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Christmas Party December 3rd

Our annual Christmas party is almost here. Make sure you save the date for December 3rd at 6pm. Bring a side to share and a gift for secret santa(limit is $20) There will be some wine provided, but if you have a favorite you would like to bring and share, feel free! Attire is anything but sweaty gym clothes:) Dan and Sheri will be hosting at their house. There is a flyer at the gym with directions and details.

Attn. Coaches

USA Weightlifting

Sports Performance Coach Level 1 Certification

At CrossFit Spokane

Sat/Sun December 3-4

Registration deadline is Monday November 21

Register Here

A Good Trainer?

What makes a good coach or training facility?



The market is flooded with gyms, personal trainers, and fitness and nutrition products. So how is one to know what they are getting when they begin training with a coach, trainer or at a gym? Basically, it comes down to the experience of the coach or trainer which will more often than not dictate the quality.

Not so good

  

Experience come from many contact hours with a lot of people, in various settings, using a variety of movements and equipment over the course of many years. You could find a trainer or coach with every certification and/or degree under the sun, but they may not know their ass from their elbow when it comes to instructing movements, being personable to the client, effectively coaching a group of people or even knowing the “why” of the exercises you are doing. Here is a test, ask them why they are having you do a certain movement, why is it done in this particular way and how it can be modified? "Because" is not a good answer.

UUHHH, not so good

While I was attending a Strength and Conditioning mentorship with Mike Boyle 2 years ago, I was introduced to the idea of “10,000 hours of practice”. There is a book written by Malcolm Gladwell called Outliers. In his book Malcolm says that it takes roughly 10,000 hours of practice to achieve mastery in a field. Just so you have some reference to the volume of experience and training that is, one would have to dedicate 15hrs a week for 12yrs, 20hrs a week for 9 ½ years, 30hrs a week for 6 years or 40hrs a week for 4.8yrs. In the fitness or strength and conditioning field a trainer may have a certification or even better a 4 year degree. How many hours of experience is that? A 2 day weekend certification 12-16hrs, a 4 year degree 120 classroom hour, 240 internship hours; we are up to 376hrs of experience; that leaves 9,624 hour left.

 HOLLY CRAP, that's a big stone

 

So what is the point? The point is, are you getting what you paid for, hopefully experience and not just the shinny equipment. A great coach or trainer should have several “certs” but more importantly to you, experience.

  

Something to remember, a shinny new gym doesn’t correlate with good training, experience, knowledge or practice.

A perfect example of "Functional Stupidity", but a shinny gym.

If you like the post please leave a comment below

40lbs in 6 months

Jeff first week

Jeff second month

I reluctantly joined Crossfit Spokane, “Crossfat” as I call it, after being encouraged by a co-worker who is sold on your program.  I joined to get in better shape for water skiing.  The results were evident; I had the best water ski season in 25 years.  So why didn’t I stop participating in Crossfit once the water ski season began?  That is the question I ask myself every night when I leave your gym exhausted and wringing wet.  The answer is complicated, but lies in some combination of the results and the environment you have cultivated.  It is almost addictive.  I didn’t really think I was in that bad of shape when I joined, but before the first WOD was complete I knew otherwise.  You guys have addressed my special needs and seem to really know how to balance between pushing to success without pushing someone overboard.  Thank you, your staff and family for the knowledge and dedication.  I have been working out at your gym now for six or seven months and have lost over 40 pounds.  Now that we have worked off that weight I look forward to putting some of it back on in the form of muscle.

Thanks again, Jeff Van Leuven

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Jeff 40lbs lighter after 6 months

Get Stronger With Time Off

For most people whom are eager to build muscle, get stronger, burn fat or what ever physical change they are striving for, will believe that more is always better; more reps, more intensity, more volume, more training days. However, this is not always the case. Sure you want to train hard, but you have to train smart. 

Now there are many factors that going into an effective program that will illicit the most progress possible, but I want to touch on one factor that most people don't even think about or do until their bodies make them do it by way of injury and that is to Take Time Off.  What I mean is schedule in or program in "Deload" weeks throughout the year.

What is a "Deload" week?  It is a deliberate time off or away from the gym to allow your body (physiologically and psychologically) to recover from the hard training it has been going through. Have you ever been training hard for a long period of time and go away for a few days or a week (family, vacation...) to come back and feel stronger than before?  Why not take advantage?

I would recommend a "Deload" week every 8-12 weeks of consistently training.  If your messing around on a few machines or doing "Zumba Kick Boxing" at OZ fitness two days a week than this may not be necessary.  If you're on a more intense and structured strength program this may be the trick to you breaking through the plateau.

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Winter Sports Conditioning Camp

(Get ready for Spring Sports)

Starting Now

M/W/F 630-730pm

This is a 2-3 day a week 1-1 ½ hr training session for middle school, high school and college athletes only. This program is for the athletes who are looking to make it to the next level: Varsity, All Conference, All State, College Starter, scholarship athlete, AFL/NFL… No weekend warriors or noncompetitive athletes allowed.

This is not your average weight room S&C program, this “Underground, Renegade, Dinosaur” style training. We utilize ropes, sleds, chains, bands, sandbags, body weight training, Olympic lifting, Strongman training… This program will make you bigger, stronger and more athletic, the kind of athlete that is noticed by coaches and is feared by competitors.

The other guys are doing the same old camps, weight room routines and conditioning programs; if you want to be a standout athlete and get to the next level, you need to do something different then your competition.

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Fat burning "Machine"

 "Cheese"

 Wait, that's not "Paleo"

 Ya, I know, but it tastes good and there are plenty of strong healthy people who eat cheese.



I love cheese and milk.

"PROOOTTTTEEEIIIIIN"

Want to jump start you metabolism for the day?

Try having about 15-20gms of protein and 16oz of water with in 30min of waking up.  If you don't like breakfast or don't have time, make time for this and so it; it takes about 1 min.  If you're not eating breakfast and your fat or out of shape then what you're currently doing is not working, so give it a try. You will give your body the nutrients it needs to perform well mentally and physically and you will begin to burn more fat.

Need more help and guidance? We can help you.

cfspokane@gmail.com

Monday, Halloween

We will be closing early on halloween. SO, there will be one WOD in the afternoon at 4:30.  Please come dressed up in your costumes! Even if you came saturday dressed up, that's okay, you have one more reason to dress up again! The morning 9am and noon classes will still be running as well.
HAVE A SAFE AND HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Halloween WOD Saturday

It is time once again for our annual halloween WOD! This saturday at 9 am show up in your costume and bring a healthy treat to share for after the wod. There will be some fun surprises this year!

Too Old

Do you use the excuse "I'm too old to train at CrossFit Spokane" or here is another common one "I'm not in shape enough". How many other excuses can you think of. Did you think about this; everyone needs to squat, lift, press, sit up, carry things and the longer you can do those things on your own the longer you'll be independent and not in a home for "old people". So sure, you may not be "in shape" or "too old", but you're not doing yourself any favors by not doing anything. We are excellent in modifying and tailoring workouts, movements and exercise to meet the needs of the individual; old or young, fit or not. 

At CrossFit Spokane, we see a wide variety of people: young, old, over weight, skinny, athletic and clumsy.  They all have one thing in common, they are ready to train, get healthy, get fit and get strong.

Your not too old or not in good enough shape. You just need to get moving.

Contact us now.

509-325-3198

cfspokane@gmail.com

Great Nutrition

No matter who you are or what your training goals are nutrition is going to be the foundation of your results and improvement, good or bad.  A good solid nutrition program will yield greater result and a poor nutrition program will yield poor results regardless of how hard you train.  You could have the best coach in the world with the best programing and mess all the effort up with bad nutrition.  Nutrition is 80% of working out.  One thing you can do is to think of food as a fuel and not for pleasure. 

Need nutritional guidance we can help.

 "If you want top fuel performance you need top fuel you can't just piss in the gas tank" Greg Glassman

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For anyone looking for some good ideas and great recipes we recommend theprehistoricpalate.com. There you will find great tasting and most importantly healthy meals with Ingredients and instructions for each meal.  They are SO GOOD! It's hard to believe that its healthy and balance nutrition.

Spring Sports Conditioning

Spring Sports Conditioning 

We will begin our spring sports conditioning program on Oct 31, 2011 and go through Jan 6, 2012.  If your a spring sport athlete and are not currently participating in another fall or winter sport this is your opportunity to better prepare yourself for the upcoming season.  With our program you will have a better chance of remaining injury free, making the varsity team, having a more successful season or possibly getting that college scholarship.  Having been a prior collegiate athlete and a strength coach I can't stress enough the importance of training in the off season, preseason and maintaining during the season.  We can help.

Contact us NOW to reserve your spot.

509-328-3198

cfspokane@gmail.com

Functional kids

"Functional" strength for your kids.

Make them carry their own pumpkin.  How bad do they want the BIG one?

Video from the week

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The gym is awesome, we have a lot of motivated people, a high energy and a great training environment.

Jacked n' Tan Friday Fundraiser

Come and Get Jacked n' Tan.

Friday night Fundraiser for Spokane Hope School.

Hope School is the area's only listening and spoken language preschool for children with hearing loss. The non-profit program offers a comprehensive, state-of-the-art preschool for families who want their deaf and hard of hearing children to learn to listen and talk.

 .

 Come support us with the fundraiser.

Friday 5:30pm

Beautifully Bronzed Airbrushing will be here to offer a greatly discounted full tan for $15 and all the proceeds will go to the school.

If your not into tanning we will be accepting donations as well for the Hope School.

We will have our Strongman workout for the guys, Beautifully Bronzed Tanning for the ladies and BBQ and fun for everyone, rain or shine.

Some of Our People

 Bret working on "Old Man" Grip strength



 Chris is one of the hardest working athletes we have.

 Evan, Killin it.

 Sindy, is part of our "Top Secret" program. Being released in November.

"Just a little longer mom".

Our 9am class is very kid friendly.

Labor Day Foods to Avoid

Sean Croxton is a great resource for quality information when it comes to nutrition.  Check out his video about common "Health Foods"to avoid. 




We have a new weight lose program that will be beginning soon.  The program is currently going through a trial period and will be open to the people who are very overweight and ready to make the lifestyle change. It will have 3 days a week of training, some "homework" as well as nutritional guidance from a dietitian.  
One of our test subjects has lost almost 20lbs in the 1st month.

 Not everyone will be accepted or be ready for this program.

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We will be closed for Labor day.

Strongman and Food

We will be having another Summer Strongman BBQ this Friday.

530pm Show
600pm Workout
700pm Eat, Drink, Be Happy

We will provide burgers, dogs and some drink (beer), bring a side dish and any special meat and/or drink you would like.

All are welcome.

These are always a great time, see ya there.

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Video From The Week

This was the workout from last Thursday. Very Heavy.

Youth Sports Nutrition

 Sports Conditioning Soccer Game

 Cassidy "The Worlds Greatest Intern" working hard on the "Zercher" Carry

Dylan always smiling and working hard.

 

Nutrition is the foundation to any successful athlete and most people simply don’t understand the importance let alone provide themselves or their children with the proper nutrition needed to maximize performance and recovery. Nutrition for young athletes doesn’t have to be complicated, however it is important. When it comes to nutrition and performance there are 3 main factors that will help your young athlete performance and success.


1 Healthy eating,


This is kind of a no brainer. Most people know that we should eat healthy and they probably have some concept of good vs bad foods. The bad part is that most people simply don’t make the wise choices and more importantly the wise choice for their children and hard training athletes. If you eat healthy they eat healthy.


2 Nutritional timing,


There is a lot of evidence that shows proper nutritional timing has a huge benefit to hard training athletes; your young athlete is no different; particularly pre and post nutrition. Pre nutrition should come 1-2 hrs prior to hard training or an athletic event and post nutrition should be immediately after. A good simple post workout drink is low fat chocolate milk. In addition, they should eat regularly balanced meals throughout the day; breakfast, lunch, dinner and some healthy snacks. Minimize the BAD FOOD.


3 Water


This is simple, DRINK WATER. It’s cheep, it’s necessary and you’ll perform better, recover better and feel better when your well hydrated. No sport drinks, WATER.


Nutrition is very important; it is the foundation of top athletic performance regardless of the age, level or ability. Why would you not provide your future star with optimal nutrition they need to succeed?


If you have any questions or would like more guidance with off season, preseason, in season, training or nutrition guidance for your athlete we can help.


CrossFit Spokane Strength and Conditioning

Videos From the Week

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Ny killing some heavy Box Squats

CNS Warm up/Workout

Video From The Week

This is a great CNS warm up, Activation or workout depending on the weight used.  Give it a try and let me know what you think.

5 rounds  

1) 10 back Squats

2) 10 BS, 10 Muscle Snatch

3) 10 BS, 10 MS, 10 Back Extensions

4) 10 BS, 10 MS, 10 BE, Dumbbell Complex

5) 10 BS, 10 MS, 10 BE, Dumbbell Complex

Your Place To Train

A Quote To Live By

 

“There are two kinds of people in this world. The ninety-nines and the ones.

The Ninety-Nines...that’s what I call 'em. Ninety-nine out of a hundred people can't fathom what I do. They scratch their heads, can't believe my dedication to this great sport. Many don't even think this a sport or that I have a life. Never let others define your 'life' for you. This is what I have chosen. This is the road I've taken, with all the potholes, bumps, and turns. The Ninety-nines, they can't commit 100% to being their best, to step up one day and stand tall among the giants.

There are those who rely on luck, and those who don't know the meaning of the word.

I don't play the lottery. I don't have the winning ticket. Everything I have, I busted my ass for. The only thing I ever got handed to me are the genetics my old man passed down. From him, I learned the value of a work ethic and getting your hands dirty. To those who've always wanted more, stand with me. We are few and we must stand on the mountaintops to be heard. When the day is done, our voices will carry. It shall be a call to all those who have always dreamed of something greater.

There are those who tear down others to build themselves up and those who just build.

To the naysayers, I say your words will fall on deaf ears. To the doubters, take your misgivings elsewhere. To the envious, do not desire what we will achieve. I will beat back mediocrity with a fierce hand, will demolish conformity, so that when it's time to cash in my chips, I won't leave a legacy of regret, that I didn't go for mine. In each of us lies the power to start something... So to those of you out there who can hear, let me say again, who are you and will you stand with me?”

From ANIMALPAK.com

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It's Time to Get Training

509-328-3198

Serious Training

Videos of the week

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Stop Wasting Time

Get Started NOW!

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CALL- 509-328-3198

Email- cfspokane@gmail.com

Friday Night Sports Conditioning Program

We had an AWESOME training night tonight.  The energy was high, the work output was great and everyone had a great workout. We did a 5 station circuit "Strongman Style".  2min at each station w/ 1min rest between: Farmer carries, Stone load, Tire Flip, Sled Rope Pull, and Log Clean and Jerk.  The warm up was focused on power and explosion, we did a newer dumbbell complex and some new plyo-box drills, again AWESOME.

We have many people call email and stop by to check out the Sports Conditioning Program over the last few weeks.  Just to be clear this "IS NOT FOR EVERYONE" not only do you need to be an athlete, but you need to have the desire to "WORK" and "WIN". Some people want the win without the work and that's fine, but not here. I would rather train the worst athlete with the best work ethic than the best athlete whom is lazy.  One day the worker will be on top, guaranteed.

If you have stopped by and thought this is too hard or this is not for me, than you're right, Peace and good luck.  Only the dedicated will make it.  Our athlete have already seen HUGE improvement in the last few weeks and they will be the ones with scholarships and championships.

Some videos to come. Stay tuned.

Mike

Some of our people

 Abby finishing with some extra "core" work.

 Jeff has seen a 100% improvement in his squatting ability. 

 (The office can stop making fun of him now)

 Julene working on hang cleans.

Laura has improved SSOOOOO much over the last few months. Very STRONG.

Dan impressed his doctor so much they had to do a double take at his last health check up to confirm the outstanding results.

Here he doesn't look too good:)

Video of the week

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Question about youth sports

Question from the parent - I need to put together a summer plan for my 9 yr



old hockey team. Obviously I don’t want to look like a crazy


person, but it would be something that I think could be good


for my own kids as well. Is it too young?


My first reaction was to say “are you crazy”? Instead, slightly


tongue-in-cheek I developed the plan below.






Step 1- play another sport. Lacrosse is highly recommended as


it has similar skills to hockey although baseball is fine. This


does not mean another sport in addition to hockey. Summer is the


off season.



Step 2- Cancel all hockey camp registrations except 1 week.




Pick your favorite that has the largest number of y our friends


attending and go to that one. Ideally look for a camp that only


has you on the ice once a day. No need to get blisters. You won’t


get better in a week anyway.


Step 3- Cancel any summer hockey leagues you are scheduled for.



The best players in the world never play summer hockey and, they


never have. The only conceivable exception would be a weekly skill


session lasting one hour. Another exception would be “play”. If


ice is available and the kids can play, let them. Please remember


play means NO COACHES or COACHING.



Step 4- Reread steps 1-3. Acknowledge that the key problem in


youth sports is applying adult values to children’s activities.



Step 5- Go to the nearest bike shop. Get nice bikes for everyone


in the family




Step 6- Ride the bikes, not in a race. For fun. Maybe put a few


hockey cards in the spokes to make noise.



Step 7- Head to Walmart and buy fishing rods.




Step 8- Take the fishing rods to the nearest lake and fish.




Now That is an off-season plan for any nine year old.




Step 9- repeat steps 5-8 while continually rereading steps 1-3

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The best way to set your kids up for success next season is to have them participate in our Youth Fitness Program (CrossFit Kids).  They will develop speed, agility, quickness, strength, power, endurance and coordination as well as take a mental break from their sport and return stronger healthier and mentaly ready.

We offer the youth program on Wednsday at 430pm and Saturday at 10am.  The Saturday classes will be at various parks and splash pads as well as the gym throughout the Summer. 

Only $50 per month for 2 days a week of fun. 

Sign up your little athlete TODAY and get started.

509-328-3198

CFSpokane@gmail.com

Video of the week
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Not For Everyone

Whats holding you back?

I was sent this blog post and thought I should share with you.  This pertains to everyone on many different levels and in many different areas of life. Enjoy and pass it on if you like it. 

Mike

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All of us have goals. Goals like losing weight, earning more money, finding a life partner, setting up our business, achieving performance targets, being fitter, building better relationships, and so on. Some people seem to have no problem achieving their goals. Some, on the other hand, don’t seem to be able to make any progress.

I’ve a good amount of experience with goal achievement, having been actively setting goals since 10 years ago. I’ve experienced setbacks and successes in my goal pursuits. Running The Personal Excellence Blog (which is all about how to live in excellence and achieve our highest potential), I often receive reader mail seeking help for situations they are stuck in. I work with clients who are not getting results in life and want to turn things around. This has given me a lot of insights on what keeps people from success.



At the end of the day, if you find yourself stuck in your goals, it boils down to one (or some) of these 11 reasons:

1. You Procrastinate. You keep putting things off. You talk about how you want to do something but you don’t act on it. You are like the howling dog. I recently wrote the story of the howling dog at The Personal Excellence Blog. The story refers to this dog, who keeps howling because it’s sitting on a nail. However, he refuses to get up from the nail. Why? Because it’s not painful enough. You procrastinate on taking action because the situation is not painful enough for you yet. However, the times when it does become painful enough are often the times when it’s too late to do anything. Either you start taking action, or you forever lay in peace. Your call, I’ll leave it to you.

2. You underestimate your goal. Achieving a goal is about getting from point A to B. From point A, you create an action plan that gets you to point B. Sounds foolproof, except the action plan isn’t 100% valid. That’s because you’re setting the plan from point A. You haven’t even been to point B, so how do you even know if it’ll get you to B? At most it’ll be help to bring you closer to point B, but it’s not going to be 100% accurate. Almost all the time, people fail because they underestimate what it takes to achieve their goals. What should you do then? Over-commit your resources and review your progress constantly. (See Step #11 of 13 Strategies To Jumpstart Your Productivity). Adjust your plan of action and adapt accordingly.

3. You spend more time defending your problems than taking action. You complain how you are not getting XYZ results. When people try to give you suggestions, you spend more time justifying why their suggestions will not work and defending your lack of results than brainstorm with them on how to get out of your rut. Spend less time talking about your problems and use that time to think about solutions. Then act on them. You’ll get a lot more results this way, and you’ll be happier.

4. You’re too enclosed in your own world. You don’t venture out beyond your normal routine. You do the same things, talk to the same old friends, act the same way, circle around the same issues. It’s no wonder you stagnate. Open yourself up – take active steps to grow. Get to know more people – people who are driven, positive and focused. Get new, refreshing perspectives. Read new books. Add new blogs to your subscription. Ask for feedback on how you can improve. Read my other lifehack guestpost – 42 Practical Ways To Improve Yourself.

5. You’re not working smart. You do the same thing over and over, even when you don’t get results. You apply brute strength to your goals, without strategizing how you can apply this strength more effectively. If you are not getting what you want, it’s a signal it’s time to change what you have been doing. See how you can do this in a different, smarter, more effective way.Look at people who have achieved the same results before, and learn from them.

6. Avoidance (Fear). You avoid taking action because some of the things you have to do intimidate you. You rather delay the process as much as possible. Unfortunately, results are not going to come automatically from delaying. Results come to people who pay their dues, not people who avoid the work. The fear isn’t going to go away by waiting it out. Face the fear and do it anyway.

7. You’re easily distracted. You get distracted by things thrown in your way. Your attention gets diverted from your goals. Your ability to stay focused is instrumental to achieving your results. Be clear of what you want and stick to it. Don’t let anything (or anyone) distract you. These are the obstacles the universe sends your way to see how serious you are about getting what you want.

8. You over-complicate situations. Common among the neurotic perfectionists. If you are a neurotic perfectionist, you blow the situation out of proportion and create this mental image that’s so complicated that it’s no wonder you don’t get anything done. Things are usually simpler than you think – be conscious when you are adding unnecessarily complications for yourself. I wrote about this in detail in Why Being A Perfectionist May Not Be So Perfect.

9. You give up too easily. You give up before you even get anywhere. If you read “The Dip”, you’ll know all big goals comes with a dipping point – a chasm where it seems nothing you do is giving you results. It’s normal. This is the point that differentiates those who deserve the goal and those who are just taking a casual stab at it. I’ve a client who has a penchant for giving up in his goals early on. He realized soon that there’s no “easy” way out, and all goals have their own set of obstacles to be overcome. Persevere, press on, and it’s a matter of time before you reap the fruits of your labor.

10. You lose sight of your goals. You settle for less, forgetting the goals you once set. That’s bad because then you are just stifling yourself and making do with what you have – and this isn’t who you are meant to be. You have to first reconnect with your inner desires. If you cannot fail at all, what would you want to do? What are your biggest hopes and dreams for your future? What is the future you want to create for yourself? Reignite your vision and don’t ever lose sight of it. It’s your fuel to your success.Read more about goal-setting in Step #1 of 13 Strategies To Jumpstart Your Productivity.

11. You’re too stuck in your ways. You insist on doing things a certain way. You don’t open yourself up to new ideas. Guess what? You’ll remain stuck in your situation, too. Open yourself to new methods. Experiment. You can only improve if you are willing to try new things.

If you haven’t noticed, these 11 reasons are self-created problems – you can easily dismiss them just as you have created them. The more accurate title for this post should be “11 Reasons Why You Aren’t Successful – Yet“. Your goals are in your hands – you can achieve them as long as you strive for them. Address the 11 things blocking you from your success, and it’s a matter of time before you achieve results you seek.

This was originally posted on a blog called Life Hack on May 18, 2010.

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What's your excuse?