What is Success?

How do you measure success? In the fitness industry success is often portrayed as one of two things – a transformation from a larger body type to a slimmer version, or a change from a skinny person into a muscle bound hulk. However, these are not the successes that I like to think about when working with clients.

Sure, clients will often come to me wanting to change how their body looks, and working together we will add more lean muscle while diminishing fat. And while that may be considered a success, what else could be placed in that category?

How about the less obvious things, such as:

• The hard working, time poor parent who manages to complete three workouts in a week?

• The parent who struggled to keep up with their children, but can now play for hours on end?

• The person who was put off exercise by old school PE lessons, but now loves exercising and moving their body?

• Someone who had a long term injury and struggled to move much, but can now lift, run, jump and walk pain free?

• The person who struggled with type II diabetes but now is back playing football with their mates and has their diabetes under control?

• A former alcoholic who has beaten their demons and allowed their body to repair itself, including their liver which returns to pre-alcohol levels?

• The time poor business owner who gets up early to make sure they complete their home based workouts?

All of those and many more examples could be considered successes. And I am so proud to be able to say that I have worked with all of the above people, who have worked hard and consistently to create those successes.

And amongst those successes they all became leaner, stronger, fitter and healthier along the way.

So when the quote from Bill Watterson, at the top of this newsletter, popped into my feed it seemed so apt. We can define what our successes are, through our actions. We decide who we are, and by working towards that decision we shape ourselves, our bodies and our minds. That in turn lets the world know just who we are.

So what would be a success for you? Would it be making some changes to your lifestyle to allow you to do what you want to do or be the person who’d like to be?

If you’d like help with making those changes click the gold button below to have a sensible chat about your health and fitness.