Many of us have experienced throughout our childhood into our adult lives that there will always be a winner and a loser.  In just about everything that we’ve done we knew early on that sometimes you are the nut and sometimes you are the nutcracker.  Whether it was racing with your siblings to get ‘shotgun’ in your dad’s car or graduating college and landing that awesome first job there was always something to shoot for.  Yes, it hurt to lose but at the same time we learned that even though it stung, there would most likely be another chance to redeem yourself so you better get it together.

Somehow things have gotten a little sideways with our most recent and subsequent generations.  A large portion of them are being taught that losing should NEVER happen under any circumstance.  So much so that even when they actually lose they are given a trophy, ribbon, certificate or any other token of admiration to let them know that even though you lost you are just as good as the winner.  Riiiiight

Well in fitness we’ve been able to meld these two beliefs to come up with one that works for everyone.  On one hand, fitness goals and achievements are truly based upon individual circumstances.  Goals can range from losing 20 pounds to running a marathon and anything in between.  But no matter what goals we set for ourselves, we know that we are solely responsible for our ability to attain them.  At the same time, even though the goals of any 10 people can be totally different, all 10 can reach or exceed their goals and thus are all winners.  Now be clear, the level of difficulty of the goal along with how disciplined you are to achieve it will directly affect how long it takes for you to become a winner.

So it turns out that every kid in fitness CAN get a trophy.  But you better work your ass off and stay focused or somebody may beat you to the winner’s circle!