1. Listen to your body and check with your physician before starting an exercise program 2. Do a variety of exercises 3. Play a sport 4. If a body part hurts, don't aggravate it & seek medical attention 5. During exercise, mentally focus on body part you're exercising 6. At least two genuine smiles while resting during an hour workout 7. Vary cardio routines including length of time, day, and speed 8. Have at least one brief conversation before or during workout 9. Compete with a sub-goal in mind (repetition required before going to next level(s)) and reaching a goal 10. Less is more if done correctly 11. Drink eight glasses of water a day …. Start day with one glass & drink less with meals …. Don't drink it all at once 12. Eat a variety of nourishing foods (include some fruit, one walnut, one pecan, two almonds) 13. Drink no more than 1.5 cups of your favorite sport drink after exercise 14. Don't eat within two hours of exercising for optimal stomach strength

Tips to Help YOU Become a “PERFORMER”:

1. Set goals and then reinforce them to yourself on a daily basis. I recommend using SMART Goals technique. Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic, and Trackable.

2. Slow down. There is no need to get wrapped up in “I want it yesterday” attitude of our society. “Rome was not built in a day” and neither will you achieve your goals in a day or even a week. Training/Exercise is a physical skill that has to be learned. Take your time and learn right way to do what you are doing. You will be amazed at how much more productive your training sessions will be when you are able to do this.

3. Remember that just like any other learning curve, this one varies from individual to individual. Do not get frustrated because it takes you more time to learn something than others.

4. Mentally prepare yourself for your training sessions. There are many ways to do this such as listening to music (personally, something like Metallica suits me) or repeating a special personal phrase. “I am going to have best workout of my life” is a good one. Anything that will get you in proper mindset to have a great workout will work.

5. Training does require you to think about what you are doing while you are doing it. Additionally, it is a proven fact that mental awareness during exercise also carries a beneficial crossover to other intellectual activities.

The three main points that I would like everyone to take from this article are:

1) It is extremely important to set goals that are “YOURS” not someone else’s. That way you will know EXACTLY why you are training.

2) Training/Exercise is a learning process so just because you do not “get it” after two repetitions of practice does not mean that you will never be able to perform that exercise. If you put appropriate level of effort into doing your exercises properly, you will be rewarded by achieving your goals.

3) Training does require you to "be there” mentally in order for you to achieve optimal results. If you always bring your "A" game to each training session, you won’t be disappointed with results. My dad was correct. It IS easier to do it right first time.