Accountability Article

[Leigh P.]

One of the women challengers wanted me to post this on the board. I wasn't exactly sure where to toss it, since it is largely diet orientated I thought I would just throw it here.

The Wagon Rider and The Pedistrian

February 01st 2008 Posted in Blog Post Edit

I am a big believer in things not being very black and white. I am one who believes in the ability of people to change, perhaps because I myself have changed so much. I seem to find often those who don’t believe in others ability to change are those who are afraid or do not attempt to do so themselves. I change, I change everyday. I constantly try to face things I fear, to stand up to the person I know I can be, and to self educate to become a more informed person in the future. I am human, I am flawed, but I try because I care.

That is the difference. That is where it becomes black and white. You either care or you don’t about something. There is no half way when it comes to caring about something. You don’t kind of care. By the very definition of the word it is a pretty extreme emotion, much like love. You love or you don’t.
You have heard of the saying I am sure, “I fell off the wagon”. Usually associated with drinking, it is basically rooted in trying to achieve a goal of abstaining something that isn’t good for us and failing to do so. The origin of the saying varies but it is largely believed to have come from the days of prohibition where those who denied alcohol were said to be “on the water wagon”. A water wagon carried water that sprayed the roads to calm the dust of travel. As if to say “I would rather drink the muck of the passing wagon than liquor”. To fall of the water wagon was not ideal. To say the alcohol is all good or bad is a bit extreme for my liking but I like the phrase.

The reason I like the phrase is because to fall off the wagon is to imply that you have a) been on the wagon at some point and b) can get back on it. In one classic saying you can combine a world of hope for yourself. You can take stock of the negative effects of failure and the positive of getting back on to ride a less mucky journey. I will try to resist being too poetic and spare you my drivel. I want to move to the rude awakening which is…

You either care or you don’t.
You either do what you have to do to achieve something or you don’t.

Does this mean that if you aren’t perfect that you don’t care? No, not at all. I can assure you that you can mess up left and right and still care. This whole thing is about trying to help you understand if you do care and the accountability that comes with doing so.

Excuses, Excuses.

I had a case client that was by all accounts a tragedy but he made Rocky’s ambition look wimpy. He had no money, no real family, worked two jobs, in massive debt from bad past financial decisions, divorced, recovering from a bad knee injury, no workout equipment, extremely out of shape, and about 75 pounds overweight. His one job was in a factory plant where he got a 30 min break in 10 hours. His other job was a graveyard shift job he worked 3 days a week. Some days he got 4 hours of sleep. A challenge for me to say the least as I had to work around time, money, no training equipment, injuries, and more. He could only contact me twice a week because his internet access was at the library only as he lived 6 states away from me.

Doesn’t matter though because you do what you have to do, so we got at it.

Training? Bodyweight, poles at work, on the way to work, park near his apartment.
Diet? Condiments and Splenda taken from his cafeteria at work. Bulk chicken breast and tuna buys at market. Dented cans of food, discounted meats, and veggies. I had 40 bucks a week to work with, that is it. Cheats were sample days at supermarkets, and bang for your buck calories came from smarter fast food decisions.
Supplements? Weren’t any, he couldn’t afford them.
Rest? He didn’t get a lot, but we did what we could.
Eating times? He packed lunches, he mashed foods together to make bars, he ate stuff cold, but he ate as often as he could.
Aerobic training? He acquired a used bike and started riding it to work. He started doing some drills outside, and when his knee got better he found one hill and went up and down it.

End result? I would like to tell you he lost all that 75 pounds, but he didn’t. Instead he lost 54 pounds, gained a some muscle and is about 11% body fat. In the best shape of his life and just got hired to be a personal training after saving 400 bucks to get the certification. He just wants to train people, just wants to make a few bucks doing something he now loves.

(This is Jeff 4 weeks after he hit 54 pounds. First time seeing the beach and getting ready to start his new job as a trainer…I may have put in a word. You know who you are, thank you. )

Now to be truthful this didn’t have a thing to do with me. I barely talked to him or inspired him. I didn’t get to see his form, all I could really do was point him in the right direction, provide a program and cross my fingers. I tried to help him get creative to make his life easier, but that is about it. It was how much he cared about achieving that did it. I was just an education source.

Have you picked up anything yet? I have a few questions for you now.

(Read More Here)

[Frank.S]

Ive always thought, if you want something bad enough, youll find a way to do it.