How much time do you waste thinking about shit and not actually getting it done?

Don’t get me wrong, we do need to be thinking. In fact, this contemplative stage is vital to our goal setting. During this stage, we need to envision, ponder, and evaluate where we want to be, what we want to do, or who we want to become. Then however, we need to stop the “why” bullshit and get the fuck after it. 

Set your goals, break them into daily tasks, weekly checkpoints, and monthly landmarks. Set timelines to them. Then every day, do what you need to do to accomplish them. Don’t put them on the back burner or change them to be something more attainable. Don’t wonder why you set that goal or reanalyze if you really want it. You thought about it, wrote it down, and need to chase it down. Whatever it takes, get it done and stop wasting time on the why. Just fucking do it.

Once we get there, or spend the allotted amount of time that we set to get there, we can sit down and reanalyze. This is the time we can now think once again and get all the analytical, philosophical, and investigative shit out of the way.

Did we achieve the goal we set or did we come up short?

If we did, do we feel like we thought we would when we set it? Does it give us joy, happiness, more free time, more money, more power, or whatever it was we were seeking through this goal?

Are we happy here and want to maintain? Or do we want to reset the goal to something beyond our current achievements?

If short, why were we not able to complete this goal. Is this something we want to continue to go after? Or do we want to change this goal and set our sights on something different? 

Don’t change the goal to simply be more attainable. Remember big goals are what we want out of our lives to reach our potentials. But, maybe the journey here wasn’t what we thought it was and we don’t think that this goal is going to help our lives for the better. Change it to something else - just don’t change it because you still want to achieve it, but it’s just too big.

Stop thinking and get to doing. It’s the only way success is in your future.  

​This morning, I had one of our athletes hop back on the InBody, our body composition analysis device at the gym, after a 3-week hiatus. Life got in the way of her training, and thus progress. It happens. The most important thing is for her to get back on the wagon and continue the weight loss journey she is on.

When people come back after vacations, family issues, lack of motivation, etc, I always perform a body composition analysis. They are always reluctant and no one likes me that day – but it’s vital. I put them all on the InBody upon return for two reasons:

They need to realize what that time off did for them. This is a huge lesson in lifestyle change for the good and bad. If someone keeps their nutrition and exercise going while away from the gym – they will get some results. Maybe not incredible ones, but they will be moving on the right track. If they hit one of two, they will likely maintain. Often times, I am happy about this and maintenance is a great goal sometimes – especially while on vacations. Keep your daily activity levels up and you do have some room to splurge on local treats while in Bermuda, or the Cape, or wherever you summer. OR keep your food on track and enjoy the relaxation that sitting on the beach in Laguna brings. However, ditch both of your positive nutrition and exercise traits, and you will quickly see what happens to your body composition as your fat mass rises and your muscle mass decreases. No bueno for any of our athletes at Aspire. This is a perfect lesson in how they should be treating their daily lives away from the gym when life gets in the way in one way or another.
 
Additionally, doing a body composition as soon as you are back from a hiatus is vital to once again measure our progress. If you come back after 3 weeks and in that time get right back to all the positives habits, we preach at Aspire, you will be losing body fat and gaining lean muscle mass. Those improvements may not seem as drastic if we are only comparing against your old results. We need to retest to once again see where we need to go and where we’ve been.

Remember, this journey to health and fitness is a lifelong road. We need to develop habits to the best of our abilities and also realize when they have receded. It’s like pushing a boulder up a hill. Ideally, we will be constantly pushing that boulder up. Occasionally, we may let it slide back down a little. As long as we stop it as soon as possible and begin pushing once again, the journey to the top – our ultimate health and fitness goals – is inevitable.  

We all are told to hydrate, but what exactly should we be hydrating with?

​It’s probably a fact that most people need to drink more water, but often times we forget a vital component of hydration – electrolytes. There are 6 electrolytes that are essential to our bodies: sodium, potassium, chloride, calcium, magnesium, and phosphate.

Electrolytes affect the amount of water held in your body, blood PH, and muscle function. Without electrolytes you will be peeing out all of the water you take in and quickly pushed to the sidelines cramping with insufficient hydration levels.

Essentially, just drinking water will simply hydrate the blood, often leading to peeing it all back out in clear urine. You think you are hydrating, but in reality that water is just passing through your body. Electrolytes provide the cells the ability to take in the water, hydrating them intracellularly. Pulling the water into the cell demonstrates true hydration and can only occur via electrolytes. Too much water without electrolytes can also cause a problem called hyponatremia, which can be life threatening.

Although proper hydration is vital for all humans, the importance is most prevalently seen in endurance athletes. Fully hydrating the body doesn’t just happen in one sports drink. You should also be taking electrolytes in the days and week prior to athletic events. Even in times without a competition on the horizon, especially in the humid climates of the world, a daily electrolyte supplement can be vital to achieving both peak performance and health.

​If you are currently looking for a supplement for electrolytes, we currently recommend Salt Sticks, Base Salts, and Nuun (available for purchase at the gym).

Don't over complicate goal setting. Here's how to set a goal in 9 steps.

• Step 1: Start with a BIG goal
• Step 2: Begin back tracking to today to establish a timeline
• Step 3: Divide that timeline into 4 manageable sub-goals with dates
• Step 4: Create 3 daily tasks to get you to your sub-goal
• Step 5: Week 1, hit 1/3 of those tasks
• Step 6: Week 2, hit 2/3 of those tasks
• Step 7: Week 3, hit 3/3 of those tasks
• Step 7: Continue until you reach sub-goal 1
• Step 8: If successful, continue until sub-goal 2 (and so on). If unsuccessful, analyze why. If you completed your daily tasks, create new (likely more aggressive) daily tasks. If you did not complete your daily tasks, start again on Step 5.
• Step 9: Look at these goals daily
  
• Step 10: NEVER GIVE UP