I was just watching a program on television that I found very interesting. The question they were discussing was, is age a state of mind and personally they think it is. In this program they said that there was a survey done that suggested that most women believe that they are getting old at age 29 or when they see their first gray hair while men have no problem with grey hair or age but they begin to feel old when they cannot perform in the bedroom. The question they wanted to tackle was what can keep us from feeling old and these were the answers;
1) Have younger people you hang out with. You should have friends your own age but you should also have friends that are younger than you. This is good because they help you by giving you energy that ordinarily you would not have and you help them by giving them your wisdom and life experiences. I have seen this at my place. I have a lady that, well if you saw her and watched her you would not think she was 79 years old. She comes in every morning at 7am to work out and her work out partner is 55 years old and they really work well together. One day I asked Shirley (my 79 year old) what keeps her thinking and feeling young she tells me that it is the company she keeps. She has no friends over the age of 60 and her best friend is 52 years “young”. She tells me that they keep her feeling young and in return she gets to share her life experiences and wisdom with them so everyone wins.
2) Exercise every day. Now weight training is important when you get older however in most gyms there are aerobic classes like Zumba and step. Now you don’t actually have to go to a gym however. Go outside and do outside activities. Find yourself outside more than inside during the day and fill your day up with activities you love to do.
3) Allow your mind that think of the possibilities you can achieve and let no one, including your family stop you from achieving it. It is true that we love our family but sometimes to death. We are so protective of our parents that we sometimes smoother them and stifle their ability to dream big dreams and continue to achieve what they feel they can still do. We need to allow each other to be and feel free.
4) Stay positive. This is important because anything negative in our lives can and does bring our emotions and feelings down. We need to surround ourselves with people that are positive in nature only.
5) Every day have an activity goal. It doesn’t have to be big it can be as small as getting out in the garden or taking a walk around the block. But each day have a goal in mind and then go out and do it.
6) Eat a balanced diet and cut out those foods that can do you harm. This is self explanatory and needs no more further explanation.
Taking these steps can keep us forever young. Have a great healthy day.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Monday, March 14, 2011
challenge 3/12
Today we did not have a challenge but we did something that was much more valuable and that was we talked. Well, actually I talked and they listened and then at the end they had great questions.
One of the biggest concerns they have been voicing to me over the past few weeks is the ability to make this weight loss a lifelong thing and not just a shoot in the dark only to repeat it over and over again. The question I have been asked revolved around the concerns of falling back into old habits and what to do to keep from letting that happen. The ultimate answer to that is “focus” but today I will elaborate on that.
First I had them write down what their goals actually were. One thing though, they could not use losing a specific weight as a goal. Goals had to be something that once met could be improved upon or maintained. Once you hit a goal weight, you cannot stay on that weight or better it. If you could, what you would go down to zero?
Well once they completed that task, I then asked them to think about the reasons why they choose those goals and write them down. The reason why we do things is important. There needs to be a reason or you won’t do it for a long time. Remember this is to be a life style changing process not a shot in the dark. I also shared with them that if they were doing this with the thought in the back of their minds that they would go back to the way they were after they lost the weight , that they have already set themselves up for failure and they might as well leave now.
Once they completed the “why” portion, I then asked them to write down what it would take to get them there and only the first two steps. This is important because it gives them direction and plots a certain course of action to begin to achieve those goals.
Now once that was completed, we discussed how, by following that formula, their goals will be achieved and how after a while they will become or should become a passion (I will discuss what I mean by “a passion” at a later date) in life. But what I will you is that regardless of what is happening in their world, nothing will or should stop them from achieving their goals. When life gets hard, your drive to succeed is still there. When you get injured, your drive is still there. It doesn’t waiver and it doesn’t matter about your external situation, you just get it done and focus.
I believe that this time was very valuable to all and my hopes are that they have walked away from this with a better focus and understanding and a renewed sprirt.
One of the biggest concerns they have been voicing to me over the past few weeks is the ability to make this weight loss a lifelong thing and not just a shoot in the dark only to repeat it over and over again. The question I have been asked revolved around the concerns of falling back into old habits and what to do to keep from letting that happen. The ultimate answer to that is “focus” but today I will elaborate on that.
First I had them write down what their goals actually were. One thing though, they could not use losing a specific weight as a goal. Goals had to be something that once met could be improved upon or maintained. Once you hit a goal weight, you cannot stay on that weight or better it. If you could, what you would go down to zero?
Well once they completed that task, I then asked them to think about the reasons why they choose those goals and write them down. The reason why we do things is important. There needs to be a reason or you won’t do it for a long time. Remember this is to be a life style changing process not a shot in the dark. I also shared with them that if they were doing this with the thought in the back of their minds that they would go back to the way they were after they lost the weight , that they have already set themselves up for failure and they might as well leave now.
Once they completed the “why” portion, I then asked them to write down what it would take to get them there and only the first two steps. This is important because it gives them direction and plots a certain course of action to begin to achieve those goals.
Now once that was completed, we discussed how, by following that formula, their goals will be achieved and how after a while they will become or should become a passion (I will discuss what I mean by “a passion” at a later date) in life. But what I will you is that regardless of what is happening in their world, nothing will or should stop them from achieving their goals. When life gets hard, your drive to succeed is still there. When you get injured, your drive is still there. It doesn’t waiver and it doesn’t matter about your external situation, you just get it done and focus.
I believe that this time was very valuable to all and my hopes are that they have walked away from this with a better focus and understanding and a renewed sprirt.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Basketball for the Challengers
Well today we had some fun. Today the challengers played basketball. As I enter the court I looked at some of them and they seemed to be a little nervous, but in the end all had fun.
How many of your have thought about doing something like that but have told yourself that because of your age, build, or physical condition you just can’t do it or just don’t want to do it. Well here is an example of people who are doing it when ordinarily they would have talked themselves out of it.
Now the purpose of this event was to again give them options on things they could continue to pursue and get better at. Some of the people playing today told me that they had played in high school and just that little pickup game kind of got their juices back up and thanked me afterwards.
Many of you have asked me about how one can maintain their conditioning, well here is another option. Join a league and then better your skills. There are many master’s events that you can join and have fun with people your own age. There are millions of people that are looking to get involved in something that they can do and have fun doing it. Well even with the business of the day, as adults we can do this. There are Basketball leagues, Soccer leagues, baseball leagues, track and field, wrestling, swimming, and so many other competitive leagues for people over forty now it is incredible. I truly believe that forty is the new twenty because of all the options we now have at our disposal.
So now go out and find that sport and go for it!!! Congrats to all the weight loss challenge people for another successful event.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Lose weight or Change Lifestyle... that is the question
It is not the weight that needs to change in reality it is your lifestyle. Anyone can lose weight, just stop eating for a while but the real challenge is keeping it off and not just for a little while but for the rest of your life. Most people who say that they want to change their life is really stating that they want to lose weight so that they can go back to what they were doing prior, which got them where they are today. “If I only lose ten, fifteen, twenty… one hundred pounds, my life will be better and I will change”, I hear so often. However that is the wrong attitude to have because you are approaching the problem the wrong way. Yes I agree that you need to lose the weight. But where I disagree is that once you lose the weight you would have gone thru a life altering experience.
I was talking to a bunch of people that other day and they were telling me how frustrated they were about trying to keep those unwanted pounds off. How do you keep those pounds off? Here were their answers:
1) Reduce your calorie intake
2) Stop eating between meals
3) Eat only three meals a day
4) Portion control
5) I don’t know (at least this person was honest)
I then asked them, assuming that they reach that magic number, what they would do to maintain that ideal number and they all looked at me like I had three eyes. They then asked me what my opinion was on the subject and my response was; plan an active goal and then go after it. Once you achieve that goal plan another active one and go after it and keep going until you cannot reach any more milestones then just maintain that level of activity.
Notice how I said nothing about food, eating or portion control? In the end, whereas that stuff in important to have under control, there are other pieces of the puzzle once understood, it will make your life much easier.
There are some basic understanding one needs to have before they can truly understand what I am saying so lets start with understanding what a calorie is. When I asked them that question they looked at each other as if someone had the answer or at least collectively they could figure it out and none of them could do it. I got answers such as:
1) Three thousand calories equal a pound of fat
2) Calories are evil
3) I know I eat too many calories
Of course at this point, after listening to them jabber on for some time, I finally chimed in and told them what a calorie was. A calorie is a measure of heat energy (it is a little more complicated than that but in a nut shell that is what is was for my example). Then I asked them another question, assume we gas our cars up with gasoline to go on a trip. At first we can put our hands on the engine and it is relatively cool. Burt after a while isn’t it impossible to put your hand on the engine because it is too hot? How did it get so hot? Was it the gas that caused it or was it something else? Well after talking about it for a while it was understood that it was not the gas but the friction from the engine that cause a lot of that heat. Now the gas is the fuel that the engine needs to work and the heat is what is formed so that the gas could be used in its proper state to make to car run. Isn’t that heat considered calories? Think about it. Yes it is.
Well with that said I then went on to discuss their first answers about how they were going to maintain or reduce their weight. You see it is not the food that is the problem but the lack of activity. Most of us just need to get a little more active and allow the body to work as it was designed to do.
Now is the calories in the food or in does our bodies generate them? Remember our example of the gasoline for the car. Well food does not have calories. Our bodies generate the calories to break down the food so that it can use it in its purest form. The more food you eat, the more the body has to work to break it down. Now let’s get back to our car example. Now let’s assume that on Monday we fill the car up because we are suppose to go on a long drive. However after filling the car up we only end up traveling 1 mile. Now we did not use a lot of gas so we still have a lot in the tank. But the next day you go back to the gas station and refill with the same amount as the previous day. Now what happens to that excess gas? Where does it go?
We do this to our bodies. We have become very sedentary in our lives but we eat like we are going on a long, very long hike. We eat like a champion and the next day after not doing a lot the day before we repeat the cycle. Now our bodies did not use the energy you gave it yesterday because of your inactivity so what it does is now take what you are eating and store it for a “rainy day”. You see what is happening here. It is not the food’s fault that you are getting heavier, but your inactivity so start getting more active.
Now with that said as I stated in the beginning it isn’t the weight that you need to change it is your lifestyle. Does it make sense now? If you just begin to get a little more active and plan goals, tangible goals, goals that once achieved you can better. It will make a big, no huge difference in the way you look at life and then weight won’t be the issue anymore.
It is not the weight that needs to be changed, but you lifestyle. Now go do it.
I was talking to a bunch of people that other day and they were telling me how frustrated they were about trying to keep those unwanted pounds off. How do you keep those pounds off? Here were their answers:
1) Reduce your calorie intake
2) Stop eating between meals
3) Eat only three meals a day
4) Portion control
5) I don’t know (at least this person was honest)
I then asked them, assuming that they reach that magic number, what they would do to maintain that ideal number and they all looked at me like I had three eyes. They then asked me what my opinion was on the subject and my response was; plan an active goal and then go after it. Once you achieve that goal plan another active one and go after it and keep going until you cannot reach any more milestones then just maintain that level of activity.
Notice how I said nothing about food, eating or portion control? In the end, whereas that stuff in important to have under control, there are other pieces of the puzzle once understood, it will make your life much easier.
There are some basic understanding one needs to have before they can truly understand what I am saying so lets start with understanding what a calorie is. When I asked them that question they looked at each other as if someone had the answer or at least collectively they could figure it out and none of them could do it. I got answers such as:
1) Three thousand calories equal a pound of fat
2) Calories are evil
3) I know I eat too many calories
Of course at this point, after listening to them jabber on for some time, I finally chimed in and told them what a calorie was. A calorie is a measure of heat energy (it is a little more complicated than that but in a nut shell that is what is was for my example). Then I asked them another question, assume we gas our cars up with gasoline to go on a trip. At first we can put our hands on the engine and it is relatively cool. Burt after a while isn’t it impossible to put your hand on the engine because it is too hot? How did it get so hot? Was it the gas that caused it or was it something else? Well after talking about it for a while it was understood that it was not the gas but the friction from the engine that cause a lot of that heat. Now the gas is the fuel that the engine needs to work and the heat is what is formed so that the gas could be used in its proper state to make to car run. Isn’t that heat considered calories? Think about it. Yes it is.
Well with that said I then went on to discuss their first answers about how they were going to maintain or reduce their weight. You see it is not the food that is the problem but the lack of activity. Most of us just need to get a little more active and allow the body to work as it was designed to do.
Now is the calories in the food or in does our bodies generate them? Remember our example of the gasoline for the car. Well food does not have calories. Our bodies generate the calories to break down the food so that it can use it in its purest form. The more food you eat, the more the body has to work to break it down. Now let’s get back to our car example. Now let’s assume that on Monday we fill the car up because we are suppose to go on a long drive. However after filling the car up we only end up traveling 1 mile. Now we did not use a lot of gas so we still have a lot in the tank. But the next day you go back to the gas station and refill with the same amount as the previous day. Now what happens to that excess gas? Where does it go?
We do this to our bodies. We have become very sedentary in our lives but we eat like we are going on a long, very long hike. We eat like a champion and the next day after not doing a lot the day before we repeat the cycle. Now our bodies did not use the energy you gave it yesterday because of your inactivity so what it does is now take what you are eating and store it for a “rainy day”. You see what is happening here. It is not the food’s fault that you are getting heavier, but your inactivity so start getting more active.
Now with that said as I stated in the beginning it isn’t the weight that you need to change it is your lifestyle. Does it make sense now? If you just begin to get a little more active and plan goals, tangible goals, goals that once achieved you can better. It will make a big, no huge difference in the way you look at life and then weight won’t be the issue anymore.
It is not the weight that needs to be changed, but you lifestyle. Now go do it.
Monday, February 28, 2011
The Weigh In
A few things happened at this weigh in that I think some of the Challengers finally may be getting a clue. I was approached by one of the challengers and she was totally frustrated.
“Kevin you know I worked really hard this last week and I only lost two pounds, but the week before I did not work as hard and I lost five pounds. Why is that? What did I do different?”
Then another comes to me and says, “Are you sure that was right? How could this be? I did not work any harder than the week before and I had a six pound loss, what’s up with that?”
I have heard this time and time again only to remind them that in the end it should not be about the weight because that will fluctuate, but the total changing your lifestyle. Now I know I have said this before but let me see if I can further explain.
If you follow your weight, if you constantly weigh yourself, you will get frustrated and after a while just give up because you will find it almost impossible to first achieve that goal of whatever magic number you are trying to hit, then try to maintain it. You will give up. However if you took your mind off of the numbers and began the process of creating tangible active goals here is what will happen;
1) Life won’t be has hard and difficult. You won’t be living under the umbrella of the “I can’t have syndrome” and replace that with the “I could have… because it will get me to…” syndrome
2) Your goals will now become much more tangible and now fun to go after
3) You will feel more confident achieving little mile markers
4) Your consistency will improve and you will hold your level of conditioning longer. You will no longer have those ups and downs and now they could be visually measured
5) You could know where your conditioning level is on a more consistent basis without ever getting on the scale ever again
6) You will be able to maintain you fitness levels much longer and always have something to strive after or to improve upon.
I think some of them are beginning to get a clue and I am happy for that. Well here are the numbers for last week’s weigh in after 7 weeks:
Matt (-32.0), Sharon (-9.2), Linda (-8.2), John (-29.0), Jessica (-9.8), Kati (-6.4), Kate (-11.4), Susan (-9.6), Maureen (-4.8), Dan (-24.0), Melissa (-10.2), Roy (-31.8), Kathy (-9.2), Jackie (15.0), Mary (-2.6), Mike (-17.8), Dawn (-2.6), Cori (-4.4), Sara (-22.2), Ken (-10.8).
Roy is our overall leader at 10.53% lost followed closely behind by John at 10.08% and Dan at 9.47%. The leading woman is Sara at 7.27% and currently in fifth place overall. They are all doing well.
“Kevin you know I worked really hard this last week and I only lost two pounds, but the week before I did not work as hard and I lost five pounds. Why is that? What did I do different?”
Then another comes to me and says, “Are you sure that was right? How could this be? I did not work any harder than the week before and I had a six pound loss, what’s up with that?”
I have heard this time and time again only to remind them that in the end it should not be about the weight because that will fluctuate, but the total changing your lifestyle. Now I know I have said this before but let me see if I can further explain.
If you follow your weight, if you constantly weigh yourself, you will get frustrated and after a while just give up because you will find it almost impossible to first achieve that goal of whatever magic number you are trying to hit, then try to maintain it. You will give up. However if you took your mind off of the numbers and began the process of creating tangible active goals here is what will happen;
1) Life won’t be has hard and difficult. You won’t be living under the umbrella of the “I can’t have syndrome” and replace that with the “I could have… because it will get me to…” syndrome
2) Your goals will now become much more tangible and now fun to go after
3) You will feel more confident achieving little mile markers
4) Your consistency will improve and you will hold your level of conditioning longer. You will no longer have those ups and downs and now they could be visually measured
5) You could know where your conditioning level is on a more consistent basis without ever getting on the scale ever again
6) You will be able to maintain you fitness levels much longer and always have something to strive after or to improve upon.
I think some of them are beginning to get a clue and I am happy for that. Well here are the numbers for last week’s weigh in after 7 weeks:
Matt (-32.0), Sharon (-9.2), Linda (-8.2), John (-29.0), Jessica (-9.8), Kati (-6.4), Kate (-11.4), Susan (-9.6), Maureen (-4.8), Dan (-24.0), Melissa (-10.2), Roy (-31.8), Kathy (-9.2), Jackie (15.0), Mary (-2.6), Mike (-17.8), Dawn (-2.6), Cori (-4.4), Sara (-22.2), Ken (-10.8).
Roy is our overall leader at 10.53% lost followed closely behind by John at 10.08% and Dan at 9.47%. The leading woman is Sara at 7.27% and currently in fifth place overall. They are all doing well.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Goal Weight or Ideal Weight
Goal Weight, Ideal Weight
What is your goal weight? How is it defined? Who determines it anyway?
When picking a weight for yourself, checking the federal government's standard guidelines for adults can be helpful. Don't just land on one number; choose a range of three to five pounds. After all, body weights naturally fluctuate, especially among women, and it's unlikely that your weight will stay exactly the same day after day, no matter how diligent you are about your diet and exercise program. There's no point in setting yourself up for psychological disappointment, and if you allow yourself a range of a few pounds, you'll still be able to monitor how you're doing, and catch yourself in plenty of time if your weight starts creeping up past that acceptable limit.
Note that the ranges are for both men and women, with the higher numbers in the range intended for men. Also note that the heights are measured without shoes on and the weights taken without clothes on.
Height Weight
19 to 34 years 35 and older
5'0" 97 - 128 108 - 138
5'1" 101 - 132 111 – 143
5'2" 104 - 137 115 – 148
5'3" 107 - 141 119 – 152
5'4" 111 - 146 122 – 157
5'5" 114 - 150 126 – 162
5'6" 118 - 155 130 – 167
5'7" 121 - 160 134 – 172
5'8" 125 - 164 138 – 178
5'9" 129 - 169 142 – 183
5'10" 132 - 174 146 – 188
5'11" 136 - 179 151 – 194
6'0" 140 - 184 155 – 199
6'1" 144 - 189 159 – 205
6'2" 148 - 195 164 – 210
6'3" 152 - 200 168 – 216
6'4" 156 - 205 173 – 222
6'5" 160 - 211 177 – 228
6'6" 164 - 216 182 – 234
Now looking at that chart above what does that tell you? I believe the message it is conveying is poor at best. I personally don’t believe that there really is an ideal weight or as I stated above a goal weight. I believe that it should be determined by the activity you are taking part in. Now with that said, DON’T USE THAT AS AN EXCUSE TO NOT GET YOURSELF IN BETTER CONDITION! I know some of you will begin to relax and use the fact that you cannot lose weight as your ideal weight even though you are still suffering from overweight related illnesses. So don’t go there.
Depending on the activity we are doing our bodies need to prepare themselves for the load or stress we will be putting on them. As an example take a 6’6” football player who plays the offensive line, do you think that he should be no more than 234 pounds? I would hope not. However the opposing defensive line would love that. What about a 6’3” marathon runner, think they should be 216 pounds? Well if you want to take all day to run the course, why not.
My point is this, we need not to look at the “guide-lines” the federal government puts out because it is just impossible generalize over such a great population of people. However, this is what you need to gage your “ideal weight” with;
1) How are your blood numbers? Cholesterol (HDL, LDL) if your HDL is over 60 then it really doesn’t matter what your total cholesterol is. (THIS IS WITHOUT MEDICATIONS). Medications really doesn’t make you better, it just stabilize you. Your true numbers are those without the drugs in you.
2) Are you physically able to perform the duties you need to on a daily basis and if called upon go above and beyond what you normally do? Conditioning is the key here. Being able to push yourself without feeling as though you are totally fatigued.
3) Can you walk 5 miles in less than seventy five minutes? This is a fifteen minute mile. The average American can walk a 12 minute mile while sipping on a cappuccino and talking on their cell phone.
4) What are your measurements? (Hips, Abdominal, Chest, Neck, Upper Arms, Upper Legs) Very important because if your body is out of proportion you could be doing some damage to your skeletal system. As an example, men with protruding stomachs tend to complain about lower back issues.
5) How are your sleeping patterns? Do you snore so loud that you wake up your neighbors? Do you only get one or two hours a sleep at a time? Do you wake up tired and then can’t shake it throughout the day? Can you get to sleep without medications?
6) How’s your sex drive? Well I won’t go into detail, but studies show that a body that is well taken care of has no problem with response time. (THIS IS WITHOUT MEDICATIONS GUYS)
These are just a few of the questions you need to answer. If all of these questions are answered in the positive then you are in good condition, now just try and constantly improve on it. Soon I will discuss what I mean by that but I will tell you this, by trying to consistently improve on your health, you will slow the aging processes down and you will stay and feel younger longer.
Well enough on that now. Remember get your mind off of what they say YOU should be or look like. If that were the case, I would be considered grade 1 obese.
What is your goal weight? How is it defined? Who determines it anyway?
When picking a weight for yourself, checking the federal government's standard guidelines for adults can be helpful. Don't just land on one number; choose a range of three to five pounds. After all, body weights naturally fluctuate, especially among women, and it's unlikely that your weight will stay exactly the same day after day, no matter how diligent you are about your diet and exercise program. There's no point in setting yourself up for psychological disappointment, and if you allow yourself a range of a few pounds, you'll still be able to monitor how you're doing, and catch yourself in plenty of time if your weight starts creeping up past that acceptable limit.
Note that the ranges are for both men and women, with the higher numbers in the range intended for men. Also note that the heights are measured without shoes on and the weights taken without clothes on.
Height Weight
19 to 34 years 35 and older
5'0" 97 - 128 108 - 138
5'1" 101 - 132 111 – 143
5'2" 104 - 137 115 – 148
5'3" 107 - 141 119 – 152
5'4" 111 - 146 122 – 157
5'5" 114 - 150 126 – 162
5'6" 118 - 155 130 – 167
5'7" 121 - 160 134 – 172
5'8" 125 - 164 138 – 178
5'9" 129 - 169 142 – 183
5'10" 132 - 174 146 – 188
5'11" 136 - 179 151 – 194
6'0" 140 - 184 155 – 199
6'1" 144 - 189 159 – 205
6'2" 148 - 195 164 – 210
6'3" 152 - 200 168 – 216
6'4" 156 - 205 173 – 222
6'5" 160 - 211 177 – 228
6'6" 164 - 216 182 – 234
Now looking at that chart above what does that tell you? I believe the message it is conveying is poor at best. I personally don’t believe that there really is an ideal weight or as I stated above a goal weight. I believe that it should be determined by the activity you are taking part in. Now with that said, DON’T USE THAT AS AN EXCUSE TO NOT GET YOURSELF IN BETTER CONDITION! I know some of you will begin to relax and use the fact that you cannot lose weight as your ideal weight even though you are still suffering from overweight related illnesses. So don’t go there.
Depending on the activity we are doing our bodies need to prepare themselves for the load or stress we will be putting on them. As an example take a 6’6” football player who plays the offensive line, do you think that he should be no more than 234 pounds? I would hope not. However the opposing defensive line would love that. What about a 6’3” marathon runner, think they should be 216 pounds? Well if you want to take all day to run the course, why not.
My point is this, we need not to look at the “guide-lines” the federal government puts out because it is just impossible generalize over such a great population of people. However, this is what you need to gage your “ideal weight” with;
1) How are your blood numbers? Cholesterol (HDL, LDL) if your HDL is over 60 then it really doesn’t matter what your total cholesterol is. (THIS IS WITHOUT MEDICATIONS). Medications really doesn’t make you better, it just stabilize you. Your true numbers are those without the drugs in you.
2) Are you physically able to perform the duties you need to on a daily basis and if called upon go above and beyond what you normally do? Conditioning is the key here. Being able to push yourself without feeling as though you are totally fatigued.
3) Can you walk 5 miles in less than seventy five minutes? This is a fifteen minute mile. The average American can walk a 12 minute mile while sipping on a cappuccino and talking on their cell phone.
4) What are your measurements? (Hips, Abdominal, Chest, Neck, Upper Arms, Upper Legs) Very important because if your body is out of proportion you could be doing some damage to your skeletal system. As an example, men with protruding stomachs tend to complain about lower back issues.
5) How are your sleeping patterns? Do you snore so loud that you wake up your neighbors? Do you only get one or two hours a sleep at a time? Do you wake up tired and then can’t shake it throughout the day? Can you get to sleep without medications?
6) How’s your sex drive? Well I won’t go into detail, but studies show that a body that is well taken care of has no problem with response time. (THIS IS WITHOUT MEDICATIONS GUYS)
These are just a few of the questions you need to answer. If all of these questions are answered in the positive then you are in good condition, now just try and constantly improve on it. Soon I will discuss what I mean by that but I will tell you this, by trying to consistently improve on your health, you will slow the aging processes down and you will stay and feel younger longer.
Well enough on that now. Remember get your mind off of what they say YOU should be or look like. If that were the case, I would be considered grade 1 obese.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Good News
I have been doing some research on people and our ages. Did you know that age forty is the new 20? Well let me be more specific, I have been trying to answer in terms I could understand if we are truly living linger lives and what evidence we have to prove it true or false.
I personally believe we are living longer and this is my reason why. I have seen a huge surge in the population that are now exercising regularly and understanding that exercise is an important lifelong ingredient. Science and the medical industry has also stated the exercise may increase life expectancy. I have been part of the Masters Track and Field Circuit now for several years and I have noticed a upswing on the amount of people in their seventies and eighties that are beginning to get back in the game again. I have seen them running 1 mile and even half marathons and running well, very well. Just the other day a friend told me that he was running in a 5k event and right at about the half way mark this person goes passing him like he was standing still. After the race he went over to that guy just to find out that the person who passed him and came in third overall was 61 years old and ran the 3.1 miles in under 18 minutes. That’s right 18 minutes.
I have been working at a nursing home helping the seniors there exercise and I asked one of my 90 years old plus people why they keep on exercising, and they told me because it has given them a great quality of life and the alternative is not an option. Age is quickly just becoming a random number and really having very little effect on ability. Just this last week I was at a track meet and the meet director gave an important message about drug testing and screening on Masters Athletes and when it would start. Besides the fact that I believe any athlete that uses any type of sports enhancer is stupid and needs their heads examined. Anyway, I have noticed that there has been an up-surge in people understanding that our fitness levels are very important to just quality of life issues.
I was just reading an article the AMA and heard on PBS television about dementia and one of the things they said was an important ingredient to fending it off was “exercise”. They said that , “Regular exercise stimulates production of chemicals called growth factors that help neurons survive and adapt to new situations. These gains may help to delay the onset of dementia symptoms. Exercise also may reduce the risk of brain damage from atherosclerosis.” That’s huge and makes sense. Think about it constant blood flow and a more efficient working body leads to less health issues and a much better quality of life in the end.
The good news… no the great news is that so many more Americans are getting a clue. I have noticed that people in my age group are competing against people much younger than themselves and winning. I am noticing that people are not retiring at age 65 but starting new careers and becoming even more successful than they were years prior. I am noticing that people in their older ages are now beginning to live their lives as they wanted to. My mother is a prime example of that. After she slowed down in her first working career, teaching, (some call it retirement but not her she still coaches the track team there) she decided to try out for a professional dance troop and made it and now dances in front of thousands while the Nets basketball season is on. Here is the great part; she is not the oldest member. She is one of the youngest members of the troop. The oldest is 80 and oh boy can they hip-hop!
Hey, let’s take a lesson from them and instead of waiting until we are old and gray and cannot move, let’s do something about it now and start a program that will last you a lifetime. Forty could be your new twenty the decision is yours.
I personally believe we are living longer and this is my reason why. I have seen a huge surge in the population that are now exercising regularly and understanding that exercise is an important lifelong ingredient. Science and the medical industry has also stated the exercise may increase life expectancy. I have been part of the Masters Track and Field Circuit now for several years and I have noticed a upswing on the amount of people in their seventies and eighties that are beginning to get back in the game again. I have seen them running 1 mile and even half marathons and running well, very well. Just the other day a friend told me that he was running in a 5k event and right at about the half way mark this person goes passing him like he was standing still. After the race he went over to that guy just to find out that the person who passed him and came in third overall was 61 years old and ran the 3.1 miles in under 18 minutes. That’s right 18 minutes.
I have been working at a nursing home helping the seniors there exercise and I asked one of my 90 years old plus people why they keep on exercising, and they told me because it has given them a great quality of life and the alternative is not an option. Age is quickly just becoming a random number and really having very little effect on ability. Just this last week I was at a track meet and the meet director gave an important message about drug testing and screening on Masters Athletes and when it would start. Besides the fact that I believe any athlete that uses any type of sports enhancer is stupid and needs their heads examined. Anyway, I have noticed that there has been an up-surge in people understanding that our fitness levels are very important to just quality of life issues.
I was just reading an article the AMA and heard on PBS television about dementia and one of the things they said was an important ingredient to fending it off was “exercise”. They said that , “Regular exercise stimulates production of chemicals called growth factors that help neurons survive and adapt to new situations. These gains may help to delay the onset of dementia symptoms. Exercise also may reduce the risk of brain damage from atherosclerosis.” That’s huge and makes sense. Think about it constant blood flow and a more efficient working body leads to less health issues and a much better quality of life in the end.
The good news… no the great news is that so many more Americans are getting a clue. I have noticed that people in my age group are competing against people much younger than themselves and winning. I am noticing that people are not retiring at age 65 but starting new careers and becoming even more successful than they were years prior. I am noticing that people in their older ages are now beginning to live their lives as they wanted to. My mother is a prime example of that. After she slowed down in her first working career, teaching, (some call it retirement but not her she still coaches the track team there) she decided to try out for a professional dance troop and made it and now dances in front of thousands while the Nets basketball season is on. Here is the great part; she is not the oldest member. She is one of the youngest members of the troop. The oldest is 80 and oh boy can they hip-hop!
Hey, let’s take a lesson from them and instead of waiting until we are old and gray and cannot move, let’s do something about it now and start a program that will last you a lifetime. Forty could be your new twenty the decision is yours.
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