For those of us that did the IWSPA (I Want Six Pack Abs) Program, we didn’t have a personal trainer.  Granted we had Arnel’s video journals and those that are just starting have the abs forum (wasn’t around for me when I started); but we did not have someone in our ear reminding us to workout or pushing us to go an extra minute or do an extra rep.  What kept me going when it wasn’t the most convenient, or when I was too tired or sick?  For me,  I realize it was pictures. It’s the difference maker in achieving your fitness goals.  If you’re starting out on your 16 Week IWSPA journey and haven’t taken your before pictures yet, what are you waiting for?  Everytime I felt discouraged, I would look at my before pics and remember why I was doing the program in the first place.  I would also get inspired by jumping on Arnel’s myspace group and viewing progress pics of other people that did the program.

As you are going through the program take pictures every week like I did.  You’ll notice changes in your physique that you wouldn’t notice from just looking in the mirror every day. And as you see changes, you’ll realize that your hard work isn’t going unrewarded, and it’ll push you even further along in your goals. When you hit the 8 or 9 week mark, post your progress pics on the abs forum so you can inspire others.   Just a side note, don’t try to compare your pictures to others; compare your progress pics to your own before pics as everyone has different pasts and body types.

What Else You Could Spend $700 Billion On
In the new issue of TIme magazine coming on Friday, the magazine crunches some numbers and reveals what people could do with $700 billion:

• Give every person in the U.S. $2,300, or give every household $6,200
• Pay the income taxes of every American who makes $500,000 or less a year
• Fully fund the Defense, Treasury, Education, State, Veterans Affairs and Interior departments next year, as well as NASA
• Buy gasoline for every car in the U.S. for 16 months
• Buy every NFL, NBA and Major League Baseball team and build each a new stadium—and pay all your players $191 million for a year.
• Create the 17th largest economy in the world—roughly equal to the Netherlands’
• Buy gasoline for every car in the U.S. for 16 months.
• You could finance the National Institutes of Health, the nation’s premier medical research institute, for 20 years.
• You could pay the salaries of 22 million average Americans for one year.
• For one year, you could pay the health care bills of the more than 85 million seniors, disabled people, children and low-income Americans enrolled in Medicare and Medicaid.
• You could pay off all the outstanding student loans in the United States (from both government and private lenders) and still have $150 billion to give to current college students.
• You could pay off 7% of the $9.8 trillion (and growing) national debt.