By Tom Venuto, author of Burn The Fat, Feed the Muscle
www.BurnTheFat.com

About the Author:

Every year as Thanksgiving gets closer, you’ve probably seen the depressing reports: “Most people gain between 5 and 10 pounds of body fat in the six weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas.” I’m not sure if this worries you or not, but a lot of people are terrified about getting fatter in the next two months. They anticipate the workouts falling by the wayside and the holiday food calling out to them irresistibly, defeating even the strongest willpower. There’s good news and bad news about this.

Good news: According to the New England Journal of Medicine, the average amount gained is much more modest – just over a pound.

Bad news: A study by the National Institutes of Health found that this seasonal weight gain – even just a pound – is the kind of weight gain that most people don’t lose when the holidays are over; it simply adds to the “weight creep” that “sneaks up” on you as you get older.

People often wonder how it’s possible to wake up one morning at age 40 or 45 and “suddenly” they’re 30 pounds fatter – or more – than they were in college. Mystery solved.

Of course, some people really do pack it on over the holidays, but whether its a pound or ten pounds, did you ever ask yourself why does holiday weight gain happen at all?

In previous years, I’ve asked my readers and here are some common answers I was given:

Holiday Excuse Survey Says…

“I’m too busy over the holidays to work out as often as usual.”

“I’m more stressed over the holidays, and the food is there, so I eat more.”

“I have at least three parties to attend and then there’s Christmas and New Year’s, so it’s impossible to stay on a diet”

“No one can tell me not to enjoy myself over the holidays so I’m just going to eat whatever I want.”

These answers all have a few things in common:

“Either/Or” Thinking and “Reverse Goal Setting” Exposed

First, they assume that you can EITHER get in better shape OR enjoy yourself, but not both. Stated in reverse: You can either deprive yourself of holiday enjoyments or gain weight, but it has to be one or the other. The truth is, “either/or thinking” is neurotic thinking and a great killer of fitness programs.

Second, these are all excuses or rationalizations. “I’m too busy” for example, is always an excuse, because I have never known someone who was too busy to make time for his her highest life priorities. We all have the same amount of time – 24 hours a day – the real problem is, most people don’t make exercise and healthy eating a priority. And remember, words mean little. Actions reveal a person’s true priorities.

Third, none of these are the real reasons most people gain weight over the holidays to begin with. The real reason is because an intention was never set for the opposite: To get in better shape over the holidays.

Most people set a “goal” to get in worse shape over the holidays. It’s not consciously set, of course, as few people would intentionally set out to get fatter. They simply do it by default. In their minds, they accept that it must be just about impossible to stay in shape with everything going on over the holiday season, so why bother?

Rationing Lies For Holiday Failure

Once the decision has been made, then the rationalizing continues:

“Why should I deprive myself?”
“Family is more important”
“Worrying about diet and exercise during the holidays is neurotic”
“I don’t care if I gain a few pounds, I’m going to enjoy myself anyway”
“It’s only these two or three weeks that I let myself go wild”
“I’ll start the first week in January and lose the weight then.”

As a result of this “negative goal-setting,” they expect to work out less, eat more and gain a few pounds, and they don’t seem to even consider alternatives.

But what would happen if you…

SET A GOAL TO GET IN BETTER shape over the holidays?

What would happen if you decided that it was not an all or nothing proposition and that you could enjoy the holidays and all it has to offer and get in better shape at the same time?

And what if you decided that your health and your body were the highest priorities in your life, because you realized that can’t enjoy anything else in life, including family or holidays, if you don’t have your health?

Here’s what would happen: You’d get in better shape!

I’m not all that different from you just because I’m a bodybuilder and fitness professional. I have many of the same problems, concerns and struggles as you do. Although today I always get in better shape between Thanksgiving and New Year’s, that’s a result of a conscious choice, a close examination of my old belief systems and a lot of action. For me, it all started about eight years ago.

For most of my adult life, I wasn’t much of a traveler and I didn’t enjoy flying or staying in hotels. For one thing, I had so many business commitments in the East Coast health club business, that I seldom left town for long, as I had to “tend to the stores.” But I also had a belief that if I traveled, my workouts and nutrition would suffer. After all, “it would be hard to stick with my usual bodybuilding diet, and I wouldn’t have access to my usual gyms”, I told myself. For these reasons, I never did much travel..

Then I was forced to take some trips for business reasons. Predictably enough, my nutrition and workouts suffered while I was spending time in airplanes and in hotels. With my experience having confirmed my beliefs, I re-affirmed to myself, “See, travelling is nothing but a pain. You just can’t stay on a diet and training program when you’re out of town.”

After several more trips, I noticed that something very negative happened: I surrendered. I had resigned myself to “not bother” while I was on the road. I let my expectations create my reality.

But I didn’t let it go on for long. As soon as I became aware of what was happening, I decided that I wouldn’t tolerate it, so I challenged myself and my previous limiting beliefs. I asked myself, “Why the heck not? Why let myself backslide? Why even settle for maintaining? Why not challenge myself to improve while I’m traveling?” The answer was: There was no good reason, there were only excuses.

From that day forward, I set a challenge for myself…

To come back from every trip or vacation in better shape than when I left.

Of course there were exceptions, as when I went on a vacation for total R & R. But I never let travel get in my way again. I prepared food that I would eat on the planes so airline food was never an excuse… I usually chose hotels that had kitchens, so I could cook my own food. I went food shopping immediately after check-in. I wrote my training schedule and scouted gyms in advance… And I actually found myself training harder than usual.

No matter where I was training – it could even be some “dungeon” of a gym in the middle of nowhere – it didn’t matter because my mind was focused on improving and looking better when I came home than when I left. I had a goal to motivate me!

What do you think happened? It’s not hard to guess: I always came home in better shape than when I left.

Since then, my “travel challenge” has become somewhat of a ritual in my life. When I’m away from my “home-base” it becomes a “fitness road trip.” I search the Internet or yellow pages or ask locals to help me find the most hard-core gym nearby wherever I will be staying (Gold’s Gym works for me!) When I get there, I train every bit as hard as if I had a competition just weeks away. I look forward to it now. In fact, this is what led me to my “holiday fitness challenge” idea.

Like many people, I travel over the holidays, so I’m automatically in “travel challenge” mode at thanksgiving, Christmastime and New Year’s. But with the additional temptations and busyness that the holidays bring on top of the usual travel stresses, I saw fit to declare a new challenge: “The Holiday Challenge.” The difference was that for my “holiday challenge,” I pledged to not only to return home in better shape than when I left, but to enjoy the holidays to the fullest at the same time.

People who think I deprive myself to look the way I do would be shocked: I eat like a KING over the holidays including Pumpkin (or apple) Pie at Thanksgiving and OF COURSE my mom’s famous red and green Jell-O Christmas cake. Then on New Year’s I’m usually toasting champagne and having a blast with friends or family….

The difference is, I don’t eat like that very often.

Every other meal stays right on schedule and I work out hard and consistently over the holidays; I don’t let everything fall apart just because ‘tis the season.’

The idea that you can EITHER enjoy the holidays OR stay in shape – but not both – is wrong, it’s damaging and it’s limiting.

Life is not an either or proposition; it’s a matter of balance.

Success does not mean going to extremes. Success can be a simple matter of re-examining your beliefs, rearranging your priorities, setting goals, changing the questions you ask yourself and re-evaluating your expectations.

Your expectations will become your reality. What are you expecting? Are you expecting success? Are you expecting to be in better shape after holiday parties, celebrations, banquets, dinners, and desserts? If not, then why not? What’s preventing you from enjoying all of the above and still getting in better shape? Do you have a limiting belief which dictates that it’s one or the other? Could it be that you never set a goal, intention or expectation to do it? Could it be that you’re rationalizing or making excuses? If so, then I challenge you to change it this year.

As of this writing, there are less than two months until the end of the year. Why not see how much you can improve your physique over the holidays, without depriving yourself of any holiday enjoyments or festivities? Just step up your expectations. Step up your standards. Step up your nutrition. Step up your training. Step up your action. Step up and accept the “Burn The Fat holiday fitness challengeand see what happens!

That’s right… The First Annual Burn The Fat Holiday Fitness challenge contest is open from Wednesday November 18th to Wednesday November 25th.

Over the course of a “50-Day Burn” which spans all three major holidays – Thanksgiving (US), Christmas and New Year’s – you’ll have the motivation, the accountability and structured program to end the year strong, start the new year on the foot and possibly get in the best shape of your life.

Even better, you’ll be able to eat delicious Holiday Food and enjoy yourself to the fullest at the same time because this is a lifestyle program which allows your favorite foods in moderation and balance.

And the best part of all: I’m sending the winners of the contest to Negril Jamaica to show off their new bodies on the beach in 2010!

Taking the Burn The Fat Challenge is simple. You can enter the contest two ways:

(1) Purchase the Burn The Fat e-book from www.BurnTheFat.com or

(2) Join the Burn The Fat Inner Circle fitness support community (”contest central”) by Clicking Here.

You’ll be automatically enrolled with either purchase.

Or, if you want ALL the contest details and the FULL list of prizes, visit the contest page by Clicking Here.

Train hard and expect success!

-Tom Venuto,
Author of Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle
Founder/CEO, Burn The Fat Inner Circle

About the author:

Let me share with you guys something you might already know: People are not taking responsibility for their health. Even those that go to the gym religiously, have a personal trainer, are enrolled in a class, and those that have a fully-outfitted home gym – would feel lost if they did not have those “things” that the rely on to keep them in shape – gym membership, personal trainer, class, home gym equipment.

That is essentially the problem with today’s society and why people are so out of shape. There’s one excuse after another – oh, I need a gym, I need a trainer, I need this, I need that, I need time. I’m glad that you have decided to sign up for this website, because what you will experience with this website is something I like to call “NO EXCUSES TRAINING” Read more: http://shahtraining.com/members/?p=159

I just came back from a short vacation to India. I had gone to my cousin’s wedding, and as always, I have come back with fresh ideas and a new approach to life. The following are just some lessons I’ve learnt during my short stay:

Lesson #1: Be grateful for the cards you’ve been dealt in your life. There will always be someone out there who is better off than you are, but there will be ten other people in worse situations. This is apparent in India, as you see poverty everywhere from the local food market to the high-end malls.

• It brought tears to my eyes and made me realize how much I’d been complaining about what I had. I’m incredibly lucky to have a roof over my head, food on the table, and two parents that love and support me financially.
• I really have nothing to worry about, and if I don’t buckle down and use my resources to follow my dreams than I’m an absolute fool.

Fitness Application: Use the resources you have to create your training program and improve your fitness. Stop thinking you need to go out and get an expensive gym membership or buy that perfect training implement or book to get the results you want.

Lesson #2: India is a nation with lots of people and very little opportunities. In such a situation, you can’t just sit there and ask for a free hand. Instead, you need to create your own opportunities. This may mean selling fresh juice on the side of the street, or moving to a different state to join a new construction project.

• No one is going to come up to you and say, “Hey I’m going to give you a million bucks for your new brilliant idea.” You need to go and take your brilliant idea and show people what you can do with it. This is one of the biggest mistakes I’ve made in my promotion with Shah Training – I really wasn’t doing much in the way of promotion.
• You need to be an individual marketer, but instead of marketing a product or service, you need to market yourself as someone who can solve people’s problems.

Fitness Application: Stop looking for free advice or free training. Nothing is free and no one is going to help you unless you show them that you have the potential to succeed. Believe in yourself and understand that only you have what it takes to work hard and succeed with your goals.

Lesson #3: Learn a new skill, even if you don’t want to. You need to understand that you don’t know everything. One of the fundamentals of website promotion is Search Engine Optimization (SEO). There are entire companies employing numerous consultants who do SEO work for a living.

• For a small-time website such as Shah Training, I needed to first master the fundamentals: SEO. I taught myself how to read HTML and PHP , so why couldn’t I conquer SEO? The truth is, that I’m still not an SEO expert, but I’m learning and finally seeing the results from my efforts.
• India has a very low literacy rate, and this showed me the power of the Internet and other resources, of which I have access to. It doesn’t hurt to crack open a book about a topic that may not be familiar to you. You learn by doing, and you succeed by learning.

Fitness Application: You learn by doing, so go do it. Stop waiting around the perfect training program or asking a million different questions on a dozen different forums. Do your own research, learn the essentials, and get cracking in the gym, your bedroom, or in your backyard.

Lesson #4: Fate is a common theme in India. One that took me a long time to grasp. I’ve realized that there are two main ways of looking at fate.

• The first way is to believe that everything that is happening to has already been written, and there is no way out of a particular situation despite your best efforts. And so the best way is to just live life, even if you’re unhappy with your current situation.
• The second way of looking at fate, and one that I prescribe to, is to understand that circumstances are out of your control, such as the fact that you may be born poor, someone close to you may pass away, or that you are involved in a car accident.
• But the most important thing is the decisions and approach you take to improving your current situation. Decisions are within your control. The most important thing is the you make decisions with a willingness to succeed for a better life.

Fitness Application: Don’t worry about a bad day. Make the best of your situation, and just keep going. Keep track of your training and diet so that you can make changes for improvement. Don’t think that some people are predestined to have a great physique and you’re going to be fat or scrawny for the rest of your life.

Use these life lessons in your approach to health and fitness, and you’ll succeed with all of your goals.

At 4 AM in the morning, I dragged myself out of bed and turned off the alarm clock. With eyes barely open, I unlock the bedroom door and walk a few feet into the bathroom. Like a mechanical robot, I lock the door behind me, turn on the lights, and turn both the handle on the faucet. I let the cold water dribble on my hands, and splash my face one time, two times, three times. Each time the cold water wakes me up slightly, and each time the rest of my body shivers with shock. Read more.

Cover image by plu.edu

Training Frustration is when you are unable to reach your goals. This may happen for a number reasons:

1. You were unable to meet your fat loss goal.
2. Your training session was not as intense as you’d liked.
3. You’re stressed out with your life.
4. Your nutrition was not perfect due to a negative environment.

The reasons are numerous, but when the going gets tough, you need to be reminded of a few principles that will prevent training frustration:

Principle One: Analyze your Weaknesses

Each time you fail, you’re one step closer to succeeding. For example, did you just try two hours of cardio, five days a week? Why was this program a failure for you? Did any part of it work? Did you lose even one pound of fat? Did you gain any weight? What kind of diet did you follow?

Analyze your mistakes and move forward. This is how I discovered quick, intense workouts. I realized that cardio did actually work for me, but it was just that I did not enjoy it very much, and so was never able to stick to a cardio program for more than two weeks at a time. It took a lot of false starts to realize what I was doing wrong, and figure out what I can do different to get results.

Principle Two: Find your Reason

Motivation stems from intention. Find the right reason, and you’ll never lose motivation.

At first I thought my goal was to lose weight. But one day, as I was watching my grandmother struggling to walk up a short flight of stairs, I realized what fitness really meant to me. It meant being as agile and strong at 75 years old, as I was now. All of a sudden, I no longer cared about every single calorie, or how much weight I was lifting, or what the size of my waist was.

I started looking into mobility. I want to be able MOVE when I’m 75 years old. I began to focus my attention on figuring out which activities, movements, and programs I could perform that would enhance my mobility and athleticism.There was a criteria I used in determining how my program would change:

1. The program needs to be exciting, so that I’d never get bored
2. The program needs to be something that I can accomplish even if I have very little time on my hands
3. I need to able to perform the workouts anywhere, even if I have no equipment
4. The movements need to be safe and simple

This new found reason to exercise allowed me to develop the type of programs I develop right now. I’m actually able to maintain a lower body fat percentage and weight than before, without any sort of insane caloric restriction diets.

Principle Three: Challenge Yourself

Once you’ve found the right program and right motivation, it’s time move forward with it. The idea is to consistently push yourself to new levels.

Functional fitness revolves around being able to move in daily life. Dead lifting 200+lbs and being able to do 50 push ups in a row really goes beyond the necessities of daily fitness.

So then why do we do it?

We do it to push ourselves. Remember the first criteria: “The program need to be exciting.”

Challenge = excitement.

Think about it. When are you most bored? When you’re doing the same thing over and over again, and when the activity you perform becomes too easy. Find a way to challenge yourself, and you’ll not only make progress with your program, you’ll have fun with it!

Think about these principles the next time you face training frustration. What are you doing wrong and how can you fix it? Are you training for the right reason? Are you challenging yourself?.

If you enjoyed this article, then please subscribe to Shah Training for free. Click here for more info.

The problem that I see with many people who start a fitness program is a lack of desire. I’ve been training since I was 13 years old, and programs were only effective when there was fire in my eyes and determination in my stomach. I wanted something and went out and got it. I paid no attention to see if I was really doing something right or wrong. Heck, I used to wake up at four in the morning and go for a run.

You don’t need to wake up at four or do anything crazy like that to achieve your fitness goals. Just use the following four principles to find that fire deep inside of you:

Decide What you Want

Photo by gserafini

It’s been knocked over you a million times. You need a goal. But so many people still do not have a clear and concise goal. Let me help you. Here is my goal: “To gradually improve my body composition as I improve and maintain my daily mobility, sound nutrition, and athletic capabilities.”

That is what you call a goal. My real goal isn’t to get a six pack, although I’ve said it many times before, what I have come to realize is that a shallow goal such as increasing your arms size, and getting a six pack isn’t really fulfilling. What makes me happy is knowing that I’ll be able to walk when I’m seventy years old, being able to make healthy decisions under peer pressure, and being able to play a sport that I’ve never played before and still be well-conditioned for it.

In short, a goal should be fulfilling. What makes you happy in the long-term?

Decide What You’re Willing to Do For It

Sacrifices need to be made, but which ones? For myself, it means choosing exercises that stress mobility as opposed to body parts. I sacrificed a strong posterior chain over big arms. It means choosing a veggie burger over a pizza when I’m with my friends. It means performing high intensity kettlebell movements as opposed to long-distance cardio. The GPP aspect of kettlebell training prepares you for any sports. Distance cardio is both boring and doesn’t do much for your athletic conditioning. However, distance cardio on an empty stomach may help you get leaner, faster, then GPP work. But we really do not know this, nor do I care much.

Are you willing to sacrifice the 4rth meal? Photo by ross0025

Those are my sacrifices NOW. But, here’s a whole list of things I’ve given up in the past few years:

1. Soda
2. Taco Bell
3. Starbucks
4. Used to eat indian restaurant food every week, up to 3 paratas (bread). Now i eat once a month, and can only eat 1 parata (bread)
5. Used to eat 10 rotis (another type of indian bread) each night for dinner. Now I’m good with three or four, and do not eat each night.
6. Subway – was a big part of my diet, but then realized how many carbs are in one sandwich. No more!
7. Salted Peanuts – Used to be addicted to these. Switched to plain almonds
8. Ready Made Protein Shakes – Lots of sugar, and not very nice on your wallet. Use regular whey protein and mix it at home with milk or water.
   

The majority of your sacrifices will come in the form of nutrition. But, you also need to ask yourself one more question: Will you be able to stick to your training program despite social and family pressures?

The social aspect is huge. You want to go to the gym, but your friends want to go to the movies. Which one do you choose. Which is more important?

Another aspect is entertainment. Some people are addicted to television and will not give up their only free time during the day to workout because of a show they’re watching. Are you even willing to give up your favorite shows to achieve your goal?

Establish Your Program

“What can I do to lose weight?”

Are you serious? It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to tell you that in order to lose weight you need to eat less and exercise more. There are thousands of programs out there. Start with your goal in mind, and choose your program. All you need is a program that makes a little sense. For example, if your goal is lose fat, then you shouldn’t be on a power lifting program.

Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. That’s how you learn.

And Get to Work

Once you’ve realized your goal, understand the sacrifices you’ll need to make, and have a decent program at your fingertips, the next step is to go out and do it. The more you delay, the less likely you’ll be to start. Stop saying to yourself, “Oh it’s Wednesday, let me start my program on Monday.” Who made it a rule that you can only start programs on Monday’s? The same people who told you that your Chest can only be trained on Monday’s.

If these four points don’t motivate you then… maybe this will:

I will be talking about Shah Training at the upcoming YJA (Young Jain Association) convention on the Fourth of July weekend in Chicago. Developing my speech for this event was one of the most difficult tasks that I had to undertake. It wasn’t because I didn’t know what to say, but much rather I had TOO much to say. How do I condense all this information in a 50-minute session?

The title of the session is, “Fitness and Jain Living.” The entire theme of the convention is to learn how to use Jain principles in everyday, practical life. Before I actually get into the principles I’ll be talking about, I want to give you guys a brief primer about this “religion.” Jainism is a religion founded in India dating back as far as the 9th century B.C. In essence, it is a religion with greater emphasis on the Self, and the consequences of mental and physical behavior. I personally believe that Jainism is a religion with no God. Call it atheist, if you wish, although the majority of Jains across the world are convinced of a God.

My discussion at the YJA convention revolves around three key principles of Jainism: Reincarnation, Karma, and God.

Reincarnation

Reincarnation is simply the belief that we are reborn throughout lifetimes until we achieve a pure state of good. When this state is achieved, we escape into something known as Moksha, or Nirvana, an afterlife filled with endless peace. This is all great, but the problem is that this theory can not be proven. Like all religions, theories are beliefs thought to be fact. Well, in all practical terms, reincarnation does not exist. A lifetime is too long for me to wait and see if I will actually be reborn. And worst of all, according to Jainism, a person does not even remember their past lives!

So how can we use this concept of reincarnation in our daily lives, much less as an application to our workouts? I was once listening to the only “Guru” that I trust and respect. Gurudev Chitrabhanu stated in one of his tapes, “Every day we are born, and every day we die. We are born when we awake to a new day, and we die when we fall asleep at the end of the day.” All of a sudden, reincarnation made sense to me!

Reincarnation isn’t about living a good life, it’s about living a good day, or living a good moment. Take this concept and apply it to your workouts and it becomes, “Reincarnation is about getting the best workout that you have ever had.” Just for a moment, forget about how many sets, reps, exercises, or body parts you’re supposed to train in your particular program. The idea is to do more than last time. Push yourself as far as you possibly can within that given time frame, whether it be one hour, 30 minutes, or 10 minutes. Your intensity level should progressively increase and you should be performing more work in a given amount of time as you improve.

The problem with typical “programs” is that you don’t achieve this “make every workout tough” mentality. You end up going through the motions. If this sounds like you, then simply shorten the time frame. Instead of “gain 10 pounds in 5 months,” say to yourself, “gain 5 lbs in 2 and a half months.” Or take it even further and say, “Today’s goal is to get X amount of calories, and X amount of protein.” Break it down as much as you possibly can and push yourself as far as you can within that given time frame.

Karma

Karma is the belief that there are consequences to your actions. This is something that you can practically see in daily life. I don’t think I need to really explain this any further. However, we forget that Karma is just as useful in a business or social setting as it is in a health setting. The simplest way to put it: if you eat bad food, you become unhealthy. If you do not exercise, you grow up to become a weak old man (or woman) and end up living on medications. There are certainly examples of people who have not gone into the gym or followed a particular nutrition plan their whole lives and are still healthy at age 90. However, often times these people are very disciplined. They follow simple rules such as, “Go out for a walk each morning,” and, “Do not eat everything on your plate.”

God

I will not go into whether or not God exists. However we all know as a fact that the existence of God can not be proven. If you can not believe this, then perhaps you will be unable to grasp the following concept. I suggest you stop reading right here.

For the rest of us, let me throw out a sentence: “I am God.” No, I’m not saying I rule the universe or that I’m some superior being. Let me rephrase that, “God is within me.” Ok, maybe even that is a bit confusing. How about, “God gives me the strength to achieve the impossible.” I think we’re onto something here. I personally believe that God is a concept that when used properly, gives great strength to achieve things and do things that we would not normally do. My beef is that the majority of us have settled on the fact that God is external and that we must submit to his or her power. Hence, we are controlled by some sort of “fate” or “God’s Will.” If we are poor, it is because of Him. If we are wealthy, it is because of Him. As such, if we are fat, it is because of Him. And if we have diabetes it is because of Him, and not because we have been feeding ourselves with sugary snacks and enormous amounts of bread all our lives, stuffing our faces until we can not move, breath, or laugh. If this is the case, if this is your destiny, then why do you even bother to go to the doctor, to take medication, to even try to reduce your blood sugar? Why not just accept your fate and sit there until your condition worsens?

I once had a Facebook conversation with a friend of mine who believes strongly in this concept of fate. I asked him, if that is the case, then why do you even wake up in the morning? Why are you even talking to me right now? If you’re going to end up a certain way in your life (rich, poor, sad, happy, depressed, incarcerated), then why not just sit there and let it happen?

I think you know where I’m going with this. If you believe in God, then use that strength and belief to change your present condition. Get up and train hard for the things you love to do. Don’t rely on fate or things that you truly can’t prove. You can’t predict the future, and you know it. For myself, I believe in only one person: Myself. When I am in trouble, depressed, or about to give up on something, I simply close my eyes and look deep within myself for the answer.

Start using these concepts in your workouts and I guarantee you will start seeing results. If not physical, then at least some mental clarity.