Firm Commitment

Firm for Life
By Cynthia Benson, Anna Bruni Benson

Twenty years ago, Anna and Cynthia Benson created a revolutionary fitness program to achieve maximum fat loss. Following this routine, The FIRM clients found that they burned fat three times faster than with aerobics alone and saw visible proof in just ten workouts. It was a program that was years ahead of even the most prestigious scientific fitness organizations in the country.

In Firm for Life the Bensons show why their program is so effective not only for reshaping your body and making you stronger but also for reversing the aging process, increasing bone mass, and improving your self-esteem and mental well-being. A whole-life philosophy to health and fitness, Firm for Life also includes:

• Motivation and commitment tips: how to overcome the Top 10 exercise cop-outs
• Eating for optimal performance, high energy, and fat burning - with menus and recommended foods
• The Daily Dozen exercises, Basic Stretches, and Sweat Minutes: a simple fitness program that can be done at home with very little equipment
• The Daily Planner: a four-part diary to help you keep track of your meals and workout schedule

A complete lifestyle program that will educate, inspire, and guide you to being the best you can be, Firm for Life will turn you into a FIRM Believer.

Chapter 3

We're not here to tell you that getting motivated is a piece of cake. It's rough, very rough, but we've seen again and again that the payoff makes all the struggle worthwhile.

Once, when Cynthia was working in real estate and struggling with it, she forced herself to write, "I can see myself making cold calls and enjoying it." Of course she hated the job, but she had to go in and do it. If she wasn't busy with actual work, she had to make those detestable cold calls - sometimes for two hours, sometimes for eight to ten hours a day. Yes, people continually yelled at her and hung up. But the point is, she did it! And she got results. The success from that tenacity formed a basis for tackling even larger projects. Which is to say there are simply no magic bullets for realizing goals or fulfilling obligations; they're processes that you have to work through.

Are you Up for It?

In the same vein, there's no doubt that following through with an exercise program - especially if you're doing it at home with only yourself to report to - requires a large measure of enterprise, dedication, and resolve.

You visualize a goal, you vow to achieve it, you're willing to discipline yourself for it, you work on focus and commitment, and you build up the drive to keep going through the early rounds until you see results.

That The FIRM shows you those results so quickly is a major motivational plus, as is the compelling nature of the videos, but you still must develop commitment within yourself. Is it a breeze? No. Is it worth digging deep into your nature and coming up with a mental strength you didn't know you had? Ask any Firm Believer whose life has been transformed by doing just that.

Before we get to the fundamentals of commitment, let's go through the most common excuses people use for not working out, then shoot them down, one by one. It's important to recognize these traps and to remember that you can avoid them if you're totally honest with yourself.

"Dear FIRM,

As I grow older, my body gets better and better. I'm even losing dress sizes. All of my peers are going in the opposite direction!"

- Hilary Watson, 29, banker, Old Greenwich, Connecticut

The Top Ten All-Time Exercise Cop-Outs

1. I'll exercise only if I have to. Oh, please! Are you really going to wait until after the heart attack? Until you break up a relationship and are looking for a new partner? Until you've gained twenty pounds, don't fit into your clothes, and feel miserable?

Doesn't it make more sense to start today when no major trauma looms on the horizon? That way, you'll be conditioned for change when it occurs, and you'll even avoid many health catastrophes by putting your body in the best shape possible. And with the added strength and energy The FIRM workout provides, you'll be better prepared to deal with whatever unexpected events life hurls at you.

2. I don't have enough time. Shame on you! You have time to watch television, go to the movies, hang out with office friends after work - and you're seriously telling us you can't spare four or five hours a week for an activity that has long-term payoffs and multiple satisfactions?

This is all about priorities and what's really important to you. The benefits of exercise are so great that they're worth reordering your schedule. If you're serious about shaping up, you'll find the time somehow, somewhere.

For instance, if you have to get up an hour earlier to do the workout, you'll start the day feeling warmed up, fit, and energized.

If you have to put an hour aside at the end of the day, you'll work off accumulated stress and anxiety and end up feeling refreshed.

If you're home during the day, give up one soap opera, take advantage of the kids being at school or the baby napping, or work out while the laundry is in the machine. Do a tape, ride the exercise bike, use a machine, whatever you prefer.

Give up a lunch hour with chums to go to the gym or, better yet, have them go with you. If you've got gym facilities, or even a VCR in the office, do a tape alone or with others.

Make early weekend mornings your private time to walk, jog, work out, swim - or find another early bird who'd be the perfect tennis partner.

Replace compulsive shopping trips to the mall with the exercise of your choice. Not only will you save money, but you'll look better in anything you try on.

Cut down on "Happy Hours" and use after-office time more healthfully; when you do go out with friends, you'll be in better shape - physically and emotionally.

Bottom line: The good news about exercise is that the more time you put in, the more it gives back. Work out now, have more energy later. When you make fitness a priority, you'll be able to do more things in life with less exertion - and you'll look a lot better doing them. For instance, you'll sleep more deeply and arise more rested, although your actual hours at rest are fewer. You'll have better mental focus and get more accomplished in less time. Pretty good deal, right?

3. I'll always look like the rest of my family. Many, many people see hereditary similarities between themselves and others in their family and feel discouraged. Frankly, it's no excuse. The quest for a well-proportioned physique shouldn't be compromised by what you exaggeratedly regard as genetic doom.

If you look at pictures of your relatives from the turn of the century, they're shorter and rounder. Better nutrition has made people today taller and healthier. We now have the knowledge and technology at our disposal to reshape our bodies, slow down the aging process, and be healthier. Use it; don't abuse genetics as a lame excuse.

You may never be able to alter the size of your joints or the shape of your muscles, but enormous changes are possible through intelligent training and eating programs. The truth of it is we don't all have (and shouldn't want to have) model-perfect bodies, but every one of us can become more fit, more shapely, more toned. If you doubt our words, you'll be converted by the makeover profiles that appear in this chapter.

The payoff to shaping up is that feeling better about your body equals feeling better about yourself, about what you've accomplished on its behalf (Yours is the only body you have, and it gets you through life, so respect it!), and consequently about what you're capable of accomplishing when you put your mind, body, and will to any task.

Copyright © 1998 by Anna and Cynthia Benson.

About the Author

Anna and Cynthia Benson opened their first exercise studio in 1979. They have sold over two million copies of their eighteen bestselling exercise videos and are dedicated to showing people how to become physically and emotionally fit. The Bensons live in Columbia, South Carolina.