The agony and the ecstasy! In the wee hours of this morning Australia won their World Cup Soccer game against Serbia. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough to secure our place in the quarter finals so the dream is over for another four years. Not forever, but it is over for now. So you win some, you lose some but what can we learn from this and what has it got to do with fitness training in Kiama? Apart from a few members wanting to have a World Cup Soccer game at Black Beach in Kiama, let me explain.

Well maybe we were never going to beat Germany in that first game. It was after all our first game and Germany are a tough task. But maybe we could have worked harder to at least stop them scoring four goals against us. Knowing that statistically we were a better chance of conquering the challenges that still lie ahead eg Ghana and Serbia. If we did our best against Germany (and still lost) but then continued to work hard the Socceroos would have continued to generate support the longer the Cup went on. Just like the snowball of support when Australia did so well four years ago.

We have to learn not to make excuses when this didn’t go right or that was unfair. Have the belief that, if we just do all the little things right, have the foundations in place we can work together towards our goal. We may not have eventually achieved it, but if we can stick to our plan and tick off all the little things we need to do right at least we can bow out in style and say we gave it all we had.

Transfer these qualities to your fitness program.

You know it’s never going to be easy starting out (Germany).

It’s not going to be easy continuing to improve your fitness program either. But it should get easier than when you first started (Ghana and Serbia).

Firstly, you need to map out a good plan. It needs to be specific. It can’t be just “yeah I’m gunna get back into exercising again” or “I want to lose weight”. What exactly do you want and how will you go about achieving it? How much weight is it? 7kg, 15kg. Be specific. What needs to change to make it happen? Do you need to correct your diet (probably), do you need to do more Strength training or improve your running? You get the picture, be specific and write it down.

Second, know that once you have a plan in place and the longer you stick to it, statistically the better chance you have of conquering the challenges that lie ahead. Whether that challenge is losing 7kg, or taking your running to the next level, or reducing your likeliness of getting the flu this Winter or getting osteoporosis later in life. Persevere.

You will find the longer you continue to work hard and stick to your guns the more support you will generate from others. Support from us, your Oxygen Trainers, support from your fellow Oxygen Members who can see you working hard and also support from friends and family members who probably think you’re mad for going down to do fitness training at Hindmarsh Park in the dark.

Thirdly, you WILL face obstacles along the way. See these as challenges not setbacks. You could make excuses that the weather is cold, you had a long day at work, your nutrition plan fell apart… So what? It’ll probably happen again too, you know that don’t you? How can you get around these obstacles? Ask yourself the hard questions and be truthful in your answers. You can’t lie to yourself. You will either a) find a way to get around it, making yourself a stronger person in the process or b)  justify a reason which shows that maybe you weren’t ready to commit to that goal just yet. And that’s okay too, just review your goals, create a new plan and laser in on it.

It all comes down to you and the choices you make. Often you’ll learn much more from your failures than your successes.

So first off, have the belief in yourself. If you don’t, no one else can help you. Then go about creating a plan and set the foundations in place. Create a support network and start working hard to achieve your goal. Your supporters will grow the harder you work. Let them know of your plans to keep yourself really accountable and do whatever it takes to achieve your goal. Laser-like focus. It won’t be easy, but nothing in life worth having ever is.

We’re here to help you with every step of that process.

Obviously we’ve got the fitness training part covered.

Next week we’ve got an exciting new service to offer that will take your training (and your results) to the next level.

Stay tuned…

PS – Big shout out to Luke Wilkshire (below) who played well and who many tip could one day Captain the Socceroos. I’m sure mum Lyn and family are all very proud.