In my experience as a fitness professional there is one thing I’ve noticed over the past several years that I can count on like clock work: when there is a change in the weather there is a noticeable rise in absentees in my classes. It doesn’t matter if the temperature goes up or down—it could even be as subtle as a change in the wind or fog. What this tells me is that most of us will look for any excuse to skip a workout. Sadly, some will even make up excuses not to work out (remember P.E class). Sometimes we will make it to our workout but purposely not exercise at the level needed to achieve our goal (I call this ‘sandbagging’). This amounts to a serious waste of time, set backs in goal achievement, and even a slide toward mental mushiness that keeps us spinning our wheels on the road to fitness.

It’s the mental mushiness that holds us back. When I was in college I wanted to succeed at baseball more than anything else. This desire would propel me to endure mean and angry coaches, lazy and selfish teammates, and serious pain and injury associated with my sport. But here’s the kicker, in hind site my effort level was never high enough for me to succeed at the level desired. And I still worked harder than 95% of my teammates. I coasted at about 75-80% effort, achieved some success, but never pushed the pedal all the way to the floor. I still work out hard, practice martial arts, play baseball, and recently did my first tri-athlon...and guess what-I still coast. I battle mental mushiness every day.

Now, to put this into perspective, look at your life. If you’re honest with yourself it’s a good bet that you’ll see some laziness and half-hearted effort. Experts say we have limitless mental potential and all action begins as thought. If you haven’t achieved the fitness you want chances are that your thoughts are clouded, aimless, scattered, or worse—you’re not thinking at all.

I run into people all the time who fool themselves into thinking that their extra weight is not affecting their health. I have worked with people with type II diabetes who aren’t doing anything to lose weight. I’ve consulted with clients with high blood pressure who still smoke every day, work 12 hours a day and don’t exercise. I’ve had people report shoulder pain that has lasted over a year and have not seen a doctor or physical therapist. I know people who take better care of their cars than their bodies! For some reason most of us fall into these behaviors even though we know better. Walk into any doctor’s office in America and you'll hear similar stories.

Here’s my message to you….Don’t be that person who sacrifices your health because___________ (insert your reason here).

“Your health affects everyone you know and everything you do,” there is no getting around it. The choice is yours and so is the responsibility. It’s not up to your doctor, your trainer, your teacher; it’s up to you. Even if you’re already exercising regularly, I urge you to take a sincere look at the results you’re getting. It’s always true that your results will reflect your attitude and your effort.

Here are a few facts to consider regarding body composition:

Recommended body fat % for women:
Ages 20-39 should be between 21 and 33%.
Ages 40-59 should be between 23 and 34%.
Ages 60-79 should be between 24 and 36%.

Recommended body fat % for men:
Ages 20-39 should be between 8-20%.
Ages 40-59 should be between 11-21 %.
Ages 60-79 should be between 13-25%.


Have your body composition tested, this is a very simple way to take the guess work out of your fitness routine. Then take the information, set a goal, and make a plan.

457-FIT1 (3481)
scott@860fitness.com