With the Summer Season coming to a close it's time to get back into the gym and start taking your workouts seriously. Now if you are a regular lifter or self-proclaimed "Gym Junkie" such as myself, you most likely already take your workouts seriously. And if you're one of our clients, I can guarantee that you have no choice but to take your workouts seriously. But let's be real - working out is the easy part. Okay, obviously it's not easy if you are lifting hard and heavy but as most of you know the hardest part about working out is getting yourself to the workout itself. Once you are at the gym and committed to your training session, there is no going back and after a few sets in, your blood starts flowing, your adrenaline starts pumping and you usually have no desire to leave until you are truly finished anyways.

You've just returned home from a stressful day at the office and you are absolutely famished. There are tons of healthy options to choose from in your fridge however you just don't have the time, energy and/or patience to spend an additional 30 minutes on your feet to fix yourself up a home-cooked meal today. Along with your hunger, you start to show signs or irritability. At this point you want something, anything, everything. As long as it's quick and easy you'll take it. So you pick up the phone and call in for a take-out. Pizza, Chinese Food, or perhaps some Thai. All are quick to make and can be delivered to you within minutes. And hey, you know that most Fast Foods aren't good for you and will most likely add inches to your waist line in the long term, but you find reason for your "Dirty Decision" by justifying it with the insanely hectic day that you've just experienced. So you place your order and wait patiently for your meal to arrive.

It's now later into the evening and you're watching TV. The show you're watching isn't very interesting and you find your mind starting to wonder. Your stomach still feels full from the four slices of pepperoni pizza you inhaled a few hours earlier yet you start to feel peckish. You get up off the couch and start to rummage through your kitchen cupboards looking for something to curb your cravings. Again, there are plenty of healthy options available yet you want something that is quick to make and in your mind, what you think will be extremely satisfying. A piece of fruit won't do it. That Greek Yogurt in the fridge just won't be enough. And those baby carrots? PLEASE!!! You want food! You want something with substance! You want.....SUGAR!

It's the first week of a new month which always seems to reset, refresh and recharge my energy levels for some reason. Perhaps it's the change in temperature, the feeling of a new beginning or the fact that the gyms are becoming busier again that reignites my passion to train myself and assist others on their quest to reach their target fitness goals. As a small business owner who's company continues to grow each year, my philosophy is to work hard now while I'm still young (relatively) and full of energy and then play hard later when I'm older and perhaps a little bit more slower. With that said, I like to work. I enjoy going to work. I read an article the other day that stated that over 80% of the population dislike their jobs. I feel so fortunate to work in an industry that I love and to have a career that I enjoy. As much as I like to work long hours in the gym with clients followed by a few more hours in the office catching up on emails, designing nutritional plans and training programs, I felt like I needed to do something else though. Something a little bit more challenging. Something that was going to test me both mentally and physically and push me beyond my limits. So about a month ago I decided to come out of retirement, cut my carbs, increase my cardio, deprive myself of all life's short term gratifications and you guessed it, step on stage and compete one last time....

It's Monday morning. You've got your bag packed for the gym, your post-workout shake in hand and you've just downloaded a brand new playlist of all your favorite music onto your Ipod for your training session later on today. You're prepared to do battle, you're pumped to throw around some heavy ass weights, you're excited for the results that you are going to achieve from your workout. Only one problem - You have no idea as to which muscle group you are going to train........