Category Archives: Motivation
Pain Is Temporary
During the burn, the loss of breath, the total fatigue, even muscle failure – it’s all just temporary. It’s just a feeling in that moment. Quitting, on the other hand, hurts even more.
re·bound verb \ˈrē-ˌbau̇nd, ri-ˈ\
Rebound: Return, bounce back, setback, backfire, move backward.
I recently took 18 competitors from my gym, Max Fitness, to compete in the NPC Southeast Classic. The goal was hitting the stage. Not winning a trophy, but using the stage to make us push harder and be our best.
The goal was made, and the goal was met! What we do now defines what we learned on our journey to accomplish our goal. In the “realm” of goal acquisition, focusing solely on the goal can be a tragedy. What I mean is, the goal is just that: “a goal” – a means to an end. How we develop, the wisdom we gain, and the way we develop along the way is the real reward for meeting our goal. Goals are not the real rewards.
Lets think backwards for a second. By creating a goal to shoot for, you are inviting some level of adversity into your life. How much adversity we will endure is measured by how grandiose the goal. The “Goal” only gives reason to validate and hold accountable our hard work, our long suffering, our perilous effort to make our bodies fitter, our will stronger, our bellies hungrier. I have never seen anyone train harder than when they were stretching themselves to reach a new goal. These guys did just that. Josh Gay‘s 60-day before & after picture shows just how hard they worked. Then, they hit the stage, and celebrated, and then they went home…
Score! Now What?
What happens after we reach our goal? It is good after hard training to back down, enjoy the “win” and celebrate the goal acquisition. For me, it was going on a vacation (cruise). We hit the keys, then Mexico and then headed to Disney shortly after we got home. Yes, there was a lot of food involved. But, at some point, we must get back in the game.
We don’t pay off credit cards just to go on some huge spending spree waisting our money, discipline and hard work. It is ok to go charge a dinner, but then we pay it off immediately to avoid getting in the bad position we were once in. Whether the goal was physical or financial, it’s important to remember what you learned along the way and how you felt while you were working so hard.
The best way to prevent rebound is to give yourself a marked amount of time to enjoy your hard work. But after that time is finished, it’s time get back to work. It’s time to make new goals – both long and short term.
Before you even reached this goal, you should already dream about what is next. Don’t take your eye off of the immediate prize. Don’t focus on your future goals until you accomplished the one set right before you. However; you should already be thinking about what is next. This will prevent your downtime from turning into a complete train wreck and a complete rebound.
Doesn’t matter if we are talking about finance or weight loss, enjoy your success but don’t throw away your investment. Remember what you learned along the way. This is what makes you better, stronger, and more patient. Make some goals, so you can push your limits!
Geared Up & Ready
Even something like a new pair of shoes can get you motivated to get back in the gym and hit it hard again. I got these new Reebok ZigCarbons and love them. It was just what I needed to want to do cardio again.
My next new gym toy is Reebok’s Bose Headphone set. They help get my mind focused, shut out distractions and make the most of my time at the gym. Totally what I needed to tune back into my routine.
FitFluential LLC compensated me for this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Formula for Success
“If you take your eyes off the goal, for even a second, doubt will rush your mind like a band of brutal thieves.”
Doubt intends to kill your dreams, destroy your desire, and beat you down with fear. Evidence of this is obvious in the most trying times. When we are hungry, when we are tired, when we are angry, when we are in despair…
Be Hungry
When you are hungry, let that hunger be your purpose. It is a burning reminder in your gut of what you want to accomplish. When you are tired and your eyes grow heavy, don’t be the martyr the world excuses you to be, no one owes you anything. If there is something you want, you stay up one more hour and you go out and get it!
Be Productive
Anger?, rage? Make it productive, and focus the intensity of this moment into success instead of resentment. No one can control your emotions but you. And when you are in complete despair — Stop. Shhhhh. Be still, and listen. You are more than “just being”. You have the potential to be even more than your desires. You have the ability to accomplish things you havent even dreamed of …yet.
One of my favorite quotes of all time comes by way of the late Henry Ford. He reminds us that we can decide what happens next… he said “he who thinks he can, and he who thinks he can’t, are usually both right“.
Go Beyond
“Attaining the goal isn’t success. Success is found in the pursuit, attaining your goals is the icing on this cake we call life.”
Lastly, it isn’t enough to just dream. I love visualization. Wondering what if, thinking just maybe… Hoping, even praying, for that desire of your heart. Instead of praying for “the goal”, pray for the opportunity to make a way for your goal. The satisfaction of accomplishment comes in the effort – the blood, the sweat, the tears, the years, in pursuit of the “goal”. Attaining the goal isn’t success. Success is found in the pursuit, attaining your goals is the icing on this cake we call life.
“Vision without execution is just hallucination” Henry Ford
FitFluential LLC compensated me for this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own. #LiveWithFire
I Don’t Get Picked Last Anymore
I created this mantra, featured on DetourBar.com today, to remind people that all your workouts have a lot of benefits, outside of just appearance. Even though getting “picked first” is not the reason I train hard, training has affected my overall athletic performance – and it affects so many other areas of my life too.
When you are in the gym, training your guts out, don’t just focus on how your muscle looks or even how you feel in that moment. Think of all the opportunities your new fit body gives you – to be a better athlete, employee, spouse, parent and friend.
CLICK HERE to get the full-size mantra.
CLICK HERE to read Bonnie’s Blog for DetourBar.com:
8 Tips to Reinvent Yourself.
I WILL FAIL!
Next time you gain ground and next time you find yourself making any headway, no matter how insignificant, FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT to keep it!
BUT, I WILL NOT FAIL MYSELF!!!
#RESPECTYOURSELF
Before You Quit…
What if you were on the brink of something great? Winston Churchill, Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, and Henry Ford all shaped our world, yet failed over and over and over before they became the amazing men as we know them. But they were all just as amazing even before they overcame. The fact that they had every reason to quit, yet did not, is why we know how amazing they are even to this day.
What if the next number called was your million dollar bingo but you walked out just one number to soon? You must keep the faith and hope that your hard work is on the brink of a huge pay off. Keep your eyes on the prize, don’t let doubt, or the temptation to quit, lie to you. Maybe the struggle you are enduring is preparing you for the success you are on the brink of achieving!
No More Weakness
Mental fortitude is as important for me as physical fortitude. My parents were Old School German Disciplinarians. My fathers’ favorite quote was “brains, not brawn”. I like to think I married them both. Physical aptitude is secondary to cerebral prowess.
Things I think about:
Your body won’t do what your brain won’t allow.
Fear of failing fuels me both mentally and physically.
My weakness is allowing my doubt, or my fears, to get a head start and lobby my brain for even a second of attention.
When I push out doubt… and I will, there is nothing I can’t finish!
It Won’t Be Easy, But It WILL be Worth It! #respectyourself
After I wrote my blog yesterday, Bonnie made this mantra to help us all remember what we are working so hard for.
FitFluential LLC compensated me for this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
In Fitness, You Deserve What You Get
I’ve heard it said that nothing in life is easy. Have you ever tried failing, quitting, stopping, or even just not caring? That is about the only easy stuff in life, and those things, my friends, are a dead-end road to complete misery. So indeed it does seem like everything in life that is worth having is totally worth fighting for, the same as the things in life that seem to come easily are less appreciated and sometimes are taken for granted.
Our physiques and health is no different. When being healthy is a fight, a real fight, the fight makes you appreciate your health to a degree that would confuse other people. When you have to go to war in your cerebellum to get your body off the couch and out the door for a run, or you have to dig deeper than you think you should to convince yourself to go to the gym, don’t you know that in and of itself is sweet victory.
When is the last time you had an amazing workout, only to the leave the gym thinking, “that was a waste of time” ??? NEVER!!!! But how often are we getting ready for bed, kicking ourselves for not making time for the gym? I’ve even said out loud, “Darn it’, I should have gone to the gym when I was thinking about it”!
If you’re not willing to fight for what you want… You deserve what you get.
TODAY’S WORKOUT
Click on the Links to see video instruction for exercises from FitStudio
6:45am Shoulder Couplet Workout & Cardio
#1 SUPERSET – No rest between A & B. 30 seconds rest between sets.
A: 15 reps Seated Hammer Strength Shoulder Press
B: 15 reps Reverse Pec Deck (Alternative workout with bands: Reverse standing fly)
5 Sets
#2 SUPERSET – No rest between A & B. 30 seconds rest between sets.
A: 15 reps Lateral Raises
B: 15 reps Seated Dumbbell Arnold Press
5 Sets
#3 SUPERSET
A: 15 reps Front Raise
B: 10 reps Standing Alternating Dumbbell Press (Alternating left & right arms, we call them Ladders)
CARDIO: 500 Calories of Elliptical (32 minutes)
5:45 Arms
#1 SUPER SET - Complete both A & B back and forth with little rest PRN
A: 10 reps Standing Straight Bar Curls
B: 10 reps Standing Pulley Tricep Extension (with Rope Attachment instead of handles)
#2 SUPER SET - Complete 2 sets of A then 2 sets of B, repeating 5 times with little to no rest.
A Right: 10 reps Seated Concentration Curl
A Left: 10 reps Seated Concentration Curl
Repeat x 2
B Right: 10 reps Tricep Kickbacks
B Left: 10 reps Tricep Kickbacks
Repeat x 2
REPEAT ENTIRE SUPERSET 5 TIMES
