You might start thinking about New Year's resolutions here in a month or so, why not get a jump on it now? Don't wait till the New Year to implement those changes, do it now! If you have been thinking about joining your local gym and it's on your list of resolutions, no time like the present!
Implement your exercise plan now before the round of parties and good food and drink starts to derail your best laid plans. If you resolve to exercise everyday for 20 minutes, you will feel less guilty when you indulge in those holiday treats. Think about it, how many of us spend 20 minutes a day on Facebook, texting, or just wasting time? If you take that 20 minutes and do an aerobic activity you will be helping your heart and staving off the dark thoughts. Who doesn't need help to keep the melancholy at bay as the days begin to get shorter and the sun shines down less? Doing exercise first thing in the morning helps boost metabolism as well as set the stage for feeling good all day long.
The local gyms have all kinds of classes that make exercise seem like a breeze. If you have not visited a particular fitness center before, often they will give you a free day pass to try out their facilities. So bust out the jumprope, try a zumba or spinning class and be good to yourself today!
Monday, October 28, 2013
Friday, October 25, 2013
Creating empathy and the forgotten family meal...
It has been very distressing to me to hear about the instances of bullying, both in Vermont and Florida. It has gotten me thinking about the time spent in our family units. I think we are losing some aspects of our society that is very important. When I was a kid there was always a daily family meal, when we were all at the table, usually at dinner time. My mother cooked or sometimes my dad and we kids all did the dishes and cleanup. There was a lot of wrangling among us kids as to who could do the least amount of work, but it was a valuable lesson in learning that the meal didn't just magically appear and we owed something back to our parents for providing us with the nourishment.
In sitting down altogether to a family meal, it gave us a chance to share our day. If something happened at school that distressed us would could talk about it with our parents. Taking our side made us feel loved and cared for.
We all face situations everyday in which we could make a difference in someones life. We need to sit down with our children and talk about these things that are going on in the world and how we can change them. Let's share a meal where the devices are put away and we have the full attention of all the family members, whether it's a single mom or dad and their child, or a noisy table of ten. We need to listen to each other and prevent the death of even one child from behavior that we wouldn't want ourselves or our children to be the victim of.
In sitting down altogether to a family meal, it gave us a chance to share our day. If something happened at school that distressed us would could talk about it with our parents. Taking our side made us feel loved and cared for.
We all face situations everyday in which we could make a difference in someones life. We need to sit down with our children and talk about these things that are going on in the world and how we can change them. Let's share a meal where the devices are put away and we have the full attention of all the family members, whether it's a single mom or dad and their child, or a noisy table of ten. We need to listen to each other and prevent the death of even one child from behavior that we wouldn't want ourselves or our children to be the victim of.
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Rewiring our hard drives.
Why do some people always seem so cheerful and others seem to go through life with a chip on their shoulder? Maybe some of us have in our DNA the gene for resilience, making it quicker to bounce back from life's many trials and tribulations. If everywhere you turn you feel beaten down maybe it is time to practice optimism. According to personality researchers it is possible to learn optimism.
We have many role models in our society of people who have been though life altering situations and still they manage to turn their disadvantages into advantages. Look at the professional athletes who have suffered amputations and gone on to have very successful careers. Somehow they found something in their makeup to buffer the adversity they have encountered. In other words, what doesn't kill us makes us stronger.
Hopefully we will not suffer such hardships in our lives but looking on the bright side of things instead of always seeing the dark side can help to rewire our internal hard drives.
We have many role models in our society of people who have been though life altering situations and still they manage to turn their disadvantages into advantages. Look at the professional athletes who have suffered amputations and gone on to have very successful careers. Somehow they found something in their makeup to buffer the adversity they have encountered. In other words, what doesn't kill us makes us stronger.
Hopefully we will not suffer such hardships in our lives but looking on the bright side of things instead of always seeing the dark side can help to rewire our internal hard drives.
Monday, October 14, 2013
Got goals?
We usually set short term goals like "I'm going to take a walk today or I will get home in time to make a healthy dinner." But how about long term goals? If you have a "decade" birthday coming up, why not set a goal to accomplish something in that year?
One of the most rewarding goals I achieved was deciding to run my first marathon the year I turned 50. Whatever the goal, it is very rewarding to achieve it and then look back on that event as a very special time in your life. Since I have another "decade" birthday coming up I guess I should think about what goal I will set. Maybe it will be to take that long bike ride, touring down the eastcoast, stopping for overnights along the way. Or maybe I will sign up for one of those "adventure" races. Whatever I decide I'm sure it will be an event worth remembering. You might even earn some bragging rights if your goal is something really exciting.
You can post your goal on your social media page and get reinforcement and help along the way. Others might have tips for how to achieve your goal or help you with encouragement. Invite friends to join you in your goal, whatever it might be, a first 5K or half-marathon. You might find that someone else was just waiting for a reason to sign up for that first race.
But you don't have to have a big birthday coming up to set a goal. Maybe you want to set a year end goal like "I will get home from work in time to make a healthy meal." Your body will love you and you might even see your waistline shrinking as a result!
One of the most rewarding goals I achieved was deciding to run my first marathon the year I turned 50. Whatever the goal, it is very rewarding to achieve it and then look back on that event as a very special time in your life. Since I have another "decade" birthday coming up I guess I should think about what goal I will set. Maybe it will be to take that long bike ride, touring down the eastcoast, stopping for overnights along the way. Or maybe I will sign up for one of those "adventure" races. Whatever I decide I'm sure it will be an event worth remembering. You might even earn some bragging rights if your goal is something really exciting.
You can post your goal on your social media page and get reinforcement and help along the way. Others might have tips for how to achieve your goal or help you with encouragement. Invite friends to join you in your goal, whatever it might be, a first 5K or half-marathon. You might find that someone else was just waiting for a reason to sign up for that first race.
But you don't have to have a big birthday coming up to set a goal. Maybe you want to set a year end goal like "I will get home from work in time to make a healthy meal." Your body will love you and you might even see your waistline shrinking as a result!
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
The road less traveled...
Do you feel like you put unnecessary pressure on yourself? Always looking to meet a deadline or someone else's expectations? Sometimes we need to slow down and take a walk down that grassy, untrod lane. When we are always on the run, literally, it can take a toll on our brains as well as our bodies. We need to exercise but we also need days off to recharge our batteries. When you have a family to take care of, a boss to impress, and friends who always bend our ear with their problems, it can be overwhelming and draining.
Maybe you have dreams of quitting your job and starting your own business. It takes a lot of nerve to follow your passion. A regular paycheck is great but sometimes the reward of being your own boss can outweigh the risks involved in quitting that stressful nine to five. You will have to be creative to make sure you can pay your bills but in the end but it could make all the difference.
Carve out some time for yourself; to take a walk or a hike and enjoy the beauty that surrounds us all the time. Leave the devices at home and listen to the natural world. There are many other sounds out there that are worth listening to. You might even hear your own thoughts for a change.
Maybe you have dreams of quitting your job and starting your own business. It takes a lot of nerve to follow your passion. A regular paycheck is great but sometimes the reward of being your own boss can outweigh the risks involved in quitting that stressful nine to five. You will have to be creative to make sure you can pay your bills but in the end but it could make all the difference.
Carve out some time for yourself; to take a walk or a hike and enjoy the beauty that surrounds us all the time. Leave the devices at home and listen to the natural world. There are many other sounds out there that are worth listening to. You might even hear your own thoughts for a change.
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
Got Bootcamp?
Are you tired of the same old run or bike ride? Trying mixing it up with this workout that you can easily design yourself. If you have a heart rate monitor strap it on to monitor your heart rate and make sure that you are working out in your target heart rate zone. As always when starting an exercise program you should check with your doctor and make sure that you are healthy and ready to go.
You can do this workout in a park, the gym or in your own backyard. You can use a variety of things that you might find in your neighborhood. Have some old tires that you haven't got rid of yet. Set them up in pairs and use it as one of your stations. Of course you want them without the rims. The way I go about my bootcamp workout is have 5 or 6 stations set up before I start. I will begin the workout with five minutes of jumping rope then move on to the tires, putting one foot in each tire quickly. I only have 4 tires right now so after I go through all 4 I start again until I have done a couple of minutes of tire jumping. Then I carry a beam that I found, on my shoulder and run or walk back and forth 50 yards for a few minutes.
If you go from exercise to exercise without resting you can get a total body workout in about 20 minutes. You can throw burpees, pushups, stair steps or anything you can think of into the mix. I bring a couple of 15 lb weights outside and use then to do the Farmer's walk. Or you could fill a couple of buckets with rocks and carry them. Your imagination is the limit. If you have a chin up bar do some chin ups or add jumping jacks. Its fun to see what you can come up with. I alternate upper and lower body exercises with cardio in between. Have fun with it, that is the whole idea! If you have a jungle gym for your kids you might incorporate it as one of your stations.
If you have done a 20 minute circuit and want a longer workout, just repeat it 2 or 3 times. Then finish up with a cool down and a stretch and you are good to go.
You can do this workout in a park, the gym or in your own backyard. You can use a variety of things that you might find in your neighborhood. Have some old tires that you haven't got rid of yet. Set them up in pairs and use it as one of your stations. Of course you want them without the rims. The way I go about my bootcamp workout is have 5 or 6 stations set up before I start. I will begin the workout with five minutes of jumping rope then move on to the tires, putting one foot in each tire quickly. I only have 4 tires right now so after I go through all 4 I start again until I have done a couple of minutes of tire jumping. Then I carry a beam that I found, on my shoulder and run or walk back and forth 50 yards for a few minutes.
If you go from exercise to exercise without resting you can get a total body workout in about 20 minutes. You can throw burpees, pushups, stair steps or anything you can think of into the mix. I bring a couple of 15 lb weights outside and use then to do the Farmer's walk. Or you could fill a couple of buckets with rocks and carry them. Your imagination is the limit. If you have a chin up bar do some chin ups or add jumping jacks. Its fun to see what you can come up with. I alternate upper and lower body exercises with cardio in between. Have fun with it, that is the whole idea! If you have a jungle gym for your kids you might incorporate it as one of your stations.
If you have done a 20 minute circuit and want a longer workout, just repeat it 2 or 3 times. Then finish up with a cool down and a stretch and you are good to go.
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