That's a quote from Greg Glassman, and an excerpt from his "World Class Fitness in 100 Words" (found here).

If you don't understand the concept contained in that quote, read it again and again until you truly understand it.  That one simple sentence can change your life dramatically...that is if your life needs dramatic change.  You get to decide if dramatic change for you is necessary.  Then you get to decide if the changes in your lifestyle that are required in order for you to achieve the dramatic changes are worth it.

What are the dramatic changes that you need in your life?  That's hard to determine...only you can decide what you are willing to live with or live without.  At ONDEG Fitness, our style of workout is "functional"...and it's because our goal is not vanity or ego.  It's functionality.  Your version of functionality may be different than others, so you must ask yourself if the exercise physiology and nutritional guidance adhered to in our gym is right for you.  Maybe we can just ask ourselves some questions that you may have never before considered.

"Am I a better human being if I can..."

• Jump on top of something that is 20 inches tall?
• Run a mile as fast as possible without stopping?
• Pick something up from the ground and put it over my head if it weighs as much as I do?

Well, maybe being "a better human being" is too subjective.  How about these questions:
"Can I..."

• Walk five miles cross-country through snowdrifts to find help because my car is stuck in the ditch?
• Lift the spare tire onto the axle when changing a flat?
• Fend off an attacker who wants to do harm to you or your family?
• Carry an unconscious teenager up a flight up stairs and out the door because if you don't they will die in a house fire?

We don't know what the circumstances may be...and we don't know when we will be faced with those kinds of challenges, but in the words of the Boy Scouts' motto:  Be Prepared.  At ONDEG, we prepare for life's challenges and by default, we have a better quality of life when not faced with challenges.

(take a deep breath and congratulate yourself if you are still reading)

The above is somewhat of a rant, but it should also serve as a stimulus for you to think about why you are conscious of what you put into your body and the reasons you come to the gym to exert yourself so intensely.  In short...what are your goals?  Why are you working out?  Are you doing everything you can to maximize your results?  What the hell are you doing here?

As we look forward to a new year and the inevitable resolutions that are sworn to on January 1st, ONDEG resolves to help you in the following areas:

• Nutrition
• Mobility
• Strength
• Endurance
• Coordination

If you have goals or resolutions in those areas, let's work together to get them accomplished.  Let's start by committing to a weekly review of nutrition practices.  From now on, Friday's workouts will be short and intense (which is really nothing new) but there will be plenty of time left over before the end of the hour to discuss nutrition.  It's an optional discussion...skipping it may be your chance to leave early and get an extra cup of coffee before work, or head home and relax a few minutes before dinner.  But if you choose to stay and talk about nutrition, you'll be expected to share your knowledge and ideas, goals and strategies, successes and failures.  It will be called "Food Journal Friday", because the easiest way for you to focus on what you put into your body is write down everything that you put into your body.

Start a food journal today...it doesn't have to be fancy...just write down everything that goes into your pie-hole.  Record the time and date of course.  We will expand later, but If you want to get detailed right away, write down amounts and how you feel after eating.  Record your results...good or bad.  If you really want to document your progress, take some "before" pictures in clothes that reveal your body composition (ie...wear clothing that shows what you might not want to show to everyone but nonetheless is enough exposure to see for yourself if you are making changes).  We often talk about judging the effectiveness of your nutrition plan by the Robb Wolf standards of "look / feel / perform".  Your workout journal will track your progress in terms of performance, but you can use your food journal to track how you look and feel.

Seems like a lot of writing / reading in order to get to the point of this article, which is:

• Start a food journal.
• Do it today.
• Be diligent.
• Share.  (with your trainer and workout buddies, but specifically on Food Journal Fridays)