Too often I see people who are less than satisfied with themselves because of any number of variables: from wide hips to the shape of their nose. Here's some observations that, hopefully, will help you deal with those sorts of things, if indeed you need it.
1) Focus your attention on YOU. It's fine to get inspired by others' physiques, but you have to set your own personal standards. People tend to fixate on their weaknesses, while at the same time obsess over the strengths of others. That's a surefire way to stay eternally frustrated. It's a healthier approach to acknowledge your own strengths, and use them as benchmarks by which to bring up your weaknesses. Learn to give yourself a pat on the back for the improvements you make. Focus your attention on YOU, don't let the achievements of others dictate your obsessions.
Remember: you are great at being you and you really stink at trying to be someone else.
2) Question fitness advice given to you by others. "Why" is one of the most powerful words you can put in your vocabulary. Investigating the reasoning behind the advice will often reveal that the answer is "just because", rendering the advice anywhere from helpful, to dangerous, to just a plain waste of time and resources. I encourage my clients, friends, and colleagues to question everyone's advice, including mine. I firmly believe that the better you can sharpen your thinking, the better you can continue to sharpen your physique.
One thing I tell my fellow up and coming training colleagues is that it's O.K. to have someone do anything, provided you know why you're having them do it. In other words, it's O.K. to break the rules as long as you know what the rules are.
3) Minimize the number of variables you alter en route to the goal. This helps control the experiment, so to speak. For example, even though my focus is training, I still encourage people to leave their training alone if they're happy with it, and alter their nutrition regimen first. Then they can see how far they can get on that change alone. For all they know, that one change could have been all that was necessary, and eureka, there was no need to screw with the training. Once you get to a progress plateau, then you can re-examine your options. This example goes both ways. If someone loves their nutrition program, keep it in place but alter the training as minimally as possible for progress to occur. Of course, there are folks who don't have a clue as to what they're doing (or they've been lax in their effort and consistency), and need to start from scratch by laying out a plan that covers everything. Even in that case, the idea is to minimize the number of program alterations, and keep things simple.
I hope these few pieces of advice help you "get on down the road", so to speak, with greater ease, less stress and more enjoyment.
God bless,
Steve
Friday, January 11, 2008
Monday, January 7, 2008
We All Have Cellulite by Gabrielle Reese
I'm in pretty good shape, and it amazes me that I can spend minutes of every day pondering cellulite. I get up in the morning and look at my butt. Take a shower and look at my naked butt. I ask myself, "is there more than yesterday or less than three years ago?" Maybe if I wake up on the wrong side of the bed, I flex just to see what is really going on. Oh, how about the changing room at the store? Yeah, get an infinite look at cellulite.
My point is that we all have cellulite. Cellulite meaning big hips, small breasts, less than perfect skin, not bright white teeth, funny ears, a big nose, no top lip, cankles... You name it; we can zone right in on our "cellulite" area and fixate on it several times a day.
If you saw me in a bikini, I don't think you would say "Poor Gab and her cellulite." Not only would you (hopefully) not notice, you might even think I'm in good shape and I don't even think about cellulite.
We as humans, especially woman, love to torture ourselves. It'd be like having a hand full of aces and kings and somehow obsessing over the fact that we had a two. We could win the game with the cards we were dealt but we don't. Why? Because we can't see the whole picture since we are focused in on our two. Meanwhile someone next to you is playing the table and having a great time with a mixed bag of 10s, an eight, and a Jack.
We create the prison about our body that we live in.
You know what? If you want to lose some weight, do it. Stop grumbling about it and play those aces. Smart, kind, beautiful, talented, loved, spiritual, healthy, athletic, and beautiful.
If you want to say it's easy for me, go ahead. I could have used you when I was 12 years old and 6 feet tall. You could have come by my school in 10th grade when I was 6'3" and told me how easy it was when the kids were calling me "dork," "daddy long legs," "giraffe," "freak" -- you get the point. What happened? I realized that God had given me some other cards, and they were aces. I embraced my size, and it's become a very big blessing to me. If I'd focused on the bad, I wouldn't have been able to recognize my good along with my gifts. It's human nature but let's try and make it a little easier on ourselves, shall we? I'm trying to start liking or at least laughing at cellulite. Someone told me once that people only see what we project.
What do you think?
God bless,
SP
My point is that we all have cellulite. Cellulite meaning big hips, small breasts, less than perfect skin, not bright white teeth, funny ears, a big nose, no top lip, cankles... You name it; we can zone right in on our "cellulite" area and fixate on it several times a day.
If you saw me in a bikini, I don't think you would say "Poor Gab and her cellulite." Not only would you (hopefully) not notice, you might even think I'm in good shape and I don't even think about cellulite.
We as humans, especially woman, love to torture ourselves. It'd be like having a hand full of aces and kings and somehow obsessing over the fact that we had a two. We could win the game with the cards we were dealt but we don't. Why? Because we can't see the whole picture since we are focused in on our two. Meanwhile someone next to you is playing the table and having a great time with a mixed bag of 10s, an eight, and a Jack.
We create the prison about our body that we live in.
You know what? If you want to lose some weight, do it. Stop grumbling about it and play those aces. Smart, kind, beautiful, talented, loved, spiritual, healthy, athletic, and beautiful.
If you want to say it's easy for me, go ahead. I could have used you when I was 12 years old and 6 feet tall. You could have come by my school in 10th grade when I was 6'3" and told me how easy it was when the kids were calling me "dork," "daddy long legs," "giraffe," "freak" -- you get the point. What happened? I realized that God had given me some other cards, and they were aces. I embraced my size, and it's become a very big blessing to me. If I'd focused on the bad, I wouldn't have been able to recognize my good along with my gifts. It's human nature but let's try and make it a little easier on ourselves, shall we? I'm trying to start liking or at least laughing at cellulite. Someone told me once that people only see what we project.
What do you think?
God bless,
SP
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
January 1, 2008 . . .what will the next year bring?
Well, another year has come and gone.
What will the coming year have in store for you? An even better question might be, what will you bring to fruition in the coming year?
If you're at all like millions of people across the world, you'll be making "New Year's resolutions", despite the statistical odds against such an endeavor.
Does that sound like a negative statement on my part? It's not . . . it's just the cold hard facts.
Did you know that roughly 85% of people who say they make resolutions (and let's call them what they really should be called, goals) drop their intended desires shortly after they venture after them. Many drop their focus and attention on goal attainment only a week into the chase.
What a shame.
What can be done about this?
Quite frankly, I don't care. I rarely take interest in those who are quitters. I prefer to focus my attention upon those who strive to achieve their goals. Those are the ones I want to "hang with", to learn from and to emulate. They are one of the reasons I get up in the morning and do what it is that I do.
If you are serious about settings goals this year, and I encourage you to do so, then make the decision to do something about right NOW! This instant.
Right now, this very moment, is all you're guaranteed anyway. Make the most of it.
I encourage you to also do three things:
1) Listen to Dax Moy here describe the necessary tenets of goal achievement. Follow his instruction. I also encourage you to purchase his product "The Magic 100."
2) Read this article on goal attainment by Dan John. It is quite possibly the finest article on the subject I've ever read.
3) Ask yourself three difficult questions and have the guts to give three honest answers.
Questions 1: What are my goals?
Questions 2: What are my behaviors with respect to attaining these goals?
Questions 3: Am I willing to match my behavior to the goal I intend to attain?
You see, when an archer shoots his arrow at the target and does not hit a bulls-eye, he does not blame the arrow. He turns to look at himself.
Likewise, if you fail to achieve your goal, never in the course of history has it been the goals fault.
Improve upon your behavior, develop a "goal achievement" mindset, and work your plan.
When you do that, you will look back on 2008 with a tremendous sense of satisfaction.
God bless,
Steve
What will the coming year have in store for you? An even better question might be, what will you bring to fruition in the coming year?
If you're at all like millions of people across the world, you'll be making "New Year's resolutions", despite the statistical odds against such an endeavor.
Does that sound like a negative statement on my part? It's not . . . it's just the cold hard facts.
Did you know that roughly 85% of people who say they make resolutions (and let's call them what they really should be called, goals) drop their intended desires shortly after they venture after them. Many drop their focus and attention on goal attainment only a week into the chase.
What a shame.
What can be done about this?
Quite frankly, I don't care. I rarely take interest in those who are quitters. I prefer to focus my attention upon those who strive to achieve their goals. Those are the ones I want to "hang with", to learn from and to emulate. They are one of the reasons I get up in the morning and do what it is that I do.
If you are serious about settings goals this year, and I encourage you to do so, then make the decision to do something about right NOW! This instant.
Right now, this very moment, is all you're guaranteed anyway. Make the most of it.
I encourage you to also do three things:
1) Listen to Dax Moy here describe the necessary tenets of goal achievement. Follow his instruction. I also encourage you to purchase his product "The Magic 100."
2) Read this article on goal attainment by Dan John. It is quite possibly the finest article on the subject I've ever read.
3) Ask yourself three difficult questions and have the guts to give three honest answers.
Questions 1: What are my goals?
Questions 2: What are my behaviors with respect to attaining these goals?
Questions 3: Am I willing to match my behavior to the goal I intend to attain?
You see, when an archer shoots his arrow at the target and does not hit a bulls-eye, he does not blame the arrow. He turns to look at himself.
Likewise, if you fail to achieve your goal, never in the course of history has it been the goals fault.
Improve upon your behavior, develop a "goal achievement" mindset, and work your plan.
When you do that, you will look back on 2008 with a tremendous sense of satisfaction.
God bless,
Steve
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