I’ve been thinking a lot about this… these thoughts are my own opinions, based on life experience and the lives of those who share with me…  I am not a psychologist, just someone who has reflected…

The Cage…

We all live our daily lives, not always taking notice of why we do the things we do, or how we do them.  Life has programmed us to act and react to situations.  The cage is where we live, how we live, without thought, without taking notice.  The cage leaves us with little or no choices.  We just do it that way… unthinking, without question.  For example, I never walk backwards or take the same path to return.  When I hike, I’ll follow the path up the mountain, but somehow, I refuse to take the same path down. Yet, if the path is a loop, I’ll follow it all the way back.  Strange when I stop and think about.  I also try to never jump backwards… in my plyometric workouts for example…  The good in that is that I tend to always want to be moving forward in my life.  Yet, I miss the opportunity to look back, to rethink my steps, to learn from my mistakes.  The bars on my cage are the ones that take away the choice of reviewing and rethinking…

The Box…

When I started taking notice of those bars, when I started questioning my course of actions, when I began looking at trying to change a few things… that’s when my cage became a box… a box implies  a way out, there are no bars.  Yet, a box is still a container that keeps us within our usual rituals.  I can go hiking now, climb the mountain and start making the decision to go back down the same way.  It sounds so silly, really, but at the end of the day, taking notice helps me make different decisions.

The Freedom…

My sense of freedom came when I started making my own decisions, not because of rituals or un-noticed fears, but out of a sense of power.  I can choose to climb up one way, go down the same way or decide to take another way down.  Now that I understand where those fears stemmed from, I can look at every aspect of my life and….

Change my cage into a box by taking notice of why I do things, then, get out of the box by making different decisions for myself…

Life is just one big puzzle… Amaze yourself every day!

I just came home from a work weekend, and fell into the gluttony of bad foods!  I admit it, I did so willingly and happily. I take full responsibility!  However bad, it does add a certain ‘spice’ to life!

Why do we do it? For those of us who actually enjoy eating with health in mind, we tend to make the same meals over and over again, knowing they are in the safe zone.   I fall into that category, and since I don’t have a lot of free time to be creative, well… The consequences are that I usually get bored or tired of eating the same meals!

I decided to make a plan to get back on track and start enjoying my time in the kitchen and my time at the table.

1 – I am going to Chapters and picking up a new cookbook!  I’m tired of looking at the ones I have now, I will put them away for a while and lovingly go back to them later in the year.

2 – I plan to try one new recipe a week.  It will be a keeper if and only if

• The ingredients are easily available
• It doesn’t take nay more than 15 minutes of preparation time
• My taste buds start dancing!

3 – I will build a box of favourites and start planning my weekly menu with newness in mind

4 – I will sit down to eat!  At least at dinner time.  I will make it a point to reconnect with whomever is home for dinner and sit for at least 20 minutes! (that will be my biggest challenge!)

I go through these steps every late summer.  Maybe it’s a cue that the cooler weather is just around the corner.  Meals should be a time to share and socialize, keep your family in mind when choosing a new recipe.

Go ahead, try something new!  Then share it with others.  I invite you to my website www.myoprecision.com for new and exciting ideas.

Amaze yourself every day!

It depends!  What’s your personal commitment level? Are you in for the long haul or are you feeling things out? Are you ready to commit to yourself? Have you done your homework?

Any gym facilities are first and foremost a business!  And it needs to survive.  Of course contracts are the only way to go! That’s how they forecast, how they pay the rest, the staff.. it’s how they can plan for the future.  And.. it’s retail!  Think about it, would you take a position or a job NOT knowing if the paycheque will be there at the end of the week?

For sure, gyms want to the long term contract, it might NOT be in your best interest. NEVER sign for anything longer than a 12 month term!  EVER!

BEFORE you sign the contract I strongly suggest you:

Visit – OFTEN! Visit during dead times of the day, during the busiest times.  Are people waiting in line for service or equipment? Are those busy times when you would typically be there?  Can you work within those parameters knowing you will be waiting?

Explore the classes!  Classes are a great alternative when the equipment room is jammed.  Do you like the class given at that time, what about the trainer at the front of the room? Is the class space well ventilated, is the floor clean? How much room is there to move? Do they limit the participants?

Take a good look at the facility’s personal trainers.  Do they look fit? Are they working or standing around? Do they look happy to be there?  If they are fit, happy and working, chances are this is a happening place!

Experience and challenge (sweetly) the customer service desk.  Are they knowledgeable and helpful? Do they smile?

Mostly, take a real good look at the bathroom and changeroom facilities.  This is by far the BEST way to get a feel for how the owners perceive their facility.  Health is EVERYTHING!!!!

I always suggest to my clients BEFORE they sign on with to go look around at other facilities, other trainers.  Take notice of what they like or don’t like.  I encourage them to ask questions, to try new approaches, then choose what works best for them.  If they still want to work with me, then I know they have done their homework and are ready to sign the contract.

On the topic of the contract,  there should always be a Release Clause.  This might come with a fee, but it might be worth knowing what you would have to do or what you would have to pay to get out of the contract.  Knowledge is everything!

Before you sign off, be sure of yourself, be sure of your commitment, know everything you can possible know about that particular facility and it’s competition… if it feels right, then… by all means, run with it!

Be ready to amaze yourself!

I just became reacquainted with myself.  I had the opportunity to spend some time with myself, in the quiet of the Laurentians.  My pup and I had a wonderful time! 

Recently, I wrote on the positive reinforcement of self talk.  One of my clients challenged me to take notice of when I am NOT ‘in the moment’.  Those times when my body is doing one thing, but my mind is 100 steps ahead.   I have to admit that I do that a lot.  So this weekend, I decided to take her challenge and really try to be in my moment.  It was a journey of self discovery.

On one particular hike, my pup leading the way up the trail to the summit of the mountain, I found myself talking to myself.  

-          what’s ahead, is there another climb?

-          will I be strong enough to run it?

-          Can I locate a stream so the pup can drink?

-          Do I have to take this whole trail down or is there a shortcut?

Then… I stopped!  Literally!  I found myself at the top of a cliff, the vista was fabulous and that’s when it hit me!  My moment!  It didn’t matter whether there was another climb, whether I am strong enough to run it, if there is a stream or the way down… I can only ‘be’ here at this moment! Physically, I am in my body.  My mind can go wherever I choose, but at the end of the  line, my head is attached to my shoulders!  

So I sat for a few minutes, my pup beside me, and realized that to be in the moment, I have to stop.  Taking in the view and the breeze, the idea of being anywhere else was somewhat sad.  So I stayed, relished in the sunshine and decided that this is it!  It’s where I was meant to be in that moment.  I took notice!  Then… I decided to leave the trail, cross country through the woods back to my place and just let every step take care of itself.  No planning ahead, no what ifs… just take the moment as it comes.  We got home safe and sound, hungry, thirsty but well and happy.  

How many of us get ahead of ourselves and forget to live the moment? What if we just stopped and took a deep breath? Would the world stop turning? Would the people we love become ill or just drop off the face of the earth?  All our responsibilities would still be there, all our accomplishments would still be ours and the rest of the world would somehow wait…

Live life on your own terms.  Breathe, take a moment and be ready to amaze yourself.

I had a strange experience the other day… I made it a point to tell my son that I needed help clipping in my gardens. The job seemed too big for me.  My beloved gardens!  I actually expected him to come do it with me, at that moment.  He didn’t! he left to go see his girlfriend…

So I set myself to work, angry and frustrated, feeling sorry for myself that he didn’t think it important enough… When he came home a few hours later, I voiced out on how I felt, on how he just left me there after I had asked for his help.  That’s when he told me the hard truths!

1-     I clearly didn’t need the help as I got the job done on my own!  That one didn’t go over so well, I was still angry and really!!!  Although, the boy did have a point! 

2-     I hadn’t ASKED for help! He actually thought I was just voicing out with no clear intent!  How was he supposed to know that I wanted HIS help in that moment?  He had plans… If I want something, I should just ask!  

That one stopped me in my tracks!!!  I hadn’t asked!! I voiced out, set expectations and then became angry when those expectations weren’t met!

I see now that being heard means being clear with expectations.  It means taking responsibility for our chosen words.  It also means having the courage to ASK!

How many of us live in this pattern of expectations?  How many of us wait for something or for help without clearly letting anyone know what we need?  How many of us are actually shy or unwilling to ask?  It gave me food for thought.  I realized that I was (and I specify WAS) on that pattern myself!  I realize now that communication is MY responsibility to make myself heard clearly. 

Next time I want his help, it will go like this:

“I need YOUR help clipping branches in my garden, would you please come out and help? You have plans?, ok, WHEN can I expect your help?”

Live life on your own terms …. Be ready to amaze yourself!

I was at a  party recently, when I overheard a woman say to a group:

‘It only takes 20 minutes of cardio every morning before breakfast to burn body fat’

Granted, she’s fit, granted, she’s done triathlons, marathons, has done strength training… etc… but she only knows what she knows.  The key is in what she doesn’t know…  As she left the party, many in this group started asking me the question:  True or False?

True – sort of –

Your heart is a muscle.  Its readiest and fastest source of fuel is body fat.  Ok, so for 20 minutes before breakfast, you exercise that muscle, and because you haven’t eaten, it will burn body fat for its fuel.  So this part is true.  However… it will burn body fat for only a very short time, and then, does not continue to burn fat throughout the day.  What’s more, because our engineering system is designed to adapt to the load, you will want to keep increasing the length of time of this run.  As we adapt to the load, our body becomes more efficient and learns to conserve energy to get the job done.

Fasle – really!

Body fat loss is a combination of many components.

1 – Nutrition – 80% of body fat is nutrition.  Eating an interval based, protein rich, low g.i. carbohydrates and healthy fats will make your metabolism rev up high, burning body fat continuously.

2 – A combination of cardio, strength and synergetic training will increase your fitness levels helping you burn body fat all day, every day!

Here’s why..

Cardio – exercising your heart muscle will increase your fitness levels.  The stronger the heart, the stronger the body.

Strength – building lean muscle mass is key to any weight loss goal.  Because muscle needs continuous fuel to repair, to be active, and to stay healthy, it will go directly to the body fat sources to fuel.  In essence, the fitter the muscle, the higher your body fat burn.

Synergetic Training – your body is designed to work in one component.  In other words, in life, we do not isolate muscle to function.  Think of picking up something off the floor… what moves? Do we stop and think to: 1 – use my hammies and quads, lumbar spine, to bend over?  No!  we just do it!  This type of training helps us stay injury free, strong and agile.  This is where the body fat actually burns the highest!  It involves, cardio and strength in a single component. 

If you are thinking of undertaking a program to lean out, lose weight and be healthy, I strongly suggest you go right to the source, ask a trainer to help you build a program that works for you.  Taking advice from someone who isn’t an expert in the field can hinder your goal.

Live life on your own terms and be ready to amaze yourself!

I’ve noticed that some of my partner training clients are starting to compete with each other.  I’ve had to think about this.  The last thing I want is for my partners to feel pressure… on the other hand, a little competition can go a long way in helping us reach beyond ourselves.

I’ve tried to find a way to lessen the pressure, reminding them that it’s about us as individuals, that our goals need to be reached at our own individual pace.  I tried to explain that our individual performances are what we measure, not the measure of the room… nothing!  The competition continues regardless…

This week, I decided to not interfere with their competition, I decided to let it ride itself out, see where it goes.  I can’t micromanage people’s feelings the way I can a gym floor.  It turns out, they are having more fun competing than they were just working on themselves!  The pressure is a positive one!  They actually laugh out loud more, they sweat more and they outdo themselves more… so… the question remains…

When is competition a bad thing?

Competition becomes a bad thing when we let it destroy our accomplishments.  When we measure our successes with others, we will always find some way of falling short.. if… we let it!  If we keep falling short, if we never seem to be at the top, competition can be destructive.

Friendly competition is a great thing!  It can push us to new heights.. if.. we keep tabs on the greatness of what we are doing.  Keeping it positive is about keeping hope that maybe next time, you’ll come in on top!

The secret to managing this with others is to choose with whom we compete.  In other words, having a mentor or looking to others to set the bar is working towards achieving a goal.  However, competing with a mentor might become destructive as we stop learning to try to outdo.

Live life on your own terms, be ready to amaze yourself.

There’s always a way!  As a matter of fact, there are many different ways… the road you choose to get somewhere doesn’t always need a roadmap… sometime, it’s just about putting your best foot forward, then the other, then just going with the flow until you find your rhythm… the path becomes clearer as you trot along…

Weightloss and fitness are no different.  We are told by trainers on tv, by nutritionists and dieticians that there is only one way to be healthy.  Eat less and exercise.  Well, there some truth to that. But it is also a fallacy to think that it’s the only way to go!  In my opinion, we also have to look at the way we lead our life.  For example, a high stress life actually slows down the weight loss process.  An unbalanced nutrition is also counter productive to weight loss.  It’s not always that we are eating too much, it may be that we are eating too much of one thing (even if it’s a good thing!)… A life without laughter is one that ‘weighs’ us down, lifting the cortisole levels that slow down weight loss.  A life that is full of regret, or guilt… a life that doesn’t include help from those who surround us… it all adds up…

In order to get through a healthy weight loss program, it takes balance.  Yes, we need to exercise, yes, we need to take notice of what goes into our mouth… also.. it takes a complete look at how we live, how we work, how we play (if at all…)… sometimes… it’s about letting go of the bad stuff, it’s about looking forward and just putting one foot forward.  Small steps have a stronger footing, building a foundation of health that is sustainable and manageable.

Live life on your own terms, take a step, feel the movement and just go with it.  Be ready to amaze yourself…