...tHrOw yOuR eXcUsEs oUt tHe wiNdOw!!!...

Excuses...everybody's got em...some are legit...some are lies..some are weak...and some are strong. Regardless, an excuse is just that...an excuse. It serves no purpose other than to make us feel better about something that we either did poorly or didn't get done at all.

I've heard a lot of excuses over the years since I started training people. I really do understand. Going to the gym, eating right, and getting in shape are hard things to do! And it's not just hard physically, it's hard many times for people to work in to their schedule. Everyone is busy with school or kids or work and so it becomes easy to grab fast food and skip working out. I know, because I'm guilty of this myself at times!

The other day I saw something that inspired me and made me feel a lil guilty. It was totally against "gym etiquette" but I even took my cell phone and took a picture, because I was so moved by what I saw. I had done some work sets of Back Squats, Presses, and Power Cleans earlier that morning in the gym then ran some errands and ate lunch. I decided that I wanted to do some running interval training later so I headed to the huge, local, "fancy" gym (Lifetime) and got set up on a treadmill. I started to walk and warm up when I noticed a man taking the chair off it's rails at the hand bike. It caught my attention so I began to watch and what happened next surprised me.This man had someone in a wheel chair waiting next to him. After he set the chair aside, he took the foot rests off the wheelchair, and had the man drive himself up to the hand bike (his wheelchair was now where the original chair had once been). After that, he took the arm rests off and very gently helped his friend grab the handle. Then he took an Ace bandage and wrapped it around the man's hand and the handle to keep his hands attached. This whole process was not easy or quick. When he was done, he stepped back, got on an elliptical behind him, and his friend began to slowly work the hand bike.

I'm not being an exaggerative drama queen when I say that watching this man took my breath away and brought tears to my eyes...both for the man in the wheelchair AND the man helping him. I felt guilty about every time I have skipped the gym because I was tired or too busy. I felt lame for the times I complained about how I was going to get my workout in with everything else I had to do! When he was done...about 15 minutes later...these two went through the same complicated steps to undo what they had done to set him up. When the man in the wheelchair turned to drive away, he had the biggest smile on his face which in turn made me smile.

He sped away...not to the elevator to leave, but to the weight area. I wanted to meet him and talk to him, so when I was done, I walked around and tried to find him, I never did. There was a part of me that regretted not getting off the treadmill to speak to him when I had the chance, but really that didn't matter. Watching those 2 men the other day, FOREVER changed the way I see the gym and took away ALL my excuses!I will NEVER take for granted the ability I have to walk into a gym with my own two legs without help. I will NEVER take for granted the ability to do anything I choose in the gym with no limitations. I will NEVER think of working my body as an obligation again. It is a privilege and a blessing. There's not ONE person that will read this that has a valid excuse for not working out. If you don't have money for a gym, go to the park, or get equipment and workout in your garage. If you are lucky enough to have a gym membership, get off your butt and GO. Make the time. Schedule your workouts just like you would any other appointment and do not cancel. From now on...whenever you start to make an excuse...think of this man. Take all your tired old excuses and throw them out the window..and do it today!