Dont Give Up…EVER!

Doing Your Best

I write this article in hopes that anyone reading this will understand the title of this post better.  Since I was a small child I remember my parents, teachers, and leaders all telling me to do my very best.  No matter the task or activity I would get encouragement and support, but most of all I would hear that phrase thrown around day after day year after year.  Over time I think this expression started to lose its meaning, and certainly its impact.  Its definition lost over years of over use.  Today I hope to restore its definition!

When I started my fitness journey on April 1, 2009 I was in bad shape!  I had spent many years smoking, and was up to 2 packs per day.  I was drinking a whole case of soda (24 cans) a day, my meals were always through a drive through window, and any social situation found me with a beer in my hand.  I weighed 262lbs. and couldn’t make it up 4 flights of stairs!  I remember the first time I went out for a run.  I made it maybe 100 yards before I was reduced to walking a VERY slow pace.  I think I made it a mile that day, and walked away feeling defeated and depressed.  The next day I showed up and I didn’t do any better.  On the third day, same thing.  This continued day after day until one day I made it a whole mile without having to walk.  It was a private victory for me that changed how I looked at my fitness performance.  From that moment on every time I went out for a run I asked myself the question “Did you do your very best today?”  If the answer was no I went back out and didn’t stop until I could look at my reflection and say “YES! I did my best!”

Now what did that mean?  It meant that I didn’t lie to myself about my performance.  It meant I didn’t stop running until I could not take another step!  It means I didn’t take short cuts or cut corners!  I gave it my full attention, I gave it my full energy, I gave it my full dedication.  That dedication was not just for that one day, or one workout, but for the change I wanted to see down the road.  Trust me there were many many people out there better, faster, and stronger than me, but I never compared myself to them.  The ONLY person I was watching was myself.  I pushed myself to get a little bit better and a little bit stronger every single day!  Some days that meant running 5 extra steps, or finishing 2 seconds faster than the day before.  That might mean getting one extra push up or one extra rep.  Didn’t matter what the improvement was or how small it was, as long as it was improvement.

During my Saturday group fitness class one of my students said it took her years to put the weight on and it will take me years to get it off.  This is such a true statement.  Fitness is a journey that takes dedication.  Dedication and commitment to do your very best.  That means relentless effort day after day, week after week, year after year!  It’s a commitment very few are willing to make.  Those who do work tirelessly everyday to become a little bit better and a little bit stronger each time they workout.

I tell everyone who comes to my boot camps that I don’t care how many push ups you do, or how many sprints they can manage. As long as they did as many as they PERSONALLY could.  I tell them all the time how I could only do 4 push ups when I started P90X.  Now I do 150 per day.  That took me years of work and dedication.

Commit yourself to the cause, dedicate yourself to the journey, and always be able to look yourself in the mirror and say “I did my very best!”

My Interview With Raechelle Chase

For those people who may not know you, would you mind telling a little bit about yourself and how you got started in fitness? 

My name is Raechelle Chase I am an IFBB Pro Figure competitor, International Fitness Model, Writer & Mother from Auckland, NZ. My most important role is as a Mother to my 3 beautiful children Dior-Rose 5yrs, Carlos 6yrs and Annaliese 12 yrs. I am very much a family girl and prefer to spend time with my family when I’m not training. Being a parent is the most important role in my life and takes up the majority of my time. I found that throwing myself into fitness and competing has allowed me a life outside of motherhood and meant that I could still grow as an individual and balance being a mother with achieving my own goals. As they say the mother is the foundation of a happy family. When my children see me working towards my own goals, even if they don’t realize it, subconsciously they will learn how to achieve their own goals too and that nothing Is impossible with hard work and determination. Even though it is crazy busy for me when I am competing, I find that I am at my happiest when I am working on projects or competing or doing something to better myself outside of being a Mum.

I understand you are a Mother of 3 children.  How do you balance you responsibilities of being a Mother and your professional fitness career?  

It’s not easy trying to fit everything in and it doesn’t always workout the way I plan but having support from my husband and an amazing assistant makes it possible. When you are fully motivated and dedicated to achieving your goals you will always find a way to get there.

What Values do you hope to teach your children that could be helpful to everyone else as well?

I think a great key to achieving what may seam impossible to some throughout your life,  is to keep thinking like children do, in the sense that there is no such thing as ‘no’ or ‘can’t’. The only limits are the ones you set on yourself and its true that if you can dream it you can achieve it.

What have been some of your personal struggles as you worked towards success?  How did you overcome those hardships and struggles?

Trying not to let my body fat fluctuate so much between competitions. I have always had the goal to try and keep my body fat to a certain level but between competitions I have found it hard to stay on top of my diet and maintain my desired body weight. But I am slowly learning how to manage my diet and training as more of a lifestyle way rather than purely for competition. For instance at the moment I currently don’t have a competition date that I am aiming for, and it would be safe to say that my training and diet is perhaps the most clean and consistant its been in year and that has taken time to learn.

What advice would you give someone who is overweight and trying to lose weight and change their lifestyle? 

The only workouts wasted are the ones you don’t do. Any exercise is better than no exercise at all. Ease into it and it will slowly become part of your daily routine and lifestyle. Instead of drastically changing your diet start eating less of what you are currently eating and then slowly introduce cleaning foods into your daily diet. Making exercise a priority will make you feel better and you will naturally want to clean up your diet more as you see positive change in your body which will come with time.

What do you want you mark to be upon this world?  How do you intend to accomplish it? 

I live in my own little bubble of happiness with a hugh dose of craziness, I try not to let other peoples judgements bother me. I push everything to the limit and always try to find the possible within the impossible. Talk is cheap so I just give everything my best shot and through my actions I hope to inspired people to believe that everything and anything is possible if you just give it a try.

 I often hear that the key to a good six pack is 80% diet and 20% workouts.  Would you agree?  What kind of diet fits your lifestyle and do you have a favorite recipe?

Unfortunately I would agree diet and cardio is the most important aspect to a six pack. I am not very good at cooking and I don’t have a lot of extra time after cooking separate meals for my children so my meals are pretty bland. I know what I need to eat when I need to lean down, and I know my limits of how much junk I can get away with eating before my body-fat gets out of control.

If someone wanted to be doing what you are doing now, how could they accomplish it, and what advice would you have?

Get in the best shape you can, find a good photographer and get some great shots of yourself. Set a goal of where you want to be heading and start working towards it. Train consistently and always look for opportunities because they are always there, people just often don’t see them.

 What is your definition of success?

My definition of success is being happy with every aspect of my life on a personal/professional and spiritual level. Waking up feeling like its Christmas morning everyday and feeling like even when I’m working, it doesn’t feel like work – then you know your winning. Setting goals and being able to cross them off and then set even bigger ones because you are always evolving and wanting more for yourself. There is never a finish line there is always something more to see and do.

Why Have We Stopped Climbing Trees

My Own Hands from Land and Sky Media on Vimeo.

Have We Stopped Dreaming

Rest and Recovery

Growing up I was never much of a person who enjoyed sleeping.  Its true you can ask my parents.  Every night was a fight to get me to go to bed.  As I got older I wasn’t much better.  I would stay up late into the night, finally fall asleep from exhaustion, then wake up early and try and function on only a few hours of sleep.  The problem got particularly bad when I got a job as a Corporate Safety Director for a railroad company.  I traveled all over the United Staes living out of hotels and eating at fancy restaurants.  I would work hard all day, and then get back to the hotel room and watch TV late into the night.  Every day I was tired and worn out, and I would swear to myself to go to bed early that night, but then come night fall I never would.

Check out the rest of this article over at Gamer Fit Nation where I write on a weekly basis.  While your there check out all the other AWESOME writing on their site!

What Is A Beachbody Coach?

Making A Comeback

If you have been reading my blog for any length of time you know that I am a HUGE Rocky fan.  Movies have always been a big part of my life, and often I have looked up to movie characters.  Rocky has, and always will be at the top of that list.  Those movies teach us so many lessons on fortitude, commitment, consistency, patience, being true to yourself, family, honor, respect, and love.  The list could go on and on, but the one thing Rocky has taught me above all else is making a comeback after a defeat can and should be done!

Life is hard.  To be honest I am finding myself at one of the hardest parts of my life right now.  Every victory, and win in my life rests completely on me, and depends on how hard I work!  Recently I had an idea to expand my business and open a second office.  To make a long story very very short the office failed, due to the opinions, and actions of another person.  For the last week I have been struggling with the failure of this endeavor.  Over the last week I have come to understand why people allow failure to consume them, and overcome their actions and life.  But through it all I have had the words of Rocky in my head.  Rocky’s final movie is my personal favorite.  Here Rocky is without his beloved wife, who if you ever watched a Rocky movie you know he adored.  His son works in the big city, and his friends have all moved on to other things.  Boxing has become somewhat of a joke, and the current champion is not well respected.  He challenges Rocky to a fun sport match.  Rocky agrees and begins to train.  He trains VERY hard, while the younger current champ doesn’t do much at all.  He works day after day, night after night on his strength.  When he steps into the ring he is in the best shape of his life.  I love watching the part where he trains and you see him trying to lift a heavy weight over and over.  He fails time and time again but keeps trying till finally he does it.

When the fight starts everyone thinks its going to be over in seconds, but Rocky refuses to give in.  He and the current champ slug it out round after round, and Rocky never waivers.  He gives it his all, and never backs down.  I wont tell you how it ends, but I will tell you I think the ending is one of the best movie endings of all time!  Rocky makes a comeback and overcomes tremendous difficulty!  The words I have been rehearsing in my head for that last week are these…

“Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It is a very mean and nasty place and it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t how hard you hit; it’s about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward. How much you can take, and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done. Now, if you know what you’re worth, then go out and get what you’re worth. But you gotta be willing to take the hit, and not pointing fingers saying you ain’t where you are because of him, or her, or anybody. Cowards do that and that ain’t you. You’re better than that!”

Rocky

An Active Outdoor Lifestyle

Recently P90X:2 was released by Beachbody.  Now as many of you know I am an avid P90X fan.  It helped me lose over 60lbs, and Tony and I have similar personalities.  P90X is a 6 day a week program while P90X:2 is only a 5 day a week program.  I have heard Tony speak about how many people workout at a gym 6-7 days a week, building muscle and beautiful bodies, but never using them in the outdoor world.  Our planet is filled with so many different activities, and P90X:2 encourages people to find an outdoor activity to participate in during your two days off.

Well my activity is rock climbing.  My wife introduced me to the sport about 5 years ago.  She had gotten involved with a local climbing team at UNCC while I was away in CA on my mission.  When I got home I didn’t take to the sport right away.  In fact to be honest I didn’t like it at all!  But several months ago I went to the Rock Gym here in Olympia, and it clicked.  I, like many other climbers before me, fell in love with climbing.

Besides its amazing ability to work muscles in ways you could never do in a gym, I love its culture.  First off climbers in general are very nice people!  They are friendly, encouraging, and understand failure.  Se when you rock climb very few climbers can get a route on their first try.  It usually takes them several attempts to master a route or bouldering problem.  This means a lot of falling.  Since all true climbers understand this no one ever judges you for your mistakes.

Today my friend Dale and I went to the gym and we were climbing with a couple, who we had just met.  The women, who we will call Jane, had a very physically fit body.  She explained how she lifted weights, and did cardio several times a week.  Despite all her time put in at the gym she felt it was important to use those muscles and get out and do something active!  I was very impressed by her attitude and positive nature.

So I guess the point of all of this is dont get stuck going to the gym day after day.  Find a sport, or activity outside that you can participate in, and put all the gym time to good use!

Joy At Sudden Disappointment

Whatever comes, comes from a need, a sore distress, a hurting want. And every need brings in whats needed. Pain bears its cure like a child. Someone once asked a great sheikh what Sufism was. “The feeling of joy when sudden disappointment comes.” Dont grieve for what doesn’t come. Some things that dont happen keep disasters from happening.

Rumi

Have you ever read a book, or poem that inspired your mind and elevated your soul? The first time I read a book that blew me away was a book called “As A Man Thinketh”, and I think I read it when I was around 16. I couldn’t stop reading it, and made copious amounts of highlights and notes in the margin. The basic ideas found within its pages were that any person could turn their thoughts into reality. The book stressed that to be happy one must practice being happy, and to discipline the mind to hold onto happy, and uplifting thoughts. Having been raised in a somewhat negative family this was a concept I have never heard of before, but made sense to me.

For the next several days I walked around on cloud nine feeling happier then I had in a long time. I shared the book and ideas contained within with anyone who would listen. Then I shared my thoughts and attitude with my Father and a close friend of his. I will never forget as I sat in front of these two men I admired telling them of how wonderful I was feeling, and how I was happier then I had been in ages. My Father and his friend sat across from me and began to tell me how my feelings would never last, and that I should prepare myself for disappointment. Suddenly the “happy thoughts” I had been holding onto for the last several days were gone. I felt crushed and spent the next several week in a slight case of depression. I put the book away and it stayed in my desk for many many years.

Looking back on that experience I remember feelings of failure at having let those happy thoughts slip from my mind. I remember thinking that I had made a mistake and fearing failure again I hadn’t tried to recover my happy thoughts. What I didn’t realize as a dumb stupid 16 year old kid was that I had missed the key word in the teachings of “As A Man Thinketh”. The word was practice. The principle was sound and good. Even though I had failed at my first attempt to keep my mind disciplined and focused on positive energy, it didn’t mean the teachings were wrong. It just meant I didn’t have enough practice. Like a professional violin player who plays a perfect concert in front of thousands of people, the concert is the culmination of hundreds if not thousands of hours of practice.

I bring this all up because of an experience I had today. Recently I have been reading another book called “High Infatuation” by Steph Davis. Steph is a professional rock climber who gave up a life as a concert pianist to live a life as a dirtbag climber. In her book she talks about her ideas, and philosophies that have led her to where she is today. One of those philosophies is the idea of experiencing joy at sudden disappointment. The poem I included at the top of this blog post is a summary of this idea. All of us as we go through life will have times of easy sailing, and times of struggle and disappointment. It is during the times of struggle and disappointment that we must practice staying positive, and remember that all things happen for reasons that we will eventually look back and be grateful for!

Looking back over my life at some of my worst disappointments I am grateful for every single one of them. The disappointment, what ever it was at the time, kept disaster from coming into my life. As I look at these disappointments more carefully I found that disaster ONLY came when I clinged to the disappointment, unwilling to let it go. But when we let disappointment come and we are grateful and joyful for it, I have found it has always led me to a better place in my life.

Today I had a disappointment come. While the situation has not entirely passed me by yet I have thought about this concept of Joy at Sudden Disappointment. I have also thought hard on that day sitting in front of my Father and his friend, and have kept that lesson very close to the front of my mind. This is a perfect opportunity to practice maintaining a positive energy, and being joyful for this sudden disappointment. I will learn from it, I will be stronger from it, and I will find new and better opportunities because of it. Practice takes hard work and a conscious will to do it. I encourage all of you to do three things!

1. Buy, rent, check out the book As A Man Thinketh

2. Buy, rent, check out the book High Infatuation

3. When sudden disappointment comes (which it will), dont do what I did at 16 and feel like you failed. Be joyful for the opportunity to practice disciplining your mind and creating positive energy from your disappointment. I promise that with practice and hard work this one simple principle will have a huge impact on your life.

Michael Jordan Wisdom

Tag Your It…

So I got this from my online friend Jen, and decided to play along.

RULES

1. Post these rules.
2. You must post 11 random things about yourself.
3. Answer the questions set for you in their post.
4. Create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer.

11 Random Things
1. I enjoy bands from the 80′s such as Poison, White Lion, Bryan Adams, Metallica, Aerosmith, etc. 

2. My favorite actor is Cary Grant

3. It took me 3 times to watch the movie Paton. Granted in my defense I was very young.

4. My favorite book is Bridge to Terabithia, and my second is Faith of the Fallen in the Sword of Truth series.

5. Growing up my parents introduced me to the comic Calvin and Hobbs.  When I first read the comic strip, trying to impress my parents and be a good son I stomped into their bedroom and exclaimed that this kid was rude.  My parents started laughing so hard they couldn’t stop.  The reason the were laughing is I was a lot like Calvin growing up.  I even had a stuffed tiger named Hobbs.

6. I am in love with coats, and jackets.  I have owned so many over the years, but I still own my very first leather jacket.  Its very worn and needs some work done to make it wearable again and I am hoping to have that work done to it someday.  The jacket I desperately want, and would have a fit if I ever got it, would be a replica of the Brown Coat off Firefly!

7. I am a James Bond fanatic!  I own every single movie and enjoy watching them over and over!  I hope someday to own my very own Omega Seamaster, and Walther PPK.

8. In High School I was Captain of my swim team, and the youngest person ever to be made Captain at that school.  I was in 1oth Grade.

9. I love collecting books.  I will often buy books even though I know it will be MONTHS before I can read it.

10. I have always wanted to sell everything I have and travel the world working odd jobs and going wherever the wind would take me.  In fact I have always thought it would be neat to buy a boat an sail the world!

11. I used to have a HUGE collection of Spider Man comics, but my parents were not so keen on me reading comics.  Conveniently the box with all my comics including a number 2 issue didn’t make it on the moving truck when we moved from TX to NC.

Jen’s Questions for me!

1. Mac or PC?

MAC, and wouldn’t use anything else!

2. Do you find physical activity enjoyable? or do you do it just because you need to get it done? Why?

I love rock climbing, and geocaching.  I am also a big fan of camping and hiking! Being outside I can find peace and a safe haven from the outside world.  There are times that the noise of the world threatens to drown me.  Getting outside and cutting myself off from the world keeps me sane.

3. Favourite fashion brand or designer?

I dont have one! I wear what fits and is comfy.

4. Favourite restaurant and favourite dish at that restaurant?

Las Palmas in Atlanta GA, and I LOVE their Burritos Delight!  I wait all year long to eat there wile I am at DragonCon.

5. Do you enjoy cooking? What is your favorite dish to make?

I do enjoy cooking and I love making Zuppa Toscana.

6. How do you de-stress?

Watching a good movie or TV show.

7. Do you workout morning, day, or night? Why?

All of the above.

8. Favourite workout clothing brand?

I dont have one

9. If you had one tip to give to someone that wanted to change something in their life for the better, what would that tip be?

Dont ever give up success is a habit not something you do once.

10. What running shoes do you wear?

LOL I know I should know this but I have no idea! I know they are white and blue.

 
11. What is the most difficult thing about having a healthy lifestyle?

Keeping consistant.  I have to always remember to eat in moderation.  I love food, and I have the ability to pound away some food.  So I have to keep a record of what I eat and make sure I dont go over.  I also have to remember that when I make a slip up its not the end of the world and just jump back on track.

Tag…You’re it…