However, I do see some people take the bull by the horns and commit to a healthier life. So what is the difference between those that do and don’t take action?

I see people are motivated primarily by two things; Pain and Pleasure.

You see people will avoid a task because it may in fact lead to a pain of some sort. Now I am not just referring a physical pain that may occur but there is also the pain of getting up early, cutting back expenses so you can afford a personal trainer, not indulging in your favourite foods etc.

On the other hand, people will pursue tasks that bring them pleasure. For example, I make time in my schedule for 2 games of Oz Tag per week because it brings me immense enjoyment.

So the people that pursue a healthier lifestyle have determined that being healthy will lead them to less pain and more pleasure than not pursuing a healthier lifestyle.

I created a process that I find very helpful when working with clients. It is all about them mounting up pain and pleasure around exercise. Let’s be real here, exercise is difficult at times and we need to be reminded of the pleasure that it can be bring and the pain that you will be avoiding. The process is below, please take a moment to complete it and see how powerful it can be:

Reasons to Exercise  

General Reasons:

• Increased metabolism
• Better sleep
• Reduced feelings of depression and anxiety
• Improved bone mass and density
• Increased lean body muscle mass and muscle tone
• Increased strength and agility
• Greater psychological well-being
• Look better
• Increased healthy life expectancy
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Specific Reasons:

• Actively play with my kids/grandchildren
• Children won’t be embarrassed by my appearance
• Can travel overseas
• Can enjoy life more because I am not constantly fatigued
• To be more self-sufficient in retirement
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Outcomes for Not Exercising

• Decreased metabolism
• Reduced sleep
• Increased feelings of depression and anxiety
• Decreased bone mass and density
• Decreased lean body muscle mass and muscle tone
• Decreased strength and agility
• Lower psychological well-being
• Unhealthy appearance
• Feelings of stiffness
• Out of breath
• Decreased healthy life expectancy
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•  

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Specific Reasons:

• Limited capacity with my kids/grandchildren
• Children might be embarrassed by my appearance
• Limited options when travelling overseas
• Less enjoyment in life more because of constant fatigue
• More dependence in retirement
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Our Team of Amazing Trainers

I wanted to take the opportunity to publically declare how proud I am of the Coastal Bodies team in 2011. They are an exceptional group of trainers that are very talented and dedicated to getting people healthy, fit and injury free. They have all shown great dedication in completing their university degrees and continuing their studies by participating in a workshop weekly.  I am proud to say that I have the best trainers in Sydney!

January is usually the time of the year when every personal trainer gets excited. They get to create marketing about the New Year and attempt to get a lot of new clients who want to get healthy for the year ahead. I have in fact been one of these trainers and have tried cheesy marketing for the last 3 years around the New Year. Well, not this year and let me tell you why.

New Year’s Resolutions are usually made in between glasses of champagne and hugging your friends in an inebriated state. They are rarely made with any deep level of thought or strategy. It should then come as a very little surprise that they are not met.

I sent you an e-mail last month about the motivation of pain and pleasure. The activity in that e-mail will help you enormously in this process. The ideas presented here are a repeat of these concepts but I believe that they are so powerful and worth saying again

I am in the business of helping people get healthy. People need a BIG reason to get healthy. This reason needs to be so powerful that it will help overcome the obstacles that will occur along the way. So if you are looking to get healthy in 2012 the start by asking yourself WHY.