The Secret to Fitness Success is 6 inches!

Since 2009 I have been working out on a consistent basis. I have seen or read about so many success stories! Even my story up to this point has been a success, 20 lbs later I am feeling and looking better (despite this back injury). I and all the people who are featured in these success stories all do the same thing, we use a workout routine we like and clean nutritional habits. These two aspects must happen!

Having said this, the biggest change we all have made has been the “6 inches” between our ears! This is the secret to our success! I am going to share what I believe. most people need to understand and master for you to ‘feel’ your success. These mental skills will power you through your road blocks!

Self Talk

What we tell ourselves goes a long way. At some point in our fitness journey we ask ourselves,

“Ugh, I am to over weight, I cant change!”, “Why are these clothes fitting so tight! I cant lose lose weight”

At some point we have all been there. The facts are, the more we think and say these comments the sooner we are off track. How many of you are shaking your heads, saying to your self, “Yes that is me!”? First, right your goals down. Make 3 things you want to accomplish this month. Then print these goals and have them where you will constantly see/read them – fridge, mirror in bathroom or your workplace. Repeat reading them over and over. The other pillar I used was finding like minded people to support me. I had my wife, Shellie for this as well as the forums at Team Beach Body to help me through my tough moments. This helped me limit the negative talk and to help me understand I was not alone. I have to say the people you surround yourself with can change the way you think and feel about yourself. Make the adjustments so you are engaging with your own positive self talk and stick with it!

Hard Hat

We need to accept the fact, adversity is always right around the corner. We have two paths we can decide to go down:

Those that fail give up at the slightest sign of adversity.  They willingly accept that “things got busy” or “I had a bad day” and then they complain that they can’t seem to get healthy or lose the weight. 

Those who succeed!  They put on their “hard hats,” and go to work. No complaints. No excuses.  No feeling sorry for themselves.  Just forward progress.  They mentally forge forward reminding themselves of their goals, read their affirmations and do the work. If they need support they find it and use it to their advantage!

We need to strengthen the “6 inches”, inorder be a leader of our selves and be mentally strongl! Put your ‘hard hat’ on and make a difference to feel better every day!

Temptations

The temptation in your mind says “no cooking for me today I am eating out” or “my TV is calling me!” So we have these “excuses” running through our minds. I know I did! The temptation to create an un-focused environment. Were our mind creates a temptation like TV to be our savoir from sweat. I love to watch sports, specifically hockey, so back in 2009 I would do my work out and as my reward I could watch the game. It worked for me! Over time my temptation turned to habits and now I hardly watch any TV. My workouts and nutrition are far higher on the priority list.

Your mind is very very powerful and you need to ‘cut’ the negative self talk.

“How long will it take to see results?” “I am tired of making these meals 5-6 times a day”

You are in control , you are responsible and you can adapt and change your thoughts within those “6 inches”. It may take time, some ups and downs and lots of support but in the end its worth it. I am living proof of that.

Comment below if you have questions, concerns or just a general comment! We are all working together!

 

 

Shhhhhhh, Just Sweep It Under The Rug

I don’t have time. My spouse doesn’t support me. I will start after my holidays. We all have them, we have all said them. What am I talking about? Excuses! I find in society today, ‘excuse-ittis’ is a common occurrence. There is no responsibility to eat properly or too take time to exercise. As everyday goes by, our ability to do daily chores decreases, we have more aches and pains, we breath a little heavier coming up the stairs and we lack energy throughout the day. We ignore these dangerous warning signs. Lets look the other way and sweep it under the rug and forget about it!

Why do we have this ability to ignore these red flags? Oh, I want to enjoy the simpler things in life! Once again the excuses come rolling off our tongues.  There are reasons for the way we think and it is creating a huge epidemic with our culture.

1) Laziness: We in North America are lazy. We all want things instantly and in many cases we wont work/strive for what we want. The things we want are far to easy to get, smart phones, vehicles, credit and on and on. Everything is readily available, we don’t need to plan our meals, we just drive down to the local drive through.  We all know we need to be healthy but the facts are, to find 30 minutes a day is just to  much work for us organize it.

2) Addiction: Take a look around and watch how much time we all spend on our computers, smart phones, I-pads, I-pods and tablets. We are a ‘plugged in’ society. Just think of how much wasted time you spend playing useless games like Angry Birds. Those minutes add up into hours and we don’t even know it! Take 30 minutes of that time and invest into yourself and go for a walk.

3) Our Company: In some cases the people that are most prominent in our lives can and will hold us back from doing what we know we should do. I had a middle age lady want to join one of my challenge groups and was ready to move forward in her health but her husband talked her out of it. It most cases we might blame the husband and i agree he was a complete ass in our meeting. I look at this other way, we need to be leaders of OURSELVES! We need to step up and make a difference and stop allowing other people to control what they want us to feel and think.  Show some internal leadership, stand up and make a difference in your life and take charge!

4) Ignorance: This is my favorite! People just sweep their health and nutrition right under the rug. There are people and you likely know a few, who wait to the last moments to go see a doctor about a health issue. We are ignorant to think all the poor eating and lack of exercise will not catch up with us! We only have one body, not everything can be fixed by a plastic surgeon. We need to be ‘Real’ with what is happening to us and face the facts that we are responsible for  living a healthy life and it doesn’t matter what the Jones are doing down the street! We need to take back out lives and life them with passion and integrity!

The biggest aspect is we have to find out WHY. Why do I need to make changes to my laziness, over come my addictions, show some personnel leadership and don’t be blind to what is happening to and around me! When you find your ‘why’ and hopefully its not to late, you can remove all the skeletons you have swept under the rug! Take action now!

 

Beach Body Work Outs Meet Black Friday

 

Just a reminder for anyone looking to start or purchase a fitness program for a friend/family member. Beach Body will be having a huge sale this week. I am very excited! More info to come shortly on my FB and blog – stay tuned in! You wont want to miss it!

Insanity Max Cardio Conditioning – Nov 18, 2012

Officially messed my back up just now. Not sure what is up with is, no real pain just very stiff. Completed Insanity Max Cardio Conditioning! It feels like it was never going to end! The crazy thing when you get fitter is you push harder! It never becomes easier but that I why do it. I love a challenge. I will do some stretches tonight before bed and tomorrow. Hopefully it feels good enough to go for a swim with Shellie. If not day off. Off for some results and recovery formula, supper and then a movie!

Les Mills Pump and Shred November 17, 2012

Just completed Les Mills Pump and Shred! Great 45 minute workout! Upped the weights on the squat track, shaky at the end. Chest track gave me some troubles as I was gassed with the bar but pulled out 18 push ups at the end. The most since I started Les Mills Pump. The best news was my lunge track, I was much stronger through the 5 minutes! Which makes me extremely happy as usually struggle both physically and mentally! Off to have me Results and Recovery drink then off to the rink! Make it a great night!
PS – My new blog is coming shortly. It will be much different, and it will com with pictures of where I was and were I am now! Big difference! You all can commit to a healthy life style! Find your ‘Why’!! Team Beach Body has great programs like Les Mills Pump, nutrition with shakeology and the support (thru me) to help you!

Les Mills Pump and Shredded me!

Good evening, Shellie and I completed Les Mill Pump and Shred just before supper! I have yesterday off because my body was completely messed up. My muscles and mind were struggling to complete any task. I ate very well and had a great 7 hour sleep. I have been drinking much more water in the last week and I feel a big difference overall. My energy has been more consistent through out the day, not the huge drop around 3 pm. My body feels more alert and strong then in the past. I also commend taking shakeology. Just adds so many nutrients into my system that typically would never have with my normally healthy diet. So,  I feel much better today!

The work was fantastic tonight. I was strong and focused throughout the workout. I pushed hare through each track. I had to stop for a couple seconds for rest in the chest, back, lunge and shoulder tracks. I have no issue with this as went to failure in each track with now lowering my weight. I added weight to the back and shoulder tracks. The ab track was solid, took my time and felt the burn! Overall, very happy with this workout, the day off helped!

We both took the energy and endurance formula before we did Les Mills Pump and Shred! Shellie also had supper already made prior to the workout. I was Quinoa with mixed veggies. It was fantastic! She mixed the Quinoa in with peppers, zucchini, mushrooms, garlic powder and chicken broth. She mixed it all together and we topped it off with either hot sauce or salsa! Yummy! Great meal to have right after a workout. I will finish of the night with Tropical shakeology!

I made good choices today and I feel strong and I feel healthy! Have a great night!

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Tragic Store – End the Obsiety Trend

This article is from Carl Daikeler, CEO, of Team Beach Body. A story that everyone needs to read!

I received this note this morning from Beachbody Coach Dave Ward.

Good morning Carl,

I have a story to share, that isn’t very happy I’m afraid. The reminders of who we are, what we do and the urgency of the task at hand are often harsh. In June, a man name Adriel Barrera gave us one of those. He had about 100 pounds to lose and was working with one of our Coaches (Ryan Chapman who has himself lost over 100 pounds) and they became very close over about a two year period. Adriel actually decided to become a Coach and became very passionate about our cause, because he saw it as a way to help himself, while helping others. He accepted responsibility for what he had done to his body and then accepted responsibility for changing it. He also had a big WHY: “I am interested in staying alive for my 7 year old daughter and wife”. He was on that path. Unfortunately, Adriel fell victim to a massive heart attack that took his life. He leaves behind a wife and daughter that will undoubtedly miss him very much.

His wife logged into his Facebook account yesterday to give us a message of love and hope, explain the circumstances surrounding his death and to thank Ryan for doing what he did to try and save Adriel’s life. The harsh reality is that we didn’t get to help Adriel quick enough. That hurts quite a lot, as I’m sure you can imagine. Ryan rallied and did what he could to help the family (more on that here), but reality is reality and Adriel Barrera doesn’t get a second chance.

If you are reading this, don’t wait…don’t hesitate…don’t over-think it…stop planning…stop procrastinating…stop trying to figure out the perfect system, and just do it. People that need help are everywhere around you. Find one. Even one can make a huge difference. The life you save may be your own, or it may be someone else’s. That’s who we are and what we do. – Dave Ward.

No one ever enjoys reading these kinds of stories. But worse would be to know of it and not share it in order to avoid a similar outcome for anyone else we can reach sooner than later. For that, I commend Dave for putting this out there.

Adriel’s story is further proof that the consequences of ignoring lifestyle issues are very real, and very painful. Not just painful for the person who’s life is limited or cut short, but for everyone around them who aches. Adriel will be missed, but his example will hopefully help us turn this tragic story into a story of hope for the others we can reach out to…

And we have to do it TODAY. Not tomorrow. Not after the holidays. TODAY. This is our work.

Get started now! End the trend! Here is your first step! Let me help guide you!