Have you ever said, “What the heck am I doing trying to do this?”  That was me the very first time I did a triathlon.  I was questioning my sanity because I DO NOT LIKE TO SWIM LAPS and biking is not far behind.  Don’t  get to much pleasure from either sport.  Definately never FEEL like going to swim laps or bike.  I am sure some of you reading this who know me might question the validity of  these statements because apparently if you are into health and fitness you are suppose to enjoy and be great at all physical activities.  Not so… at least not for me.  I have always struggled with doing cardio….

In the process of training many, many people to adjust their livestyles to get a healthy and fit body I often hear the same thing from them.  “What the heck am I doing trying to do this” They will then go on a rant about why they can’t do this because they don’t like to do such and such or they just can not imagine eating 5 times a day or the big one,they really, really,  really dislike to cardio. My word to myself and my word to them is GET OVER IT and refocus on why you decided to do all this in the first place.  Redirect your thinking immediately from the negative to the positive and then move in that direction NOW.

There is a REASON you DECIDED to get in shape.  To call us up and set you on the road to a healthy and fit body.  Do you remember what that reason is?  It has to be pretty good because it set you in motion to make stuff happen and make a committment.  Sit down and think for a minute.  Write down what you were feeling and thinking that made you act and decide to get healthy and fit.  Do you still feel that way? Then write your reasons everywhere you go and can visibly see them so when you start to question your ability to get healthy and fit you can remember why you made the decision to even try.

When I start to falter in getting my cardio in I usually sign up for a competition.  That makes my have direction and committment to something bigger than me.  It is something other people will be involved in that are into fitness like me so I will be in a positive environment with like minded people.  And then, of course, I will make the committment and tell everyone I know so then I HAVE to do the best that I can do…  Just some ideas for when you come across the obstacles that will come your way on your quest for a healthy and fit life….

Do you ever watch people at your gym or in your life that PUT THE TIME IN going to the gym or working out but for some reason they just never seem to really make any changes? I often think how frustrated they must be to continually keep trying and trying and never really getting the outcome they may be looking for. And then I talk to them. They are not really interested in changing and they are coming to the gym or working out just because…. have you ever heard such a thing? Well, apparently its the new way or reason for doing and being. So you are getting something out of it as DR. Phil would say or you would not do it. Can I ask at this time exactly WHAT that may be? Because it’s not getting into a healthy and fit body!

Often I will go into a weight room (I like weight rooms) and watch what is going on while figuring out how I am going to work out that day with what is available. In my course of looking around I will usually see someone just basically moving weight around in a very lazy manner as in raising and lowering weight with no control, just dropping it. Sometimes this will also occurr with a client who is actually paying us to train them and they still almost refuse to do the lifting in a proper fashion. I assume because it is to difficult to do it properly and therefore they are sloppy and just swing and drop around the weights. So we correct them and correct them and correct them until such a time as they come to the understanding that they are not just PUTTING THE TIME IN to get fit and healthy. Hopefully they learn they absolutely have to be engaged in the process from their mind to their body from weight training to eating to their cardio. And then magical things will happen, at least to them they appear to be magical. It’s really just alittle know how and hard work. Then they start to see changes. They learn to focus on what they are doing right now, in the moment. They become less stressed and make progress and SEE IT (themselves living a healthy life) and then they accomplish something.

How did you feel the last time you completed something difficult and did it well? I imagine it is like I feel when I overcome a difficult situation, project or something I am fearful about. I feel great and then I wonder what I was so worried or anxious about. So great your stuff together and don’t just put time into the gym or your workouts. Get an idea of what you want to accomplish and set about making it happen. Bring your whole being to the workout and give it all you’ve got. Don’t be afraid to succeed at something either. There is nothing wrong with wanting to be good/great at something. If you work hard and follow your steps to success there is no reason you can’t be great and succeed at getting your healthy and fit life no matter what everyone else is doing. In fact, you might be able to help someone else get over their just PUTTING TIME IN and get motivated to make positive and measurable changes.

Recently I was at a little event with quite a few other couples and after the introductions we all got into the subject of what we all do for work. Well as you all know we are into fitness for our occupation as well as our fun. When it came up what my husband and I did, we had to listen to a liteny of all the reasons why right NOW this one or that one could NOT train with us. From the I just could never personal train because I just can not imagine it, to the I don’t have the time in my schedule favorite excuse for everything we really just do not want to do.

Because we were not there to obtain clients I really was just observing the different reactions and it was very interesting noticing the way alot of us can quickly find ourselves uncomfortable with a new or potentially challenging situation and quickly dismiss it to further avoid being uncomfortable.

So my question to you is why not NOW. What do you have to do with your time that in the long run is more important than your health and fitness and therfore will directly affect the number of years you will live on this earth?