Ball and Chain

Some people never leave home without MasterCard.  I never left home without a dew rag, one of my collection of a dozen bandanas.  

I am prone to perspire, said charitably, at any fitness level.  When I was 80 pounds overweight, I was a sweat fountain!  I would sweat thinking about physical exertion, let alone experiencing any.  As a result, I  developed an entire protocol to account for my sweating and limit the embarrassment it would cause me.  The bandanas were a critical part of the protocol. 

Every day, I would have a long self conversation and some form of calculus would ensue:

• How warm is it outside?
• How hard will I have to work to get to my destination?
• How warm will it be inside when I arrive?
• Will I be presenting in front of a group or can I hang in the background?
• What can I wear to hide my sweat stains?  
• And don't forget the dew rag!

You may wonder why I spent so much time addressing the symptoms of the problem rather than the problem itself.  Sometimes you can't see the forest for the trees.  I was so used to making allowances for being overweight that I barely realized I was doing it.  For a long while, I was simply resigned to living life with an extra degree of difficulty.  The maneuvering around my weight issues was simply additional weight I elected to carry, my personal ball and chain. 

I had no idea how much weight I was carrying emotionally until I was no longer carrying the weight physically. I share this story to encourage you to take a closer look at your life.  Maybe you have some bandanas that you don't need to be carrying.  They are heavier than you think.  

Psst! I have a secret

Psst!  I have a secret.

All diets suck!  They all fail.  They are all over promoted and oversold. They all over promise and under deliver.  Many of these programs are written by straight up grifters.  Wait a minute, that's no secret!  However, my real secret changed my life and may change yours, too.

Riddle me, this?  Why do we buy so many diets books when every one of them says some variation of the exact same thing:  eat less, move more.  There isn't an adult alive that doesn't know the weight loss formula:  weight loss occurs when calories burned exceed calories consumed.  And yet, there is a multi billion dollar industry essentially built around selling ice to Eskimos.  However, the one nugget (the secret) that is so carefully omitted from all of these books is the only thing you really need to know.

Now, here's the secret.  Your success with a diet and exercise program, or anything else for that matter, has almost nothing to do with the "how" and everything to do with the "why."  If your "why" is strong enough, you will figure out "how," no matter the "what."  Let me remix that.  If your "why" is strong enough, you will figure out "how," no matter the "what" AND no matter what.

Every diet program tells us in laborious detail what to eat, how much to eat and when to eat it.  Exercise programs tell us what to move, how to move it and how often.  This is not what we need from our programs.  We need to know how to stay on the damn things in the first place!  This is the Special Sauce and we all know that a Big Mac ain't a Big Mac without the Special Sauce.

The strength of your "why," the reason for your effort, will determine how much sacrifice you are willing to make to reach your goals.  The right "why" is that thing that is so important to you that you will place it above your urge to fall off the wagon.  The diet books get it twisted, either accidentally or on purpose, by trying to convince us that their program is so easy that it will help us overcome a lack of motivation.  And this is why all diets suck!  Diets are restrictions which are, by definition, hard.  They can only be made easy by someone whose mind is made up.  There is nothing in world more powerful than a mind made up!

When I found my "why," in 24 hours, I went from someone who would not run across the street to avoid oncoming traffic to someone who was willing to start running to train for road races.  I have since gathered many more "whys," which have strengthened my resolve to the point that it's nearly bulletproof.  And, trust me, you can do the same!

The secret to success in fitness, and in nearly everything else, is discovering your "why." Don't buy another diet book without it!

Monday Motivation - Ninety Percent

Ninety percent…

Ninety percent of the world swears they will start tomorrow, never understanding that there are only two relevant measures of time - now and not now.  One gets no credit for what may happen tomorrow, only for what is happening now.

Ninety percent does not understand that the effort itself, even a failed effort, is a noble act.  They do not understand that the effort itself is the difference between courage and cowardice. 

Ninety percent does not realize that even an inch of progress today is far better than the promise of miles of progress at some undetermined later date.  Inches, become feet, which become yards, which become miles when you string enough of them together.

Ninety percent of the world rests while they could be working.  Ninety percent are seeking an alibi, permission for delaying their quest for something better.  Other “ninety percenters” are happy to oblige as they seek the same alibi. 

The rest see it differently. 

The rest are all about "now" so they go get it right now. They understand that tomorrow is not promised.  They understand that one-hundred percent effort means zero percent regret.

The rest see intrinsic value in the effort, regardless of its outcome, and feel shame on the rare occasions when they fail to put forth that effort.  They hold themselves accountable, even when no one else sees their fleeting moment of weakness.

The rest understand the value of an inch, so they treasure every single one.  They may fall often, but they work to fall forward and always rise from a fall.  Their determination to collect inches leaves them miles ahead. 

The rest don't give themselves any room for excuses. Their consciences hold them to a higher standard than the world ever could.  Therefore, they would never give a "ninety percent" effort.

Every day, I seek to earn a spot among them, these other ten percent. 

So I work.

B's Three - Making Your Workout Fit Your Lifestyle

As we all are aware, one of the keys to staying fit is to work out consistently.  Often, having the discipline to work out consistently is difficult because “life gets in the way.”  The trick to preventing life blowing up your well-intentioned workout plans to choose a workout program schedule that fits your lifestyle.  Below are three ways to remove many of barriers / reasons / excuses we give ourselves for “falling off the wagon” when comes to exercise.     

1.       Choose the Right Venue – Although you may be hyper-motivated when you first start a new workout plan, don’t set yourself up for failure to choosing an inconvenient workout spot.  Ideally, the place you work out should be somewhere you have to go (or at least pass by) almost every day.  This will make it easier to exercise on the days your motivation is a little weak.  Also, if you work out home, you have to pick a space and time (see below) that your family can support as well.  If the “home team” is not happy with your workout program, you will not be able to stick with it consistently.  

2.       The Right Time - Don't convince yourself that you will behave against your nature to get your workouts in.  If you are a night owl, 4 am workouts will not work for you in the long term and “early birds” probably won’t have energy to stick with night workouts.  For those who have families and work out at home, you will need to choose a time that fits your family’s schedule as well.  Try to find that window of time that does not shake, rattle and roll the house while everyone is sleeping.  Also, you will want to choose a time in which your children cannot “participate” in your workouts.  My five-year old daughter is the cutest little girl in the world, but I find it difficult to do push-ups with her on my shoulders J 

 

3.       The Right Program – Finally, you should choose your workout program to fit not only the venue and time you have chosen, but also your schedule.  For example, if you travel a lot, your workout program can't rely on being in a specific place or using particular weights (unless you can bring them with you).  You will quickly become “too busy” to work out.    

Make it easier on yourself by choosing a workout program that works with you rather than against you.  Follow these tips and you will be well on your way to staying fit forever!  

Is it a crime?

Is it a crime that I linger in front of the mirror sometimes?  That I take an extra minute or two or three to admire what I see?  Some people may say it's vain to love my own image the way I do.  Would you agree?

Is it a crime that I linger in front of the mirror especially long after an especially good workout?  That I lift my shirt to reveal a four pack with plans for two more on the way?  I can remember when my middle was anything but little.  I can remember when my belly looked like the whole keg - not just a few cans.  It was only an eye's blink ago.  So is it a crime that I admire what I see today?

Is it a crime that I linger in front of the mirror sometimes?  That I take an extra gaze at arms that cut and jut just so - revealing biceps and triceps that have been doin' some serious work?  It wasn't so long ago that the only thing I saw when I looked at my arms was sweat circles.  That I was so out of shape that I would start to sweat by lifting a fork, let alone a dumbbell.

I earned this body.  I earned this body with hundreds of early morning work outs.  I earned this body with thousands of push ups and hundreds of push backs.  I earned this body one sweat drenched T shirt at a time.  I chiseled it like a sculptor. Is it wrong to admire my work?

So is it a crime?  Is it a crime that I revel in my reflection today?  That I gaze a little longer at arms that cut and jut just so.  Is it a crime that I look in the mirror and smile?

I don't think so.