The gift of health

Welcome to afitnewyou!  This week I would like to help you with your holiday shopping.  With all of the sales on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, you can often be tempted to make an impulsive purchase.  This could be either something for you, or as a gift to someone else.  But ask yourself; is it something that you or they really need?  Is it a gift that will last?  I have a suggestion for a holiday gift that you can either put on your own list, get for someone else, and even is a great idea for those who are hard to shop for.  Give the gift of health!  Who wouldn’t be happy receiving something that will make them both feel better and be healthier?  With the gift of health, you don’t have to worry about whether you picked out the right color or size.  On the other hand, you will help someone reach the size that they want to get to.

One idea on how you can give the gift of health is by getting someone a gym membership or a personal training session.  Some fitness facilities try to take advantage of the Black Friday sales gimmick and offer discounted memberships or personal training sessions this time of year.  But even if they don’t have a sale, you can still find a number of healthy gifts to get at a gym.  For example, most gyms will offer an introductory membership that range from one to a few months.  Even if you give someone an initial month in a gym, you might be providing them with the motivation needed to start exercising.  They will even have extra motivation to go at least once knowing that you had given it to them as a gift.  And, if they are already a member somewhere, you can either purchase additional time onto their membership, or purchase them a personal training session.

Personal training sessions are a great gift for anyone to receive.  Whether it is someone who isn’t currently working out, or someone who exercises regularly, a training session or package would be a great gift of health.  Someone who hasn’t started working out yet might be using the excuse they don’t know what to do.  Having a personal training session scheduled will give that person the extra motivation they need.  And, for people who are already exercising, a personal training session can help them either “mix it up”, learn something new, or simply add to what they are already doing.

Even though a gift to the gym will help someone be healthier by giving them some motivation, the gift of health doesn’t have to involve the gym.  You can find another area of health and fitness to gift from.  For example, spas and massage therapists usually sell gift certificates for body work services.  When someone gets to feel good, they can be encouraged to keep feeling good, and want to keep themselves feeling that way.  You may also find acupuncturists, nutritional counselors, and others who would sell similar gift certificates.

And if you are still stuck on wanting to give a gift that fits better in a box that can be wrapped, you can always give someone a product that will help them on their fitness quest.  New clothing such as sneakers or gym wear, small equipment such as a jump rope or training gloves, and even fitness related DVD’s are all examples of a healthy gift.

If you’re going to give someone a gift this year, why not make it one that can have a profound impact on their lives?  Give that special someone a gift that can really make them feel better.  Even if it’s for you, let others know that you would prefer something that can help you reach your fitness goals.  Avoiding the gifts that have become cliché and giving a healthier alternative gift is a joyous way for you or that special someone to reach a fit new you.

Be Grateful - revisited for Thanksgiving

Welcome to afitnewyou!  This week I would like to inspire you to keep up with your fitness goals with a reminder...to be grateful for what you have.  While I can tell you many things that one should be grateful for, which often get overlooked or taken for granted, in my little space here, I will remind you to be grateful for your health.  If you are doing something today to point your diet and/or exercise routine towards healthy goals, even if its simply thinking about those goals, than you are in a place that you should be grateful for.  In life, it is often said that "everything is relative."  And, that saying can pertain to so many things.  If you are ever discouraged about anything, you can usually find a silver lining if you look hard enough, or some reason to be grateful.  The same is true for your health.  Although you have a fitness goal that you haven't reached yet, maybe it is a body weight you want to be at, a dress size you want to fit in, or an amount of weight you want to make your new personal best, you have to still be grateful for the health that you have today.  This is because you never know when your health may take a turn for the worse.  I have seen many people and clients who had only started to live a more healthy lifestyle after a health scare.  Lets avoid the tragedy needed to sometimes learn a lesson.  Lets be grateful for the health we have today!

     Jason is someone who comes into the gym on a regular basis...these days.  He is in his sixties now, and after he suffered a heart attack when he was 45 years old.  Before the heart attack he didn't exercise regularly, and just as bad, he smoked cigarettes and drank hard liquor regularly.  It wasn't until this life threatening event that he decided he needed to make some major changes in his lifestyle.  Immediately after leaving the hospital, and being thankful to be alive, he gave up tobacco products, cut down his alcohol consumption, and started exercising everyday.  He knew he was lucky to be alive, and grateful for that second chance at maintaining his health.

has been on an exercise routine for the last twenty years.  Unfortunately, he wasn't very active prior to that, and even more unfortunate than that was that he only started taking care of his health
     JT is a client of mine who had a similar lesson of taking his health for granted.  JT is in his seventies, and is pretty active for his age, regularly playing golf and tennis in the warmer months, and hitting the gym in the colder months.  JT was always very active and a self proclaimed "jock" from a very early age.  Its this continued active lifestyle that many people need to follow.  But JT had a freak accident where one of his retinas partially tore.  Unlike Jason, JT's mishap was completely unavoidable.  But, along the same lines, it wasn't until his vision was severely diminished that he fully appreciated how healthy he was before this accident...even if he had the regular aches and pains of someone his age, or any weekend warrior for that matter.  And as his vision improved, his spirits picked up more and more because he was able to play tennis again, where immediately after the injury he was told there was a chance he never would.

     As I said earlier, don't wait for a tragedy to happen for you to appreciate the level of health you have today.  Yes, we are all striving to achieve a better state of health; and yes, we all have fitness goals that we want to achieve.  That's fantastic, and I am sure a good part of that is what got you to your current state of health that you are in now.  And even though you can and should work towards your goals, and an even healthier state of living, its important to acknowledge and appreciate that health you have today.  And when you do, this value of your own health should fuel you to keep moving towards your health goals.  Its a positive cycle.

     We are often to busy, too concerned with what we haven't achieved, what we still need to do, and the flaws that make us all human.  But we all have some level of health that shouldn't be taken for granted.  We all should be very grateful for the level of health we currently have.  As we age, we all now that its harder and harder to stay healthy.  So by being grateful of the health you have today, no matter how much further you want to take it, let that value of your health motivate you to do everything you can to stay that healthy and more importantly reach your health and fitness goals.  Reflecting on the goodness of your current state of health is an introspective way to reach a fit new you!

Stretch like a dog

Welcome to afitnewyou!  Today I would like to talk to you about the importance of stretching all of the time.  One aspect of fitness that is often overlooked is flexibility.  Even the most avid gym goers are quick to admit that they often neglect stretching enough.  It is a shame, because having good flexibility will decrease the amount of aches and pains one feels, as well as increase athletic performance.  If its common knowledge that we should stretch regularly, then why don’t more people do it?  One reason may be that people don’t know how to properly stretch, which is a discussion in itself.  But, many people do not stretch simply because they don’t make the time for it.  As with many recommendations I make, I suggest any amount of stretching is better than none.  And, on top of that, it would be best if you added small amounts of stretching throughout the day, even if it is for a few seconds at a time.

Roger stretches in small amounts throughout the day.  Every single time Roger gets up to start moving, whether he was sitting or lying down, he performs a few quick stretches.  Roger even stretches just before he is about to rest.  As much as I see Roger stretch, not once do I ever here him complain about any aches or pains.  Well, that could be in part that Roger is a dog.  Don’t roll your eyes; I wasn’t trying to trick you with this one.  Rather, roll your shoulders and stretch!  If you ever had a dog or cat as a pet you know first hand that every time an animal gets up from a resting position they stretch.  It isn’t a full yoga-inspired routine, but a simple stretch or two.  But the key is that they do it practically every time they get up.  This should be inspiring to you, because it is very simple to add one stretch every time you get up from your desk, couch or bed.  True these animals cannot speak, so they can’t complain about back or joint pain.  But, if you’ve owned one of these pets, you probably would know if they were concerned with joint pain.  Is it a coincidence that an animal who stretches all of the time doesn’t complain about joint pain?  I think not.  And in the very least, it should be simple enough for you to add one simple stretch every time you get up.

Acting like a dog or cat that stretch every time they get up should be a simple way to improve your flexibility and decrease joint aches and pains.  Animals don’t have to learn to stretch, and they also don’t take Advil or Tylenol regularly.  Although it is obvious that it can be a bit of a stretch (pun intended) to compare ourselves to animals, the simplicity of adding a stretch here and there as they do should be a no-brainer.  We all know we should stretch, and most know we should stretch more.  So make like these animals and stretch for a second or two every time you get up.  Adding a second or two of stretching every time you get up is a simple way to increase your flexibility, decrease your aches and pains and lead to a fit new you!

Manufacture Muscle

Welcome to afitnewyou!  Today I would like to discuss the importance of maintaining your focus while trying to achieve your fitness goals…especially for those of you whose goals are to increase your lean muscle mass.  Of course many people have different fitness goals, but usually they revolve around, one way or another, the same concept, gaining more muscle mass.  Increasing your muscle mass is the ultimate goal for those who are trying to get leaner, trying to get stronger, trying to improve athletic performance and even those trying to “lose weight”.  Unfortunately, increasing muscle mass isn’t easy to do.  However, with a proper diet, hard work, and a focused training regiment, it can be obtained.

Colleen was a gym client who had an athletic build and had come to the gym to meet her primary goal of getting leaner.  Her regular training routines consisted of cardio work with some weight training when she worked in a small group with a personal trainer.  Occasionally I would fill in for her trainer, and she would freak out when I tried to have her do either assisted pull-ups or lat pull-downs.  She claimed that when she did these exercises she would immediately get too much muscle in her upper back causing here to then not fit into her close and would be unhappy with the way she would look.  While I found the suddenness to be slightly ridiculous, I would have her to continue to exercise by doing some other exercises since I wasn’t her regular trainer.  But I would try to explain to her, and many other female clients who were against weight training because they were afraid that they would look too muscular, that building muscle wasn’t that easy, and she shouldn’t be afraid to lift weights.

Much to the dismay of most people in the gym, it takes a tremendous amount of effort to manufacture muscle.  Take a look at the people in the gym who have noticeable muscle mass and notice how hard they are working.  Also, think about all of the stores that sell supplements in order to help people gain muscle.  It’s difficult, and doesn’t take one or two workouts.  In order to manufacture muscle, you need to train specifically for it, as well as adhere to a strict diet specifically designed for those changes as well. 

With some clients I use the analogy of the Empire State Building.  I explain that in order for And don’t forget you need the material as well.  The Empire State Building couldn’t be built with a deck of cards, or toothpicks.  It took steel, iron, and stone.  Similarly, when you are trying to build muscle, you need to diet appropriately.  Building muscle requires you to consume the correct number of calories, and from the proper food sources.  Often times you will even need to supplement your normal diet with things like protein shakes.  Because again, building muscle doesn’t happen easily.

one of the worlds, most famous skyscrapers to be built, it needed exact blue prints and lots of material.  When training to improve muscle mass, you need to follow a specific training protocol.  This means you need to exercise the proper number of times a week, with the appropriate exercises, using adequate sets, weights and repetitions.  Using a knowledgeable personal trainer can help you with a plan for this.  Furthermore with each single rep, you have to focus your intention on building muscle.  With every movement, there are a number of muscles working, including supportive muscles.  So when you are working on building a specific muscle, you need to focus on that muscle growing during that specific exercise, each individual rep.

Muscle can be manufactured if you focus your training and diet.  Increasing muscle mass will help you become leaner, stronger, and perform better athletically.  Weight training shouldn’t be feared by anyone, and isn’t just for those people looking to get “bigger”.  Athletes will certainly benefit from the strength gains that come along with weight training.  And, even people who are trying to “lose” weight will do so by weight training, as the muscle mass gained will actually slim you down as muscle tissue is denser than fat.  But it takes a plan and focus.  Using a training program as your blue print, the proper diet for the material, and the focus on each rep and meal will get to that stronger, leaner fit new you!