What motivates your Fitness journey?

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Last week my golfing buddies gathered in a comrade’s basement for the annual “Planning Meeting.” Avid Minnesota golfers take the Spring planning ritual seriously. We had an Italian theme, with plenty of pasta salads and Chianti. The one Banker in our group organized a full-season, week by week series of ‘tournaments,’ complete with a set of rules and a specific buy-in/payout ratio. That’s serious fun. It was good Seven Fs guy-time, albeit slightly metro-sexual.

The host was Steve Blexrud, a financial services entrepreneur who lives in a southern suburb of Minneapolis/St. Paul. As “Blexie” led us to the basement party suite, he stopped to show off his workout room. He said with pride: “this used to be a home office – but we moved the office to the living room, so we could make this cool gym. I love it and I use it about 6 times a week!”

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Everyone in my circle of friends (and a couple thousand people who read my blog) knows about my not-so-private fitness journey. Here is the photo I posted early January. I’ve found the public pressure (humiliation?) to be motivating.

In our coaching work and research, ‘fitness’ is always the lowest of the Seven Fs in satisfaction when we survey a full audience. And, surprisingly, fitness is ALSO the lowest in collective priority. Those facts make for an easy joke when I’m speaking…but the mutual suffering doesn’t help the undeniable resistance people feel about getting in shape. Including me.

That’s why guys like Blexie really motivate me to find the joy in my Fitness journey. He’s turning 50 this month and his attitude is contagious. “I gotta take care of the Temple,” he said. “Fitness for me is one of the most important Fs!” he added. “And with this new gym, I’m now a Fitness Video guy…I just love the jumping around, stretching and stuff. It makes me feel young. I love it!”

Hmmm…as an entrepreneur who is largely self-insured, fitness is taking on new meaning. “Super-preferred” status with the insurance companies drops the premiums significantly on life and disability policies. And, with co-pays and deductibles as high as the Empire State building, it sure pays to be in better shape.

My 2012 Seven Fs goal is find a way to actually enjoy Fitness. In order to do that, I have to be measured about how much I throw myself into my work – just like any other executive, entrepreneur or business owner. So, with the a clear blue sky and the temperature hitting the low 50s today, I decided to do my noon conference call while walking around in the parking lot of my office building. Thirty minutes of blending my personal and professional life…and it felt great.

Good leaders face their challenges head-on and find inspiration in the everyday people who surround them.

Drop me a note: What motivates your Fitness journey today?[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]