Things to Consider

First off, way to go!!!  Red Dawn has successfully made it through the strength endurance workouts of week 4 which tend to be one of the hardest weeks of the challenge.  It's a tough workout, nothing left out with my added cardio bursts, and you are nearing the half way point, probably feeling tired and worn out from so many changes in your lifestyle!  But each and every one of you did it!  And I know more of you than not, wanted to curse or yell or blurt out I can't to us this morning, but through it all you prevailed and finished the workout with success.  And hopefully, you are a bit stronger and more grounded now than you were when you woke up at 4 am this morning.  Now, we start to embark on the mind/body week.  Here are a few random things to consider as we go into next week ...

Look for the beauty where we are so quick to see fault
Be inspired where we want to compare
Love where we want to forget
Feel empowered where we want to shy away

You, Red Dawn, should already feel empowered!  You have not shyed away and you won't! 

A thought for you when you wake up at 4 am

"Waking up this morning, I smile. Twenty-four brand new hours are before me. I vow to live fully in each moment and to look at all beings with eyes of compassion."

-- Thich Nhat Hanh

Beauty in Pain Even

Red Dawn is such a caring, loving, compassionate group of people!  I want to commend them on all of their progress and the growth they have made already in the 2.5 weeks we've spent together.  They are all losing weight consistently.  But the biggest thing I've noticed lately is their attitude and positivity.  I ask them to keep communication open with me so I know that they are struggling with and what they feel they are improving on, but what radiates with me the most, is how they are such a love driven group.  They go out of their way to help each other, and me, or the trainer of the day, without any boisterous comments and without any kind of hesitation.  That love is going to carry them so far!  I have no doubt that each and every one of them will reach their goals if they keep up the positive attitude, love, and trust in what we are doing.  I'm seeing them work harder this week even while I'm on crutches than they have in weeks prior. A dear friend of mine coined the terms 'there is beauty in pain.'  And that's what is sticking out to me this week.  There is love and beauty coming from the am team regardless of any of circumstances or situations we are all dealing with.  And from the love and beauty, they are strong and will keep growing and moving closer and closer to their goals!  

I'm grateful for each and every one of you and the beauty you bring and share!

Namaste

Thank You!

I just want to say thank you to all of the Red Dawn team for proving your dedication this am!  Even with the cold weather, snow falling and wind blowing each and every one of you showed up, ON TIME!  which is actually 4:45 or 4:50 AM, and I did not hear one single complaint about driving in the weather to get to the gym.  That's exactly the attitude we need to make the huge transformations you deserve over the next 8 weeks.  Keep it up! 

What We Think, We Become

Root to Grow

We have some team members concerned, discouraged, frustrated, and tired. All to be expected when entering a demanding program like we have.  Thursday mornings will always be a challenge for Red Dawn, but this morning was a little different.  They continued to work hard, some gave 110%, but not everyone was.  That concerns me.  The more I observed and thought, the more I saw fears surfacing and not intentional lack of effort.  I closed the workout with some thoughts on facing your fears and letting go, trusting the program, and what we are here to do.  Each one of us will be asked to face a fear at some point over this 10 weeks.  Maybe your time is now.  We need to root in order to grow.  We find strength from withing by finding our base, digging deep inside, and pulling that strength out.  From that strength, we can grow.  We are growing mentally, physically and emotionally.  I'm asking my team members to let go a little, give me 110%, be ok with falling a little in order to grow stronger.  Safety first of course!  I'm not pushing anyone down, nor do I want anyone to feel like you are falling.  I'm just asking you to step out of your comfort zone and trust in the strength that you already have and use that strength to continue to build it stronger and stronger.  We take each moment as a learning experience and build on it.  Make the most of each moment we have together! 

"Every fall that you take is a gift, and every relapse is a glorious opportunity -- after all, without them you can’t manifest the energy to get to a higher place."– Dr. Wayne Dyer

Some Walls to Climb!

First off, Red Dawn rocked it this am!!  Their cardio is improving a lot so I'm stepping up their workouts... We got in a good 15 minutes of cardio drills after our superset workout this am.  I'm sure several people on the team wanted to run out of the room, but they all stuck with it and kicked booty!  That's the exact energy we need to overcome the challenges you are facing.  You can do it!  I know emotions are running high, energy is going from high to low throughout the day, and finding healthy food choices in place of unhealthy cravings is a big obstacle right now.  Cravings are subsiding for some people, but still driving hard in others.  So far, they've been able to walk away from cravings, and now we need to make sure you all keep that up!  The longer you go, the less these cravings will occur.  Stay strong, dig deep, remember your goals and the steps you've made already.  Each and every one of you can beat your cravings and get past these walls you are seeing.  We are climbing each day!  The emotions are normal.  My best advice is to allow yourself to feel what you are feeling so you can heal and grow from it.  Forgive yourself for the choices you've made that you aren't happy with and focus on what you can do now to move forward in a healthier, happier way. 

On a side note ... let's share some healthy recipes or meals that you've found that you enjoy.  We need to find healthy ways you can keep up your "diets".  A diet itself isn't what you need.  We need to find ways to help you enjoy healthy meals and make that a lifestyle and not a ten week challenge.  Cooking is not at all my strong point!  I've found Tosca Reno's cookbooks very helpful.  She has several eat clean cookbooks out there with healthy ways to spice up your food and make it more palatable.  Anyone have some good meals to share?

Making Way for More Positivity

New rule came to Red Dawn on Saturday!  "I can't" is no longer a part of their vocabulary.  It's time to make more room for positivity and believing that you can push through your walls or up and over them.  So from now on, if I can't comes out of anyone's mouth on the team, the whole team has ten pushups!

Red Dawn YOU are Getting Homework

We are about to make a vision board!!  Check this out!

http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-3771/Create-a-Vision-Board-Inspired-by-Your-2012-Dreams.html

It's going to be a team vision board.  So, your homework is to send me at least 5 things that you want to accomplish from this journey we are embarking on together.  I'll compile it and we will use it to find strength as we progress over the next 9.5 weeks.  We will talk tomorrow am about it, but start thinking!

Red Dawn HAS HEART!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAqs_RKwfg8

The Challenge after the Challenge

And it hits home!  Thursday mornings are a tough day for the am team in this contest.  They have to switch up their routines on Wednesday and work out after the weigh in in the evening and then get right back up bright and early to get back to it on Thursday am.  The team was definitely tired and sore this morning, but we got through it.  They continued to work hard, but almost everyone on the team had little to no sleep the night before.  A pattern will come with time, but finding a way to wind down on Wednesday night so you can sleep will be such a help for your success on Thursday morning.  No doubt, Red Dawn will keep working hard, but rest is important too!  We had a 20 minute stretch today and I gave them the assignment to repeat the stretches we did at least one more time today.  Follow up tomorrow!

First Challenge - A Challenge!

First and foremost, I want to say congrats and great job to both teams on their efforts in the challenge last night!!  We had some definite progress in their first weigh in as well.  Red Dawn is really starting to pull together as a team which is great to see!  We had 4 people move on to round two and then 2 of those 4 moved on to the final round!  Great job to all!  One part of the challenge on Wednesdays is to keep moving and working out even if you have been elimanated from the competition that eve.  I made it a point to the Red Dawn members that there may be times on Wednesdays that they take some ownership of how they are using that time for a workout.  And last night, that came to be.  For the most part, my team kept moving, only stopping a few times.  Each week, we will continue to drive that home to make sure they are using Wednesdays to their fullest! 

Weigh In 1 -- Good Luck!

Good luck to everyone weighing in tonight!!  The first weigh in with the news camera in front of you can make you quite nervous, but remember, we are all here supporting and encouraging you!  The path you are now taking is much bigger than just the number on the scale.  Remember that as you go throughout your day.  We are walking a path to a healthy lifestyle; mind, body, and spirit.  It won't come immediately and there will be times you want to give up, but don't!  You are hopefully already feeling some benefits of the past few days whether you are noticing more energy, maybe a word of encouragement stuck with you, maybe you are feeling a difference in your body already ... Whatever that benefit is that is sticking with you today, take that with you tonight as you go into your challenge.  Use it as an additional driving force to make the most out of tonight regardless of what the scale says.  If you keep working and pushing, you WILL see results on the scale! 

If you aren't moving, you aren't losing!!!  So, even as the levels progress in the challenge tonight, keep moving!! 

Day One DOWN!!!

The West Lafayette team successfully made it through their first workout!!!  Each and every one of the contestants put their effort into the workout.  We hit some walls, and overcame some as well.  As the week progresses, we will continue to work on form and the transition from one station to a next to get the most out of circuit training we can.

I'm proud to announce the West Lafayette team as RED DAWN!  Here's to continuing the great effort Red Dawn!