The Joy Of Exercise

Boxing is just one of many activities I enjoy

The Pursuit Of A Dream Body





My oh so glamorous IG photo 😛



“Contact me to help get your dream body today!”




Ok, so why won’t they?






You following me here?


Well what does that look like, the illusive dream body?













It’s that discipline thing




But we want the easy way sometimes, right?



All the other factors




That discipline word…


Discipline is crucial for her long term success.





Know what you want and go for it.




Motivation Or Discipline?




Motivation. the general desire or willingness of someone to do something.

Motivation:  we need it in life to accomplish anything we  put our minds too. Without it we lack the ability to get anything done. Some days we are more motivated than others. Some, we don’t care if we get off the sofa all afternoon.

For instance a day like today… cool, cloudy, rainy, it screams… “Stay home and lay on the sofa all day and read!”

I didn’t… I’m actually at Starbucks writing this blog right now so at least I’ll have some level of productivity today 😉

Sometimes, let’s be honest, it’s hard to sustain a constant level of motivation.

Let’s take that over to exercise. I believe sooo many people have good intentions when it comes to doing it. They start off in the week feeling highly motivated to do their chosen activity and then as the week wears on, their motivation begins to lag.

If ONLY we could keep that at a constant level.

Motivation can be a fickle thing.

Do we  need more than a “pull yourself up and drag yourself to the dreaded task motivation ?”

I think so.

In the beginning we do need a level of motivation to get going. We have our reasons to do it and that carries us for a bit.

However, at a point something new takes over, or it has to since as we all know, motivation can lag and eventually disappear.

What is that?  you might be wondering as you sit there tossing down your coffee…. what is the “thing”?

It’s  discipline.


“the practice of training” .

Disciple begins to be the next step when motivation has moved you out the door.

Discipline is what takes over and moves you out of bed into your workout clothes. It reminds you that you will NOT be happy with yourself if you come up with some lame excuse to not get it done. It is the thing that becomes wired in you to help you accomplish new goals.

I often get asked how I stay so “motivated” but the honest truth is, motivation is not what drives me anymore. It’s pure discipline that’s been hard wired in me now.

Discipline is what makes me structure exercise as a part of my morning routine, makes me put on workout gear first thing when I get up, and already have planned my athletic adventures for the day.

Discipline moves me outside when the weather is less than ideal or I don’t “feel” like it. ( I always feel like it once I get going) Discipline reminds me of my goals and it also reminds me of how awesome I’ll feel when I finish.

Discipline can see ahead and not just the day I’m in. It knows that what I do today, makes me stronger for tomorrow.

Discipline says that goals are not reached by sitting back and doing nothing, or not making it a priority. Discipline doesn’t allow excuses to come in and justify not doing it.

Motivation, can be a much more fickle beast but it’s the first step towards a more disciplined life.

Remember the difference…

Motivation has a “general desire”

Discipline is  “the practice of training”.

Motivation is great to get you moving, but always aim towards a lifestyle of discipline in your endeavors.

Do you see a difference in motivation and discipline? Have you learned the difference in your life?



The Discipline Of Self Training



Yesterday my son tagged me in a funny video that he knew would make me laugh.

It was a woman who was over weight attempting to ” eat her veggies”. Actually, it was one brussel sprout, cut in half, on a plate.

I should mention, it was also steamed. One steamed brussel sprout.

She attempts to eat it, and finally gives up sobbing and crying that she can’t.

Ok, well I’m pretty sure it was all staged for entertainment purposes, but it did get me thinking.

Crazy things get me thinking….

So many behaviors in our lives are “learned” behaviors, or things we’ve trained ourselves to do.

Think about it… we’ve trained ourselves to get up at the same time, prepare for our days in most likely similar ways, how we dress and how are days are structured are all things we’ve trained ourselves to do. How and what and when we eat all fall in ways we have trained ourselves.

We’ve trained ourselves to eat healthy foods, or we haven’t. We’ve trained ourselves to eat healthy balanced meals, or we’ve trained ourselves to go through the local fast food place.

Habits… but none the less…. we’ve trained ourselves into these behaviors…good or bad.

I began to take that idea further by looking at it in the ways of how we eat and drink.

When someone tells me they “don’t like vegetables” or they “don’t eat them” or “they just can’t find time to exercise” or ” they’re to busy to workout” or they “need” soda,  or they have to go through a drive thru because they are “starving”  and the list can go on…

Those are definitely areas in someone’s life that have to been “trained”, they need to  have a new discipline built in to them.

It made me think about things like this that people have trained themselves to do…

driving through a fast food place for “a snack”, buying a coke and candy bar in the gas station, stopping for a donut with the morning coffee, eating foods that are out in the break room at work, having treats at home that aren’t healthy, reaching for seconds at dinner long after your appetite is satisfied, bringing home a 6 pack to drink while you watch tv, sleeping in instead of getting up earlier to give your body the exercise it deserves….

All of these things and more are things people have taught themselves to do… learned behaviors….

Meaning, you can also train yourself in new ways as well.

Often someone has good intentions but you know what? It can be hard to retrain those not so good habits with better ones. It does require a level of discipline and real desire to make it happen. Sometimes you are working against a lifetime of trained habits.

You have to train yourself to replace not so healthy foods with healthier ones. No, it’s not easy. Your body is accustomed to how you’ve been feeding it. I can tell you, as you begin to eat healthier foods, your tastes will change and you will begin to find those once so “desirable” foods and drinks will have less pull on you. Some things will actually start to taste different to you and it makes it easier to not eat them.

If you begin to train your body that it needs to get up a bit earlier in the morning to get purposeful exercise done before you start your day, in time, it will become your new normal.  If evening is better for you, you will begin to carve out time for yourself at the end of the day. Making small, purposeful steps will begin training you for a more active lifestyle.

Retraining yourself to build new disciplines and habits isn’t easy, but with consistency and daily forward movement you can and will be successful 🙂