Cheaper than wine and better with time- Why everyone call a trainer for help.

I know it's risky putting this out there but I think I need to and would be curious what you think?

68.5% of Americans are overweight or obese- 31.8% of children are overweight or obese and 30.4% of low income preschoolers are obese. If you look at the numbers that is 2/3 of all Americans are overweight and still training, trainers and gyms struggle to find a way to change the trend and change lives. Americans spend $20 a week on coffee which indicates over $1000.00 year. Wine consumption at all time high in America and averages roughly $30 per week per American.

Between the coffee and the wine most American's should be able to afford a personal trainer at least once a week but don't? Why do many people still feel a personal trainer is a luxury?

Things you should know about trainers and why the good ones aren't cheap:

• Trainers (good ones) spend a lifetime perfecting their craft- taking weekend courses, learning about the newest trends and whether they are sound or not- going to conventions and taking CEC classes. Most of those expenses are out of pocket and aren't cheap.
• Trainers have limited time to work with -We have certain times available to work and need people to be committed- a traditional job provides you pay for 8 hours whether you put your heart into or not- Trainers see a majority of their clients from 6am-10am and from 3p-7pm and we need to have our heart into and our eight hours is often carved out of a 13 hour day.
• Great trainers are great encouragers - you might think your trainer is just knowledgeable but if you get a good one they can motivate you also- don't confuse it with fear based motivation- your trainer should create a deep desire to do well and get your money's worth- great ones do that and it's priceless.
• Injuries and set backs cost time and money- good trainers can help you stay free from injury and help you move forward in your success. The value of not getting injured and spending six months or more waiting to heal and get better should be worth every minute you pay for a trainer.

Why spend the money?- there are tons of free things on the market to help you get fit-

(I hear this all the time)

RIGHT?-  What you don't get with free:

• Advice and help specific to your life
• someone who really cares if you succeed
• someone who gives you the support and information that is geared toward your goals
• an advocate for being healthy and helping you live your best life

I really wonder if people knew how much time they lost and money they spent on things that didn't matter - would they look back and think a trainer would have been a good investment-

Your trainer isn't trying to break your bank account they just want to know if you care enough to invest in your health and your future the same way they will. I challenge everyone to spend one month and one session a week with a trainer and see if it doesn't make a difference. I want to hear from you- do you have a trainer? if not,why not? 

KICKIN FitBit Butt!!

I have the FitBit, a Christmas gift from my boss at work, and I love it. I ordered and sent back the Nike fuel band, ordered and lost the Shine, tried the jawbone and didn't like it but the FitBit I have enjoyed.
As a trainer and motivator, many would assume motivation is oozing out of my sweat but I can assure you I deal with the same lack of motivation you and all of my clients do. I  have to make deals, rally when I don't want to and convince myself it's going to be a whole lot better when it's over.  Many of you who know me wonder how it can be? But I need as much of a kick in the pants as you do.
When I got the FitBit I wasn't sure it would be much help I liked the measuring aspect of it but I knew I would get into a rhythm and all the numbers would look the same. Then I found the friend feature on the fitbit. I could reach out and add my friends to a list and could watch their numbers daily and track mine against theirs. Now it's game on-my competitive self jumped right out of my unmotivated self and began a mission to crush the people on my list. At first, this was not easy task, a couple of my friends were in training,hard core marathon training,and keeping up was a task. Then mother nature kicked in and snow days created just the gap I needed to catch up. I have a treadmill and bike in my gym at home so snow days would not keep me from making my goals. I worked really hard and was able to pass the two people I had set out to pass. I loved the challenge and so far it's been good for me. Competition is good for the soul,and I really think it helps me and others who rely on outside forces to get us moving, to keep up the hard work. I must admit I have worried it would become an issue and since passing the two I tried to pass, I have lost some of the edge. I decided to use it now to track my miles and keep me honest and to relax a little on the compettion. I have really enjoyed feeling like I have something watching me, tracking my progress and not letting me off the hook. I like being accountable and I am glad I have something that reads my success. I hope you have something or someone that helps you get moving and stay motivated.

Be Brave

It's my word for the year. I picked it because I knew this year would be a challenging one and 27 days into the month of January and it's proving to be true.
I quit my job on Friday. I worked for this company for almost two years and really enjoyed most of the job. I loved to train clients to be stronger and healthier and it made the mundane worth it. Unfortunately, the scope of running the wellness center, as wellness manager, became more and more about the mundane. I managed things like towels, floors, lights that had blown out, structural issues and my favorite - complaints.

My wellness center is nestled in the most amazing part of the Asheville and it's breath taking. The members of my community are affluent and the wellness center is private to only homeowners and their families. The membership contains some of the most accomplished people in the U.S. and 99.9% of them were an absolute joy to be around. Friday afternoon,I had a meeting with that .1% and it was after that meeting that I decided this was not my life's work and being in that position would substract another day from what I should be doing.
I came home friday and spent some time thinking about what would appear to the outside world as a very rash decision. I found myself in my daughter's room looking at the wonderful space she had created for herself. I included pictures so the gravity of who she is becoming is evident. My daughter is an amazing young woman. I would love to think part of my work helped to make that happen but I must admit as many parents may, I am just very blessed. Seeing her room and recognizing that am stuck I decided for her, myself and the days I have left to take a HUGE leap of faith and go back into my own life's work. I plan to teach and train and take care of the people who need what I can provide. I plan to teach classes and educate people all over the world and I can't wait. I hope in this leap my children will see you can't ignore your gifts.
My work at the past position got me ready for this time and I am so grateful for it. In fact, although a painful meeting with the .1% person sent me to this place I chose be grateful for the experience as it has led me here.
Being brave doesn't mean you aren't scared it just means you do what is best and right anyway.
This year will be great, tough, challenging and exciting. I am looking forward to it and to all of you who wonder what's next- 

Adam the taxi driver

I was in charge of planning the trip to Israel. My plan was travel to Israel -- I am not a great planner so schedule  this tour schedule that tour, is usually not my style. I like to get there and then plan, which makes my type A husband a bit nervous. I have always has great traveling mercies and plans make it feel less like a vacation and more like work. Our apartment I found on Craigslist and turned out to be $1500 less than the hotel we had planned to stay at and is in a great part of Jerusalem. We have a washer and dyer , kitchen for cooking and  two bedrooms and two bathrooms - I made a good choice there. Today, our first day out was loosely planned to head to the western wall and the old city of David. While walking toward the old city we were stopped by a taxi driver - hoping we would need a ride. He asked if we needed a taxi- we told him no and he asked why we weren't taking the short cut ? We of course did not know he short cut and he offered to drive is there for $12. We agreed and he began a full day of touring Israel with Adam the taxi driver . A messianic Jew ( a born again Jew ) he knew all the sites we would want to see and told us how to see this amazing city. He began by saying he planned to open our hearts and not just our eyes -- what an amazing day-
Today we saw- The Mount ofOlives , The Via Delarosa , the garden of Gethsemne. Bethlehem , Jericho , the tree where Zaccheus was called down out of the tree - went to the Jordan river and put my foot in the very spot where Christ was baptized. I rode a camel and was told I was worth 100 camels by the beduion farmer. We saw some amazing things today and the time magnificent.
Adam - took us all these places told the best way to see things when we would be on our own and was great with the kids. Helped us find deals and made sure we had the best tour ever - and yes he charged us but it was worth every dime. My favorite today was Jericho - I had no idea it was considered an oasis in the desert and the desert is crazy dry humid and desolate but here sits Jericho -- best lemons, figs, pomegranate  and date farms around - lowest place of land on earth (400 meters below sea level) and considered a land of miracles due to the agricultural prosperity. We got our Jericho today richly blessed by a man who found us. His comment that really gave me something to think about - we asked Adam what he thought about (something not sure what) and he responded "I don't think I pray" he felt thinking was not as important as praying because one has more power than the other. I have agree -- need to do less thinking more praying after all that's how we found Adam, a simple prayer.

You matter to me

Last Monday didn't start the same way as most of my Mondays do. I carried a large poster board with writing all over it - words that would touch the heart of anyone who read them.  I walked down a quiet hallway in a place for people waiting to leave this earth the name of the place was Solace, a hospice center  in Asheville, NC.

Bob Scroggs was a wonderful man, a senior member of life and of our church. Bob was the kind of  man who hugged you and made you feel welcome every Sunday. He was diagnosed with lung cancer earlier in the  year and was in the final stages of it last week. I wanted to visit Bob during his battle with cancer but I was in the thick of another fight with friend who was battling cancer, and I had not seen him yet. In the final weeks of Bob's life I knew I needed to see him but I lost my dear friend Cindy only four short weeks earlier and wasn't sure I could actually visit Bob with the memories of her death so fresh in my mind.  I wasn't sure I would be able to say goodbye again so soon. 

Sitting in church they announced that it would be only days before Bob would die and played a video where he spoke about volunteering in the children's ministry at church. For several years, Bob and his wife would bring two boys from their neighborhood whose mother worked second shift and couldn't take them. They would make sure these boys were able to attend church, youth nights, retreats and youth activities outside of church. As the video clip ran it felt as though Cindy was saying to me "you have to see him and tell him, Its so important." 

As Cindy began to realize she could lose her battle with cancer she would often say to me "I hope I have made an impact on people. I hope that people will think I made a difference, that my life mattered." I loved those moments because I could tell her over and over how much she meant to me and how much she mattered in my life. I knew this was a precious gift to tell someone they matter and that their life made a difference. I realized after her death that cancer was really a gift for her and I. In spite of the thief it felt like -- I was given and opportunity to say and do things  as we knew how precious those moments would be as they were fewer and fewer with each passing day. 

Bob needed to know that although our moments together in his life were brief and we knew very little else of each other but a kind word and a warm hug, he made a difference to me and his life mattered. I was able to ask our youth group to do a poster to him and write the kind words a man would want to hear in his final days and they did a fabulous job. They wrote things to him that would help him know what a difference his life made. They took a photo of everyone and several of the youth held up the letters spelling out "We love you". I picked it up Sunday night and worried that perhaps I should go that night worried he wouldn't make it. I asked my pastor if he thought the idea was ok to do he said that I may be turned away due to Bob's grave condition only family and clergy would be allowed in his room in these final days. However,I knew if this was a divine assignment every thing would fall into place.  

I was so anxious to get to Bob Monday morning, as death and regret often go together. I was worried about getting there in time, being able to see him and perhaps being able to share with him how he mattered to me.  I asked the front desk where I would find his room, I found his lovely wife there in his room with Bob, and the door wide open. Through my tear filled eyes I asked if it would be ok to share these thoughts on the board from the youth and a few of my own. She was very kind and very appreciative. Bob looked frail but eyes wide open he seemed to recognize me as someone he knew. I couldn't be sure he knew me but his wife reminded him of my children who they were and she introduced me again. Due to the cancer he couldn't talk much but he was there and he was listening. I leaned down close to his ear and read the words from the board. "Thank you for your constant encouragement and dedication to spreading the gospel" wrote one youth. "You mean the world to me", "You have changed so many lives". One kind sentence after another and they all had something about how much he meant to them. 

I left the script on the board and took a few minutes to tell him about how much he meant to me. I told him that although our moments were few they were important. He mattered to me and his life has made a significant difference and he will be missed by so many but also by me. I tried not to cry but I can't help but wonder as he would mouth the words "thank you" over and over again did he know and believe he made a difference? I hope so because he did and I was given such an incredible gift being able to say that to him before he left this earth. 

I saw his wife on Sunday she said he closed his eyes that afternoon and never opened them again. He passed a few days later. She said I arrived in time- I have to believe it was a divine appointment, a gift for one that blessed another.

It's no secret to many of my friends this has been a dream of mine- to do an Ironman. This is the year I have chosen to make that goal a reality. The training will be difficult and the time commitment pretty overwhelming but I am so anxious to make this dream come true I am looking forward to the work.
I haven't adopted a formal plan. The plan is train everyday- without fail. I hope to make sure that I am ready for the task. I have even scheduled all the events I plan to participate in this year, worked on getting all my equipment needs taken care of and started coordinating training workouts with other athletes. This is a going to be a great year and I can't wait.

What are your goals this year? Have you planned them? Written them down? Made steps to make this a reality? If not why not? It's time and I think this year is going to be great!!! If you don't plan you won't make it happen, you know it and I know.Plan for it!!

This month the TFT call is all about planning.  The form we plan to use is pictured here but to get your copy send an email to telephonefitnesstrainer@gmail.com and I can send you one!!
So if you can join us January 9, 2013 8:30pm for a conference call on How to plan a successful new year!!!

Ten healthy tips for January-

1)Don’t make resolutions - make a plan- outline steps to getting to your goal and a time line- resolutions are like fishing without a hook. If you have a plan you will have a  better chance of getting to your goals.

2)Get new shoes for working out - old shoes create problems- if you get new shoes not only will it be better for your feet - it will help you be more excited about getting outside to use them.

3)Plan for a healthier spring- sign up for the spring 5k now and start planning the training. Spring will be here before you know it.

4)Make Sunday your day to prepare for the week - get your food in order - making lunches for the week or getting your workout bag packed. Your intention will decide your ability to execute- start early in the week

5)Start slow- but track it- break out the pedometer and start to measure progress- make small goals but then work on increasing your numbers or download a program that can track your progress and measure how you are doing. What you measure you can improve.

6)Get back to things that worked for you before- writing down your food and exercise is a great way to start the process again. Starting over isn’t defeat - quitting is.

7)Try to stick to eating the same things - create a meal plan you can stick to daily - when you don’t have to think about what to eat you are less likely to eat things you don’t need.

8)Wear clothes at home that are snug and not loose. Loose clothing makes you feel like you can eat more and can get you into trouble. Wear tighter clothes so you are less like to indulge.

9)Get away for wellness- go somewhere out of town for wellness- the Virginia creeper trail or Stone Mountain , Georgia. Sometimes a new place can renew your goals.

 10)Check your vitamin D levels- during winter less time outside can result in low vitamin D so have your primary physician check yours just in case- a simple supplement can help take care of this.

Jolene Puffer is the the telephone fitness trainer- would you like to start this year right? Call today for your first call with the TFT.

1-888-559-0285