12 Week Challenge

The 12 Week Challenge is off and running at our gym and clients are buzzing around motivated with goals in mind to accomplish over the 12 weeks. The motivation is contagious and you can't help but join in!

Our staff also join in and have our own challenge where each of us set goals and push ourselves to new levels over the 12 weeks with our clients. We each put money in and the winner gets the whole pot at the end.

So, what's in store for me over the 12 weeks?

Ever since my Ironman I would say I have been slacking(that is compared to doing 20 hours a week of exercise). Since my Ironman I have been to Scotland twice for 2 weeks at a time(not the best for preventing post Ironman weight gain) and ofcourse the holidays and whatever other excuse I can come up with...I gained some bodyfat and haven't been as consistant as I usually like to be with my nutrition and training....YES, Rachel Cosgrove loses focus sometimes too... :) I am only human.

I think some of my clients think I don't have to work at it BUT for me if I am not consistant I have the genetic potential to gain body fat quite easily so a few months without keeping myself focused and consistant and I have gained a few pounds.

Our bodies are always fluctuating. It is hard to ever truly "maintain," you are usually either gaining bodyfat or losing bodyfat. I always tell my clients to have an upper limit that they will let themselves get to before they will take action and and get back down closer to their target weight and bodyfat. There are times of the year when everyone will edge up on that upper limit and then times to step up your training and peak at an all new fitness level.

Now is a time to step it up and peak. I have twelve weeks and over that twelve weeks I will-
1. Lose 8 pounds of body fat(to be at a lower bodyfat than when I did my Ironman).
2. Compete in the California Half Ironman at the half way point(in 6 weeks).
3. Compete at Wildflower Olympic distance at the end of the 12 weeks with a personal best at an Olympic Distance race leading to the World Championships that I will be attending in June in Vancouver, Canada.

Join me on my challenge. Check my blog regularly for updates over the next 12 weeks! Gotta go pack my lunch and train :)

Just do it!

So, I have been struggling with the fact that I have not been able to put 100% in to my training and will be repeating a race I did last year in 7 weeks time. Last year I was training for my Ironman and nothing got in the way of my training. This year is a different story. I have my business and career coming first(after my husband and family which are always #1) and then my obligation to Team in Training who I coach for while the 50 participants on my team raise money for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. So, my own training has taken a back seat being third on my priority list. So, I know going in to Ironman California 70.3 that it will be hard to improve on the performance I gave last year and this bothers me.

So, I had to decide by Feb. 15th if I was going to pull out to get a refund and I was struggling with this decision....So, I emailed my good friend Alison who is also a coach with me for Team in Training for advice and she said,

"It sounds like you really do want to do the race but you know you won't be 100% ready for it. I say if you can do the race without injuring yourself because of being unprepared then go for it. If nothing else it would be a really good training day. You have to be ok with however you perform that day and just enjoy it for what it is. I think you will feel better if you just do it. :)"

So, decision made- I will just do it and enjoy myself no matter how I end up doing. I will put what I can in to my training these next 7 weeks and give the race everything I can that day.

I will Just do it! Thanks for the help Alison!

Pendulum of goal setting

I read a book recently, Confessions of a Self Made Millionaire, that discussed the difference between having too many goals and going after one single goal. The book talked about, among a ton of other stuff, how if you pick one single goal and go after it day and night you will undoubtedly reach that goal. But when you start adding in other goals to try to "balance" out your life you are actually decreasing your chances of reaching the first goal because now your energy is divided up.

Last year my focus was on completing an Ironman, I made my training my priority and I never missed a training session. I gave everything I had to every training session whether I would have anything left at the end to go to work or not. I completed my goal of finishing my first Ironman and crossed the finish line in a decent time. I gave it everything I had. That was my one goal last year and I undoubtedly completed it.

I had someone else running my gym for me last year while I trained for my Ironman and it's true what they say- nobody cares about your business as much as you do. As it turned out that somebody was not focused on my business at all and unfortunatley the business suffered while I was focusing on training for my Ironman.

I told myself going into 2008 that my priority is my career and business this year. So, one month into the year and we have had a record month at the gym, signing up more new members than we ever have before. We are also expanding and taking over next door. I have been hired to be on the Perform Better Tour with the best speakers in the fitness industry. I am making a ton of progress on my career and business goals and I want to keep going full force ahead reaching our potential at our gym this year and in my career. I want to undoubtedly reach my potential as a business owner and fitness professional in 2008.

The question is can I still compete in triathlons with the same performances I gave last year? Or am I Ok with my performances dropping from what they were last year? I am still signed up for a few races this year, one of which is in 8 weeks, the Ca Half Ironman, and my training has been lacking. I get in like 4 workouts a week which seems like nothing compared to what I was doing last year leading up to this same race. I am debating on if I should even be doing the race. I don't like to do anything if I am not doing it the best I possibly can and I know I will not be going into this race the best I can because my training time is limited.

Will I enjoy myself and get something out of completing the race a third time even if my time is not as good as last year? Or will it take away from my focus this year of running my business? We should be getting the keys to expand in 4 weeks so I will absolutley not be focused on this race at all because my focus will be on the expansion. But will having this race keep me in "balance"? Or will it take away from the one goal I undoubtedly want to hit this year, of growing and expanding our business to reach it's potential?

If you undoubtedly want to hit a goal- go after that one single goal with everything you have and do not get distracted with anything else. To reach a goal it almost has to become an obsession day and night. Focus on what you want!

World Championships

I qualified for the short course world championships to be on Team USA! This takes place in Vancouver, Canada in June and the level of competitor will be like nothing I have ever experienced. The winners will be going to the olympics this year filling any spots left on our olympic team.

I am just excited to have qualified and to get to go and experience being on Team USA and ofcourse get all of the cool Team USA gear :) I really have to train my butt off for it though so that I am not the very last one to finish. I looked up the results and with my last olympic distance race time I would be 78th out 81 in my age group so I need to work on getting faster than that! This will be a really good goal for me to do well at this race(well for me).

In the mean time I have my annual half Ironman in 9 weeks, the California Half in Oceanside that I have done the last 2 years. I have to beat my time last year which will be tough since I was training for an Ironman last year.

I'll start keeping you updated on my training on this blog. Train hard and stay focused!

Thinking about doing your first triathlon?

Very Exciting! My new book is done and available for purchase as an Ebook!

Click here to purchase NOW

Last year my training partner and I, Erika Lilley, started writing a book about training for a triathlon. We wanted to include EVERYTHING we knew as triathletes ourselves and coaches. Through our own experience as triathletes, coaching other triathletes and attending courses and certifications on training for triathlon we have figured out the most effective training programs to have your best performance and stay injury free throughout your training. We included it all in this book!

Click Here to Purchase Now!

If 2008 is the year you will do your first triathlon, you cannot start training without getting this book. Included in this book is-

• Planning your season and setting your goals


• A complete 24 week Triathlon Training Program- exactly what to do every day to complete your tri


• 24 weeks of endurance specific strength training workouts complete with pictures and descriptions


• Flexibility for triathletes, what to include and what not to include


• Getting the right gear- what not to forget


• Nutrition and hydration- both the basics and what to do to ensure optimal performance


• Preventing and treating injuries


• How to have optimal recovery and get the most out of your training


• What to expect on race day

Currently available as an Ebook, Click here to start reading immediatley and start training for your first triathlon!

My niece, my inspiration

My niece, Marie, was born with cerebral palsy. She was born 3 months premature and came into this world determined. When she was diagnosed, the doctor said - "See how she doesn't move one leg and then the other." Well, within the week she was moving one leg and then the other. Then it was that she couldn't go from kneeling to up on her knees and once again she was kneeling no problem within the week. It was like she just needed to hear what she couldn't do and she was determined to prove them wrong. After being told she would never be able to get around on her own she now, using a walker and with braces on, gets around with no problem.

Marie is 5 years old and after having some doctors say she'll never walk on her own without a walker, we as her family know Marie better than that. She is now in an intensive physical therapy to learn to walk on her own and it is amazing. I went to watch her and she is determined to walk. She works with the therapist for 3 hours at a time. She does squats and leg lifts and wears a suit that provides just enough support so she can walk around in it and then they release the support a little at a time until she'll be walking on her own. At the end of a physical therapy session her little legs are shaking and she is exhausted. We have already seen her progress in such a short period of time. It is amazing how the human body responds and adapts to the demands placed on it- just goes to show anything is possible!

Nothing will stop my niece as she grows up and overcomes the obstacles she has been faced with at such a young age. She is always asking me to go exercise and I take her up to our home gym where she has a circuit of exercises she goes through and she loves it! So next time you think about skipping a workout or you just don't feel like training, think about my 5 year old niece who works out 3 hours at a time until her legs shake to one day be able to walk, something most of us take for granted. Get out and move!

She inspires me everyday!

Cable Tv or Fitness?

Why is it that cable TV, luxury car payments and Starbucks have become necessities in the households of most Americans but a gym membership and especially a personal trainer has not made it into that list of necessities yet? A personal trainer is still considered by most a “luxury” item.

Basic cable is currently $50.00/month, average car payment is $500/month and a daily Starbucks runs someone at $120.00/month ($4 a day) and most households manage to fit these in their budget as if they were a necessity.

Let’s face it if we were talking necessity we would all be driving a compact economical car which would get us from point A to point B for under $200 a month. Instead when you drive around my town you see every luxury vehicle there is and most with a monthly payment of well over $500 a month. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have a problem with driving a nice car with a steep price tag at all. A nice car makes you feel good and I am all about feeling good but don’t say this $500 plus payment is a necessity and then tell me you can’t afford a personal trainer.

The average personal trainer charges $50.00 an hour. Meet them once a month and you’ll have someone designing a fitness program for you, providing accountability, and helping you to completely change your life. What price do you put on that? It amazes me that people will prioritize their cable TV or their luxury vehicle over their health and fitness.

I have seen people drive up to our gym in their Mercedes(again nothing against driving a Mercedes) and come in to get information and tell me it is too expensive at $219.00/ month which includes 4 fitness coaching sessions, an individualized program and a gym membership. I have to hold back from asking them how much that nice car in the parking lot costs them per month…

The idea for this article came from a client, who has lost 60 pounds and feels great, who said, “I have been a member now for 5 years working out consistently, you guys are in my monthly budget like my car payment or my electric bill. Paying you is just as much a necessity. I’ll get rid of our cable TV before I would give this up.”

This got me thinking that more people need to have that attitude. The national weight loss registry just came out with the statistic that 62% of people successful at weight loss watch less than 10 hours of TV a week and 90% exercise regularly.

Hmmm...Is it any mystery that most of America is obese watching over 10 hours a week of TV and can't find time or money to hire a personal trainer for 3 hours a week? When will fitness be in everyone's monthly budget as a neccessity?