CRAIG PRODUCTIONS LLC

I was meeting Elaine this morning for coffee at Starbucks. We were waiting in line to order our drinks and just happened to be in front of a woman with two children with her. Somehow we struck up a short conversation with the woman who managed to point out that she is chubby despite the fact that she’s chasing around three kids all day. Elaine, in her matter-of-fact way, says to the woman…”Well, she (pointing at me) has FOUR kids so she knows exactly what it’s like.”

When we sat down with our drinks, we both commented about how quick people are to give excuses for why they “can’t” be fit. Obviously, being a mother of 4 children, the mom excuse doesn’t get very far with me. But it’s amazing how many women will use the fact that they’ve birthed a child into the world as a reason why they can’t be as fit as they want to or think they should be. As we talked about it, I remembered back to a time when my twins were infants and my son was a toddler.

I nursed my twins exclusively for 13 months. They never did take a bottle, which often made it hard for me to get away from them for much more than 2 or 3 hours. You see, infants like to eat like bodybuilders every 2-3 hours, 6-8 times a day. You think prepping all that food is hard work, try BEING the food!! All of my time away from the duo was strategically planned and I was always “on the clock” and had to be back to them for the next meal. When I started back to the gym when they were two months old, I had to plan my workouts according to their eating schedule. I would usually feed them around 8:30 and then go straight to the gym and do whatever I could for about 1 hour. Monday through Friday I managed to walk in the gym before 9am, carrying an infant seat in each arm and towing my toddler behind me. I managed to keep the girls in their infant seats for an entire year, at which point I had to start carrying them one on each hip, which got a bit tricky. Fortunately, by the time they were a year old I had a training partner who graciously offered to “carry a twin” for me.

Now that my twins are 4 and my son is 6, it’s much easier to corral them from the car into the gym. Although, most days I feel like a mother duck with her ducklings in tow trying to make sure they make it safely across the parking lot. There are still times, more frequent than I’d like, that the daycare staff fetches me off my step mill or from the weight room to take care of a “potty accident.” This is really not convenient during contest prep, but fortunately, I don’t know any other way of doing contest prep, so I can’t say it bothers me that much. Okay, it does. Pee in the potty for crying out loud!!!!

I actually have a long list of excuses that are pretty legitimate reasons for not being able to workout or eat healthy. If it’s not something that is a priority for you, you’ll find any excuse not to do it. And maybe you feel like it’s a priority, but it just seems like too much work and you’re not ready to put out the effort so rather than admitting that, you just use your excuses as a reason not to do it. If being healthy and being fit is something you really desire in your life, you will make the time to exercise and eat well. I guarantee, every one of us is busy, very busy, and we all have the same 24 hours to work with each day. That means you might have to get up a little earlier to get your workout in or you might have to stay up a little later at night to make sure your meals are all ready for the following day.

Almost every bodybuilder I’ve ever met is a busy person, usually maintaining a full time job, a rigorous training schedule and a full personal life. They are masters at time management. They know how to make the most of their time both in and out of the gym. I believe that’s what makes a great bodybuilder. So, if you want it “that bad”, ditch your excuses, quit talking about it and just make it happen!

“Today, be aware of how you’re spending your 1440 beautiful moments, and spend them wisely.” ~ unknown

~Julie~

Fearless, with cape in hand

Tags: