Eleanor Roosevelt said, "You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do."

This became apparent as we were finishing up a six-week competition at Fontana Fitness called the Look Great Before '08 Challenge.

Competitors earned points based on their fitness involvement and willingness to engage in health-related activities. Participants earned points for showing up for training sessions, working out on their own, keeping a food journal, trying a new fitness class and participating in the Turkey Trot, among other things.

The intention for doing this was to create enthusiasm about fitness during the holiday season -- a time of year that most people gain seven to 10 pounds -- while creating stress-releasing opportunities for clients and others.

As competition setup began, people had mixed emotions -- some mocked it, but many embraced the challenge, seeing the potential to create a better self, inside and out. This was going to take dedication and determination, but the personal rewards would be worth it.

One thing to realize is that many people who are looking to lose weight, improve themselves or just feel healthier often have had little or no success in this area (this was true of most of our competitors). So, we all can be successful in anything given the right amount of focus and effort.

During the competition, points were tracked on a weekly basis. From the outset, the go-getters began to emerge. Realize that these are busy people, such as a mother of three with a full-time job, mother of six, owners of large businesses, vice presidents of corporations, secretaries, 40-plus hours a week employees, and my favorite, grandmas.

Points began to pile up, intensity of workouts increased and pounds were being shed. There was a buzz going on. Something special was taking place. It wasn't uncommon to receive a phone call from a client while on vacation giving their point total for the week.

All of this was amazing, but something more, something deeper was happening, and it's what was happening on the inside of these people that became most impressive. People took responsibility for their actions. No longer did they let outside circumstances stand in their way.

When this happens, you let go of the idea of complaining or whining and replace it with action and integrity. When we make excuses, we fail to learn lessons, thus setting ourselves up for failure to happen again and again.

These people put themselves in the driver's seat of their destiny, and they improved.

When all was said and done, the results were amazing. I saw a grandma bench press 45 pounds 61 times. I saw weight loss. I witnessed one exercise repetition turn into

21 repetitions, and all of this took place during the busiest time of year.

I know that records will be broken and trophies will gather dust, but it's what lies inside us that no one can take away. So, here's to all the great '08 competitors and everybody else out there who strives to be better today than they were yesterday.

I leave you with a final quote from the great John Wooden, "Never believe that you're better than anybody else, but remember that you're just as good as everybody else."

Troy Fontana is the owner of Fontana Fitness in Sparks. Contact him at 331-6918 or getfit@fontanafitness.com