What's Your Carrot?

There are many cliches when it comes to health and fitness. Some hold a definite truth while others just sound good when they roll off the tongue. Either way, they serve a purpose - they are designed to motivate you. The biggest obstacle to pursue that motivation is you.

Motivation will challenge you.  It will kick you when you are down. It will laugh at you when you fail. It will spit in your face when you quit. But most of all it will reward you when you succeed. Motivation feeds off itself. But in order to feed, it has to be nourished by it's motivator - YOU!

Like so many things in life, it's a vicious cycle. Your health and fitness need to balance each other. They need to compliment one another in several ways. It's difficult to be healthy if you starve yourself. It's difficult to be healthy if you eat foods which don't fuel your body and your mind.  If your body is injured, it's challenging to perform any type of physical exercise. Health and fitness is give and take. It's a relationship. At times, it takes - it takes time, it takes effort, it takes money. Later, it's a giver - it gives you an endorphin high, a healthy heart, a sense of accomplishment.

Yet, we struggle. We struggle on a daily basis to do right by our mind and body. We know what we should do and we know why we should do it - only to put it off another day. It's not going to be any easier tomorrow.  But it will get easier once we actually start the process. If you never start, how will you know?

It's not easier for me because I've been doing it a long time. I struggle more than most would think even though I've been an athlete since I was a young child.  I don't have any special talents or skills which make me genetically gifted.  I work my butt off. But I have bad days, bad weeks and even a bad year. I argue with myself in the morning before my workout. I try to negotiate when else I can schedule it into my day if I sleep just 15 minutes longer. One more missed workout isn't going to matter. But then one turns into two and then the chocolate candy rears it's ugly head...just one piece. My mind wins the battle because I know how I WILL feel later when I have used my motivation to get done what needs to be done. And I also know how I will feel if I DON'T get it done.

Motivation. You need to hunt it down.  You need to harness it.  Don't tame it because you will need it to be the beast within you. You will need motivation to kick you around when you can't do it yourself. Motivation is your enemy and your best friend.  Keep motivation alive because your life depends on it.

Bodybuilding.com - We 'Mirin Vol. 65: Knockout Bodies

Bodybuilding.com - We 'Mirin Vol. 65: Knockout Bodies

Healthy Hearts

Have you lost your focus or are things just out of focus?  There are not the same.  What's the difference?  Think of it from a camera lens angle. If you lost your focus, you really don't know what image you are trying to capture. If the image is just out of focus, you need to make a few minor adjustments to clear away the fuzziness.

Health and fitness can often be described the same way.  We often lose our focus and find ourselves distracted when our heart is not in what we are trying to accomplish. I call it the 'shiny object syndrome'.  We lose focus because we get bored with our current exercise routine, we miss indulging in tasty foods, grow frustrated because we don't see results quickly or simply are too lazy to get up off the couch. We begin to look for distractions or 'shiny objects' to capture out attention!

We have become an impatient society wanting anything and everything instantly.  Why wait when you can have it now? Unfortunately, the 'things' that bring us the greatest happiness take time to materialize. A healthy loving relationship, the birth of a child, an education, financial success, friendship and of course - your health.

Stop and take notice of your life.  You are in charge.  You are the producer, director and actor of your own life path.  Your health is a key component of how your life will be lead.  It is important.  It is hard. Choices must be made. Decisions will be tough. Life is meant to be lived, not endured.  There is truth in 'survival of the fittest'.  Health encompasses physical, mental and emotional health.  It takes work and you must maintain your focus. If it's out of focus, adjust the lens in which you are viewing it from and regain your focus. After all, you have the best view.

On this day of love, learn to love yourself.  Be heart healthy in every way.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Beauty is the Beast

Some will argue that a woman with a visible muscular structure is masculine looking, ugly or bulky. A muscular woman is a beast rather than a beauty.  Women should be soft, curvy, and supple.  Men should be hard, firm and muscular. Who says? Do you have to believe?  Must you agree?

Most will follow the masses and agree with whatever is the most popular ideal at any given time.  It's human nature. It's easier.  Less conflict. Run with the crowd because you will be accepted rather than exiled. Go with the flow.

"Strong is the new skinny." This phrase seems be tossed around quite frequently these days. But stop and think about it.  One can be quite strong without having 'visible muscle'. When I refer to 'visible muscle', I am referencing a female with a very low body fat which causes her muscles to 'pop' more or less to the observer.  I interpret "strong as the new skinny" to refer to women who are ultra fit and thin yet muscular.  Not anorexics. Not steroid using body builders. Not cardio bunnies. But athletes.

Strong is the new skinny is an athlete.  A female who takes their sport seriously whatever it may be. They are concerned with more than just their outward appearance.  They have developed a lifestyle which incorporates fitness and health as part of a daily regime.  It's as common to them as maintaining employment. It's part of who they are.  It is not an obsession it is a way of life.

Athletes have goals.  Their goals are unique and help develop a plan of what they want to accomplish and how they will tackle the process.  Society may not always agree with the goal or even the method used to get there.  That is why it is unique.  It is not society's goal, it is the individuals goal. Again, going against the grain. This is not the easiest route or the most traveled but can be the most rewarding.

Athletes have muscles.  Muscles help propel them into motion.  Muscles aid in their speed, strength and stamina. Muscles have mass.  Mass carries weight.  Weight on a fit body is called muscle. Therefore, a female athlete who takes her sport seriously is going to have muscles.

If you don't like it, keep it to yourself. It's not okay to ridicule someone for being obese, anorexic or skinny fat.  So why is it acceptable to criticize females who are muscular?  It's not.  It's called envy. Step up or shut up.  I have chosen my own journey and never looked back.  I'm  a fit, healthy female who can protect herself with those big ugly muscles.

At War with Will Power

Have you ever waged a war against your Will Power?  Think about it carefully.  This is actually a war you want to lose. Sometimes. I want to eat that brownie.  I want to sleep in and skip my workout.  I want to skip those last few reps because they hurt. I don't want to do chin-ups because I suck at them.

Sound familiar? Who is the victor? You or your Will Power? Wait, aren't you really the winner if your Will Power wins? It's all very confusing.  You feel like you lost because you didn't get what you wanted - the brownie, extra sleep or an easy way out.  Yet, you won because you reap the benefits.

Confusing, right? No. These are only battles.  Battles that build up to the war.  The war which awaits you somewhere off in the future.  It's lingering out there.  It's lurking. It's stalking you. It even taunts you from afar.  You can't see it or even feel it, but you sense it. It mocks you every day.

It is the unknown. It's a powerful force and one that has the ability to knock you on your ass.  So you keep fighting.  You fight every day. Some are easy days and some are harder.  You lose focus once in awhile and have to readjust. It's second nature to you. The course is filled with obstacles yet you continue your journey. You have goals, ambitions and dreams.

Why do you fight so hard? Why not throw in the towel? It would be much easier.  Because you are a soldier.  You are fighting to survive.  You are fighting to be a better version of you. You are fighting because your Will Power  has ordered you to fight until the end.  Because if you give up, Will Power dies.

Mind Your P's and Q's.

Planning, Persistence and Patience are key components in achieving many things in life.  It's how you apply the components that determine the outcome.  Seems simple enough yet we make it more complicated than necessary.

Planning takes time.  It takes effort.  It's not always fun. Nobody plans to fail but it is part of the process.  When failure rears it's ugly head, a decision needs to be made to push forward to reach your goals or give in and give up. This is where persistence takes charge.  If your not persistent, failure wins. Persistence sucks.  It can take a long time.  It can take a lot of energy.  It can be annoying.  But along comes your friend patience. Patience can be calm.  Patience can be short-lived. Patience can yield rewards.  Patience can run out. Now what?

Back to the plan.  Back to persistence.  Back to being patient. It's a vicious circle.  A circle of life if you will.  You must begin the cycle again and again to get closer to your goals.  If you decide the cycle isn't worth making the rounds, then you don't deserve the rewards.  It's really that simple.  If it's worth doing once, its worth doing again and again.  You may never reach perfection but you will learn a great deal in the process and each time you will improve the quality of the outcome.

So watch your P's and your Q's will follow.

Jewels vs. Tools

What's the best way to a fitness girl's heart? Shiny expensive jewels or tools of the trade?

I've never owned a diamond except for my wedding ring.  Seems a bit unusual for a gal my age. However, it's just never been something that's been important to me.  I don't trust myself to not lose it! I also don't see how baubles improve my life.  They are nice to look at but yield no real benefits. Tools on the other hand aid in the sculpting of my physique and keep me on the road to a long healthy life.

Living a healthy lifestyle is not always cheap.  It costs more than time and energy.  Our bodies adapt and our minds grow bored with the same routines day in and day out.  Creativity becomes essential to keeping us engaged and our bodies making progress. Without change, we remain the same. This is where the tools come in.

Training occurs in many environments and uses a variety of tools.  The tools can be cheap and simple like a jump rope, a bench or a bungee cord.  They can also be more complex like equipment found at a gym - step mill, elliptical, nautilus machines, free weights, etc. There are also 'in-between' tools such as kettle bells, TRX straps, ab wheel, weight vest, training sled, val slides, bosu ball or a balance disk.  It's the manner in which you put these tools to work that determines how useful and productive they will be for you.

Training doesn't have to be complex, it just needs to be done smart.  Don't spin your wheels unless you are on a bike.  Don't run in circles unless you're doing wind sprints.  Don't weigh yourself down unless you can pick yourself up. You can muscle up by training smarter, not longer. If you feel the need to chew the fat, make sure you are talking to the right person about the big picture. There is a great deal of information about training but very few actually understand the science behind it. It matters.  Be a shiny gym jewel rather than a diamond in the rough.

My boyfriend has given me many, if not all, of my gym jewels!  I love them!  To me, it is a sign of love, affection and support. He is my biggest cheerleader in the lifestyle that I have chosen to live.  He knows the value of the gym jewels.  He is my coach, trainer, nutritionist and partner in life.  The long term value of my gym jewels outweigh the biggest diamond money can buy.  My health is more valuable than any diamond.

My gym jewels are baubles that will get polished with my sweat and chiseled with my grip and ground with my muscle. These baubles are worth their weight and I'm more than happy to show them off.