Could you do it? Would you do it?

Many of you know that I train a wonderful family that has become an all encompassing part of my life. Yesterday we walked our second 5K and Ricardo finished in 1:39min. I can tell you the first one took much longer and yesterday he did his very best. The weather was a bit chilly but walkable, the course not flat but the hills came intermittently and the kindness of strangers overwhelming. Ricardo is a young man who at 17 weighed in at over 431 pounds. Today he is at 394 and losing more everyday. Although his focus is limited to his age (teenagers can be all over the place) he remains committed to finishing strong. So my question to you is .. If you didn't loose any weight could you still workout and eat right? It seems as if the answer would be obvious, "No" but what if you knew that hard work in time would pay off it but it may not be the way you want it to? Ricardo is faced with the uphill battle of having to loose 250 pounds. His efforts cannot level off or he could fail. He has to wake up everyday and do what he did yesterday hoping to see a loss and perhaps a new life transforming. It seems as though some of us consider a 10lb loss with the same gravity and the ten pounds can be a constant reminder of defeat as we struggle just to stay on track. I say all that to encourage you with this thought, As Ricardo is cresting the hill toward the finish line he is saying how his feet hurt really bad, he is struggling to breathe well (he suffers with asthma) and he feels as if he can't go much further and I for a moment went to the place during my last marathon and thought about all those same feelings in order to find a way to encourage him. You see, whether it's 3miles or 26miles it's hard work. You have to want it and you have to get it. Don't measure triumph and defeat with somebody else's ruler,do it as if you knew your life depended on it. Finish strong and know it doesn't matter if you look different success is success to anyone else 3 miles in 1:39 minutes is defeat to Ricardo it's freedom. Be aware that life is a gift to you , how you use it is a gift to everyone else.

Have a great week. Let me know what you are trying to loose and what help you have found.

I will be offering three pre- Thanksgiving workouts one will be this Sat at 8am and then Monday and Tuesday evening the week of Thanksgiving at 6pm. There will be limited spaces so sign up it's 1.5 hour and it's $15 for the workout. There will be a cardio/weight training combo you won't have to lift for an hour and half. Let me know if you want to do any of these dates.