Healthy Thoughts

So, with the Superbowl just a few days away. I thought I’d see if I could spark some Fitness savvy into a football related blog.

So, let me first explain to anyone who doesn’t know football terminology a little about the game. I’ll try and make this easy to understand. In Football the goal line is always the target. When a team gets the football, they have 4 tries (or downs) to move the ball 10 yards. Each time they move football is called a down, if they make it those ten yards within the 4 downs they get to keep moving down the field toward the goal line. Once over the goal line, they get 6 points, and then they get to kick a field goal, if they make it, they get another point for a total of 7 points. If they don’t make it 10 yards in a series of (downs) they can opt to punt the ball to the other team, or kick a 3 point field goal if they are close enough to the field goal. One of the greatest scenarios is when a team is near the other teams goal line and they are so close to making a touch down that they can taste it and its 4th down ! What do you do???  Do you GO FOR IT ! and get your 6 points… Do you POUND the ball down the other teams throat….. and get into that end zone !!!! OR….do you kick the field goal ? and just….settle ?

   This is a daily game that is played in each of our lives? Each one of us….. Jen and I included. You’ve been playing this game ALL YOU’RE LIFE….. you’re tired…..worn out……you’re frustrated….. 

BUT, you DID decide it was time to do something….. You decided to play the game…. you got your butt off the bench, and into the game. But you were looking at all those magazines, and watching all those infomercials and thought it was easy. Only to find out it’s not!

So, everyday. You lace up your shoes. And you go get it. Sometimes you have to drag yourself to the game, sometimes you have more energy and are REALLY feeling it. But regardless you still get yourself to the game…… The GAME…. THE GAME…….. GAME AFTER GAME AFTER GAME…… Some days you see improvement in your play, some days, you know you need work. Some days your joints ache from getting beat up, some days you don’t even want to get out of bed, Some days your fans are behind you ….some days it seem like your all alone in this. But you still go to the game…… Some days, it’s cold….. and it’s dark….. and there is no motivation WHAT SO EVER !!!…… but you STILL go to the game….. GAME AFTER GAME AFTER GAME…..

 After GAME…….. This daily ritual, this struggle between Yourself and the scale, Between yourself and the pain, Between yourself and the naysayers, Between Yourself and well…..YOU…… But….. YOU STILL GO TO THE GAME…… Knowing full well who your opponents are….. Because you show NO FEAR…… Because you’re a WINNER…..ALWAYS…..

Well, For alot of us, this blog is a description of us who play the game everyday. We know the in’s and out’s of the game. We’ve done our homework and have studied the opponent. We have our playbook that we go over everyday. WERE READY FOR THE GAME. We’ve been in Fourth and Goal situations and we always know what we are doing, EVERYTIME….. WE ARE GOING FOR IT ! We are going to break some teeth. We are going to push forward and keep those legs moving until we hear the whistle blow AND NO SOONER!! We are going to run over our opposition! We are going to prove the naysayers wrong ! WE ARE GOING TO WIN THIS GAME !!!!!!

And for some, this blog may be hard to read. You may have shown up for the game, but haven’t given it all. You may have skipped a few games. You may feel like giving up…….. DONT QUIT ! Let US help you. Let those on YOUR TEAM help you. Because we are a TEAM. When you don’t show up YOUR TEAM misses you.

You’ve got the ball……. You’ve played a good game…… But now it’s FOURTH and GOAL. What will you do??? DONT SETTLE………………..

Resolution, Resolution….. Make me gag ! : )   We have all had these resolutions…..and they come….and then they go! Buh Bye Resolution! Hello New Years Revelation ! To succeed you dont need to promise yourself anything. Because honestly, can you really keep a promise to yourself if you are the only one keeping yourself accountable, maybe some can, most cant ( Ive been there) What we really need to do is have a revelation. You need to have an eye opening, SHOCKING, Revelation that says, I CAN DO THIS! I AM NOT DONE YET!!!! I AM SOMEBODY and AND I AM GOING TO DO THIS !!!!!  But…. you have to feel it, you have to mean it….and unlike a resolution that comes from the brain a revelation will come from the heart. The heart…… and when it comes from the heart, there wont be any broken promises because it will come from within you, it will start to define who you are, because it will be a part of you and you wont be able to shake it off, it will be constanlty tugging at you, reminding you of who you are….. The heart…..the Revelation of who you are…….

So, I had a discussion recently with a good friend and client. They were talking about some of the struggles they were facing and how it was effecting their attitude about exercise and nutrition. As they were talking, and feeling horrible about their ” failure” I told them this. And I say this with the utmost honesty because if there is one thing I cant stand its a personal trainer, nutrition expert, coach, etc. who doesnt admit their failures. I have slipped, and quite a bit most recently. Working 2-3 jobs my back hurts, my shoulder hurts, I’ve had to lay off some ( NOT ALL ) and quite frankly my abs dont quite look like they use too, plus climbing over the age of 40 didnt help me either. Yes, age does matter (some) and it does get harder to keep your physique, but…. and here is where our thinking needs to change a litttle. It’s not always about how we look….. UNLESS… your a trainer. haha! thats right, who wants to go see a fat trainer to whip them into shape? I sure wouldnt. But, what it is for you, is about health. I dont care if your abs are popping out, unless you do. I dont care if you guys have a 20 inch bicep, unless you do? I dont care if you can squat 200 pounds, unless thats your goal. What I do care about is your health. And I care that you are able to breathe Gods fresh air everyday. I care about you being able to play with your kids and your grandkids.

    So yes, we will struggle, we will get down because the infomercial girl is VERY VERY DISAPPOINTED in the way we look while she is getting PAID to look the way she does…oh…and is half our age…. We will get down when the scale doesnt quite go the way we would like. AND we will get down when are abs dont quite look like they use to ; )  But please. make a reality check, are you feeling healthier? Are you able to get a round better than you did before? Did you toss those nursing home brochures in the trash : ) ! Reaccess your goal, what do YOU want to do? Is it about health? Looks? Life?   You are much better today because of the hard work you put in yesterday, dont judge yourself by comparing yourself to another. You are YOU. Not the infomercial girl…..Not Arnold…. NOT ROCKY  ; )    ……. You are that person in the mirror, love THAT person…. As for Jen and I, we will try and look as pretty as we can because we sorta kinda have too : )  But I wanted to tell you first hand, that we stuggle too. We are human…..We are in this together, and we are here for you ! Side by side we’ll ALL keep pluggin away!

So, WOW !!!!  Has it really been since April that I posted our last blog??? My apologies, haha. I guess I must be having a great “distracting” summer ! : ) 

I would like to build from my last blog if I could. Not to ingrain Rocky into your brains, or not because I am a Rocky addict or something, but because there is still a TON more lessons to be learned from this great icon of a movie. As I was talking to a client the other day this blog idea came to me. We were talking about vacations and the effect they can have on our bodies and all the hard work we have put into them. I realize the vacation season may be coming to an end for most but this blog is definitely not only for vacationers but for any of us for any time in our lives. When we go on vacation sometimes our thoughts on proper nutrition and exercise do to. We put them aside until we return and then vow to hit it hard when we get back. Believe me, I am all about enjoying vacation ( although we haven’t had one for 5 years * ok I’ll stop whining* ) I am all about taking time away and relaxing during our away time. But I would be lying if I said that we are all built the same, and we can all “lay off” during our vacation time. So,  before you take off on vacation, or before you take your break from the daily grind of everyday life, you have to ask yourself these questions….. What kind of person am I ?   “Well Eric, what do you mean??”   Well…… Are you hitting your goals in the gym? Are you increasing your weights when you can? Are you eating the way you should? Do you take it all serious inside and outside of the gym?  OR…. do you lay off when you can? Do you go thru the motions?  Here is why I am asking these questions. If you go on vacation and gain 5 pounds, how fast will it come off when you get back? If you are a go getter in the gym, you can afford to gain a few, because you know when you get back, you’ll hit it hard and strip it right off…. BUT….. if you are iffy during your workouts and sloppy with their nutrition then a 5 pound gain will set you back for months !!  This is the difference. Another example, Jen and I went on a missions trip to El Salvador 5 years ago ( yes, our “vacation” ) I put on 8 pounds and Jen 14 !!!! WOW is right, we were gone 10 days. But how do you tell people from a country in poverty, whos BIG hearts are set on making you comfortable, that you cant eat their food because you are watching your figure, haha. You cant….. But did it bother us, NOPE, because quite frankly we are animals in the gym, we go after it and we knew we wouldnt have any issues getting rid of it….SO…. we enjoyed our stay and their hospitality!

But how does this tie into the whole Rocky theme. Well, if you watch them all, and I highly encourage that : ) , you’ll notice a very admirable trait about our friend Rocky. He has seen ups and downs, he has hit it hard in the gym and he has slacked in the gym. When he was on top of his game he got knocked down…. When he was slacking and allowing pride to get in his way he got knocked down. He was always getting knocked down. BUT, he always got right back up. Sometimes a lot slower than others, but none the less he never stayed down.

What kind of person are you? How bad do you want it? Do you want to enjoy life and not let life dictate the fun you have or the things you do? Or will you go thru life, worrying, doubting and wondering? Please….. go after life, enjoy life….. allow yourself to get knocked down, but make sure you’re doing the things it takes to get back up !!!

 I remember it well. I was with some friends hanging out at one of their houses, Lou’s house to be exact. We were just clowning around, just another day but little did I know that this day would change my life forever. I was 13 years old, pretty active. Rode my bike alot, fished, hunted, played tag. I did all sorts of activities that kept me going. But this day would change everything, the way I would think about life and what I would do with it. This day would change my attitude about ME. So, back to Lou’s house….. His mother came up to all of us and asked us if we wanted to go to a movie. Of course we all said sure !!!! So we headed to Taylorville to go see a movie. I had never heard of this movie before, never knew anything about this character we were going to go see. I just knew I was getting out of the house and got to go hang out with my friends….. But from the moment the Theme music started….. I was hooked….and have never looked back since. the movie I am talking about was Rocky. Rocky 3 to be exact. As I said I had never heard of Rocky until his 3rd movie was out! Where was I this whole time?!! After seing this movie I went right out and rented the other 2. This is what started the motivation in me ! I was a ROCKY nut then and am not too proud to say I still am today. It is an amazing story of hardship to triumph, from rags to riches back to rags….. from not knowing who you are to finding that person deep inside of you. It is, for me, the ultimate motivational movie.  It is when I found a piece of me I never knew existed….

       As funny as this sounds, and believe me I’ve taken my share of ridicule over this little weakness of mine,It is what motivated me then and does to this day. Is this the only thing that motivates me? Certainly not. 1) My wife and knowing that I want to spend the rest of my life with her motivates me to stay healthy. 2) Jesse and Cody, my two wonderful boys, they motivate me. I want to be able to keep up with them and someday I want to watch their kids grow up. That motivates me. 3 )My friends here at the studio, you motivate me! After all, who wants to go to a Obese trainer. and most importantly 4) My Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, He motivates me. After reading what He went thru for me, now thats inspiring. I dont like the depiction of weak, frail Jesus. Thats not Him at all. He is strong, muscular, fit ! But this is not a sermon….. These are just the people in my life who motivate me, every day, to do my very best. So my question to you is, Who/what motivates you? Think about it. I challenge you to search yourself and find out why you do what you do, or at the very least, WHY you WANT to be where you WANT to be?

    Motivation, we all need it……. Hey, if nothing else, go out and rent Rocky, It may just be what you need!

Well. I have to admit. It has snuck up on me too. Yip… The holidays are hear again! Dont get me wrong, I love the holidays. My favorite of course is Christmas. As im writing this, it is only October. But I know there will be a few of you attending Holloween parties plus the added bonus of our lovely children and grandchildren bringing home the wonderful plunder they have collected as they worked their way thru town fighting off all those ghosts and ghouls! But, as cute as they are, they dont understand that what they have brought us was more temptation. Bless their lil hearts! OH, Im not writing this to tell you, you cant have any candy….or pie…..or cake….or deviled eggs….or gravy! Geesh..anyone who had been here for a while knows that those are not good things to eat if we are trying to move towards our goals! In fact… I just said it. Thats what this blog is for. Goals. Goals. Goals! GOALS!   GOALS!!!  GOALS!!!!!

                                                                     GOALS………….. Do we still have goals? Do you remember what your goals are? We do. We have them ALL tucked away in your files. We havent forgotten them… but have you? do you need to take a peek at what you wrote? Do you want to sit a spell with us and talk about it? A lot of you are doing fantastic. Alot of you are doing great with your workouts. BUT, based on what your goals were…..let me be honest….. you could do better. Lots better.

So, my challenge is this. IF you still care about your goal. Ask me to if you can look at your file. Lets sit down and talk about it and see what we can do to get you back in the groove. If you dont care about your goal and are content where you are, thats fine, Im happy for you, really. If you have met your goal, and are ready for a new one, lets plan it out and attack it!

Finally, let me say. With the holidays approaching, it will get harder to meet and achieve your goals. We are here to make sure you do all you can to get where you want to be. What you do with the knowledge is in your court. WE know your potential. PLEASE, PLEASE…. believe it yourself! and DO IT!

Ooooooh, The sound of the Steve Miller Band!!! Time Keeps on Slippin Slippin…into the future!! Well, of course it does, where else is it going to go??? Just like our thoughts of getting into shape….. If we dont grab the moment, they will keep slippin into the future too!  Everyday at least once we hear these famous words…. ” TOMORROW IM STARTING”, OR “MONDAY IM STARTING” OR “I NEED TO”…… I will continue to say this until Im dead. You have to “DO IT”!! I would say “JUST DO IT” but I know NIKE is monitoring this site!! Seriously, if you stick with the plan, healthy eating,cardio,strength training. IT WILL HAPPEN. And WHAT is “IT”????  ”IT” is whatever you want “it” to be! Some are here to gain strength, some are here for balance, some are here to lose weight, some are here to tone, we’ve even had a few here to GAIN!!!  “IT” is different for everyone!!! BUT “IT” IS DOABLE  for everyone, on all levels. If you mess up today “DO IT” tomorrow! BUT DO IT…… The future is now…now…now….. every second we think about doing “IT” it’s already into the future…… DO IT NOW!!!!

Drop right now and do 5…..yes, just 5 pushups (no seriously, stop reading and do 5)….. see, youve seized ONE moment and there are so many more to come in your lifetime. Until that final breathe…. “DO IT”!!!!!!!!!!

   So, in my infinite thinking, this anology came to me. This Blog willl be short and sweet but oh so full of wisdom!!!! 

  Have you ever had a change jar ? A jar that you throw loose change in ? And after months or maybe years you take all this change out of the jar and you cash it in not knowing how much will be in there, and to your surprise, it’s a lot more than what appeared to be in there. You are RICH!!!! Well, maybe not rich, but now you have a little something that at the time was just a few pennies that didnt seem like much.

 If we can only look at our calories as these pennies. When we are tempted go to that fast food joint but instead drive on by and eat a nice lean supper at home. Cha-ching!!! We can put a few pennies/ calories in the jar. When we are heading off to that cookout where you know there will be greasy hamburgers and brats and instead, you place in your cooler a nice chicken breast so that when you get there they can throw it on the grill for you…… more change goes into the jar!

 At the end of the month, or the year, think about how much change  will be in your jar!

 C-H-A-N-G-E !!!!!!  Isn’t it nice to have change? Isn’t it time for change? everyday we have the oppurtunity to change. One penny at a time…….

 Have you ever filled out a survey, or maybe you have sometime been asked the question….. How would you describe your Job. A) Very active B) Somewhat Active C)Active D)Sedentary E) Beyond Sedentary. I was thinking about this. And I would have to say. My Job, even though I’m a personal trainer, is sendentary. I am not active while I am on the floor with my clients. Maybe I should dance while I am out there with you all!!! :)  hmmmmm. So, having said that. I went from my Job at ADM, which was very rigorous, very active work. To downright lazy work. I now hold a clipboard and on occasion I add and remove weights from the olympic bar….that’s it. Which explains why, after leaving ADM, I started to gain a few pounds. I was maintaining, then bam, I started to see an increase. So I had to adjust. I had to do a little extra!!

 So keep this in mind as you continue to reach your fitness goals. Are you making any changes in your work that may effect your daily caloric burn? Is your job not quite as demanding as it use to be? Now that its nicer outside we are becoming more active, and thats good. A little extra never hurts!! This is when we usually see ourselves losing extra weight, this is when we start to believe we can achieve that goal.BUT, it could be that way year round with a few minor changes.

Go for extended walks.

If your workout is too easy, tell your trainer!

Park in the back lot of the grocery store.

Do some squats while watching TV

If your workout is too easy, tell your trainer!

Jog a little while taking that leisure walk.

Take the stairs instead of the elevator.

Push mow the lawn instead of riding. (and quit paying the neighbor boy to do it!)

Rake some leaves,even if your not a green thumber!

Hand pick all the dandelions from your yard.

Go fishing….walk the banks. Boating??ummmm….only if your paddling!!

Go swimming.

If your workout is too easy, tell your trainer!

 Also, Keep in mind, that this is the time of year when eating becomes more of a sport than a necessity. Plan ahead.Plan ahead.Plan ahead. If you are going to a cookout, don’t be afraid to bring your own cut of meat for the grill! Turkey burger,lean 4oz. steak, etc. And bring a fun healthy side to go with it. This is YOUR life. YOUR goal. and you can still have fun while doing it. County fair……….hmmmmm,pack a cooler or eat before you go. But please dont tell your trainer you had a Fried Snickers,or a Fried Tweenkie,or Fat Fried in Fat. It’s just a kick in the gut to your trainer! YOU work to hard to waste it on these things!

I know I beat it to death but if you can do a little extra while you are working out then lets do it. Lets put it into the next gear and see what happens. If you are at your max, then I congatulate and appreciate your effort! But if not, lets do it!!!!

It’s summer. Enjoy it,dont blow it!!!