The Last 5%

It is much easier to do things that we are good at than to work on things that we are not so good at. If only I had a dollar for every client that I have trained that said, "Please don't make me do pushups, I am not good at them." Even though this usually only makes me add more pushups to their routine, I must admit that sometimes, I am no different. Unfortunately this has left me playing catch up in regards to getting my body ready for the show. I am much happier and confident withmy upper body than I am with my lower body, this is because I enjoy training my upper body. My lower body is much more of a physical and mental struggle for me and therefore it is my biggest area of concern. For the past 6 weeks I have had to go much harder and be much more dedicated to my legs than ever before in getting them up to par by August 28th.

Now that you are aware of my physical weakness (which is no longer a weakness), I will share with you my biggest mental weakness. This is the phenomenon of the last 5 %. Maybe some of you can relate. No matter what I am embarking on in my life, I always struggle the most getting through the last 5 %. Every single day while doing my cardio, I feel the last 5% percent kick in and I literally want to stop right before the finish line. In the past, I would have occasionally convinced myself that I had done enough and that there was no harm in stopping early, but I can honestly say in the past 6 weeks that has never been the case.

As the last 5 % of my training and preparation is quickly approaching, I am keeping a close eye on my dedication, enthusiasm and motivation to eliminate any tapering before it starts. Here is how I have managed and will

continue to overcome the last 5 %. And for this, I am eternally grateful for my teammates.

During my freshman year of college basketball, my team succeeded on making it to the Final Four of the NCAA tournament. Every game and every practice during March could have been our last, and we knew it. We truly understood that tomorrow our amazing experience could be over and this drove us to leave everything out on the court, every single minute we were on it. The motto we adopted was simple, "Limited Edition." Without even realizing it, this has become a philosophy in my life. I have one chance and one chance only to give it my very best every single workout. My last few remaining workouts, like everything else in life, are in limited supply, so stopping early or cruising through can not be options. Like the experience of the Final Four, realizing that their are no moments in life that we can get back, makes

us appreciate each one a little bit more. At the end of the day, this will leave us without that empty feeling of what we should have or could have done better.

"Most people give up just when they're about to achieve success. They quit on the one yard line. They give up at the last minute of the game, one foot from a winning touch down."