December 15, 2011 Suzie

Swimming is a fantastic form of exercise that sometimes gets overlooked as a way to workout.

As a child I was known as the water baby, then as I got older I got ‘too cool’ for proper swimming.  Over the past few years though every summer i’d get out the goggles and take myself down to the local pools and try get my groove back.

I’ve just recently started swimming again on a regular basis and I tell you it’s quite addictive. There’s something about it that just keeps bringing you back. Is it the cooling affect on the body? The way my body gets a workout without having to use heavy weights or impact? Or maybe it’s the almost meditative state I get in as I stare at the black line leading me to the end of the pool. “1,2,3, aaaahhhhppp” (that’s my breathing noise) when I follow this rhythm and just focus on what I am doing it is incredibly calming. I forget about the list of things I have to do that day or whatever random thoughts are swimming through my mind.

Here are just some of the many health benefits of swimming

  • Swimming is a great workout because you need to move your whole body against the resistance of the water
  •  Keeps your heart rate up (depending on how fast you’re going)
  •  Builds endurance, muscle strength and cardiovascular fitness
  •  Helps maintain a healthy weight, healthy heart and lungs (It is believed to help asthma sufferers – I am one and I love swimming)
  •  Tones muscles and builds strength (ok it’s not quite a weights workout, but it definitely helps!)
  •  Provides an all-over body workout, as nearly all of your muscles are used during swimming.
  •  Being a relaxing and peaceful form of exercise
  •  Alleviating stress
  •  Improving coordination, balance and posture
  •  Improving flexibility
  •  Providing good low-impact therapy for some injuries and conditions
  •  Providing a pleasant way to cool down on a hot day

With a list like that don’t you just want to get your swimming costume on, grab your goggles and just dive right in to your closest pool?!

Things you must know

  • If you’re not a confident swimmer I would definitely recommend you invest in a few swimming lessons. There is no shame is getting some help, it will improve your form and may save your life.
  • I recommend purchasing a good quality swimming costume, one that is designed for lap training. This way it will keep its shape, colours and is chlorine resistant. It’s an investment. That goes for goggles too. Invest in a good pair and they will last you a long time!

Whenever clients ask me whether swimming is good for them or not I always give two very enthusiastic thumbs up. You just can’t go wrong. Keep in mind swimming is like any exercise, the harder you work the better the benefits. Floating around in a pool is lovely and relaxing but won’t do much for your fitness levels or physique.

I say the only downside of the whole thing is smelling like chlorine and having strawlike hair until you wash it. Well you’re going to shower anyway I say so no downsides!

To find out the closest swimming pool, go to your local councils website. For private pools and leisure centres do a search through google to find the closest one to you.

December 8, 2011 Suzie

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1hqHo6lyUU&feature=share

I have to say I find this news clip very interesting. I have always liked the fact that in Japan they force workers to stop what they’re doing and exercise. I just love it, it may be wrong, it may be taking away people’s rights, their freedom etc. But I have to say I love the idea.

I’ve come in contact with so many office workers through my corporate training groups and they all have one thing in common. That one thing is a complaint, or excuse rather, they don’t have enough time for their health or fitness. I understand how that happens, unless you have solid committment to training and your health it can slip down the priority list when things get busy. I find it so sad that we (Australia) have allowed our people to get this way (overworked and obese).

In the news report it showed a lunch room which only serves traditional Japanese cuisine which is low in calories. It has been the introduction of Western food that has seen their waistlines increase.

Whilst i’m not sure how I feel about the fines involved, I do like the idea of incorporating health awareness and exercise into the working day. With so many benefits to the company for having healthy staff (less sick days/injuries/stress)  it makes sense for a company to invest in the health of it’s workers.

What do you think about this? Absurd or a good idea? Would something like this ever work in Australia?

 

December 6, 2011 Suzie

I was talking with a friend the other day about weight loss  and new challenges. This friend has just recently had a baby and she is determined to get her pre-baby body back. Unfortunately her exercise has to wait a little bit longer as she had a c-section, but she has already slowly started the ball rolling by increasing her physical activity and concentrating on her nutrition.

I shared with her that  for me personally I havent weighed myself in quite a while, sure I would like to lose a few kilos but I think most women do. The most important thing for me at the moment is getting my fitness levels in peak condition and enjoying being able to whatever I want to with ease and without flaring my old injury.

“No no I plan to use the scales a lot” my friend said.”When so and so lost all her weight I liked what she did, she weighed herself everyday and she used this to monitor herself. If she was heavier then she would cut back on what foods she was eating”

I trained a common friend of ours and she lost quite a bit of weight, she did it slowly and made a way for it to fit into her lifestyle (aka two young children).

Now i’m quite torn on the topic of whether you should weigh yourself everyday or not. My Personal Trainer hat knows that body weight fluctuates daily and this is natural. It has also seen the detrimental affects of clients who get fenatical about numbers on the scale to the point of disappointment and despair when really they could just be retaining fluid.

Changes in weight can be based on numerous factors including hydration (loss or gain of water weight) and contents of your digestive system (how recent the last meal and bowel movements were).

To get accurate weigh-ins, consistency is key. Always do your best to duplicate the weigh in conditions every time: Fed or fasted, clothed or not clothed, bladder empty or full, pre or post workout, morning or evening, high carb or low carb day, amount of fluids ingested, diuretic substances consumed, etc. If you control for all these factors, you’ll get more accurate weight and body composition data.

I think it is quite possible to get obsessed with the scales and focusing solely on those pesky numbers that sometimes never seem to budge.  The thing is sometimes you work so hard, yet you don’t see any difference on the scales, you get so depressed that you go eat some junk food and give up. However when you see a difference you get so happy and motivated that you continue.

On the other hand, I do believe that checking your weight is a form of self monitoring and maintenance. Whenever I want to lose weight I make sure I not only go by my clothes but I weight myself weekly as a check in. In these circumstances where you are in the right head space it can be quite useful for weight control.

It reminds me of a superbly interesting yet quite out there book called the 4 hour body (Tim Ferriss author of the 4 hour work week, I will go into more detail about 4 hour body in another post). One of his case studies included a man who monitored his weight every day, he altered his diet if he had put on weight and each day he set himself a target of what weight he wanted to be. For scientific purposes (or so he said) he did not include one bit of exercise. Now I don’t actually think that’s healthy at all and I can only imagine what his body composition would have been like, but for him it worked. He graphed all his results and documented everything, you could see on his graph the weight going down. I told you, out there.

So from a self-monitoring and discipline  for weight control point of view I think scales are useful. However if you are the type to get obsessive and let the numbers control you, then I suggest you stay away, use measurements or a tight fitting outfit as an alternative.

November 28, 2011 Suzie

Feelin hot hot hot!

Summer is fast approaching (few days to be exact!) and that usually means people freaking out as they put on their summer clothes only to find they don’t quite fit the way they used to. Summer is the perfect time to get outside and give your training a kick start, however the heat and humidity can really affect your body.

I want you to think about your body like a car, your car can overheat and so can we!

So if  you are training outside, be smart and don’t let pride get in the way. There is no prize for pushing your body in very hot and humid conditions. Keep training by all means but I advise that in these conditions you make some adjustments to your usual regime so you can enjoy the health benefits and not be affected.

Hydration

To ensure you stay hydrated, you need to listen to your body. The standard “8 glasses a day” unfortunately just doesn’t cut it, 8 glasses isn’t much to someone who has done a lot of exercise. Water is needed to keep all your systems functioning properly, the water needed for a petite person is quite different to that of a larger person.  Generally, hydration is considered to be when your urine is clear and you have a full bladder every two to three hours. To make sure you are well hydrated the best time to drink fluids is actually the day before you plan to exercise, this ensures you are hydrated for when you start. When you are exercising generally you want to drink 250mls per 15 minutes above 60 minutes of medium to high intensity training. Post exercise is again, an important time to hydrate if you are exercising for over 60 minutes you should consider having an electrolyte drink. ALWAYS make sure you have water available to you during training, it can sometimes get in the way but a waterbottle is a necessity for training in the heat.

(I advise using an electrolyte drink such as powerade or gatorade after completing intense exercise or endurance i.e marathon, where it is essential to get your hydration levels up. See my article on too much water to explain why you need to get your electrolytes in balance first. If you are just going for a walk you do not need one, water is sufficient)

Timing – beat the heat

When training in summer try training in the cooler times of the day – i.e morning or afternoon/evening. If you do like to get out and run or exercise during your lunch break, why not switch your exercise for low intensity or cooler options such as swimming, yoga or indoor strength training, even finding a shady spot in the park. Be sensible and plan ahead.

Intensity – don’t let your car overheat

If you choose to exercise during the heat, make sure you have an action plan in place that will make sure you don’t over do it. If you feel yourself over heating – drop your intensity down a bit to allow yourself to cool down. For example, increase your rest periods during interval training, pick flat courses if you are cycling or running and forget the hills.

Protect yourself – slip slop slap

Purchase some light coloured,  breathable, loose fitting exercise gear this will allow your moisture to pass through and be evaporated – which keeps you cooler! Always, wear a hat, sunglasses that protect against UVA and UVB and ALWAYS wear waterproof sunscreen (I keep a bottle in my car for any client whose forgotten!). If you are a cyclist ensure your helmet allows airflow through it to cool the scalp.

 

Always choose the shady, softer cooler setting

Try to find naturally cooler surfaces to exercise on. Grass, sand, even white concrete footpaths are better than the road. In a park always try to exercise in the shade if possible, you can complete a pretty challenging circuit using not much space at all – think outside the box!)

 

Forget unrealistic expectations

Training in a cool or climate controlled environment is nothing like training in hot humid conditions. So as a result your performance may suffer. Don’t let this upset you, it’s normal. Trust me, my last fun run was in hot humid conditions, all I cared about was getting to the nearsest water station and saturating myself in O2. My time sucked, I felt slower than ever, but as slowly made my way through I felt better than the people lying on the street vomiting or being carried away from heat exhaustion – it’s just not worth it! If you push yourself to reach previous results you are at risk of overheating. Overheating can result in nausea/vomiting, dizziness, fainting, headaches, heatstrokes etc.

 

Most importantly, listen to your body – if you start to get muscle cramps, headaches, nausea STOP training find shade and start to drink some fluids. If you are exercising under someone elses instructions (i.e PT or group instructor) make sure you put your health first, you don’t need to impress. Professionaly as a PT I care about the welfare of my clients, it’s not about being soft it’s about looking after the health of people who have laid their trust in me.

Be smart and stay cool.

 

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November 24, 2011 Suzie

This article is not intended to give you an excuse not to drink water or to scare you. It’s a topic which I thought was interesting and at an early age thought not possible. Let’s explore.

Is it possible to drink too much water? Ok it’s time to get sciencey!

I still get shocked by the lack of water some of my clients drink. In fact its usually the first thing I get them to improve. I was telling a new client the other day about the imporatance of drinking water and it got me thinking of a question I had about water when I was a teenager.

In high school I remember asking my PDHPE teacher if it was possible to drink too much water. I had heard somewhere that you could and that it lead to some pretty serious problems. “No no no” he said as he shook his head dismissively “you can’t drink too much water”. Well i’m sorry Mr blank but I have to disagree with you.

Drink plenty of fluids, lots more water, keep your hydration up, more more more…
You’ve probably heard one of these sayings before. We know as a fact that water is essential to the functioning of your body. But have you ever wondered if it’s possible to drink too much water. Here’s what you need to know:

Can You Really Drink Too Much Water?

Yes. Drinking too much water can lead to a condition known as water intoxication and to hyponatremia which is a related problem resulting from the dilution of sodium in the body. Water intoxication is most commonly seen in infants under six months of age and sometimes in athletes. A baby can get water intoxication as a result of drinking several bottles of water a day or from drinking infant formula that has been diluted too much. Athletes sweat heavily, losing both water and electrolytes. Water intoxication and hyponatremia result when a dehydrated person drinks too much water without the accompanying electrolytes.

What is Water Intoxication?

When too much water enters the body’s cells, the tissues swell with the excess fluid. Your cells maintain a specific concentration gradient, so excess water outside the cells (the serum) draws sodium from within the cells out into the serum in an attempt to re-establish the necessary concentration. As more water accumulates, the serum sodium concentration drops — a condition known as hyponatremia. The other way cells try to regain the electrolyte balance is for water outside the cells to rush into the cells via osmosis. The movement of water across a semipermeable membrane from higher to lower concentration is called osmosis. Although electrolytes are more concentrated inside the cells than outside, the water outside the cells is ‘more concentrated’ or ‘less dilute’ since it contains fewer electrolytes. Both electrolytes and water move across the cell membrane in an effort to balance concentration. So in theory cells could swell to the point of bursting!

From the cell’s point of view, water intoxication produces the same effects as would result from drowning in fresh water. Electrolyte imbalance and tissue swelling can cause an irregular heartbeat, allow fluid to enter the lungs, and may cause fluttering eyelids. Swelling puts pressure on the brain and nerves, which can cause behaviours resembling alcohol intoxication. Swelling of brain tissues can cause seizures, coma and ultimately death unless water intake is restricted and a hypertonic saline (salt) solution is administered. If treatment is given before tissue swelling causes too much cellular damage, then a complete recovery can be expected within a few days.

It’s Not How Much You Drink, It’s How Fast You Drink It!

The kidneys of a healthy adult can process15 litres of water a day! You are unlikely to suffer from water intoxication, even if you drink a lot of water, as long as you drink over time as opposed to drinking an enormous amount at one time. To calculate the amount of water your body needs take your weight and multiply it by 0.33 and this will give the amount that is suitable for you and your body. For example a petite woman’s amount would be significantly different to a stocky male standing 6 foot 6!

Keep in mind you need more water if the weather is very warm or very dry, if you are exercising, or if you are taking certain medications. The bottom line is this: yes it is possible to drink too much water, but water intoxication is a very uncommon condition. So no more excuses, go fill up your glass. Water is VITAL to the healthy functioning of your body and it’s systems.

p.s coffee, tea, juice and all other fluids do not count as your water intake!!!

 

If you think someone else might find this interesting – share the love people by sharing this article using the share links below! 🙂

 

(photo courtesy of eftrends)

November 17, 2011 Suzie

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnGCyeZQ_OY

Ok this isn’t an advertorial, i’m not posting the above video supporting the insurance company. However I do like the ad and it struck a chord with me. It got me thinking, not just about myself but those important people in my life.

Have you ever felt so detached from healthy that you don’t remember what it looked or felt like?

I’ve had clients come to me in tears ashamed of the way they have ‘let themselves go’. They tell me stories of their glory days when they wore that amazing outfit or competed in that sports event or could climb the stairs with ease. How do we allow ourselves to slip so far from good health?

On the other hand some clients don’t know what the best version of themselves is, they’ve never had it. Maybe they have always had a bad diet, never exercised and are  just used to being unhealthy. They truly have no idea what they are missing out on.

Some people are unfortunate to have illness struck upon them. When you are seriously ill health quickly becomes the number one priority in your life. You would give anything to be healthy again. You truly appreciate what good health is.

If we can stop and have a think about where health sits on our priority list we can alter our future. Like the ad suggests you can find the healthier version of you and enjoy it.

 

November 11, 2011 Suzie

This is just a quick post to increase awareness of the dangers of shopping whilst hungry.

This is shameful but I am going to share my story…

On Wednesday I had  a big day. Full on, outside running around instructing and just generally being stinking hot and sweaty thanks to the hot humid weather. I had prepared myself for the day, or so I thought.

Hat, sunglasses and sunscreen – check

Lots of water – check

Food – check… sort of. I had my food prepared but wasn’t counting on my eggs failing. The night before I boiled some eggs to keep me going for the day. I was on a break getting ready to instruct my back to back ABT classes and was looking forward to eating my eggs. I was wondering why I couldn’t break the shell by rolling, I added some more pressure and SPLAT!!! apparently I didn’t cook my eggs for long enough…

At the very least I have to say I was devastated at the loss of my eggs.  I knew my carrot wouldn’t quite cut it, I needed protein.

At the completion of the classes I drove home and needed to get milk on the way. Bad idea. I should not have stopped I should have driven all the way home and made myself something to eat. Anyway inside the supermarket I went, I got the vegetables I needed for dinner, the milk and then it hit me. I saw the two for one special on tim tams and mint slices. I had to have them, I never buy biscuits but I had to have them. Next up I walked past the chips aisle and bought a packet of chips, the thought of munching down on a handful of potato crisps seemed like the best idea i’ve ever had. As my stomach growled some more I walked past the  drinking chocolate and remembered I’d had one once and liked the brand, into my basket it went.

I felt pretty embarrassed going through the check out, especially since I was wearing my Reve tshirt… yep women’s health was all me right at that point! As soon as I got into the car I ripped into one of the bananas I had bought. It was the most beautiful banana I had ever had, It tasted perfect and completely hit my hunger spot. At a red light I looked at my shopping bags and was wondering why I went crazy when all I had to do was eat a banana. Well when your hungry these things don’t really make sense to you.

I got home made a protein based salad and was fine. I felt silly, I broke the most common rule when it comes to grocery shopping – never go when you’re hungry. ALWAYS stick to the list, I got everything on my list and then some.

I can only describe the feeling I had at the shops as crazed. I put things into my basket without any hesitation, if it was salty or sweet I wanted it.

I’ve come to the conclusion that it was all the eggs fault.

 

 

(image courtesy of frugal & thriving)

November 7, 2011 Suzie

I’m not one to get preachy but at this time of year it’s time to think about others.

I know it’s not Christmas time yet, but it is fast approaching and will done and dusted before we know it! It’s a time of year to show others you care and lend a helping hand.

Recently I organised a charity drive at the gym for The Salvation Army. The Salvos work on numerous projects, supporting not only our local community by also nation wide.

The charity drive offered a free personal training session in exchange for a donation of good quality second hand clothing. I was so pleased by the generosity of people. Over a few weeks we collected over 60 bags (to be quite honest there was more but as you can see in the photo counting proved tricky!) I would like to thank those who donated, thank you so much for getting involved.

I ask that before we get all caught up in the silly season and get involved in ourselves and our busy festivities that we take a moment to think of others. There are so many ways you can get involved.

Donations – both monetary and material i.e clothes, food, furniture. Your unwanted items may help someone else out majorily. Go take a look in your closet… do you REALLY need everything that’s in there?

Volunteer –  If you have the time and ability find out where you can help out.

Sometimes helping others can require effort and time. But just imagine how a bit of inconvenience on your part can bring a whole lot of joy to someone else.

For some inspiration I have posted a few links below to get you thinking.

The Smith Family – The Christmas appeal has begun. Children are in need of clothes and books.

MS Australia  – are you any good at gift wrapping? Then why not lend a hand 🙂

Mission Australia – why not celebrate christmas in the park?!

Wesley Mission – There are LOADS of opportunities to volunter whatever your skillset 🙂

Starlight Foundation – Bring some cheer to seriously ill children and their families

 

There are so many well deserving charities and foundations out there who do tremendous work. Get researching!  It doesn’t take much to get involved, you will be helping others and feel brilliant in return. Share the love!

 

Pass on the good vibes and share this article using the buttons below. Awareness is at the touch of a button!

November 3, 2011 Suzie

Look into my eyes baby, what do you see…?
…an iron deficiency, weak kidneys and a potential hormone problem…

Getting a health check up does not have to be scary and painful…forget the needles and poking and prodding, these days its as easy as opening your eyes.

Iridology is the analysis of patterns and structures in the Iris of the eye, showing areas of inflammation throughout the body. The iris contains hundreds of thousands of nerve endings which are connected to every tissue of the body. It is believed that changing patterns and markings in the iris can reveal emerging conditions in every part of the body and to identify weaknesses or deficiencies that may lead to physical and emotional disorders.
The eyes are not only the window to our souls, but also a map to our bodies.

Iridology has been unofficially practised as long as history has been recorded. It has been found  in ancient India, Greece, Egypt and China where doctors and priests made health diagnosis based on the condition of the iris. In the late 1800’s a young Hungarian boy, Ignatz Von Peczely, caught an owl in his garden. He accidentally broke its leg during the struggle and noticed  a clear black line rising in the owls iris. He kept the bird until it recovered and observed the line change colour yet again. He later became a physician and became certain through his patient observations that there was a reflex relationship between tissue changes in the body and iris markings.

Von Peczely developed the first eye map. The map divides the eye into sections, using the image of a clock face as a base. For example if you wanted to know the condition of a person’s thyroid gland, you can do so without feeling for an enlarged  gland. All you have to do is look in the iris of the right eye at about 2:30 and the iris of the left eye at 9:30. flecks, streaks, discolouration in those parts of the eyes are what you need to focus on, for the condition of that particular part of the body.

An iridologist can examine you with only an eye map, a magnifying glass, and a flashlight. An iridology examination is safe, non-invasive, and painless; is this too good to be true?
Although iridology is a reliable source of obtaining information about the condition your body and its organs are in, it is not a treatment. It simply helps people understand their weaknesses so they may strengthen and cleanse their bodies to achieve the best health possible. It will not show or name a specific disease, however based on the condition of the body tissues it can indicate tendencies of a disease before symptoms even appear.

Gemma recently went to a naturopath to achieve a greater understanding of her body and the state of her health.
“I went to see a naturopath for pre-conception care, and she also had a number of other qualifications including a degree and iridology and natural fertility.  I went for a 3hr consultation initially which involved looking at my diet, stressors, life experiences etc, family history and health, so she got to build a profile of me to help me with the herbs etc I needed to recover from the Implanon contraceptive implant that I had in my arm.  She was really good and spent so much time exploring every aspect of my life, which I found really helpful.  I picked her from the list of people due to her degree qualification and the other diplomas she had also completed.

As part of the consultation she used this little instrument and looked into my eyes.  She held a paper which had the iris divided up into segments and she progressively went through each segment of one eye then the next and compared it to the paper.  She was able to tell that I had fertility issues because of an uneven chunk that was around the fertility segment of the iris.  She also commented on my different organs etc which I found useful and truthful, such as bowels, stomach etc.  She spent some time on this and didn’t really talk until she had completed the analysis.
All up the cost was about $100 for the three hours, then I paid extra for the herb concoction.  I went back every month to six weeks, for about 4 or so months. She also gave me a women’s support vitamin which gave nutrients for pre-conception care.  Then lo and behold not long after (say four to six months) and without trying I got pregnant, which was a real surprise”.

As people are increasingly searching for alternative approaches to health care, Iridology and natural medicine have shown unbelievable growth. The idea that there are different options to modern medicine, a hope when the scans and tests fail, is appealing to many. Iridology offers information about your body and lifestyle, that you may not have even known yourself.

The eyes have it.

(Please note I am not suggesting  replacing a GP visit, simply offering another point of view.)

 

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October 27, 2011 Suzie

A lovely client of mine sent me this article the other day about excuses for not exercising. On a rainy cold day such as today, which is prone to last minute cancellations, I thought it was the perfect time to share my own cancellation excuses with you.

I’ve heard some pretty interesting excuses from clients in my time as a personal trainer. When it comes to cancellations some clients get quite inventive. You can usually tell when a client is lying, do I ever call their bluff? No, there’s no point I don’t think, after all they’re the ones who are lying to themselves. Do I punish them in our next session? Quite honestly – sometimes I do, if the excuse is bad enough!

 

I did a little experiment at my gym, I asked my fellow Personal Trainers what was the best cancellation excuses they had received. I wasn’t suprised how similar some of the excuses were. I put together a list of the best and most common excuses we got. Have you ever used one of these?

 

  • It’s raining – that’s ok it’s not raining inside the gym you’ll stay dry
  • Swine flu – this is not a joke, a trainer received a formal text about it, turns out we were all ok at the gym though pheww
  • Car won’t start – this is a hard one,  sometimes its true sometimes its not
  • Period pain – remember in high school when you wanted to get out of the swimming carnival?  Exercise can actually help with your period pain, especially the day before it is due.
  • Kids are sick – this is a fact of life, they’re germy little creatures and they like to share
  • I’m busy – if you are too busy to train then please don’t book a time with me when I could have booked someone else in. Busy people need to be in good health too.
  • I’m sick – depending on the illness exercise can actually help you. If you have a virus though listen to your body and rest.
  • I’m tired – exercise will actually give you more energy, the hardest part is just starting
  • Car broke down on way to gym – again another hard one, sometimes it’s true and sometimes it’s an overused excuse
  • I have to help my ____ move – ok, that is usually something that is planned prior to the actual day. How do you rank your health as a priority?
  • My alarm didn’t go off – then set a second one. I set 2 alarms to make sure i’m there for you, do you really want to spend money on a sleepin?
  • I forgot – nice to know how important your training is to you.
  • Just not feeling it today – sometimes I don’t feel it either, its natural, but then I do it anyway and get over it. Usually feel awesome after.
  • It’s too cold – trust me once we start training you won’t be cold anymore!
  • Sore throat – again, some exercise may help, depending on your level of sickness
  • Sore arm – that’s ok you have the rest of your body we can work with
  • Sis/cousin may go into labour – are you going to be in the delivery room? It’s ok labour usually goes for more than your hourly training session
  • I can’t make it – personally this is the worst. No excuse and it’s usually last minute too
  • I was up last night arguing with my spouse – wow I don’t know what to say about that one
  • I have a __________ appointment – you usually know about appointments prior to the day or the day before.
  • Stuck in traffic – sometimes this is beyond anyone’s control. However we become suspicious when it happens too often (leave your house earlier!)
  • Nothing – enough said.

 

There are of course genuine excuses, life gets in the way I understand.  Most clients generally do their best. However it is those clients who you identify as not really giving it much effort that you feel sorry for. They are the ones who most often give up and never achieve their goals. Its the clients who truly give it their all that get the best results.

 

Everyone has excuses, but ask yourself  “am I going to let this get in the way of achieving my goal?”

 

(photo was taken at a buddhist temple, very zen like day! You are in control of your life, make it happen!)