I’m going to convince you that harnessing the power of momentum in both your fitness routine and your day to day life is one of the most important things you can do to help yourself reach your goals.

To further illustrate my point I’m going to throw it to one of my favorite Greek myths, the myth of Sisyphus. I love Greek Mythology because they tie the concept of sin to eternal punishment and anguish, and there is always a lesson to be learned.

The story of Sisyphus

Sisyphus, a prominent greek king, fell victim to the sin of pride or hubris. His rise to power and notoriety had him under the delusion that he was far more clever than Zeus, the king of the Gods. In classic Greek mythological fashion, Zeus subsequently condemned Sisyphus to a life of rolling a boulder up a mountainside each and every day. Nearing the top, exhausted from his eternal effort, the boulder would ALWAYS escape his grasp and roll all the way back down to the bottom of the hill EACH AND EVERY DAY. Then left Sisyphus with no choice but to return to the bottom and slough his boulder to the top time and time again.

If we’re to get real with ourselves, we must first acknowledge that many of us go to camp and then let our momentum decline as the day goes on! We create progress and momentum by coming to Burn Boot Camp. You can feel the energy when you walk out the door after a great workout! Then you go out and sabotage your progress by making poor nutrition or lifestyle choices that reverse the impact of momentum, and the metaphorical boulder rolls back to the bottom of the hill.

I believe that as human beings we possess a certain metabolic momentum and we have to take it by the reigns. I can’t take credit for this idea, as I’m sure it’s been addressed in academia or scholarly articles, but as my loyal clients, members and peers I wish that each of you would arrive to the doors of Burn with your very own metabolic passport.

This would be a detailed snapshot of everything you have done or attempted within your history of nutrition and fitness. This is why our equation isn’t as simple as calories in and calories out, and this is why experimentation is critical. I’ve worked with clients who were at an intake of 600-800 calories a day and weren’t losing any weight. By adding nutritious foods in each and every day, they were able to gain their own metabolic momentum back and they began losing body fat and adding lean muscle. Metabolic momentum must be harnessed daily!

Tips on How to Create Momentum in Your Life:

• Morning Routine. A great morning routine (healthy breakfast, reading or watching something that inspires you or shifts your thinking, and planning and organizing) is a powerful way to begin adding momentum to your life. If you have a fitness related goal, get specific and visualize it before you. Imagine how it feels to be that healthy, strong, or fit. If you do this daily, commit to your goals and put it on paper, you will greatly increase your chances for success.

• Small actions DAILY. Not every camp, or workout needs to set the world on FIRE!  Dedicate yourself to persistence and perspiration, and commit to YOURSELF that you’re going to show up X amount of times this week, regardless of how you feel or what happened yesterday or today!

• Base your actions on decision, not emotion! Emotions are powerful tools and feedback for your life! If we’re not careful, we can very soon begin acting exclusively based off our emotion. When we base our action from emotion we often make the wrong choices. Instead, focus on making definite decisions such as, I will meal prep three meals this week or I will come to Burn four times this week. The word decision is one of my favorite words because its derived from the latin “decir” which means to CUT AWAY. By making a decision we cut away all alternatives and excuses and we fully commit to making our goals a reality.

• Do what you don’t FEEL like doing. This is so powerful! There’s a lot in life we don’t necessarily feel like doing. IF I told you I FELT like waking up early each and every day I would be lying to you! However, if you can condition yourself to do small simple things like walk the dog, go for a quick run, stretch or prep meals when you feel like ordering takeout, you will begin to rewire your hard drive and create some serious momentum and confidence in your life! Over time it will get easier to do these things as they become habits!

In order to reach a level of fitness and health that you’ve never had before, you need to condition yourself to understand that it will NOT be easy. This is something I’ve been working on over the last few weeks, preparing for our Burn Athlete photo shoot.

Don’t expect tasks like this to be simple. On the flip side, I do have GOOD NEWS I’d like to share with you. The road is not complex, but it is long, and if you’re unprepared it will test you in every way imaginable. Understanding there are three powerful assets we possess at ALL times is critical in your endeavor. If you harness these correctly, it will make reaching your goals simply a matter of time.

Asset #1 – FOCUS: The most powerful amplifier of our energy

The path to our fitness goals is long, uneventful and isolated. I prefer to envision the path to my own highest aspirations as a vast desert. Desolate, arid, uninviting and lacking refuge from the unrelenting beating of the sun. How do we maneuver to cross this desert?

We can reach our goals if we shift our focus to our feet, our own steps, our own journey and the distance we MUST go to achieve those goals. It will be all too easy to quit. If we focus on the days we slough along aimlessly across this land searching for solace we will be DISCOURAGED, BEATDOWN, and eventually DEFEATED.

Focus must be harnessed the way that it was intended.  Instead of thinking: How far do I have to go in order to reach my goals? Let your feet be lightened by your vision. Ask yourself this perspective shifting question: What’s it going to look like when I arrive at my goal?  This is the most evocative question that you can ask yourself.

Will there be a sumptuous oasis, replete with the freshest drinking water available and adorned with exotic foliage? A cool shady spot that allows you respite from your journey. If you let yourself instead be consumed by these thoughts then you cannot help but to be successful in achieving your goals and EVEN excited at the prospect of what it takes. The same thinking can be applied to your fitness goals and aspirations. Try to imagine yourself victorious, enjoying incredible health, boundless energy and a healthy physique. What would you do? How would you act? What things would you take on? This type of thinking breeds energy and springs us into action!

Asset #2 –  FEAR: A powerful energy source

 So you ask me what does it take? What does it take to chisel down to under 8% bodyfat for our Burn Athlete photo shoot. When I first took this on last year before my first Burn Athlete I knew it would require tremendous sacrifice. I knew I’d have to befriend discomfort and dance with pain. I knew I would have to grapple with the fear of NOT SUCCEEDING. I learned a huge lesson last year in doing this competition. I learned that FEAR can be one of our most powerful sources of energy to tap into. So I ask you now, why are you letting FEAR take a hold of you? Try this: Instead of letting FEAR control you, put yourself in the driver seat and take FEAR along for the ride.  I battle with fear, as I imagine most of us do, daily.

My fear of not making it, my fear of being good enough, my fear of not having prepared enough, my fear of not making a difference or accomplishing what I set out to do! Putting these fears to the side I was able to recognize that they have their place and I should keep them close in order to reach new levels. If we never take that solemn step outside of what we know we will never experience what CAN BE!

Asset #3 – Discipline

When it comes to discipline, I’m not saying you’ll need to focus on a singular object for days at a time to succeed in your goals, but each and every day presents us with an opportunity to practice.

Lifestyle is important and allowing yourself the occasional indulgence is good for your spirit, but the reason we enjoy the indulgence comes when we observe true discipline. Try building your discipline daily. Every decision we make is an opportunity to practice discipline.

Do you have an assignment to do but want to blow it off because your friends are hitting the beach?  Are you inundated at your job but find yourself scrolling through Facebook seeking distraction? Do you find yourself wanting to hit snooze when you TOLD yourself this was the week you would come to 5:30 AM camp every day?! Take small decisions and STICK to them!

Whether its work, relationships or fitness, every decision matters, no matter how small. Over time you’ll create a HABIT of honoring your commitments even when you don’t want to or don’t “feel” like it. Over time you will create integrity within yourself that allows you the confidence to know when you make a decision you will see it completed. This my friends is called discipline and is a powerful asset on the path to fitness!

 I’ve got a secret to share with you! Nobody is going to hand this to you. There will be no magical awakening where suddenly appear with the abs, legs or overall health that you’ve always wanted. No one can do this for YOU!  It must come from you! Nobody is going to hold your hand and whisper “wake up!” –  you’ve got to cultivate that from within.

Seek to build the trust within yourself so that when it comes down to it you will leverage the 3 assets we’ve covered here today to start building the life, level of health, and the future that you’ve dreamed of!

We were working around the yard one day in the summer heat and he looked right at me, wiping sweat from his brow and said “find what you love. Do that and you’ll never work a day in your life.”

IT CAME FROM NOWHERE!

To my young mind the concept sounded so simple and so pure. And the truth is that it is!!!! Although, just because it’s SIMPLE doesn’t make it EASY. That’s why so few of us pursue our purpose in life, or even get the opportunity to know ourselves on a fundamental level! The demands of life are many, so you must CREATE the space in your life to get to know yourself!

You see, I think we often UNDER value the importance of getting to KNOW ourselves; our wants, aspirations, goals and deepest desires in life. So many of us are busy running from task, to appointment, to meeting, to errands that we never really sit with ourselves and gather our thoughts long enough to take inventory. Instead we stomp on our dreams, and squash our desires and stuff our hopes where they never catch the light. My dad’s simple words of advice carried an impact far greater than either of us could’ve realized in that moment. I feel blessed to have received such guidance and direction early on in my life and it has lead me to this journey. For that I am forever grateful.

As we continue our MOST exciting challenge yet, Commit2Fit, I want you to steal 20 minutes of your own time and pursue the following exercise to get to KNOW YOURSELF better.

Put Your Goals on Paper

1. Go to a quiet or dark room
2. Play some relaxing music on your headphones or sit in silence (your choice here…)
3. Clear your mind and relax your shoulders (your mind will have thoughts that come and go, this is normal, just don’t react to anything you think about. If a worry comes to mind, tell yourself you’ll get to it in a few minutes! NOTHING is important right now!)
4. After 4 minutes (you can take a timer with you) break out a journal and a pen.
5. Write down your top 3 goals for the following time frames: one month, three months, and one year! They can be fitness related or not, it’s completely up to you!
6. Then ask yourself the MILLION dollar question What do YOU really want? List your values and priorities in order! Keep writing! You will be surprised at the number of things that are drawn out in this exercise. The clarity you find will provide you with massive strength to pursue your goals!

As your trainer and expert in everything fitness related I would NEVER ask you to do anything I cannot do or haven’t personally tried myself. I’ve done a variation of this exercise many times in my own life and it’s always AMAZED me at the amount of energy, focus, and clarity that this brings into my life! Knowing yourself is so powerful and grounding!

You see, it is often not a lack of sleep that fractures our energy, it is simply the amount of demands PLACED on our energy that dilute our true strength!

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