What Motivates You?

(double click collage to enlarge...)

The final part of my conversation with Andy involved any tips or advice he may have for fellow boot campers to which his response was "Everyone must figure out what motivates them. Once you figure that out, keep that as your focus."

Andy's initial motivation to pull himself out of bed and join boot campers in Carmel Valley came in the form of a silent auction bid. Andy was attending a charity event put on by the City of Hope. The event was winding down and he hadn't yet bid on any of the items for auction. He looked through the selection of Wine, Golf and various other sports packages and came across Deanne's donation: Forever Fit Boot Camp Session and Nutrition Counseling (that had been collected by fellow boot camper, Debbie Dveris). It looked interesting and he realized that this might just be what he needed to get himself going. (Or as he put it..."I needed somebody to kick me in the butt!"--enter Deanne, ahem.)  Andy did win the bid and this is where our story begins...

In  the previous year Andy had taken a month long trip to Asia which was the catalyst for gaining 15 pounds of extra unwanted weight. Upon his return, he had tried his usual routine of increased activity and paying a bit more attention to his diet but nothing seemed to be working.

After winning the bid, he began working with Deanne. He started a week after the Fall session started and became a regular at each 6 a.m. workout. This was huge for Andy since he works from home and could really sleep as late as he wanted each day. Somewhere he found what motivated him and each day that he would get up and go work out...he started to feel new energy for the rest of his day. He took Deanne's nutrition tips and menus as a guide and continued with the two boot camp workouts each week. Without adding any other workouts to his schedule, within 9 weeks he was able to lose 14 pounds and 3% body fat!!

The new lower number on the scale and the improved body comp are not the only benefits that Andy has felt with this new change.  As a consequence,  he has noticed increased energy, agility and cardio capability that he appreciates with his active lifestyle. Andy loves to ski and skiing has been a part of his life for years.


But after putting on the extra weight Andy noticed on his annual ski trip that even buckling his boots got him winded and everything seemed to be such a struggle. By contrast, just recently he took a ski trip to Mammoth where he quickly recognized the difference he felt skiing at his new fitness level. Everything feels easier and he even finds himself now on his "off days" going into his workout room and doing pull ups and chin ups etc. just because he can. Perhaps he used the same reasoning when joining a group mud run in Del Mar....do it 'cuz you can:)

Andy adds a lot of life to the 6 a.m. boot camps...maybe you should consider pulling yourself out of bed to come join him...you never know where it might take you....As for Andy he is on a plane headed to Austria and Amsterdam for an extended European Ski Vaca:)