Get in the best shape of your life.

Going to the gym can be a daunting task for anyone on any given day. Most days you wake up and you just don’t feel the zeal and motivation you once felt for the gym. For most people this occurs right around the 4-7 week period. You start off on fire with a burning desire for the gym which tapers off into a regular routine and eventually your passion fails you. I’ve often wondered why this is the case and have drawn 2 conclusions: When a regular routine is reached people become complacent and don’t mind missing a day or two here and there which will lead to more days off and an eventual halt to all workout routines AND people simply forget to “tie their shoes.”

When most people start a workout routine they are so motivated to get working out that they start waking up at 4:30 in the morning to go for a quick 30 mile run before they even hit the gym. Of course this is a slight exaggeration, however, I believe the point gets across. We all start our routines with a fierce desire to change our bodies and our lifestyles. In the beginning we have our food consumption down to the exact percentages and calories making sure never to overstep our target caloric intake while being sure to push ourselves to supreme exhaustion in the gym, making sure to run that extra mile. All of these extras slowly taper off to doing exactly what we were supposed to be doing to begin with while letting our diet slide slowly. “Yum, Pepsi. Whoops. I forgot I wasn’t supposed to have any soda for 2010. 1 soda can’t hurt right?” This is where the slide starts.

What many forget to realize is that the tortoise still beats the hare in the end. While few people can start off with a strict workout and dieting regimen and continue this feat well into their lifestyle, most people do not realize that you want to start things slowly. Start with tying your shoes before you go out and start running a marathon. This simple change will allow you to continue your new lifestyle without it feeling like much of a burden. Start with jogging a mile or two before you try getting into the High Intensity Interval Training or lifting regularly before attempting power-lifting techniques. Walk before you run.

A good friend once told me that he read in a fitness magazine that, even if you aren’t feeling like working out, you should at least go to the gym and, if it’s the only thing you do, touch the door handle. Each person has their “point of no return,” where, if the act is performed, they are going to workout regardless how they feel. For my friend, it’s touching the door handle to the gym. For me, as soon as I tie my shoes my mindset changes and I’m headed out the door with purpose (I actually have to lace up in my bedroom or I’m likely to sit on the couch in my living room and never get up). I would like to urge everyone to consciously try to discover what their “point of no return” is so that they can continue their fitness regimen with little or no breaks. Life is a long race so you’ll want to take it easy at first and then pick up your pace, but you’ll mostly want to make sure your shoes are tied.

[ Photo : FMF regular reader Debbie M ]

When everything feels like it’s against you it can be easy to forget just how much possibility our lives carry.  The above video had a profound effect on me.

It’s the simple story of William Kamkwamba and how he built a windmill in his starving African village.  To me, it’s not a story about race, poverty, or starvation, but a story of initiative.  Of not knowing that something is impossible.  Going on little more than textbook diagrams (he couldn’t really read english), William built a windmill out of scrap parts to power his family’s home.  The local villagers thought he was insane, but he persisted and succeeded.

More often than not, people defeat themselves before they even start.  They think of every possible reason why they’ll fail, instead of all the reason’s why they might succeed.  Remember, it’s not about resources, it’s about resourcefulness. Sometimes all it takes is believing that you can, and then finding a way.

“Trust yourself and believe.  Whatever happens, don’t give up.” – William Kamkwamba

There have been many lessons that the gym has taught me throughout my life. The gym has taught me the meaning of desire, hard work, and trust. I’ve learned that the gym is a sacred place that lends us it’s sanctity whenever we choose to call upon it. It’s a building of mortar, brick, and wood to some, while to some of us it is the holiest of places. To all of us, it should be considered a place that takes care of us much like a mother. How do we keep the sanctity of the gym in tact? How do we allow others to feel that rush of energy that we feel when we step foot inside the gym? How do we become the caretakers of our church?

There are many varied answers to these questions, but there is only one answer that can sufficiently answer all three: Drop the baggage. What do I mean by this? It’s actually very simple. When I was 12 years old standing outside of opening of a building that would forever change the way I look at the world my father turned to me, got down on one knee and in a very dramatic voice said, “Son, I need you to listen very carefully to what I am about to tell you. Before you step foot through those doors I need you to stop and leave all of your worries and thoughts about life, girls (go figure), and anything else right here. Those thoughts will still be here when you get back. But you need to learn to leave all of your baggage at the door and pick it up on the way out.” It took many years before his words finally became a common practice of mine.

It’s important that everyone leaves their baggage from life at the door. Any worries you have can, and most likely will, adversely affect what you are attempting to accomplish in the gym. I have had close friends of mine that, after breaking up with a girl, go to “lift out the anger.” Guess who ended up in the hospital that night with a bruised shoulder (still not quite sure how that happened). I understand that for a lot of people getting to the gym is a way to relieve stress, and it still can be without bringing in those harbored emotions. It is very plausible to rid yourself of those emotions and still relieve stress. Most of the time, when leaving your baggage at the front door, the energy you experience in the gym lifts your spirits more than they would were you to weigh yourself down with the trials of life while working out.

Energy is all around us at the gym. If you are in the gym with everyone who hates life, you can feel that energy and it affects your workout and your energy. If everyone around you is working and is positive, then not only do you experience an amazing workout, but you experience a positive connectivity with your fellow man. It is up to us as gym-goers to foster that positive environment to help everyone reach their goals, their potential, and their nirvana.

[ photo: google images ]

My dog wakes up every day completely overjoyed to be alive.  He’s not stressing about all the stuff he needs to do or wants to get.

My dog is always full of energy.  All he wants to do is play and make everyone around him happy.  In fact, the only thing that upsets Awesome (yes, I named my dog “Awesome”) is when other people are upset.

My dog will play with anyone.  He has no judgment and doesn’t have an ego.  He wears his heart on his sleeve (um, paw).

Awesome takes care of his body.  He stops eating when he’s full.  He constantly hydrates.  He’s always ready to exercise, even when he’s tired.  And he stretches every time he gets up.

Awesome is always present in the moment – never thinking about the future or the past.  He’s not thinking about anything other than what’s going on right now.  The most important things in his life are the people close to him at any given moment.

No matter how many times I take him outside, he wants to smell and examine everything.  The world never gets old for awesome.  He can turn anything into an excuse to have fun, explore, and share joy.

My dog is happy and he shows me how easy it can be to find happiness.  He’s happy because he finds simple joy in everything around him.  He’s happy because he doesn’t know how to be anything other than just himself – and that’s always Awesome!

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step” – Confucius

• Facebook has 300 million members today. Mark Zuckerberg started it from his dorm room as a simple website for Harvard students to be able to see each other.
• Apple has a market cap north of $150 billion. Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak started out by tinkering with hardware in their garage in the 70s.
• Nike is one of the biggest athletic equipment manufactures in the US. Phil Knight, founder of Nike, started selling Japanese shoes out of the back of his car at a running track.
• Walmart is the biggest retailer in the world. Sam Walton started his first discount store with $25,000 in Arkansas.
• McDonalds is the world’s largest hamburger chain.  Ray Kroc started out selling milkshake machines to restaurants.
• John Paul Mitchell Systems sells $800 million worth of hair products each year.  John Paul DeJoria and Paul Mitchell started as hairdressers with $750 and a vision to create high quality hair care products.

Persistence and consistency are the keys to success. Look at the things you’re good at. Why are you good at them? How much time have you spent doing the things you’re best at? Think about that the next time you get frustrated because you suck at something. It takes time to get good at new activities. In “The Outliers,” Malcom Gladwell argues that it takes 10,000 hours to truly master a new skill. But all those hours start with the first hour. The first intention. That first moment when “someday” becomes today.

I had a moment like that when I ran my first marathon. I had always put running a marathon into my someday bucket list. I started training for my first marathon with only 6 weeks to go. I barely finished my first 3 mile training run on November 2nd, 2007. For the next 6 weeks I trained every other day pushing myself to run longer and longer distances. I ran the whole Honolulu Marathon on December 9th, 2007 in 4 hours and 37 minutes.

There were lots of times when I didn’t think I could make it. Most of the time I thought I was crazy for even trying to prepare for a marathon in such a short time. I was. But that was just a self imposed mental limitation. When you want something bad enough, there’s always a way. Whether it’s weight loss, a new activity, or pursuing a career in something you’re passionate about – there’s always a way.  And it always starts with the first step.

Someday is that day in the distant future when you’ll do all those things you really want to do.

Why? Because you’d rather spend most of your time doing things you don’t really care about.

Someday is easy. It’s always there and there are an unlimited number of things you can do someday. It feels good to talk about all the awesome things you’ll do someday. Someday you’ll leave your job to do what you really want to do. Someday you’ll be with a person you really want to be with. Someday you’ll start working out and get fit. Someday you’ll go to that awesome place you always wanted to visit. Man, there’s a lot of shit you can do someday.

And the beautiful thing is that someday is never today. Never. Ever. Today. As long as you live, someday will never be today. And don’t fool yourself. It won’t be tomorrow either. Someday is like storage. You put things in storage that you think you’ll need someday. Four years later you realize they’ve been boxed up this whole time and you haven’t missed them at all. Someday is like storage for things you think you want to do but don’t have the courage to do right now.

Wake up. You might die tomorrow. If you did would you be happy doing what you’re doing right now?

Time is flying by. By the time you read this, it’s already a memory. Tomorrow becomes yesterday, and each day your someday list grows bigger and bigger. Don’t let someday become an attic for your dreams.