Walk The Walk

I apologize for the delay on this post, I have a second one in the works and I am sure it will interested you as well, I had a moment today while struggling through Overhead Squats (apparently analyzing your lifting tech. is great for writing ideas) and felt compelled to put up a quick entry. This is in reference to training and working with different individuals but it is a universal ideal that can be reapplied in any field. If your entire life was put on a movie reel and played for a Motto Board (fabricated entity-I think)  they could create a few motto's for your life. Single lines that can define you. No, it's not super specific and yes, we all wear various caps but on the whole there is generally a pattern within each respective area (home, work, spare time0. The great part about this is that WE control our motto based on our performance. WE have the ability to determine what lines the Motto Board give us in the afterlife. Why is this relevant? Because if you are going to have a career instructing people in the fitness/health industry one of the lines from the motto board better say "Walk the Walk". If I want to learn how to fish the man teaching me better be a fisherman, otherwise chances are I am not going to truly listen to his opinion and will be going hungry tonight. I don't want a dirt bike rider teaching me to fish or a fisherman teaching me to dirt bike. I want to know the person loves it and personally applies what they say to their own life.

Personal story time, recently I moved to Ottawa to perform an internship with Ottawa Athletic Conditioning Center. (The gym tour is on the video below) Since moving to Ottawa I have had a great opportunity to be selfish. Selfish in that I am the only person who I really need to worry about. Since being here I have reevaluated a lot of my life style and modified it closer to where I want to be. Essentially, I am doing my very best to Walk the Walk. I realized that I cannot motivate others to be disciplined and on task unless I am. My room is full of quotes on the walls and things that have special meaning to me, pictures of friends, letters of reference, cards from my grandmas, family, girlfriend, newspaper cutouts, and sticky notes. My brother calls it my shrine (I realize that most people don't think that it is cool or useful),  in a way it is. Not to make myself feel more important each day, but rather remind myself what is important and the value of hard work. The first thing I see when I wake up is a note on my ceiling that says "Feet on the Floor" This is something I read in Mike Boyle's blog, something he does every morning regardless of when he wakes up. No snooze button or roll over and fall back asleep, he puts his feet on the floor and gets to work. I have really taken it to heart. I have a notebook in my house and one in the car, in case of an idea worth remembering. I have been reading as much literature as possible related to my field and listening to audio books in the car. I am trying to better myself everyday. Every BJJ class I attend I make notes that night or first thing the next morning. I eat healthy and train hard in the gym. I rarely drink and when I do it is usually only 1 or 2 beers and I don't smoke. How can I try and persuade an athlete the importance of nutrition and no alcohol if they want to crack the OHL line up if I don't personally follow it. It is okay to go out and enjoy yourself, healthy even but be conscious of your actions and the frequency

The importance of 'walking the walk couldn't have been more clear to me then a few weeks ago when I went downtown with a friend. I had one beer while out. During that time I was introduced to a trainer from a different gym in Ottawa that works with the same type of clientele. The trainer in question was drunk out of his tree and swaying back and forth as he told me that they used only the most recent research in designing their programs. I asked him a little bit about what they do, genuinely curious but just received a slurred repeated answer. "We are cutting edggge, man"  Still not sure what that meant but I do know that if I was one of his athletes he would have lost some respect and I doubt the Motto Board would grant him "Walk the Walk"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oSFWvxQH5o

Side note, big shout out to the Catalyst crew for their hard work on the weekend, congrats. Also to the new Steel City MMA opening September 1. Real Excited.