My Top 5 Olympic lessons

A timely reminder was given this week in the build up to the Olympics.

British boxer, Frankie Gavin failed to get down to the required weight for his event and consequently found himself on the plane home.

I found this pretty disgraceful to be honest! How can a sportsman with all the support mechanisms Frankie had, end up 1.36kg overweight?

This is not really my point today though. My point is that it goes to prove that the the best goals can be shot down at the last minute unless you are totally focussed on what needs to be achieved and when. I could be wrong but it seems that someone messed up badly in planning what weight Frankie needed to be by certain dates in the months and weeks leading up to the Games.

In the goal setting section of Storm Force Fitness, I teach you how to set long-term goals based on a series of short-term goals. If you simply have a long-term goal in mind, its easy to lose focus in between then suddenly panic because you're not ready when the big day arrives.

The big day might be the London Marathon, the Olympics, your wedding day or just a date by which you said you would lose a stone.

The Olympics teaches us many lessons but here are my Top 5:

1) Those who succeed and are able to revel in the results for the rest of their lives are those who are prepared. Luck rarely plays a part in the Olympics - any failures can usually be traced to a lack of preparation somewhere along the line. I don't believe anyone can be 'better on the day'. They prepared better and got the result!

2) Overnight success occurs over a number of months or years. If you are trying to lose weight you will go through difficult times where the only person who cares about your goals is you. Unless you remain strong and focussed you will never achieve your goal. If you do, on that 'big day' everyone will suddenly notice and the times you doubted yourself will fade into history while the memories of success live with you forever! Britain wasn't aware of Sir Steve Redgrave's 5am rows or 5 hours a day training, but we sat up amazed when he got his 5th Olympic gold and when the Queen honoured him with a CBE.

3) Nothing good comes without hard work. If it sounds easy and too good to be true, it is! If you constantly look for magic solutions you will spend a lot of time and money with little in return.

4) We want to see in others what we never had the balls to go for ourselves. Everyone loves the Olympics! The pain, the effort, the glory, the national pride, me included. But why do we revel so much in others achievement when we are all capable of setting our own goals. At some point in the lives of champions they were just another person with an impossible dream. What's yours?

5) If something means enough, you will do anything to achieve it and surprise yourself at what you are capable of. Speak of what you want, then take many, many small steps to get there.

Join those who are already working towards their dreams at Storm Force Fitness and you will find a community to talk with, learn from and who will help keep you on track!

Stay strong,
Jon