Billy’s Blog

Hello folks,

Remember me???  Yeah, I know I know…I haven’t blogged in a longgggg time.  I’m sorry.  Would you believe I’ve been really busy?  Ok, that’s not good enough because EVERY BODY’S BUSY!!!!  Anyway, it goes like this.  I’ve been moonlighting, sort of….we’re in the process of opening a second location. Starting on March 2, 2009 we’ll be spreading our wings a little!!!  That’s the grand opening date of Face The Pain—TEAM X!  .  Many of you have expressed an interest in bringing back our Sunday morning yoga classes.  Well, we’ve (Lisa and I) decided to do better than that!  We’re opening a facility for group exercise classes ONLY, aka TEAM X.  As in exercise as a team!   You’ll be amazed at how much harder you’ll work in a group.  We’ll offer classes in yoga, abs and glutes, mat pilates, hip hop aerobics, body pump and a few more.  TEAM X, with Lisa leading the way,  will showcase some of Hampton Roads’ top instructors!  Not to worry, we will maintain a small, private, comfortable atmosphere.  It’s in the same shopping center, it’s 1000 sq ft, and the fee, although not finalized, will  be very affordable giving you access to monthly unlimited classes.  We’ll be the only gym in the area where you can purchase a gym membership for group exercise classes only!  We can’t wait to get started!  We’re especially excited because Face The Pain LLC will be able to provide private weight training and group exercise classes in a private setting as well.  TEAM X–IT’S  A GROUP THING!  ;-)  That’s what we’ve been busy doing.  Oh yeah, we’ll post class schedules, class descriptions, and instructor bios on www.teamxgym.com!  And don’t forget to check out www.facethepain.com for additional info.   Keep grinding folks!!!

Make it Happen!   Face The Pain!!!!

Billy

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Hello folks,

Hope all is well and you’re having a fabulous week.  Still feeling the effects of thanksgiving?  Well, get over it!  We got work to do!  Not only do we have to burn off what we ate, but now Christmas is coming!  Time to turn it up a notch.  Our goal is to maintain during the holidays.  If you’re able to lose a few pounds despite all of the Christmas parties that is definetly a win!!!  It’s up to you.  You can either stick to your guns and continue to bust your butt trying to get into the best shape that you can AND MAINTAIN IT.  OR, say the heck with it and wait til after the holidays and really be challenged by an uphill battle.  WRONG ANSWER!  What am I getting at?  Continue to do a little bit everyday.  Exercise a little more.  Eat less junk food.  Drink more water.  Stay away from soft drinks and sweet tea.  Eat more meats, fruits and vegetables!  Folks, we know all this stuff, right?  Now we have to make it happen!  Its what’s inside you that matters.  I don’t care if you have a personal trainer, a dietician, and a personal chef that cooks all of your meals!  If you don’t want it for yourself and maintain good discipline to consistently eat healthly and exercise, then you will not have the body that you want.  For instance, Oprah Winfrey recently came out and voiced her frustration with herself on how she has ballooned back up to 200lbs.  Here is someone that has all the means; the best of personal trainers, dietitians, chefs, etc and she still struggles with her weight.  Why?  Probably not her trainer, cook or dietitian.  At the end of the day she only has herself to blame, as do we!  I hope she gets it together once and for all.  Keep grinding folks!!!  Dont’ forget to check out www.facethepain.com

Make it Happen!

Face the Pain

Billy     

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Hello folks,

Is the whole world sick or what!??!  Every time I turn around somebody else is sick! Our son William started school this year and has had a horrible time catching colds and BRINGING THEM HOME for mommy and daddy! :-( Anyway, we’re not gong to let a little, aggravating, miserable, debilitating upper respiratory infection slow us down are we?  NO!!! 

This message is for the NAYSAYERS!  You know the ones that are trying to keep you on the couch with them or talking negatively about the gym!  Yeah, them!  Well, this is my SNAP OUT OF IT message!  Tell them that I, Mr. Pain ;-), said for them to GET OFF OF THE COUCH AND EXERCISE!!!  If you get hit with a barage of “But, it hurts” and “I don’t wanna get bulky” and “I don’t know what to do” or “I don’t have time”, then tell them to get over themselves, stop being so lazy and come with you to the gym, PRONTO!  You don’t necessarily have to come to FTP, although I would love for you to.  ;-) 

Hey, seriously I just want you to work out period.  You will feel so much better.  Just last week I had one of our members tell me how happy he was to be working out.  I’ll leave his name anonymous so I’ll just call him Coach.  Anyway, Coach’s wife and two sons are working out with us as well and they’re all doing great!  I was really moved by what he said about himself.  He said, “Ya know, I may not be exactly where I wanna be right now weight-wise, but I sure don’t wanna go back to where I was cause I feel so much better.” 

He left and that really made me think how much of an effect exercise has on people.  Everybody has a different reason.  It’s not all cosmetic ya know.  For a lot of people it is just to FEEL BETTER! There are numerous reasons; weight loss, body fat loss, increase energy, improve blood pressure, improve cholesterol, strengthen lower back, tighten the back of the arms, tighten the butt. It goes on and on.  The funny thing is you really don’t know how much better exercise makes you feel from head to toe.  Yep, head to toe.  As you get stronger you will feel better AND you will be more confident AND, in turn, you will FEEL EVEN BETTER! BETTER IS BETTER!!!  Feeling is believing folks.

My parting words are…as we get older our activity level decreases and our body weight increases.  Wondering why you feel so sluggish?  But but but but but, nothing!!!  Get off your butts and exercise!

Don’t forget to check out www.facethepain.com

Make it Happen!  Face the Pain! 

Billy

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Hello friends,

Its hump day!  Yep, its the middle of the week.  A great place to be, right?  Weekend here we come.  Ya know, being in the middle is where all the action is.  Think about it.  It’s kinda like you being between the NAY SAYERS and EXERCISING!  That’s right!  NAY SAYERS–YOU–EXERCISE!!  You’re right smack in the middle of a controversy!  That’s right, the nay sayers ARE the hurt people that hurt people.  They are one in the same.  For some reason they feel the need to have you at their pity party and they undoubtedly give you an open invitation!  They are using every last drop of energy to pull you away from exercising!  No wonder they’re sitting on the couch all of the time.  They’re worn out from they’re negativity!  Well, guess what?! NO THANKS because it feels better to feel better!

You are much more content doing things everyday that will help you feel better, look better and live better.  Don’t forget that this is ALL about you.  Yes, you!  You DO count, you know!  You matter!  So, stop sacrificing so much and doing everything for everybody else.  Stop putting yourself on the back burner!  “Well, I don’t want to be selfish.  And there is so much I have to do for my family.  My kids need this and my spouse needs that and blah blah blah.”  Are you kiddin me? Snap out of it!  If I hear one more person tell me, “I don’t have time for myself…”, I’m gonna scream!  MAKE TIME FOR YOURSELF!  How are you possibly helping your family if YOU’RE NOT HELPING YOURSELF!  

Don’t forget to check out www.facethepain.com!

Make it Happen!  Face the Pain!

Billy 

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Hello folks,

Hope you had a great weekend!  Ours was busy.  Worked, of course, took William to a birthday party and to UFC/hangout and eat party!  :-)  Sheesh!  From one extreme to another, right???  Anyway, I have to get something off of my chest.  BYOT!  Yep, I hated to do it but I just couldn’t take it anymore.  We’ve been here for 4 years and have probably bought over 400 of them!  I finally said enough is enough!  What am I talking about……….TOWELS!  Yep, we USE TO provide workout towels.  Yep, USE TO!  We thought it’d be a nice gesture, ya know?  NOT!  What was the breaking point?  Not that some members would wipe down equipment with them although we have designated spray bottles and wipes for the machines, and not that some members clean up the floor with them if they spilled a protien shake or water.  So why, then?  Because the towels kept DISAPPEARING!  Unbelieveable how small my stack of towels got after taking them home and washing them every couple of days.  It got aggravating after a while so we pulled the plug!  At $3 a pop we should have pulled the plug long ago!

I even had someone catch an attitude about my decision, “So the rest of us have to suffer ’cause other people are stealing them.  I didn’t take your towel.”  I never said that ANYONE stole my towels. I said they keep disappearing!!!  “Well, we gotta have a towel when we workout,” he says.  Of course, I said BYOT, nicely!  ;-)  Ya know, that’s the kind of person that leaves because we no longer provide towels.  And if that’s the case, then there are bigger issues that need to be resolved.  That makes me want to say, ” So if I give you a bigger towel will you workout harder?  Or better yet, how bout a beach towel, buddy?”  Anyway, GET OVER YOURSELF! 

Keep grinding folks, towel or no towel!

Make it Happen!  Face the Pain!!!

Billy

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Good morning folks!

Had to tell you about a text I received from Jennifer.  I talked about her in the last FTP blog episode. :-)  Anyway, her exact words were, “Hey!  I just got on the scales for the heck of it…21 pounds baby…gone!!!”  THAT IS AWESOME!  She’s only been here for a little over a month!  Can’t tell you how proud I am of her. Of course, I congratulated her and gave her some tough love, “Don’t settle!!!”  Come on, ya can’t be the owner of a gym called Face the Pain and be an old softy!  :-)  Gotta let you know that losing that much weight in that short period of time is really, really hard to do.  Not impossible, but tough!  Speaks volumes for her hard work and determination.  Funny thing is Jennifer and I had just talked about her progress a few days before.  She said she hadn’t weighed herself because she was focusing on “feeling better and being healthier.”  Folks, that’s what its all about.  I try to tell people all the time NOT to worry about the scale.  Go by how your clothes fit, how you look and how you feel and to only weigh ONCE a week.  The scale can be addictive and can ruin your day in a heartbeat.  I cannot tell you how frustrating it is to have someone come in and say how good they’re feeling, how they’re clothes are fitting sooooo much better, and THEN weigh themselves!  Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!  Totally different person!  The scale didn’t say what they wanted it to say.  Wow!  Walk into the locker room feeling like a million bucks and walk out looking like somebody killed their dog!  Come on people!  Don’t do that to yourselves.  Don’t be a slave to the scale!  You don’t walk around with your weight taped to your forehead so who cares?  It’s how you look and feel that matters!  Jennifer focused ON FEELING BETTER and BEING HEALTHIER!  She changed her perspective!  This really works.  You should try it.  A friend of mine told me about changing the perspective when I was struggling with an issue ad it helped me a lot.  By changing our perspective, we change our outlook and suddenly things make more sense and are more manageable.  Keep grinding folks.  KEEP GRINDING!

Don’t forget to check out www.facethepain.com!

MAKE IT HAPPEN!  FACE THE PAIN!!!

Billy     

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Hello friends,

Ya know it’s hard enough as is to muster up the strength, energy and discipline to start and maintain a workout and a healthier eating regiment.  WHY SOME FOLKS INSIST ON SABOTAGING A GOOD THING LIKE someone consistently working out, eating better and feeling better about themselves, I’LL NEVER KNOW!  Before I go on, let me give a verbal HIGH FIVE to some peeps at FTP GYM that have really made sound progress over the last 4 weeks.  Shelley, is doing great!  She made the commitment to eliminate sodas and embarked on much healthier eating habits.  In 3 weeks she lost 3 inches from her waist and is sleeping and feeling noticibly better.  I am really pleased with the fact that her husband and 2 kids are now commited to exercising and eating better as a family!!!    Another such family are the Knapps’.  Jennifer and Travis have been working out hard for a month and both see sound results.  It is a lot more rewarding when family members dedicate themselves with a combined effort.  Jennifer and Travis decided to join and make a difference, not only for themselves, but also for their 2 kids, Jordan and Noah. Keep up the hard work guys!!

Now, back to the HATERS!  That’s what I was talking about earlier…HATERS!  You know the ones!  They say hateful things like; “You’re getting too skinny!”  “Do you EVER eat?”  “You’re no fun anymore.  You use to eat all kinds of stuff with me.”  OR “Ya know, since you’re working out now, you’d think you would’ve lost more weight by now.” WOW!!!  Are you kidding me?  That makes me think MISERY LOVES COMPANY!  Usually the people that are saying all of these hateful things are either out of shape themselves and hate for others to improve AND/OR are too freakin lazy to workout in the first place!  My pastor, Steve Kelly of Wave Church, once said during one of his many motivating services that “hurt people, hurt people.”  Think about it.  It’s true! He wasn’t talking about working out specifically, but people in general.  Only a person that is “hurting” or doesn’t feel particularly good about themself would say something ugly to another person working hard and trying to better themselves.  Why are people so mean?!  Ya know what?  Get over yourself, HATERS!  Stop hating and get your lazy butts off of the couch and EXERCISE!!!  If you choose not to, then so be it!  You’re entitled to your laziness!  But, please keep it to yourself!  Have your little pity party  ALL BY YOURSELF!

For those of you busting your butts to look and feel better, KEEP GRINDING!!!  Remember, DON’T just live to eat!  Eat to live a better and healthier life!!!  Tell your haters, wether they’re family or friends, to bleep bleep bleeppppppppppp and stay out of your way because you’re on a mission, BABY!!!

Don’t forget to check out www.facethepain.com

Make it Happen! Face the Pain!!!

Billy     

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Hello my friends! 

So, have you kicked the sugar habit yet?  Yeah, I know!  It’s tough!  It’s especially difficult if you’ve been raised on the stuff! I mean, think about it.  SUGAR IS EVERYWHERE!!!  My wife, Lisa, and I have made a valiant effort to eliminate added sugar from our everyday life.  It’s almost impossible.  For instance, I recently had minor surgery and as I’m sitting in my hospital bed I look up at the IV bottle.  Of course, I ask my nurse about it and she says, “yeah, there’s some sugar in there.”  WOW!  I thought this was pretty amazing.  Anyway, my point is our society seems to be built on SUGAR! We just cannot get away from it.  It’s in our drinks, cereal, breads, snacks, etc.  IT’S EVERYWHERE!  I say this because its as if our lives revolve around food!  We all have to do a better job of using some restraint and moderation.  So, make it  a point of eating to live a healthier lifestyle and NOT just living to eat!

Don’t forget to check out www.facethepain.com!!

MAKE IT HAPPEN!

FACE THE PAIN!!!

BILLY

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Hello folks,

Ya ever wonder why people choose to use the word “sugar” whenever they’re trying to stop cursing?  For example, “Oh sugar!”  Well, yay me!  I finally figured it out!  People use a word that’s accepted in everyday conversation yet has the power to stir up a lot of ca ca!   Yep!  I said it…CA CA!  I don’t now if you’re aware of this, but there are a host of reasons why sugar is bad for us!  No no no no no!  Not the natural sugar, like in fruit and fruit juices.  I’m talking about ”added sugar” also known as processed sugar.  IT’S EVERYWHERE!  Soda pop, donuts, cakes, cookies, candy, gum.  You name it!  It’s got sugar in it.  AND even when it says 0 Sugars, THEY’RE LYING!!!  Companies hide them behind words like aspartame and sucralose!  And these substances are just as bad for us, if not ,worse!  Pretty sneaky huh?  Yeah, well ya gotta get up pretty early in the morning to get one over on Billy Boy!  ;-)  Anyway, we know what to look for now.  The word is out!  SUGAR!!! Stay away from it, avoid it like the plague.  If you can’t avoid it, at lease MINIMIZE IT.  You’ll be amazed at how much better you’ll feel and look. 

Folks, sugar is like a drug!  It’s addictive!  In fact, I honestly think it’s worse because it’s EVERYWHERE and it’s LEGAL and it’s MASS PRODUCED and OUR KIDS CAN BUY IT!  Think about all of the problems and ailments related to sugar.  Here are just a few; DIABETES, TOOTH DECAY, OBESITY, HEART DISEASE, BLOOD PRESSURE, CHOLESTEROL!  There are so many more!  It’s scary!

I know, I know.  It’s a little hard to digest.  Sit back and take it all in. Yeah, I hear ya.  You’re saying, “Do you know how much sugar you’d have to ingest, or how many diet sodas you’d have to drink to have problems like that?”  Well, as a matter of fact I do!  Think about it!  Since sugar is everywhere and is in just about everything, and the powers that be market to our taste buds, we just might be ingesting an exorbitant amount of sugar for let’s say 20, 30, 40, 50 years!  Is that long enough for ya? 

Watch the sugar folks!  Chew on that for a while….sugar free, that is!  Don’t forget to check out www.facethepain.com!  Be good!

Make It Happen!  Face the Pain!!!

Billy

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Hello folks,

Hope all is well!  I’m doing great!  Had a really good week.  The gym is really doing well thanks to YOU!  Ya know, there’s something to be said for “word of mouth!”  We don’t do any advertising.  Well, other than me riding my stationary bike on Virginia Beach Blvd right in front of the gym occasionally is our only form of advertising!  Then again, that’s wrong too, because our members(YOU) are walking advertisement for us and we greatly appreciate that.  I can’t tell YOU how many of YOU have steered friends and family our way.  THANK YOU!  So, what’s my point?  Thank YOU for putting YOUR faith in us to help YOU accomplish YOUR goals, whatever they may be….to get bigger, smaller, tighter, or just to feel better.  Most importantly, YOU took YOURSELF serious enough to get in shape and stay in shape and YOU picked our gym!  All we ask is that YOU meet us half way!  We can’t want it more than YOU.  So, continue to take YOURSELF more seriously.  Have fun, but if YOU take YOURSELF more seriously, work hard to change YOUR body, and get as much as YOU can out of YOUR workout, improved eating habits, and YOURSELF! If YOU do that, then YOU will truly amaze yourself!  You get it?  IT’S ALL ABOUT YOU!!!  Keep grinding folks!

Make it Happen!  Face the Pain!!!

Check out www.facethepain.com

Your friend,

Billy 

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