My top three lame excuses for not getting it done.



Recently I've noticed how people like to complain about not liking the shape they are in or the way they look but when it comes to actually doing something about all they have are excuses. I'm sorry but excuses mean nothing to me. Don't cry and tell me how bad you feel about yourself and then turn around and go out for a night or drinking or decide to spend all your free time watching crappy reality TV when you could actually be doing something productive. Not that these things are totally bad but I see people spend countless hours at this and barely any working towards what they say is important to them.

As a friend of mine recently said in life there are whiner, weiners and winners. Which are you??

Yeah I know I'm going to get some kickback from this but sorry the truth hurts and some people need to hear it instead of that same old BS lines like "it's okay" or "try harder next time." Try to me implies I'm going to fail and okay implies mediocrity. If you want to be mediocre go ahead just don't bitch about it.

So to continue on my soapbox here are in my mind the top three lamest excuses for not getting it done. Notice I'm not talking just about exercise it can be applied to anything that takes work your relationships, your spirituality, or your profession.

#1- I just don't have time. This is the lamest of the lame. Who isn't busy. What you should really say is it isn't a priority. Be honest with yourself. If you are serious about improving something you make time. Whether it means getting up later in the morning or staying up later at night.  I know plenty of people who have a full time job, family and volunteer work but still manage to find time to get after a goal whether it be getting a degree or training for a marathon.

#2-________(fill in someone's name a spouse, kid) won't let me. Hello are you an adult?  You are ultimately in control of your discretionary time. People can only control you if you let them. Quit passing the buck to someone else and take responsibility. It starts with you and you only.

#3-I'll do it when ____happens.  Another favorite. Guess what _______ won't happen for awhile if at all. When in life will the stoplights all be green.  There will never be a perfect time. Opportunities to accomplish great things don't come around often so take them when they do.  My personal favorite is when people tell us trainers they will come see us when they lose 10 pounds. That's putting the cart before the horse.

Bonus lame excuse. It's too hard!  What in life that is worth it is easy. Having a good marriage is hard work, raising kids is hard work, getting or staying good shape is yes you guessed it hard work. If you don't work for it you don't appreciate it. Think of something you had to bust your butt for like getting an  grade in a class, a job promotion or making a sports team. Face it when things get east they get boring. Facing challenges and overcoming them is what develops character. Whining, complaining, and blaming do nothing except annoy those around you and it doesn't get you anywhere.


Go back to my friend's question "are you a whiner, weiner or winner."  Be honest what has your attitude been lately?  Are you just getting by or are you making the most out of life? The good news is that if you are either a whiner or weiner, you can become a winner. It's as simple as saying no more excuses and making the decision to do whatever it takes to accomplish the things in life that you really want to.

As they say in the world series of poker then an only then are you truly " all in."

Learning how to manage life's obstacles from kids

Last night I had the privilege of meeting with and coaching the Jumpstart participants at Puravida, and can I just say WOW? What an inspiring group! They are in the 6th week of their 8-week program, and motivation is still high as they achieve their goals, even though many hit a few bumps along the way. Congratulations for staying the course!

Adversity is a funny thing. Why do some people seem to sail through it and others get stuck in it, only to once again be derailed from meeting their goals? This was a big part of our discussion last night and we decided that we could learn a lot from children when it comes to challenges.

How kids tend to deal with obstacles:

They SHOW UP!!

They don’t question and over think everything

They don’t beat themselves up

They don’t think the grass is always greener

They don’t dwell on poor me, or become a victim

They are in the moment…in the flow…engaged in living

They keep keepin on

They are eternal optimists by nature

They smile, laugh and make new friends

Kids, do what comes naturally to their souls they know how to just “BE.”

So when did it get so complicated for the rest of us?

Life is continually trying to knock us off the course of bliss, fulfillment, and contentment. But what if we don’t let it?

Where can you adopt some childlike mind-sets when it comes to adversity in your life? Get curious, like a 5 year old; be in the moment and just show up!!



"I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. 'Tis the business of little minds to shrink, but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death." Thomas Paine

Coaching Groups Starting Now!

What are you sick of tolerating in your life?

Unhappiness? Unfulfilling career? Extra weight, unhealthy habits?

Reinvent yourself and your life in 6 months or less.

Nancy Von Horn
Chartered Destiny Coaching
(612) 221-6191 cdestinyco@yahoo.com

Training inpiration from Yvonne

Tell me, why do you exercise, work-out? Why do you spend endless hours at the gym,

or beat yourself up for not going enough. Why do you eat healthy, or scowl at the empty bowl of

ice-cream in front of you?


Actually don’t tell me. It doesn’t matter why. Everyone has their own reasons. What

matters is that you get to where you want to be. Who you want to be.

Who are you setting goals for? Not your friends, your co-worker, the neighbor down the

street, or your trainer :)

You are doing it for YOU.

Do what it takes and go all the way. Don’t

give in, just watch the transformation unfold. Watch how empowered you will feel once you’ve

reached your goal/s. Start with small ones and then challenge yourself.

Go where you want to go, because you want, you can and you will. Because, you are:

poised, driven, fired-up, sick-of-it, determined, inspired, encouraged, positive and you are tough!


“The whole idea of motivation is a trap.

Forget motivation.

Just do it.

Exercise, lose weight, test your blood sugar, or whatever. Do it

without motivation. And then, guess what?

"After you start doing the

thing, that's when the motivation comes and makes it easy for you to

keep on doing it.” (J.C.Maxwell)

Come on, do what it takes. For you.

Yvonne

Lose Those Last 10 Pounds With This Simple Diet "Trick"

Everyone faces it at one time or another...



The dreaded fat-loss plateau. That's when things are going great, you're making progress and then BAM! -- your body leaves you scratching your head, wondering why it won't budge that last little bit.



Today, I'd like to give you a fun little "trick" that works with your body's biochemistry. This trick helps get your body moving in the direction you want it to... a fitter, trimmer YOU!



Ready to say goodbye to those last 10 or so stubborn pounds that won't come off?



Great. Let's get started...



The key to losing that last bit of fat has to do with a hormone called leptin.



Right now, you're probably thinking, "lepti-what?"



Let me explain.



Leptin is a fairly recent discovery as far as hormones go (it was first discovered in 1994).



It's main job function is as a "starvation hormone."



Basically, when you're body senses it's starving, leptin kicks in. It sends a signal to your brain that tells your body to be VERY hungry and start eating like a bear.



It also lets your body know that it needs to hang on to fat at ANY cost. So the majority of the calories you eat are then programmed to go to fat storage during this "starvation" phase.



Once your body reaches what it thinks is equilibrium, leptin tells your brain to stop eating and stop storing fat. Then it shuts off -- only to be awakened once starvation mode kicks in again.



So leptin acts kind of like a fat "thermostat."



When your body senses it's starving and it's not getting enough calories like it's used to getting, leptin kicks in to make you hungry and get you to eat. Once you've had enough, it shuts off and tells your brain to give you the "full" feeling.



Now here is how it's responsible for stalling your fat loss efforts...



When you're dieting, the calorie deficit causes your body's leptin levels to plummet, triggering the starvation mode. It then sends the signal to your brain to be hungry and hang on to fat at all cost... (do you see where this is going)?



So your own body is working against you -- especially if you've been dieting for a while and reached a plateau.



How do you break it?



You have a cheat meal, once a week. Eat ANYTHING you want for this meal. Hamburgers, fries, pizza, ice cream... whatever you're craving.



Now, don't make yourself sick. Don't binge eat. Eat plenty, but when you're full, stop.



Cheating like this raises your leptin levels naturally. Leptin then sends the signal to your brain that everything is "a-okay" and allows your body to start burning fat freely again.



Also, make sure your cheat meal includes plenty of carbs. Research suggests that leptin levels and carb intake are somehow closely linked together.



By eating plenty of carbs, you ensure that your leptin levels rise naturally.



So there you go. The simple act of cheating and having whatever you want once a week could be just what you need to lose that last little bit of stubborn fat!



And stay tuned, because later this month I'll be sending you ANOTHER diet tip that'll raise your leptin levels so you can melt fat off like butter. In fact, it's the secret behind how many top fitness models and bodybuilders are able to get such fantastic results.

Two steps forward one step back

Many times in fitness we find ourselves motivated and in the zone. We get to the gym , we watch what we eat and everything is hunky dory. Then something happens good or bad to throw us out of our routine.  Sometimes it's a vacation which gets us out of our routine and we eat too much and lay around. Other times it might be an injury, sickness or stressful event such as a death in the family.

I've been involved with fitness over 25 years. It started as a skinny 15 year old kid which transformed into a 270 pound football player bulked up to the max an rebounded to a lean 205 pound bodybuilder and now a 210 pound cross training athlete. Yes I've gone through many metamorphosis and I have had some successes an failures.  

Many people think I am always on the ball. I never miss a workout, never eat bad, or drink alcohol. Nothing could be further from the truth.  I have had my workout funks just like the next guy. Ask me about my love for cake which to me is like crack.   

Yes I admit it I'm not perfect even though I'm supposed to be a personal trainer. And you know what that makes me a better trainer. You see I figure if I'm so out of touch with my clients because I never eat anything unhealthy or always make my workouts then I'm not able to relate to my clients very well.  I feel trainers like this often try to make their clients be like them versus relate to them and understand their struggles.

Bottom line is if everyone could kick ass with their fitness and nutrition than I'm unemployed.  `Fitness is not about perfection and doing everything right. It is about consistency and doing the right things regularly.

Ever heard of the 80/20 rule which basically states by doing the right 80% of the time you will see results. It is true.  The 100/0 rule is a recipe for disaster. I know personally.

You see when I did my first bodybuilding show I ate and trained perfectly for 14 weeks. No cheating. Perfect the same perfect food at the same time of day day in and day out.  Also I never missed any workouts. What happened. I got ripped and looked great for my bodybuilding show. It was a great accomplishment. 

But what happened after was I was so sick of being perfect I went on an eating binge of all the foods I had been denying myself from for a about 2 weeks. I blew up from all the water retention an felt sick. I also looked like crap.  

The second bodybuilding show I  did I gave myself some intermittent breaks in the training plan having a few cheat meals with some beer. The end result was the same I got ripped but this time there was no binge on the back end. Lesson learned.

So the next time you get mad at yourself because you fell out of the zone, missed a workout or gave into temptation and downed a box of treats. Realize this fitness, eating the whole thing is really a two steps forward one step back.

You will have your two steps forward times when you are kicking ass in gym and dialed in with your nutrition. You will also have those one step back periods where you lack motivation, are stressed out or just need to back off. This is normal and a good long term strategy. 

What happens if you continually take two steps forward and one step back you end up ahead not behind.  Life is meant to be enjoyed an that might mean having the occasional dairy queen blizzard or blowing off your workout to meet your friend you haven't seen for awhile for happy happy hour.

So be consistent not perfect and enjoy a healthy lifestyle just don't obsess over it.

My ephinany turkey hunting last year

Lately I've been seeing people give up all to easily when met with challenges in the face of accomplishing
goals. That is why they are goals because they are challenging.  So I was reminded of a particular eblast I sent out last year drawing a comparison of my turkey hunting trip to accomplishing a goal. It was really popular so I pulled it out of the archives to rerun it here on the blog. 

Even if you don't like hunting I think you can get something out of it.




This past weekend I went wild turkey hunting with my dad in South Dakota. I know a lot of people think that it should be easy to get a wild turkey since they are all over the place. Well, it isn't. Those things have super sharp sight senses and seem to know how to avoid danger plus you can only shoot 1 adult male turkey it is illegal to shoot a hen or more than one. So you really have to not only find the turkey but also the perfect shot.




Anyway, back to the story. The first day we went out it poured on us and we tried calling the turkeys in but they didn't gobble back but instead they would sneak up on us and see that we were waiting for them and then they would run and disappear like ghosts into the woods. We chased them all over that day and it was pouring rain. I even fell partway into a creek. By the end of the day I was soaked, tired, and turkeyless.



Day two I started out sitting in a turkey blind braving the howling wind which really sucked. My hands were numb and I was freezing by 6am(we got up at 4am to get to the blind). No luck so we set out on foot into the hills to find the turkeys. We did find the turkeys and after an hour of crawling, spying and positioning to get the perfect shot I ended up missing a shot and the turkeys once again got away.



Our hunting party regrouped and decided to cover another area of the ranch. I was starting to doubt if I would bag my turkey and thought I'm going to be out here until dark and have nothing to show for it. I was getting negative in my mind. So I set out with our guide down a ridge.



We passed over two hill and came to a ridge and I looked over the ridge to see a huge Tom turkey strutting around. I quickly ducked down and came up with a plan to sneak up on the turkey. So I creeped along the upper edge of the hill staying out of sight. I was able to get behind a tree and slowly peeked over the ridge.



And there it was...



A perfect shot and this time I did not miss. I nailed a trophy sized turkey. I was so pumped and it immediately erased the other stuff that happened prior to getting the turkey like getting wet, being super hungry, freezing my butt off.







As I was cleaning my turkey it came to me why I like hunting so much. It is not about killing things. It's about a goal and the hunt is the exciting journey to get there. It is much like many things we come up against in life. We have a goal in mind such as losing weight and the goal is like the turkeys tricky to get and many times so difficult that we feel like quitting.



However we only fail if we decide to quit! We might have setbacks and challenges but those things are what shape us and give us character. Believe me when I was chasing turkeys in the howling wind and rain a part of me wanted to say screw it and go warm up in the truck. I'm glad I didn't. I accomplished my goal and it reminded me that the best things in life come from working hard and persevering.

We are your guides in life's "turkey hunt" when it comes to fitness and weight loss. Don't give up! Good things will happen as long as you make the conscience decision not to quit.

6 Steps To Go Where You Have Never Gone

No I'm not a Trekkie  but I want to talk about exploring new frontiers and the line from Star Trek

pops into my head. "Going where no man has gone"

Do you ever go somewhere that you have never gone before.

No I'm not talking about science fiction or Trekkie conventions.

I'm talking about your fitness program.

Is it refreshing and always evolving or stale like the beer after college frat party??



Are you finding your workouts are sporadic or


just plain boring. Do you go to the gym just to

go to the gym. What you are lacking is purpose.

Time to stop being a spectator and get

into the game of life.



Here is my step by step tips on how you can

get some purpose and focus back into your

work out and become a player versus a spectator.



1. Find a challenge that interests you or something

you have never done or attempted. A new frontier to try.


2. Make an announcement, post it on facebook

and let everyone know what you are

doing. Now your integrity is on the line either

see it through or spend countless hours explaining

why you didn’t, your choice.


3. Pay the entrance fee if there is one and register.

No backing out now.


4. Train and prepare with relentless focus,

enthusiasm and intensity.

5. Do the event or challenge and give 100% no

matter what the outcome.


6. Now give yourself a pat on the back for

setting a goal and seeing it through. Very few

people ever do this and will never know how

sweet the feeling is to see something through