Being Healthy is CHEAP

Did you misread this?? Absolutely not...I said it and its true.  There has been plenty of debate whether being healthy is cheap and while it may not seem to be the case, the truth is there are certain aspects to being healthy that are actually free or cheaper than paying $200 for a bottle of drugs that you have to refill biweekly. Here is how CHEAP health really is:

C - Confidence
H - Help
E - Encouragement
A - Appreciate
P - Persistence

"C" is for confidence. It is a feeling that we have that can fluctuate from hour to hour or day to day or week to week.  That said, we need to be confident in our ability to be healthy and make healthy choices.  People who are trying to change their lifestyle and lose weight need confidence for 2 reasons.  The first reason would be belief in oneself and their will to do better, better for their external and internal body.  The second reason, would be someone to confide in.  Oft times, we are trying to make a change without accountability and people there to keep us in check.  Have at least one person know that you are aiming to do better.

"H" is for help.  Help you, help yourself by asking others to help.  Whether it be a good friend, spouse, gym partner, or a personal trainer...consider asking friends/people for help.  Typically. these people are willing to help you with your health journey.  They are going to check in on you and help you be healthy.

"E" is for encouragement.  In conjunction with your help, you need people who will encourage you through the journey.  There are meetup groups, Facebook groups, and all forms of communication in which one can experience encouragement from others.  Not only should you seek encouragement from others but in case people can't be reached, you should definitely encourage yourself.  Post words of affirmation throughout your house, car, and maybe your office.  These reminders provide oneself motivation to do and be better.

"A" is for appreciative attitude.  Appreciate the progress you've made, it will build your confidence.  Far too often everyone gets caught up in the amount of weight one has lost and miss the subtle changes that occur within their attitude and their body.  Appreciate the people who are there to support you physically, emotionally, and spiritually because they are helping you become a better version of yourself.

"P" is for persistence.  Be persistent, understand that this is NOT an overnight journey, its a lifestyle change and therefore to be persistent one must be consistent.  Make up in your mind that you want your health to be its best and that nothing will stand in the way of that.  That doesn't mean you forsake the rest of your life to exercise and eat right, however, it does mean that your health will find its place in your life one way or another on a daily basis.

Being CHEAP will get people to notice a change in your lifestyle. They will solicit your help, because they see your change in attitude.  They will notice how confident you are and seek your encouragement because of your exemplary persistence.

Gym Etiquette

A few months ago a friend posted a status on Facebook stating how certain things that happened at his gym annoyed him.  People then chimed in and mentioned other things that happened at their gyms that annoyed them as well.  Some of his annoyances were legit, they are instances that are common place in the gym merely due to people's ignorance.  Ignorance is only an excuse for a limited amount of time and everyone should involve themselves in educating others who are ignorant to the rules of the gym, and life in general for that matter.  Here are a few dos and don'ts for the gym, learn them, apply them and educate others so that everyone can have a great gym experience.   

• DONT stay on a cardio machine for more than 30 mins or whatever the time limit is for cardio machines at your gym.  If you go to the gym at peak time, depending on the size of your gym, cardio machines are at a premium and often times people like to wait for a specific machine to get their workout on, be aware that others may be waiting and you should limit your usage to 30 mins. 
• But you're the one waiting for the cardio machine, DO make the most of your time and start your weight training or find another cardio machine to do your cardio on.  Often times, if the cardio machines are packed, the weight room is free to utilize for weight training.  Your weight training, should often feel like a form of cardio so you most likely won't miss a beat. 
• DONT stay on a weight machine and monopolize it.  It's almost impossible to do an entire workout at ONE machine nonstop.  Be cognizant of others and allow people to work in a set between your sets. Limit your usage of one machine to 10 mins.
•  DO other exercises between sets of a muscle group.  For example if you're doing chest and biceps and you are using the cable machine for flys, don't wait to do another set of flys, allow someone to work in while you do bicep curls.  It will cut your workout time by about 25% or more. 
• DONT be afraid to ask to work in.  People may not realize how long they have been on a machine so ask the person to allow you to work in.  They can acknowledge your request and they can deny, either way, go with the answer they give you.  If they  allow you to work in, you may have made a new friend.  If not, don't take it personal, find another exercise to work the muscle group you were planning on working.  There is more than one way to skin a cat. 
• DO put the weight back to where the person who is working in with you was using.  You can ask the person what weight to set the machine on, but be sure to be courteous and place the weight back to their specifications.  Usually what goes around comes back around. 
• DONT leave a machine without cleaning up after yourself.  You're sweaty and so is everyone else, but no one wants to workout in your sweat puddle.  Most gyms provide disinfectant spray or wipes, use them. 
• But the person before you left without cleaning up after themselves, DO wipe up without confrontation.  If you would like to complain, bring it to the attention of gym staff, let them be the ones to confront the member.  
• This last one is for your own personal good and time management.  DONT pay attention to what others are doing, focus on yourself.  Trust and believe, no one is watching or paying attention to what you are doing...unless they are interested in you, let this be your rule of thumb too.  Just know if someone is watching you, they can't be impressed with someone who is watching others workout too. 

Now you know, and knowing is half the battle...go out and teach someone through example!!!

"March"-ing Challenge

March is here and unfortunately for those of us that live here in the DMV area and most of the country its COLD, but the cold should never be a reason for you not to exercise.  March however, caps the beginning of running season and therefore its the beginning of YOUR running season too!

Competition get people going soooo here's your challenge, form a team of four friends and name them #team_______ .  You and your team have to walk/run 200 miles for the month of March.  That is an average of 50 miles per person, which is roughly 2 miles per day for the entire month.  Take a screenshot of your run and Instagram, post to Twitter, post to Facebook your progress with your team hashtag.  Some team names we hope to see include #teamTA, #teamSligo, #teamRPC, #teamBOL, maybe a #teamCleveland or #teamATL and whatever else your creative minds will come up with.

Use the hashtags: #keeponmovin #team________

Also if you are in search of a team please comment below and a team can be matched up for you.  Please don't be afraid to involve your friends and family in this challenge.  Happy trails everyone!!!

Prevention over Treatment

Black history month is here, a month where we highlight and celebrate the accomplishments of black people who have made historic contributions to the world.  People such as Garrett A. Morgan, Claude McKay, Booker T. Washington, Sojourner Truth, Harriett Tubman, Frederick Douglass, Madame CJ Walker, Ben Carson and the list can go on for days.  Highlighting health issues that plague the United States occurs daily in the media, but we want to highlight the health issues that are prominent in the black community.

Often times, there is a notion that pretending that something doesn't exist is the best way to make things go away.  This notion is commonly held by men in general and more specifically by the black community.  In our community, certain chronic diseases are dominant, unfortunately they are dominant in the United States overall as well.  Diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and cancer are at the top.  According to the CDC in 2011, there were an estimated 26 million people over the age of 20 living in the United States  who had diabetes.  Heart disease was 1st in leading causes of death among Americans and strokes were 4th.  Thirty percent of Americans have heart disease as well, and when it's broken down to the black community over 40% of our community has heart disease.  One of every three adults (36% as of 2010) in the United States are considered obese. Looking at our nation's kids, 17% of children are considered obese as well, a number which as tripled over the last 40 years.  Within the black community, 37% of men and 53% of women are overweight.  We can't pretend anymore! There has to be a new standard of health.

1. Dispel the myths - There is a common belief that in order to be healthy, one must be skin and bones.  Absolutely incorrect, no one is telling you to be 110 lbs (not that there's anything wrong with that) however, what one must understand is that weight adds to one's health issues.  Lack of exercise and proper diet and having added weight, becomes a health issue which can lead to chronic diseases. Letting go of certain ideologies will lead to a healthier black America.
2. Lead by example - The 17% of children in the US that are considered obese is indicative of their example.  From the 1960's, only 13% of adults were obese and as you can see that is close to triple of the American population as well.  If we would lead our children, walks in the park, playing sports as a family, riding bikes, skating, hiking, etc. and teach them that exercise is not only fun but also good for our health it can lead to a healthier America.  Leading our children's diet is also necessary because that is the main reason people are overweight.  Teaching our children to add fruits and vegetables to their diet, how to cook, and portion control will assist in keeping our community healthy.  
3. Encourage each other - A couple of reasons people don't exercise and eat healthy include embarrassment and fear, laziness, and a lack of external support.  I have encountered a number of people who do not want to workout in front of other people, they feel that they look silly and so therefore rather than workout at home, they do nothing.  Don't worry, more than likely, you don't look like this(see youtube video at the bottom)...and even if you do, it doesn't matter.  You are at the gym for your own benefit, not for anyone else's. Laziness, hurts people in their diet and their exercise regimen because people use it as their reason to eat out and to stay in the house.  There isn't enough external support for people trying to lose and change their lifestyle.  Not enough people encouraging them as they attempt to eat healthier foods.  Not enough questioning if someone made it to they gym or did their home workout.  People need accountability and encouragement! There are multiple ways to become accountable.  Create accountability groups in which you report your progress to others and everyone is there to encourage each other to do better.  Create these groups among your close friends, your family, coworkers, church, and even within your neighborhood.  Social media is an excellent way to connect with friends and strangers (new friends) as you encourage each other in your movements toward a healthier you.  

Let's start reversing the trends of an unhealthy America and more specifically black America.  Let's start leading our children in the direction of living healthier at a younger age so that they don't have to make a lifestyle change.  Let's start preventing chronic disease over treating them.  Finally, let's start encouraging each other to a healthier us in 2014 and for years to come.

For the full CDC report click HERE

Feb-Tastic Abs

A new month is upon us and its time for a new challenge! The partner challenge didn't workout as well as anticipated but that's ok, it will be back and people WILL be influencing others to exercise and partake.  That said, February is here and everyone wants to have killer abs or work towards killer abs for the summer.  Here's an excellent start towards that goal.  Your mission should you choose to accept it is to complete this total by month's end:

1000 sit ups

1000 crunches

1000 torso twists

1000 scissors 

100 30-sec planks

100 30-sec mountain climbers 

1000 reverse crunches

300 burpees

A video will be provided for each exercise on Instagram demonstrating how to do each exercise.  Take a picture of yourself in action and write what you did for the day and how much more you have to go of each exercise.  So for example: If you did 200 sit ups, 50 crunches, 50 torso twists, 10 mountain climbers, 10 planks and 20 burpees then on your picture post:

1000-200=800 sit ups, 

1000-50= 950 crunches/torso twists

100-10= 90 mountain climbers/planks

300-20= 280 burpees

then the next day if you do 100 sit ups, 200 crunches, 150 torso twists, 20 mountain climbers, 10 planks, and 200 reverse crunches then you'll post:

800-100=700 sit ups

950-200=750 crunches

950-150=800 torso twists

90-20=70 mountain climbers

90-10=80 planks

1000-200= 800 reverse crunches

use the hashtag #febtasticabs #keeponmovin 

Good luck!! Look forward to everyone getting their abs summer-time ready!!!

March challenge: Team run - form a team to run 200 miles for the month
April challenge: Pushup challenge - 1000 pushups for April

Inside and Out

A few weeks ago (beginning of January), a friend of mine posted on Facebook this post:

"My chest was hurting and I just checked my blood pressure. It said 174/100... so, uh what does that mean???"

Quickly, many people told him he needed to get to the hospital as soon as possible.  Now seeing those statistics you would think he was overweight and probably believe he led a sedentary lifestyle, but this friend of mine plays basketball twice a week, is 5'11" and weighs 165 lbs.  He should NOT have these symptoms at age 31.  It was brought to my attention that his diet was his main issue, as is with the majority of America.  I reminded him that he has a family to take care of and that the inside of his body is just as important, if not more, as his physical appearance.  

Same goes to you, the reader, please be mindful of what you're putting in your body.  Eating a balanced diet is very important to your general health and especially to your weight loss journey.  Your internal bio tell a bigger story of your lifestyle, and how you're treating your body than what your external bio says.  I borrowed this image from Harvard's Med School and a healthy diet should look something like this:

If it doesn't and you are working on living a healthier lifestyle, this is something to aspire to.  To be honest, there are no limits to how many fruits and veggies one can eat as the calories to serving size is easily rewarding.  Aim to eat the foods that will help build your body stronger, externally and internally.  

Life is stressful enough that you don't need to add the stress of your health to the list of stresses that are occur on a daily basis.  

2014 Yearly Goals...Aim High

A new year is here and its that time of the year in which we set "resolutions".  We say, "I'm going to do this..." and "I'm going to do that..." and by year's end we probably don't remember what we've done versus what we said we were going to do.  While this is a fitness blog, goal-setting is a life application and what will be said here, can definitely be used on an every day basis as well as for your fitness goals.

With goal setting, there are a few keys to successfully achieving them.  

• Think about what you want to accomplish, why you want to accomplish it, how and when you want to accomplish your goals.  Often times we think about what it is we want to achieve but don't really have a reasoning or set a reasonable timeline to achieving said goal.  We don't come up with a plan to accomplish the goals we set forth and so our goals end up being realistic because we didn't think of a plan to truly achieve our goal. 
• Write out your goals.  Putting your goals on paper holds you accountable to yourself and what you said you wanted to achieve.  Having it on paper also allows you not to forget what you said you would do.  Write or type it up and post it in different places around the house (bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, etc), in your car, at work, and anywhere else you frequent so that you have a firm reminder of the things you want to achieve.  
• Believe and Execute your goals on your list. Simplifying a yearly goal and breaking it down to a monthly goal can help make something that seems monumental seem miniscule, especially  after consecutive months of achievement.  Even if you're unable to mark off every goal you put on your list, you will be surprised at how many you actually complete and the amount of time it takes for you to achieve them.  You may find ultimate success and pleasure in knowing that you actually exceed expectations of some goals.   

We will set a few goals for everyone who reads this blog...we want you to push yourself to being better from a health perspective.  Better than when you started the year 2014 to December 31, 2014.  So here are a list of goals we want for you to achieve:

1. Walk/Run 100 miles (Bronze honors)
2. Walk/Run 150 miles (Silver honors)
3. Walk/Run 200 miles (Gold honors)
4. Walk/Run 250 miles (Platinum honors)
5. Run a 5k

For those trying to lose weight, here are a few simple goals to aim for:

1. Lose 12 lbs this year (1 lb per month)
2. Lose 18 lbs this year (1.5 lbs per month)
3. Lose 24 lbs this year (2 lbs per month)
4. Lose 30 lbs this year (2.5 lbs per month)

Nobody said this would be easy, but aim your sights high...you'll be surprised at what you're actually capable of doing!