What’s YOUR excuse?

What’s your excuse?
No Excuses is a phrase used commonly in the industry to pull us from the valleys or plateaus, which are common, and bring a better mentality or focus so we give 100% to our workout. No excuses means that you do not give in to lack of equipment, lack of energy, lack of experience, lack of money, lack of time, lack of options or lack of motivation.  No excuses means that the following factors will not hold you back; Age, posterior deviations, sex, injury, height, weight, knowledge or fear.

Fitspiration is common with people who workout, it is extremely common with women who are now empowering themselves with their workouts, leaving the treadmills behind and getting into the weight rooms, focusing on building lean muscle instead of just elongating their muscles and winning the battle of the bulge, lifting heavy weight and not fearing “bulking”.  Women are now starting to attack their workouts, become more focused and not let any obstacles get in their way.  I have seen time after time that women will not let any objection stand in their way of their goals and it is enlightening to see this change in the industry.  Instead of skimming foods, eating salads, starving themselves to lose weight, women are now eating proper foods, learning what nutrition does to their bodies and eating right which always brings a smile to my face.  There is no more fear of being starving, no more lack of nutrients, there’s a deep learning that the right amount of macros will fuel their body, fuel their workouts, fuel their life and overall I have found that women are starting to take control!

There is a lot of inspiration from Maria, if taken the right way.  There are always pros and cons and I will go over both;

  • Maria works two jobs and has three kids.
  • Maria takes care of a disabled Veteran husband.
  • Maria utilizes her time by working out while her kids play.
  • Maria is on schedule, waking up at 6 am to plan her day.
  • Maria works out 6 days a week, usually for about an hour mixing her cardio and weight training.
  • Maria plans her meals, understands what macro nutrients and micro nutrients do to her body.
  • Maria did not put on excessive amounts of weight while pregnant.
  • Maria has battled obesity in the past.
  • Maria does not watch TV, play on her cell phone or let any outside influence clutter her life.

Sounds easy and inspiring right? I can easily understand how defensive some can be, I will go over the other side;

  • With working 2 jobs, taking care of 3 kids, is she adequately spending enough time to teach, communicate, show appropriate manners, discipline, encouragement, or even know much about their lives?
  • Her husband might be disabled but with him home it certainly makes for an easy sitter while Maria takes her life into perspective.
  • While her kids play, if she is busy working out, who is watching them? Who is making sure they are safe? Three boys, we all know there’s possible injury.
  • Do we have the luxury of waking at 6 am? Some are on rotating schedules, work schedules, life restraints, I know of plenty that have to wake at 4 in the morning and make a mad dash to get to work.
  • Not all have the ability to workout 6 days a week for an hour at a time, or the luxury of a gym to do so, there are plenty of life expectancies that will not allow that.
  • Most overweight individuals the problem is food, addiction, understanding and education.  I have spent so much time talking to clients about where to start, what to do, what foods do what, motivation, expression, depression, all these issues come into play and seem so overwhelming when starting a program.
  • I can safely say I have no idea what a woman deals with when it comes to pregnancy, I can also say that anyone who has gone through it is stronger than I.  This subject is closed for 9 months in my opinion, I will say that you have a life after to learn eating habits and change from there.
  • People like their shows, it is a way of taking the stress out of their lives, I have heard so many say that watching TV is harmless and entertaining, which I agree completely.
I believe that this picture brought just as much positive as it did negative, it brought controversy, it might have originated to inspire but it has evolved into much more.  The gifted versus the struggling, the great genetics versus the workers, the did versus the doing, the accomplished versus the quitters, the overcome versus the excuses.
Will you look like Maria? Maybe, maybe not.  Will I look like Arnold Schwarzenegger? Definitely NOT, but I take his teachings to better myself, to achieve what I never thought possible and Maria intended to do the same thing.  Whether you want to look like Maria or not, take the teachings and lifestyle that she did in order to improve yourself instead of choosing to give up.  If you take 60% of what she did into your own life you have still improved yourself, you have bettered yourself, you have changed yourself physically and ultimately you will feel better.  If you take 0% of what she did and still believe that you are better in your own life then take that into perspective, don’t take the time to be negative towards someone who you don’t know, be positive in your own world and ignore those who believe they are doing something that you are not.  It all comes down to how you feel about YOU.

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