Earlier today one of the women I used to train reached out to me.  For her, she wanted to be able to train with me, but geographically it wasn’t really feasible and she found herself stuck.

So she did something really important, she reached out for advice.

“Can you motivate me?”

The thing with that is motivation has to come from within.  If you think about it the root word for “motivate” is “motive”. As in a reason for doing something.

When I first sit down with a person in my studio, I try to find out what the end goal that they hope to achieve is.  If they want to achieve something, then the motive is already there.  The question then becomes, “What’s holding you back?”

In my years of doing this, I have heard many reasons for not training.  Most common is lack of time, but we all have the same 24 hours so it really becomes what is the priority.

In this case, it was distractions.  I get it and that’s actually part of the value of having a gym or a training studio to go to.  When you are there, you are there to train and it helps you set your mind.

But another thing is to make an appointment out of it.  That’s half the reason people hire personal trainers to begin with.  When you have an appointment with a personal trainer, you are more likely to do it.

If you don’t have a personal trainer you can still get some of that benefit by simply making an appointment with yourself or with a training buddy.

Get a plan of attack. Write your appointment into the schedule, then have the self-discipline to actually do it. 

Start small so you don’t burn yourself out and add gradually over time.

And of course, if you need help figuring all this out, give my trial membership a go.

Eric Moss is a world record holding professional strongman, author, speaker and personal trainer. In the tradition of the strongmen during the turn of the century, he performs feats of strength such as bending steel and breaking chains as part of a show and speaks on goal achievement for corporations, nonprofits, government as well as for schools and universities. His exclusive personal training studio is in Boonton Township New Jersey with Lewandowski Chiropractic and is close to Mountain Lakes, Denville, and Parsippany New Jersey.

This morning after I got home from my personal training studio, my wife was feeding my daughter and asked me to grab something from the living room.  My wife routinely leaves the tv on because she likes having background noise and since this was around 10 in the morning, there was a daytime talk show on.

You know the type, the ones that show you a recipe that you likely won’t make, some celebrity talking about the latest gossip and often times has someone on to give workout tips.

Most of the time the workout tips are absolute garbage, and in this case, it was no different.

Of the advice that was given was some kind of lunge, where one of the hosts was wearing heels.  That one is a big no-no.

In my personal training studio, my clients are instructed to either go barefoot, wear socks or have shoes that are flat soled/minimalist.

Why?  Because overly cushy shoes or shoes with an elevated heel disrupt and train your feet to tense its muscles in loading patterns that aren’t appropriate for safe and proper movement.  You see there are all sorts of sensors in our hands, feet and pretty much all over your body that sense where we are and how we interact with the environment around us.  When we take a step, the muscles activated are specific to the movement and are there to keep us safe.

Doing lunges in stilettos are as our Spanish speaking friends would say “no Bueno” because they change what our body has spent thousands of years developing.

I don’t care if the modification of waving your arms back and forth as you do them works “both your body parts, your arms and your legs.” Yes, that was a quote that was said by today’s advice giver and last time I checked we have a whole lot more body parts than our arms and legs.  We have abdominals, shoulder stabilizers, hearts, lungs, and brains.

Well at least most of us do.

Oh and one more thing, don’t do lunges in a skirt.  Certain things should be left to the imagination.

Now the other thing that irked me, and literally as I heard it I said to myself “Now I know what to write about today”.  Here’s what she said.

“Women don’t need to lift heavy.”

Technically yes.  You don’t NEED it. You need food, water, and air.  But if you WANT to optimize the way you burn fat.  If you want to look great and be confident than I highly recommend lifting heavy, man or woman.

I don’t know why women are still being told to lift dumbbells that are lighter than their purse but that’s a rant for another day.

Speaking of today, the day I wrote this is May 4th.  May the 4th be with you.

Here’s a video of Daisy Ridley, the star of the new Starwars Episode 7 and 8 lifting heavy.  Notice here she is wearing shoes that are flat soled and she won’t be mistaken for a moon rock anytime soon.  The force is strong with her.

Would you like guidance on your journey?  Just like Luke Skywalker had Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda to guide him in the ways of the force, I’ll guide you in the ways of getting stronger, leaner, fitter and healthier.  I have a one-week trial membership available.

Eric Moss is a world record holding professional strongman, author, speaker and personal trainer. In the tradition of the strongmen during the turn of the century, he performs feats of strength such as bending steel and breaking chains as part of a show and speaks on goal achievement for corporations, nonprofits, government as well as for schools and universities. His exclusive personal training studio is in Boonton Township New Jersey with Lewandowski Chiropractic and is close to Mountain Lakes, Denville, and Parsippany New Jersey.