Are you cheating yourself?

As a personal trainer and group fitness instructor, I often use this line as motivation: “You’re only cheating yourself.” I usually then tell the short story about the personal background for this line: today, I’ll tell the story in more than just two sentences: 

I began swimming competitively at age 5 when I begged my mom to let me join my 3 sisters in the pool. Seventeen years later, I was finishing up my career as the team captain of the Army Swim Team. Throughout those 17 years, I had lots of different coaches (Army Brat), but I can pretty much guarantee they all used that line at least once: “You’re only cheating yourself”. Swim coaches, just like coaches of many other sports, give you a set and trust you to finish it completely while they are working with other teammates. Before we set off on a dreaded set of 100x50s (ok, that’s a rare training camp set, but it happens), coach would look us in the eyes and say, “Keep count, remember, you’re only cheating yourselves if you cut corners.” Well, to be honest, that never really meant anything to me at the time. I loved swimming and I loved competing, but I don’t like pain, so there was always a pain threshold that I just wouldn’t cross: if it started to get painful, I would slow down or maybe (don’t tell) not finish the last two 50s, I’m just saying.

It wasn’t until several years later, when I finally got mentally ready to lose weight and get fit, that I realized what the quote means. Now that I was no longer required to be at swim practice for 2 hours or conducting PT (physical training) for an hour each day, it was up to me to ensure that the time I put into working out is effective and efficient. Maybe this also has something to do with how time becomes more precious as we get older. Regardless, now that I’m actually doing squats and lunges so that I can have nice legs and butt, I really don’t want to cheat anymore. I have a goal and I’m going to put in the effort to reach that goal. 

So, I often tell my clients: “You came here, make it count” and of course, “Don’t cheat on this lunge, it’s your time, you’re only cheating yourself!” 

GI Joe giving it his all in the
Miami ING Marathon

I only wish I’d realized this during my swimming years...I often think I just might have been a better competitor! :)

When you head to the gym today, remind yourself that it’s your time, don’t waste it and don’t cheat yourself! Have a Fit day!

~ Samara

Procrastination - can you get away with it?

                          You may delay, but time will not. ~Benjamin Franklin
My friend Amanda over at http://www.runtothefinish.com/ honored me by asking me to do a guest blog about why I love competing in fitness shows......2 weeks ago!  I'm sure I'll put it off a few more days.  Don't get me wrong, I'm excited about writing a post for her awesome blog and I'm always excited to write about fitness......sigh.  So why have I been procrastinating?? My official excuse (which actually holds a lot of truth) is that it's tough to put all the reasons why I LOVE competing in Fitness, Figure, Bodybuilding type competitions in one short post, I could talk all day about the plethora of reasons I get up on that stage...but more on that later.  The fact is, I have plenty of idea's for the post, I can knock it out in about 45 minutes if I put my mind too it and use spell check:)  But the real reason is, I'm just a professional procrastinator! It's my MO!
       Procrastination works well for me.  I wait till the last minute and then I'm under the gun so I work quickly and efficiently.  However, there are some area's in my life where procrastination does NOT work, and believe me, I've tried my procrastination techniques everywhere!  I have found that saving money and getting in shape are the main two places I just can't procrastinate.  Here are a few examples:

When I was in the army, I knew 6 MONTHS ahead of time when a physical fitness test was coming up (2 min push up, 2 min sit up, 2 mile run)  did I start training ahead of time?  did I work on my 2 mile time with sprint workouts?? HA! No, I would wait until THE WEEK BEFORE and decide to try to do 500 sit ups a day to catch up on all the training I had skipped out on.....and go figure, it never worked. 

I have waited until the last minute to diet/train for fitness shows. Why? I don't know, I certainly knew I had a show coming up! They post the dates about a year out and you have to register far in advance. So why (on more then one occasion) have I found myself on the treadmill for 3 hours a day the week before a show trying to make up for all my procrastinating?  FYI, this is NOT the way to get the best results in ANY type of competition!

The bottom line is, getting in shape, losing weight, gaining muscle, flexibility, strength and overall strength all take time. A Long time!  So please don't put your health off one more day!  Don't wait till tomorrow to start that new diet plan, walking regime, weight plan, marathon prep, etc.  Procrastination and health don't work, take it from someone who tried a few times to mix the two!  I'd love to hear your stories about procrastination and how it worked out! Leave me some comments!  -Kelly

FRIENDS - They can make you or break you!

Happy Monday everyone!  I love Monday's because it's a fresh start and everyone comes to the gym to make up for that extra burger and beer they had over the weekend:)  The topic of friends and how they can really make or break your fitness goals comes up quite often with my clients.  Often, when they start their journey towards a new healthy fit lifestyle, they find that their friends are not willing to go down that path with them.  Their friends don't understand why they dont want use food and alcohol for entertainment anymore, or why they want to go to the gym instead of Chili's on a Friday night.  They conjole you, "come on, ONE margarita won't hurt......a FEW cheesey Fries is not going to ruin your diet...."  It's tough, all of a sudden my clients sometimes feel like they've lost a shared interest with old friends.  My advice to them has always been to suggest healthier options to their friends. For example, instead of catching up with your girlfriend over a few beers, why not meet at the park and catch up while taking a brisk walk? If that doesn't work and you are feeling pressure from your old friends/family to mantain that old lifestyle that got you to the point you are at now......find new friends.  True friends should be supportive and help you to reach whatever goals you are aimming for.  I'm so blessed to be surrounded by people who care about me reaching my goals.  They support my healthy lifestyle and even putting up with me while dieting for competitions.  If you read Sam's last post, you already know she and ME are staying with me for a week and although all three of us are on extremely different (but clean) eating plans right now, we are all working to keep each other accountable, make sure the right foods and the right quantities are in the house and that we are getting out workouts in.  It's a huge weight off my shoulders to not have to worry that they won't approve of my lifestyle:)  Do you have supportive friends/family in your life or is it time to make some new friends ( always a good idea!!)  If you are struggling and need some new buddies to share your new found interests/priorities, why not meet some people by joining a gym, run club, 5K, blogs like this:) Fitness is a social activity, make the most of it!!! I'd love to hear from you! -Kelly

Things I'm grateful for today:
a big apple
Best Friends
Texas Sunshine