Zen

As a fitness professional, I often feel like a Priest at confession. Over the years, I’ve heard it all. As people lose weight they begin confessing past ‘sins’. One of the most popular confessions is what people choose to avoid because of their weight.

What does it take to improve the quality of your life? Not near as much as you might think.

I once read a study that showed by reaching a moderate level of fitness, an individual could reduce his or her chance of dying from a sickness by almost 60 percent. Studies also show that a moderate level of fitness can significantly reduce the risk of heart failure (the No. 1 killer of Americans).

The average American knows there are many benefits to exercise. We know that exercise can help fight heart disease, but can it help fight depression?

Studies have found exercise to have both physiological and psychological benefits. A Harvard study once found that ten weeks of strength training reduced clinical depression symptoms more successfully than counseling. This is particularly important for women since women are more than twice as likely to experience depression and only one out of three actually seek care.

By: Rick Schaff

-- an excerpt from my book, MISLED

www.HEALTHandINSPIRATION.com

Health and fitness magazines and radio and television commercial producers often find themselves in precarious situations due to the nature of how they generate revenues; most of their profits are produced by selling advertising space. Unfortunately, that means that they often have little choice but to work with companies that distort the truth. Simply put, even publications and programs that have stated goals to provide beneficial information on health and fitness to their audiences are often forced to sell ad space or time to disingenuous companies to stay in business. In many cases, the articles and programming must frequently support the “fabulous results” their clients’ products claim to provide. My magazine DIVAS was in print for two years; this provided me with firsthand experience about the compromising decisions every magazine owner and/or publisher must face. Jeff Everson, former editor for Muscle & Fitness Magazine and current publisher of Planet Muscle Magazine stated the following about this situation:

“One of the biggest problems that magazines endure is their dependence on supplement ads to pay their bills. If you just tried to publish a magazine about real training, you would never make it. While one naturally tries to improve the industry, it would be suicide to bite the hands that feed you.

Have you ever put yourself in a good mood for no apparent reason at all? Experts from various disciplines now believe that certain foods we eat play a hand in our happiness. Avoid the diet doldrums with these healthy, happy foods:

1. Oily fish – Medical research teams believe that sardines, salmon, and other oily ocean foods can bring you up when you’re feeling down

Yes, you can get a good night’s sleep! Try these tips to feel less tired and more energized in the morning.

1) Keep a regular sleep routine (yes, even on weekends!)

We’ve all heard this before, but many of us still stay up late some nights and try to catch up on sleep later. Go to sleep at the same time each night, and wake up at the same time every morning. If you can’t fall asleep, try to read or do something else quiet (no TV!) until you feel more tired, and then go back to bed.

2) Nap for a Maximum of 30 minutes

Standing Shoulder Rolls
1. Stand with your feet hip width apart with your feet straight ahead. Have your arms relaxed by your side.
2. Roll your shoulders backwards, squeezing your shoulder blades together every time. 10x backwards.
3. Roll your shoulders forward, still squeezing your shoulder blades together every time they go back. 10x forward.

Moving on in many ways means saying goodbye. The problem is, goodbyes are often hard, even when the place we are headed may be a good place to be. I don’t know why it is so hard to let go of the past, but it is. We prefer the “known” over the unknown I guess. Ironically, we often prefer the known even if the known is not a good place to be.

How many times have you seen someone doing an exercise incorrectly? How often have you wondered if you were the one doing something wrong? Many gym members go through the motions without being absolutely certain they are working out correctly. Regrettably, people will often continue using the equipment the only way they know how – right or wrong.

As time goes by, members who basically taught themselves how to workout will begin to gain confidence in their training based on one simple fact – no one has told them any differently.

As you workout in a health club surrounded by many seemingly experienced members, surely someone would tell you if they saw you doing something wrong. Right? Unfortunately, that is not always the case. Many people may notice, but are unsure how to approach someone.

Virtually everyone has something they would like to improve on whether it’s their diet, endurance, or even public speaking skills. Most improvements in our life require discipline, which takes us out of our comfort zone and into a new way of doing things. As the saying goes, “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got.”

We have all been there, a spark of inspiration occurs, a rush of motivation, and we are determined. In our minds at that moment, there is no turning back. Tomorrow, we will start our more focused, driven, and goal oriented lifestyle. How quickly that energy fades and we soon find ourselves back in old habits feeling a sense of failure once more, awaiting the next surge of enthusiasm.

When it comes to luxuries, a health club membership is one of few luxuries that often proves be a good investment. However, a gym membership is commonly one of the first things to go when money gets tight.

Somehow we justify the need for television and other extras over the need to stay healthy. Don’t get me wrong, if you tried to take my satellite TV away I would put up a pretty good fight too. Interestingly enough, some of the same people crunching numbers to make wise investments are unaware of the return on fitness.

First, healthy people have fewer hospital admissions, shorter hospital stays, and lower medical expenses. One of our members recently bragged “I feel great and am taking half of the medication I needed before.” Although most of our members are just excited to feel good again, it’s also financially rewarding.

Sometimes talking to your friends and family about health and fitness can be difficult, especially if you are discussing weight loss. Your loved ones can be even more sensitive to the subject when coming from you because it can be taken personally instead of as positive criticism.

Luke 4:24 from the Bible says "...Truly I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country." This explains to us how it can be even more difficult for you to make an influence on those closest to you. This doesn't mean we give up on them... it just means we have to be a little more creative and "sneaky" in our approach.

Some ideas to inspire and influence those you love to fitness:

• Make sure you talk to them about other things besides weight loss and fitness.
• Leave fitness magazines laying around for them to read or healthy recipes they might want to try.
• Plan an active activity after dinner eating dinner together like a walk around the neighborhood or bowling.
• Plan a cooking date and share with them your favorite healthy dishes.
• Maintain an upbeat attitude.
  

Instead of a series, let's make that a week of unfortunate events. Have you ever had a week where everything just goes plain wrong? As soon as the day is over, you sigh a breath of relief and look forward to the next day but then BAM, SPLAT, POW: there it is another unfortunate event.

Okay, so there are three ways you can look at a week like this.

1. Sulk. "Woe is me, my life sucks and I just can't take it." Well, this is a way to handle things, but it does not take you to a positive place it only drags you deeper into that negative and sour mood.
2. Keep Your Head Up. "And This Too Shall Pass." If you think about every bad situation in your life, the commonality is that you got through it. You reached the other side. Sure you may have been bruised but you wound up standing tall shortly thereafter and moving forward with your life. Possibly with a greater sense of self confidence or even a greater understanding of who you really are.
   

Have you ever started a workout program full speed ahead? Fired up? Ready to make a change? Before you know it though, you are missing workouts, not pushing yourself as hard, or maybe giving up altogether? If you can identify with these questions, then you are certainly not alone. Many people (author included) , want to get in or stay in shape, and simply get burned out on the same ‘ole’ routine day in and day out. However, there is a cure for this epidemic. It is called variety.

Spice up your life and your workout by trying new things. I am a person that gets bored very quickly, so to keep focused on my fitness goals, I am constantly adding variety to my workouts. For example, instead of jumping on the treadmill or elliptical machine, I might opt to do a spinning or cardio kickboxing class.

“Strengthen the mind, and the body will follow” is an adage you may of heard being used in Internet and magazine articles, books and even from the mouths of instructors of differing disciplines. Whether we use this motto for self-improvement or simply to try and put balance to our ‘Zen’, there is a lot to be said for having a strong and healthy mind.

Many of us who train hard towards attaining our ideals of physical perfection, would probably prioritize our gym training first above everything else, but by training our brains in unison with our bodies, we can most certainly make greater improvements in achieving our fitness goals and actually keep our brain younger as we age.

Positive mental attitude, improved motor skills, and better mind/muscle connection are just a few things that we can improve by exercising our brains regularly.