As a guy I want to have bulging biceps and a ripped set of abs that my wife can brag about, but these are not the muscles I place my focus.  The focus of everything I do is to build and strengthen my Brain.  I read books like Tony Dungy's Mentor Leader. The Brain is an amazing component of our body that controls everything that we do.  Most of the functions of a Human body are automated by the Brain and scientists are just starting to understand how truly complex it is.  

When I start a workout I am pumped up and excited with the intention of having my best workout ever.  A few minutes into the workout I winded, starting to sweat and thinking how am I going to finish.  Has this happened to you?  This is the period of the workout that I have to have a small conversation with myself.  It is a small argument that my Lazy-self asks “Why am I doing this?”  I have found that when I have these small arguments or conversations it is when the real changes happen.  I have a few of these conversations through out my workout, especially the intense workouts. There is such a sense of accomplishment of when I break through these barriers.  I want to give you 3 simple ways that you can win the battle and build the greatest muscle you have.  Your Brain!

1) It is OK to rest but never Quit!
    There are going to workouts and more importantly things in life that will come up that we truly are not able to complete at that time.  This is a time that I will take a rest and maybe let the video or other people I am working out with continue.  When I am able I will try 1 rep or modify to a simpler move so that I can build up to that move or task.  Resting is not quitting.

2) Slow Down
    There are some incredibly fit people in this world that can do 100 pushups or 30 pullups at at time.  I am not one of those people.  I have clients that get so discouraged when they are not able to “keep up.”  The goal of the workout is not “keeping up” but it is to get better each workout and the “keeping up” will happen over time.

3)Push through!
    This is the hardest for me!  There is the time when I want to quit but I know I have more.  It is different for everyone but the important thing is to become mentally tough and know “I have more!”  Do you have one more rep?   Can you run just 30 more seconds?  

Bonus:  This is a bonus free of charge!  Write it Down!  If you want to get better with your nutrition, workout or even your job write down what you want to accomplish and track your results.  I am a huge tech geek but there is something about writing down my workout numbers for pullups and power jumps. When I go back to that workout I know what I did last time and I know that it is time to try and better that number.  

Working on your Brain is a life long process but it is worth the effort.  Take the time and use the 3 items I listed above to win those small conversations you have with yourself the next time you workout.

Matthew Hillis is a father of four that was letting life go by while he laid on the couch until one day he decided to change.  He was able to lose 30lbs in his first 90 days of working out with P90X.  Matthew has kept that weight off for 2 years and has helped hundreds of people just like yourself to achieve their own fitness goals.  If your life is busy and you believe there is just no time to workout then allow Matthew to help tailor a fitness plan to you and your life.  Together we are better!

I love reading success stories of other people finding motivation and inspiration to take control of their lives and making it better.  I was privileged to watch as Lou started his journey with fitness and has recently completed a round of P90X.  If you are not happy with your body or the way your life is going it is up to YOU to make the changes.  We can receive help an encouragement from others but ultimately the success or failure is up to YOU!

I did it. I finished P90X. And I gotta tell you it was difficult. There are days that I wanted to quit, there are days when I could have worked out harder, but I did it and i finished it!

P90 What?
What the hell is P90X? It a series of workout DVDs And as is the case with everything that has the letter “X” in it the “X” is for extreme. Its billed as an extreme workout and they aren’t kidding. But for those who know me know that the only extreme thing I’ve ever committed to is maybe a buffet or 6 hours of Xbox. 90 days is a long time to be working out. How did Fatty McFatovich commit to and complete an “X” style workout?

The Holocaust of Exercise
Well as is the case with everything there is a story behind this. Exercise has never been important to me in my entire life. Up until a few years ago exercise was something that stupid people with nothing better to do did. Or in the last few years of my life something to be endured if you had to. The most strenuous exercise I ever did was 12 ounce Labatt Blue curls (mmmm Canadian beer, how I miss you). Sure I did yard work type exercise like mow the lawn or split wood or any of that kind of crap, but that was because it was work that needed to be done. Not because I wanted to.

Good Beer and a Bottle of Sauce
And then there was food. My sweet sweet love affair with food. Between the yummy creamy pasta sauces, and the alcohol and the multitudes of meat, I never met a dinner I did not like. I indulged a lot and often. Believe me, its not an accident that I became this fat guy. Over the years through my actions I created him. My belly is the gut that pasta built. So you see, lack of exercise and plenty of eating and you get FAT. And I’m not one of these people that’s going to blame me being fat on someone else. That’s a big pile of crap and everyone knows it. Its not McDonald’s fault that I ate food from there. I choose to life the fork and spoon to my mouth, not anyone else.

The Legend of Uncle Bobby
In the year 2000 something happened that would have a sever impact on me later in life. My good friend Uncle Bobby died of a heart attack in his sleep. Bob was 49 when he died. Bob smoke and drank and ate, just like me (except for the smoking part, damn that stuff is nasty…). I was devastated at the time because no one that I had really ever lost anyone close to me. What i didn’t know at the time is the effect it would have on me later.

Meet Virginia
Then I met Virginia. What an awesome day. She changed my life. For the better even. Can you believe that she was horrified that when I would cook I would basically deep fry everything? What did she mean that bologna wasn’t supposed to be deep fried?? Well she nudged me slowly towards working out and eating better.

The Futility of Diet and Exercise
There for a while I did really well. I worked out hard and I ate like a frickin bird. Life sucked! I was miserable. I wasn’t eating and I was pushing myself. Virginia was working out with me and that sort of kept me honest. Sometimes she would yell at me because I would be just sitting there. So imagine what happened when My son was born and she wasn’t working out with me anymore? I would just sit there and watch TV and not work out.

I need to sit and Rest, hand me a doughnut…
So I had lost a bunch of weight, and then my son was born. I more or less stopped working out and started eating again and the weight started to come back on. I got to a point where I was getting winded walking up a flight of stairs. I didn’t want to play with my son because I would get to tired. Anything activity based I would take a pass on or figure a way to get out of it.

The Epiphany
Then something weird happened. I saw the P90X infomercial. No i didn’t order it, but I liked what I saw. I thought “I wish I could do that” and didn’t think much about it. But whenever i would see it on TV, i would watch the whole thing. And this is the part that is going to sound stupid to some people. I had a dream about Uncle Bobby. And this is the freaky part, in the dream Bobby was me. It scared the living crap out of me. I woke up scared to death and the TV was on, the P90X infomercial was on. It was time to change.

Stupid Food Tasting So Good
And so now you know the reason for my plunge into P90X. But the funny thing is that I wake up every day at 4:30am on purpose and work out for an hour. I did 90 days of this. However that wasn’t the hard part. The hard part is the part that i am still, and probably will still struggle with for a long time. And that is food. I stick to my nutrition plan pretty good during the week, but when the weekend comes for some stupid reason I throw nutrition logic out the window and try to run over it a few times. I’m getting better, but like I said it will need work,

Hark, i See Results!
But all of this working out and nutrition stuff is for nothing is there ain’t any results. And here they are. In 90 days I went from 360 pounds (damn I’m fat) down to a slim and trim 335 (damn, I’m still fat, but less fat…). I lost 25 pounds. I went down a pant size. I gained a lot of muscle, ask my wife, she now knows where to go for the “gun show”. And I have energy to burn. I play with my son more. I walk up and down stairs. I just do more of everything. And because it was my fault that I got into this mess, its also my fault that I’m getting out of it!

You Didn’t do it alone
I had plenty of help. I have my dear wife Virginia. Without her nothing good is possible. I can get into evil all by myself and I’m quite good at it, but when it comes to doing good, i need her help! I also had the support of my sister Karen. She would call me and i would call her and we would push each other. She’s doing a program called Turbo Jam While I’m doing P90X. We kept each other motivated. Then I had the support of the “Average Joe’s” . They are a online forum where like minded P90X people get kinda chat with each other. Without all of this support my journey would have been much more likely to fail. So part of my success is due to all of these people. And then there is Alex, my boy. He inspires me every day. And sometimes he would work out with me, running and kicking and doing yoga. He along with Virginia are my inspirations in life.

Geez Lou, does this damn story ever end?
Yeah it ends. But guess what? I’m still doing it. Even though 90 days and my P90X is over I’m still working out. I created my own program. I’ve merged P90X, P90X+ and Tony Horton’s One on One workouts to create my next 90 day Program called Lou90X. I’m still working on the Nutritional aspect. But I figure as long as I keep at it and don’t quit, someday I’ll be at a respectable healthy weight. And when that day comes its time to go motorcycle shopping baby!!!