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You. Yes, YOU! You have the potential to be your own worst enemy. Your harshest criticism will come from the mirror, not your friends. Most of you are familiar with these concepts. We often choose to emotionally abuse ourselves. When I broke my foot on a run, I replayed alternate outcomes of the scenario on a non-stop loop in my head. “If I only I had…” “But, what if I turned right…” In times like that, I’m forced to remember that I don’t use the words “should have”. When spoken in that order, those words are dangerous! How many times have you become upset with yourself and used those words? “I should have worked out today!” “I should have performed better in that race.” Using those words leads down a rabbit hole of regret. Those regrets lead to bad decisions. “I should have worked out today. That’s ok, I’ll just workout twice as hard and twice as long tomorrow!” Athletes, please don’t do that. Choosing to double-up your workouts to compensate for unplanned off days will only lead to fatigue and a potential injury. The other danger of ‘should have’ comes when life places an obstacle in the way of your training. If you are ever forced to take a break from the sport that you love the most, you will survive. When you get back into that sport, avoid the ‘should have’ state of mind. “I should have kept at it.”

Be, especially, careful to avoid the ‘used tos’. “I used to be able to do this faster, better, stronger.” Sometimes, you will feel like your training hits a plateau. Sometimes, you’ll feel like your training has taken several steps back or that you’ve lost momentum. If any of the aforementioned challenges swing your way, I’d like to introduce the two most important words in the mental game of your training. So what. Clients often tell me what they were able to lift in high school. So what. Friends often talk about how active they were a few years ago. So what. Regulars often tell me that they’ve lost a step. So what. “Jet! You’re being insensitive. I just want to tell you about how awesome the past was. I just want to share some ‘remember when’ monologue, baby!” So what. Be here. Be aware. Do the work. Embrace the moment. You’ll miss what’s happening now if you continue to remember when. So, the next time that your training partner wants to tell you about how awesome their climbing skills were last year or how much they will be able to lift next year, remind them that work must be done today, before anything else matters. Are you going to let any PR from your past degrade your present efforts? Are you going to be your own source of emotional abuse by lamenting about getting slower or weaker? I hope not. Athletes, I hope that when you think about your high school long jump record that you follow the thought with the phrase, so what. READ MORE>>

As we venture further into the new year, many of the intentions we set on January 1st morph into something else. Traditionally, mid to late February attendance in the gym begins to slightly dwindle. The good news? 2013 is your year to turn over a new leaf!

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The year has started and so have lists of goals from pens on paper that we post on our freezers and bathroom mirrors. It’s usually the case that we find ourselves in more exercise classes, personal training sessions, and confrontations with nutritional labels at the grocery store during these early months of the New Year, whether in aims of finding a mate before Valentine’s Day or to find new reasons to fall in love with ourselves. There’s something innate to lifting objects in various ways and moving and shifting and bending our bodies that goes back to more physical lifestyles and civilizations unaccustomed to certified organic hot bars and OKCupid accounts. Tired of resenting our own sweat glands we make efforts to bring about a more taught and capable fleshy self, no longer the resultant mold from hours of seated labor and microwaved meals in pockets of dough.

This enthusiasm often lasts through January commitments to brighter, stretchy clothing that provides short term motivation by the illusion of racing stripes and reflective styling, accentuating the more aerodynamic points of our torsos, thighs, and hind parts. Through February the added incentive of attracting a mate of similar attractiveness pushes us through the 14th when our new found fitness is either consummated by enjoyable momentum in a new found relationship or some sweet lovin’ unfound during months of increased plumpness. From here the zeal to challenge our bodies and formed assumptions of what it is capable of very often falls off. It’s 2013 and I think a good year to break this habit.

Thousands of gym goers, perhaps millions, press too aggressively during these early months of the year and end up back where they started. Sure, the temptation of candied hearts, too much wine, and the inevitable miss in aim of unreachable V-day expectations for love and fitness are discouraging. The new flame towards a healthier and more lovable you, while burning brightly, all too often finds itself snuffed out before significant progress is made.

Start slow. Take a yoga class. Share an evening with yourself, a spoon of almond butter and a glass of wine before setting big dinner plans. Meditate. Decide to discover your own physical culture that lasts past Valentine’s Day. I think you’ll find more health and love that way.

With all the bugs going around, thought we’d share this awesome video from our Health Coach and Yogi, Rhiannon Fink. Talk to her in person and take her classic yoga classes at Studiomix — Tuesday 5pm Ashtanga Yoga or Sunday 6:15pm Honey Flow.