This year!!!!

HAPPY NEW YEARS and other holiday stuff!

As we wrap up 2013 and start the New Year, I thought a blog post was in order. Why? Because of New Years resolutions and all that jazz of course (this is a lifestyle blog right?). Now before you roll your eyes and say “I don’t believe in New Years resolutions Robyn, I live the dream”, well good for you, but do you really not believe with all of your being? No, well FINE then…

I only say this because I AM a believer! Not all of my resolutions stick, but at least one usually does to some degree. We are not perfect and are not going to stick to our “I’m never going to eat chocolate EVER again” or “I’m going to learn Chinese” promises that we jubilantly make to ourselves, but in my opinion that’s not the point. The point of resolving to achieve a goal is to simply work towards one in the quest of self-improvement.

This isn’t implying that your aren’t already a talented, funny, beautiful, wonderful (etc.) individual already (I know you are), but it’s to promise yourself you are going to try new things that you want to do! Now, figuring out if it’s really what you want or what you think you want is another issue. For insight on that click here.

Ok enough rambling. What this blog post is about is a method to help you if one of your goals is to improve or increase the amount of physical fitness you have. Big shocker there I know!

I have many blog posts on motivation, but in my opinion and through experience one the most powerful motivators to enhance the amount of physical activity you get is to seek out and achieve a sense of social connection/social support/sense of community!!! There is some research to back this up but at the moment strong evidence is lacking. For more see Bauman, 2012 for a review, which is cited at the end of this post (I put that there for all the physiotherapy students and researchers who are grading my level of evidence........Look what you've become).

Now, seeking a sense of community through physical fitness will not work for everyone. We are not a one size fits all species with all of our wonderful cognitions and “free thoughts”. However, for many seeking out activities that increase connection with others and feelings of belonging can keep them engaged and motivated when times get tough.

You know, when week 4 hits after January 1st and you are ready to give up or when you get the flu in March and never go back to the gym?… Those tough times.

So how do you know this will work for you? Well, there’s no easy way to say this, and hopefully you don’t close my blog as soon as you read this, but you have to simply try it. This means you have to put yourself out there!

Before you say “NO, I hate fitness people. They judge me and I’m not one of them”, hear me out. The truth is a lot of people in the fitness industry have their own success stories (i.e., they weren’t BORN gym rats) and actually quite a few lived unhealthy lifestyles, have been bullied, and were scared of the gym (aka me). Sure there are some not so nice characters, but they are lame anyway.

So how do you achieve this elusive sense of belongingness? Read on.

Tip 1: Figure out what activity you are most likely to enjoy.

I say to my classes ALL THE TIME that I hate working out. I’m not lying, I really do during the activity itself (except for restorative yoga and climbing). It’s the feeling  after I finish working out and the numerous benefits to my life and body that are the result of working out that I like.

So, there is a possibility that the idea of any physical activity is the most unappealing thing that you can think of. If that’s the case, try and think of an activity that would be the most tolerable for you to start.

This doesn’t have to be at a traditional gym by the way. Actually, there are plenty of "non traditional"  modes of physical activity that force involvement with other people and can also lead to a sense of community.

Some examples are…

1.     Rock Climbing (biased)

2.     Any martial art

3.     Recreational sport leagues (a lot of these have teams you can sign up for if you are a beginner or/AND are by yourself)

4.     Roller derby

5.     Zumba

6.     Bootcamp classes

7.     Spinning classes

8.     Running/walking clubs

And those are just off the top of my head.

Tip 2: Bug your friends/acquaintances

Another great way to get involved in an activity in a low pressure yet social way is to ask one of your friends OR acquaintances (new friend in the making) who does *insert activity of interest here* if you can join them the next time they go.

I LOVE IT when people want to workout or climb with me, and I can be pretty antisocial. So if you have that friend who does an activity you are super interested (or even just kind of interested) they will likely be more than happy, if not ecstatic, that you want to try what they do with them. It makes people feel super special and stuff.

I find one issue people have with this method is the negative self talk that surrounds asking someone that you perceive as in “better shape than you” to work out. It usually goes something like this….

“I’d love to try snowboarding/zumba/yoga/etc, but *person* is soooooooooooooo good at it, I don’t want them to think I’m out of shape/suck/am a loser/etc.”

If you actually read that it seems kind of silly, but that self-talk is powerful (for more of self talk click here and here). A lot of the time our ego will get in the way of taking chances and trying new things. Yea, you probably WILL suck when you try something you have never done before, and you know what, people (cool people at least) will not judge you for being a beginner. You’re not friends with those judgmental types anyhoo right?

Tip 3: Take the steps to try out a new activity in the most social way possible

If you aren’t one for taking the “lets go do things friend” method, or none of your friends do anything fun, try and involve yourself in your new activity of choice (see tip 1) in the most social way possible.

This may seem like a hard thing to do, especially if you are on the shy side. Fitness classes are great to give you a weekly schedule and put you in a situation with a bunch of people trying to achieve the same thing as you.

If you feel that you cannot afford a gym membership, you don’t have to get one.  Actually, most cities actually offer free fitness classes. I know right? A lot of people don’t know this, but if you go to the “parks and recreation” or “health and wellness” sections of most township webpages you’ll find a whole bunch of free fitness classes offered at a variety of times.

If you do have some money to spend, but don’t want to commit to a gym membership, there are also a variety of organizations that allow you to do punch passes and month try outs with no contract.

The way to find out which organizations offer these services is to call around and ask! Most people at alternative sport and fitness centers are super duper awesome and friendly.

So you are set to go to your thing that you have chosen. Now, something to keep in mind is when you go to said activity, even if it is IN a social setting (e.g., fitness class), it is really easy to not be social at all when going.

To avoid this trap I would suggest doing some of the following…

1.     DO go early or stay late: If you go to a fitness class 15 minutes before it starts there is a very good chance you will find yourself standing next to someone who is also about to do the same class. This is a prime opportunity to meet some of the regulars/new people in the class to form friendships to increase your motivation to go. Also, take your sweet ass time leaving. Usually the more social people hang around after the classes and talk to each other and the instructors.

2.     DON’T avoid eye contact: If you’re super shy, even just acknowledging people by looking at them and saying a quick “hello” may open the doors for conversation. If you avoid contact with people at all costs it makes it hard to make friendships to keep you motivated.

3.     DO take the opportunity to do meet and greets: A lot of facilities will have special nights dedicated to “women only” or “beginners”, especially if you are doing less conventional things like martial arts or climbing. Take these opportunities to meet people. It may be a little anxiety provoking at first, but the people running these events are usually experts at making sure people have fun.

4.     DON’T listen to your negative self talk: If you are a little on the antisocial side, and often have the self talk that no one would want to hang out with you, you’re out of shape, and all that fun stuff, learn to change that way of thinking. Often we are our own worst enemies when it comes to behaviour change, especially involving social situations. The first step is to recognize when you are saying these things to yourself. As previously mentioned I have several posts on self talk. The links are above, but if you don't want to scroll up just click here or here

My final tip is for those already active!

A lot of my blog readers are already active. So this tip is to specifically address you…yes YOU. If you’ve made it this far you have a little insight on what may be going through someone’s head when trying to lead a more active lifestyle. Unless you’ve been an athlete from a very young age you have probably been in the "I want to start to be active but am scared of everyone and everything" situation before (I know I have).

So, this year try to acknowledge those people in your life that you are hearing the “I want to lose weight this year” and “I want to be active this year” "BUT".....messages from.  I bet you can guess what I’m going to say next…

Invite them to do your kick-ass physical activity of choice. They may roll their eyes, they may give you the “well I suck and you don’t” self-talk, or simply say no. However, if you can get one person to say yes, you are being a super awesome leader in your own world. Not to mention a pretty wicked friend. Remind them that you are a non-judgmental super fun person that was a beginner once as well.

So go out and be your awesome self, and resolve to try new things this year. I bet you’ll like it!

Happy New Year everyone!!!!

Stay Strong

~Byn

Review on the determinants of physical activity:

Bauman AE et al. (2012). Correlates of physical activity: Why are some people physically activate and others not?" The Lancet. 380 (9839): 258-271

Spinning Playlist with Accompanying Profile!

Good December to you Interfriends

So, yea... I guess I haven't blogged in a very long time. To make it up to you I'm going to give you a spinning playlist with accompanying detailed profile to ride to.

These drills are designed for intermediate-advanced spinners, so keep that in mind if you are new to the indoor cycling thing.

This profile should keep you pre-occupied for a couple of weeks if you're looking to change your workouts without sitting through a class.

Before going into the playlist, I'm going to give a quick and dirty spin bike set up to ensure you have good biomechanics when cycling.

Seat Hight: Should generally be to the top of your iliac crest. If you do not know what that is, no worries just click here. Some people will confuse this with their hip bone, which is lower and on the front of your pelvis (i.e., anterior superior iliac spine).

However, it is important not to just adjust the seat hight based on where your iliac crest is alone. As you can imagine, people have differing leg lengths (mine being very short... thanks mum and dad). Therefore, when you are sitting on your bike you are looking for no more than a 30 degree bend in your knee when your foot is positioned at 6 o clock (i.e., the bottom of rotation). If you're unsure what a 30 degree angle looks like on a knee click here. 

Closeness of Seat to Handle Bars: The spin bike seat should be close enough to the handle bars that you can reach half way up them with a slight bend in your elbows. If you are reaching for the bars you are too far back.

Another way to determine this length is to place your elbow on the front of the seat and your fingertips should graze the middle of the handle bar shaft.

Handle Bar Hight: Ideally you want the bar hight at a point that you have around a 45 degree angle in your torso. If you have lower back problems put the handles higher.

You should look like this.....

Happy knees!

Ok, enough of this boring stuff, here's what you came here for...

Spin Playlist 1:

Accompanying Profile:

Short forms: Res = Resistance, RMP = Revolutions per minute, SE = Seated, ST = Standing

Note: For resistance my drills are subjective as the bikes I use do not have gears, thus 10/10 or 100% would be max resistance.

1. Katy Perry: Warm up 

2. Taylor Swift: Tempo Drill

• 1 minute sprint = SE; RPM: 110-130; Res: 4-5/10
• 30 sec recover = SE; RPM: 80-95; Res: 4-5/10
• 45 sec sprint = SE; RPM: 110-130; Res: 4-6/10 (6 is advanced)
• 30 sec recover = SE; RPM: 80-95; Res: 4-5/10
• 30 sec sprint = SE; RPM: 110-130; Res: 4-6/10 
• 30 sec recover = SE; RPM: 80-95; Res: 4-5/10
• 20 sec sprint = SE; RPM: 110-130; Res: 4-7/10 (7 is advanced anaerobic)

Full recovery = water 

3.  Panic at the Disco: Tempo Drill: This drill goes with the song with high intensity in the chorus and low intensity in between. The times below correspond to the time in the song.... 

• First 30 sec of song: Low intensity (LI)
• Advanced = SE; RPM: 110-130; Res: 4-5/10 
• Intermediate = SE; RPM: 110-120; Res: 5/10 
• Beginner = SE; RPM: 95-105; Res: 4/10 
• 30 - 55 sec High Intensity (HI)
• Advanced = ST Run; RPM: 85-100; Res: 4-5/10 (when standing)**.
• Intermediate = SE; RPM: 110-120; Res: 5/10 
• Beginner = SE; RPM: 95-105; Res: 4/10 
• 55 sec - 1:20 LI
• See above
• 1:20 - 1:44 HI
• See Above
• 1:44 - 2:17 LI
• 2:17- end of song: HI

Recover = Water 

** Note: A standing run is when you are out of the saddle, the resistance is low (but still there), you isolate your upper body by tightening the core muscles, 45 degree angle on your torso and aim  for 100RPM. The upper body should be still while you are cycling.

4. Pink: Rolling hills: The hills can be completed either sitting or standing it's your choice. Look for different RPM cues below depending on which you choose. 

• Seat Flat: 30 seconds = Res: 4-6/10; You can either choose to sprint (RPM = 115-130) on your seated flats, take a break (RPM = 80-90), or ride somewhere in between depending on how hard you want to work work. The next drill is really hard... so keep that in mind.
• Hill 1: 1 minute
• Seated = Res: 8-9/10 (near max); RPM: 75-80
• Standing = Res: 8-9/10 (near max); RPM: 55-60
• Seat Flat: 30 seconds (see above)
• Hill 2: 1 minute
• Seated = 
1. 30 secs @ 7-8/10; RMP 85-90 
2. 30 sec @ Res: 8-9/10 (near max); RPM: 75-80
• Standing = 
1. 30 secs @ 7-8/10; RMP 65-70
2. 30 sec @ Res: 8-9/10 (near max); RPM: 55-60
• Seat Flat: 30 seconds (see above)
• Hill 3: 1 min 30 sec
• Seated = 
1. 30 secs @ 7/10; RMP 90
2. 30 sec @ Res: 7.5-8/10; RPM: 85
3. 30 sec @ Res: 8-9/10 (near max); RPM: 75-80
• Standing = 
1. 30 secs @ 7/10; RMP 70 
2. 30 sec @ Res: 8/10 RPM: 60-65
3. 30 sec @ Res: 8-9/10 (near max); RPM: 55-60
• Seat Flat: 30 seconds (see above)
• Hill 4: 2 minutes
• Follow same protocol as above adding one more level

Rest = Water 

5 & 6: Rihanna & Calvin Harris: Anaerobic Sprints: These two songs are the hardest part of the profile. The goal is to bring yourself to your maximum by the end of the high intensity so you need a full recovery. Below I will give the time points where you will go anaerobic.

For the anaerobic sprint you want your resistance so high it is hard to maintain 100-110 RPM, and you are working at your maximum (Res 8-9/10).

Rihanna: 

• Anaerobic between 1:47 and 2:17, then between again between 3:30 and 4:14 

Calvin Harris:

• Anaerobic between 1:47 and 2:18, then between again between 3:33 and 4:19

REST!!!!

7:  Panic at the Disco: Lifts: Essentially for this drill you are alternating seated moderated resistance with heavy aggressive lifts.

A "lift" is when you kick your hips back when standing so your torsos is past 45 degrees. You should concentrate on keeping your core tight and your spine long (don't round your back).

You are "lifting" in the chorus of this song

• Seated moderate hill: 0-40seconds = Res: 7(ish)/10; RPM: 85-90
• Lift: 40sec - 1:13 = Res: 8-9/10; RPM: 55-65 
• Seated Hill: 1:13-1:50 = see above
• Lift 2: 1:50 - 2:28 = see above
• Seated Hill: 2:28 - 2:51 = see above
• Recover: until end of the song

8.  Pitbull & Kesha: Sprints and Climbs: This drill is similar to drill 4, but is faster moving with only 1 level for the hill. The hill doesn't have the be the hardest thing in the world. 

*Advanced spinners: replace sprint with standing run with the goal of 100RMP

• Hanging out: 0-40seconds = just hang out and prepare for the sprint at 40 seconds
• Sprint: 40sec - 1:08 = SE; RPM: 110-130; Res: 4-5/10*
• Hill 1:08- 1:40: Can be anywhere between 7-9/10 and 75-85 RPM (you choose)
• Sprint: 1:40 -1:52= see above
• Hill 1:52- 2:53= see above
• Sprint: 2:53 until end of song = see above

Recover: 1 more drill to go!!!

9 & 10 Taylor Swift & Deadmau5: Long Ass Hill: Your probably feeling pretty beat up by this point, so I ended this profile with a 10 level hill, 5 levels seated (Taylor Swift), and 5 Standing (Deadmau).

Bring yourself to your max at the end of the Taylor Swift Song, then stand up bring the resistance back down to like a 7/10 with RPM at 75 then work back up... see below

• Increase the resistance every minute until you are at your max at level 5
• For the seated portion maximum is Res = 9/10 and RPM 75
• For the standing portion maximum is Res = 9/10 and RPM 55

11: Queen "don't stop me now": Cool Down: Time for a normal person bike ride, so just bring the body back down to normal.

12 & 13: Stretch: Stretch your calves, quads, hamstrings, and pecs. 20 seconds for each muscle group 1-3 times. 

There you go! If there's any questions don't hesitate to comment. Enjoy the spinning!!!!!

Stay Strong

~Byn

Knowing your Limitations Part 1: Food

Good Tuesday to you Internets!

Ok ok, I know. Don’t disown me though! I’ve come to the realization that my blogging is a very fickle mistress in my life, which is often spurred by spontaneous motivation.

So, today I would like to write part 1 of a 3/4 part blog about something that is often overlooked in the health and fitness industry of knowing your limitations, this blog will be focused on diet (note: I am not a dietician, just a health nut who reads a lot).

 If you are an avid reader of my blog, you know how angry I get over the “perfectionist idealism” that is sometimes pushed by our community’s health advocates. 

It doesn’t take long to see this unhealthy mindset at work when we see flawless fitness models paraded around on Oxygen Magazine, Facebook, or Pinterest with the slogan “lose 15 pounds in a week”, or “weakness is a choice” written in big bold letters underneath them. What I am talking about here is a focus on the external benefits of a seemingly healthy lifestyle and a “I’m better than you” attitude, which is masked as “fitness motivation”, when the goal is really to provoke and promote feelings of anxiety and inadequacy in the consumer so they will… well consume the product of interest (e.g., magazine, website, diet pill)*. 

We should be supporting one another, not alienating people

Because of this over-arching marketing mindset, teaching people how to acknowledge and work with their own personal limitations gets pushed to the side. We are not perfect creatures and you know what, that’s alright. It’s the job duty of people who specialize in helping people improve their lives to guide others around these barriers to help them achieve success. That is the impetus of this blog post!

*Note: Some people may see this as me hating on the hard work of others (i.e., the shredded children). That is not it at all, I’m talking about the “I am better than you because I lift heavy things” attitude that is spewed by the mouths of those that were once, just an “average” person like you and I.

Part 1: Dietary Limitations

I’m going to write about the acknowledgement of our dietary limitations first as (in my opinion) eating is more important than being physically active in terms of overall health.  Don’t get me wrong, achieving the recommended amounts of physical activity per week is VERY VERY important, but if you’re going to pick a battle, I would start with diet.

Now, when I talk about “dietary limitations” I’m not talking about being allergic to gluten or dairy, what I’m talking about is acknowledging what you are willing and able to change in your diet to help you improve your health. What I'm talking about is the number 1 reason I hear people cannot change their eating habits-their income.

     This is extremely important when making dietary changes. Most of us work (or should) work on a weekly food budget. If your budget is say, $60 for the week, this can be a limitation when trying to achieve the “idealized diet” that is pushed by the “health” and fitness industry.

What is the ideal diet, well to be honest internet, I have no fucking idea. Watch Dr Oz or read a popular magazine to get a dose of the “I have no idea what to eat” phenomena.

I’m not a dietician, but generally, a good rule to follow is if you can see what the food is (then this is a good place to start. For example, is Coca-Cola a naturally occurring substance… no it isn’t- so don’t consume it. How about that Kraft dinner dust…nope that does not happen naturally, there are no Kraft dinner trees. An apple however, that was not constructed by chemicals, so you should be good to go.

Now it gets complicated when you add dietary restrictions in (i.e., gluten intolerance) chemical warfare paranoia into the mix (i.e., holy shit the pesticides are going to kill me), and cost management.

So pick your battles, what can you afford while eating real food. Some tips I would suggest are

• Eat produce that is in season: Go to those vegetable stands (I know they don’t take debit but it’ll save you money), or look for fruit and vegetables in season in the market.

• Eat cheaper produce/meats: Avocados are fricken expensive, so I’ll buy them when they are on the “lower” price point. Mushrooms are cheap, so are onions, apples, and bananas. Also look for sale meat and fish (not hot dogs).

• Buy produce that can be used in everything: Don’t buy blueberries if you’re only going to eat them in a fruit salad on Monday. Plan your meals around foods that can multi-task. For example, avocados can be used in Mexican, sammiches, and pasta. Spinach can be used in pretty much anything.

• Buy frozen produce: Some people say that frozen stuff retains more nutrients, I just find frozen fruit way more convenient (e.g., for shakes) and cheaper. Also, if stuff is on sale you can always buy a shit load then freeze it.

• Don’t give into the hype: So Dr. Oz said blueberries and the oil of the fishes are "superfoods". I’m not disagreeing that certain produce hold certain chemical properties to them that are good for you, but don’t give into the hype. Food is food, as long as it’s natural (see above) then you should be ok. Yes, there is a huge concern about genetically modified food and pesticides at the moment, but unless you have the money to by organic, grow your own produce (which gets affected by our air and water anyway), or single handedly take down the food industry, just try and eat food you can tell what it is (even if it has fish DNA in it).

• Don’t take supplements unless a medical professional suggests it: Again, if Mr.Bro-lifts-a-lot says this type of protein will get you jacked, I would think twice. A lot of people don’t know that any supplement is not regulated at the moment, so that Whey protein could be half ground up glass, a quarter steroids, and some protein for all you know. I know a lot of people that supplement, some of them swear by it, but in my opinion nothing beats real food.

• Eat the appropriate amount of food: This is often the hardest part (or maybe it's just for me). Once one learns how much their body actually needs to sustain itself, buying food becomes a lot cheaper. This topic is took long to explain in one blog, but there are a lot of resources on the interwebs to help you in this regard. 

I think I'll leave it there for now. I'll pick this topic back up on the next few blogs. If you have any suggestions on limitations that you have faced that you would like me to discuss leave a comment below (if you comment more I'll write more)!

Stay Strong

~Byn

Taking Ownership and Living for Yourself

Good Afternoon Interweb friends.

Today’s post is going to be on the more philosophical side. What I am going to talk about in this post, in my opinion, is the #1 most important thing to overcome when it comes to behaviour change: Taking ownership for yourself and only yourself, while defining what’s important to you, and in doing so, living and achieving your goals successfully!

So why do you want to look or act a certain way? Well, it’s not a secret by now that we all have a bagillion messages being jammed down our throats telling us what we should do, how we ought to act, and what our values should be….essentially how we should live. These messages come not only from society/mass media/the government, but more importantly (and usually more influentially) from our families and friends. It can be confusing and frustrating to say the least.

In the world of health and “fitness”, we humans put a lot of pressure on how we should live. This is portrayed over and over again in fitness and health marketing (and marketing in general), and we soak it like up like sponges and regurgitate it to anyone in spraying distance (including ourselves). Fitness professionals are often the biggest perpetrators of this crime against awesomeness. 

For women, we need to be lean, have the right amount of muscle, and maybe be vegetarian/vegan, animal loving, yoga zen goddesses. Further, we need to be strong, even minded, emotionally and financially stable, beautiful, well dressed elegant flowers, who can handle anything life throws at them with stride.

For men, the situation isn’t much better. Men are told they must be strong, providing, muscular, smooth, funny, gentleman, with hair in all the right places, the right car, and have the right friends and pass time activities.

What do all these messages do to us? How do they affect the way we live and feel about ourselves? Well, first, they tell us that the unless we meet the afore mentioned states, we will NEVER be happy….  and that message can be quite powerful. 

As a “health advocate” (that’s what I’m calling myself these days) I have seen and been asked many many times how people can achieve these idealized qualities in themselves. I’ve also spent the majority of my life seeking out how to become the “ideal woman”. Sure, the specifics change between people to people, but they usually follow the general socialized patterns I talked about above.

And you know what, as I get older, how unachievable and transparent these ideal images are is becoming exceedingly apparent to me and, even more worrisome, how many of us continue to be a slave to them (Hell I’ve been a slave to them almost my entire life). 

So this post is for those who can relate to my ranting. For you, I’m going to give some tips that have helped me overcome the “you should be” and focus on “I want to be” over the years. If you don’t think this is of importance to you, but have come to my blog seeking fitness and health tips… oh boy are they ever important to you. Read on.

Define what you want. Period: 

So many people live their lives trying to please others. I’m not saying it’s a good idea to go out and deliberately do the opposite to what someone wants (for more on that click here), but rather, if you have a health/fitness goal (or any goal in general), is it really your goal, or is it someone else’s?'

Why this is of utmost importance is because if you are trying to change your life for someone else’s sake, you will fail and/or be miserable doing it. If you don’t –really- want to eat vegetables, do yoga, run, drink water…etc, then don’t do it. I’m not saying living a healthy lifestyle isn’t important (I believe it’s one of the most important things in life personally), what I’m saying is, if it isn’t important to you then why would you force yourself to do it? 

This premise is also important for goals within fitness itself. If you want a six pack, but like to go out and have beer with friends on a regular basis, you have to decide which one is more important to you? If it’s friends and beer every weekend, only –you- can decide that for yourself and you have to accept that you probably won’t have a six pack. Alternatively, if it's a six pack you and only you can make that happen. This pertains to taking ownership, which will be discussed below.

The point of this…..point…. is that we’re only here for a short time, so why live your life by someone else’s rules and opinions? Sure, you’re always going to get haters who disagree with your lifestyle and choices (some may even be close friends and family!). However, even if you were “perfect” you’d still have haters grumbling about how “perfect” you are. But you know what, there’s a million people out there that think like you, and when it comes down to it, you have to live with yourself, not those other people, so it’s best to accept who you are and why you do what you do (when it comes to spouses it obviously gets more complicated!).

My philosophy is, as long as you’re not hurting yourself, people, or animals just for the sake of it, who cares? (Ironically, if you live your life based on what I’m saying are you living for you or for me?!!! Ahhhhhhhh!!)

Take Ownership

This is also very very important when it comes to not only health and fitness goals, but life in general. Every choice we make in life is going to have both positive and negative outcomes; it’s just the way life works. However, when we don’t take ownership for those negative outcomes and blame external circumstances we are treading water psychologically (I call this the “poor me” phenomena).

I’ll use a common example that a lot of fitness professionals deal with on a regular basis. Chico* (made up name) comes to see you and wants to get shredded like you. He’s finally willing to do it this time, but currently smokes two packs a day, works night shift, and eats fast food. 

When you tell Chico what it takes to achieve his goals (i.e., working out, eating right, basically how you live your life), he’s all for it and ready to go. Except when push comes to shove he doesn’t think he can eat vegetables, he hates them, and he can’t give up his pop because he believes he needs it to function.

Chico continues to do behaviours that are counterintuitive to his lifestyle change goals (I’m not saying he’s a bad person for doing these behaviours, they just won’t help him get “shredded”), and thus gets frustrated. He blames the fact he works too much so cannot follow your program, and he just hates vegetables…so he ultimately gives up, and complains to his girlfriend he’s “destined” (I here this a lot) to be a fat slob.

Chico is not taking ownership for his life. If looking and living a certain way was really important to him over everything else, he would do whatever it takes to achieve those goals (maybe even quit his job and become a personal trainer). Instead, he blames his job, his tastes, and habits he just “can’t” give up. 

For a lack of a better word… that thinking is bullshit. I don’t care who you are, where you came from, or how much money you have, if you want something, and find the right way to do it (that’s where a lot of people mess up) then you cannot fail. 

How do I know this? Because I have done it myself. I’m not to saying “hey look at me I’m awesome” (even though I am, ha), but as soon as I stopped blaming everyone else and my past “circumstances” for why I was acting and thinking the way I was, and acknowledged that every action I make equals the consequences of my life, I started achieving my goals (with some bumps along the way).

Embrace Failure

To achieve your goals you need to not only accept, but embrace failure. This is because you will have a lot of set-backs if you are living the life you want to live. Now, these set backs can be big (e.g., not getting into the school you wanted to) or smaller (e.g., your dad doesn’t think it’s a good idea). However, the gravity of the set-back is not important, it is how you deal with them that will lead to your ultimate success. 

Now, overcoming failure is easier said than done, my husband can attest to my lack of grace in this domain.  Some people deal with failure with the perspective of “everything happens for a reason”, this has helped me in certain contexts, but what do you do when you fail, you tried your best, and it is directly in line with your goals that you know you want for you, and you are taking ownership for your life?

You embrace them. The only advice I can give here from my own experience is to give yourself a couple of days to be pissed off/disappointed/sad (however you feel after failing) then move on, and most importantly forward.  In moving on, taking a very close look of why you failed is very important.

This is the hardest part because it involves taking complete owenership for your actions and basically putting your ego aside (and I have a fucking huge ego). Was there something, anything, you could of done to prevent the undesired outcome. If so, learn from it and move on (in 99% of circumstances there is something you could have done differently). 

However, in doing this exercise it’s important not to beat yourself up over your short comings. This will usually emerge as negative self talk such as “I’m so lazy, if I only did this” or “I’m such a stupid loser, I can’t believe I didn’t do that”. No, you are not… you are trying to live your life for you… and you know what, you’ll make mistakes and things won’t work out, and that’s ok.

I think I’ll leave it there. Hopefully this helps someone. 

As always please leave comments, ask questions, or e-mail me if you’d like to talk about this stuff privately at byntraining@gmail.com.

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Stay strong my friends!

~Byn