I heard a phrase the other day “A person starts by having habits then the Habits have the person.”  This is so true and we all have habits both good and not so good.  The trick is to become of the Habits that we want to change and find ways to make changes or even break these habits.  It takes approximately 21 days for a new habit to set in.  After this magical 21 days you will not have to think about it as much to perform the same activity.

It does not matter if you are trying to lose weight, start a new workout routine or you want to read more books these 3 tools below will help you change or create new and better habits.  Imagine by the end of this month you could be locked into a new Habit that you have created.  It is in your grasp so lets get started.

1)  Get more Sleep.

Millions of people are not getting the sleep that there body requires and when they do sleep it is not a quality sleep so we wake up tired and unfocused.  Bad sleeping habits lead to a myriad of health problems and has been linked to obesity, ED and even marital problems.  There is not a magic number but there are some guidelines that we can go by based on your age.

So tonight start with a set bed time and do not deviate for 21 days.  It is also recommended that you do not eat or exercise within 2 to 4 hours of your bedtime.  The increase in blood flow will disrupt your REM cycle.

2) Write it Down

Creating a log of the habits that you want to change is one of the quickest and best ways to keep track of your progress.  When I have a new client that is looking to lose weight the very first thing I will have them do is to start writing down everything they drink and eat.  This simple step automatically brings your habits to the front of your mind.  When there is a sheet of paper laid out after the day for you to see that you are eating 3 honey buns and drinking 4 moutain dews in a day (this was my experience) it will be a shock.  The only cost associated with this is a small notebook and pen.

3) Have an Accountability Partner

We make promises to ourselves everyday that we do not keep.  How many times have you said “Self, tomorrow you are waking up at 4am and getting your workout in before the kids get up!”  Then the next time 4am rolls around you roll to the other side of the bed and just say “Maybe tomorrow.”  Now if you had a friend that you knew was going to be knocking on your door at 4am reading to workout that would change things.  Find someone that you can talk to about the challenges and changes you want to accomplish.  It is best if you can talk, text or email them everyday for that needed encouragement.  If you can not find a person local or you would just like to have another accountability partner please contact me.  A little secret I will let you in on is that helping you actually helps me.  I know that if I am not eating right or working out then how can I encourage or help someone else to do those things.

If you start with these 3 habits then there is nothing you can not change over time.  These are very easy things that you can do but the danger is they are also very easy things that you can not do too.  So tonight set your bedtime, write down what you did that day and find an Accountability or Success Partner.  So tell me what habits would you most liek to change in your life?  Leave a message in the comments.

On April 30, 2011 I ran my first full marathon. Yep, 26.2 miles! Actually, my Garmin clocked 26.49 miles. WOW! Why did I not stay on the inside track? I was so excited to cross that finish line.

I began training on January 3rd, 2011 – the day Alabama got 10 inches of snow! You know, it NEVER snows in Alabama, until I am ready to train for a marathon Training began with easy three and four mile runs and grew to monster month where I ran five, six, or seven miles during three week days and then 20 miles on Saturday. There were many days training didn’t go as I hoped it would. It isn’t always easy to train for a marathon when you have a full time job, four small children, and a husband (he was a real trooper during my training. I would not have been able to do it without his help!) Not to mention laundry and dishes that pile up! I mean, really, why can’t those clothes just wash themselves??? But, with the support of my husband and my children I succeeded! Some days, the three older kids would ride their bikes and I would push Scott in the stroller. Other days, I would have them playing in the yard while I ran laps around our field. Oh, and one time, it got dark before I was able to get my miles in, so Matthew and the kids followed me for five miles on the Ranger (ATV) so I could see to run.

But when it was all said and done, I finished those beautiful 26.2 miles in 5:39:00. I had trained for a five hour marathon and kept telling myself that as long as I finished under 5:30:00 it would be OK. Somewhere between miles 15 and 16 I decided that finishing injury free and enjoying the race was more important than time, although I continued to shoot for under 5:30:00. I ended up walking more than I had planned and finished strong by running the last two miles. It was so fun to cross the finish line and get my medal of completion. I now have bragging rights to something that most people don’t…I am a marathoner! I can’t wait for the next one!

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!

How many times do you find yourself saying “I don’t feel like working out today.”  I know it happens to me a lot.  I am not a get up early kind of guy so I do all my workouts in the evening.  That means I have put in a full day at work and come home to 4 kids running around the house and a beautiful wife that would like for me to sit down and talk for a few minutes.  Does this sound familiar?  So my mind will start arguing with me about I have put in a long day at work and one skipped workout will not make a difference. 

What do you do when this happens? How many times do you give in to being “tired” and just lay down on the couch.  I know that these are the times that make the difference between being fit and adding on those few extra pounds.  Sure one workout will not break anything but for me it sets in a pattern of laziness that I must fight.  I must choose everyday that I want to be healthier than the day before because each time I workout I am healthier for doing it.  I never regret doing a workout but I usually regret the ones that I miss.  Know I now life happens and miss occur but it should not happen because you have had a long day.  That is the time to get up tell your friends and family you will be back in 1 hour and better yet get your friends and family involved.

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!!!