5 Steps to Achieving Your 2012 Fitness Resolutions

"Today is the first day of the rest of your life" - John Denver

It's that time of year when everybody gets excited about making the new year their best year yet. They're going to quit smoking, eat less, exercise more, etc. If hundreds of millions of people set these goals every year then why do hundreds of millions of people fail to achieve them...and then set the exact same goals the next year?

Check out these staggering numbers from a 2010 resolution study of just over 250 participants:

• only 12% achieved their resolutions (30 people)
• 70% quit in the first 30 days (175 people)
• 78% quit in the first 60 days (195 people)

Kind of depressing to read, huh? So why do so many people quit and so few actually achieve the goals they were so excited about just a few short weeks earlier? 

The answer lies in how they went about setting those goals. The study also showed a 22% higher rate of achievement with "formal goal setting".

Without formal goal setting you're like a piece of driftwood in the river floating here and there with no control of where you're going. Formal goal setting makes you like an arrow - you fly with direction and speed right to your target. 

So few people go through the process of formal goal setting because: 1) they think it's not important, 2) they don't know how, and 3) they have a fear of failure/fear of rejection. Without the process of formal goal setting your goals are nothing but hopes and dreams. You may have a lot of "potential", but little materializes from it.

To turn those hopes and dreams into actual goals you must take the time to go through the formal goal setting process. Here are the 5 steps to "formal goal setting" that will help you finally achieve those new year's resolutions: 

1. Determine your goals
• think big to achieve big
• be realistic - too lofty of a goal can cause discouragement and failure
• MUST choose goals that are personal - personal goals give you the deep down desire and passion to stick with it when times are tough 
• they must be clear, written, specific, and measurable
• write your goals in the first person (i.e. if your goal is to weigh 150lb, then "I weigh 150lb")
2. Make a plan of action
• takes time, but is well worth it since this is your step by step process for success
• the more clear and detailed each step is the more likely you are to achieve your goals
• take an honest look at where you are now, ask yourself how you got there, and what is holding you back from already achieving that goal (identify any and all barriers to your success)
• write down every possible action that can get you to your goal and then organize them by priority or by the sequence of events
• again - details, details, details (i.e. there are 3,500 calories in 1lb of fat...it's highly recommended that you stick with losing 1-2 lbs per week - use those baseline numbers to help you plan out your detailed action plan and time it will take you to achieve your goal)
• use a calorie counter to track your calorie consumption (such as www.myfitnesspal.com - my personal favorite because it's also an app on my iPhone)
3. Review your goals
• put your goal on a sticky note and post it everywhere you look most often (dresser mirror, vanity mirror, wallet, car dashboard, etc) so that you see it and are reminded of it several times each day
• visualize what you want to look and feel like every time you see that goal written down
4. Measure your progress
• daily, weekly, monthly, etc check-in points (i.e. a daily goal of exercising for 60 minutes, a weekly goal of losing 2lb, a monthly goal of losing 2% body fat, etc)
• if you're not making the progress you should be, evaluate why and adjust if necessary but don't quit
5. Reward yourself
• do something special for yourself for every goal you achieve that gets you closer to your ultimate goal (i.e. if your goal is to lose 6lb per month and you hit that goal then reward yourself with a new sweater or a massage or something of that sort)
• once you achieve that ultimate goal then set new, higher goals (if you already hit your weight then set a "weight maintenance" goal)

There you have it, 5 "easy" steps to achieving your fitness resolutions. Much easier said then done. Again, this process takes time, commitment, focus, and determination to achieve your goals, but by doing this your chances of achieving your goals increase significantly. A goal of losing 30lb in 5 months is really a set of daily goals (exercise for x min per day, eat x calories per day), weekly goals (exercise x times per week, lost x lbs per week), and monthly goals (lose x lbs).

If you're in the Milwaukee area I would love to meet with you and help you achieve your fitness goals. The Wisconsin Athletic Club has been voted #1 in the area for the past 6 years in a row for a reason - the club is clean, the people are friendly, and we genuinely care about our members of the WAC family. If you're interested in sitting down with me at the club to review membership options, review your goals, and set up a complimentary one week trial membership to see if we're the right fit for you then please contact me at amarkos@thewac.com or at 414.228.2800. 

If you have any other questions or need guidance on setting your goals please let me know. Best of luck to you all! I hope 2012 brings the realization of all of your fitness, family, career, and financial goals!

True Happiness

What makes you happy? Happiness can come in many forms: making a lot of money, buying the kids lots of Christmas presents, having nice cars or a big home, etc. The problem with those forms of happiness are that they are short lived. They're short term forms of happiness that can only fill the void for so long.

Numerous psychological studies have shown that the true driver of long term happiness is being a part of something bigger than yourself.

What are you doing that's bigger than you? Do you volunteer for an organization? Does your job influence and impact people's lives in a positive way? Find something you can make a difference doing and you'll unlock that long term happiness.

As you look forward to 2012 I hope you make 2012 the year you find that long term happiness.

Real Success

"In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure" 

Success! I've finally finished the book "Real Success" from Ken Shelton and the Editors of Success Magazine. The book is a compilation of writings from Success Magazine founder Orison Sweet Marden. Orison is considered to be the founder of the modern success movement in America. 


The book is broken down into 3 sections: 1) Character, 2) Action, 3) Influence. Within section 1 - Character, there are writings on faith, self esteem, positive thinking, and affirmation. Within section 2 - Action, there are writings on work, healthy habits, goals, and adversity. Finally, within section 3 - Influence, there are writings on personality, persuasion, relationships, and leadership. As you can see, this book doesn't focus on one area of success (such as a book solely on leadership, etc) it touches on a wide variety of areas and doesn't go into as much detail in each area.


Every success area that is talked about revolves around faith. If you've read other books on success by authors such as Napoleon Hill or Norman Vincent Peale you'll find that this book follows a similar pattern. However, the faith aspect is more about "The Creator" or an "Inner Power" so it's more "general" in faith (not sure if that's the right word). I, personally, don't mind due to my faith background but I know for some people it can be tough to read. 

The biggest negative I found was that although the book isn't too long (319 pages - maybe a bit longer than similar development books) it's a long read. It seems to be very repetitive and touch on the same examples over and over again. Typically I read roughly a book a month, but this took me 3 months to read. Now, other things have come up causing me to get off the reading track (typically 30 minutes 4-5 times per week), but I was a little discouraged and felt the need to "just get through the book" at several times.

My biggest passion when it comes to success is within all of section 1 - Character. These were my favorite parts as I believe those four areas: faith, self esteem, positive thinking, and affirmation are really the foundation of success. The other sections have a variety of skills and attributes that can lead you to success. 

Something I loved about the book were the examples. There are several examples in each chapter from great leaders and successes such as Abraham Lincoln, John D. Rockefeller, Michael Jordan, and Dale Carnegie (any many, many more). 

Overall, although it's a long book, I think it's definitely worth the read if you want to touch on a wide variety of areas of success. 

Now, time to enter my underlines and notes into the "Knowledge Bank" and move onto the next book! 

4 Ways to Deal With Criticism

"There's always room for improvement, you know - it's the biggest room in the house." Louise Health Leber


Everybody has goals, dreams, aspirations, hopes, and in order to achieve them you must steadily improve in your skills. Nobody wakes up one day and POOF they saved a million dollars or POOF they are a CEO or POOF they lost 40lbs. Achieving your goals takes a steady, daily effort of hard work, making mistakes, learning from the mistakes, and steadily improving until you hit that big goal.

Mistakes and criticism come with improvement; in fact, they're a prerequisite to improvement and achieving your goals. If you never takes risks or make mistakes and never learn to improve how are you going to move forward?

It's important when dealing with criticism that you take it for what it's worth - a chance to improve. Not all managers or people are great at giving criticism (but hopefully it's something they're making mistakes and learning on as well) so it's important to keep a few things in mind when dealing with criticism (from the book "Real Success"...yes, I'm still reading it...long read):

1. Don't take it personally - It's not you, but what you've done that is being criticized. Keep your emotions out of it.   
2. Accept it as part of the job - Criticism is part of the learning process. You cannot learn unless your mistakes are pointed out to you. 
3. Find good in it - If the criticism makes you aware of an unperceived weakness, faults or errors, despite your initial hurt, you can learn from it. Focus on the lesson.
4. Remember the objective is to help you to succeed

Again, some people and managers are better in delivery of criticism then others. Although you can't control how criticism is delivered you can control your response to it. By keeping the above 4 points in mind when given criticism you will be able to take it, learn from it, improve from it, and take another step toward achieving your ultimate goals. 

Carpe Diem!

"Get action. Seize the moment. Man was never intended to become an oyster." - Theodore Roosevelt

Every day presents an opportunity to: 

• Achieve daily goals
• Make progress in achieving your weekly, monthly, long term goals
• Learn something new
• Meet somebody new
• Be a positive impact on somebody's life
• Be a better you

Are you "seizing the day" and making the most of it? Or are you so focused on the future that you lose site of the present? 

Goals are great. You won't find many more people that are bigger on goal setting than me: daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, 5 year, 10 year, 20 year...but too much future focus can quite easily make you lose site of the achievements and successes around you on this present day (including your family/friends around you). 

Make sure that you work the above bullets into your daily and weekly goals/tasks/things-to-do lists. Happiness studies show that people who achieve goals, connect socially, and/or are a part of something bigger than themselves are happier and more fulfilled than those that don't. 

Don't let the obstacles or failures of the day get you down. If you look at obstacles and failures with positive optimism and a "bring it on" attitude you'll make the most of them by learning and growing to be a better, stronger, smarter person.

Every day is an opportunity. Make the most of it - ENJOY IT. 

Who are you to judge?

"If you judge people you have no time to love them" - Mother Teresa 

An article popped up online Saturday in my local newspaper about two teen girls that died in a car accident literally blocks away from where the North Shore WAC is located. They were 15 year old girls that were driving together at 2am and when a police officer went to pull them over for a broken headlight they took off and wound up crashing a short time later. What would be your first response to hearing that two 15 year old girls tragically died in a car accident? (you can read the article here if you would like)

As I read the article and scrolled to the bottom where the comments were I was shocked to read that the first handful of comments were all filled with hurtful judging. Not hurtful for me, but for the families and friends of the girls involved in the accident. (the comments are no longer on the article from what I've seen, maybe due to the heated arguments)

Yes, these girls should not have been out at 2am driving together on just a learner's permit, but to show no remorse and instead attack the parents of these girls for not being good parents and keeping a better watch on them and comment about alcohol, etc is inexcusable. The story just broke and there were no details except the story above. Being who I am, I came to their defense and commented back on every one of the negative comments (and through the power of Facebook was able to find out none of the people with negative comments had children...imagine that). How awful would it be for those parents to come across this article and read those comments? (and due to the power of social media many friends and some family did unfortunately come across the hurtful comments)

Details later unfolded that alcohol was not a factor and the mother of the girl that was driving was out of town with no idea of what happened. 

Who are we to judge people? Are we so perfect and without fault that we have the right to look down upon others? Let thee who is without sin cast the first stone...there's a reason nobody threw the first stone. 

Judging others is a bad habit that fills the mind and heart with negativity. When the mind and heart contain negativity there's less room for the positive. If you wish to be truly positive you have to rid yourself of the nasty habit of judging. Try, in all situations, to see the good in people. This takes practice, but if you find yourself judging or talking bad about someone, catch it and end it right then and there. If you aren't careful to pull the weeds out of the flower bed, soon the weeds will overtake the flowers and you're left with a bed of weeds. 

Have a great Thanksgiving and enjoy the time with your family

Don't Quit

I'm preparing for a goal setting workshop I'll be presenting for all of our North Shore WAC members and a few days ago was looking for a motivational piece that people could turn to when they hit obstacles.

I've heard this poem before and had to share it with all of you. I hope this motivates and inspires you to not give us and keep working to overcome whatever mountain you're currently climbing or whatever obstacle lays in your path. [YouTube version]

DON'T QUIT

 

When things go wrong as they sometimes will, 

When the road you are trudging seems all up hill; 

When funds are low and the debts are high, 

And you want to smile, but you have to sigh; 

When care is pressing you down a bit, 

Rest, if you must, but don't you quit. 

Life is queer with its twists and turns, 

As every one of us sometimes learns. 

And many a failure turns about 

When we might have won had we stuck it out; 

Don't give up though the pace seems slow - 

You may succeed with another blow. 

Success is failure turned inside out - 

The silver tint of the clouds of doubt. 

And you can never tell how close you are. 

It may be near when it seems so far; 

So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit - 

It's when things seem worst that you MUST NOT QUIT

The Secret to Dealing With Difficult People

Great article from the Harvard Business Review on dealing with difficult people.

Here are my biggest take-a-ways:

1. The problem with being a victim is that you cede the power to the influence your circumstances. 
2. You're not going to change them. The only person you have the possibility of changing is yourself.
3. Use the "reverse lens" and see things from their point of view. Walk in their shoes and try to understand why they feel the way they do. They have a strong conviction for their way of thinking and you of yours; why?

How you deal with difficult people can have a direct reflection on you and your attitude. A difficult person getting you off kilter for a few moments afterward is OK, but if you let it affect you for longer than that it's something you need to address within yourself. Do not give that situation or person power over your attitude!

Look deep within yourself and resolve that you will not let negative people or situations influence your day. Use self affirmations if needed - after dealing with that person, tell yourself that "I'm a great person and handled that situation to the best of my ability. Today is a great day and nobody will change that." Once you've driven this into your subconscious it will become habit and you will quickly and easily overcome these situations.

If there are problems reoccurring with the same person then try the "reverse lens". Everybody always think they're right and it's likely that you're both right, in your own mind, for different reasons. Examining it this way can help you remain calm and not let the situation affect you. However, if the problems continue time and time again you should have a one-on-one with that person and calmly, politely express your concerns over the relationship.

What are your thoughts from the article or in dealing with difficult people in general? I would love to hear from you!

Rapid Fat Loss Secret

"People are so worried what they eat between Christmas and the New Year, but they really should be worried about is what they eat between the New Year and Christmas." Author Unknown


No ifs, ands, or buts about it, nutrition is easily 80% of the weight loss battle. No matter how hard you work or what you do, if you aren't eating right you will not achieve your optimal desired results. Your body is a machine and machines need the correct fuel.

However, this isn't about nutrition, this is about utilizing the best possible workout method to help facilitate fat loss. You will actually work out less and achieve better, faster results than logging boring miles on the treadmill. The secret to rapid fat loss is something called interval training.

Intervals alternate a "work" time period with a "recovery" time period. Typical "work" periods could range from 10 seconds to 1 minute and "recovery" periods could range from 30 seconds to 3 minutes. The standard rule is the recovery period period should be 2-3 times the length of the work period to give your heart rate time to come back down.

The work periods will be at a very high intensity - anywhere from 90%+ of you max heart rate whereas the rest periods will be at a lower intensity. My personal rule of thumb when doing intervals is that I want my working heart rate to get up into the low to mid 90s and my recovering heart rate to get down into the 60s.

There are a variety of ways to go about intervals - running/biking outside, treadmills, bikes, stair machines, etc. I typically will do intervals on a treadmill going at the fastest speed I can maintain good running form at for anywhere from 30-60 seconds with a recovery period of anywhere from 90 seconds to 2 minutes. To hit my desired heart ranges, for example, I may do a 30 second period at 12.0mph with a 90 second period at 3.5 mph. Do this anywhere from 8-10 times and you have a tremendously efficient, calorie burning, metabolism spiking, fat torching workout done in less than 30 minutes (with a warm-up and cool-down).

Intervals are so effective because they cause dramatic heart rate highs and lows that shock the body and cause a metabolism spike similar to that of weight training. Jogging at a steady state, even for a longer period of time, may burn about the same calories, but it won't give you the metabolism spike. The metabolism spike is what helps you continue to burn calories at a higher level over the course of the next 24-48 hours. Over time, these continued spikes and excess calorie burning result in greater fat loss.

There are a variety of work/recovery options and interval methods you can use. Get a heart rate monitor, pick your favorite cardio method, and have at it. If you're not used to getting your heart rate into the mid 80s+ you may only be able to do a few intervals, and you may need to rest longer, but start there and try to add one more interval each week. Your body can do amazing things and you'll quickly notice that over the course of a few weeks, if you're doing intervals 2-3 times per week, your heart will adapt and you'll be able to workout at higher intensities for a longer period of time with less recovery between intervals.

This really works - studies have proven it and I can personally attest to it. I am NOT a distance/endurance athlete and over time these have done wonders for decreasing my body fat and increasing my heart efficiency. I had a physical when applying for life insurance and the person had to double check my resting heart rate because it was in the high 40s - similar to that of marathon runners (average heart rate is in the 70s)! Give it a try, monitor your fat/weight loss results, monitor your heart rate versus work/recovery times, and let me know how you do! I would love to hear about your success.

For any questions please contact me at amarkos@thewac.com and I would be happy to help.

Should you stay late or go home?

"It's not the time you put in, but what you put in the time"

Great read from the Harvard Business Review on staying late vs going home.

I love how he brought up that routinely working over 10 hour days increases your chances of getting heart disease by 60%. That is likely due to the added stress placed on the body from the hours, but the underlying cause is a lack of proper exercise and nutrition. People that put in 10+ hour days typically don't exercise because they're so physically and mentally worn down they don't have the energy or "time" to exercise. When you're working those kind of hours you also don't focus on eating healthy foods - large gaps between meals and fast food become the norm.

By my initial quote I'm sure you can see where I stand on this. I firmly believe it's about the quality of work, not the quantity. Yes, more and more is being demanded of employees, but that can be handled through prioritizing, delegating, and time management. Being a "hard worker" has little to do with the hours you put in and a lot to do with the quality of work you produce. I've known and managed many people that have been to work before others and left after others that didn't have the results of people that worked closer to the standard 8 hours each day.

By prioritizing what's essential for you to be doing and delegating what's not essential you'll remove unnecessary tasks from your day and free up time. By setting your tasks and estimating time to complete them the night before you leave you can hit the ground running the next day; saving you time. And by focusing on the task at hand you can save time - stop fighting fires and start focusing. If possible, designate "quiet hours" when you will not accept interruptions, let everybody know, and stick to them.

If you're not in a position to use the above suggestions because your manager unloads task after task on you then be honest with them. Let them know you cannot accomplish these tasks to the best of your ability, thus affecting the company, and balance all the demands being placed on you (work, family, physical health, mental health). A good manager will be understanding and work with you on it. If they're unwilling to listen or work with you then it's time to start looking for a new job. No job is worth sacrificing your family, health, and sanity. You only live once - find that balance, hold your ground/stick to it, and enjoy it.

Great Service Isn't Natural - It's Created

"Do what you do so well that they will want to see it again and bring their friends"


Some people are naturally service focused and they deliver great service that's outside of their training for no apparent reason. Again, SOME people are naturally service focused. The large majority of people hired aren't gushing with the need to satisfy somebodies desires. To create WOW service you need great people, but even more importantly you need great training. Creating great service is a process just like creating an engine is a process (without the heavy machinery) - both can cause injury if the process isn't followed correctly.

Walt Disney was one of those people that gushed with that need. And because of his understanding that great service is a process he was able to create a fantasy empire. If you haven't read "Be Our Guest: Perfecting the Art of Customer Service" you're missing out on helping your company's service take the next step.

The Quality Service Cycle is an organization wide process that generates quality service. There are 4 main elements in the QSC: 1) Service Theme, 2) Service Standards, 3) Delivery Systems, 4) Integration

1. Service theme - your mission statement, the driving force of your service and the foundation for your staff's behavior with guests
2. Service standards - criteria for actions necessary to accomplish your service theme 
3. Delivery systems - your employees, the setting, and the processes in place
4. Integration - how it all comes together

Take a look at the elements and ask yourself the following questions: 

• What's our mission statement? Does our training revolve around it? 
• What should we be doing to accomplish our theme? What steps are necessary? 
• How are our employees trained to deliver and accomplish our theme? Do the processes in place make sense? Do they work? 
• What's the end result? Is everything flowing together to drive us to our theme?

I could go into great detail in each, and will in future blogs, but for now I want you to pick up the book, review the elements, and ask yourself the above questions. 

If you have any questions for me please don't hesitate to ask. I look forward to the comments and hearing from you. Have a great weekend!

7 Easy Stretches to Do at Work

"Happiness lies first of all in health"

By a show of hands, how many of you stretch every day? I don't see many hands...maybe it's because I can't see you, or maybe it's because you're like most people and don't "have time" to stretch. Stretching is a vital part of an overall fitness program: 1) Weight training, 2) Cardiovascular training, 3) Flexibility training. If you're not working on your flexibility you're more likely to suffer from poor posture and more susceptible to injury (despite how active you are). Studies have also shown that stretching can give a slight increase to strength and maintain strength during a layoff from exercise. As an example, my typical breakdown on a weight training day is: 5 min warm-up, 40-45 min weights, 10-15 min stretch. 


Stop limiting your yourself, stop making excuses about time, and try these stretches at work (especially if you have a desk job!)


Stretching will make you feel longer, stronger, leaner, healthier, and just plain better. Get started now and you'll save yourself trouble in the future. Happy stretching!

Rid Yourself of Worry

"Worry never robs tomorrow of it's sorrow, it only robs today of its joy"


I had to share another great excerpt from a book I'm currently reading, "Real Success".

If you never accomplish anything else in life, get rid of worry. You will find no greater enemies of harmony than little anxieties and petty cares. Do not flies aggravate a horse more than its work? Do not little naggings, frettings, and worries aggravate you much more than your actual labor?


The little pin-pricks, the petty annoyances of our everyday life, mar our comfort and happiness. They rob us of more strength than the great troubles that we meet head on. It is the perpetual scolding and fault-finding of an irritable man or woman that ruins the peace and happiness of many a home. 


What we fear is invariably something that has not yet happened. It does not exist; hence, it is not a reality. The fear habit shortens life, for it impairs all the physiological processes. It actually changes the chemical composition of the secretions of the body. Fear victims not only age prematurely but they also die prematurely. 


I love the part about how fear (worry) is something that has not yet happened and that worry robs people of more strength than the actual trouble they meet head on. All those little worries and stresses take a tole on your body. They can make you gain weight, cause you to age prematurely, result in increased blood pressure, and all the compounding worries and little things that nag at you can cause you to be unhappy and perpetually negative (somebody that no one wants to be around).

Free yourself of worry, doubt, stress, anxiety, and fear by having faith in yourself and in situations that everything will turn out OK. It's when you don't free yourselves of those petty annoyances of everyday life that they compound and leave you unhappy, stressed, and full of angst.

Have a worry free weekend!

Weight Loss Quiz

The person that handles our Wisconsin Athletic Club - North Shore Facebook page posted a quiz this morning that I found very interesting and want to share with all of you.

First, take the quiz, then read below (no cheating!).

I got an 11 out of 14; not quite what I thought I would get given my personal training background. I learned some new things and I really like how they shared the why behind the answer and gave a little extra educational info. Great quiz!

The biggest shocker for me was #3 - calories from alcohol are worse for belly fat than other calories. We've all heard the "beer belly" expression, but given the choice between high calorie/high sugar foods like baked goods (cookies, cakes, brownies...drooling thinking about them...) I would think those foods would contribute more. Your liver is so busy burning the alcohol it can't burn the fat. Add onto that the typical late night high fat foods after a night on the town and hello extra belly fat!

I'm surprised in the fact that men collect more fat in the abdomen due to the fact that women naturally will have a higher percentage of body fat due to less lean muscle mass and also in the fact that you're more likely to lose fat in your abdomen first. Everything I read and trained on in the past said that fat loss happens differently for everybody, but the abdomen is typically the last place (most common first place is the face).

Very informative and educational quiz. How did you do? Anything surprise you? Any answers you don't quite understand or would like to talk more about? I look forward to reading your responses!

Be Your Own Coach

I'm currently reading a book called "Real Success". The book is based on the writings of Orison Marden, the founder of Success Magazine. The writings are from he earlier 1900s, but it's amazing how much of what he wrote about then still can be used today.
One of the "success skills", as I like to call them, that I'm the most passionate about is attitude. Attitude is the foundation of success - you can't build on a faulty foundation. Attitude is determined by your thoughts, and the amazing thing about your thoughts is that you can control what you think about and control what goes into your mind.

Here are parts of a passage from "Real Success" that I knew I had to share when I read it:

The great literature of the world is replete with mottos, adages, and proverbs that inspires readers to have faith in themselves and in their capabilities. Make it a practice to find, memorize, and apply these to your life...Don't wait for extraordinary opportunities. Seize ordinary ones and make them great. Record adages that you find inspiring. When you feel discouraged, refer to this list and renew your faith. 

When you need to bolster your self esteem, emulate the coach of an athletic team. When the team falls behind, the coach reaches out to motivate the team. With well chosen words, the coach instills enthusiasm, self-confidence, and commitment to reach the goal. As individuals, we need pep talks, too, when our enthusiasm for life wanes, when we are depressed, when we suffer setbacks, when our self-confidence fades, and when our faith in ourselves is shaken. But where's the coach? We must be our own coaches and give ourselves pep talks. 

To change the scripts in your mind, give yourself a pep talk. Tell yourself you are a winner - you have succeeded in the past, and you will succeed again. When we speak to ourselves, we create scripts that govern our lives. If those words are self-negating, pessimistic, and failure-oriented, our scripts and our lives will be the same. If we think positive thoughts, if we dwell on our successes, if we accept that our failures are only temporary, we will generate the enthusiasm that will make life exciting and rewarding. 

Make it a practice to replace those negative words in your personal script with positive words: instead of words of despair, words of hope; instead of words of failure, words of success; instead of words of defeat, words of victory; instead of words of worry, words of encouragement; instead of words of apathy, words of enthusiasm; instead of words of hate, words of loves and self-esteem. 


My sports background brought coaches into my life that helped develop my thirst for inspirational words/acts. It's amazing what a handful of those "well chosen words" can inspire individuals to accomplish as a team. Your days of overcoming a half-time deficit to win a conference title may be over, but your days of using inspiration to accomplish great feats should not be. Be your own coach and feed yourself words that inspire you to achieve success. I keep a section in my Knowledge Bank (more about that in a future blog) for quotes and refer back to them anytime I need a pick-me-up, decide to change my email signature quote, or need a well placed quote for a meeting.


I would love to hear from you - What are some of your favorite quotes, words, or affirmations that inspire you to succeed?

8 Things You Should Never Say to Customers

"The goal as a company is to have customer service that is not just the best but legendary."


If you don't genuinely care about your customer and have an actual interest in what they're saying, no matter how good your words are they won't have a positive affect. Combining genuine care and interest with the proper verbiage is essential to high level communication with customers. 


I came across this article I want to share with you: 8 Things You Should Never Say to Customers


At WAC we train and coach quite a bit on verbiage, especially with the front desk, to be sure the right message is coming across. 


Using words like "right away" or "immediately" help show what they said was important and that you're going to handle it. For example -"I'll get that handled for you" vs "I'll get that handled for you right away". 


Customers also want you to take responsibility, whether or not their request is in your job description. So instead of telling them "what you should do is..." - take care of it! If you absolutely cannot do it for them then let them know "I'll get somebody that can take care of that for you right away". 


Here are some examples of word choices we train on at WAC: 
Verbiage

• What you say is important, but being GENUINE is more important
• We say “yes” whenever possible
• Say “please”, “thank-you”, and “you’re welcome”
• Do NOT use:
• No
• Policy or guideline
• I don’t know
• Hold on
• Sorry about that

• DO use:
• Yes
• In order to be fair to all members…
• Let me find out for you
• One moment please
• I’m sorry/I apologize

Simple word choices can help defuse an upset member or help them keep from getting upset in the first place. Again, no matter what words you use, if they're not genuine the customer won't buy it. You're better off hiring genuine, service minded people and training/coaching on verbiage than hiring robots that use the right words. You can't train caring (that's a product of upbringing), but you can train verbiage. 

Faith vs Fear

"You must expect great things from yourself. Faith brings out the best in you."

Fear:

• depresses and suppresses your abilities
• sees only the darkness
• is pessimistic
• predicts failure
• creates stress, worry, and anxiety
• wonders why all the bad things always happen to them

Faith:

• increases brainpower
• sees the silver lining
• is optimistic
• predicts success 
• prolongs life because it never frets
• knows things will come out right

People that are faithful are not shaken when disappointments, losses, or catastrophes come their way. Their faith looks beyond the negative and instead sees the sun behind the clouds.

Think about the things that bring you the most stress. Those worries that take the spring out of your step and rob you of your joy are not those which actually happen. If you constantly question the outcome of things you create doubt and you cannot thrive in the face of doubt. Fear creates failure.

Athletes are a prime example of this. If you golf you'll know exactly what I mean. If you hit a few bad shots you start to lose faith in your swing and begin making all kinds of corrections. Before you know it your body and mind don't seem to be working together and you've forgotten how to swing altogether. Or take a quarterback that has made a few bad decisions, is getting hit every time he drops back, and has receivers that aren't running the right routes. Over time, these factors ware on his mental capacity and he may begin to doubt his abilities or his teammates. When that happens he becomes timid and struggles even more.

Same thing in your life. If you hit a few roadblocks or hit a rough patch where things just don't seem to be going your way what do you do? What do you "think"?

Faith is a positive confidence in yourself and your abilities. It's what keeps you going when the odds are against you. When you're beat down and want to give up, when things have been so difficult that you just want to cry - faith is what gets you through. Faith is what lifts you up, rights the ship, puts that smile on your face, and gives you that spring in your step despite the troubles you're going through. Faith brings success.

Do you live with faith or with fear? 

"You can change what you are. You can change where you are in life by changing what goes into your mind. All you have to do is believe in yourself." - Zig Ziglar

Why We Fall Off Workouts

One of the reasons I love my job in the fitness industry is because I enjoy seeing people transform their lives through exercise. You can tell when somebody is having success - they seem to just kind of beam when you see them at the club.

Unfortunately most people very quickly fall off the wagon due to a variety of reasons. Most clubs, WAC included, have several tools in place to help members get started and achieve lasting results. The reality of the situation is that even though more and more people are finally seeing that exercise needs to be a staple in their lives, most fall off within the first 3-6 months (the critical time frame consistency is needed to achieve results and make exercise a habit).

I came a across a great article on-line: 8 Reasons Why We Fall Off the Workout Wagon that I want to share with all of you in hopes that you will see why you've fallen off in the past and use the "what you can do" tips to get back to exercising, achieve consistency, and achieve your health & fitness goals.

Reason #1: You have a perceived lack of time

This is probably the most common complaint. You have your career, a girlfriend or wife and possibly kids to attend to, not to mention your buddies who are always tempting you to go over and watch the game. Life's demands just don't stop, and often, they crowd out your gym time.

What you can do:
Schedule your workout time. Start scheduling your workout time into your day just like you would a doctor's appointment. Once it's written, view it as a commitment, something you will have to schedule other things around.
Maximize your workout time. The second thing you can do is make sure you are making the most out of your workouts at the gym. Instead of doing a whole bunch of exercises that isolate one muscle, such as tricep kickbacks, do compound exercises that will work many muscles all at once (e.g. chest press).
Consider super-sets. You can either alternate between agonist and antagonist muscle groups like biceps and triceps, or between upper and lower body exercises. This way, you can work one muscle group while the other is resting and cut that "dead" time out of your workout.
Schedule shorter sessions. If you only have 30 minutes, you can still get a great workout, so long as you push yourself hard. You don't really need to dedicate an hour or more to see results. Many times, people in the gym are actually over training, and cutting down your workout time might actually provide you with better results.
Have easy access to your gym. Finally, when choosing a gym, make sure it's easily accessible. Find one on the way to or from work and you will be much more likely to make a stop.

Reason #2: You don't see results

You've been working out for three months and have yet to see results. This makes you question why you even bother and sends your motivation out the window. If this is the case, it's time to re-evaluate your workout routine.

What you can do:
Hire a personal trainer. Enlist the help of a professional trainer who might be able to quickly pick up exactly what to change to achieve your desired results.
Set realistic goals. If you started working out a month ago weighing 200 pounds with 25% body fat, you won't be able to get down to a cut, 10% body fat frame in a few weeks. If your goal is a large one, break it down into smaller mini-goals so that you are continuously making small achievements.
Eat healthy. Finally, have a look at your diet; if you are grabbing a handful of nuts while watching the game or have been knocking back an extra beer after work lately, these will all add up and slow your progress. When your diet is on track, your efforts in the gym will be much more noticeable.

Reason #3: You injured yourself

If you've suffered an injury recently, this will no doubt be a setback for you. But don't become depressed about it and completely avoid the gym.

What you can do:
Shift the focus of your workouts. Take the time to focus on other aspects of your workout that you have been neglecting. If you've been really hammering the weights hard, try emphasizing your cardio training a little more. 
Emphasize other body parts. If you injured a smaller body part, such as your shoulder, you can still perform strength exercises for your legs. Just make sure you allow yourself enough time to recover and seek professional treatment if need be, otherwise you will only increase the amount of time you are sidelined.

Reason #4: You go to the gym, but don't get enough done

This may be the case if you socialize at the gym. Your rest periods turn into rest sessions and a trip to the water fountain usually involves a detour to chat with the girl on the bike. If this sounds like you, it's time to focus on why you're there.

What you can do:
Set an amount of time to train. Try to perform your entire workout within a set period of time. Once you get it out of the way, take a few minutes to socialize and relax.  
Hire a personal trainer. As mentioned above, a personal trainer might keep you on track. Since you're paying by the hour, you'll be a lot more focused.

Reason #5: You are self-conscious or intimidated

Or, if you're a newbie and don't understand many of the basic concepts, you might feel intimidated by all the different equipment and machines.

What you can do:
Talk to a personal trainer. Make an appointment with a personal trainer who will show you all the basics and get you started on a program you feel comfortable with. 
Train during slow times. If your appearance makes you feel uneasy, head to the gym at non-peak hours so there will be fewer people around. It would also help to remind yourself that it's a matter of time before you see improvements. 
Train with a buddy. Find a friend who's also interested in getting in shape. Your workouts will be more enjoyable and you'll have a spotter.


Reason #6: You don't like your gym

If you got your gym membership years ago, various factors might have changed. If it's the gym that's keeping you out of the gym, then it's time to look at taking out a new membership.

What you can do:
Get a membership at a new gym. When looking for a new gym, take advantage of many of the free offers out there allowing you to be a "member" for a week before making a commitment to ensure you like it. Also, make sure you read up on all their policies and guidelines before signing any sort of contract. 
Subscribe to a large chain of gyms. Become a member of a larger chain that allows you to train at any location in your city and drop in as a guest when you travel.

Reason #7: No one supports your efforts

Your girlfriend may be angry that you're cutting into the time she gets to spend with you by going to the gym, and your friends may become slightly resentful of your rapidly-improving body and the fact that you're making them look bad.

What you can do:
Invite them to train with you. Invite your girlfriend to the gym and try to pique her interest in fitness. If she's not the fitness type, then make it clear that you are working out to feel better about yourself. If your buddies are the problem, invite them as well. Otherwise, you may want to avoid mentioning your workouts around them.

Reason #8: You don't like going anymore

If you are just finding it hard to go, for no particular reason, you may just need a break. Everyone experiences a bit of a burnout or a psychological barrier from time to time.

What you can do:
Visualize the results. Envision the results you hope to see as a way of motivating yourself to go again. 
Update your routine. Change your workout routine. Try some new exercises or maybe even a whole new form of workout such as boot camp or a kickboxing class. Often, a change of pace is enough to get you going again. 
Reward yourself. Buy yourself something you really want after a given amount of successful sessions. Set a goal you can work toward.

I love how they said a "perceived" lack of time. It doesn't take long to exercise and start making healthy life and body changes. If you have a spouse and children that only compounds the difficulty in finding time. Sit down with your spouse and work out a schedule when both of you can get exercise in. Even if it's only every other day for 30 min, at least it's something. The WAC, and most larger health clubs, have child care available for a nominal monthly amount so you can actually bring the kids to the club to play while you work out. Time is no excuse, we all have the same 24 hours in a day and must schedule exercise in - your health and well being depend on it!

Getting help from a certified trainer can help you overcome several of the reasons. Many clubs now offer a complimentary session with a trainer to get you started. For example, we offer 2 - 1 hour sessions with any of our trainers or instructors so you can meet with a personal trainer to get workout guidance, a dietitian to get your nutrition in line (70%+ of the weight loss battle), yoga instructor for some one-on-one tips, etc. Even if you've been working out for years and are extremely advanced a certified trainer that keeps up to date on the latest information in their profession can help infuse new ideas into your workouts.

Examining why you have failed in the past is an important part of succeeding now and in the future. If we don't learn from the past we are doomed to repeat it. I hope these reasons and tips to overcome them help give you that positive push towards achievement of your health & fitness goals. If you have any questions for me or need any guidance please contact me and I would be happy to help you. Have a great weekend!

The Only Competitive Advantages Your Company Will Ever Have

Excerpt from "Zappos: Delivering Happiness":
"...a big reason we hit out goal early was that we decided to invest our time, money, and resources into three key areas: customer service (which would build our brand and drive word of mouth), culture (which would lead to the formation of our core values), and employee training and development (which would eventually lead to the creation of our Pipeline Team)."
"...our belief is that our Brand, our Culture, and our Pipeline (BCP) are the only competitive advantages that we will have in the long run. Everything else can and will eventually be copied."

Zappos is so successful in part because they put their resources (time and money) into 1) customer service, 2) company culture and 3) their people. When I read this I immediately starred it, underlined it, dog tagged the page, circled it - this excerpt stuck out like a sixth finger.

Think about it; processes can be copied and technology can be copied. Eventually a competitor will take your great idea, copy it completely, package it at a lower cost, and try to beat you. The only way you will win is by having great service and great people (culture helps cultivate these two things).

Yesterday the WAC held their quarterly Member Services Kickoff, which is when all the membership reps at the 6 clubs get together with the owners and GMs for ongoing training and education. One of our owners shared a story about a product called Zune. Microsoft came out with Zune shortly after Apple created the Ipod in an effort to keep up with Apple. Haven't heard of Zune? That's because Apple stuck true to the above 3 items (customer service, culture, and people) and kicked Microsoft's butt. Even though Microsoft created a similar product and a similar price point they couldn't keep up with Apple.

No matter how good the product, how low cost it is, or how big the company brand is - if your service isn't top notch, your work environment doesn't cultivate fun and creativity, and your people don't believe in it or aren't well trained then failure is imminent. You can put as much money into marketing as you want, but word of mouth spreads quickly (especially in the age of social media) and customers will go elsewhere.

What are you or your company investing most of their budget into? If the top three aren't: customer service, company culture, and employee training & development then you/your company aren't capitalizing on setting yourself apart from everybody else in the industry and sooner or later that will catch up to you, effecting your long term success and bottom line.

Strength in Numbers

"The nice thing about teamwork is that you always have others by your side" - Margaret Carty

If you've been struggling to achieve your fitness goals then maybe it's time to grab a partner.

Everybody hits plateaus in their workouts - you get sick, family situations arise, work demands get bigger. Before you know it a few days off turns into a few weeks which turns into months and then you're starting over from square one because the gap was so big all your results went out the window.

People that workout by themselves have a drop out rate that's nearly 40% higher than that of people who workout with a partner.

Working out with a partner is successful because:

1. It's social - happiness studies have proved that we need human interaction to have sustained happiness
2. There's accountability - you're expected to meet at a certain place and time each day so you're more likely to go
3. It's competitive - you push each other more so you end up working harder and burning more calories
4. There's motivation - your partner can keep you going through lulls so you stick with it and avoid falling back into old habits or dropping out completely

If you're struggling to stick with workouts grab a partner with similar goals, schedule workouts together, and get busy achieving your fitness goals.

If you need somewhere to workout together that's clean, fun, and full of energy please let me know. There's this great health club I know about that can help you achieve your goals ;)

It's all in your head

"Cogito ergo sum" - "I think, therefore I am" - Rene Descartes

Sleep is all the rage in the health and fitness world. Every magazine you pick up has something in it about the importance of sleep on your physical and mental well being. It's recommended that adults get anywhere from 7-9 hours of "quality" sleep per night; quality meaning uninterrupted sleep. How much sleep do you get and how does that affect you during the day?

I was having a conversation with a group of people yesterday and the topic of sleep came up. We all had various answers as to how much we get and need. Somebody brought up how he's never really tired unless he's sick because he mentally does not allow himself to be tired. Very interesting point and the more I thought about it the more it dawned on me that he was pretty much right on.

Everybody has different sleep needs. There's the 2-5% of the population that can function successfully off of less than 5-6 hours per night, but for the other 95% of people need to get somewhere in the 7-9 hours range. For me, I've found over time that 7.5 hours is perfect. 

The mind is a very powerful tool and it can do extraordinary things if you're feeding it the right information. Think about the positive - if you expect good things to happen to you and that you're going to overcome any obstacles in your way then good things will come. Same thing with the negative - if you tell yourself you're having a bad day then chances are your day is going to get even worse.

Next time you're feeling tired or drained mentally/physically take a moment to think about what's going on in your head. Stop thinking "I only got 6 hours of sleep. I'm beat and just can't do this right now." and replace that with "I feel great. I'm well rested and full of energy". If you say those positive affirmations internally over and over again your mental state changes to reflect renewed energy and a renewed attitude. For even better results try saying it aloud - but you might want to go into an area by yourself so people don't think you're losing it ;). It takes time and a conscious effort to control your thoughts, but it can and will work.

Don't believe me? Try it and you'll be amazed!

Where the Passion Lies

"People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they're doing." - Dale Carnegie


If you aren't enjoying your career, having fun, and having success, then re-examine whether or not it's where your true passion lies. The pay can be great, the people can be great, the company can be great, but if you're not passionate about it your success will be short lived and you'll be left feeling a little empty and unhappy.

I went to college at UW-La Crosse for a fitness specific degree (athletic training and/or strength & conditioning coach) and wound up changing that degree to marketing because I learned there was no money in it unless you're doing it for a very long time. After college, I spent a few years in the mortgage industry and the money was very good, even during the so-so economy. After a few years the high of the financial success wore off and I realized that no matter how good the money was I wasn't really happy with what I was doing. I lacked the passion for what I was doing, which lead to my happiness in my job deteriorating, which lead to my success slowing.

Finally, I decided to not worry about the money and chase my passion, which was in the fitness industry. Ever since high school I've wanted to own my own gym and that goal has not changed. I made the leap and although the money is less right now, sooner or later the money will follow. 


If you find something you're passionate about and go all in and give it everything you've got, the money will follow at some point, but your success and happiness will be beyond anything you thought possible. And in the end, being "successful" is all about being happy. 

Passion --> Fun/Happiness --> Success (personal and professional)

Slow Down!

Great blog post from Men's Health on the first ever study that links fast eating to weight gain.

The Japanese study had a good sample size and followed them for an extended period of time. I wish there would have been some data on exercise involved (if 300 of them were fast eaters and none of them exercised then the numbers would obviously be skewed).

I like the tip about taking a bite, then taking a sip, taking a bite, then taking a sip. This will help you fill up by slowing you down so your brain can register when you're actually full and also by filling your stomach with a liquid. However, if that liquid is a high sugar juice or soda you may want to replace it with water.


Another tip to help you cut yourself off sooner rather than later - drink a glass of water before you dig in. This will put something in your stomach right away and lessen the chances that you put too much food in your mouth.

The key to all this however, is realizing when you're full. If you get that full feeling and keep eating then it doesn't matter if you take any of the above steps.

First Impressions

"You only have one chance to make a first impression"

First impressions set the tone for what's to follow. Regardless of how great your company is or how great your people are, if that first impression isn't positive and spot on, your bottom line will suffer.

Technology is great, but it has brought our average attention span down to 7 seconds. When people meet you for the first time or come in contact with your company for the first time they will make a decision on you or your company within those 7 seconds.

When that customer stops in or calls in make sure that, regardless of how busy things may be at the moment, you pull yourself out of the lull and greet them with a smile, positive tone or body language, and are welcoming.

If you manage people then I encourage you to shop your people and watch or listen to how they first interact, whether it is face-to-face or over the phone. Watch their body language and listen to their tonality and verbiage so you can coach them on how to make the best possible first impression. If you're not training on first impressions as part of your service training then study it, learn about it, and start training on it immediately.

If you want any ideas on what you should be training on please feel free to email me at amarkos@thewac.com and I would be happy to share what we use for our initial front desk service training.

Loyal or Satisfied

Take a moment to think about your customers. Are they satisfied? Sure, most good company's customers are. Are they loyal? Probably not.

A satisfied customer is one that was OK about dealing with you, their needs were met, you sold them an OK product, the service was OK, and they were happy with their purchase. They may go out and refer someone to you...or maybe not.

A loyal customer is one that feels great about dealing with you, their needs were exceeded, the service was great, and the experience was great. They will proactively talk about their experiences and refer someone to you.

Which customer would you rather have?

Loyal customers are created, they don't just come looking for you. Their needs have to be exceeded and their experience has to be "WOW".

Think about some of your very own experiences. What was it about that experience that made it so special? I bought a couple dress shirts from Van Heusen at one of the outlet malls. The sales people were helpful, but it wasn't anything special. A few days later I got something in the mail from them - it was a handwritten thank you note for purchasing the shirts! WOW I said to myself, I have never ever received a handwritten thank you for the countless items I've purchased over the years. There have been some emailed thank yous or some printed on letterhead, but only one handwritten thank you ever. Ever since that moment I've been writing handwritten thank you notes - first while I was in the mortgage industry and now as a membership rep at Wisconsin Athletic Club. I've had countless prospective members turn into members and thank me for the handwritten note both personally and also financially through referrals.

Take a look at your service experience, maybe even shop your own people, and see where you can add a little "WOW" and create a little loyalty.

Doing Your Job

At every meeting we go around the room and all directors and/or GMs will share their "WAC Moments". A WAC Moment is any moment where a team member goes out of their way for a member or fellow teammate. This is one of our core values and is essential for our success.

A few weeks ago one of our directors' WAC Moments was when one of their staff put away some inventory that was delivered. Everybody laughed and nodded their heads in agreement. He took initiative and put it away without being asked to do it - how amazing!

Nothing against our director or the person that put the inventory away, but have we become that lazy as a culture that simply doing your job earns you praise for going "above and beyond"? (psst - the answer is yes). So many people just "get by" and do the minimum that when somebody actually does what they're supposed to be doing everybody is in awe. I watched something yesterday called "The Boys of Fall" on ESPN as I was biking and the head coach at Alabama, Nick Saban, said something along the lines of how he doesn't think people want to be extraordinary; most people just want to be average and that's ok for them. At first I thought that was kind of a pessimistic, negative thing to say, but it's true.

I shared some rules from Og Mandino's "A Better Way to Live" a couple weeks ago and I encourage you to live by Rule #2 - Today, and every day, deliver more than you are getting paid to do. 

Those rare people that want to be extraordinary and work hard at it are some of the most successful people in the world - be one! Don't just get by or be average - dare to be great, work to be great, and believe in greatness and you will achieve it.

Why is it so hard to lose weight?

The number one goal I hear from prospective members who are stopping in to check out the Wisconsin Athletic Club is weight loss. Even for those that are already in above average shape and just looking to workout without using any of the classes, amenities, etc they'll write down "lose some weight" in their fitness goals.

This is from an article I read recently by Nancy Clark:

Why Gaining Weight Is Easy

• To the detriment of our health, we are living in a food carnival. No wonder today's kids enter adulthood 20 pounds heavier than in 1960. By the time kids are 4 to 5 years old, 60 percent of them have lost the ability to self-regulate food intake.
• Most people believe that obesity is a matter of will power, but it's not that simple. For example, in obese people, the brain's response to food odors and flavors is often blunted. Compared to lean people, they need more of a food to experience a positive brain response.
• When stressed, obese people (more so than their lean counterparts) seek high fat foods such as chips, ice cream, fries, etc.
• Impulsivity, a genetic trait, is a risk factor for obesity. That is, obese people (more than their lean counterparts) tend to impulsively eat, for example, the whole plate of cookies.   
• Food advertisements are designed to encourage impulsive consumption.
• Food advertisers know that marketing "works"—and kids who watch TV are a prime target. The average child sees an average of 13 food ads a day on TV; most of these foods are high in sugar, salt, and saturated fat.
• Research with children who watched TV with four ads for food ate 45 percent more Goldfish Crackers (100 calories more) when exposed to the ads for food as compared to when they watched four ads for games. The kids who liked the taste of Goldfish ate even more calories.
• Foods marketed with a character (such as Scooby-Doo) sell better. Fifty-two percent of pre-schoolers said the character-food tasted better (as opposed to 38 percent who said it tasted the same, and 10 percent who said food without the character tasted better).
• The standard supermarket diet is rich in sugar, saturated fat, and sodium. It causes obesity in rats. That is, rats fed standard rat chow maintained a normal weight. But rats fed a standard supermarket diet ended up overweight—until researchers took away that food. The rats then lost weight when they returned to eating rat chow. There's little doubt that fats, sugar, and salt stimulate us to eat more than we need.
• When the calories are listed near a food, as is happening in many fast food restaurants, some people choose the foods with higher calories, believing it will be yummier. That response certainly negates the intention of the calorie campaign!
• People make an average of 200 food choices in a day; all these decisions can deplete our limited mental "resources" that govern self-regulation. That's one reason why, at the end of a hectic day, you can more easily overeat. You lack the mental resources to say "no" to that tempting cookie.
• The food industry's bottom line is profits. When Pepsi started marketing more of its healthy products, sales of the unhealthy products dropped. The stockholders complained—and that puts the food industry in a bind.

So how do you combat these and start losing weight?

• Get active! Even if it's as simple as going for a walk with the kids in the stroller for 30 min each morning. If you aren't moving, you aren't losing.
• Watch less TV. Go for a walk every night with your spouse or children. Not only will this burn some extra calories but it will also deepen your relationships due to talking and connecting.
• Or watch TV while you workout on a bike, treadmill, or elliptical. At the WAC we have individual TVs on most pieces of equipment with separate cable controls for them.
• Pay attention to your stressors. What causes you to eat unhealthy or binge? Next time that urge comes up take a minute to think back about what you've had to eat today and WHY you're feeling like this.
• Once you determine the why you can figure out if you're truly hungry or if it's just because you're stressed or bored or whatever your stressor is.
• If you're legitimately hungry then eat, regardless of what time it is. If it's 8pm and you're hungry then have a high protein snack that will fill you up before bed. Avoid eating about an hour before bed time if possible because this may or may not cause trouble sleeping.
• Set small goals. Maybe one week you cut down from two sodas a day to one or only eat out once per week instead of three times. Study after study show that those who set goals and write them down are far more successful in achieving them.
• Stop making excuses. Yes, life is busy. Learn how to better manage time and find a way to work in at least 4 - 30 min exercise sessions each week - your health is counting on you.
• Too tired to get up early? Stop watching late night TV and go to bed earlier. You're more likely to stick with a workout if it's first thing in the morning rather than after a long, stressful day of work. Not only will morning workouts actually get done, they'll give you extra energy for the rest of your day.
• Don't give up. The first 3-6 months are the most critical in making exercise and healthy eating a habit. If you stumble, get back up and start fresh right away (not on Monday).

I wish you the best of luck in achieving your health & fitness goals. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask me.

NCAA Football Picks

Today is a great day for me - one of the greatest along with the NFL's first day, NFL draft, big NCAA bowl games, big NFL playoff games, and fantasy football draft day....oh, and then my wedding anniversary is pretty cool and I like spending time with my kids too...

If you can't tell, I'm a football nut and get giddy like a kid in a candy store during football season. My eyes get big, my speech gets fast because I'm so excited, and I get football tunnel vision. Ah yes, I love it.

Here are my picks for NCAA football this year. I'm not a prognosticator or anything like that so please don't bet on these and send death threats when you lose money - I'm just a guy that loves the game a little more than most.

ACC Winner: Florida State beats Virginia Tech
WHY? - Florida State is just flat out better

Big 12 Winner: Oklahoma
WHY? - Oklahoma is ubertalented

Big East Winner: Rutgers
WHY? - they get Pitt, West Virginia, USF, and Cincinnati all at home

Big 10 Winner: Wisconsin beats Nebraska
WHY? - I'm a homer

Pac 12 Winner: Oregon beats USC
WHY? - Oregon is ubertalented and the Pac 12 South is awful

SEC Winner: Alabama beats South Carolina
WHY? - Alabama is ubertalented, LSU is overrated, and Arkansas plays at both 'Bama & LSU

Big Bowl Games: Florida State, Oklahoma, Rutgers, Wisconsin, Oregon, Alabama, Texas A&M, Nebraska, Boise State, Stanford

2011 National Championship Game: Oregon beats Florida State
WHY? Oregon is ubertalented, ACC is too easy, Alabama and Oklahoma will lose at least one tough one, and Boise State is still in a crappy conference

Please feel free to comment, make fun of me, argue with me, or give me your picks. I look forward to the banter!

Increase Your Team's Performance

This is from HBR's Management Tip of the Day:

AUGUST 30, 2011

3 Ways to Increase Your Team's Performance

Successfully managing a team is a complex undertaking. Increase the odds of reaching your goals by doing the following three things: Establish urgency. Team members need to believe they're working on something that matters. And it needs to matter today, not at a nebulous point in the future. Be sure the team sees the potential fruits of its labor. Set high standards. The higher the expectations the more likely the team will live up to its performance potential. Set ambitious goals and hold the team to them. Start off on the right foot. Pay particular attention to first meetings and initial impressions. How a team starts its work together often sets the tone for future interactions.

If "start off on the right foot" is one of the top three it sounds to me like it's a new team. If it's a new team I believe high standards are important, but I would change that step to be "set clear and attainable goals" and within that add "set clear expectations". If the desired outcome isn't clear then you can bet the desired outcome will not happen - people need direction and clear expectations so they know what is expected.

What are your thoughts on this?

Leaders are Readers

When was the last time you picked up a book? Most people think reading, learning, studying end when school ends. Truth is, it's only beginning.

School gives us basic skills that we expand on as we further our education. It wasn't until I started reading books on personal development that I found out very little of what I learned in school through the years would help me achieve my personal and professional goals. Skills such as: attitude, enthusiasm, passion, leadership, communication, goal setting, time management, etc are not taught in school but are essential if you want to succeed in the real world. Several of the above skills are learned as you grow up and participate in sports, balance time between school/sports/work, and take freshman general education courses, but they're not really taught.

Do yourself a favor and start investing in yourself - start reading, teaching yourself, and taking success into your own hands. See you at the top!

Why...so...serious?

"People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing" - Dale Carnegie

Picture this - I'm sitting in my car behind the car of a mother and her two younger kids. There we are in the turning lane, stopped at a red light with cars all around us waiting for green. A song comes on the radio and the mom in front of me starts singing, throwing her arms in the air, and moving to the beat. I can see little arms and heads bopping up and down in the back seat as she turns to them and they're all singing together. I'm smiling, the car next to her is smiling, and you can bet that her kids are smiling. What a great memory for those kids. 


Zappos.com has a core value called "Creating Fun and a Little Weirdness". They make having fun at work a staple of their company! Where I work a core group of us at the club read "Zappos: Delivering Happiness" and decided to focus more on having fun. Now, the WAC is already a great environment and we have a good amount of fun, but why not a little more...what could that hurt? We decided to adopt Henry (aka Hank) as our North Shore mascot. You can check out a picture of him here: http://www.linkedin.com/profile/edit?trk=hb_tab_pro_top Hank travels all around the club - spin room, offices, treadmills, etc. He has brought smiles to the faces of our team members and even more importantly - to our members.


Be a "fun ambassador" and start having fun where you work and with your family/friends. You will be happier, your co-workers will be happier, and your customers/clients/members will be happier because fun rubs off on everything you do and everyone you touch. 

Go ahead...have some fun today! 

Attitude is Everything

How are you feeling today? Are you on top of the world or stuck in a rut? Whichever group you fall into today is a direct result of your attitude.

I firmly believe that attitude is the major determining factor in someone's success - not knowledge, not who you know, not power, not money...attitude. Now, don't get me wrong, knowledge and a multitude of other skills are needed, but attitude is the biggest piece of the success pie. And there are studies to show it:

• American Business Report study - 94% of all Fortune 500 executives polled attributed their success more to attitude than oany other characteristic
• Carnegie Institute study - out of 10,000 people only 15% said their success was due to technical training and 85% was due to personaltiy with the primary personality trait being attitude

Our attitude determines what we see in each situation and how we handle our feelings. The more positive we are the more positive outcomes will come our way and vice versa.

Negative situations and negative feelings will occur, that's life, but how we react to them, how quickly we get out of them, and if they snowball to more negative situations and feelings is determined by our attitude.

You want to know the amazing thing about attitude?..........YOU are in control of it!

Find the positive in every day, every situation, and every person and you'll be well on your way to achieving success (not to mention happier due to the constant positive thoughts). For some great books to read on attitude please check out my reading list. Have a great weekend!

A Better Way To Live

The General Manager of the health club I work at, Wisconsin Athletic Club - North Shore, gave us a personal development piece about a month ago. He has been a great mentor for me and shares many of the same values and passions I have. These rules are from "A Better Way to Live" by Og Mandino. Living by these rules can help you keep your life in balance and lead you to be more positive, happier, and more fulfilled.

Rule #1: Count your blessings

Rule #2: Today, and every day, deliver more than you are getting paid to do.

Rule #3: Whenever you make a mistake or get knocked down by life, don’t look back at it too long.

Rule #4: Always reward your long hours of labor and toil in the very best way, surrounded by your family.

Rule #5: Build this day on a foundation of pleasant thoughts.

Rule #6: Let your actions always speak for you, but be forever on guard against the terrible traps of false pride and conceit that can halt your progress.

Rule #7: Each day is a special gift from God, and while life may not always be fair, you must never allow the pains, hurdles and handicaps of the moment to poison your attitude and plan for yourself and your future.

Rule #8: Never again clutter your days and nights with so many menial and unimportant things that you have no time to accept a real challenge when it come along.

Rule #9: Live this day as if it will be your last.

Rule #10: Beginning today, treat everyone you meet, friend or foe, loved one your stranger, as if they were going to be dead at midnight.

Rule #11: Laugh at yourself and at life.

Rule #12: Never neglect the little things.

Rule #13: Welcome every morning with a smile.

Rule #14: You will achieve your grand dream, a day at a time, so set goals for each day.

Rule #15: Never allow anyone to rain on your parade and thus cast gloom and defeat on the entire day.

Rule #16: Search for the seed of good in every adversity.

Rule #17: Realize that true happiness lies within you.

As I sit here typing this I have the rules taped right above my computer as a daily reference. I wish you all the best in applying these rules to your life!