Packed facilities, waiting lines for cardio equipment, new faces, old faces, can’t find a parking spot, they ran out of towels, they’re out of soap, the computers are down…these are just some of the things you may encounter at your fitness center during the New Year’s rush.  As an industry, we know that the majority of the new users drop off within the first few months.  Instead of coming up with another new list of “How To’s” we should examine the problem itself rather than just the symptoms.

Why is it that we always seem to cheer for the underdog?  Why do we root for teams that are likely to lose?  Why do we cheer for David against Goliath?  We’ve see it constantly as a theme in movies over the years.  We walk out of theaters thinking we can accomplish anything.  Rocky Balboa is known in nearly all households in America.  (With Stallone making the new Rocky Balboa movie at an age of 60…now that’s health!)  Little Hobbits become the heroes of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy.  The little known Philadelphia bartender Vincent Papale is the hero in the football movie Invincible.  We have The Alamo, the Cardinals vs. the Yankees in the 2006 World Series Playoffs, and even the newest movie, 300, which is a story of how 300 Spartans hold off a Persian army of over 1,000,000 soldiers for three days!  Time after time we see the most unlikely of heroes triumph against all odds.  Doesn’t the joy of success seem so much sweeter when the little guy triumphs?  Why?

As you enter the New Year and set goals to lose weight, improve your health or relationships, lower your cholesterol, gain muscle or any one of the other thousand plus possibilities, remember there will be times where you feel like you can go no further.  No “How To” book in the world will be able to help you.  Heroes don’t have a “Success for Dummies” manual that they follow.  They do however have one thing in common:  perseverance.  But underneath that often overused word lies the truth, there exists an internal motivation strong enough in all of us to achieve great things…you just need to figure out what yours is.  Find your “Why” and you’ll find your success. 

It’s easy to throw in the towel and walk away from the goals you set or the milestones you’d like to reach.  Goals should challenge you and push you to exceed your current expectations.  Rather than write an article this year about the “Top 10 Ways To…..” I thought we should examine the real motivator behind success: your heart.  Instead of telling you how to do something I’ll challenge you to find your “why” you want to do something.  Take a few minutes this year and write down all the reasons behind your goals.  Be able to explain in detail the motivating factors that move you to achieve. 

There’s a spirit in heroes allowing them to move forward in even the most difficult situations when all odds are against them.  The difference between success and failure is one step at a time.  At any point on your journey to physical health, success, a healthy relationship or the like, there will always be chances of turning back.  Stories are told about heroes because heroes don’t turn back; they always take another step and keep trying.  Sylvester Stallone was at the lowest point in his life before Rocky and had to sell his own dog just to have food to eat.  Heroes and successful people have their “why,” do you?

Contributing Article:

Chris Adsit, Certified Personal Trainer NASM, ACE, Sports Nutritionist.  A graduate of St. Norbert College, Adsit has given seminars on training methodology, assessment and programming to universities, high schools and middle schools. With 15 years experience in the fitness industry. Chris has found his home at Matrix Fitness as Education Specialist.