key to making any investment pay off is to invest wisely.  Rather than just "throwing your money at something" and hoping that you will get a return, it is better to do a bit of research into what will lead to the best value.  It is unfortunate that sometimes we learn the hard way that sometimes finding the best deal isn't the greatest in the long run, but that you often "get what you pay for."  This is why when people buy the "latest and greatest" piece of cardio equipment from a television infomercial I usually roll my eyes.  Those are the types of investments that usually over the long term become glorified clothes hangers.  But even if that purchase allows you to start towards your fitness goals, then you can consider it a worthy investment.  I just believe that a better investment would be in a gym membership and/or sessions with a qualified personal trainer and/or nutritionist.  These types of purchases can help you with both your short and long term fitness goals.

          If you spend some money on fresh fitness apparel, a new piece of exercise equipment for home, or best yet, a gym membership and/or sessions with a personal trainer and/or nutritionist you are very likely to want to get something out of it.  There is a high likelihood that you will want to see a return on your investment, so there is a great chance you will actually use these things.  The best part of this is that the investment is not actually on the items, but in your own health and fitness.  Because you are looking for value on what you have spent your money on, you will in turn develop a value for these things that will help you reach your fitness goals.  Although you don't necessarily need to spend a significant amount of money to get in shape, putting money into these things allows you to want to get something out of your expenditures and therefore will have you act on it.  Putting your money where your mouth is by investing in your own health is a valuable way to achieve a fit new you!
         

Two Steps Forward

          Welcome to afitnewyou!  As we come out of our "turkey coma" here in the States, and most likely regret the amount of pie and desserts we consumed on Thanksgiving, there can be a tendency to become discouraged about reaching your fitness goals due to a sense of failure from consuming too many calories.  Many people in the Northern hemisphere should appreciate that the "holiday season", where many tend to over indulge as part of many feasts and celebrations, occurs during our winter when we can hide the extra calories under many layers of clothes....those of you in the Southern hemisphere probably stress about the extra holiday calories a bit more being that it is your summer.  But in either case, I hope that all of you do enjoy the holidays and do so with an abundance of joy rather than with stress and / or regret.  I want you to understand that it is "o.k." to celebrate, and that all of the hard work you put in all year hasn't gone to waste.  In fact, if there is any point in the year where you have "fallen off" of your fitness goals, or have a "cheat day" here and there know that you can overcome it and you should not let it derail you from ultimately reaching your fitness goals...that is as along as you realize it is only a minor set back and get back to it.  This is because as long as you continue to progress, any way you look at it, two steps forward and one step back is still movement in the right direction!

          This time of year can be particularly harrowing for those who are trying to improve their body composition when they are faced with many potential, nutritional road blocks that come from holiday parties and gatherings.  In situations that are supposed to be celebrated with joy there can be a tendency to have stress and regrets.  Unfortunately, many people disregard what they need to do in order to achieve their fitness goals early on in the holiday season, essentially giving up for at least a month or two until the holidays are over.  They rather take a hiatus from doing what they need to reach their goals so that they can enjoy the holidays relatively guilt free.  After taking a step back, by consuming too many calories early into the holiday season, many people will throw in the towel.  To avoid this failure, understand that the step back can be countered by two steps forward.  Even though you might thoroughly enjoy yourself at a party during the weekend, you have plenty of days left in the week to get the momentum going back in the direction of your goals.  Waiting until the New Year could be your start, but it will be much easier to reach your goals if for every "step back" you take you counter it with steps in the right direction by still continuing as soon as you can with your workouts.

          The holidays are only a small portion of the year, and set backs can occur at anytime.  Injuries for example, are a common step back that people often go through.  While an injury could be particularly devastating to a professional and / or competitive athlete, how they recover (pun intended) from the injury is usually a true testament to their mettle.  While injuries do keep you from performing as well as you may want, they often provide the rest and recovery that allows for increased performance following the injury.  Suffering an injury is certainly a step back, but the time spent resting and / or rehabbing allows your muscles to repair and strengthen.  There is a great potential to perform better following the injury, even at times as a result of it!

          Do not let a short-term set back keep your from achieving your long-term goals.  Trust me when I tell you that the emotional toll is far worse than the physical toll when facing a bump in the road to your goals from things like overindulging during the holidays, or when faced with an injury.  The guilt and disappointment you may feel is far worse than the actual physical detriment your body has to contend with.  As long as you keep the perspective that the step you take back can be overcome by the same hard work you have put in all year, you will be heading in the right direction sooner than your realize.  Even a rather negative event, such as an injury, can allow for positive growth in that you have the opportunity to recover to an even healthier state than you were before.  And joyous occasions should be celebrated rather than met with stress and guilt.  Just realize that although speed bumps are things that we encounter to slow us down, they are only a small part of the road that we quickly put into our rear views.  Continuing to move towards our goals after a small set back is the progressive way to reach a fit new you!

         

Be Grateful - revisited for Thanksgiving

          Welcome to afitnewyou!  This week I would like to inspire you to keep up with your fitness goals with a reminder...to be grateful for what you have.  While I can tell you many things that one should be grateful for, which often get overlooked or taken for granted, in my little space here, I will remind you to be grateful for your health.  If you are doing something today to point your diet and/or exercise routine towards healthy goals, even if its simply thinking about those goals, than you are in a place that you should be grateful for.  In life, it is often said that "everything is relative."  And, that saying can pertain to so many things.  If you are ever discouraged about anything, you can usually find a silver lining if you look hard enough, or some reason to be grateful.  The same is true for your health.  Although you have a fitness goal that you haven't reached yet, maybe it is a body weight you want to be at, a dress size you want to fit in, or an amount of weight you want to make your new personal best, you have to still be grateful for the health that you have today.  This is because you never know when your health may take a turn for the worse.  I have seen many people and clients who had only started to live a more healthy lifestyle after a health scare.  Lets avoid the tragedy needed to sometimes learn a lesson.  Lets be grateful for the health we have today!

     Jason is someone who comes into the gym on a regular basis...these days.  He is in his sixties now, and after he suffered a heart attack when he was 45 years old.  Before the heart attack he didn't exercise regularly, and just as bad, he smoked cigarettes and drank hard liquor regularly.  It wasn't until this life threatening event that he decided he needed to make some major changes in his lifestyle.  Immediately after leaving the hospital, and being thankful to be alive, he gave up tobacco products, cut down his alcohol consumption, and started exercising everyday.  He knew he was lucky to be alive, and grateful for that second chance at maintaining his health.

has been on an exercise routine for the last twenty years.  Unfortunately, he wasn't very active prior to that, and even more unfortunate than that was that he only started taking care of his health
     JT is a client of mine who had a similar lesson of taking his health for granted.  JT is in his seventies, and is pretty active for his age, regularly playing golf and tennis in the warmer months, and hitting the gym in the colder months.  JT was always very active and a self proclaimed "jock" from a very early age.  Its this continued active lifestyle that many people need to follow.  But JT had a freak accident where one of his retinas partially tore.  Unlike Jason, JT's mishap was completely unavoidable.  But, along the same lines, it wasn't until his vision was severely diminished that he fully appreciated how healthy he was before this accident...even if he had the regular aches and pains of someone his age, or any weekend warrior for that matter.  And as his vision improved, his spirits picked up more and more because he was able to play tennis again, where immediately after the injury he was told there was a chance he never would.

     As I said earlier, don't wait for a tragedy to happen for you to appreciate the level of health you have today.  Yes, we are all striving to achieve a better state of health; and yes, we all have fitness goals that we want to achieve.  That's fantastic, and I am sure a good part of that is what got you to your current state of health that you are in now.  And even though you can and should work towards your goals, and an even healthier state of living, its important to acknowledge and appreciate that health you have today.  And when you do, this value of your own health should fuel you to keep moving towards your health goals.  Its a positive cycle.

     We are often to busy, too concerned with what we haven't achieved, what we still need to do, and the flaws that make us all human.  But we all have some level of health that shouldn't be taken for granted.  We all should be very grateful for the level of health we currently have.  As we age, we all now that its harder and harder to stay healthy.  So by being grateful of the health you have today, no matter how much further you want to take it, let that value of your health motivate you to do everything you can to stay that healthy and more importantly reach your health and fitness goals.  Reflecting on the goodness of your current state of health is an introspective way to reach a fit new you!

Be a Machine

          Welcome to afitnewyou!  Today I want to help you reach your fitness goals by giving you a role to play.  With Halloween being this week, a lot of people, young and adult, try to decide who they want to pretend to be for the holiday; a superhero, a monster, a mythical creature.  I want you to be a machine...be a robot!  If you can envision yourself as a robot, as a machine, you can have a mental edge to assist you with reaching your fitness goals not only on Halloween, but all year.  In reality, I am not asking you to paint yourself silver and / or wear a costume made out of boxes.  But what I do want you to do is become machine-like in your exercise and nutrition habits.  I want you to act as if you are programmed to complete the task of reaching a healthier, fitter new you.  I'm asking you to take the thought and emotion out of your fitness quest and start acting as if making healthy choices is your job, as if you are wired to do so.  Be a machine!

          Machines are calculated; they are programmed to do a job.  Machines don't think about what they need to do from an emotional stand point, they just go out there and do it.  This is what you need to do with your fitness requirements.  "Program" yourself to exercise regularly and continually make healthy food choices.  Tell yourself that you are wired to move every hour, to get to the gym several times a week, to keep your body moving.  Make these the tasks that you as a machine are responsible for.  When you are looking at a menu, read it as if you are a robot that has the job of finding the most ideal and healthy food choice for your body.  Think that acting on a healthy lifestyle is the task you are programmed to do.

          Machines are automatic; press the "power" button and they are "good to go".  While it is true that many machines require a warm-up or to be primed before starting, just as we do, machines are relatively ready to perform at the go.  They don't come up with excuses about why they cannot achieve their task.  Just like the machine, you need to have a "power" button in your head, that once it is pushed, you aren't stopping until your task is done.  You can envision your alarm clock as your power button...once you shut the alarm off, you turn on and are activated for the day.  A much clearer example could be the power button on the cardio machine you want to use...once you turn the real machine on, you get powered up as well.  Or, you can imagine that the dumbbells are the key to turn you on; once in your hands, you're engine is started and you are ready to work.

          Machines are deliberate; the term mechanical refers to deliberate and precise movements.  Machines are often employed to do repetitive tasks that need to be done exactly the same time and time again.  When you are training in the gym, make each repetition that you perform mechanically deliberate.  Pretend that you are machine performing the movement, making each rep perfect using muscle not momentum. 

          Machines require maintenance; nothing works better than a "well oiled machine."  Without proper maintenance, machines can wear down and break prematurely.  A metal machine left sitting in the elements can rust and bind up.  You are like machine in this way as well.  You need to stay lubricated by drinking plenty of water.  Arthritis and aches and pains can creep up if you don't keep your parts moving.

          If you're thinking about what to be for Halloween, consider being a robot or a machine.  And think about being one for the rest of the year as it can help you achieve your fitness goals.  The pre-programmed, automatic, systematic ways that machines operate to complete their tasks can be copied by you to stay on task to reach your health aspirations.  A fun part of Halloween is pretending to be something you are not.  Acting like a machine can help you become something that you want to be.  Thinking of yourself as a machine with the one goal of being healthier is treat way of becoming a fit new you!

Find Your Motivation

          Welcome to afitnewyou!  This week I want to start by asking you a question.  What is it that is motivating you to reach a fitter new you?  You are reading this blog to get a little more inspiration perhaps, and I am always looking for new perspectives to help keep you motivated.  But I think that most of us already have something that can help motivate us to work a little harder each day.  We all can find something to focus on to help keep us pushing forward.  While it is certainly easier around particular times of the year, such as New Year's Eve and the start of the summer, to find something to focus on, what else will keep you motivated through the rest of the year?  I believe you already have something there, you just need to find the angle.  It could be an upcoming special event, such as a wedding or reunion, a change in your relationship status, such as getting yourself "back out there" while making your ex have regrets, or something else. such as preparing for another sports season.  Whatever it is, having an element that you can focus on to keep training hard and eating healthy, rather than just because its good for you, will most definitely keep you on track to reaching your goals.  So what is your motivation?

          Special events are always goods reasons to be motivated to work just a little harder to reach your fitness goals.  School reunions, weddings and milestone birthdays are perfect examples of events that we want to look as best as we can and will work harder to get there.  What is nice about using an upcoming event as a motivational focus is the timing component that the even can play into your planning.  For example, you usually have a good amount of notice for such events, heck some even come with a "save the date."  Having an awareness of when a future event will be gives you time to plan out how you are going to achieve your goals.  We all know that you aren't going to see a body change through one work out or "overnight."  But when you are aware that you have so many weeks and/or months to prepare for an event, you can make an effective plan to get there.  Another factor that the timing of the event plays is that as it draws closer, you will be even more compliant and motivated to increase the intensity.  Its sort of like that final sprint that a marathon runner puts forth once they know the finish line is near.  An example of an event that motivates me is an annual trip to a water park that I take with my daughter at the end of each summer.  On most days I am usually good about getting to the gym and making healthy food choices.  And at the beginning of the summer I have a little more motivation to look good in the warmer weather like most others.  but as the dog days of the summer drag on, I find extra motivation in this trip that I take with my daughter each year.  At this particular park, as they do at many time places, they take your picture as soon as you walk in the gate for you to purchase later in the day.  Because my daughter and I get it each year as a keepsake, I always want to look as good as possible because I know I will be able to look back on it all year every year.  My motivation is to look as good, or even better than the year before.  Therefore as the trip approaches I get motivated to hit it a little harder at the gym.

           As I mentioned earlier, there are plenty of reasons other than events to find motivation in as well.  Striving to beat a personal best on a lift at the gym, or a time on an event intrinsically have built in motivation.  Whether you are the type to record and post on social media all of your lifts, or are someone who just wants to beat what you achieved last time you were in the gym striving to beat a personal best is a great way to stay focused.  However, the same can be true for trying to get out of a rut.  For example, I think some of the most inspired people I ever see are athletes recovering from an injury.  Keeping an athlete off of the field is torturous on them.  But any rehabbing athlete knows that it is best to follow protocol to get them on the field and keep them on the field.  What is particularly good about using a set back, such as an injury, to keep you motivated is that the person usually is even more fired up to lift after the injury.  Having been "on the shelf" for so long, the person typically finds the drive to push harder and harder now that they "feel good."  There is not only additional motivation, but an increase in appreciation for staying healthy as well.  While I am not suggesting that you go out and purposely cause yourself an injury so that you can work back from it, what I am suggesting is that even having a set back can be encouraging rather than discouraging.

          I have been blessed over the years as a personal trainer to have such a diverse clientele.  The diversity in their unique goals has not only benefited me in that I have never felt that work had become a grind, but also because their individual goals goes with what I am saying here today.  Everyone can be motivated by something and some of the more non-traditional goals that my clients have had include things like "I want to get as strong as possible before I go in for a surgery on my hip," "I want to improve my balance to avoid falling on during icy conditions in the winter," and "I want to be able to walk and stand without falling over so that I can get out to field for my daughter's soccer games."  These goals just go to show that you can be motivated by something in your life, on an everyday basis, that doesn't have to end with you winning a contest and/or trophy.  Having something to focus on, more than just because its the healthy thing to do, will help keep you working your hardest towards achieving your fitness goals.  So what will motivate you?  Knowing the answer to that question is the inspiring way to reach a fit new you!

Multiple Layers

          Welcome to afitnewyou!  Today I would like to help you achieve your fitness goals by encouraging you to "hit the weights."  We all know that exercising is good for us, and most people know that the harder you work the more you will get out of it in return.  But even though the majority of people know this, many people do not actually go through with it.  One of the reasons for this is that people are often discouraged, thinking that they will not get enough out of it to make getting to the gym a worthwhile sacrifice.  People commonly do not act upon something unless there is a large enough incentive to do so.  When something comes across your path, the decision process usually involves a debate over the cost-benefits and / or the pros and cons.  And for someone to go through with something, there usually needs to be enough incentive for that person to follow through with it.  Furthermore people typically want to get the most out of something while doing the least amount possible.  So even to just get started, there needs to be a "carrot dangled in front of you.".  But, I am here to tell you that training just a little bit harder, specifically through lifting weights, the rewards and benefits that you get out of exercising become magnified.  You actually can get more out of it than you put in to it.  Just as there are negative spirals that can make one fall into a deeper and deeper whole, on the flip side, there are positive spirals that make your efforts more and more worthwhile.  Lifting weights the correct way will lead to compounded benefits, many of which are the "cherries on top" of what is originally sought after.  So trust me when I tell you that lifting weights is going to give your layers upon layers of benefits.

          I have found that when people decide to start exercising at the gym, they usually have a primary goal.  This goal usually involves achieving a body change.  It is typical for someone who joins the gym to want to either "lose weight" (by lowering their body fat percentage) or "get bigger" (by gaining muscle mass).  People know that in order to achieve the body change that they seek, that there will be a good deal of effort required.  What people don't realize is that the effort they put forth will not only help them reach their primary goal, but also achieve other benefits as well.  Whether trying to lose body fat or gain muscle mass, by choosing to lift weights there will be two and threefold benefits more....sort of like positive side effects.  Even more importantly, the additional benefits achieved will result in an even easier time reaching and maintaining the primary goal.

          Even though personal training involves a specific program shaped around an individual's goals and current abilities, my training philosophy to help anyone achieve a body change always involves lifting weights.  This is because whether someone is trying to lose body fat or gain muscle mass, both body changes call for a healthier body fat percentage which leads to to improved body composition.  However, by lifting weights, the health benefits of exercise becomes multi layered.  And each of these benefits become more helpful to the others creating a positive spiral.

          Without getting into the complexities of the different ways in which the body produces energy, I explain to my clients that it takes a lot more effort and caloric expenditure to build muscle rather than burn fat.  For someone struggling to "lose weight" this might not be so obvious, but it is true.  Even during a resting state, our bodies will be burning fat as a source of energy.  However, when we increase the workload to more moderate to strenuous activities, such as while lifting weights, the body switches to sugar in the blood stream as its source of fuel.  This is what can cause someone to become light-headed while performing very strenuous activity.  So the first layer of benefits of lifting weights and working harder is that you are burning more calories from the get-go.  But here is the first kicker; by training at a higher intensity level, not only are you burning more calories, you are also going to burn fat AFTER the training session as your body converts fat that you have stored to replace the sugar it had just consumed.  In fact, the time that your body remains in the fat burning process after a weight lifting work out in order to replace the spent sugar could be longer than the time you would have spent in a lower intensity fat burning zone. 

          The next layer of benefits comes as you add more lean muscle mass from this muscle building process.  Lean muscle tissue has a higher metabolic rate than does fat tissue.  What this means is that the leaner you become, the faster your metabolism becomes, and therefore the easier it is to remain at a leaner body composition.  This is one of the reasons why you encounter "skinny" people who are able to eat anything they want without ever gaining an ounce.  Again, this isn't meant to discourage you if you aren't at a lean body composition yet; it is meant to encourage you to reach that leaner state, as maintaining it once you attain it will become easier! 

          As I had stated at the beginning of this post, most people who start an exercise routine are doing so in order to attain a body change.  What many people do not realize however is that a body change just doesn't come easy, and that they will have to work plenty hard to achieve that.  But rather than throw in the towel from the start thinking that the reward isn't worth the effort, think about all of the added layers of benefits that I have already mentioned.  And on top of those come many more!  Improving your body composition will not only improve how you look, but your blood chemistry will improve leading to an actual healthier physical body.  Getting leaner requires you to increase your muscle mass, and with increased muscle mass comes increased strength...who wouldn't benefit from being stronger?  Plus, once you start to achieve a body change other people will notice!  I know from my own personal experience, there isn't anything more motivational than someone complimenting you on all of the hard work that you have put in...it makes keeping the hard work up even easier!

          We all know that for one reason or another that we should exercise.  There is no one person that wouldn't benefit from having a healthier body composition and a better proportion of lean muscle mass.  And even though it will not be easy to get there, the benefits to working towards that far out weigh the discomfort along the way.  Training at a moderate to high intensity level can be grueling, but the amount that you will reap in rewards is worth it!  So stop dwelling on all of the reasons you rather loaf about, and think about all that you have to gain...there is probably more for the taking that you realize!  Let the many layers of benefits to increasing your muscle mass and improving your body composition be a rewarding reminder to achieve a fit new you!

Just Do One Thing

          Welcome to afitnewyou!  Today I would like to help motivate you to reach your goals, by taking some of the pressure you might feel off when thinking about all of the things you need to do along the way towards achieving them.  Quite often, when we start to think about something, such as our fitness goals, we tend to start to over think the situation.  Our thoughts can then spiral away while we worry about everything involved.  It is at times like these when we need to think about the K.I.S.S. acronym..."Keep It Simple Stupid."  Rather than thinking about everything that needs to be done and becoming overwhelmed by it all, keep it simple and focus on just one aspect of what you need to do.  This is particularly effective and important when you are focusing on the one thing that you can actually do.  Focusing on something that you can do is crucial to you achieving your goals, because even if you can do one thousand things, spending your time and thoughts worrying about the only one that you cannot accomplish can derail you just as fast as focusing on too many things.  The easiest and simplest way to both start, and advance further down the road towards achieving your fitness goals is to start with the one thing that you can do.  Doing so will not only actually get you started, but it will also give you a sense of accomplishment, which will give you the drive to continue forward!   

          Being a teacher, during this time of year I start to plan ahead for the upcoming school year and set a list of goals that I would like to achieve by the end of that school year.  For a teacher, this is very similar to what many of us do at New Year's with goals for our health and fitness.  And goals are great when they are set up properly, as they lead us to somewhere that we want to eventually be.  But no matter what time of year it is when we set them up, one surefire way to never meet them is to become overwhelmed by them.  Sometimes people become so consumed with what they need to get done that they teeter out before ever getting on their way.  Have you ever gone on a vacation and tried to stick to an overly detailed and ambitious itinerary only to find that at the end of the trip you have become more tired than when you arrived?  If you were the one who made the list of all the "To do's" maybe the most important part of the vacation like "Relax" and / or "Have fun" was forgotten from the list.  With teaching, I know I have had project goals that I was so focused on achieving that I didn't get to enjoy my students' development as much as I should have during the process. Be careful with your fitness goals because the same can be very true.  Whether you are just trying to start out, or you are trying to get to the next level, there may be in fact a good number of things that you need to do, to ultimately achieve the goal.  But don't become so focused on EVERYTHING that has to be done when you can start better by starting with just one thing.

          Even on a day to day basis, in the gym, focusing on getting just one thing done will be helpful.  You most likely go into the gym with a plan for what you want to accomplish for that particular session.  Maybe your goal is to do an entire leg routine, or you are going to do Bi's Tri's and Abs.  That one exercise can become more complicated by pairing it with another exercise in a super set, or you plan on doing a number of sets.  And of course don't forget how many repetitions for any one set.  However you have to start with just one, and you will get the most out of any exercise simply by focusing on each individual repetition as it comes.  For example , this past summer I was training a college student who was home in between semesters.  While performing a set, he would ask me if we were going to be making a drop set, as I would incorporate them frequently into his work outs.  I asked him if it made a difference and he said it did as he wanted to "save some in the tank" for the drop portion of the set.  I tried explaining to him that he wasn't working to his full potential if he was trying to hold back for something later.  He would have been best off if he put 100% effort into the one thing he was doing right there.

         Another time focusing on doing just one thing is efficacious at the gym is when you are either trying something completely new, and / or you are coming back from an injury.  The fear of failure, whether you think you will not be able to do something because you have never done it before, and the fright you have when thinking that you might re-injure yourself often holds many people back from doing their best.  In fact, many people who have a relatively minor ache or pain, and not a significant injury, often don't go through with a workout because they are afraid of failing.  The classic joke "Patient: Doctor it hurts when I do this. Doctor: Then don't do that." rings in my head when I hear and / or see someone in the gym who is hesitant to train because of something ailing them.  Here is a perfect time when simply doing just one thing would be better than doing nothing.  If your back hurts when you dead lift or squat, then do a leg extension instead.  You feel a shoulder strain when doing an over head press?  Doing a lateral raise instead for your shoulders.  The body is very resilient!  I'm sure you can find just one thing to do while at the gym that is comfortable enough.

          I hope that everyone who reads this one day sets the World on fire by reaching their own unique fitness goals.  No matter what your goals are, there will be some sort of plan to get you there.  And whether you're required to do a lot or a little, everyone has to start somewhere.  Make your starting point simple; just do one thing.  Make that one thing the thing you enjoy most.  Make that one thing the thing you CAN do if you are just starting out and / or are limited in some way.  Start small.  The cliche goes, a journey of one thousand miles starts with one step.  Doing just one thing is the simple, yet effective way, you reach a fit new you!

Morning People Do Exist

          Welcome to afitnewyou!  It has been a busy but fun summer so far for me, and it has involved some significant changes to my daily and weekly schedule.  These changes have caused a bunch of road blocks to me getting to sit and write. But set backs always have something to be gained from them if you look hard enough.  And the positive take I received from not being able to write as much as I would like due to my schedule changes leads me to this post's topic.  You see, my new schedule has provided me with the ability to sleep a little bit later into the morning.  But what I have found out, is that sleeping in isn't the best thing for me...I actually wake up more tired, and I have difficulty even wanting to get out of bed.  Part of the difficulty comes from probably staying up too late the night before knowing that I can sleep a little later, but the other part of it is well, bed is just so dang comfortable.  Yes, I know that there are "morning people" out there who can hop right out of bed and get on with their day as soon as the alarm clock goes off; I know because I am usually one of them during the school year.  But even those morning people cant argue with the fact that most alarm clocks come with a snooze alarm because a good number of people have a hard time rolling out of bed as soon as they wake up.  And here is where I see the analogy with getting to the gym to work on reaching your fitness goals.  There are some people who find getting to the gym to train as easy as morning people find getting out of bed to start their day is.  These people do exist.  But, a good number of people don't want to get out of bed right away, and a good number of people need the same additional prodding to get to the gym.  However, the positive take is that no matter how easy or difficult you find it to hop out of bed after that alarm clock goes off is, the vast majority of us eventually do get out of bed and get on with our day...everyday.  So the same needs to be true with getting to the gym.  Knowing you have to go is like hearing the alarm clock go off in the morning telling you its time to start the day.  Now you just need to find that same drive to get you to the gym that got you out of your bed this morning.

          Let's first look at that situation that happens to almost all of us the majority of our days  It's nice and quiet.  You are blissfully asleep.  Plenty comfortable for the last several hours.  Possibly in the middle of an exquisite dream when all of a sudden...BRAP, BRAP, BRAP, BRAP!  Apparently it is time to get up.  As already discussed, not that many of us are quick to heed the alarm.  Some will hit that snooze alarm once, or a couple of times.  Our reaction to having to get up is a bit funny in that it was ourselves (usually) who set that annoying alarm in the first place.  In fact, I know many of us will put a good amount of thought into what time that alarm needed to be set.  I myself will spend a good amount of time back tracking my morning trying to figure out the latest I could send that alarm for but will still give me enough time to do all I need to do to get to where I need to be for the day.  So why then the struggle to get up?  Because it isn't easy to start something that requires a good amount of energy while we are tired, or while we aren't feeling so good, or even because it will remove us from an uncomfortable situation.  It is harder to get out of bed if we haven't gotten enough sleep, and we are still tired.  It is harder to get out of bed if we aren't feeling good (particularly when not feeling well thanks to our own doings).  And it isn't easy to get out of bed when we feel so good being there.  I'm sure you will agree, but I hope you can see that this is where many people find the same hardships, which become excuses, to go to the gym.  Its harder to find the effort to get to the gym when you're tired, or when you're not feeling well, or you are simply comfortable staying put.  Fortunately the take home here is that as I said earlier, even though its sometimes not that easy to get out of bed, even for the reasons I mentioned, you do eventually get out and start your day.  Everyday.  The same way you eventually got yourself out of bed, is the same way that you can get yourself to the gym.

          The most noble way of answering the question of why does one eventually get up out of bed to face the day is to do something productive.  I was recently very motivated by my son's Tae Kwon Do instructor when he said we should all wake up anxious and opportunistic, looking forward to helping someone that day.  Very honorable!  But not the case for most of us.  I believe the majority of us start our day because we know that we have something to do.  We get up to feed the kids, let the dog out, go to school, go to work, tend to business, to simply do something.  But that something is something that we feel valuable and know is beneficial in the long run.  We also all know that laying in bed all day will not do much for us in the long run.  Yes, if you are sick and ill and need the rest then you should get it....just like if you have a significant injury you could take some time off of the gym.  But the reason we all get started and do it day in and day out is that we know it is much more needed, beneficial and profound than doing absolutely nothing.  So again, treat getting to the gym the same way.  Getting to the gym to exercise will be beneficial to you in the long run as well.  The same way you get a long term benefit of facing each day by not staying in bed, you will also similarly see results over time by getting to the gym over and over again.

          For morning people,. getting up and at 'em is an easy, or at least, needed thing to do everyday.  That type of person is like the gym goer who can simply go everyday because its what we all should be doing.  However a good percentage of people aren't morning people...again, alarm clocks are made with snooze alarms, and the drive through lines are pretty busy at coffee joints early in the morning for good reason.  But take heart and knowing that no matter how difficult you find it to get started in the morning, you eventually do, and you do it regularly.  Why you do it is different for everyone, but it usually comes with some understanding that you are much better for doing something rather than nothing.  Look at getting to the gym to work on your fitness goals just like getting up in the morning.  You might struggle with it, but once you do it, you will feel more accomplished and better about yourself about for doing so.  And doing it day in and day out will come with some long term, tangible benefit.  Tackling your fitness goals head on by getting to the gym everyday, the same way you overcome the lack of desire to get out of bed in the morning is a fresh start way to achieving a fit new you!

Not a Vacation

          Welcome to afitnewyou!  Now that June has begun, and the school year has ended for most college students and is just about finished for most others, many people start to talk about vacation plans.  I'm always interested to hear my students tell me where they are traveling to over the summer...usually somewhere much more exotic than I will be at.  Some people prefer to travel to places that they are more or less familiar with, while others then to be more adventurous, seeking destinations that are truly "getting away from it all" experiences.  I am also very curious when I go away to see how other people handle their fitness regiments; do they continue as normal, or do they take a break from their routines.  As I have discussed in previous posts, I personally use the time to completely rest, and recharge.  Similarly, its also interesting to note how people's eating habits change while on vacation.  It is debatable how unfortunate it is, but many people will binge while on vacation having felt that they already earned the break and achieved the body they wanted for the trip.  I also find it very remarkable how much people are willing to change their diets, particularly those on more adventurous vacations, for the seven to ten days that they are away while trying the "local fare."  And this brings me to what I wanted to speak about today.  The same way that people change their diets for this short period of time, while on vacation, and then go back to their normal habits when they return is very reminiscent of what people do while on fad diets.  There is this temporary change that is relatively short lived.  Someone who travels to a very foreign land and eats the local food while trying to be immersed in the culture of the people they are visiting is not able to eat that same way when they get home.  They may have tried something new that they liked so much that they may start to incorporate it into their diets, but they most often do not maintain that way of eating.  So if you really want to eat healthier to be healthier for the long haul, you can't make a temporary change.  Instead, you need to make changes that you can maintain not for the short term, but instead for the long term.

          Going on a vacation to somewhere new is often exciting as you get to learn about new things and experience things that are not part of your regular routine.  The escape from it all mentality is often a time to recharge our batteries and get us geared up for the next bout of work until that next time off.  From the tremendous fun we have riding roller coasters and going down water slides my daughter has asked me numerous times while at Walt Disney World why we couldn't stay and live there.  Although she might not quite appreciate my answer, it is very easily understood otherwise that for so many practical reasons, staying on vacation just isn't feasible.  This is primarily so because it is just too different from what is the normal routine.  I mean it is absolutely amazing while on vacation, but it is too unrealistic to do it day in and day out for a long period of time.  The same is true with dieting.  People who go on "diets" may enjoy some short term results because they drastically change their day to day routines.  However, once they return to doing what is "normal" those payoffs are quickly lost.

          Vacations are most always welcomed and very much needed.  Whether it is traveling to somewhere completely new or even revisiting a familiar place, the time off gives our minds and bodies the chance to not only relax, but experience new things.  If you are one of the many trying to improve your body composition, as I said in my last post, something new, a change is needed.  We can learn from doing something new what we enjoy and even what we are capable of.  Just as you may try a new food that you learn to find you thoroughly enjoy, or impress yourself while on a challenging excursion, we can learn a lot about what we can do.  In the same way, if you have gotten to a body composition by doing what you have been, its time to try something new.  But it cannot be something so dramatic and so short lived as being on vacation.  On the other hand, it needs to be something that you are capable of incorporating into your regular routine.

         We all need a break from time to time, a chance to recharge our bodies and get away from it all.  A short break here allows us to focus on what we need to do the rest of the time...the majority of the time.  Taking a vacation allows us this escape from our normal routines.  But living healthy and making choices that will improve your fitness are not things to be done once or twice a year; rather they need to be done on a regular basis.  Being immersed in a foreign culture can help you gain an appreciation for both how others live, and what is good about your own quality of life.  However, the immersion is usually short lived and not a full integration into your normal routine.  So as you make plans for your summer vacation, choose something fun and exciting to do.  But also realize that what you do on that trip is very short compared to your regular routine.  Think about what you need to do on a regular basis and what small changes you can make as permanent changes to a healthier lifestyle.  Focusing on what needs to be done during the day to day is the life stylistic way to a fit new you!

Embrace Change

          Welcome to afitnewyou!  This week I want to encourage you to do something that many of us have a hard time doing...and I'm not talking specifically about getting to the gym and eating better; although what I am going to suggest is certainly related.  This week I want to encourage you to embrace change.  While there are a good number of people who love change, I think the large majority of people have a hard time accepting change, and some are even afraid of it.  I believe this is because we are creatures of habit and there are a thousand and one cliches to support the idea that we would rather continue with something that we know we should change, but do not simply because we don't like change.  One example is "The devil that we know."  I don't have a background in psychology to really explain why we tend to avoid change when we know it would be healthier to embrace it.  But I do have enough experience, particularly in the fitness realm where I can see people having a hard time making the changes that they need to do in order to live a healthier life.  While I do agree that many of us would be happier, healthier and benefit from changes with our jobs, careers, relationships, etc., let me focus on what I know more of, and that is changing behaviors that benefit our fitness.  I'm sure almost everyone of us wish to be leaner, stronger, faster or something of the like...so that means we are in fact looking for some change in our lives.  Now you just have to embrace the change to make the change.

          Pretty much every person I know is working out and / or eating healthier in order to see some sort of change in their life.  They want their blood work to improve, quality of living to go up, body to become leaner, gain muscle mass, improve strength.  People focus on their fitness to reach some goal that is down the proverbial line.  While this seems rather obvious, what is inherent behind that thought is that they are looking to experience a change from where they are now; there is this desire for change.  In a post I had written previously, I asked you to fill in the blank, " I train so I could ______."  That blank was often filled in by something that would require the person to have change in their life.  Again, seems common sense.  But if so many people are looking for change, why is it so hard for us to embrace change?  That isn't such a simple question to answer, but as I said earlier, it primarily comes down to the fact that we are creatures of habit and most of us find it hard to make changes that we need.  But the good news is that if you make and embrace needed changes into your life, those changes can be your new norm...and that is how you start a healthy lifestyle.

          Often my advice to someone who wants to have the most dramatic impact on their health and fitness, is to make small changes, not large ones, that can be adhered to and maintained for the long haul.  Because in my experience I know how hard it is for people to embrace needed changes, I know it is more prudent to make simple, incremental adaptations to your lifestyle so that they can become regular behaviors.  I often go back to the example of brushing your teeth.  We are not born with the instinct to brush and floss our teeth.  We have to learn that behavior.  My young children still have to be reminded to brush their teeth because it has not become that second nature behavior yet.  But brushing regularly becomes such an easy way to maintain our health for two reasons.  First, as we get older and get smarter we learn the importance of doing so to preserve our health.  Second, brushing regularly becomes part of our regular routine.  Where at one time, albeit it at a very young age, we found it to be a nuisance thing to do, overtime, it becomes both valued and a regular part of our lifestyle.  You would probably think a lot less of someone who didn't brush their teeth regularly.  And the same should be thought about other changes in your life that affect your health.  Joining and getting to the gym, and shopping for and making healthy food choices might seem like a nuisance thing to do now, but if you make those changes, and embrace and value them, you will eventually do them as part of your regular lifestyle.

          To reach your fitness goals, and live a healthier life, you need to embrace the changes that you know you need to make to get you there.  It is obvious that doing the same thing all of the time will not get your where you want to be if it hasn't done so already...it is the "definition of insanity" and it will simply be you "spinning your wheels" trying to get there.  We all know this, so instead, do what you need to do, make the changes that are required, and even more than that..embrace those changes.  The more value you put on them, the greater the likelihood that you will adapt them into your normal routines.  Change should not be feared.  Change is good.  Sometimes even change for the sake of change is good.  But in it's simplest form, change is needed to get you to a place that you want to be if you haven't gotten there already by doing what you have been all along.  Embrace change.  Make the adaptations to your life that you need to get you to where you want to be.  Embracing change is the new direction you need to reach a fit new you!

Stronger, Faster, Better

          Welcome to afitnewyou!  Today I want to discuss something that should be motivating, but may at first appear to be discouraging.  It is the fact that there is always going to be someone stronger, faster and better than you, than me, than everyone in the world.  Even world champions and first place winners eventually get dethroned.  But again, this isn't meant to be discouraging.  This isn't meant for you to hear it and then think to yourself that you might as well give up because you are never going to be the strongest, fastest, and / or best.  On the contrary, this fact should be motivating as it should allow you to see that there is always a goal to strive for, keep you grounded in knowing that it o.k. to be at the place you are currently at, and also show you that you may actually be motivating to someone else.  Striving to be stronger, faster and better is inherently going to lead you to a fit new you.

          This idea of there is always going to be someone stronger, faster and better I first experienced with my other passion...cars.  I would have a goal for the car I owned, and then as I became happy with where I got the car to, there would be another car I would see and / or encounter that was faster, more powerful, etc.  To be honest, it would be a bit discouraging.  But then as I thought about it, even if you owned the most expensive, highest horsepower having, flashy car, there would be a newer model that would come out the following year.  Or, another car maker would top that car with its next model.  And this is where the motivational part comes from; it isn't meant to be discouraging that there was already something else better, knowing that became the motivating factor to make something even better...it drives competition.  And this is true in sports, and athletic and fitness competitions as well.  Just because someone wins the gold medal one year, doesn't mean that someone should just give up, that it is over.  Just the opposite, it should drive you to one day achieve that same level.  I think it is a safe bet that the most motivated person coming out of a competition is the second place winner.  Sports teams are usually driven to win a championship after losing one...its part of the reason why it isn't all that common for a team to repeat as champions the following year.

          The same way that competitors should be driven by a loss to someone else or another team, you should be motivated by the person ahead of you.  If you are at the gym and there are people who are there who are currently in better shape than you, are stronger than you and things of the like, it should not discourage you from wanting to be better.  It should show you that what you want to achieve and where you want to get to is in fact possible.  In the least, maybe there is something you can learn from those already at the next level.  You can ask how they got to where they are.  Those who accomplish great things are the ones who see something being done already and ask how they can top it.  Those who are at the moment stronger, faster and better are the ones that show you it can in fact be done, and are the ones that you should be chasing down.  Once you achieve it, you should be mindful that there will be someone then gunning for you, so you should not get complacent, but instead keep up with what you have been doing.

          Along the same lines, if you know that there is always someone stronger, faster and better than you, that means that YOU are currently someone stronger, faster and better than someone else.  As a gym teacher I was often told early in my career that I didn't need to be the best at every single sport that I taught, I just had to be better than the junior high students I was teaching.  That was a bit of a joke, but there is a good deal of truth to it.  More importantly, in terms of competitiveness, knowing that you are at the moment at a healthier level than someone else, it should motivate you to continue to strive for greater things because there is someone looking up to you.  Maybe someone else is simply motivated by what you have already done, so you shouldn't let them down.  Or, maybe you should continue to be competitive because you don't want to fall behind.

          Knowing that there is always someone stronger, faster and better than where you are currently at with your fitness goals should motivate you to become your strongest, fastest and best.  Although ultimately what is your best might not be the world's best, becoming your best is everyone's ideal goal.  What will get you there is being motivated from the fact that there are people already who have done what you want to do is possible.  You could also be motivated by the fact that you want to challenge and surpass what has already been achieved.  And you can also be motivated by the fact that someone already looks up to what you have done so you should keep pressing on to continue to be a role model.  Staying motivated with your fitness goals can be challenging.  But there are so many ways to keep you striving for your goals on a daily basis.  Something that may seem discouraging at first like knowing that there will always be a stronger and faster competitor can in fact be motivating as well.  Looking to become stronger, faster and better is one of the best ways tto achieve a fit new you!

In Your Face

          Welcome to afitnewyou!  Today I want to give you another technique to get you to act on your fitness goals.  You see, there is the old cliche "Out of sight, out of mind" which loosely translated means that we tend to forget about things that aren't in some way or form in front of us.  In terms of fitness goals, it could become easier to skip hitting the gym if you are never near it.  On the other hand, if you had to drive past the gym on your way home from work everyday, there would probably be a bit of guilt if you were passing it without stopping there first.  So a straightforward way to keep you on task to achieving your fitness goals is to keep them in view at all times...to put them in your face.  It is a lot easier to stay focused on your goals if your eyes are constantly on the prize.

          One of the most effortless and frequently prescribed motivational tips is to find a picture of something that involves your goal and to place it somewhere you can see it every single day as a reminder.  For example, a good friend of mine as cut out, and taped to his dashboard a picture of a Porsche 911, which he strives to own one day.  Every single time he gets into his car, he has a visual reminder of what his goal is.  That allows him to stay motivated and make the necessary decisions he needs to do in order to one day own one.  Similarly, this type of technique is often expressed to those who are dealing issues concerning their self-image.  They are often told put positive words on their bathroom and/or changing room mirrors, so that when they see themselves everyday, they can be reassured that they are someone special.  This technique is super easy to apply to achieving your fitness goals.  All you would need to do is in the same way put pictures of what you are trying to achieve or words that reflect your goals in places that you would easily see them on a regular basis.  Get these reminders in your face.

         The more specific you make these visual reminders the more effective they will be.  For example, if you are trying to maintain a healthier diet, posting your goals right on your refrigerator is one of the best places to put your goals to see them regularly.  Although you might have to be a bit more creative to accomplish it, hanging the pair of pants, bathing suit, or dress that you are trying to fit into next to your refrigerator would be even more effective as the visual cue is super clear.  The training equivalent would be to put your gym bag and or sneakers right in front of the door, so that when you go to leave the house in the morning, you are forced to either take them with you, or have to make the wrong decision to push them to the side.  To take it to the next level, pack your bag the night before and leave it your car, on your driver's seat waiting for you.  The more you see it, the more likely you are to use it.

          There are plenty of easy ways to put your fitness goals in your face so they are also on your mind's eye.  For example there are a good number of ways to set up reminders on your phone that could be set to alarm just before you reach a meal time and or when you want to work out, to prompt you to stick to your fitness goals.  You can also do things that require slightly more effort, like as I mentioned in the introduction, make your route home from work one that requires you to drive past your gym.  When you drive past it and see it, you will have to make a decision to stop and train, or to sheepishly continue on your way.  While they may not get you to do exactly what you intend right there and then, if it becomes a decision you have to face, you will be forced to act in some way on your goals.

          Out of sight, out of mind is said to reflect the concept that when we don't have something in front of us, we will falter away from it.  Keeping your fitness goals out of sight and out of mind is guaranteed to cause you to fall off of the path towards reaching your goals.  But on the other hand, if you keep your goals in front of you, you will be hard pressed to forget about them nor lose focus.  And by literally putting your fitness goals in your face, you will most definitely have to think about them which should enable you to act on them.  Putting your fitness goals in your face is a sure fire way to be reminded to reach a fit new you!