Don’t mess this up now......

Once upon a time, there was this High School Cross Country team, and every week they would run a race… Every week 50 runners would start, and as the race went on, the stronger ones started to pull ahead, and the weaker ones fell behind. Ben is not the fastest runner on the team, he has never won a race, and most likely never will.

Ben has cerebral palsy..

This is a condition where there is “physical disability in human development” .. or in other words, when Ben would run, his twisted spine, tender muscle, and dragging feet would cause him to fall down (.. then hit the ground hard, then he’d pick himself up to keep going)

To outsiders, people with cerebral palsy can appear to be ‘broken’, and it’s no wonder that Ben would fall behind a LOT during the race. Every race the pack would run so far ahead of him that he’d lose sight of them, and then he would be all alone. No matter how big his mental strength, he would get frustrated and fed up with his condition. Everyone else would finish the race after about 25 minutes, but for Ben it would always take at least 45 minutes…When Ben eventually crosses the finish line, he is exhausted and in extreme pain. But in the end, he did what he set his mind to, and he proved to himself that there is not such thing as a handicap Of course, he is a TOTAL inspiration to all of us.

BUT……... that’s not what I’m writing you about here.

This is not a story of mental toughness, throwing out your excuses, and picking yourself back up after you fall down. Those are great lessons, no doubt, but we don’t need Ben to learn those lessons. There are many others who inspire us just as much, and we can always just watch a Rocky movie if we want. The lesson in this email is much deeper.

Because in every race, after 25 minutes, something amazing happens. When everyone else is done with their race, they all run back….. to run with Ben. Ben is the only runner, who when he falls, has someone to help him back up. And when Ben finishes, he has all the runners behind him. Crossing the line as a team with the same common goal - to get Ben to finish and be part of the team. Now what THIS teaches us, is that when you compete against everyone else, nobody wants to help you.
 
.. but when you compete against YOURSELF, everyone wants to help you.

And there are 2 reasons I’m telling you this:

REASON ONE
We are in the darkest month of Fitness… It’s called December.

In December the average American gains 9 pounds of fat.

Or in other words, in December, the average American gets flabby.

And it’s all because of the first and second WEEKS..
 
The first week of December is when many Americans decide to ‘pause’ their workouts for a month… Then blablabla, come January they want to come back, New Years Resolutions, blabla, broken record, put on some hiphop instead, got a condo ‘round my neck - girl, I’m cashin’ out… 

My lecture to you today is to pay ZERO attention to your surroundings at this very moment, IF.. tight arms, a flat stomach, and lean legs is what you want, then go get it. The time of the year and the people around you have nothing to do with your goals. Just in case you missed that, I’ll say it again, The time of the year and the people around you have nothing to do with your goals. 

If ‘they’ decide to take part in the 'holiday weight gain party' then that’s cool, but not you. It’s so easy to do what everyone else does. It’s easy to rationalize you ‘taking time off’ if all your coworkers do the same. Don’t fall for that. Live in your own world. One where everyone is friendly and knows your name, like Cheers or Lakeside Fitness Center… and you do more than anyone ever would expect of you.

REASON TWO
The second reason I told you this story is because the only person you should ever ‘beat’, is yourself. Never lose sight of that. Stop staring at celebrities or fitness models.. you’re not out to beat them or be like them.. (and getting inspiration from fitness models is like eating tofu or trying to listen to Justin Beiber records, you end up disappointed). If you want inspiration, flex your quads and look at your side profile after a heavy leg workout.

Nothing should ever motivate you more than your OWN results (and the firmness of your butt ladies). What the others do is of no relevance to you, so don’t be inundated by them. For instance, not a day goes by that someone doesn’t ask me: “How do you guys compare to XYZ Gym? Are you better than 24-Hr Fitness? What about P90X?” My answer is that I have no idea… I do not care what or how they do things, and I really mean that, and we are by no means better than our competition on all aspects…. (Just kidding, we actually are, if there was “competition” – after all, here we wear leather jackets and ride Harley Davidsons)

All I know is that the work we’re doing right now is better than it was 6 months ago. And the work we will be doing 6 months from now will be better than the work we’re doing today. So imagine if you, yes you, step it up and today you start working harder towards your goal, how will you be next year? I’ll raise my hand and answer for you, it’s simple, simply be better.. and better.. and better.. and better.. so that whatever comes into your life right now will either have to grow with you or hit the road.

It’s December 10th as I write this – the summer is long gone and summer 2014 will be here soon, so ignore the lazy, get clarity, and follow what you want to achieve. 

Now go workout today.... with intensity!

Know what I mean?
Yours in intensity,
Greg
Lakeside Fitness Center