Fitness Insights by Jamie Atlas

My pure hatred for Beth Horn began last weekend.

We were both presenting at a weekend conference and we both got the chance to talk and compare notes about what we had done and where we were going.

In case you don’t know who Beth Horn is, she is otherwise known as ‘Venom’ on the TV show ‘American Gladiators’. She’s the one in the skin tight outfit that looks like a Captain America outfit crossed with a roll of duct tape. Oh wait… thats all of them (take a moment to feel sorry for the guys, who have to try and look tough while wearing a cross-your-heart silver bra).

Beth Horn doing her best 'Im a gonna kick your ass' staredown. Not sure where the Marilyn Monroe hairdo fits in, but when you are as tough as her, nobody is game enough to ask.

I don’t hate her in the way that you might think. The truth is, I think she is an amazing person. Over the three day conference I got to understand just how amazing a person she is. So why do I hate her?

I hate her in because she reminds me about all the things I want the courage to be, but do not have yet.

It’s not because she is in amazing shape – although I would like a tad more athletic ability, I don’t feel the need to start shaving my chest or measuring the size of my guns.

Its because that she has done all sorts of amazing things even when she has been given multiple knocks by life.

This lady is going places. She has overcome challenges, stays positive, is ALWAYS ‘on’, and seems to have nothing but kind words to say about everyone.

I didn’t buy it at first. I mean, how could I? What are the chances of being an amazing athlete AND an amazing person who has fears and hopes and dreams just like mere mortals such as you and I?

But she is the real deal. Which means I now have to handle my own ego, face the home truths about my own abilities and challenges that I have been looking to overcome for a long time…

Heres a few reasons why I hate her

(which also happen to be the secret to her success and also the secrets that await any others who would choose to do the things she has been doing):

She is not afraid to accept or ask for help:

Beth has a family and husband that she has asked for help in many ways. She knows that people are willing to help if she is willing to ask for/accept it.

Her trainer, Bob Dixon is an amazing man who has a constant flow of positivity for all around him. He also keeps her out of her comfort zone, pushing constantly for her to become what he sees in her. She respects him and listens to him. She knows that she is still learning (as we all are) and she is always eager to share ideas and learns from every experience.

She stays positive

When she was telling me about how she broke her ankle in two places with a smile on her face I was curious. When she discussed how her life was thrown upside down and he gymnastics dreams shattered with a torn ACL (followed by another knee surgery soon afterwards) I began to wonder what kind of heavy artillery it would take to keep her down.

Truth is, she is always looking for the way to be positive – whether the sun is shining or the rain is falling. She knows the power it brings her and she uses that power constantly.

She writes things down:

I am constantly telling my clients to write down their workouts. It is important to do so you know where you have come from and where you are going from a fitness perspective.

Beth has written down every workout since 1998. She also has a journal that she writes in. Which means she can see before, now and future from a life perspective. I hear this again and again but I think it might just be time to actually believe it enough to do something about it.

Which means change on my part (and who likes change, right? It just gets in the way of me watching ‘Americas next top model’ and ” and other shows that let me know all about other people who are doing more amazing things than me). What do I write down? I don’t have a journal and I certainly don’t write down every workout. So now it looks like I will have to write down my workouts and start a journal which will probably result in some dead trees – I hope you’re happy, Beth Horn. The environment is suffering now because of you.

She puts herself first:

We all went out to dinner on Saturday – Which was a great time and Margaritas were flowing freely on the table. But she didn’t drink.

She had already drunk her one drink for the week and was not going to budge. And I respected her for that. She gave the answer matter of factly but in a nice way. When she left the rest of the group to get back to the hotel so she could get a good nights sleep, it became obvious that one of the secrets of her success was her putting herself first. Meanwhile, I stayed up ’til 4am. And suffered the consequences that next day.

She dreams big:

Beth Horn gets what Beth Horn wants. Because she sees it and she goes for it. She has other people that remind her should she get sidetracked and she has people that want to see her succeed because she is so excited to succeed. I think we all want to help others achieve their dreams – sometimes we have trouble sharing them with each other. Perhaps we think that there is a risk that they will laugh at us.

And that is the point at which I hate her.

I hope that she gets everything she is dreaming for. I hate her because now I am living in a new darkness, where the future is uncertain and the chance of a new exciting level of success is being entertained. I will always have time for her, and I am always going to be glad to have met her, but for right now – I hate her.

But I respect her.

Beth Horn has big audacious goals. She reminds me of a speech made by Nelson Mandela that was one of the readings at my wedding. If you have been to my wedding, you heard this read inbetween the cheesy guitar song I played and some random reading from ‘the prophet’.

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn’t serve the world. There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.

We are all meant to shine, as children do. We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us, it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

Marianne Williamson

So thank you ‘Venom’, for driving me to want more. To aim higher. (but it doesn’t mean I don’t still hate you.)

I think dreaming big is the biggest issue for all of us. But even if you don’t want to be Beth Horn and beat up on innocent contestants with a variety of heavily padded implements, give yourself a chance to dream big.

For you are powerful beyond measure. I am powerful beyond measure. And I am going to start taking more chances to see just how powerful beyond measure I can be.

I invite you to do the same.

Jamie Atlas

http://jamieatlas.wordpress.com

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