An important question: Is adversity actually your friend?

I'm taking about a bump in the road. An obstacle.

Could it be the first domino that ultimately leads to greater things? I think so.

I can think back to various points in my own personal and professional life where I encountered an obstacle and, at times, even felt like a failure.

Just remember that every forward failure is a step closer to success.

Time and time again, life will reveal something much better on the other side of a challenge.

Greater success is the reward for moving past an obstacle.

See, I think in life, challenges are simply presented to weed out those who aren't truly suited to help others.

Now this may cause anger in some readers; however, take a minute to consider my statement.

If you don't take care of yourself first, how can you care for someone else?

If you are fat, sick, and out-of-shape… well, it may be tough to muster the high energy and clear focus required to help and, quite frankly, lead others.

I also believe that great things shouldn't come easily. If they did, they'd simply be ordinary.

It’s true that obstacles, adversity, challenges... they’re ALL opportunities to reveal your dormant, inner greatness.

Challenges are the precursor to something that will likely be even better. So embrace the things that seem like roadblocks today as opportunities for a better tomorrow.

Now, imagine if you had a guaranteed plan to stay on course.

A clear roadmap to avoid predictable pitfalls that will mess you up big time.

Imagine if you had the blueprint to make jaw-dropping progress while other folks get fatter, sicker, and more out-of-shape.

Consider this: If you act now, you can avoid these traps...

Skipped training sessions.

Feeling sad and blue.

Followed by colorful excuses for said skipped training: 

"Temperature was soooo cold, I couldn't get out of bed this morning."

So let me be clear about your EXACT challenges over the remainder of this year.

And then provide a solution.

5 Holiday Traps to Avoid

As you know, many folks assume the holiday season is a valid excuse to attend multiple parties where you will eat and drink mindlessly nearly every week, until the end of the year.

First step is to identify which celebrations might ambush your progress.

Trap #1: Halloween Parties

Have fun but avoid eating all of your kid's/grandkid's candy after they go to bed on trick-or-treat night.

🎃 🎉When: 10/29 - 11/4

Trap #2: Daylight Saving Time Ends

Fewer hours of sunlight, and, as a result, you may feel blue. Don't forget to set your scales back 10 pounds at midnight tonight.

🕐😪When: 11/7

Trap #3: Thanksgiving Festivities 

You ate two pounds of pecan pie, so why did you gain 20 pounds?

🍗 🎉When: 11/19 - 11/30

Trap #4: Charity Events/Religious Celebrations/Work Parties

May your drunken comments at the office party not follow you throughout the remainder of your career.

🕎 🎄When: 12/2 - 12/30

Trap #5: New Year's Eve Blowout

Eating all of the holiday leftovers in your house, so you're not tempted, is a bad weight-loss strategy.

🥂 🎉 When: 12/31

Of course some folks will practice moderation and maintain good health.

Unfortunately the majority of over-40 men and women will make little or no progress during this quarter and then, like a bad cliche, commit to a "New Year, New You" mentality and join a gym.

Maybe they will buy a coupon deal for a free bootcamp workout.

Hey, a couple weeks of Cross-Fitness sounds like a great idea "after" the holidays.

The irony is that everybody is waiting for tomorrow.

But tomorrow never comes.

What you do TODAY is the only thing that matters.

Use These Proven Strategies to Stay Healthy During the Holidays

Here's how you can navigate the forthcoming "season of excess."

1. Set One Realistic Goal

Call me persistent, but as a coach I’m not doing my job unless I make sure everyone is training with a purpose.

Getting you to commit to one priority-one is the first step to success.

However, a coach cannot care more about your goal than you.

It's also tough to chase a bunch of goals, so just pick the one thing you're trying to accomplish.

You must take ownership at some point. Today is a perfect day to begin.

2. Have a Proven Plan

Makes no sense to get your PhD in exercise physiology and nutrition, when you can just hire a coach to create your proven plan.

I use many training strategies, like accommodating resistance, to guarantee your success.

I also teach time-tested nutrition strategies, like carb cycling and strategic "overfeeding" days. Pizza and ice cream anyone?

Your job will be to get adequate rest between workouts, and stick to your nutrition plan.

3. Take Imperfect Action

I am so proud of our successful clients using the best online personal trainer. In fact, most clients claim that our program is the "best part of their week, every week."

And I have a laundry-list of clients that credit our online personal training program with "changing their lives" in a positive way that's made them leaner, stronger, and more fulfilled.

I'm here whenever you are ready to take the first step.

Let's do this together.

To your success,

Coach Joe

Joseph Arangio helps 40+ men and women get leaner, stronger, and happier. He's delivered over 100,000 transformation programs to satisfied clients around the globe. If you want to lose weight from home, with the best online personal trainer, or you want to visit the best personal trainer in the Lehigh Valley, you can take a free 14-day trial.