When Fitness is a Lifestyle

Everyone starts off a new endeavor with enthusiasm and great anticipation. So, imagine if you will that you are going back to school for your Masters Degree and your goal is to get straight A’s.  The first two weeks of school you are doing great.  You are hitting the books hard and doing very well.  During the third week your in-laws show up unexpectedly, and decide to stay for a few weeks.  School work just took a back seat to the more pressing issue of another family emergency.  However, your first big test is coming up.  During the test, you do the best you can and get a B for a grade.  What do you do now?  The goal was straight A’s.  How could you get a B?  So, you decide that it’s too difficult to get straight A’s, and drop out of school.  Why bother now if you couldn't accomplish the goal?

Life is not perfect, nor are the circumstances around our life.  Most of the time things come up that are out of our control. 

My analogy of going back to school for a Masters Degree is very much like modifying your eating and beginning an exercise plan.  In the beginning everyone is gung ho, and excited about the results they anticipate.  You are excited about exercise, and know this is the time for success.  Then during the second week into your new program, you come down with the flu.  No way can you exercise now!  The only food you are watching is going out, instead of going in.  After another week or so, you finally start feeling better.   Then, you let one day of eating like a 15 year-old teenager discourage you into thinking that you're just going to be this size forever.

The way you look and feel is a reflection of the way you have taken care of yourself for many years.  It did not happen overnight!  I think that people do not fail at dieting.  We are awesome dieters!  How many diets have you heard of in the last year?  The last 5 years?  The last 30 years?  Why is it that the latest, and greatest diet always seems to be THE diet?  The reason the diets did not work has nothing to do with willpower.  It is because DIETS DO NOT WORK!!!  How about weight loss supplements?  That’s even a bigger rip off!

Let’s say you come over to my house, and I ask you to dig a big hole in my back yard for a swimming pool.  You are excited to start, and eagerly show up at my house Monday morning ready to take on the project.  I hand you a spoon and say start digging.  I will be back this evening to see how you are doing.  I am sure you would think I am out of my mind.  You could never dig a huge hole with a spoon!  At 5:00pm I return home, and the hole is very small. I start to yell at you, "The hole should have been much bigger. What is wrong with you? Are you lazy and stupid?"  At this point, a big punch in the mouth is what I deserve.  Who is to blame for the small hole?  The person digging the hole?  The spoon?  Me?  All diets are like trying to dig the swimming pool with a spoon.

Having the right technology makes all the difference.  Weight-loss supplements are like spray painting fake hair on top of your head while digging the pool with a spoon.  It makes no sense.  Like most people, you most likely already have your Masters Degree in dieting and exercise.  So, why do will still fall for the hype?  It is because we all want fast results without expending much energy.  Plus, the weight loss industry is a 50 billion dollar a year industry with a 99% failure rate.

I am going to let you on a secret...The secret is to:

1. Know and understand your metabolism,
2. Keep track of what you are putting in your mouth,
3. Strength train,
4. Do aerobics in moderation,
5. Do not expect perfection...Do the best you can!

One pound of fat contains 3,500 stored calories.  You can safely lose 1 to 2 pounds per week.  I know that does not sound like a lot of weight right away. Losing 2 pounds a week is a negative energy expenditure of 1,000 per day.

The reason Functional Conditioning works is due to providing you with the right technology, accountability, and a proven system that time and time again has proven effective. Is Functional Conditioning the easiest thing in the world?  If it were super easy, would it be worth it?

Wellness is much more than the weight indicated on the scale. It’s getting up in the morning without the aches and pains.  It’s being able to sprint up a flight of stairs without being winded.  It’s enjoying activities that do not remind you of the activity for days and days afterwards.  It’s about being healthy, and not letting the scale reflect your self worth.  It’s about looking well, feeling well, and staying well.

Clients of the Month

This month there are two clients of the month! I have so many people that are doing awesome...

Lisa has been coming in for one-on-one sessions for the past year. She has great enthusiasm, and has gotten VERY strong!  Here, she's done dumbbell rows with 45 pounds!  She has improved in all aspects of her overall health and well-being.  She is looking good, especially driving her new Corvette.  Lisa has improved her level of fitness by a whopping 65%.  Keep up the great work!

Leslie has a busy home life juggling three kids, and many other tasks.  Leslie has managed to incorporate eating right and exercising into her hectic life. She has stuck with it for over a year, and it has certainly paid off!  She has lost 27 pounds of fat, and has done that without her metabolism dropping. Leslie has a lot of lean tissue, which gives her an amazing resting metabolic rate (RMR) of 2230 calories.  Most women have an RMR of 1500 or less.

I am very proud of all my clients! I have learned so much from them.  I've learned that people keep coming back, even if they don't think they have done as well as they thought they should. The simple fact is...they are doing better than they were doing, before they started coming in.  Getting into shape takes time and effort, but doesn't require extreme measures.  Do the best you can, and over time you will look and feel great!