5 Ways to KEEP IT SIMPLE

     I’ve found in my life the best advice is typically of the short variety.  Not some long drawn out diatribe that circles back and forth and continues to make the same point.  Hence the title, “KEEP IT SIMPLE”.  The shorter the advice, the easier it is to remember and the more sense it will make.  Sometimes all you need is 3 words…let us begin.

     Whether we’re talking about training, life, work or trying to just find more time in your day, it’s always vital to “HAVE A PLAN”.  Layout what you want to do ahead of time to allow you the freedom to focus on just getting to the gym, or where you want to be in 2 years and establish some goals and start working.  That way you don’t sit there trying to think up something to do when you get to the gym or being the person looking back on missed opportunity.  Map out what you want to accomplish and maintain that laser focus throughout whatever it is you’re trying to accomplish. 

     For those people that find it hard to make the time to train or get ahead in life or at work, “GET UP EARLY”.  This is one of the most common traits of highly successful people, rarely if ever do they sleep in.  Get up and get stuff done while the rest of the world is sleeping.  You’ll be amazed of the amount of productivity you can have before the sunrises.  Go for an early morning run or crank out that project before anyone else is awake in the house or at the office. 

     The number one reason for people feeling crappy in the morning is typically the lack of sleep, so “GET SOME SLEEP”.  Everyone should should try for 7-9 hours of sleep.  This is the most underutilized means of recovery that is out there.  You know those times your computer wants to shut itself down to complete a software update?  Think of your brain and body in the same way.  With out it being able to reboot itself every night it will be in a constant decline of performance from day to day.  And that over time will have massive diminishing returns on every aspect of your life, train, family, work.  It’s really easy now with apps for your cell phone that can monitor your sleep, they’re all simple to use and allow you a way to track something you’ve probably never thought of tracking.

     In life it isn’t necessary to always work smarter, most people that get ahead “JUST WORK HARDER”.  That being said, it doesn't mean you have to start putting 16 hour days in, though I’m sure some of you do already.  Been there done that.  But sometimes you have to roll your sleeves up and get your hands dirty and break a sweat.  Maybe your struggling to get in better shape or get that promotion at work.  You already have the motivation, you're part of this family, now you just have to push a little harder.  Try running a little faster or longer or spend 30 extra minutes on a project at work.  Maybe get up early and do both...?  In the end I doubt you’ll look back and regret putting the effort in if the ends is worth it.

     Most importantly, “DONT FEAR FAILURE”.  I’m pretty confident that not one successful person has hit every project or idea out of the park.  Sometimes you have to strike out to hit a home run.  It’s in those moments of failure that you can take a step back, analyze what happened, what were the causes of the miss and get right back at the drawing board and go back out and crush it.  The people that refuse to get introspective during times of mistakes, losses or failures are the type of people that you don’t want to be around.  They’ll probably be super negative and complain a lot and that just sucks to be around.  There are plenty of people out there in this world who have been in your shoes before and have plenty of tips and guidance to give on how they were able to push through and achieve there goals.  Sounds like a great opportunity to ask for some help and gain a friend out of it.

Keep pushing yourself daily, no matter how big or small, because no one else is going to do it for you.  It’s on you.

“The more you say, the less people remember. The fewer the words, the greater the profit.”

G

Be sure to keep spreading The Tank Up Way friends, the community is growing! 

Email: thetankupway@gmail.com (#TankUp shirts still available)

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“You can have results or excuses…not both.”

     “I don’t have enough time.”  How often have you heard that said?  Personally I hear that on a minimum of 10 times per week.  Sadly it’s not true.  What people mean to say is “I don’t have time for that.”  A 30 minute workout is roughly only 2% of your day, stop looking at it as a waste of time but as being the most important time of your day.  Be the master of your fate, show up and give it a shot, day after day.  It’s in all of us.

     Complaining about working out has no place in this world either.  If you’re doing something that you don’t enjoy, don’t stop working out, I repeat don’t stop working out, just find a different means of working out or add some variety to what you do.  There are plenty of things out there that you can try.  If you’re feeling like you have no motivation to work out you’ve set yourself up to lose that battle.  Your feelings want you to be safe, they certainly don’t want you to be successful or uncomfortable.  To have success sometimes you might have to do somethings that aren't as fun or as comfortable as the DVR and couch, but that’s just life.  Live it.

     Other people will complain about their kids and how “It’s hard to make it work.”  There are plenty of people out there that manage to juggle life around their training.  I’ve seen it numerous times, I’ve seen plenty of mothers over the past years make it work.  Your kids should be your biggest motivation to work out, not your biggest excuse.  Don’t burden your kids with being the old and broken parent that they have to take care of.  Be awesome for them…and for you.

     I’ve been honored in my life to be able to have some amazing workout partners during my journey.  But I’ve also had many months and years where it was just me rising and grinding solo day after day, week after week.  But music has been my friend in those hours of suffering.  Blow the dust off that old disc man and get after it.  People who train with each other typically meet at the gym or at the yoga studio or running club.  If you don’t have someone to train with it’s probably because you don’t have many friends that train.  Become the person who regularly trains and you will attract people into your life who also value the benefits of being healthy and fit.  Nothing worthwhile in this life comes free, you have to earn it.

     If you make that commitment to training and it becomes a part of who you are, just the thought of missing a workout can drive you crazy.  I herniated a disc in my back a couple years back.  And after a set back of me being hard headed and rushing back and pushing through the pain, I took the doctors and physical therapists and athletic trainers advice and focused on my rehab.  I dedicated my time to learning as much as I could about disc injuries, I read research, books, experimented with certain exercises and it gave me an outlet to get back to where I wanted to be.  Just because one part of your body is out of commission doesn’t mean the rest of your body can’t train, just be safe.  I don’t recommend training when your sick, but being sore or tired, that’s not good enough in my book.  Train smart.

     Don’t feel like you need a gym to achieve fitness success.  The world is your oyster.  There are plenty of websites out there where you can buy equipment for your house or even videos to watch that can teach you how to make a kettle bell or a suspension trainer.  You don’t need equipment to do burpees!  I watched a friend blast through his burpees today in knee high boots, jeans, a carhart jacket and a winter hat today, I’m just saying…Tim you're the man by the way!  If it’s important enough to you, you will find a way.

     All I can ask is that you don’t make the excuse of not knowing what to do or feeling intimidated by people that are fit.  Firstly, the internet has opened the world up to training tips, routines, etc.  If it’s on the internet it must be true (that’s a joke).  Showing up to the gym and starting is the most important part, you can learn a lot on the fly just by showing up.  You can ask questions along the way of people on technique, form, theory and practice.  It’s a journey, it doesn’t come instantly.  The more you show up to the gym the more comfortable the people and the place will seem.  Plus most fit people love to give advice and help people.

     Anyone has the ability to get in great shape.  Go be the person that the unfit are intimidated by and tell them all about your journey to how you got there.  Heck you might get a new training partner out of the deal.

G 

Be sure to keep sharing and spreading The Tank Up Way friends, the community is growing!

Email: thetankupway@gmail.com (#TankUp shirts still available)

Facebook: The Tank Up Way

Instagram/Twitter: @thetankupway

The Right Mindset

     I hope this finds everyone well and I hope it finds everyone in the mists of the 30/30 Challenge that was laid out a few days ago.  If you don’t know about it, or forgot about it, or just haven’t started doing 30 reps or 30 minutes of an exercise daily for 30 days it’s ok.  That doesn’t make you a bad person, just start today after you read the blog.  

     Confidence, willpower, determination and perseverance are qualities that everyone wants to have.  However, most people feel that they are born with them or their not, and if their not born with them they just end up being stuck.  That’s not right though.  These qualities are within all of us and can be developed through our actions.  Hence the 30/30 Challenge.

     Research has shown that there are people out there that believe their abilities, intelligence, talents are all just fixed traits.  Whatever amount they have that’s it and they can't get anymore no matter what they do so they don't even try.  Then there is another group of people that understand that the talents and abilities that they currently possess can be further developed though effort, passion, patience, persistence (The 3 P’s BLOG) and good education.  They typically don’t believe that everyone is the same or that anyone can be Thomas Edison, but they have a strong belief that everyone…everyone can get smarter if they just work at it.  This is the fixed mindset vs the growing mindset continuum.

     Most of us have a blend of the two mindsets, in one area we might have the growing mindset and another a fixed mindset.  Take this for example, you might be a person who is very goal and growth oriented when it comes to your work.  You believe in your abilities, you know what you're worth and are constantly looking for ways to continue developing to be the best that you can be at work.  Then again, you might have a fixed mindset when it comes to your health and feel that the hand you were given is what you're stuck with and you believe you’ve never been the type of person who works out or never were athletic enough to go run or utilize the gym or everything you've tried before never worked.  Take a moment and think for yourself and see if you can think of areas where you might do either.

     I wanted to lay out the 30/30 challenge for all of us to do together even as we are spread across the globe, to show that we have the power to prove to ourselves in a small way that we can improve just by having a growing mindset and commiting to something.  If you’ve been committed so far, I’m sure that you’ve realized it’s becoming easier everyday, and each day is another small win (Shooting for 1% BLOG). If we get enough of those small wins over time our confidence will continue to grow and we’ll further develop our growing mindset. 

     

     Being around sports and gyms and training people from all walks of life I’ve watched this happen first hand.  I’ve worked with people who have never done any physical activity in their life and they’ll say that to me first thing.  They don’t see themselves as being a strong, fit, able bodied person and don’t believe they can ever be that.  But what happens next is awesome if they commit to themselves.  Workout after workout, rep after rep, pound after pound, their confidence grows, they believe they can grow, they see now that they control their health and longevity and can develop them with effort and hard work.  All of those little actions of showing up daily and putting the work in led them to developing a growth mindset.  It’s so rewarding to witness it first hand.

     Go out and start small, and prove to yourself that through all the little successes day after day after day that you have the ability and power to develop your confidence, willpower, determination and perseverance.  If you do that I promise you a growing mindset just by completing the 30/30 Challenge. And with that it'll lead you to develop it in other facets of your life.

     Now that you’re motivated, here are the next steps for you to stay motivated, pick an exercise/activity that is realistic for you, keep it simple.  Get a friend to join you for the 30 days, it’ll be fun, I currently have a group text message going with 3 friends that we all log our reps daily in, and bust chops as well.  It holds us accountable and will do the same.  Just pick something to do, it doesn’t need to be ridiculous, anything that makes your heart beat faster.  Make an effort to eat healthy and get a full night of sleep.  And most importantly have fun, you are not alone, we're all in it together.

Off to Tank Up and get my 30 burpees in!

G

Be sure to keep sharing and spreading The Tank Up Way friends, the community is growing!

Email: thetankupway@gmail.com (#TankUp shirts still available)

Facebook: The Tank Up Way

Instagram/Twitter: @thetankupway