Motivation.

I am always interested in what motivates people to get fit. Or, actually, what I find even more fascinating is what causes people who are motivated at one time, to give up on their fitness goals and go back to old habits. I have been thinking a lot about this subject recently, as I made the decision to become an Independent Beachbody Coach.

I think I need to start this by saying, I love the results I've seen in my 120 days or so of the P90x Program. BUT, I still hate getting out of bed. I still struggle with getting out of bed in the dark, staggering into the living room, turning a light on so I can see, groggily trying to remember what workout I had scheduled, pouring a glass of water or recovery drink, then pressing play and suffering for an hour or more. Not a big fan, no.

So what makes me do it?

It's not the results so much anymore. Maybe it's just the idea that I want to be in the best shape I can be in. Maybe it's that I hate going to the doctor so much that I am willing to keep myself in tip-top health and condition, so I never have to go. Maybe it's cause I have now seen first hand what an unwillingness to take care of oneself can lead to down the road. I know one thing, it's definitely not because I hate junk food, cause that just ain't true.

It comes down to one thing. You have to want to change more than you want to stay the same. When I want something badly enough, I move heaven and earth to get it. Or die trying. Personality flaw I guess. Nevertheless it's true for me. However, once my focus wanes, my desire wanes and it becomes easier to slip back, let go and just give up. I know there's someone out there that knows what I'm talking about.

What does it take to get fit? Once you have the desire, where do you go from there? For most people, they join a gym. They take a class. They start to jog. They buy a great big fitness machine that looks like it was stolen from a construction site. They buy all kinds of pills and powders. And all too often, they fail. Going to the gym becomes a time consuming drag. The classes get too expensive or lack focus. Jogging becomes boring and you don't even get thin (not like you want to anyway). That fitness contraption gathers dust in the garage. The pills and powders only succeed in turning your poop green. And then you quit.

For obvious reasons.

Why do these well meaning people fail at something they obviously want so badly? I don't think it's that all of a sudden people don't care about their fitness anymore, or decide to stay overweight. Frankly I think most people lack the proper support systems and programs. All too often, people just do things on their own, with only bits and pieces of the proper information, and often, no program or blueprint for success. And they don't have anyone going through it with them. I myself used to go to the little gym in an old apartment complex every day to run 3 miles on the elliptical and lift some weights, just because I had a friend that was right there. I did this like every day for 3 months. But then, as it turned out, I moved, and he quit going and I only went to the new place's gym once in a year.

Any of you ever see the show "The Biggest Loser"? So much of the success that these great individuals find is totally due to their support system. Whether it's the coaches or their teammates, or their families when they get back home. You need this. Everyone needs the proper support and the proper program in order to find fitness success. There are many of you that are struggling right now to find the success that you want. Don't give up. I know for a fact that the right program and the right support will work for everyone. It fills in the gaps when you don't feel like touching the dumbbells today. Or even when you push yourself a little too hard and can't continue for a bit, the right support can be just the motivating factor you need to get yourself back out there at the proper time.

Lookit, I'm here to help if anyone out there wants to make a change and just needs the direction to go and a little wind to blow. I can do that for you. Just ask.