The power of your own possibilities

“What if you could fully comprehend everything of which you're capable? You would never waste another moment of your precious time.

What if you could know how truly powerful you are? You would never again be reluctant to move forward.

You are the living expression of opportunity. Within you are countless magnificent achievements to be discovered and fulfilled.

Fear keeps those achievements unrealized, hidden from yourself and the world. Love will set them free.

Spend a moment in loving thankfulness for all that has brought you to where you are today. Peacefully let go of the resentment, doubt, disappointment, worry and fear.

Feel the power of your own possibilities. See that the best is yet to come, and joyfully begin to bring it to life.

-- Ralph Marston”

We all can achieve our greatest potential.  It sometimes takes a little finding to get to where we want to.  You can do wonderful things in this lifetime.  Keep yourself positive each and everyday, and find the best in yourself to make it happen! Each and every 24 hours there’s nothing that can hold us back from reaching our goals and being successful!

What are you going to do today to get reach your potential?

The April Tony Horton One on One program was the 100 / 30 /20.  This consisted of 100 Jump rope, 30 sit-ups and 20 push-ups.  I think most would think this pretty straight forward. We’ll Tony does a wonderful job of mixing things up with all 3 aspect of the workout.  The key here is the variety.  Per usual, Tony keeps the body guessing what it is going to encounter next. That is the amazing benefits of the 1-on-1 series each month. Always something new, always something fresh coming your way.

This is a great circuit that will keep you moving and really give you a great workout.  One thing to look forward to is the end.  Can you keep up with Tony and get through 100 jump ropes without stopping? Restart if you mess up and keep doing this till you get to 100 perfectly. :) Great way to finish out a workout!

Enjoy this one  from Tony, It’s a keeper for sure!  You can still get it and sign up for the monthly home direct.  It’s awesome variety for any workout program. Any Questions, as always don’t hesitate to contact me and let’s get you started on something that fits your goals.

Decide. Commit. Succeed!

This past Sunday(May 2, 2010) did my first ever 10k run.  Was at the Heart of a Spartan event which was it’s first year running.  There was an amazing turnout of people.  Around 1500 alone in the 10k and 2500 in the 5k event.  The support of the people, the volunteers and everyone involved made it a great event.  I ended up completing the event in 52 minutes and 17 seconds. Averaged 8:21 minute miles.  Considering I had not run this length only one other time, I felt that it went awesome. I had hoped to below 53 minutes and I did it. 

I had only run in a 5k event previously down in Dearborn (Martian) and it was an amazing experience.  Definitely different than running alone on a track or outdoors.  You have all this energy and excitement from the people around you as they get ready to partake on this amazing journey.

The 10k was wrapped around the campus of Michigan State University, my alma mater!    To set the stage, it was a pretty normal day.  The only big issue was the rain.  Now I had been training by running outdoor is somewhat ‘ideal’ weather and situations.  So running the rain was definitely a new experience for me.  One that well I have a new found respect for. It wasn’t too bad initially. One thing I will remember for next time is to not wear glasses or definitely get some contacts and wear.

The other thing is to get a better shirt one that fits tighter. it had way too much movement and caused some soreness which was very distracting throughout the race. So we live and learn and move on. But I still enjoyed the event and will be there next year as well.  Hopefully no rain. :)

So what got me motivated to get running this past winter? Simply said, my new found energy, my new found desire to continue my quest to get healthy, stay fit and challenge myself. I owe it to myself making the decision to press play, workout and eat healthy. If I hadn’t started P90x back in January of 2009 and laid down the foundation of good eating, hard work there’s not telling where I would be today.  With the added rounds of Insanity, healthy nutrition and Shakeology I’ve kept my activity levels going, my workout schedule on track and loving every minute of it.

I’m excited to keep on running and see where it goes.  It’s been fun and I hope to keep pushing myself. Each month I hope to do some sort of race, whether it be a 5k, 10k or maybe something longer down the road. Looking to up the ante with a potential Dances with Dirt event in September.  Check it out. Should be fun.

Many new products(TurboFire, Body Gospel, P90xNext, Insanity Asylum) coming down the pipe from BeachBody that are going to rock your world. More to come on those. Any questions on my journey or how I can help you reach your fitness goals and have your own journey, contact me.  It’s fun, takes dedication, but is well worth the hard work.

Decide. Commit. Succeed.

Often, we in life wait for the right timing, or the perfect scenario to act on something.  To say that we’ll get started when the moment is right.  Is that ever the case? Another great motivational message sent along to me that hopefully strides a chord with you that don’t put things off. don’t wait till that perfect ‘situation’ that will never rear its face. You need to be the one to take the bull by the horn and run with it.  Take that first step and make a commitment!

“If you wait for the ideal situation, it will never come. If you create the ideal situation, it will always be, whenever you choose for it to be.

There are plenty of excuses you can make for why this is not the time to act. And while you're busy making those excuses, someone else is busy taking those same actions that you are merely considering.

The time is right when you make it right. Waiting and hoping for things to get better will just allow things to get worse.

If it's important to you, figure out a way to get started on it now. Because the more you delay, the more you're telling yourself that it's really not that important.

Why would you want to spend your time setting yourself up for disappointment? Instead, you can spend that time marching steadily toward your goals.

The ideal time is when you make it, and what you make it. Make it now, and make it great.”

-- Ralph Marston

If you are ready to break the mold, break that cycle of unhappiness or just plain tired of being in the same rut, then stop making excuses.  Don’t wait, the ideal time is now, today, the present.  Get yourself moving, get your mind on the right path to success.  Here to help, lets do this together. 

Contact me with any questions about changing your life getting healthy and fit.

Decide. Commit. Succeed!

  So law One.  Variety.  With anything you do in life, you want to find ways and things that will keep you motivated to continue the task at hand.  This is very much the same with working out.  Variety in your workouts will help you continue to go beyond your current capabilities, you won’t reach that plateau that so many folks get to and don’t see results anymore.

The variety, keeps the body guessing. Keeps the muscles moving in different directions, hitting them from different angles, working your body cardio wise in different manners. Whether it be HIIT (high intensity interval training as in Insanity) or some longer sustained workouts(P90x) getting the calorie burn going. Your body will stay adapted to what you are doing if you repeatedly do the same thing over and over.  It becomes too efficient and doesn't work as hard anymore.

Other reasons to add variety is that it helps reduce the potential for injuries.  As you include added workouts, exercises which are working your body in all different manners, this allows for it to become stronger from the various angles. So when you go into the real world to do your favorite sport, or simple work in the yard or whatever it may be, you’re less likely to sustain an injury. I think for my own personal self this has played a great part in my running I am doing now.  Because I had done Insanity for 2 rounds, it got my body ready to take on the miles I have been putting in.  Love it.

So, add variety.  Add different workout programs, intermix them, do different sports, try something new that you’ve never done before.  Keep yourself engaged with a variety of workouts and never be bored that is for sure.  If you like something new every month, look at Tony Horton’s One on One program (Volume 1, Volume 2, Individuals).  Definitely variety. But no matter what you do, press play and find what works for you.  Goal is to keep you continually working out and being successful and getting healthy! There is always something out there for everyone no matter what their interests are.

Have fun.  Stay fit. Decide. Commit. Succeed! 

  So this past winter I began my adventure with some light running.  I tried to stay consistent and get in about 3 days a week running on average between 2 and 4 miles each time.  I’ve continue that routinely now for about 4 or 5 months.  I have been using Nike+, can see my progress there, to keep track of my runs as well.  My original goal was to add another area of exercise to my routine and see if I felt comfortable enough with the running to do more.  About a week or so ago I ran in my first 5K.

This first run was the Martian Meteor 5K run.  It was a bit scary at first. Luckily good friend Sam was running a 1/2 marathon that day which made it a bit easier chatting with him pre-run time.  It was a staggeringly cold morning I will say.  At least for me.  That was the first time that I had run anything outdoors.  I’d not once step foot on the pavement to see how my body would react, if at all differently. I’d been running on the indoor track at the local high school each morning in a wonderfully controlled environment. :)  My results can be seen here directly for the overall.

My results were pretty good. I ended up running the 5K in 24:57 minutes. Averaged 8:02 minute miles.  In the end came in 7th overall for my age group and 51st overall.  First time out was very satisfied with the results.  It was definitely a new experience.  Sitting at the starting line, was back in the pack more and had to do some maneuvering to get out into open space to actually get moving initially and get into a rhythm.  I would consider getting more to the front in the future, but not right out in front.

My 2nd run is coming up.  Heart of A Spartan in East Lansing, Michigan. My Alma Mater, Michigan State University is where the run will be done.  I will be upping the ante this time around and running a 10K.  Figured I should be able to make that distance, even though have only yet to run it once.  But have faith that I can certainly get through it.  Whether I can keep a satisfactory pace we shall see. Goal is to finish under an hour, but looking closer to 50-53 minutes as a time that I will be happier with. 

I’ll be updating after the race with how it goes.  Sticking to a plan and hopefully executes well.  I will say that me doing any running wouldn’t be possible without doing the BeachBody Insanity program and continuing to stick with my workout program. Contact me if interested or have any questions.

Decide.Commit. Succeed. 

What a wonderful idea!  Throw in a hat, a million different exercises, pull them one by one and have an amazing workout!  Talk about confusion, talk about variety,  talk about results and getting the job done.  Tony has created yet another wonderful One-on-One workout.

So the gist of this is, Mason(Director, camera man, Side Kick) pulls from a hat a series of exercises from the various workout programs.  Including, P90x, Power 90, Tony Horton One on One’s and P90x Plus. The workout lasts approximately 37 minutes including the warm-up and cool down.  Tony is in his usual form of comical fun. I love listening to the interaction between Tony and Mason.  They keep you motivated, they keep you involved and keep your mind off of what you really are doing. :)

So same thing with resistance training and muscle confusion we are looking at cardio confusion.  I saw that there is a thread out there in the TeamBeachBody forums that someone has created a workout generator. I think that is a great idea.  Just might have to look into something like that. You can really do a lot of things with it.  Everyone is always looking for ways to spice their workout programs up. I am always intermingling different exercises into my hybrids but why not truly make it random. 

But this is what I love about these programs.  You have incredible variety.  This is something that keeps your body from getting use to the normal routine and really forces it to get results.  Have some fun. This is a perfect example of thinking outside the box, pushing yourself to live on the edge!

I’m having fun in my current round of P90x.  Mixing it up, finding ways to push myself to the next level while still keeping the eye on the prize. My long term health and fitness and hopefully motivating others to do the same so we can continue to fight this dreaded position we’ve gotten ourselves into across this great nation and world!  There isn’t a quick solution to the problem. But together we can tackle it one day at a time. Beachbody, myself are here to help. Contact me with any questions! Love to get you started down your path back.

Decide. Commit. Succeed!

Tony Horton is the creator of P90x.   A great 90 day workout program that will take you through a total body transformation like none you’ve seen before.    Below are his 11 laws of fitness.  I will go through each one individually more in depth over the coming weeks.  I think you will find that they are simple concepts that really make sense. I personally look at them as a basic guide to doing what is right to being successful in our quest to be healthy!

Variety. Variety is the spice of life and fitness. A lifetime of health and fitness is achievable when you can think outside the box. You have to mix it up all the time. Stay curious, creative, and stick with the kinds of workouts that you enjoy. A variety of exercises, workouts, and sports will allow you to avoid injuries, plateaus, and boredom.

Consistency. Improvement and change occur when you do things often. Stopping and starting all the time will kill any momentum you need to succeed. You must find ways to stay in the game. Moderate forms of exercise, done consistently, provide far better results than the occasional full-body pummeling. A lifestyle that includes multiple forms of exercise five to six days a week guarantees results.

Intensity. YOU'RE TOUGHER THAN YOU THINK. The fear of pain or injury from working out is a mindset steeped in failure. You must learn to "Find the Line." Do the extra rep or two, increase your range of motion, and increase resistance as you get stronger. Intensity goes hand in hand with Variety and Consistency. The combination of the three work together as a triad that creates a platform for success. The programs provide variety. Your plan will keep you consistent.

Purpose. Your purpose is to have a better life. Exercise and eating right help you feel better. When you feel better, you do more. When you do more, you meet other people. A healthy lifestyle gives us the energy to be better than before. We want to participate, share, communicate, and build a community have purpose in our lives. If you had never found Beachbody, you might be right back where you were isolated, with nothing to share, no purpose, because you weren't doing anything with anyone.

Reality. Why do we want life to be different than it is? Why do we think about who we were and who we're going to be more than who we are? We certainly talk a good game about who we are now. Why do we try to predict the future with the hope that wishful thinking is enough to change it? Life is NOT the way it was. It's the way it is. Life is not our fantasy predictions of the future or our glory days of the past. Life is that thing that is happening to you as you read this. We fall into the trap of living in the past and future because right here is not good enough. Back then and up there are keeping you from right now.

Sports. Take the onus off of weight, inches, and body fat percentages and put the focus on MOVING - from dancing, rock climbing, and mountain biking to table tennis. I love that ping-pong! Think in terms of "can do" instead of "look like." Sports are fun and help develop balance and coordination which in turn accelerates your results. Jump, kick, run, spin, throw, skate, shoot, hit, score, compete . . . PLAY!

The Plan. SCHEDULE ALL WORKOUTS IN ADVANCE. This creates accountability. Plan an entire month ahead of time. Try to schedule as many workouts as possible with friends who have similar goals. WOWY was developed so that we could find an easy and effective way to stay accountable and work out together. Now we've got people in Trumbull, CT (my hometown), doing Power 90 at the same time with people in Hollywood. That is cool!

Sleep (and stress). Stressed out, sleep-deprived people don't eat right and exercise regularly. Stress depletes energy, strength, and desire, while poor sleep habits affect your moods and immune function along with cognitive and motor performance. Burning the candle at both ends makes it impossible to be fit and healthy.

Loving It. Exercise and workouts involve commitment, determination, planning, consistency, and intensity. If you don't like what you're doing, there's no way on earth you'll succeed. Enthusiasm is a very big piece of the puzzle. Get creative and stay curious. If you enjoy doing Power 90 exclusively and it works for you, then keep doing it until it doesn't. If you get part way through P90X and it's not your cup of tea, then stop, and do something else. Something's got to bring you back day after day, week after week. Love it (tolerate it) or leave it.

Flexibility. Flexibility is the fountain of youth. Flexible people are much less prone to injury. Yoga and stretching allow you to bring more intensity to your workouts. Flexibility is the key component to becoming less vulnerable and more durable. Aging has a funny way of making everything we do harder. Staying limber and flexible is the way to prevent that from happening.

Food and Supplements. You are what you eat! Food and supplements are your fuel. The right fuel supplies proper energy and recovery through balanced brain chemistry. The right supplements simply fill in gaps in your diet.

This is another wonderful motivator that was sent out to me that I wanted to share.   Make yourself a promise today for a better future. Healthy fit one and challenge yourself more than you ever have. You can do it. It is in you.

______

What promise can you make to yourself today? What promise can you make to yourself, and keep?

You have made, and will continue to make, all sorts of commitments to others. if those commitments are to have any value, you must also be committed to yourself.

It’s not the least bit selfish to be committed to yourself. because being your absolute best, is what enables you to be of service to others.

Right now, you know of many ways in which you can strengthen and improve your value to yourself, and your value to life.  Pick one of those ways, right now, and make a promise to yourself to follow through.

No matter how far you’ve already come, there is always some new fulfilling ground to cover. Choose a fresh, challenging path, and commit to making your way along it.

Make yourself a promise. And give to all of life your own unique gift of achievement.

-Ralph Marston

Contact me at anytime with questions, comments, concerns, items you’d like to see me write about more.  Love to talk about your health and fitness needs and see if we can get you on the right track to being motivated to get healthy!

So what have I been up to these past 2 weeks of my round 4?  I’ve been pushing play, best I can.  I have missed a couple workouts to be honest.  But those days happen.  Do our best and forget the rest. So back on track this week. Staying consistent, buckling down with the nutrition side after a crazy Easter weekend.  I did partake a few times in the Easter candy. :)  But nothing too crazy. 

Last week was the recovery week. And I’m glad that it was. I was feeling a big need for one and it came at the right time.  So starting now into Month 2 of round 4, I'm ready to really get focused again and continue working towards the goals I laid out from the onset. I am confident that I will be successful.  Nothing wrong with adjusting your goals. It is an awesome exercise each and everyday to go back, re-read your goals in the morning, or a few times a day. Review and adjust if you need to.  You can’t accomplish everything in the 24 hours we are given each day, but we can certainly make progress.  Step by step we will be successful!

Let’s have fun, get fit, felt great each and everyday you wake up.  The rush and long term effects of working out are so much better than the alternative.  Don’t sit around watching the evening dramas and the afternoon soap operas and talk shows.  Use that time wisely and make it work for you!

One thing i want to do is get back to my video’s. I have slacked quite a bit on them.  So look for something soon!

Contact me with any questions about P90x, Insanity, shakeology or any other BeachBody product. They have a product that can fit any fitness level and nutritional supplement. They all work.

Get fit or Get out!