At some point we're all confronted with set-backs, injuries, sickness, and unforeseen adversity getting in the way or slowing us down from reaching our goals. When you're in the midst of a set-back it's crucial to think about WHAT YOU STILL CAN DO. Not only is this important in preventing you from getting mentally discouraged, but it also helps you pick back up quicker and get back on your path more effectively when the time's right.

As an athlete and coach all my life I've had friends, training partners, teammates, athletes and clients who I've watched get frustrated and disappointed to the brink of quitting...all the while in a dark cloud of negativity surrounding the limitation or set-back they're experiencing. It's like getting sucked in a vortex that you wind up participating in, adding strength to the set-back. When associated with situations like this, whether personally, or helping someone cope, I like to think of all the elements, factors, and parts that contribute to the whole (person, plan, and environment) and conceptualize how small a percent of that whole a broken finger, sprained ankle, or 2 sick days represent in retrospect...they're tiny! This obviously doesn't apply on game-day, or 2 days prior to national championships, but really during training, and in some day to day life situations. 

During a gymnastics practice in college I once confronted a teammate who was sitting out of practice pouting in frustration about a broken toe...sitting out of a 3 hour practice!! After talking to him about how many other things he could be working on to strengthen his upper body, core, flexibility...even doing mental routines and visualization drills, the broken toe really seemed dwarfed by all of the other positive constructive things that didn't require the king toe. After a few days my teammate came back with more drive and focus than most could remember him having prior to getting injured. So, sometimes our set-backs can be blessings in disguise...but only if you stay POSITIVE & PERSISTENT!

If you've been on a hiatus from training, or been too busy to make it a priority, you've gotta start somewhere & sometime right? Instead of waiting for the perfect time & place, consider starting with a mental approach that disregards timing, location, or special circumstances...

Thinking about just doing what you can, with the space &/or gear that you have, where you are is simple because the emphasis is on action. This can mean squeezing a 15 min jog during a break at work, using the stairs at every opportunity, or a general circuit of pushups, sit-ups and squats in the morning or at night at home. Once you get over the hump of starting, you'll find that what you can do, what you have, and where you are will wind up being at the gym, with weights in hand, pushing yourself to your limits...because you started the process.

What do all of the following phrases have in common?...

"Six minute abs!"

"Turn fat into muscle!"

"Increase your metabolism by taking this!"

"This is a great 'toning' exercise!"

"Lose 30 pounds in 30 days!"

"Target the fat around your belly, hips, and thighs!"

I'll give you a hint...1st word starts with a "B", second with an "S". Bogus, shortsighted claims like these are everywhere in the fitness & performance industry. They can make training, setting goals, and staying motivated very frustrating, not only for athletes, but coaches and gym owners alike! The most bonified, substantive claim that can be made about reaching goals, training hard, staying motivated & getting results is that it is hard, sometimes painful, and always will require sacrifice & compromise. However, those claims are not very marketable...so chances are you won't see, hear, or read them in many places. You're more likely to hear them from a seasoned coach, see them in a quality gym, or feel them amongst a supportive class that has reached performance milestones while training together. The key to overcoming the pain, sacrifice, and compromises required to reach your true fitness & performance potential is knowledge, support, and being real & honest with yourself. So, in your fitness pursuits think about tuning your B.S. meter, and steer clear of products and services that claim that the road is easy, fast, and only costs 3 easy payments of $19.95!

There's more to hitting the heavy bag than getting a good workout in, or becoming more fit. The benefits of learning how to REALLY strike, with any and everything you have, go far and beyond the bag, the class, or the gym. Like most things that are worth pursuing, the value and the rewards are hidden, and in order to realize them, you have to let go & emerge yourself in learning & being absorbed by the movements, the skills...the art. In order to make real progress in an artistic skill or sport, you need FOCUS. If you don't have it you can develop it with practice, but you will never truly excel without it. Acquiring the ability to FOCUS, and channel your efforts really improves skills you're trying to develop. As you develop skills, you develop confidence, as you develop confidence you become empowered, and when you're empowered you're ready to take on anything. The real hidden benefit I'm talking about here is when you take this process of developing focus, confidence, and empowerment, and apply it to your everyday life. This transfer of learning brings a famous quote from Chuck Palahniuk and the movie "Fight Club" to mind:

"No fear. No distractions. The ability to let that which does not matter truly slide."

Learning to focus teaches you how to turn the volume down on things that don't matter, or that don't have anything to do with the outcome you want to see...the goals you really have. We all want to do remarkable things, and lead remarkable lives. No one wants to spend their day engaged in mundane productivity in pursuit of a meaningless consumer existence. Certainly not you, right? Consider letting go of distractions, learning a valuable skill with a worthwhile process...a process that will transfer into your day to day life.

In the past 7 years I've worked in a variety of settings applying health, fitness, & performance based training programs. I'm often asked if a popular or trending fitness program is "good" or "bad". I've never been able, or felt compelled to give a straight simple answer...not because I dodge or work around questions like a shifty politician, or because I don't know, but because there really isn't one in most of the occasions I've been confronted with. This is because the answer all depends on what your individual goals are. Once I can get a better understanding of what someone is trying to get out of their time spent training, and their lifestyle, I can then say X-program is good for that, or Y-program is a waste of your time. Not everyone has a coach or trainer at their disposal, so if you're not sure, and in no position to consult someone who can help you, then use the good'ole scientific method, and be guided by the wise words of Bruce Lee:

"Absorb what is useful, discard what is not, add what is uniquely your own."

- Bruce Lee

Most gyms will offer free trial sessions, and low-cost entry level memberships for you to try-out a training program. If your goal is weight loss, then you've got some pretty clear, quantifiable, and identifiable variables to analyze that training program's effect on your goal. You can read yourself stupid Googling about what training program to do to reach your goals and get nowhere with the confusion. My point is that sometimes you just need to try, execute, and absorb what works for you after trying. After experimenting and observing what works & what doesn't for you, you'll have so much experience and proficiency that you'll be empowered by your process, and even compelled to add something uniquely your own!