Goals

We are once again approaching that time of year when we tend to reflect back, and maybe some of us are in awe of what we have achieved, but more often than not it seems we can tally up more areas where we fell short of what we might have set out to accomplish.  Sometimes that can be attributed to setting unrealistic goals or New Year's Resolutions but often we just get off track.

Most "impossible" goals can be met simply by breaking them down into bite size chunks, writing them down, believing them, and then going full speed ahead as if they were routine.

 ~ Don Lancaster

Learn to Love Your Fitness

"We do what we do because we love to do it." This comment was made by two female athletes that have accomplished big things in the fitness world. They have continued to push themselves and post some very dynamic videos of workouts that they love to do. Why did that quote grab me? It was an epiphany for me. I have used what the scale says as a big motivation along with how my clothes fit and the guilt of my own mind, but shouldn't I use positive affirmation as a motivation instead? I do what I do because I love it! I run because I love it! I do metabolic workouts because I love them! I spin, I do resistance training, I do cross training, I do hiking because I love to do them! (Even if you don't love them try saying it anyway and try switching your paradigm..afterall you do love yourself and this is a great way to love yourself is by taking care of yourself.) So what do we do with what we love to do? 

Make it a Priority

Plan for fitness. Even the best athletes have days they don't want to get out of bed but THEY DO. They have a schedule and you need one too.  Be specific with what your plan is for each day and what time you are working out. The night before or day of your activity have your fitness clothes and accessories laid out or packed and ready to go. We have a strong core group of Metabolic Warriors that have had to be out of town during trainings and they are quick to replace the missed trainings with other types of fitness. Try to keep to your usual routine when you are on the road.  If you do a metabolic workout on Mondays & Wednesdays when you are home then try to do that when traveling too.  When you are booking rooms at hotels, check out the fitness rooms online. Does your destination have local features you can take advantage of...like stairs? Frequently you can also buy day passes to local gyms. Worst case scenarios you have your body weight and floor space and as you know that can be a killer workout!

Mental Positive Reinforcement

I used to think that this meant to visualize the person I wanted to be but that can be self defeating. Instead think of words that embody how you want to feel. Example, when doing push ups avoid 'Ugh, more push ups, I hate these'. Instead try "I am strong, I can do this, just one more, just one more..." When you are doing plyometrics (jumping exercises) think "higher, stronger, faster, deeper, propel, fly..." Think it and you will do it. Mind over matter is a powerful tool.

Visualization

See yourself performing the exercise. Stand in front of the mirror and see yourself perform, with your best form, bicep curls, triceps extensions, push ups, squats, lunges, chest presses, planks...see how your body works as it moves through a full range of motion. Now that will be in your mind when you are in Metabolic Training doing those same exercises. You can also make your muscles work more efficiently when you imagine the actual muscle shortening and lengthening as you move through the range of motion. 

Set Goals

With push ups I tell myself how many I am going to do and try to beat it. At other times I focus not on reps but on full range of motion or even changing hand position so that I continue to challenge myself in different ways. You should have small goals that lead to big goals. This is a game plan for success. Lets say you do shallow push ups, a big goal would be deep push ups (chest to ground). Small goals that would help you get there would be doing chest presses with a challenging weight and doing incline push ups at a full range of motion. As your chest and shoulder muscles become stronger you would progressively increase your chest press weights and decrease the incline of your push up. This same philosophy can be applied to any exercise. Spontaneous goals are great too. In the moment of Tabata or Metabolic Training as the exercises are introduced you can quickly determine how many reps you will push for.  We often refer to rep goals during timed intervals because it gives you a consistent measurement. First round of training you count the reps you do, you determine if you can go harder and you set a higher rep goal for the next round. It is a game that makes time fly by. Another type of goal is event goals such as races and competitions.  In those cases all training will support that event until it is accomplished. Your trainers can help you with goal setting.

Support your Fitness 

If I have a plan to workout tomorrow morning (and I do) and I stay up late or over imbibe in alcohol or junk food, the next morning will be a sludgy mess that I will have to push through while feeling lousy! Things that support fitness are getting plenty of sleep and eating quality foods. These contribute to mental clarity and general well being. If you suffer from seasonal allergies then you most likely are not getting quality sleep and you most likely find yourself pushing through brain fog and muscle sludge all too frequently. Just do your best, we have no miracle answer, sorry. Post workout or on days off don't get all wackadoo on your eating. If you put bad gas in your car it performs poorly.  Likewise, if you put junk in your body it performs poorly. Eat nutrient dense foods most of the time and don't beat yourself up over a few desserts. Your aim is balance.

Be Realistic

Don't judge your success by comparisons with other people. I have done that and that is also self defeating. Every single person is as unique in their needs as their DNA. It takes time to determine what your fitness program for success is, so be patient. See it as a life long endeavor not a temporary bathing suit moment. Your trainers have found that as we age, gracefully of course, that our needs change so be prepared for the adventure of constant change!:) Look at your genetics (that would be your parents and grandparents) and know what your challenges are physically and mentally. Your concern physically should predominately be related to your internal health. Cancer, heart attacks, and strokes don't have a shape, size or gender and they can effect any of us at any time but you decrease your risk significantly when you exercise. In the event that you have to deal with a health problem, surgery, or other trauma your recovery tends to be shorter and better than those that do not exercise. Lastly, variety is the spice of life and don't we all enjoy a variety of spice? I don't know anyone that wants to just have salt and pepper for seasonings. So make your fitness something you do because you love it and not an obsession of a body type.

Last Words: We have an amazing core group of Metabolic Warriors! You have stayed true to your training despite life challenges. We are proud to be the Fitness Trainers of a group of Warriors that clearly love what they do! Why else would you keep coming!:)

Last Last Words:

The only disability in life is a bad attitude. – Scott Hamilton

What if?

What is your fitness ideal?  Is it the guy at the gym who looks like a bodybuilder, and you imagine he has more women in his phone contacts than he can begin to remember?  Or is it that woman who has the perfect amount of muscle definition, not too much and not too little, the perfect six pack abs, and to make it even more frustrating the easy to manage hair that is never out of place and the perfect white teeth?

What if you knew that Joe Gym is so obsessive compulsive about his workouts, meals, and daily regimen that he hasn't been able to keep a girlfriend for more than two months?  And he struggles with social anxiety and the only public place he is really comfortable is the gym?  What if you knew that Jane Gym has an eating disorder and has had a number of expensive cosmetic procedures that have put her in debt?

The reality is that no matter what you see on the outside of someone, each and every person is dealing with some sort of physical and/or emotional struggle.  Some statistics released from a very large fitness and nutrition business with 35,000 clients backs that up.  They report the following:

• 48 percent of their female clients and 33 percent of their male clients take prescription medication
• Of their clients taking medication, 33 percent of women and 24 percent of men take antidepressant or anti-anxiety medication
• 36 percent of their clients have injuries and many struggle with chronic pain
• 27 percent of their female clients and 17 percent of their male clients are over 50 years old which means that even if you're healthy, aging brings its own challenges

Unless you know someone well, you often don't know what challenges they are facing.  Much of the time pain, disability, and psychological or emotional distress is invisible.  And no one is immune; not Joe and Jane Gym, not your trainers, and not our clients.  Fitness trainers face all of the same things that their clients deal with.  They have injuries or have been injured.  They have struggled with personal problems and emotional health.  They have been overweight or underweight.  They have struggled with addictions which can be anything from work, exercise, food, or any number of things it is possible to become addicted to. And just like everyone else, they are not getting any younger.  

Someone who looks fit or appears to be perfect in every way is facing many of the same challenges that you are.  Perhaps they are still dealing with difficulties but you just don't see them or know about them.  Or perhaps they are at the end of a very long and difficult journey.  

The bottom line is that there is no fitness ideal.  Those amazing fitness icons, your trainers, your neighbor, and you will always be working through life's challenges.  There is nothing wrong with admiring some things that others have achieved or having some mildly vain reasons for pursuing fitness.  But if you are chasing what someone else has achieved, or your only reasons for continuing a fitness program are for what you see on the outside you are chasing your tail.  You can't be someone else and what we see on the outside eventually cannot be maintained as we age. So what if "perfection" or success is not what you think you see in someone else, but just continuing to show up, giving your best effort based on what your challenges are, and making the most of an imperfect situation?  That is our definition of a true Warrior. 

Just saying...

Always start with a warmup

Superman, Superwoman, Superdog...we all need to do them

 

Workout buddies make a difference

Excellent plank form is the foundation of a strong core

 Even bears do pikes

 

Sometimes a little friendly horseplay is good motivation

 

Somedays someone else has to make you do the workout (lazy human)

 

Pushups will always be the best exercise

 

Staying focused can yield amazing results

 

Some workouts have to be done inside

 

Now you know where donkey kicks came from

One more challenge and one more step forward

Half of 2015 has slipped away from us already and I think that both Katie and I agree that if at first glance we were to look at the past 6 months from a strictly pass or fail perspective for our running, neither one of us would score ourselves well.  But like life, running or fitness is not black or white, pass or fail.  Rather, it is a continuum of successes and "failures" that all provide learning experiences from which to draw and move forward.

As most of you know I have been dealing with a couple of injuries that have kept me from running for awhile (over 100 days now, but who's counting) and my running future is uncertain.  Most people might think, and I had hoped, that with each non-running day that passed, it would get easier to let go.  Not true.  Running has been the way I have started the majority of my days for the last 25 years.  It was auto-pilot.  Get up, drink coffee, feed Mango (the cat, or previous cats as Mango is not 25 years old), and run.  That has changed to get up, drink lots of coffee, feed Mango, brush Mango, tell Mango how much I don't want to get on my spin bike or my elliptical, procrastinate until I can't put it off any longer, and finally take the dreaded walk to the fitness room (sometimes I take Mango with me) and toss a coin to see which evil piece of cardio equipment I get to face for the day.

I know, for someone who doesn't like running, cardio is cardio.  So what difference does it make how you are moving?  Well, let's say you play golf and you are accustomed to playing the Sedona Golf Resort, or perhaps you have been fortunate enough to play St. Andrews, or Augusta National, or Pebble Beach.  You love the smell of the freshly cut grass as you get ready to tee off, you take in the beauty of your surroundings, and then you let go with what feels like the perfect swing and it is confirmed with the sound of hitting a sweet shot.  Now, imagine you are confined to an 8x10 room with a miniature golf putter and artificial turf.  Okay, maybe a little over-exaggeration but it's just not the same!  And while a spin bike and elliptical are fine choices as cross-training, it's like being a rat on a wheel in a cage when they are your only choices.

So one of my first thoughts when I couldn't run anymore was, "Then why bother to do anything?".  Well, that didn't last long as emotion started to take a back seat to rational thinking.  As a fitness trainer I can rattle of a dozen sound reasons to do cardio, but I am now faced with needing to find new reasons to keep up my fitness routine and some of them may be the same as yours.  Heart disease, stroke, cancer, and high blood pressure all run in my family.  I would rather spin like a rat and have a healthy heart so I can continue to hike and be active than suffer the debilitating effects of heart disease.  I also prefer to lead an independent life as long as possible rather than relying on others to take care of me.  And one of my primary goals as a trainer is to help others lead healthier, happier lives.  And who wants an out-of-shape, fat trainer?  One thing we can always be sure of is that life will continue to throw us curve balls and we just have to reassess and figure out how to adapt and move forward.

So, another life challenge thrown in my face and I will suck it up and do what I know I should do...   

   

 But I may rebel and borrow just a little bit of Katie's attitude and step outside of the box... or wheel!

So far one of my biggest challenges has been to find a way to combine intense cardio with being outdoors.  Running was simple.  Put on your running shoes and step out the door.  No fancy equipment or elaborate planning of where to go.  Biking requires extra equipment and planning and as some of you have mentioned, Sedona is not known for its bike-friendly roads.  And I have discovered some very annoying things about biking.  For Joe's sake I will leave out the chafing.  You have to bike almost twice as long to get an equivalent workout or calorie burn as you do with running.  It is also harder to maintain a steady effort on the bike.  Downhill on a bike is much easier than running, but you can actually run up a very steep hill faster than you can pedal up it in granny gear.  So my new mantra as I am puffing up steep hills is...

So over these past 100 days I have biked 1800 miles.  That's not real impressive by cycling standards but for a runner who has been forced to sit her butt on a bike against her will, and considering I am usually only biking 3 or 4 days per week,  I will count it as a significant personal accomplishment.  It is certainly something I never would have aspired to if not "forced" into the situation, and I keep telling myself (and Mango) that somehow I must be benefiting from it.

So while the long term drive and determination to stay on a healthy fitness path have to come from within, there are many external things that are inspiring and help each of us to keep moving forward.  Katie blogged about her marathon and expressed some of her feelings and thoughts about the race.  For me, being at the race with Katie was simultaneously one of the most exciting and difficult things I have done.  Exciting because Katie had made the decision to stay on track and proceed with the race when she lost her running partner early on in the training.  She was forced to do most of her runs and her speed work on her own which is not her inclination.  Yet she overcame those obstacles to proceed and excel with her training.  Difficult to be there because of my desire to be running the race, combined with an uncertain running future.  But I wouldn't have wanted to be any other place and her run was inspiring to me because even when she knew she would be short of her time goal she pushed on and finished the race.  Running a marathon is never easy and it takes every ounce of strength in your body and mind to push through those last difficult miles when you know the end result will be short of your goal.  But as they say, pain is temporary, finishing lasts forever.

As we have shared with you before, there are many things we see and hear at our trainings that inspire us to stay focused on our fitness and continue to take on new challenges.  We also hear you giving encouragement to each other and you often share positive comments with us about other Warriors.  We know that each of you are facing your own challenges with work, health, and family and that some days you can give 100% and other days may be 50%.  But remember that 50% is better than nothing and one thing that we are sure of from our own experience is that you can always count on your Metabolic Family to help carry you forward.  Never underestimate the strength you can draw from others, but more importantly know that each of you is an inspiration to us and your fellow Warriors!

Uptown Metabolic

With June coming to a close we have just one more week of Uptown Metabolic fun!  Here's a little inspiration to get you ready for this week.

Here's what we noticed on the video:

Jackie - We suspect you are analyzing each movement so you know what sore muscles you can blame us for the next day.
Stacey - You get extra credit for double timing those squats and lunges.  Nice speed girl!
Scott - For the Warrior with the biggest guns you have some rhythm.
Kathy - We think your field hockey opponents didn't stand a chance against your dynamic movement.
Rachel - You get a diamond tiara for stellar form on squats and side lunges.
Jerry - We think you are keeping your hands on your hips to suppress the urge to really cut loose and dance!
Joe - Kudos for attention to detail and keeping your head up or looking at Katie during your squats.
Shirley - When those gloves come off at about 2:00 minutes we don't want to mess with you.
Heidi - We are just sorry we didn't run the video longer on the bicycle crunch because we know you can out-crunch any of us.
Dave- Somewhere over the last 30 years CBD has lost his Rolling Stones "Start Me Up" dance steps.  But you get an A for effort for the shingles dance.
Emily - Five stars for power and dynamic movement.  You rock girl!

92-year-old becomes oldest woman to finish marathon

This week we are inspired by a story shared with us by two metabolic participants. As we head into hot summer days it is our hope that you find inspiration and extra motivation to just keep your active lifestyle up because you can. This is story about a woman and a marathon that happened on Sunday, May 31, 2015.



92-year-old becomes oldest woman to finish marathon - CenturyLink

Warrior Strength and Fun

It is springtime and the weather is beautiful.  So what better way to enjoy it than to exercise outdoors!?  Our Warriors took to the playground last week and showed that they can keep up with any school kid!

We had ZERO complaints when Warriors found out they 

would be working their triceps again with dips :-)

The curb jump and toe taps brought out requests for country music and we even heard Warriors

 singing the theme to Green Acres.  Exercise does strange things to the brain.

Our SMART Warriors quickly figured out that you could make the squat and row 

exercise more or less difficult by timing it with or against their next door Warrior.

Of course someone had to ask why it's called the Bulgarian split squat.  

Research tells me that Bulgarian weight lifters never used it so I 

guess we have to ask Cabana Boy Dave since he is Bulgarian.

What is a body weight workout without possibly the world's best exercise?  

Push ups of course!

We couldn't resist including a video clip of one of our private clients who is always a source of inspiration.  She is always up for a challenge and always gives 100%.  When faced with a difficult exercise or at the end of a metabolic or tabata sequence one of her favorite sayings is "give everything you have right now".  We think that is awesome advice for all of us Warriors!

Put the Letter 'F' in the Run

Stacey & Calvin colored it up with a fun run this past Saturday at the Color Run. And this is not their first rodeo with this race! With no focus on timing this is truly a stress free fun run. The website for this 5k is thecolorrun.com. The website describes the race as follows:

WHAT IS THE COLOR RUN™?

The Color Run, also known as the Happiest 5k on the Planet, is a unique paint race that celebrates healthiness, happiness and individuality. Now the single largest event series in the world, The Color Run has exploded since our debut event. We have more than tripled our growth, hosting more than 300 events in 50+ countries in 2014.

There has been an explosion of fun themed races across America in the last few years. Why? Mostly because it attracts a segment of the population that would otherwise be less inclined to take up the endeavor of running. Let's be honest, running is work but it is also hugely rewarding for those that dare to experience the thrill of self powering through miles, up hills, down hills on paved roads and on winding dirt trails. Nothing compares to the outlet of mind and heart as the challenges of life and the problems of the world are resolved in the mind of the runner. Figuratively the mind of the runner believes the euphoric feeling of conquering the run means they have conquered the world.;) That is really a lot of fancy talk to say...running centers you. Not everyone wants to be centered through running so find the activity that gets you moving and use it as a feel good outlet.

Crazy, fun themed runs have been based on all the following... eating, drinking, running naked, dressing in costumes, mud, obstacle courses, music, night and slime. I am sure there are many more I am missing so consider this a teaser!

Just in case you are thinking about a fun themed race here are some real races that you can learn all about and register for!

greatist.com/move/incredible-themed-races

See you on the Flip Side!

Chicken or the Egg?

What do runners do when they are running for miles and miles and endless hours?  They think about stuff...  some of it meaningful, some of it not.  One of the things that has "run" through my mind is whether the ability to race long distances successfully is primarily due to inherited personality traits, or whether it is a skill that is learned and honed as the miles and the years add up.

When coaches are seeking athletes to recruit for their teams or programs, they recognize that physical ability alone is not enough for an athlete to excel in their sport.  So what other traits or qualities do they look for?  Most coaches look for an individual that displays mental toughness.  Wikipedia defines mental toughness as a collection of attributes that allow a person to persevere through difficult circumstances (such as difficult training or difficult competitive situations in games) and emerge without losing confidence.

Sport Psychologist, Dr. Tom Fawcett has worked with many World Class and Olympic athletes and offers interesting insight into the mental make up and development of such athletes.  Through his experience in working with these athletes, Fawcett has concluded that the exposure of an athlete to certain environments and adverse circumstances (both in and outside their sporting careers) as they grow up is crucial for their development of mental toughness. He states that, "Failure should be perceived as a strength in that it defines limitations and identifies criteria for personal improvement.
Therefore in the mentally tough athlete, there is no such thing as failure, only feedback." He even speculates that young athletes should be exposed to a certain amount of failure to effectively toughen them up.

Furthermore, Fawcett identifies perfectionism as a barrier to mental toughness. Did you read the blog a couple of weeks ago? He suggests that perfection doesn’t exist and athletes should therefore always “strive for excellence”. He claims that being a perfectionist will ruin a potential world champion.

Fawcett allows that although some aspects of mental toughness occur naturally, many of the attributes of this crucial element of a successful athlete are developed through their experiences and exposure to certain environments. He, therefore, reasons that “it is not what happens to the athlete, it is how they deal with what happens to them” and he believes that the key to mental toughness is to “deal with both success and failure effectively, and to learn and continually strive to move forward to bigger and better things”.

So what does this mean to you as one of our Warriors? Everyone, from world class athletes to Metabolic Warriors will experience setbacks, but it is how we react to those setbacks that will determine whether we move forward or give up. The challenges we face in our personal lives and the challenges we face as we try to stay on track with our fitness to achieve our goals are inevitable. At times there will be progress, and at times there will be plateaus, or even a step or two backwards. In the long term , though, it is how we react to those setbacks that will determine our success. A world class, mentally tough athlete has a high sense of self belief and an unshakable faith that they are in control of their ability to succeed. Even though our goals as Warriors are perhaps less lofty than winning an Olympic gold medal, the same mental toughness can ensure that we continue making progress toward those goals.

While I do tend to believe that part of our ability to display mental toughness is perhaps a genetic trait of our personality, I also have personal experience through my own running and athletes I have coached, that mental toughness can be developed and honed.

One of our Warriors has shared with us one of the benefits that he has experienced from participating in Metabolic Training for three and a half years. He has told us that whenever he faces a life challenge, his motto or attitude is "Warrior Tough!". We see incredible strength in our Warriors, both in our trainings, and in seeing how you deal with very difficult life situations and your mental toughness inspires us! Remember, it's not how many times you fall down, but how many times you get up.

Forget about Perfection

Like many people, I probably spend too much time on the computer.  While most of that time is spent doing program preparation for clients and work, or doing fitness related research, there are those times that I get side tracked by that silly little youtube video with the cute dog or cat, or one of those advertisements that pop up with the fitness gear that you decide you have to have, even though you already have four of them. And sure enough, the next thing I know I have wasted 30 minutes, or $50, or both.  

I don't remember what I was looking for, but this time I got pulled into the Forbes blog.  After reading a posting by Margaret Perlis about excellence versus perfection, I realized that it "perfectly" explains why so many people fail to stick with a fitness program.  They simply "fail" to reach their idea of perfection so they believe they have failed at fitness.

According to Perlis, perfection is "pedantic, binary, unforgiving and inflexible".  She allows that there are instances, as in performance athletics like diving and gymnastics, that perfection is necessary to establish standards.  But chasing such an ideal is like chasing a dream, and coming up anything short of a ten, or perfection, is often viewed as failure.  In fact, anxiety, low self-esteem, obsessive compulsive disorder, substance abuse, and clinical depression are all conditions that are ascribed to perfectionism.

Excellence, on the other hand, is an attitude.  It is not black and white, nor is it someone else's ideal.  It is not an endgame, but rather a sustainable way of functioning.  According to Perlis, excellence "is far more forgiving, allowing and embracing failure and vulnerability on the ongoing quest for improvement.  It allows for disappointment, and prioritizes progress over perfection."

We can't keep track of the number of times that a participant has come into our training and told Katie that they want her legs, or told me that they want my abs.  Well, you can't have them!  And it's not because we are selfish and don't want to share.  Actually, Katie probably doesn't want to share her legs until her marathon is over.  Instead, it is because you are perhaps wanting to attain something that is merely your perception of perfection, and we certainly don't think our respective legs and abs are perfect, but just the better part of our imperfect bodies :-)

We have mentioned many times how important it is that our goals are realistic and attainable.  If your one and only, and perhaps unrealistic goal, is to lose 30 pounds when you begin a fitness program, it is easy to lose sight of all the smaller, but very positive improvements along the way.

I would love to be able to perform cheetah runs and burpees with the power, speed and athleticism that Emily displays, or be able to perform the flat-as-a-board, amazing  push up that Holly can do, but it is NEVER going to happen for me in my body.  But that doesn't mean I will give up and quit doing cheetah runs or push ups.  I will continue to strive for improvement and excellence, but forget about perfection.

Moving Forward with Determination

We are finally emerging from the dark days of winter.  We can see the first light of day as we leave our early morning Metabolic Training and that breathless feeling we have as we walk to our cars after our evening training comes from the workout rather than the rapidly dropping temps.  Sometimes just knowing that spring is approaching can ramp up our motivation but in case you are needing a few extra reasons to stay on track, here are some motivating fitness quotes as compiled by Chris Freytag, fitness expert for Prevention Magazine.

1. Strive for progress, not perfection.
-Unknown

2. You want me to do something... tell me I can't do it.
-Maya Angelou

3. You miss 100% of the shots you don't take.
-Wayne Gretzky

4. If you don’t make mistakes, you aren’t really trying.
-Unknown

5. You live longer once you realize that any time spent being unhappy is wasted.
-Ruth E. Renkl

6. Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.
-Mahatma Gandhi

7. Motivation will almost always beat mere talent.
-Norman R. Augustine

8. I'd rather be a failure at something I enjoy than a success at something I hate.
-George Burns

9. Energy and persistence conquer all things.
-Benjamin Franklin

10. Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

11. No act of kindness, however small, is ever wasted.
-Aesop

12. Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
-Albert Einstein

13. Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.
-Lou Holtz

14. Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.
-Jim Ryan

15. I've missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.
-Michael Jordan

16. Fear is what stops you... courage is what keeps you going.
-Unknown

17. The finish line is just the beginning of a whole new race.
-Unknown

18. The difference between a goal and a dream is a deadline.
-Steve Smith

19. Just do it.™ -Nike

20. In seeking happiness for others, you find it for yourself.
-Anonymous

21. The secret of getting ahead is getting started.
-Mark Twain

22. It's not who you are that holds you back, it’s who you think you’re not.
-Anonymous

23. Luck is a matter of preparation meeting opportunity.
-Oprah Winfrey

24. It's never too late to become what you might have been.
-George Eliot

25. Clear your mind of can’t.
-Samuel Johnson

Rainy Day Fitness Humor

Find Your Reason...

I just finished reading an article in Runner's World titled "My Sister, the Runner?".  As the title implies, her older brother is somewhat puzzled when his sister announced that she was going to enter a running race.  He responded to her by saying, "I thought you hated organized events.  I thought you hated organized anything.  And I thought you had insisted , for many years, that yoga and African dance gave you all the exercise you needed.  Why run now?"

Her reply:

To overcome fear of hard things.
To beat my inner "I am a loser" demons.
To feel powerful in a new way as my beauty fades.
To prove to my ex-husband that I am not a fat, lazy slob.
To connect to my obsessive, power-hungry son.
To give the big F you to all the Durango crazed athletes... I would do it without spending five godzillion dollars on running s--t.
To connect with something bigger than myself.
To conquer middle-aged oblivion.
To set a good example for my 12-year-old daughter.

Wow! Some of those reasons lead me to believe she is a rather unsettled person, but they are bold and strong and make some of my reasons for running seem kind of mundane or weak. But they have kept me running for 25 years.  And that is the key, your reasons have to be yours.  And those reasons will change throughout the years.  I started running to lose weight.  I have run to cope with difficult times as when my mother twice battled cancer.  I ran to get in shape to get a job as a firefighter.  I have run to set personal bests and win races.  I keep running because heart disease runs in my family.  I run because my butt starts to get even bigger if I don't run.  I run with my best friend for fun and stress relief.  Life changes, and our reasons for staying committed to our fitness routine change with it.

So why do you keep fitness a priority in your life?  We have heard many different answers from our Warriors, including, "My kids aren't going to slow down for me so I have to keep up".  "My blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol levels are the best they have ever been and I want to keep them there".  "I have a stressful job and this is my outlet".

As January 1st and all those well intentioned  New Years Resolutions start to fade into the past, there has to be some lasting, intrinsic, reason to maintain your fitness program.  It has to be strong enough for you to believe the benefits and results are worth the daily effort and lifestyle changes.  As long as your reasons keep you motivated it doesn't matter if they may seem silly, insignificant, strange, or even outright vain to others, as long as they keep you moving!