Friday, June 4, 2010

STEAMStreet Workout - Saturday, June 5th

John Victor's STEAMStreet Workout
Saturday, June 5th at 8:30 AM!
The workout will begin and end at the lululemon athletica Showroom in Rye. The Showroom address is 14 Elm Place #206, Rye, NY 10580.
I will be on the corner of Elm Place & Purchase Street (next to Starbucks) at 8:20 AM to meet anyone who is unclear about the location of the Showroom. (If you arrive after we've already headed into the Showroom, just wait on the corner of Elm Place & Purchase Street and we will pick you up before the run begins.)
Water will be available in the Showroom both before and after the workout begins. We will also have refreshments in the Showroom at the end of the workout.
You are welcome to bring guests!
If you have not RSVP'd yet, PLEASE send me an email so I have an accurate count of participants.
In the event of inclement weather, the workout will be canceled. If there are bad weather conditions, please check your email at 7 AM for an update on the status of the workout.

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Memorial Day Challenge!

If you're around on Memorial Day, Monday, May 31st join me for 2 great workouts!

8:30 - 9:15 AM
STEAMax

9:30 - 10:30 AM
Spin

I will be there and hope to see you too!

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Positive Thoughts Only

I was standing in line the other day and saw a young lady with a t-shirt on that really made an impact on me. Her shirt had a sorority insignia on it and the words "Fat Free Talk Week" in large hot pink letters. I thought to myself, WOW, that's the best I've heard in a long time.

As I looked at the young lady standing in line it made me think about how much we all criticize ourselves and how hard we are on ourselves and each other. I am not exempt from this negative internal and external dialogue. It is much easier to look at ourselves and find all the things that WE DON'T like without focusing on all the positives about ourselves and others.

On a personal note, I have always hated my legs. I've been tall for most of my life and have always wanted to be shorter so that I had a more compact, dense muscular frame. The funny thing is that I get so many compliments about my legs. It's the body part people compliment me on most! It's hard for me to believe that people actually like my legs because I have spent my whole life criticizing and disliking them. Weird, right? I have spent years focused on what I want and not appreciating what I have.

I am committing to STOP criticizing myself. No more negative self-talk. It's not healthy and it's not productive. If I see something about myself that I really want to change, talking negatively about it to myself is NOT going to produce a positive change so I won't do it anymore. When I want to make a change I will take action BUT will stop the negative internal dialogue dead in it's tracks, starting today!

What about you? Will you commit to stopping the negative self-talk?

Friday, May 14, 2010

Quotes of The Day

By request, here you will find a listing of each of the quotes of the day.

Day 2:
Quote of the Day:
It's not the work that's hard, it's the discipline.
-Anonymous

Day 3:
Quote of The Day:
"Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishments."
-Jim Rohn

Day 4:
Quote of the Day:
"Develop the winning edge; small differences in your performance can lead to large differences in your results."
-Brian Tracy

Day 5:
Quote of the Day:
"We can have more than we've got because we can become more than we are."
-Jim Rohn

Day 6:
Quote of The Day:
"You never will be the person you can be if pressure, tension and discipline are taken out of your life."
-Dr. James G. Bilkey

Day 7:
Quote of The Day:
"Whether you think you can or whether you think you can't, you're right!"
-Henry Ford

Day 8:
Quote of The Day:
"You will never find time for anything. If you want time, you must make it."
-Charles Buxton

Day 9:
Quote of The Day:
"If someone says, 'Hey I ran 100 miles this week. How far did you run?' Ignore him! What the hell difference does it make?...The magic is in the man, not the 100 miles."
-Bill Bowerman

Day 10:
Quote of The Day:
"You must begin to think of yourself as becoming the person you want to be."
-David Viscott

Day 11:
Quote of The Day:
"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent."
-Eleanor Roosevelt

Day 12:
Quote of The Day:
"Don't let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do."
-John Wooden

Day 13:
Quote of The Day:
"Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference."
-Winston Churchill

Day 14:
Quote of The Day:
"It's so hard when I have to, and so easy when I want to."
-Anne Gottlier

Day 15:
Quote of The Day:
"Sometimes the path you're on is not as important as the direction you're heading."
-Kevin Smith

Day 16:
Quote of The Day:
"How am I going to live today in order to create the tomorrow I'm committed to?"
-Anthony Robbins

Day 17:
Quote of The Day:
"Sweat is the cologne of accomplishment."
-Heywood Hale Broun

Day 18:
Quote of the Day:
"Pain is temporary. Quitting last forever."
-Lance Armstrong

Day 19:
Quote of The Day:
"Carpe diem."
-taken from Odes by Horace

Day 20:
Quote of The Day:
"The difference between CAN and CANNOT are only three letters. Three letters that determine your life's direction."
-Remez Sasson

Day 21:
Quote of The Day:
"What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals."
-Zig Ziglar

Day 22:
Quote of The Day:
"Nobody's a natural. You work hard to get good and then you work hard to get better."
-Paul Coffey

Day 23:
Quote of The Day:
"The most important thing about motivation is goal setting. You should always have a goal."
-Francie Larrieu Smith

Day 24:
Quote of The Day:
"There will come a time when you believe everything is finished. That will be the beginning."
-Louis L'Amour

Day 25:
Quote of The Day:
"What is without periods of rest will not endure."
-Ovid

Day 26:
Quote of The Day:
"If you focus on results, you will never change. If you focus on change, you will get results."
-Jack Dixon

Day 27:
Quote of The Day:
"Progress however, of the best kind, is comparatively slow. Great results cannot be achieved at once; and we must be satisfied to advance in life as we walk, step by step."
-Samuel Smiles

Day 28:
Quote of The Day:
"The real secret of success is enthusiasm."
-Walter Chrysler

Day 29:
Quote of The Day:
"Do more than is required. What is the distance between someone who achieves their goals consistently and those who spend their lives and careers merely following? The extra mile."
-Gary Ryan Blair

Day 30:
Quote of The Day:
"You are the one who can stretch your own horizon."
-Edgar F. Magnin

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Nothing Can Stop Me or You!

So, I'm heading out of town this afternoon to spend the weekend in Provincetown to celebrate Chris' (my partner) birthday. Since we are in the middle of The Challenge and I am a huge creature of habit, this is a bit of a curve ball. OK, get ready to break out your violins for me...we are also traveling without our incredible nanny SO that means that fitting in workouts will be even a little trickier because Coco isn't quite ready to do workouts with us yet.

We have a plan and a Grammy (Chris' Mom lives in P'Town) so we WILL fit in our workouts. We will be taking a beach run each day and committing ourselves to a weight workout each day too. Plus, we will take Coco for a walk or 2 a day so we will definitely fit in our workouts while we're away.

Now. do you have travel plans or other things happening in your life that can keep you away from your workouts? If so, have you made a plan for fitting workout time into those plans? Remember, we have to MAKE time for ourselves and our workouts...that's a priority!

Stay on track folks! We are 10 days in and there's no stopping us now!

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Carpe Diem

Yesterday, just before I taught my 9:30 AM Spin class, I received the news that Dede Frontera had passed away. For those of you that workout at Equinox in Scarsdale, you know that Dede was a fixture at the gym and even through her challenging and valiant battle, she showed up at the gym almost every day and trained hard. I would often look at her training with Ray and think to myself, WOW if she can do it so can I. She gave me so much inspiration and at times when I was allowing my "luxury problems" to weight me down, she provided a sense of perspective.

We have the opportunity to make every day of our lives count and to live every day to the fullest. I am recommitting myself to not sweating the small stuff, making sure that I make the most of each day and TO MY WORKOUTS! Dede did it and so can I!

My workouts and classes until the end of The Challenge are dedicated to Dede and her incredible spirit.

Thanks for the inspiration Dede.

Monday, May 10, 2010

The Little Engine That Could

Our daughter, Coco, is just 3-months old but we have been reading to her almost since the day she was born. I guess being the son of a retired first grade teacher/reading specialist rubbed off on me.

One of the stories that Coco seems to like most (REALLY, she seems to like it!!!) is The Little Engine That Could. Maybe it's the great pictures but whenever we read it to her she gets entranced and stays very focused. We read it to her a lot because the message of the book is one that we really believe in. Coco CAN DO anything she wants to do and we want her to believe that from a very early age (obviously!).

Maybe we should all re-read this story. It's naivete is it's beauty. The message is simply that there's nothing we can't do if we just believe in ourselves and use all the power that we have.

I grew up in a family where this was the prevailing attitude. My parents always told me that I could be whatever I wanted to be and do whatever I wanted to do. There were no limitations placed on what I could expect to achieve and/or do with my life. As I've grown into adulthood, the gift that my parents gave me by believing in me and being 100% supportive, has unveiled itself. I am a confident man and I really do believe that I can do anything that I set my mind to.

Think about it. Do you have that level of confidence in yourself? Do you think you can do anything you set your mind to? Do you harness the belief that you can do anything you want to to improve your workouts and your life? If not, starting today make "I THINK I CAN" your mantra!