My Smartest Client is my Dog!

Posted on 27. Feb, 2008 by Keith Scott in Fat loss, Fitness

When I was a kid playing sports, I would, like most kids, have endless excuses to why I didn’t perform well, or why I lost on a particular day. Kids want to impress their parents, coaches and friends all of the time, so the natural defense mechanism is to make up excuses. “My arm hurt,” “I feel sick,” “I am tired,” “it was the other guy’s fault,” “it was my coaches fault,” etc… Interestingly enough, these are pretty much the same type of excuses I hear from fitness members, clients and other people I deal with that are trying to ‘get fit.’ Excuses come out constantly and they are much like the ones I used (and most other kids) as a child.

Excuses are fine. I am not knocking anyone for using them. I still use them. However, excuses cannot be confused with reasons. I heard someone say the other day that they couldn’t lose any weight, and stick to their program because they “Don’t have the time,” and “The program I am doing is just not working!” Those are excuses, not reasons. What’s the distinction between the two? To me, excuses are just flimsy reasoning that your mind makes up to justify a behavior or lack of one. Reasons are real. “I have trouble losing weight, because I am taking a steroid for my back problem!” That is a real reason that cannot be overcome too easily. Excuses can be overcome and reasons can too, but reasons take a little more work and thinking.

I work a lot of hours. My poor dog is left home most of the day by herself. “Jersey” is my Great Dane, and if you know anything about Danes, you know they are people dogs. They love to be with people all day long and they act a lot like people. I learn a ton from her. The way she socializes with other dogs and other people, and more so, the way she plays. You see, Jersey knows that when I come home for lunch, I have a small window of time with her. When I let her out to play, she does not waste time. She sprints and sprints and sprints. She will put in a “workout” in 8 minutes that leaves her ‘happy’ and worn out. There is no trotting around, no wasting time…somehow she has learned that she gets about 10 minutes and she makes that 10 minutes count. She is my smartest client. She has yet to whine to me about being tired, or be mad that I have not been home, or even upset that its only 20 degrees out. She just goes out, does her thing, gets her exercise in and then she is done.

What are her stats you ask? She is a 6-year-old Dane that weighs about 140 pounds. She is extremely lean, and well muscled. She eats high calorie food, twice a day, and gets endless table scraps and treats. 3 years ago, she weighed 160 pounds. The difference? She wasn’t as smart as she is now about how she exercises.

The message here is to make all of the time you have count. Stop making excuses, and just “sprint!” Find a good professional to help you, and get moving. Some of my best clients are only with me for about 20 minutes total a day. Those 20 minutes count however. There are no excuses, no whining, nothing but training hard.