It IS all about you!

The answer, my friend, is not blowing in the wind; it’s in your head. The trick is getting it out of your head and into practice. One way may be to hire a professional, whether it’s a personal trainer, a swim coach, a wellness coach, or an online triathlon trainer.

Sara lost forty pounds and looks marvelous. How did she do it? It doesn’t matter, and here’s why: The method Sara used would never work for Beth, another client and friend of mine, and they wouldn’t work for you either.
Competition and ever-increasing efforts inspire Sara to work harder. She will swim, run, or dominate “friendly” abdominal crunch contests until someone passes out or throws up. Not Beth. The thought of racing, even against the clock, gives Beth a migraine. She avoids this kind of competition, and if she’s accidentally put in such a situation, she will go home to nap. What works for outgoing, adventurous Sara does not for calm, centered, easy-to-be-around Beth. They’re the Yin and the Yang.

The answer, my friend, is not blowing in the wind; it’s in your head. The trick is getting it out of your head and into practice. One way may be to hire a professional, whether it’s a personal trainer, a swim coach, a wellness coach, or an online triathlon trainer. Any of them may help the potential fitness goddess discover the right wellness plan. Others favor a go-it-alone style. Maybe you’re the type who likes to spend hours researching things on the Internet and designing your own program. But whether you’re digging or listening to a coach, you’re in charge. The exercise you choose and its duration, intensity, and frequency need to be yours alone. A coach may help draw out what works for you. Good websites may give you some ideas. But following orders will never work.
When it comes down to it, it’s all about you. It’s your job to decide what works.

How does that make you feel? Excited? Anxious? Free?
When I was 19, my friend Eileen asked me to join her in a cleansing fast. It was Lent, and it sounded like something that would be good for me. Hey, I’m in! The first morning we were to have water with lemon juice for breakfast. I wake up, and … I’m out! If I can’t have pancakes, I don’t want to get up. I’ll run five miles, but I want my breakfast. This was a total surprise to me, and has been good to know. All these years later, when I’m planning a new fitness venture, I identify what I’m willing to do and what makes me quit.
This is what it means to be in charge, to be free of other people’s rules. No website will tell you that you must have pancakes. Only you know that. Try some things, do some research, then decide what you really, really want. What do you like? What are you good at? What gives you energy? What do you dread? What keeps you in bed?
The fitness plan that advocates super slow repetitions will drive the type-A, get-things-done person crazy. The plan that instructs you to drink ever-increasing amounts of water won’t be feasible if your office is upstairs and the bathroom down.
So figure out who you are and what you need. Are you a Sara? Or a Beth? Or even a Lisa? Or are you just you? That’s the first step in fitness success.