Start slowly

It's great to feel that enthusiasm of starting your exercise program. But it's very sad when people stop two days later because they overdid it and can hardly move from the soreness.

When starting out or returning after a layoff, do much less than what you're capable of. Take a 20 minute walk instead of a run. Use lighter weights and just one set of the weights. You might feel like it's not enough, but it's a good start.

If you feel no soreness then increase the intensity a bit on the next workout. The increase alone will actually help you feel more motivated because it's progress (even if you're still not at the level you used to be).

Work smart before you work hard.

Do you need a reason?

Why do people exercise?

The obvious answer is for better health.

But you can exercise to become a better exerciser - just to improve at something.

Or you can exercise to become a better mother, a better father, doctor, teacher, or a better friend - because it makes you feel better in yourself so you can feel better toward others and be more able to 'play' with them.

Or you can exercise just to become BETTER.

Now that’s an accomplishment to be proud of.

Simple Truths of Service

Today there's a movie for you. It's only short.

It's an unforgettable true story about a young man with Down's Syndrome who changes the culture of a grocery store by being creative and giving the customers more than they expect.

http://stservicemovie.com

Understand your energy cycle

Want to know one way to keep yourself motivated on your exercise program?

What’s that??

You aren’t on one!!!!

Crikey you’d better get onto one quick smart!

Anyway where was I?

Oh yeah - staying interested in your exercise program can be aided by a little bit of awareness of your body.

There are peaks during our days. Even during the week. Become aware of when your energy is highest. Try to complete your workout around those times when you feel stronger and more likely to feel good about yourself.

Simple eh? Okay? Go for it!

Just show up

Feeling lethargic?

Just get into something that's a bit active. Even if it's only getting up off the couch to start with. Move. Go to the gym, a class, or the park.

Once you're there, it's hard to say no. The more you hang out on the couch the harder it is to get up from. Maybe fresh air and sunshine has something to do with it.

98% of life is showing up.

Stabilize

When you look at the way most people eat and how inactive they are, it's not surprising so many people are overweight. But did you know that the main reason people struggle with their weight isn't their inactivity or poor eating habits? These are certainly important factors, but there is an even BIGGER one.

It's the first and simplest factor to maintaining a good body weight.

What is it?

It's your blood sugar levels.

The key to shedding the excess pounds is to stabilize your blood sugar. And this doesn't just apply to people with diabetes. The reason we get fat is because we are supplying our bodies with more energy than it needs at any particular time. It's a supply and demand issue.

For more information on this read this article.

Master this and your struggle with weight will be over.

Do we need a reason?

Why do we only have parties for each other when one of us gets married, has a birthday, or retires?

What would most of us do without our spouses, brothers, sisters, confidants, and shopping, lunching and traveling friends?

Let's celebrate each other for each other's sake!

Someone will always be prettier, more handsome or smarter than we are.

Their house will be bigger.

They will drive a better car.

Their children will do better in school.

And they’ll seem to have more than what we do.

So let it go, Be Happy! And love yourself and your circumstances.

Think about it.

The prettiest woman or the most handsome man in the world can have trouble in her or his heart.
And the most highly favored person on your job may be unable to have children. And the richest person you know, who has the car, the house, the clothes… might be lonely.
And the word says if "I have not Love, I have nothing."

So, again, love you. Love who you are.
Look in the mirror in the morning and smile and say

"I am too blessed to be stressed and too anointed to be disappointed!"
I like that!
"Winners make things happen.
Losers let things happen"

"To the world you might be one person,
But to one person you just might be the world".

Exercise for the non-athletic

Here are some more novel ways to expend energy if you're not much into exercise.
Putting your foot in your mouth
300 Cal/hr
Pushing your luck
250 Cal/hr
Jumping on the bandwagon
200 Cal/hr
Adding fuel to the fire
160 Cal/hr
Climbing the walls
150 Cal/hr
Jumping to conclusions
100 Cal/hr
Dragging your heels
100 Cal/hr
We all engage in some of these from time to time hey?

Friends

You've probably seen crowd control police linking arms to hold back a crowd... why do they do that?

Because linked together they are stronger.

Alone they might be pushed aside, but together they stand strong.

All of us..
Old and young...
Near and far...
Hold special memories of good times we've shared.

We've shared...
our hearts
our time
our secrets
our fears
our hopes
and our dreams. And we've had our share of hard times when our friends were there to help us feel better.

Let us never break the chain of friends!

Knowing you have friends who'll stand by you makes you stronger.

I’d like to be considered a friend who’ll stand by you when you’re finding it a bit hard to keep going. Doing that is part of my business as a performance coach in fact. Besides that though I’ll still do my best to encourage you through my blog for free.

So have a good day and go out and see if you can add to someone else’s day.

Be happy

Our emotions control and direct how we feel as well as how well or how poorly our bodies function.

The great Mike Brescia in the early 1990s used to go into nursing homes and senior living facilities and test the hearing of the residents over several days at a time.

In one particular facility, everywhere you looked were dogs and cats roaming the halls... and you could even hear birds singing in some of the rooms.

When he asked the director about it she said that in every long-term nursing facility where pets were allowed the residents flourished... many symptoms of old age were reduced or eliminated altogether, and less medication was needed over all.

Why?

Because everyone was happier...

And that particular facility was located next door to an elementary school. So one day a week, the little children would visit all the elderly residents, going right into
their rooms and talking and drawing and singing for the old folks...

... and on those days, even LESS medication was needed for all purposes especially pain!

So it goes to show that it is vital to keep your mind focused on positive and happy things as much as possible.

Always have goals to work towards every day and make sure you notice what you did right... praise yourself for your achievements, however small and your body will reward you with feeling better and staying healthier and you’ll live a longer, more productive life.

Make it a great day!

Water, alcohol and fat

The best weight loss drink is free!

To lose a pound of fat per week, which is a good healthy rate of weight loss, all you need is a 500-calorie deficit per day, This can be achieved by exercising more, reducing calories, or preferably, a combination of both. Instead of a diet, choose a healthy lifestyle, one that is easy to stick to.

The first easy strategy to reduce calories without giving up the pleasures of eating is to drink water rather than alcohol.

Alcohol contains around 7 calories per gram. We all know about the drink driving and embarrassment that can result from excessive alcohol consumption. But even moderate amounts of alcohol can lower your self-control when it comes to food.

Limit your alcohol intake and your body will thank you. Save it for a post-meal indulgence, rather than drinking it before or with food. Studies show that alcohol lowers inhibitions and self-control when it comes to eating. So people who drink before meals eat more than those who wait to drink after finishing a meal.

Drinking water throughout the day, before, and during meals helps curb your appetite. Often when people think they are hungry they are actually thirsty. Thirst of course indicates dehydration.

Dehydration can slow metabolism, but the process of drinking water and the body warming it up to body temperature involves energy and burns calories. Plus, if you are well hydrated your body will have least 10 minutes more energy for exercise (according to a study in the International Journal of Sports Medicine).

Awww... do I have t-o-o-o-o-o?

Do I really have to exercise to lose weight?

The short answer... yes!

The long answer... well it is possible to lose weight without exercise but where that weight comes from becomes important.

The problem with a diet only approach is the loss of lean muscle tissue. Up to 30% of muscle can be lost!

This loss of muscle lowers metabolism by around 20% (say around 300 calories a day) because its the muscles that burn fat.

Even though millions of people take up dieting, only about 1% achieve any lasting success. The secret to successful long term fat loss is to change the diet and do exercise, both resistance with weights and aerobic training. This burns calories as well as maintaining muscle and metabolism so that future fat burning is assured.

Sorry about that. So make sure you find some form of exercise that you can enjoy at least a bit. As you do more and fitness grows you will be inclined to exercise more in different ways. Come on guys, I know you can do it.

Guessing short

Studies show that people tend to underestimate how much they really eat every day.

Do you read food labels? This is a key to healthy portion sizes. The portion sizes on some packaged foods may seem just right for one person but in fact a closer look will reveal that the package includes two or more servings, which doubles the caloric content.

If you have trouble stopping at one serving buy single-serving packages of your favorite foods for built-in portion control, or measure out single servings into baggies or containers. Those big meal sizes are a habit and can be changed.

When you decrease your caloric intake you generally end up feeling deprived so make sure you graze between meals on healthy low calorie snacks, and drink plenty of water. Also reduce the time interval between meals if you can.

After familiarizing yourself with portion sizes, be sure to measure. Be exact if cooking at home, but when eating out, think about common objects. A serving of meat is the size of the palm of your hand. A medium piece of fruit is similar to a baseball.

Halfway

Well here we are... halfway through the year.

I love halfway points. To me they signify the home stretch. It's just a mental trick to motivate myself.

On a journey, once you're half way you may as well keep going because it's as far back as it is to go forward.

In resistance exercise for example, while I know that it's the reps in the last half of the set that hurt the most they also do the most good. So halfway marks the the most productive part of the set.

Also, my mental attitude is that if I can get halfway then I can get the rest of the way. This helps a lot with perserverance. Naturally I still have to keep my common sense and know that this is not an infallible truth. Sometimes we get to a point where we can't go any further. Like climbing a cliff - just because I get up the first bit doesn't guarantee getting up the next bit.

The point is, it's how we perceive it that counts. The good thing about halfway points is that they can sometimes be adjusted. Age 50 is halfway if I hope to live to 100. Once there however I don't really want to think I'm in my declining years so why not adjust the halfway mark to 60! After all, it's okay to change your mind isn't it?

It's a bit of a mind game. So what if someone thinks you're a bit whacky for playing it. If it helps you keep going, stay enthused, perservere and progress, then it's worth it. After all, success is all in the head. How we think determines everything.

If halfway helps, use it. If this only helps until the halfway point then cheat and change the game once you get to the halfway point! Maybe adopt the mindset that it all gets easier, or you can take it easier after the halfway point. It doesn't matter.

In the game of life, a lot of the rules can be made up by you to suit yourself. Sure you've still got to follow a lot of other rules you didn't make up, but you can still pretty much play the game the way you want.