Getting What You Want

Q. How do you reach a goal?

A. Never, never, never give up.

Those words – "Never, never, never give up" – declared by Winston Churchill to rally England during World War II can be found on inspirational greeting cards and T-shirts today. But his words out of context really don’t express the utter desperation of a country ready to surrender to an invading army.

His words worked. England prevailed. Ah, the magic of a powerful mantra and a single focus.

Kids have this mantra instinctively. Somewhere deep inside all of us exists this rhythmic beat.  Maybe it’s more like go - go - go. Anyway, how would any of us be walking on two feet instead of crawling without that determination and obsession? Watch them, kids are up for a second and then ker-plunk… followed by weeping for the sheer joy of the experience.

The Ker-plunk Factor

You’ll be surprised to know that the ker-plunk factor is one of the most important training programs our brains can experience. To quote John Medina from his book – Brain Rules – on how the brain learns:  “What we pay attention to is profoundly influenced by memory. “

Memory of a ker-plunk teaches us how not to do something. Our onboard computer kicks in and looks for new strategies. Achievement and success get logged in too. So look at one of our first ker-plunks and first brilliant victory – learning to walk. Take that determination right into your fitness quest and routine. Not getting what you want fast enough? Don’t give up. Learn what works and what doesn’t. Be vicious with anything that takes your determination away.

Double Memory Imprint

When I learned to walk, I also learned how to take off my clothes and for some odd reason, my parents didn’t make the effort to help me distinguish between the two. This resulted in me sneaking out of the one room apartment my parents had in downtown Portland, Oregon to visit all the neighbors – naked. Wow, what a memory imprint. I guess that’s what landed me on the cover of Playgirl a few years ago.

Cute little toddlers make you smile, don’t they?  They don’t require a “gym body” to have total fearlessness that comes from belief in possibility. Not giving up is having belief in yourself – and belief is the mind’s most powerful creative tool.

Slicing & Dicing Attention

Kids brains aren’t trying to multi-task learning to walk. By multi-task I’m referring to the “attention” directed at a task. They give just one thing total focus, and then they move on to the next thing. I used to think I was pretty good at mutli-tasking, until I realized that each task was happening slower. I was exhausted at the end of the day and my efficiency was poor.  Studies show that when you interrupt a task, it can take up to 50% longer to complete it.

Wandering Eyes

If you want to achieve something, be committed, believe in yourself and your process, and stay focused on the task at hand. I don’t let my client’s eyes and mind wander at the gym (just another form of multi-tasking). If they start to, I may have them repeat a phrase “mind in my muscle” or something that works for them in order to keep attention focused on the muscle and form.

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If you’re having difficulty reaching your goals, just remember that with razor sharp attention, you once stood up and defied gravity against huge odds and never, never, never gave up.

Train your body. Train your mind. Tame your tongue.

Information n this site is not a substitute for consulting a licensed medical professional, health care provider or nutritionist. Never begin an exercise or nutritional regime without consulting your wellness professional.

Bad Days Happen

Sometimes I have to sidestep the activity of training, responsibilities and life in general to get a perspective on “what I’m doing now, and why?” Just the movement of getting from one place to another in Manhattan can distort my “well-intended reality”. There are days when a walk down 6th Avenue to 23rd Street feels claustrophobic, almost like there’s no room physically or energetically for me.

I wanted a retreat from everything last week, but I didn’t realize it until after a long grumpy hour at the gym. It was showing up in my body… knee hurt, elbow hurt, no spring in my legs for jumps and I felt really weak.  The scary part is that what I really felt like was “old”.

My brain doesn’t think I’m old, my body’s pretty good, but all last week everything on the outside was hammering away at my favorite commandment: “Never blame anything on your age”. It was a lot of work to stay away from that blame place. I knew the feeling would pass, but not quickly enough for me. There wasn’t a blog posting last week, now you know why.

So I headed up to the Catskills – thinking that alone time in the mountains should turn this around. It was cold, cloudy and rainy. Those kind of creepy dark days just like the middle of winter but without any festive holidays to perk them up. Five wet dark days and then the sun came out like there was never a gloomy day. Everything looked different, my mood slowly shifted, and the reality of handling good and bad days looked a whole lot simpler.

This is how simple it is – I’m not doing the things I do to be 20 again, but to be fully alive, every minute – until I’m not.

Staying fit and strong is a big part of aliveness. If you’re looking for another reason to embrace a healthy, fitness lifestyle, look at your aliveness. Look at it when you’re feeling good – remember that feeling and keep working out… it’ll carry you through the bad times until the sun comes out again.

Train your Body. Train your Mind. Tame your Tongue.

Information on this site is not a substitute for consulting a licensed medical professional or nutritionist. Never begin an exercise or nutritional regime without consulting your health care provider.

The Beauty Bitch Interview

BeautyBitch.Com is a website you'll want to visit. The following is a recent interview with their editor, and I like my new title. – Rick

Beauty Bitch interviews Rick Dinihanian a 61 year-old celebrity lifestyle coach and fitness trainer

Hey Ladies and Gentlemen, we were extremely fortunate to have witnessed a photo shoot while at the beach in California and found the ultimate inspiration for "Sexy Bastard."

Meet Rick Dinihanian. He's a lifestyle coach and fitness trainer in New York and Los Angeles and guess what? He's 60... that's right – 60. May he be an inspiration to all of us!

Sexy Bastard

BB: Rick, you made a big change in your life and became an inspirational sex symbol. What made you choose to make those changes and become such a sexy bastard?

RD: I was 49, well on the way to 50, and my jeans didn’t fit any more. I had a 50-year-old belly, and thought “I’m going to deal with this now, or it’s just going to take me over”.

Beside the vanity factor, there was another reason that drove me to take action. At that point in my life I was tired all the time, feeling pretty low in the confidence department and unhappy in an unsupportive relationship. I felt compelled to become the best that I could, instead of staying stuck.

By the time I was 54 my jeans were fitting just fine. Playgirl Magazine agreed and made me their oldest Cover/centerfold ever published. I guess that’s where the sexy bastard comes from.

BB: What mid-life advice would you give to our readers?

RD: Let’s start with the context of being in the best shape that you can be. You get that by training your mind and your body. Then you have to watch your tongue. The tongue stuff is tricky because it’s both what you say, and what you eat. If you have a vision and use your mental muscle you can achieve anything.

Yesterday I received an email from a 68 year-old man. I’ve never met him, but he started emailing me three years ago. Since then he’s dropped 45 pounds and is planning on entering a marathon this summer. Sometimes all any of us require is inspiration and a few words of encouragement.

BB: Give me one tip to survive getting older.

RD: Never blame anything on your age. Own your responsibility. If you blame a lack of strength or fitness on age, well, you’re just stuck. You can’t change your age. But you can change your eating habits, your exercise routine, your flexibility, and your sleep patterns. Pick something that you can change, and then do it.

BB: How do you stay motivated to continue to look the way you do?

RD: Well, I’ve been lucky to have photographers and magazines want to photograph me at intervals close enough together to keep me motivated to stay in shape. My physique is also my personal billboard… I’m a lifestyle coach and fitness trainer. I can’t imagine practicing anything other that what I teach.

BB: How about a few motivational tips for Beauty Bitch.

RD: Make a fitness plan, set specific goals, use the things you know that motivate you, take a before picture, find someone to help you keep going when you’re wanting to stop and be patient and kind to yourself along the journey of transformation.

It’s helpful to set goals with timelines. Anyone can create an event and train for it. You might be getting ready for a presentation at the Tony Awards, a 4th of July pool party or a special date with your lover. Set-up enough of these and you’ve got a year’s worth of motivational goals. The other option is to wait until you’re sick and the doctor tells you to start exercising. Then your motivation is avoiding illness or death. I think you would agree that the first option is a better choice.

BB: You’re one of those exceptional modern renaissance men. You’re a well-known fitness expert and writer, you model, travel with your clients, train celebrities like Jessica Lange, Anika Noni Rose and Marcia Gay Harden and are an accomplished artist. I heard that when you accompanied Madonna’s Sticky and Sweet tour in Europe and North America you were training her dancers. How do you do it all?

RD: All of these things are part of who I am. I use my artistic vision when I’m painting; I also use it when I’m training a client. I can see their transformation, often before they can see it themselves. I rarely get tired doing this because it’s what I love. It was such a great experience training Madonna’s dancers. They’re all passionate and exceptionally skilled. Even though I was old enough to be their father (or grandfather) I brought wisdom and could match them physically.

BB: We’d like to understand more about your life vision.

RD: I’ve always done things that I’ve loved doing. Those times that I didn’t have that passion, my world turned darker. Making choices that bring more light and love into our lives can never be wrong. Turning this towards fitness meant fine-tuning my thoughts and having power over uncontrolled appetites that work against growth and renewal. Take a look at food. How many people do you know that understand how harmful or helpful foods can be? Why not? You wouldn’t try to run your Maserati on kerosene would you?

I believe that we all have an untapped potential to reach high levels of health and fitness. When you’re living pain free, feeling in control of your body and have an abundance of energy, your self-confidence and sexiness is expressed naturally.

BB: What about your writing? I heard you are writing a book.

RD: I do have a book in the works, but you’ll have to interview me about that another time! I can tell you that it will be groundbreaking and inspirational. I write weekly on fitness and health and Beauty Bitch readers can find my writing at BreakingSixty.Blogspot.com.

BB: Can I join your fan club?

RD: That’ll make us even; I’ve already joined yours!

BB: Passion. Is that why you do the work you do?

RD: Absolutely. I do it for myself, and for the joy I get when I see a client walking in the door with a newfound confidence. My message to everyone is to be the best that they can be, no matter what age. Being your best inspires others and ultimately brings more love to the planet.


BeautyBitch.com

Train your Body. Train your Mind. Tame your Tongue.
Information on this site is not a substitute for consulting a licensed medical professional, health care provider or nutritionist. Never begin an exercise or nutritional regime without consulting your wellness professional.

Behind the Scenes

I wanted to post a video teaser from a recent photoshoot. This is one of the things that keeps me motivated to stay in shape...  I think the feature will be groundbreaking for the magazine. You rarely see anyone over 60 on fitness magazine pages.

If you have trouble playing the video on my blog, click on the link below for a full screen view.

Video Teaser Link


Thanks for watching... and reading. See you next week.

Train Your Body. Train Your Mind. Tame Your Tongue.

Information on this site is not a substitute for consulting a licensed medical professional, health care provider or nutritionist. Never begin an exercise or nutritional regime without consulting your wellness professional.

Shallow Inspiration

Vanity is Fierce

We always hear that working out is good for us and that we should do it for our health. Sure, that works for me. I promote health right here on this blog – and will continue to. But right now I want to give a gold star to vanity motivation. No, make that 10 gold stars. Vanity is one of the most wonderful, shallow and intensely motivating things that can inspire us to workout.

Think – Hot guy from Mad Men.

Working out = Looking Better

When you are wearing the body that you want, you’ll look and feel better. When you feel better your cells vibrate with more life. So far, nothing wrong with that vanity motivator, who doesn’t want to look and feel better?

Working out = Feeling confident

When you’re looking and feeling better, you’ll feel more confident. Confidence breeds success in all aspects of life.  Confidence allows you to wear your clothes with style. Whatever you choose, a T-shirt and jeans or skinny tie and suit, you’ll make the clothes. You won’t need clothes to make you. Again, the vanity motivator gets an A+.

Working out = Abundant energy

When you are expending focused physical energy you’ll have more energy. You’ll sleep deeper; your sex life will be more fun.  Is anyone going to argue with the sex angle?

Working out = You win

When our bodies transform, everything in our life changes – our energy increases, our relationships get juicier, our minds sharper and we look better in and out of clothes. 

By guiltlessly allowing vanity to motivate you, you’ll achieve your health goals as well.  So just imagine having the body you always wanted, no matter what age you are. Imagine putting on a suit with the confidence of one of the guys from Mad Men and having a great time everywhere you go. I’m sure you’ve already imagined the sex part.

Train your body. Train your mind. Tame your tongue.

Information on this site is not a substitute for consulting a licensed medical professional or nutritionist. Never begin an exercise or nutritional regime without consulting your health care provider.