Train Smart, Train Hard

The clock struck midnight, your neighbor woke you up shooting bottle rockets over your house, the big ball dropped in New York, and you have decided that 2009 is your year to revolutionize your life. Last year left a lot to be desired. The stock market drove you dizzy, the election left you feeling uneasy, you went a little crazy with your holiday spending, and your body weight continued to increase. You drag yourself out of bed, dig through your closet in search of your gym bag, and have determined to turn it around this year.

The only problem is, you made the same determination last year, and the year before, and the year before; in fact, you’ve made this same decision every year since you graduated college. How is this year going to be any different? If good intentions equaled results, you would have been there years ago, but as we all have heard, “the road to hell is paved with good intentions.”

The secret to achieving any goal is the combination of both knowledge and passion. These are like the two wheels on a bicycle. If one wheel falls off, our journey will come to a sudden halt!

Knowledge is the front wheel of your bicycle. The front wheel is important as it provides both balance and guidance for the journey. Just as we steer a bicycle with handle bars that are connected to the front wheel, knowledge steers us towards our goals.

There is a proverb that states, "It is not good to have zeal without knowledge, nor to be hasty and miss the way." Zeal, all by itself, can be like a tornado: lots of wind, noise, and messes left behind! Knowing what to do is essential to improving your health and fitness.

Passion, or zeal, is equally important though. It can be compared to the back wheel of the bicycle. This is the wheel of power, as the back wheel is connected to the pedals. Without this, no matter how nice our bicycle looks, it's not going to go anywhere. Likewise, if we have all the knowledge known to man, but no ambition, we're going to fail in achieving our goals.

Salvador Dali, once said, "Intelligence without ambition is a bird without wings." Just as a bird cannot fly without its wings, knowledge takes us nowhere if we lack the drive to relentlessly pursue our goals. If knowledge alone could win the fitness battle, our country would not be in the midst of an obesity epidemic.

Changing one’s health equates to changing one’s life, and this is no quick and easy task. Old habits can be difficult to break and new habits are established through perseverance. If you are going to make 2009 your year to get fit, arm yourself with knowledge and search deep inside for the passion needed to see it through. If you are just starting out, or if you have tried before and fallen short, consider enlisting the help of a certified fitness professional as they will bring both the knowledge and the passion you will need to make it.