Your home base (personal space and time) is where you should be recharging, resting and focusing on other things, not on how bad the diet is or how sore you are after a hard workout.

Your "base" should be used constructively; it's where you plan from and where you become revitalised and refreshed for the next week's onslaught.

A home base partner is very important, whether it is a spouse, friend, parent or any other individual that's around permanently after your committed gym sessions. It's easy when you are at gym and your gym partner is there encouraging you to achieve maximum performance and commitment.

But what about when you are alone at work. This for me was the most difficult time of all, you need to be focused permanently on your objective but sometimes you cannot be and this is why at the end of the day a home base partner is essential, someone who can grab you by the arm and assure you that you can, and ensuring that things you need mentally and physically are in place and are always there for you.

I also used USN as a home based partner as I regularly logged on to the USN Body & Lifestyle Challenge site which was of great assistance to me, as were the testimonials of previous winners of the challenge. The previous contestants did a fantastic job and were truly an inspiration to me in times of need. What I also found encouraging was reading through the USN site over and over and looking at all the other achievers. Individuals like Bodybuilders, Cyclists, Swimmers, and Runners (professional people) using and believing in USN, this was awesome and made me feel that I could achieve my goals.

With a home base partner - during your highs and lows - you always have someone to talk to, someone that's willing to listen and encourage you even though you may have just failed miserably.

Here I was blessed; my wife Helene was with me every step of the way. I feel that sometimes she finished the challenge for me and that I merely reflected the results. Thanks Babe, had it not been for you I am not sure I could have accomplished what I did.

So... Make sure you have one to encourage you on. An ally is indispensable when it comes to motivation and perseverance.

• My Mission Goals
• Home Base Partner
• Battle-field Partner
• Research & Intelligence (Information)
• Choosing your weapons (Supplements)
• Strategic Intelligence (Progress Reports)
• Nourishment (Diet)
• Battle-field Decisions (Support)
• Keeping the Peace (Maintaining Results)