Sometimes we have to take a moment to step back and look at things from a different perspective. We get so used to thinking, talking and seeing ourselves in a certain way that we can lose sight of who we are and what we have in our lives. Fitness and the ability to try and keep ourselves in shape are an absolute privilege and blessing. Many of the expectations we place on ourselves are based on some pretty vain and many times, ridiculous standards and we forget about health and just look for the beauty aspect and benefits of it all. So it is important to remember that while it is nice to have six pack abs there are those out there who do not always get to share in that experience.
Labor Day weekend for me is all about that perspective on life and the blessing I have physically. Since I was a boy I have watched the Jerry Lewis Telethon for MDA and I have always been moved by the efforts to help people with Muscular Dystrophies so much so, that it shaped the major decisions in my life in what I do and what I can do with my abilities to help others learn, participate and be successful at making a healthier life. You may not enjoy the show, you may not like the host, you don’t even have to watch but I hope you won’t let that rob you of a chance to gain or regain some balance in your thinking about having the good fortune to be able to move as you do.
There are so many great organizations that are out there that try to help people. So many causes we almost can become numb to them all. Try to remember it isn’t just about the money these organizations raise; it is about helping your friends, your families and your communities. All of us can be affected with muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, cancer or a host of other things at any time so it does matter to us all. Be aware of your opportunity to enjoy a healthy lifestyle and having a body that responds to you the way it does. If you want to donate…do it! You waste more money on other things that never give back and you know it, but if you do not want to donate I hope you do gain a perspective on all you have in life, what is most important and for those things… you are thankful.
http://www.mda.org/home.htm
http://www.nationalmssociety.org/index.aspx
http://www.cancer.org/
http://www.the3day.org/goto/christinagoodman
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Make The Decision
The toughest thing about making changes in the gym is the decision to actually make the changes. Until you set it in your mind that you really want to accomplish something, you are going to continue to hit plateaus and not see the progress you hope for with your workout program. The decision is the most important thing because it sets the tone for what you are going to do outside of the gym as well. Just working out a half an hour three day a week is a good start, but fitness is a lifestyle that adds to the quality of your life. You need to make a decision to exercise on a daily basis and eat right then stay to it even when you want to take that little detour from the main course. If you workout with a trainer they can assist you to get where you want to go by providing the road map, but you need to decide to follow that direction and not take your own short cuts. Deciding to look, feel, do, or be a certain way and then committing to the process is the first and hardest step in getting to a greater level in your physical well being. Make the decision to start today!
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Age Doesn't Matter
It is my belief that age doesn’t matter when it comes to participating in physical fitness activities. Now of course at different ages that means different activities. Not all 90 year olds are going to train like a bodybuilder nor would they want to I am sure, but the fact of the matter is that age doesn’t matter, the body wants to move. Consider that from the time you are born and throughout our lives everything we do with our bodies is simply movement education. Very simply put, our movements get better and better because we learn how to move our bodies. As babies we learn to crawl; as kids, walk and run and as adults we learn to maintain all those skills and in some cases learn to walk again. Teaching ourselves to accommodate our ages, we adapt to ailments and injuries and try to improve our fitness thru movements. We are constantly learning how to move to make ourselves better no matter age 6 or 60 and up! Don’t be intimidated by your own thinking. Remember there are many ways to engage your body and keep fit that are not so intimidating and allow you to feel good about yourself. There really is something for everyone. I hope you will continue to look to Primetrainingonline.com for exercises, programs, tips, hints, inspiration and motivation to keep you moving and keep you fit no matter your age!
Monday, August 17, 2009
Get In The Game
We all take the time to read the fitness articles and look at the pictures in the magazines, but it is all put there to inspire and motivate you to get off of your backside and do something. We have gotten so used to looking at magazines or turning on the TV and watching sports, coaching from our arm chair, and then catching highlights on sports news shows, that the only things getting in shape on us are our thumbs and eyeballs. Somehow yelling at the TV becomes exercise and looking at pictures and reading articles somehow magically transfers to us and keeps us in shape. These articles, these pictures, all this info is for you to use, to actually do. You have to get in the game. Fitness is not making a wish or taking a pill or watching what you eat for a couple of weeks. Books, TV, magazines all are wonderful if you use what you learn from them. Get up, get moving, and put all your mental effort and talk of “wanting to do something” into motion. Don’t be the coach on the side line who has the 50” waist and tells people how to get into shape. It doesn’t matter how much you know or don’t know…if you have a fitness knowledge base, great, go get’um tiger!!! If not, great, there is plenty of info to get you started, just start. If you don’t get in the game how can you have any fun, so up an at’em and start making an effort at moving and getting into shape.
Friday, August 14, 2009
"Am I Doing This Right?"
“Am I doing this right?” How many times have you asked yourself that question in the gym? Some might not want to admit it or even think they are doing something less than stellar for some fear of being embarrassed, but that is the surest way to increase your chance of injury. Try these three things to make sure you are doing things right…
Use the mirrors. I know you might not want to look at yourself and or you think your balance is better if you are looking at the ground but the mirror is a tool and there for you to watch your form. You can see when your shoulders are too high or your back is slumped. Use that mirror to make sure your form perfect.
Keep a good posture. If you are standing and sitting up straight and you are keeping your core engaged (abs, back, hips, shoulders) then you are already 80% done with your exercise. Having good posture is essential in almost every you are doing in the gym so make it a focus.
Slow down the movement and make sure you are feeling it in the muscle you are trying to work before zipping through the exercise. If you experiencing discomfort in your neck while working your arms then guess what…something is a little off. Relax, re-adjust yourself and concentrate on whatever muscle group you are working so that you feel the movement where you are supposed to and not in other spots.
The expression, I am sure you have heard of, “no pain, no gain”, does not apply here at all. To make sure you are doing exercises correctly follow these simple steps and try not to over think it all and mostly have fun. Keep looking to Primetrainingonline.com for fitness tips and hints to ensure you are getting the most from your workouts and that you are doing things correctly and progressing in your fitness. Train smart, have fun and be fit.
Use the mirrors. I know you might not want to look at yourself and or you think your balance is better if you are looking at the ground but the mirror is a tool and there for you to watch your form. You can see when your shoulders are too high or your back is slumped. Use that mirror to make sure your form perfect.
Keep a good posture. If you are standing and sitting up straight and you are keeping your core engaged (abs, back, hips, shoulders) then you are already 80% done with your exercise. Having good posture is essential in almost every you are doing in the gym so make it a focus.
Slow down the movement and make sure you are feeling it in the muscle you are trying to work before zipping through the exercise. If you experiencing discomfort in your neck while working your arms then guess what…something is a little off. Relax, re-adjust yourself and concentrate on whatever muscle group you are working so that you feel the movement where you are supposed to and not in other spots.
The expression, I am sure you have heard of, “no pain, no gain”, does not apply here at all. To make sure you are doing exercises correctly follow these simple steps and try not to over think it all and mostly have fun. Keep looking to Primetrainingonline.com for fitness tips and hints to ensure you are getting the most from your workouts and that you are doing things correctly and progressing in your fitness. Train smart, have fun and be fit.
Monday, August 10, 2009
5 tips to burn fat today!
Looking to burn some fat off of that body and bring those scale numbers back to a reasonable level? I think most of us are, but too many times we don’t do the necessary things to get the fat burning stove warmed up to really start cooking. You want to start burning some fat then try these five simple steps.
1. Eat - Yup I said it…you have to eat to lose weight. So many think it is about what they have to deprive themselves of. Eating is a lifestyle so if you eat balanced and consistent throughout the day you will provide the right calories and breakdown of nutrients so that your body can burn and keep your weight stable.
2. Go for a brisk 30 minute walk - going for a walk is a great thing. If you can get out and just take a walk around the neighborhood you will burn calories. Make it a brisk walk and burn even more. Get out and give yourself 30 minutes to just unwind and breathe.
3. Drink plenty of water - So simple people don’t want to believe it. Drinking water helps all the plumbing work right in the body. If you are hydrated you body runs so much smoother and easier. Drinking water helps fill you up so you don’t over eat but also allows for natural processes within the body to occur that help in the metabolizing of fat. Drink water.
4. Plan tomorrows meals - Folks are always in such a rush. Catching a bite on the go can make or break your weight loss goals. If you take 5 minutes and plan out what you will have to eat tomorrow the chances of you blowing up your calories is less likely. You just have to make a plan and stay on it.
5. Get a good 8 hours sleep - If you deprive yourself of sleep you are going to have a tough time functioning at a high level, comfortably at least. We all have learned to power thru a day when dead tired, but doing that takes away from your body’s ability to burn fat at optimal levels. Give your body that time it needs to recover and rest and you will be filled with more energy and find that all you do goes a little smoother, not just in terms of fat loss but in all your activities.
1. Eat - Yup I said it…you have to eat to lose weight. So many think it is about what they have to deprive themselves of. Eating is a lifestyle so if you eat balanced and consistent throughout the day you will provide the right calories and breakdown of nutrients so that your body can burn and keep your weight stable.
2. Go for a brisk 30 minute walk - going for a walk is a great thing. If you can get out and just take a walk around the neighborhood you will burn calories. Make it a brisk walk and burn even more. Get out and give yourself 30 minutes to just unwind and breathe.
3. Drink plenty of water - So simple people don’t want to believe it. Drinking water helps all the plumbing work right in the body. If you are hydrated you body runs so much smoother and easier. Drinking water helps fill you up so you don’t over eat but also allows for natural processes within the body to occur that help in the metabolizing of fat. Drink water.
4. Plan tomorrows meals - Folks are always in such a rush. Catching a bite on the go can make or break your weight loss goals. If you take 5 minutes and plan out what you will have to eat tomorrow the chances of you blowing up your calories is less likely. You just have to make a plan and stay on it.
5. Get a good 8 hours sleep - If you deprive yourself of sleep you are going to have a tough time functioning at a high level, comfortably at least. We all have learned to power thru a day when dead tired, but doing that takes away from your body’s ability to burn fat at optimal levels. Give your body that time it needs to recover and rest and you will be filled with more energy and find that all you do goes a little smoother, not just in terms of fat loss but in all your activities.
Friday, August 7, 2009
A Unique Fitness Challenge For A Good Cause
Fitness is all about meeting new challenges and overcoming them. Whether you are faced with a challenge of losing 10 lbs or trying to lift 100 lbs, we step up and match ourselves against something that seems, at that moment, unmovable and sometimes daunting. You talk to yourself and you hear all the reasons why you can’t overcome this obstacle but there you are at the gym getting on a treadmill or picking up a weight.
We are all at different levels and face these challenges in different ways, but the appreciation here comes in knowing that while someone might be at a different level than you are, they are still striving to better themselves. Other times we have challenges that honestly we cannot face alone. We need a someone to teach us how to eat right so losing that 10 lbs becomes more manageable or we need a spotter to stand over and make sure when we try to lift that 100 lbs we don’t get stuck underneath it. It does not mean we are weak, it is just a place we are unable to manage by ourselves and this becomes an opportunity for others to share the challenge with you and help you get better.
I say all of that because a friend of mine has taken up a fitness challenge of her own. It is not a challenge so much focused on her, as it is a challenge to help others. She has committed to do the Susan G. Komen 3-Day Breast Cancer Walk. We have all known someone touched by cancer such as friends or family or even being challenged with it yourself, so we all know this is one of those challenges that people need a spotter, teacher or even more importantly a friend to help them through it all. This is challenge is greater than losing 10 lbs or trying to lift 100 lbs, this is life.
My friend, Christina, is not a marathon runner, she is not a bodybuilder, she is a single, working mom who wanted to help make a difference in lives by taking up a fitness challenge for a cause. Walking for three days in a row for a total of 60 miles is daunting if you have never done it. She will be sore, but she will push through because of her commitment of wanting to help. She will get tired but she will keep going because she knows the people she walks for are tired too and may not be able to walk right now.
My question and challenge to you is can you appreciate the commitment and effort that Christina is putting forth for others she knows are faced with life and death challenges.
Can you understand what it takes to make it through an hour in the gym doing what you do to maintain your fitness level and then translate that to walking 60 miles in three days…not for you, but for complete strangers. Let’s bring that home a bit…not a stranger but your sisters, cousins, aunts, mothers, grandmothers…what if they were stricken with the challenge of Breast Cancer? How much more would you appreciate what people do in these three days to raise money and awareness if it directly affected you or your family?
If you can appreciate and do appreciate the effort, the desire and the compassion, take a look at the following link: http://www.the3day.org/goto/christinagoodman. You will make your own choices from there but if you can, know that any support given is truly appreciated and helps us find a cure for breast cancer.
This challenge is not about losing 10 lbs or lifting enormous weights or trying to look like a fitness model it is about the over all well being and health we all get one shot at having. We are given the opportunity to promote our best health and this makes us all the more aware of what it is like for people struggling with their own health.
Help where you can and like my friend make a commitment to something beyond the gym and beyond you. Know what it means to be part of a real fitness community; one that supports not just your health but one that supports your family.
We are all at different levels and face these challenges in different ways, but the appreciation here comes in knowing that while someone might be at a different level than you are, they are still striving to better themselves. Other times we have challenges that honestly we cannot face alone. We need a someone to teach us how to eat right so losing that 10 lbs becomes more manageable or we need a spotter to stand over and make sure when we try to lift that 100 lbs we don’t get stuck underneath it. It does not mean we are weak, it is just a place we are unable to manage by ourselves and this becomes an opportunity for others to share the challenge with you and help you get better.
I say all of that because a friend of mine has taken up a fitness challenge of her own. It is not a challenge so much focused on her, as it is a challenge to help others. She has committed to do the Susan G. Komen 3-Day Breast Cancer Walk. We have all known someone touched by cancer such as friends or family or even being challenged with it yourself, so we all know this is one of those challenges that people need a spotter, teacher or even more importantly a friend to help them through it all. This is challenge is greater than losing 10 lbs or trying to lift 100 lbs, this is life.
My friend, Christina, is not a marathon runner, she is not a bodybuilder, she is a single, working mom who wanted to help make a difference in lives by taking up a fitness challenge for a cause. Walking for three days in a row for a total of 60 miles is daunting if you have never done it. She will be sore, but she will push through because of her commitment of wanting to help. She will get tired but she will keep going because she knows the people she walks for are tired too and may not be able to walk right now.
My question and challenge to you is can you appreciate the commitment and effort that Christina is putting forth for others she knows are faced with life and death challenges.
Can you understand what it takes to make it through an hour in the gym doing what you do to maintain your fitness level and then translate that to walking 60 miles in three days…not for you, but for complete strangers. Let’s bring that home a bit…not a stranger but your sisters, cousins, aunts, mothers, grandmothers…what if they were stricken with the challenge of Breast Cancer? How much more would you appreciate what people do in these three days to raise money and awareness if it directly affected you or your family?
If you can appreciate and do appreciate the effort, the desire and the compassion, take a look at the following link: http://www.the3day.org/goto/christinagoodman. You will make your own choices from there but if you can, know that any support given is truly appreciated and helps us find a cure for breast cancer.
This challenge is not about losing 10 lbs or lifting enormous weights or trying to look like a fitness model it is about the over all well being and health we all get one shot at having. We are given the opportunity to promote our best health and this makes us all the more aware of what it is like for people struggling with their own health.
Help where you can and like my friend make a commitment to something beyond the gym and beyond you. Know what it means to be part of a real fitness community; one that supports not just your health but one that supports your family.
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