I need not explain to you why you need to exercise or the benefits of a daily exercise routine. By reading this message you've either visited a fitness site, purchased an exercise product, or signed up for my fitness challenge...you've already decided that you need exercise. What you need now is to commit, to make exercise a priority.
We all get caught up in the rigors of life; the bills need to get paid, dinner needs to be made, the lawn needs to be cut, the presentation is due by the end of the week. We all have them, but I ask you this:
"How can you continue to give if your health and wellness is at risk?" "Who set these priorities in your life?" "How important are these priorities if your health and wellness are at stake?"
Sure, you're keeping up now (barely) but for how long? Eventually, there will come a time when you can no longer maintain this output level and then what will you do?
It's a self-fulfilling prophecy;
too busy to work out → health/wellness deteriorates → output level drops → work load increases → too busy to work out
What you need to do is take control. You need to do some preventative maintenance. You need to make exercise a priority in your life.
Here are some resources on how you can find the time to exercise:
Just do a Google search for "finding time to exercise"
Still not convinced you can find time? Then I highly recommend:
"Keeping Fitness Simple: 500 Tips for Fitting Exercise into Your Life," by Porter Shimer. Available here from Amazon. It only costs $9.95 and is well worth the read...even if you have a daily exercise routine.
Decide. Commit. Succeed.
You've decided, you NEED to commit, and I guarantee you will succeed.
And now a word on hunger - that Achilles heel of weight loss that is perhaps the greatest impediment of all to our fat-fighting efforts. Our mistake, believe it or not, is that we usually attempt to defy our hunger when we would be far wiser, studies show, to comply with it.
This isn't to say that you should instantaneously surrender to every craving that may come your way, but it does mean you should eat hen your body signals that it's legitimately hungry. To ignore these signals is to allow your body to believe it's in the throes of a famine, to which it will respond by storing what few calories you do consume as fat rather than making them readily available to your muscles to be burned for energy. Worse yet, your body will begin to actually metabolize muscle tissue for energy if you let your food intake drop too low - and your muscles, of course, are the best fat-burners you have.
So please don't foil your weight-control efforts - or your exercise efforts, either - by failing to give your body the energy it needs to succeed a both of these pursuits. Keep reminding yourself that it takes energy to burn fat, because it takes energy to be physically active. What better reason to keep yourself well stoked with healthful foods than that?
The above is from "Keeping Fitness Simple, 500 Tips for Fitting Exercise into Your Life," by Porter Shimer
Excellent article on what you can do to increase your fitness level....although the article is about French women, the principles are the same if your a man...even an American man :-)
In Summary:
1. Don’t save your steps, multiply them! Instead of driving your car around in circles to find a close spot, purposefully park far away and walk the couple extra feet.
2. Incorporate simple resistance movements into your daily routine. Use your own body weight as resistance wherever possible. Isometric exercises, discreet but effective, are very French.
3. Take care of your core. Do a few sit-ups as part of a little stretch/exercise/yoga routine in the morning — it’s never too early or too late to start this ritual.
4. Acquaint yourself with small to moderate free weights (3-5 lbs.) Short but focused movement with small weights is a good way to preserve upper body tone and bone density and supplement the cardiovascular benefits of an active lifestyle.
5. Get en vélo. Americans tend to see bicycling as recreation, and often either as a child’s pastime or a hobby for only the most serious triathletes. Cycling has well-known health benefits: it’s a low-impact, mild aerobic exercise that strengthens your heart and lungs; tones the large (read: fat-burning) muscle groups; keeps joints, tendons and ligaments flexible; builds stamina; and is generally fun, reducing stress and boosting your mood.
6. Yoga. If there was ever a fountain of youth, it might be the practice of yoga. Not only does it reduce stress, improve your posture and help to develop longer, leaner limbs, it also speeds up your metabolism, works nearly every muscle group and promotes an overall bodily wellness that no other sport or class can compete with. (I personally recommend P90X - RS)
7. Vive l’escalier! Taking the stairs whenever possible. Climbing stairs burns a stunning 1100 calories per hour. Climbing a couple flights a day will surely go a long way.
We may not be exactly what we eat, but we come pretty close. What follows are the top 10 dietary rules as generally agreed upon by the American Heart Association, the American Cancer Society, the National Cancer Institute, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, the American Council on Exercise, and many independent nutritionists.
Learn to look at fat as Dietary Demon No. 1
Learn where fat lives. This is a good excuse to log everything you eat!
Eat more fruits and vegetables.
Eat more potatoes, beans, rice, and bread.
Eat more fish.
"Eat" more water.
Eat more frequently
Eat earlier in the day.
Don't eat less until you've tried to eat better!
Do not "diet." The only "diet" that can work is the one you can stick to for the rest of your life.
An optimally healthful diet will probably require a period of adjustment that involves some sacrifices, but when the deeper biological sense of what you're doing begins to kick in and the cravings developed over all those years of chips and dips begin to fade - and you start actually feeling better on the foods that give your body the essential nutrients it needs - you'll wonder how you ever got by on all those quasi foods in the first place.
Some of what it takes to have a healthy diet can actually be enjoyable, in fact - things like eating as many meals a day as you want, making sure not to pass up those potatoes, and never letting yourself get hungry. By eating better, you'll actually enjoy eating more, because you'll be satisfying biological needs that go deeper than the frivolous taste buds on your tongue.
The above is from "Keeping Fitness Simple, 500 Tips for Fitting Exercise into Your Life," by Porter Shimer
What could possibly be the best Christmas gift you could give yourself? How does better health sound? How about fitness? How about losing a few pounds while you’re at it? While most people start working on their health and fitness goals after the holidays, why not start before and give yourself the best Christmas gift ever?
Imagine the surprise of your friends and family when they see what you got for Christmas! You might even motivate some of them to start and keep their New Year’s resolution for a healthier lifestyle.
I would like to invite you to join me in a 90 day fitness challenge!
I am at a turning point in my body transformation and will be starting Beachbody's P90X program at the end of September. It will be tough, but I know with enough encouragement and support from you, I can do it. If we can work out together and support each other, there’s no limit to what we can accomplish!
This is not to say that you have to do the P90X program....you can do any fitness program you want. You can go to the gym, ride a bike, walk, whatever. Just decide on a fitness program and work out for 20 minutes a day or more and stick to it.
No more excuses. Let's do this!
If you're interested in joining us for this "Christmas Bodies Challenge," please email me at rob@strategicmeans.com and I'll add you to the list and help you get set up.
There is no cost or obligation for this challenge.
September 26 is the "correct" start date as it is exactly 90 days until December 25th...however the "official" start date will be September 28th.
What could possibly be the best Christmas gift you could give yourself? How does better health sound? How about fitness? How about losing a few pounds while you’re at it? While most people start working on their health and fitness goals after the holidays, why not start before and give yourself the best Christmas gift ever?
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