First, you need to understand that when a study is done on health or fitness the amount of people which they use is very small compared to the general population.  Second, these studies don’t take into consideration the stresses and trials of real life.  Third, they are looking at one aspect and are not getting a broader picture of how the thing they are studying affects other aspects of your health.

Basically studies are a guide or warning of what could happen.  Take for example eggs, do they raise cholesterol do they have no effect.  I don’t know, but I do know I had four grandparents who lived to 89 or above and they ate eggs at least 5 days per week for 70 plus years.  Looking at this example you can see studies don’t always give the answer to your questions.

Really all you can do is take in the information given to you and find what works best for you.  This doesn’t mean giving up because it’s easy it means actually trying different things a finding out what works best.  So stay strong and give it some time and you will get the answer you are looking for.

To you success

Blaine

Look at how most people are at their jobs = bare minimum.  You know this person or many like this.

Look at how people manage money = bare minimum.  We don’t need to invest or save, we just need things to keep up with our friends.

Finally look at Fitness and Health = bare minimum.  Well I did 30 minutes of walking 3 times per week and ate a good lunch everyday, why aren’t I getting results.

WHY?

First off no matter what your goal or need you need to work.  Second if there is a better way to do something which is more efficient, by all means do it.  This doesn’t mean that you don’t need to spend some of the extra time you have gained accomplishing something else.  Third don’t get into a habit of saying that is good enough, do the best job you can.  Why are people in such a hurry to just finish something and move on, what you are accomplish is a reflection of you.

Lets be Blunt

Work:  You are getting paid to do your work and do it well, so if you just do your work and do it well, you will have a better sense of self work.  It isn’t the responsibility of your co-workers to do your work.

Money:  That’s all on you, educate yourself, practice what you learned.  There are many ways to manage money, but spending more than you make is not one of them.  If you don’t have money how can you follow your dreams.

Fitness:  GET UP & DO IT!!! – more about this in part 2

Get It!

Blaine

Do you ever feel like hitting the weights?  I don’t mean going to a box gym and going through the motions like the rest of the herd.  I mean laying it all out there and just getting it.

Do you ever feel like just sprinting as hard as you can for as long as you can, then resting a bit and doing it again?

Do you ever feel like beating the hell out of heavy bag?  Going as far as bloody knuckles.

Do you ever feel like working so hard you puke?

If you answered yes to any of these questions you have that edge you need to achieve anything.  If you said yes to all of these you will dominate everything.  Why is it so important to have the feeling list above?

The importance of these feelings show you have that extra drive most don’t. This drive alone can will you to do things the average person can’t.  This also shows you are willing to be very uncomfortable to achieve what you want or you have just made uncomfortable comfortable.

By making yourself uncomfortable you are opening up a broader life for yourself and achieving more than you ever could being comfortable.  Do you think the people who have achieved greatness in their respective fields were comfortable doing on their journey.  No, they had to scratch and claw.  If you don’t believe this let’s look at a few examples.  Bill Gates he was willing to put everything on the line to achieve what he waned he didn’t just stop when he was comfortable, hell he dropped out of Harvard.  Michael Jordan he was the greatest but he still worked out everyday, game or no game.  Arnold Schwarzenegger made his first million before movies in real estate, and he still pursued more after that, not to mention the legendary workouts the man would put his body through.

As you can see having this type of drive towards your fitness doesn’t have to stop in the gym it will carry over into life you just need to allow it to happen.  So if you answered yes to any of these go with it ride these types of feelings to push yourself to a new level.  Get crazy and Just go after what ever you want.  Your life is too short to just do the bare minimum.  The energy you show towards your workouts can carry over to the rest of your life and you can dominate everywhere.

Get It!

Blaine

Oh no, not more bad news. You guys are going to hate
all of this reality therapy. I guess if you get sick of me …
I’ll keep on writing anyway.

I had a horrific experience the other day. It was awful. Like
a bad movie playing over and over. For the first time in years,
I went to a regular gym and worked out.

I realized one thing. In spite of all the articles and books
people like Mark Verstegen and I have written, based on
what I saw, very few people have read them, or if they
did, they are clearly ignoring us.

I spent an hour exercising, and the painful truth is that in
the one hour I was in the gym, I did not see too many people
exercising correctly. I felt like I was in the gym in 1980.
Exercise after exercise done with no attention to detail or
technique.

There’s even a bigger problem. Gym-goers have fallen in
love with all the wrong exercises.

Let’s start with one basic concept:

If you work a desk job, the three worst exercises you can
do are bench presses, curls, and stationary cycling.

I know what you’re thinking. “But that’s my whole workout.”

Sadly, a lot of people go the gym, do a few sets of bench, a
few curls, and hop on the bike. What’s wrong with this?

The truth is that working all day in a seated position results
in short hip flexors, short pecs, and short biceps. This is due
to the posture adopted while seated. This is also why
Americans suffer from so much neck and back pain.

Just look at what comprises seated posture in front of a
computer. The hips are flexed, the arms are bent, and the
shoulders are forward. If you are going to the gym, your
objective should be to reverse the effects of hours of
seated posture not magnify it. Instead we go to the gym
and magnify the problem. Bench presses further shorten
pecs, curls reinforce the flexed arm position, and 30
minutes on the bike further shortens the hip flexors.

What we really need to do are exercises that strengthen
the muscles that keep our shoulders back, not the ones
that pull them forward. We need more rowing-type
exercises to strengthen the muscles that pull the shoulder
blades back, not more pressing to pull them forward.
Secondarily we need to stretch the hip flexors. Third we
need to make sure that all arm work is done through
the full range of motion to not reinforce adaptive
shortening. The forward head and rounded shoulders
that come with aging are not an accident. They are the
result of the way we live and work.

One of the goals of any exercise program should be
to reverse the effects of aging.

The fact is that most people are not going to stop bench
pressing, curling, or riding a stationary bike. With this
in mind, think rows and scapula-control exercises. Make
sure you do one rowing set for every set of bench press,
close-grip bench press, or incline press you do.
Get off the bike and start walking instead, or when you
finish your ride, spend time stretching out your hip flexors.

The real key is understanding that the muscles you can’t
see in the mirror (the ones in the back) are the ones
responsible for making sure that you don’t end up looking
like grandma or grandpa.   

Regards,

Mike Boyle
http://www.FunctionalStrengthCoach3.com

Why is it different now from then?

 If you are like most people you have searched and searched for an identity for yourself.  The question is why due you search for an identity when you already have one. 

 Now you might not understand what this means so lets take a look. 

 Do you watch things on TV, read articles and listen to music and think I need to be more like that.  If so you are on the right track to finding yourself but the one place you aren’t looking is at yourself.

 While you take in all of this external stimulus and try to piece together your own identity you are overlooking the qualities that make you and always have made you.

 To find your identity you need to take a deep look inside and find the characteristics which stand out for you.  While searching for these characteristics just think of what friends say you are and make a list. For example, if you are outspoken, if you are quit and so forth.  By doing this you have found your identity at the present time.

 Now comes the hard part, use them to your advantage.  What this means is be proud of who you are and the traits you possess.  If you are proud of who you are and the traits you possess your confidence will go up and you will begin to believe in what you are trying to accomplish. 

 By showing the new found confidence in who you are you won’t make everyone happy and might actually offend the occasional person.  Offending people is going to happen but as long as you are you then who cares, you are the only person you need to answer to, besides more times than not if you are yourself people are going to appreciate your views and opinion more.

 So take some action find your personality traits and use them to your advantage. 

To your Success

 Blaine