Halloween!

That means you missed the gym since it fell on a week night. I understand. If you have children this holiday comes a close second to Christmas for them.

It’s fun to dress the kids up, take some pictures and discuss how cute they look and then send them to every house in the neighborhood to beg for candy. Just like little worker ants they march down the streets with military precision bringing home twice their body weight in chocolate.

After the kids have gone to bed you must “inspect” their bags of candy and impose what we will just call the “candy tax”- one for you, two for me. It’s just being a good parent. Candy is bad for children.

So then comes November 1. Every home and workplace in America is overflowing with chocolate and candy. The temptation is overwhelming.  I promise you a Reese’s peanut butter cup has a very short life span in my proximity.

You missed your workout last night to take the kids trick or treating. You blew your diet last night after the “inspection” and were overwhelmed with the all the candy floating around at work. This week is blown so you might as well just wait until Monday and start over right?

WRONG!!!!

Now is the time to work even harder…

 

What I Have Learned In My Fitness Career

The fitness industry has changed since I first started my career over 20 years ago.

Back then it was all about being Mr. Olympia, high-impact aerobics and horrible fitness outfits. If you didn’t have big hair and some leotards you just stayed home.

 

I did own a couple of rag tops and some Crazy Wear Pants.

Abstract designs and lots of purple.

It was all about Jazzercise, step aerobics and neon. Lots of neon.

I am happy those days of horrible fashion are in the past but there is one thing that has never changed…

The fitness cycle.

Anyone who has been in the fitness industry can tell you the cycle. January through May the gym is packed. June and July starts slowing down. August through October another little surge of new people.

Then November and December.

In the fitness biz these are known as the “quit” months.

Every year I have been in this business, every city I have worked in the pattern is the same.

Beginning November 1 the gym gets quiet and my client list shrinks.

It’s just a fact. People blow their nutrition with all of the Halloween candy. Then they start planning the holidays. Lots of food and lots of traveling. Finding time to get to the gym consistently will be impossible. It’s just a fact.

There is no choice but to just start over after Christmas, right?

WRONG!!!

It’s Just A Fact

I looked up the word fact and this is the definition that I came across.

Fact:

a.. knowledge or information based on real occurrences.

b. a real occurrence;an event.

c.. something believed to be true or real.

I just examined the definition (I’m a nerd like that). I examined it as it applied to this discussion.

A. People often give up on their fitness goals the last 2 months of the year. That is a real occurrence.

B. Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and other holidays are events that happen every year. They take up a huge amount of time and put a large amount of unhealthy foods in front of us.

C. We believe that trying to maintain a consistent fitness and nutrition plan is impossible, so we might as well wait until January to get serious again.

Now the key word is we believe it is impossible. That is what makes it a fact.

Let’s remember some once famous facts…

It was once a fact that the world was flat…

Christopher Columbus didn’t believe it.

It was once a fact that man was not meant to fly…

The Wright Brothers didn’t believe it.

It was once a fact that a human could not run a mile in less than 4 minutes…

Roger Bannister didn’t believe it.

I admit I have been guilty of giving up a little myself. Every November and December when the gym slows down and my client list get smaller I have taken it easy. I have slowed down and put all my efforts into the plans for the fitness boom that comes in January. It is just a fact, people aren’t thinking about fitness and nutrition in November and December. I might as well take some time off and hit it hard again in January. Right?

Wrong!!!

I don’t believe that. I’m not going to let you believe it either. It’s only a fact if it is believed.

This month and next month I am not going to believe the facts.

I am going to sign up more new members and train more new clients. I am going to turn the facts into pure fiction.

I want you to forget the facts you have believed in the past. I don’t want you to listen to the people who believe it is a fact. I don’t want you to give up on losing fat and improving yourself these next two months.

Actually I want you to lose more fat between now and the end of the year! I want you to work harder and be more disciplined than you have ever been!

I believe you can do it.

I will help you reach those goals.

That’s a fact…

BDJ