Thoughts for 2009

Starting 2009... do you remember the half-intoxicated goal you set for yourself SIX days ago? That is right, we are already almost a week into the new year. You could have been working out every day and be talking trash to your goal because you know that you will reach it, it is only a matter of time. You could have reverted to the trend you were in last year, of saying it is only January 6, I have plenty of time to hit my goal. Help yourself out and get to a gym, run at home, run around your neighborhood, use those dumbbells that you got for Christmas, strap on the heart rate monitor and mp3 player loaded full of kick-ass songs and go do something productive.

People are extremely dedicated in early January and sadly tend to face out of the gym picture, as do their health related goals... all they do is fade out. Get in a workout routine. Don't work against yourself. Believe the person who set the high standard for weight loss, health improvement, strength gains. If you don't set the goals high, there is no work needed to attain them. Make that year-long goal the one that makes you smile when you think of achieving it. This is what you have dreamed of and what you said for the last month taht you were going to start. Write down your goals and tape them to your mirror, instantly reminding yourself every day. Do some research and find some healthy snacks and pack your apartment/house/trailer with them.

"I'm starting the new year right"
"Man, in January I am going to be in the gym so much they might give me a paycheck"

"I'm going to get serious about training in January"

HEY, IT'S JANUARY. Time to show up. MAKE TIME. People are their own worst enemies a lot of the time. They throw in a ton of speed bumps and hurdles for themselves. Having a fridge full of beer and the wrong snacks around will doom yourself because having that temptation constantly a cabinet away is torturing yourself.. You will cave. It is better that you don't even buy that stuff or treat yourself once a week to something you think you need. Make it a reward for hitting your mini-goal weight loss mark. Don't let your treat be a sheet cake and ice cream, then you are just working against yourself again. A lot of successful people give themselves rewards that start as that piece of chocolate cake and end up being a heart rate monitor, new book, or new cd because as you lose weight and get in better shape you have a better understanding of what you need to do next to meet your next goal head-on.

You need the proper balance of exercise, diet, and sleep. Say you work 12 hours a day and don't workout becasue you are tired... but you go home and mess around on the internet so long that you only get 4 hours of sleep AND you were up so late you got hungry so you ate 1500 extra calories. You will repeat this viscious cycle daily because HEY, you only got four hours of sleep. Of course you are tired. Help yourself. Don't skip the workout. Eat something light when you get home, and get some sleep.

One summer I helped set up an Office Depot store. Walked in first day and it was a huge open room.. Had to lay the steel, drill it together, put all the merchandise in, blah blah blah. For about four weeks I worked 7am-7pm, got home and ate dinner then lifted with my buddy from 830-1030pm, shower, then bed.
I understand busy schedules.

My body weight went from 225lbs to a little under 200 and my flat bench went from 3 sets of seven at 275 where I would get 7,7,6 to 3 sets of seven at 280 7,7,4. I realize the weight loss was from long hard days and their were small gains in my flat bench, but I made a point to work out on top of my work schedule and I saw gains in strength and weight loss. Freak of nature? Hard-worker? I'd say it was a combo

My fiance recently sent me an article, check it out:
http://ezinearticles.com/?7-Signs-You-Are-Doing-Too-Much-Cardio-Exercise&id=1841369

These are the people that don't workout to get in better shape, they workout because it is January, because spring break is two months away, becasue they didn't enough last year.

Make it your purpose to workout to surpass your goals this year. Let me know if I can help. I found this on Youtube:




start progressing today... you aren't getting anywhere just sitting there