We here at Rhino Fitness are experts in fitness, We each have certifications and lots of education and experience to back them up. We spend a lot of our free time researching new techniques, new methods and staying on top of the latest trends in health and fitness. It's our lives. Sum it up: we know what we are doing. When a prospective client comes in and tells us that they have this or that particular reason for not exercising, we know exactly what to tell them. We know all of the ways to get them through any issue with exercise. There is, after all, no excuse for not exercising.

I say all of this, not to toot our own horns, but to let you know something. All of a sudden, the Nike is on the other foot. Since committing myself to compete next year, I find that I am sitting on the other side of the table and I am experiencing all of the things that our clients and prospective clients go through on a daily basis.

I'm talking about everything from nutritional woes to lack of motivation. I now understand what our clients are feeling when we tell them we need a "before" picture of them. I now feel the pain they feel when I ask them to step on the scale or wrap their fingers around the body composition machine. There's some kind of cold reality that hits you when you see those numbers. No matter how low they may be, they never seem to be good enough. And it's painful. I know.

Taking my shirt off and having a picture taken is akin to getting slapped in the face. I don't even want to look at the picture. Just take it and hide it away somewhere. I'll look at it later, when I am in better shape. It really hurts.

I know what it feels like when I know that I need a particular supplement or gadget, or new exercise accessory but the price tag is staring me in the face as if to say, "You can't afford to get into shape!" There seems to always be a reason why I shouldn't spend the money right now.

And then there's the motivation. I know it's only my second week, but it seems like things just are not happening quickly enough. I look in the mirror and say to myself, "I don't look a whole lot different than when I started. Why is the fat not just melting off?" I want to do more to make it happen more quickly, but at the same time, I feel like I have to drag myself to the treadmill each time to get in the necessary cardio workout.

But it finally hit me. I am a client. For the first time in more years than I care to remember, I am being trained. I am no longer exercising or working out, I am training. I have a particular goal and end result in mind, and I am seriously working toward that. And, along the way, I am coming face-to-face with all of the obstacles that I hear my clients talk about. There they are, those larger-than-life hurdles, mocking me. Telling me I'm too old. I lack the willpower. It's too expensive. I'm way too out of shape to ever expect to get there.

But you know what? For the first time, I hear myself and the rest of the staff speaking in my ear and quietly reassuring me that this CAN be done. I hear things like, "Keep your focus on the goal. Don't let little things or (big things) discourage you. You CAN do this!" "Be patient and keep working hard. It'll happen. How bad do you want it?"

So, I guess I may be apologizing if I have ever given anyone the impression that I think weight loss and fitness is easy. It really isn't. I want to tell you that I feel your pain, your frustration and your discouragement. And I want to tell you that I am right there with you, literally every step of the way.

And, I want to tell you that I need your encouragement, motivation and support as well. This is not easy for either of us, but we can get through it if we are there for each other.

Deal?

I never had trouble building muscle. It was always easy for me to pack on the lean pounds whenever I decided I needed to. It’s not that I’m bragging, it’s just a fact. I’m one of the lucky few who can gain muscular weight pretty easily.  When I was in my late teens and early twenties, I could gain an inch on my biceps by just growling at the barbell. Seriously. For a young , aspiring bodybuilder, it was very motivating.

Others are not so fortunate. I have a friend who was a competitive bodybuilder also and his chief complaint was that he couldn’t gain a lot of muscular bodyweight. However, he had really low body fat. Naturally. He never had to work too hard to keep his body fat low. As a result, he looked awesome when he competed. I know plenty of people who wish they had this problem. Including myself. You see, though I could build muscle by thinking about it, I had to work really, REALLY hard to keep the fat off.

My point to all of this is that each of us is our own person. We each possess different attributes. Some of us gain weight easily, some of us can’t gain it fast enough. Some of us have no trouble sticking to a healthy nutritious food plan, some of us can’t pass a junk food place without stopping in. There are the beautiful bodies you see on television, and then there’s reality.

Where do you fit in? I’m asking this question, not to antagonize you about your physical condition, but to help you appreciate who you are. You see, not everyone was meant to look like a celebrity, with a perfect body and flawless skin. The great majority of us live every day looking at our flaws in the mirror. And I am here to tell you that it is just fine. That’s right. It’s ok to be who you are. I’m not saying you shouldn’t try to improve your body and your health, I’m just saying you need to be realistic about what you are trying to achieve. If you are happy and feel fine once you reach a size 8 dress, then what’s wrong with that? If you are comfortable at a size 2, then that’s fine for you. Do you see what I am trying to say? I want you to be in the best health possible, but I don’t want you to try to reach for some goal that is unrealistic and unhealthy. As my wife and I say a lot, we were not all meant to be Barbie Dolls. Who would want to anyway? (Must be hard for her to walk with those tiny feet and those huge…umm…eyes.)

I believe we need to strive to strike that balance in our lives and ourselves where we can realistically live.

Stand up and look in the mirror. Think back to when you felt the healthiest. If that was too long ago, then decide for yourself where you would be happy. If you really want to go for the figure competitor body and truly believe that you can, then by all means, go for it. But if you would truly be happy and feel comfortable and healthy at 20% body fat, then that is what you should shoot for. If you need some help deciding what is healthy and realistic for you, give me a call and let’s see if we can figure it out.

I heard Popeye say it more than once, "I yam what I yam." Good enough for me.

Have you ever had one of those? Last week was a long, tough week, especially considering it was one day short because of the holiday. So what was the deal?

There really was nothing outstanding or spectacular about any day last week, just pretty much business as usual. I mean, I didn't get any earth-shattering news, or experience any horrible events. Just the same as any other week. But for some reason, by the time Thursday came around, I was ready to cash it in and go to bed for the rest of the week.

Today I woke up ready to go and take on the world. Completely different attitude from last week, so I got to thinking about this whole thing, and I think I figured it out (The clue is in this sentence). It was my attitude.

Last week, I entered the week on Tuesday thinking to myself, “Whoopee! Short week! Let’s get this over with and get on with the weekend! Hey, we’re almost there!” Then Wednesday hit, and with it, the reality that this week was not a whole lot shorter than any other. Besides, every day of this week, even if there was one less, demanded every bit of attention as usual. It was a kick in the face and I didn’t take it well. So my attitude went downhill from there, and I didn’t even realize it.

Well, that sucks. Yes it did. It really sucked. And I let it get to me. I think it was Stephen Covey who said, “10% of life is made up of what happens to you. 90% of life is decided by how you react.” Nothing could have proved that to be more true than last week. Basically it came down to this, last week sucked because I let it suck.

We can’t control the traffic on the freeway. We have no control over how many red lights we will hit on the way to work. We can’t keep the clown from cutting us off and then slowing down. Things like this happen. We have no way of controlling what happens to us. We do, however, have control over how we react to these things. And unfortunately, things like this have a way of snowballing.

You hit red lights all the way to your appointment. You decide to speed things up a little to make up for the lost time. You get stopped by a cop and get a ticket. Now, you’re even more late. You get to your appointment really late and your head is spinning. You can’t find your presentation in your briefcase. When you finally find it, you notice that the entire board room is staring at you in shock because of the way you thrashed through your briefcase, not to mention the “blankety-blanks” you muttered almost under your breath. So the presentation doesn’t go very well and you head back to your office. Your boss finds out about the failed presentation and bites your head off. Then you go home and take it all out on your kids and spouse. What a day! Sound familiar? And all because you hit all those read lights. Or was it?

Was it the series of red lights, or the way you let it get to you? Think about it, had you not let it get to you and added that dash of speed to your drive, you wouldn’t have gotten the ticket, you wouldn’t have been so late, you would have been in a better mood to find your presentation and it probably would have gone a whole lot better. See? Did you HAVE a lousy day or did you GIVE yourself a lousy day? Think about it.

I have re-evaluated my attitude and made this decision: I WILL have a great day, because I am in control of that. I realize that I cannot control circumstances, but I can and will control my reaction to those circumstances.

How about you?

Man, I really didn't feel like hitting the iron today. I woke up with a headache, the gym was stressing me out and I just couldn't seem to wake up. People aren't returning my phone calls, and the really important email response I have been waiting for, still has not arrived. REALLY BAD TIMING. And today was deadlifts. Everything in my head was telling me to just lay off today. And I seriously considered it....for about 2 minutes.

And then, I mixed up my pre-workout drink and sucked it down. At that point, I was committed. Those of you who do pre's know that once the drink is down, you've got between 45 minutes and an hour to get to the weights. If you don't, nothing disastrous will happen, but you've just wasted a good chunk of change and a perfectly good pump. So, once you do the pre, you're committed. And I was. Of course, my cerebrum kept reminding me how tired I was and how much my head was TH-ROBBING!! But, I ignored it and at the proper time, grabbed a bar full of steel and deftly pulled it from the floor like a good boy.

My point is simply this: your brain and your body (along with your "best" friends and family members) will come up will all kinds of reasons as to why you shouldn't exercise. Let's face it, working out is not really that enjoyable, if you're doing it right. Unless of course, you're some kinda weird pain-loving freak, but we won't talk about that. Your body doesn't like pain. It will do everything it can to avoid pain. It likes pleasure much better. When faced with the choice of impending pain versus camping your butt in a nice chair and surfing the net, the body and brain will find the exact thing to tempt you into staying away from those nasty weights. Don't let that happen.

I wish I could tell you that after 30 plus years in the iron game, I would be able to tell the difference between brain games and actual pain, but I honestly can't say that. I get fooled just as well as anyone. And it sucks, because after you have decided not to work out, you suddenly realize that it was all just a ruse.

But today, I wasn't about to be fooled. And it turned out to be a pretty good workout afterall. No records were broken, nothing spectacular happened, but it truly was better than being a big wimp and not working out.

What I want to tell you is that you are going to have to do your best to discern between genuine pain / fatigue and laziness. One word we do not allow in our gym is "can't." My clients all know that I don't allow anyone to say they "can't." It is probably more like "won't," or "don't want to." And that can be overcome. So, get out of the habit of convincing yourself that you can't. And your mind is so powerful that it works in the opposite direction also. Try convincing yourself that you CAN and watch what happens. YOU are in control of your toughts. Keep them positive and you'll be surprised just how good you'll feel.

Now, let me ask you again, "Do you feel like it?"

The holidays are over and long since gone. Eggnog, ham and luscious desserts are just a memory now. But the results have lingered on. You decide you need to do something. You need to kick the fitness routine into high gear start getting ready for summer. Your choice? Boot Camp! Yes! Everyone is doing it, it must be fun. You think you'll give it a shot. Heck, the mom next door is doing it, how tough can it be?

Let me warn you. Any fitness boot camp worth the entry fee is going to be tough. Like the training from which it borrows its name, boot camps are not for the faint-hearted. If you haven’t exercised in awhile, or never exercised, you may want to go through a short preparatory program before entertaining the idea of subjecting yourself to the rigorous routines that are usually found in boot camps.

That said, let me also say that if you are ready, there is nothing quite like a fitness boot camp to jump-start your motivation to get into shape. If you are fully prepared, the boot camp may be just what the doctor ordered.

And you can survive. Here’s how.

1. Join with a friend. Misery loves company. But more so, if you have someone to go with, you are more likely not to miss a session and you will be able to motivate each other.

2. Stay hydrated. Keep a bottle (or two) of water with you at all times and use it. You are going to need it, and if you get dehydrated, your performance and your health may suffer.

3. Push yourself. When the instructor demonstrates an exercise with differing levels, push yourself to the one just a little more difficult than the level at which you would feel comfortable. Of course, if it’s too tough, or you feel dizzy, lightheaded or short of breath, back off or stop.

4. Change the way you eat. You will be burning a lot more calories than your body is used to, and this is good for weight loss, but you must also fuel your body to be able to endure the rigors of the boot camp. Ask your trainer how you should be eating for the duration of the program.

5. Continue training. After you have completed the boot camp and gotten your little certificate or whatever, it’s not over. You will need to continue training at or near this level in order to maintain your condition. In addition to your regularly scheduled workouts, you may want to give yourself two or three days a week of intensive boot camp style exercise. And the good thing is that most of the exercises you learned in boot camp can be done on your own almost anywhere, so you probably won’t need to sign up for another boot camp just to accomplish this.

There you have it. You are now ready to join the ranks of the elite boot campers. Prepare well, train smart and you will survive. See you on the other side.