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! 

January: Partner Challenge

It's a new year and 2014 is among us already.  You've already started your transformation and lifestyle change, but there is someone who is secretly inspired by you.  They may tell it to you in passing or admire from afar but you definitely inspire them to want to make a change in their life.  Vice versa, you may have a friend or family member who you know needs to start exercising and you've always wanted to invite them. Here's your chance!!!

We want for you to take a picture with a new workout buddy a minimum of 4 times this month.  Hopefully by the end of January, your buddy/buddies will have taken steps to living a healtheir lifestyle themselves consistently.  There is a "relaxing" prize for the person who posts the most with their "NEW" workout buddy/buddies.  Post your picture to Instagram, Twitter or Facebook and use the hashtag #keeponmovin #partnerchallenge and tag https://twitter.com/HandF4You or http://instagram.com/healthandfitness4you.

Who: You!!!
When: Jan 1 - Jan 31st
Where: The gym, your house, outdoors, anywhere you like
What: A picture with your friend(s) that you don't commonly workout with, if you have a story behind it...tell it! But use the hashtags #keeponmovin #partnerchallenge
Why: Inspire others to make a lifestyle change
How many: Minimum of 4 pictures with the person(s) you are inspiring to make a change

Good luck everyone...and start inspiring in this New Year!!!

5..........
4........
3......
2....
1..
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Upcoming challenges:

February: Feb-tastic Abs February
March: 200-mile March

Don't Wait til the New Year to start!

So you've been thinking about losing weight for the summer, you want to get your body nice and tight for that time of the year so that everyone can see you and rave about how great you look...EXCEPT...you want to wait til Jan 1st when everyone and their mother is going to be up in the gym.  What's wrong with that??? Nothing, but why not get a head start on your goal at hand.  You're not racing anyone but yourself so you can't possibly be cheating yourself.  In fact, the only way you cheat yourself is if you DON'T get started now.

Consider the last few days of the year to be your trial period in which you can learn some things about yourself.  You learn how much you really want to make a journey like this become a reality.  Making dietary changes, adding exercise to your daily routine with no excuses, and the other factors that come into play when you embark on said journey is trying and difficult to say the least.  These last few days of the year are your opportunity to work out the kinks of your schedule, figure out what foods you actually like and figure out what time of day you actually like working out.  It's your chance to say goodbye to the foods you KNOW you shouldn't be eating and picking out the ones you KNOW you should.  

The thing about "getting healthy" is you have to start somewhere and there is no time like the present...ever.  Start walking...start running...start lifting weights...start eating right...just DO SOMETHING today! 

December Legs Now - - - Summertime ready then!

This Month's Challenge is meant to affect the part of your body that you use the ABSOLUTE most...your legs.  Today is the 8th of December meaning there are 23 days left in the month of December allowing for 12 days of leg-work (assuming you do this every other day).

400 squats
200 lunges (per leg)
300 Jump squats
200 Side lunges (per leg)

300 Scissors
25 30-second mountain climbers

Facebook, Tweet, Instagram your progress at #keepmovin #Decemberlegs

Get this done, you should see a change in your waist line and legs.  Good luck!!

Congrats to Cindy Ming who won last month's challenge posting 12 times in November and a distance of 25.12 miles

Jan. Challenge: Bring a friend
Feb. Challenge: Feb-tastic Abs

Your Health is Your Money Maker

Interesting fact... 61 of the top 100 billionaires in the world are 65 or older.  But why is that interesting you ask...because the people who make the most money are healthy and viable to their business.  What does that mean?? That means they are working out and caring for their health, which in turn means that YOU don't have to kill yourself working and using work as an excuse for not taking care of yourself and your health.

I'm not saying that work isn't important, it is...we all need to pay bills and maintain our livelihood, but at what cost???  I'm not sure I can emphasize this enough, because of the effects and toll that work takes on our lives, our bodies, and our minds there has to be some sort of a release available for us to maintain our health.  Nobody is asking for an hour and a half to two hours of gym time, if that's what you choose to do, more power to you but I am asking you take 45 minutes out of your day to take care of yourself.

Life is stressful, 40 to 50 hrs of work is stressful, kids are stressful, family and friends can be stressful, and any other variables that life throws our way are stressful.  Stress has so many effects on our body that we HAVE to make sure we find ways to release it.  A picture was found on www.stress.org on how the body is affected from head to toe, pay attention to what happens when you get stressed:

Exercise (cardio, yoga, stretching, playing sports), laughter, proper rest, proper diet, and interaction with friends all help to relieve stress.  Utilize these constructs to help keep yourself sane and alive.  If the richest people make time to care for their health, maybe you should consider the same...because your life is more valuable than a few pennies.

Move-mber Challenge

Its a new month! The month of November...and with that said, I want to issue a challenge to everyone in sight of this blog post! The challenge for my clients, past or present, to participate in cardio all month long and prove it.  How do you prove it?? Take a picture of your activity.

Challenge:

Run, bike, swim, elliptical, it doesn't matter how you do it...do something!!!

How do I prove what I've done?

There are apps that appropriate and accurately calculate distance and pace.  For those of you that are running, use the Nike Running App, I'm on there (look under email trey.douglas@gmail.com) and I can see how you often you run, your pace and distance.  There is an app for biking as well...but it doesn't matter what apps you are using as long as you can take a picture and post it for me on my Facebook page, tweet me at @HandF4you or on Instagram and tag "Healthandfitness4you" in your pictures with the hashtag #keeponmovin.  For those of you who train with me, you still have to abide by the rules even in session!

I will pick a winner and they will win a $50 gift card at the end of the month.