WHAT IS MY MOTIVATION???

Good morning friends!  Today I decided I would talk about a question that a lot of people ALWAYS ask me which is "Famisha, how in the world do you find the motivation to exercise?!"  Well, I'm going to break it down from the beginning...so here you go!

Growing up, I was always an ACTIVE child...dance classes, dance classes and more dance classes.  While being involved in dance...then theater, I had a Superstar athletic brother who started getting recruited by Division 1 Colleges by the age of 14 (I believe he had 5 shoe boxes overflowing with letters of "interest" starting that young and then the offers started flowing in going into his senior year).  Well, in between my dancing, I enjoyed and was actually really good at track...I ran the 4x100 relay and was also pretty darn good at the high jump.  Besides doing the sports team thing though, I remember going outside and just PLAYING with the neighbor kids in my cul de sac while my mom chatted it up on her phone watching my brother and I as kids play from the front window.  There were no hours and hours of tv watching and video game playing...just good old fashioned PLAYING.

Ok, don't want to go backwards...so moving ahead.  My sophmore year in highschool I learned what the word DISCIPLINE truly meant when playing a sport.  I decided to hang up my pointe shoes (which by the way had to be special made because of my BIG feet) and play basketball.  Now when you're brother is the STAR that is on the McDonalds All American team...you kinda hope no one EXPECTS you to be as good as he is; especially since he was dribbling a ball at 6 years old not 16 years old for the first time.  But I put my mind to it and decided to play...I was NOT going to embarrass myself or my family with NOT being good, so my dad made me go to the weight room (umm...isn't that where GUYS work out?!  Girls, don't lift weights!) but I did it because my motivation was to NOT be an embarrassment so I did all the strength training necessary to be a strong "post" player and then I was put into one of the best Summer basketball leagues for two years in a row in which I played against girls who made ME look SHORT...yep!  6 foot 2 was no longer TALL compared to the 6'4-6'6 girls that were playing in these basketball leagues...LONG STORY SHORT...I was offered an Athletic Scholarship to a Divsion 2 school for BASKETBALL?!  A sport I LOVE to watch...not necessarily love to PLAY...but it got to me to a great school in the beautiful OC.  What's funny is...I was #3 in rebounding for Division 2 and only had to play 2 years...keep my scholarship and became a college cheerleader for a year and eventually got back into what I really loved to do which was dance and host my own tv talk show at my University.

I know, I know enough of my life story right?!  But I feel it was important to know that my MOTIVATION has always been NOT TO FAIL...and also, I loved the way it felt to run as fast as I could...dance and dance like there was NO TOMORROW and then got involved while still in college by sharing my love and fun for exercise by teaching hip hop dance classes at gyms...then step classes...then Fitness Modeling...so of course my motivation was to workout hard so I could "book the gig!"  But I always LOVED how it felt to push myself to do something I never truly realized I could accomplish while increasing my fitness level at the same time.

Well, we all know I eventually studied and got certified by many highly accredited certifications and 11 YEARS LATER  has now been loving getting others to feel the same joy and sense of self accomplishment that I feel EVERY time I push myself to do a new exercise or a longer distance in my cardio, etc..etc..

If you ask me NOW...what is your MOTIVATION after all these years of being active???  Aren't you tired of working out?  Aren't you too busy to workout?  You have to make the time!  If you have kids, it's VERY SIMPLE your kid(s) should be your MOTIVATION to want to be HEALTHY and live long enough to see your kid(s) grow up, graduate from school and go on to possibly one day start their own family.  Whenever you feel like NOT working out, take a look at your kid(s) and ask yourself do you want to be healthy for your family????  And I hope that answer is YES... 

If you don't have kid(s), ask yourself where do you see yourself in 10 years?  If it's NOT on high blood pressure meds, high cholesterol, etc...etc..make it a point today if you haven't done so yet, to start an exercise program TODAY.

And yes...I'm normal, there are days I don't want to jump on my elliptical...but I do it because I feel so GREAT after I do it!  Stronger heart...mentally de-stressed...and a smaller waistline!

Thanks for taking the time to read my NOVEL today!  But for those of you who know me as either your Friend, Trainer or Bootcamp Instructor know...I am a very passionate person and can never answer a question with a SHORT and SWEET answer.  Instead it's LONG and SWEET! :-)

So get out there today and find your MOTIVATION to get moving and get some calories burning...and remember BURNING IS EARNING!!  And FITNESS IS FUN!!

Next week, I will have a new Fitness is Fun video with my son Pry'nce and I showcasing our favorite exercises for June!  If you haven't done so yet, join my blog TODAY as a follower...make this a HAPPY and HEALTHY week!  Also, if you want to check out my "Fitness is Fun with your Kids!" video go to YOUTUBE and search with my name Famisha and you will find them.  Thanks as always for reading...

As Always...Stay Fit and Happy!
Famisha :-)