Hope everyone is getting off to a great start this year! How's you're diet? Been doing your 30 minutes of cardio? How's that resistance training going? Are you being consistent? I hope so...but if not, here's a little motivation and a reality check for you, both good and bad.


To my surprise, I got home last night around 9pm, and there on the kitchen table was the 2010 Victoria's Secret Swim Suit Catalog. My eyes bugged out of my head! I sat down and went through the pages, and all I could think was (no, that's not what I was thinking! My wife reads these....so...I love you Honey!! :) ).  What I was thinking was, this is awesome! This should motivate some people to get in shape BEFORE summer starts.  Right, I know, it's freezing outside and summer time is months away, right?

First of all, two reality checks.

• The girls work their butts off as part of their job
• They're also probably 18, 19, 20 years old, and have great genetics, no kids, paid to be in shape

Do you have that kind of time? What? You already have a job? Hmmm. But you want to be in great shape for the summer, or be in great shape overall, ALL year round. And you have a life too? Wow, that's crazy! Well, the second part of this letter is about the Biggest Loser, and it fits in well with the whole idea of this newsletter, so bare with me.

The Biggest Loser is an unrealistic idea of weight loss and fitness. As a matter of fact, although it's supposed to be a REALITY show, it's far from reality. They work out 6-7 hours a day. They train 7 days a week, have nutritionists, chefs, trainers all day...and most importantly, they also have medical personal on hand all the time because at that weight, and that sort of regiment, they get hurt often. They dehydrate themselves days before the weigh in.

How realistic is that in your life? How harmful is that to these people, who 50% of gain back the weight they lost, and how can anyone keep up with that sort of intensity day in and day out without eventually quitting. Lets get  REAL here. Most people don't have that time, and most importantly, who can keep up with that sort of intensity? Most fad workouts, diets etc don't work because of just those points. But how can you get in shape and do it in a reasonable way that is realistic.

First, get Victoria Secret models and Biggest Losers out of your head. They get paid to do what they do. They take off of jobs and have 24/7 attention to get it done. That's not reality, and those images make you say, "Well, I can't get like that so I won't even try". But what you can do, is if you work hard, you're consistent, and you're patient, you'll find that the weight comes off, your muscle will show, and you'll do it in a reasonable amount of time. If you do the three things I preach often, you WILL get results. Diet (what you eat and how much), Cardio (get that heart rate up and down, dont go for a stroll), Resistance Train (increase lean tissue, lose more weight, look the best you ever have). You'll be in bathing suit and even bikini shape in time for summer.

THE REAL REALITY

The real reality is, YOU can do it! You're friend can do it, your kids can do it, everyone can do it. I train people from 10 to 70 years old. Some get stronger, some lose weight, some do both, but the ones that are consistent and do the three things they should, see the best and fastest results every single time. They reinforce what I say every time. I'm training two new people right now that are going for the Suffolk Police Fitness Test. They are both doing everything I've told them to do. They've increased their pushups dramatically, they've gotten stronger, and they've both lost great amounts of weight. One lost 15 lbs in the last few weeks, and the other just lost 7lbs in one week!

The reality also is, if you don't do it, you won't see any results and will probably get heavier, more out of shape, and less energetic until you are forced to do something, which in most cases is too late. And, you never know...you may have a Victoria's Secret body, but never took the time and effort to find it! I've seen it again and again.

We may not all be Victoria Secret Models or Biggest Losers, but we don't have to be to look great on the beach this summer, the next summer, or fit nicely into tighter clothes that show off our new bodies, and get those compliments from our significant other, friends, family, and coworkers...we just need to take a little time each day and so the things that work.

All you have to do is ask many of my clients who have seen muscle they never had, or the person who keeps talking about how they are fitting into clothes they have had stashed away that they never thought they'd fit into. Or the person who has problems with shoulders, knees or backs and suddenly they can do things they hadn't before. What is your goal and what kind of results do you want? You CAN achieve them. But you can't do it looking up and trying fads and crazy workouts that you'll stop in a week, or a month.

I truly believe in each and every one of you reading this, and the ones around you who also want and need to get in shape. So let's get to work, and let's get that body in shape for the upcoming summer. It all starts now! Today!