Off?

Off day? Off week? Off year? I don't mean a day, week, or year off from working out, although it can apply. 

You have had an "off day", perhaps an "off week", and if you are like me, you've even had an "off year".

Everyone has these: your role models, your favorite athletes, even the person you think has their life most together.

Even if you live a healthy and positive lifestyle, you will surely wake up to one of these discouraging types of days.

Just remember nothing lasts forever. 

Bad doesn't last.

Good doesn't even last.

When I'm having a miserable day, I try to excite myself about the next day.

The next day is a new day, and anything can happen on a new day.

Sometimes you just have to grind through a day, or a week, or a year. Just don't make it a lifetime.

Reset each day. Put the past behind you and formulate a plan to avoid feeling dejected.

PR Every Day

The gym is an amusement park and your progress is a roller coaster ride.

There will be days you feel up high and invincible.

There will also be days you feel down low and pathetic.

Some days everything feels hard.

Some days your motivation is absent.

Some days you feel you can't do what you did just a month ago.

Some days you feel you aren't getting better at an exercise.

Some days you feel you are beginning to go backwards.

Some days you think "How did I do this before?" or "I'll never be able to do this."

I've been there so many times.

Confidence is low.

Frustration is high.

These are the hardest days to stay the course.

On days like these, it is important to improve upon something, even though it will feel insignificant.

Don't be picky with what it is...

It doesn't have to be hoisting max weight.

It may be cranking out more reps than before.

Or it may be an extra set.

It might even be the use of better form.

Even if the rest of your workout was junk, if you're able to PR in anything for the day, it is a job well done.

The seemingly insignificant daily improvements are what lead to long term successes.

Set some kind of PR today.

Do something today that you didn't do yesterday.

You Don't Care

I know....

It's obvious that not everyone values health/fitness in the same ways.

You may not care about being healthy and fit as much as you think I think you should.

You probably think it doesn't matter that much to be doing things correctly and most effectively.

That just being present is good enough.

Or better than nothing.

"Better than nothing" is pretty on par with doing the minimum.

And doing the minimum isn't "good enough."

You may be able to get by with doing the minimum. For a little while anyway.

But wouldn't you rather thrive than just get by?

I don't mean just in fitness, but also life in general.

Fitness provides you the opportunity to establish habits that will directly benefit your everyday life.

One habit is accountability.

Not the accountability to show up to the workout.

Not the accountability to work hard. You can work hard and still not have a purpose.

It's the accountability to get the most out of everything you do.

You invest time and money to work out with me. Don't you want to make the most of that investment?

You already hate coming to see me.

There's no way for you to escape once you walk through the front door.

You might as well make the hour of agony count.

Make the miserable hour a productive one, not an unproductive one.

Care about your training and your health status.

Pay attention. 

Train, and do things with a purpose.

Learn to Fish

PREFACE: This is a piggy back off of my last post, Don't Come to Me for Results.... As I proof read this, I can see someone taking it as harsh. Don't. This is only another reminder and piece of encouragement to pay attention to what you're doing. To be in the moment as you become healthier. To apply the lessons you learn, and the characteristics you develop into other parts of your life.

"Catch a man a fish, he eats for a day. Teach a man how to catch a fish, he eats for a lifetime."

When it comes to training/working out/exercising, you need to learn how to fish. 

If you spend your training session mindlessly moving your body and weights through space for an hour while I "work you out", you aren't learning how to fish. 

If you're not doing the right things to work toward your goals in the other 165 hours of the week that I'm not around, you aren't learning how to fish. 

If after each attempt or set, you immediately turn to me and ask "How did that look?", you aren't learning how to fish.

Don't just go through the motions as I lead you through a workout. You need to understand at least some of this stuff. Examples....

Not understanding why a particular exercise is used.

Failing to identify active muscle groups.

Lacking respect for proper positions and mechanics. 

Never challenging yourself with progressions.

Reverting back to what feels comfortable, even after you've been taught differently.

Not being able to differentiate pain and training pain.

Never developing intrinsic motivation.

Of course, you do have the right rely solely on me.  

You pay me, so the burden is on me to make sure you are getting more fit and healthy in a safe manner. 

But relying solely on me is only half the equation.

Don't you want to maximize your health and fitness? 

You will, if you agree to take on some responsibility yourself.

If we just go through the motions of training/working out/exercising, we leave a lot that can be gained on the table.

I don't expect you to become knowledgable enough or motivated enough to be able to do this completely on your own. 

There will always be benefits that a trainer or coach can provide.

There will always be times to get help.

If you learn to fish, you will eat for life. If you depend on me to catch your fish, you may eventually go hungry.

Therefore, I encourage you to become more independent and self-sufficient with your training.

All it takes is being in tune with your body and your actions. 

2016 Comin' In Hot

What's your New Year's Resolution for this coming year?

Or do you have several New Year's Resolutions?

Or maybe you are one of those people that have your life together and don't set resolutions....

"If I want to make a change in my life, I don't need to wait until a specific date to start, I just make a change."

That's called not having fun. 

To have fun, every once in a while you should....make food choices poor enough to cause mild depression....don't workout for 1 to 15 days in a row....refuse to be responsible with your decision making....wonder how you're going to climb out of the bottomless pit of misery you were Sparta-Kicked into....decide that your best bet is to wait for a specific future date to get things back on track, and in the meantime continue to let loose and be careless. When things are going this bad, you can't just up and stop on the spot....you need time to prepare for the abrupt lifestyle changes that are creepin' up.

I'm the master of getting it back together on Monday. Most weekends I end up abusing my diet to the point that I refuse to do anything more than go from the bed to the couch. When Monday comes around, it's time to once again slap myself in the face with the consumption of bland food and the attempt to train the same way I did last week. It's always a struggle but the pattern always continues.

I prefer to make resolutions on this micro level, but for those of you choosing a macro-based approach, what better time of year to put a good plan into action than New Year's Day (forgot about new year's day parties) January 2nd? It is the ultimate reset button. The day of the year literally starts back at 1 and to me, it seems perfectly acceptable to associate new habits with the brand new year....just like I do with each new week. 

As long as we balance out the periods of gluttony and inactivity, with periods of disciplined eating and hard work in the gym, you and I will both be fine and happy. 

Are you on the weekly or annual plan?