This last weekend was very physical and enlightening.  My martial arts group had the world-famous Grandmaster Richard Bustillo up here from L.A. for a seminar.  It was fun, physical, and a great learning experience.  I learned some things from Sifu Bustillo and from my teacher Mr. Kamara.  It’s funny how people think Martial Arts is all pounding fists and kicking things in.  It’s an outlook, a way of life, a dedication to something.  It shines with the warrior in us who fights the battles in life, that attacks us from all realms.  

Now most of you know who Bruce Lee is.  He was a phenomenal man.  He was a great martial artist, and a strong human being (and I’m not just talking about the physical sense).  Well, my teacher asked Sifu Ted Wong once a question that impacted him greatly.  He asked Mr. Wong ”Sifu, how do I achieve Bruce lee like moves?”  Sifu Ted Wong simply replied “If you want Bruce Lee-like-moves, you have to put in Bruce Lee-like-time and effort.” 

So many people want results quick, fast, with no real effort put into it.  This applies to business owners, clients, fat loss programs, trainers, our strong and sexy bootcampparticipants, or inquiries about them.  I get phone calls from people asking about our Bootcamps and training programs in Bellevue, Redmond, and Woodinville.  I get asked by trainers how to maximize their business and get more clients.  I get pre-qualification phone calls or evaluations from people who want to achieve certain goals.  On our website, we have pictures and testimonials of others who have achieved phenomenal results and people want them NOW NOW NOW!  Just last week, someone showed me a picture of a woman they WANT to LOOK like!

Reality check – You cannot get the results if you do not have the quality time put into it.  You think Bruce Lee showed up to train once a week?  You think he magically landed film roles and made millions accidentally?  Success didn’t fall from the sky and Bruce Lee just so happened to be there.  In the same way, Element 5 Fitness did not achieve a level of success without hard work.  Our clients with their tesimonials did not lose all that bodyfat without hardwork.  If you want to emulate their success, or anyone for that matter, well Success leaves clues.  Pick it up and be a student of the masters.  Learn from them and be diligent.  I never said achieving your goals was going to be easy.

Sifu Bustillo ended the seminar with a story about Bruce Lee (who was his teacher).  He said that Bruce Lee made a statement in 1969:

Here is the ultimate aim of Bruce Lee, as he stated in 1969:

I, Bruce Lee, will be the first highest paid
Oriental super star in the United States. In
return I will give the most exciting
performances and render the best of quality in
the capacity of an actor. Starting 1970 I will
achieve world fame and from then onward till
the end of 1980 I will have in my possession
$10,000,000. I will live the way I please and
achieve inner harmony and happiness.
- Bruce Lee
Jan. 1969

That all happened in about a year’s time. Wow……

So for those Eastside Trainers out there reading this who need more business, or the clients who want to reach their goals, or the business owner who is struggling, I have one last thing to share with you.

Yeah it’s tough out there.  I am pretty sure that you have a legitimate REASON why you can’t “invest” in your health, your business, your education in growing your business, your workouts, your nutrition, your dedication to self-growth, etc.

In my eyes, sometimes….and I say this cautiously sometimes, it’s just an EXCUSE.  So, because I believe you when you say that you have a legitimate reason why you can’t start today, I am renaming your reason to REXCUSE.

What’s your REXCUSE TODAY?

Belton Lubas

Co Founder Element5 Fitness

http://Element5fitness.com

Yesterday I received a blog entry from another fitness professional by the name of Dax Moy. Dax has quickly become a trainer to trainers, and is the most sought after fitness professional in London. His blog “What I believe…”, hit home with me and I’m sure with many other fitness professionals. He came to a realization on the importance of being crystal clear on your own beliefs, and to share those beliefs with others whenever and wherever you can for real success to happen.
The reason it hit home with me is because I just came back from a long business trip at a very beautiful resort during which I had a lot of time to reflect on what beliefs and actions were holding me back from true success. Let’s just say I experienced a life transforming event.
Anyway, Dax issued out a challenge to all fitness professionals reading his blog to move towards a more “transparent” approach to sharing information with our clients. I agree with him and I accept his challenge to share with you my beliefs, especially with regards to my profession.
Here it goes…
“What I Believe”

• I believe that my purpose in life is to make a difference in other people’s lives through health and fitness. And through this medium I am able to not only enable a client, but help empower that client to make lasting changes. Nowadays, I’m always reminded of a quote from a mentor of mine: “Find your purpose in this lifetime and PURSUE it, and DO IT with EXCELLENCE…and fall SO IN LOVE with what you do and fall SO IN LOVE with what you’re a part of, that the lines blur!”

• I believe that true success in life is to make your vocation your vacation.

• I believe and agree with Dax Moy that fitness professionals have played the role of poor cousin to the medical community for too long. As Dax stated, “Doctors are, in my opinion, at their most valuable during trauma, but that they have no place in the promotion of health to the general population as long as they remain dependent upon pharmaceutical interventions. To this end, health and fitness professionals need to stop taking orders from medics who, despite having HUGE budgets and a global empire to support them are failing badly. They are more educated but less qualified for this role.”

• I believe that optimum health requires the harmony of these elements: strong mindset, supportive nutrition, proper cardiovascular and strength training, proper education on physiology and body mechanics, and accountability/professional assistance. These are the five elements that embody my company “Element 5 Fitness”.

• I believe that as a fitness professional/coach, you must take full responsibility and not only be qualified, but also have the experience to help empower clients to reach their desired goals. Just because you’ve read and educated yourself about fitness modalities doesn’t mean you know how to teach it. There are too many “fitness enthusiasts” who give our industry a bad rap by becoming certified personal trainers, and hurt clients because of their inexperience and inability to produce results. These individuals eventually get weeded out in the process, but it still leaves a negative connotation to the client they were unable to service.

• I believe in staying true to your “worth” in regards to your fees. Too many fitness professionals “sell out” in that they try to please everyone. Figure out what type of clientele gives you the most satisfaction and charge what you’re worth as long as you’re providing exemplary service and value. Create more value by becoming more valuable.

• I believe that just when I’ve given enough, I need to give more. The times that I have given more and provided ten times the value, I’ve positively affected those individuals lives, and they’ve rewarded me in ways that I didn’t expect or ask for. Give more!

• I believe in contributing positively in some way to your local community.

• I believe in practicing what you preach, and as a new friend and colleague of mine, Valerie Waugaman proudly states, “Live It to Give It!” In the fitness industry you must be a product of your product.

• Lastly, I believe that in order to leave a good legacy, you must first transform and develop yourself to your highest potential.

So now I extend the challenge to any fitness professional or any individual reading this to blog or comment with YOUR beliefs. Do you accept? Or do you feel uncomfortable and choose to remain in your comfort zone? What have you got to lose?

With the holidays around the corner, it’s hard to keep your head on straight when you’re constantly surrounded by sugary sweets, fattening dishes, and calorie-busting entrees. Some might say, “It’s not my fault I gained 20 pounds over the holidays. My kids, my co-workers, and even the ads on TV were always shoving food in my face!”

This reminds me of an article we wrote earlier this year entitled Seattle Eastside’s Top Personal Trainers Say “You’re Not to Blame for Your Weight Problem!”

“What if you’re not to blame for your weight problem?” The February 3, 2008 edition of Seattle Times posed this question in an article entitled It’s Not My Fault I’m Fat? Not surprisingly, this immediately caught our attention. What if it’s not your fault if you’re overweight? You may as well cancel that gym membership, re-stock your cupboards with potato chips and cookies, and call it quits. Because according to this article, until the government starts regulating our environments by getting rid of vending machines, outlawing “Super Size Me” meals, and black-listing certain deep-frying, calorie-busting restaurants, you won’t be able to change your habits and get healthy. It’s just too hard. Here’s a quick outline of the main points in the article and our thoughts on each:

“Eating is an automatic behavior that has little to do with choice, willpower, or even hunger…Automatic behavior can be controlled, but only for a short time.”

True. Many of us have hard-wired programming that makes us reach for that doughnut for breakfast. Old habits die hard. However, they can die and be replaced by new habits. With enough persistence and with the right mindset, choosing the right foods in the right quantities can become automatic as well.

“Changing routine behavior is painstaking and slow. It sometimes takes years to change one little thing.”

True. No one said that adopting a healthy lifestyle would be easy. But if you keep selling yourself short and convincing yourself that change is too hard, you’re absolutely right! And it will take years to stop reaching for that doughnut. It comes down to how bad you want it and why. It comes down to your mindset.

“If people rely on willpower alone, they are expecting too much of themselves..It’s easier to change the environment than it is to change people.”

False. This statement frankly depresses us. Are we really giving in to our own weakness and taking the coward’s way out? Pointing fingers and putting the responsibility for our own lives in other people’s hands? We believe that willpower – or “energetic determination,” as defined by Merriam-Webster.com – can accomplish anything. Granted, we do give some credit to the above statement by admitting that willpower should be accompanied by knowing what the right foods are, by a deeply compelling purpose driving the willpower, and by a belief in oneself and one’s worthiness. However, blaming anything or anyone else for our shortcomings is still just a “good story.”

We, personally, have more hope in the human race than this, and we hope you do too. This article drastically sells us short as human beings. If we told a 3-year-old not to take his sister’s toy, but he did anyway, is it entirely not his fault because she was sitting there playing with it right in front of him? We’re afraid this is the message this article would give to our kids: It’s not your fault. You’re a victim to your environment.

We’re not saying that government restrictions on the use of trans-fats or requirements to label restaurant foods with nutritional information wouldn’t help. But we can’t sit on our rears and wait until the environment around us changes before we change ourselves. A wise man once said, “As within, so without.” Real change won’t come until we decide to change ourselves. Then the food manufacturers and marketers, restaurant operators, and food vendors would have no choice but to conform. It all comes down to personal accountability. In the words of Dr. Wayne Dyer, “If your problems were the result of others in your environment, you would go broke sending everyone else to the psychiatrist.”

If you truly want to enjoy the upcoming Thanksgiving dinner and holiday festivities without dealing with added weight on your belly, it is all in your hands. The key is having a strong mindset. ??Most people approach the holidays with the mindset of “I deserve to indulge and I shouldn’t have to workout – it’s the holidays and I deserve it”. This is fine if you don’t mind entering 2009 with an added spare tire, a little less healthy, and with lower energy than ever before. Believe you deserve better, because YOU are more than that! Believe that you don’t have to wait until 2009 to get into better shape than you are today. Believe that you deserve to have a healthier lifestyle and have more energy NOW than you ever thought possible!

I’m always available to help – call or email me to set up a fitness consultation and let’s get started on making lasting changes over the next few weeks to come.

Contact info:

Phone: 425.296.9305

Email: rommel@element5fitness.com

Website(s):

http://www.element5fitness.com

http://www.strongandsexybootcamps.com