Imagine if you will wanting to be rich, but not wanting to work; wanting to be the smartest, but never picking up a book; dreaming of tackling Mt. Everest, but never leaving your Nebraska farm. Will your goals be realized? Not unless you win the lottery, learn by osmosis or live in cyber-space. Regretfully this mentality seems to permeate the fitness industry today.

You cannot realistically expect to look like your favorite physique model without paying a price! Everyone wants to look like a $1,000,000 on a $100 budget. I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but it's just not going to happen. Like anything in life, beyond mediocrity, it requires hard work and resolve to have a six-pack of abs and a hard body. My clients are always telling me they want to look like J-Lo or Matthew McConaughey, however once they hear the investment they have to make - suddenly their focus and priorities seem to shift back to a general health routine. (And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that)

Are we perfectible? Can we become, or be made, more nearly perfect? YES! I'm a hard-core supporter of any person whose focus is the perfect embodiment of fitness. Albeit subjective, I believe we are perfectible when we set a goal and then go out and achieve it. It does not matter what the goal is, as long as it's realistic and once you start it, you don't let anything detour you. However, when your pursuit of perfection starts with faulty information and unrealistic goals, with insane time lines, you are now utilizing a recipe for failure!

Once you buy into the idea that in 20-30 minutes, in only 3 days a week on Miracle Machine 8000, you will sculpt a body like Adonis or Aphrodite, you have just set yourself up for a letdown. Guess what? There is a 96.7% chance that in 80-90 minutes a week on Miracle Machine 8000, you will NOT realize rippling muscles and a washboard stomach. I unconditionally guarantee it! I know I'm not the smartest gal in the world, but I know if I have a 96.7% chance of realizing no return on my investment, I'll skip it!

I do not want people to take this the wrong way, and believe that there are no benefits from exercising 20-30 minutes, 3 times a week, there are! What I want people to internalize is that the lean, muscular actors you see on TV don't subscribe to a 20-30 minute routine. If you want to mirror their results, you better be prepared to mirror their routine as well. That means 60-75 minutes, 4 and 5 days a week, every week. That means eating balanced meals, drinking plenty of water and policing what goes into your body. The focus of my concern is that people quickly become discouraged when the pounds do not melt away like "magic." I'm fond of telling my clients that, "like magic" is synonymous with working your butt off.

Am I saying to skip all the exercise wonder equipment on the market? There are no absolutes, so no I'm not saying that. My point is simply this; if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is. When you are promised a huge return on a small investment, stop and think about the logic of such a claim. Advertisers try to tap into our desire to be physically attractive, and our lack of time (motivation)? to achieve the results we desire. "We don't need new ways to become fit and healthy. What is necessary is already known. What we must pursue are the deeper reasons for seeking fitness. Know thyself, and you will know them." (Sheeham 113)

So, all you quick-fix junkies out there listen up. The plethora of fitness equipment you see on infomercials is oft times a decent product, but by no means a miracle solution. A consistent, well-balanced diet and exercise program (VARIETY) is the key. Don't expect something for nothing, and replace the quick-fix mentality with a lifetime commitment to your health.