Category: Motivation

Commitment

“There’s a difference between interest and commitment. When you’re interested in doing something, you do it only when it’s convenient. When you’re committed to something, you accept no excuses; only results.”

– Kenneth Blanchard

Benefits of Exercise

6 Great Benefits of Regular Physical Activity

You know that exercise is good for you — but do you know how good?
Want to feel better, have more energy and perhaps even live longer? Look no further than good old-fashioned exercise.

The merits of regular physical activity — from preventing chronic health conditions to promoting weight loss and better sleep — are hard to ignore. And the benefits are yours for the taking, regardless of age, sex or physical ability. Need more convincing? Here are 6 of the best reasons to start exercising and stick with it!

1. Exercise improves your mood.
Need to blow off some steam after a stressful day? A workout at the gym or a brisk 30-minute walk can help you calm down.
Physical activity stimulates various brain chemicals that may leave you feeling happier and more relaxed than you were before you worked out. You’ll also look better and feel better when you exercise regularly, which can boost your confidence and improve your self-esteem. Regular physical activity can even help prevent depression.
2. Exercise combats chronic diseases.
Worried about heart disease? Hoping to prevent osteoporosis? Physical activity might be the ticket.
Regular physical activity can help you prevent — or manage — high blood pressure. Your cholesterol will benefit, too. Regular physical activity boosts high-density lipoprotein (HDL), or “good,” cholesterol while decreasing triglycerides. This one-two punch keeps your blood flowing smoothly by lowering the buildup of plaques in your arteries.
And there’s more. Regular physical activity can help you prevent type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis and certain types of cancer.
3. Exercise helps you manage your weight.
Want to drop those excess pounds? Trade some couch time for walking or other physical activities.
This one’s a no-brainer! When you engage in physical activity, you burn calories. The more intense the activity, the more calories you burn — and the easier it is to keep your weight under control. You don’t even need to set aside major chunks of time for working out. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Walk during your lunch break. Do jumping jacks during commercials. Better yet, turn off the TV and take a brisk walk. Dedicated workouts are great, but physical activity you accumulate throughout the day helps you burn calories, too.
4. Exercise boosts your energy level.
Winded by grocery shopping or household chores? Don’t throw in the towel. Regular physical activity can leave you breathing easier.
Physical activity delivers oxygen and nutrients to your tissues. In fact, regular physical activity helps your entire cardiovascular system — the circulation of blood through your heart and blood vessels — work more efficiently. Big deal? You bet! When your heart and lungs work more efficiently, you’ll have more energy to do the things you enjoy.
5. Exercise promotes better sleep.
Struggling to fall asleep? Or stay asleep? It might help to boost your physical activity during the day.
A good night’s sleep can improve your concentration, productivity and mood. And you guessed it — physical activity is sometimes the key to better sleep. Regular physical activity can help you fall asleep faster and deepen your sleep. There’s a caveat, however. If you exercise too close to bedtime, you may be too energized to fall asleep. If you’re having trouble sleeping, you might want to exercise earlier in the day.
6. Exercise can be — gasp — fun!
Wondering what to do on a Saturday afternoon? Looking for an activity that suits the entire family? Get physical!
Physical activity doesn’t have to be drudgery. Take a ballroom dancing class. Check out a local climbing wall or hiking trail. Push your kids on the swings or climb with them on the jungle gym. Plan a neighborhood kickball or touch football game. Find a physical activity you enjoy, and go for it. If you get bored, try something new. If you’re moving, it counts!
Are you convinced? Great! Start reaping the benefits of regular physical activity today!

Top 10 Nutrition Steps to Achieve Fit Living

The topic of nutrition has become complicated.   It REALLY shouldn’t be!  Even some of the most basic facts of good nutrition have become ridiculously controversial.  This has left many health desirous people, frustrated, overwhelmed, and unsure of who to believe and what to do first in their quest for health and wellness.

Below are 10 nutritional steps to take to move in the direction of “fit living”.  Because I think these steps relative to nutrition are so crucial and fundamental for good health, I will soon be posting individual articles with a lot more detail on each one of the ten steps.  For now, just take one step, and then another, and then another…………

1. Drink Water – eight 8-ounce glasses of water throughout the day, every day

2.  Seriously Decrease  or Eliminate Your Sugar Consumption -“sugar is your #1 nutritional enemy”

3.  Absolutely NO Artificial Sweeteners

4.  Increase Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Consumption

5.  Eat Whole Grain Pasta, Brown Rice, and Freshly Ground Whole Grain Flours

6.  Eliminate Hydrogenated Fats and Seriously Limit Processed Foods

7.  Eat Good Fat! – avocado, olive oil, nuts, coconut oil

8.  Eat Protein With  your Carbs

9.  Eat Three Small Meals and Two Generous Snacks Daily

10.  NO Eating After 7 pm

Unthinkable – The Scott Rigsby Story

He was an 18 year old kid on a hot summer day just prior to his first college semester. Riding in the back of a pickup truck in rural Georgia with friends after a hard day of landscaping work. They were talking about plans for the weekend, when suddenly the truck is hit by a passing 18- wheeler, throwing him underneath a 3-ton attached trailer and dragging him 300 feet.

His back suffered third degree burns, his right leg was severed off and his left leg hung barely intact. His life was seemingly over, or so it seemed for Scott Rigsby.

Over a decade of countless doctor visits and hospitals, 26 surgeries, additional amputation, depression, fear, and uncertainty, Rigsby had become a professional patient. An inevitable battle with prescription drug addiction followed, as did the loss of many relationships and trust. At one point, things got so desperate that Rigsby sold what little furniture he had just to pay rent. There was no steady income and no dreams for a stable or successful future.

Life had hit Scott Rigsby hard, knocking him down and keeping him there.

Unthinkable is the incredible true story of how Scott Rigsby’s life was turned around, reaching unprecedented heights as a world-class athlete. Doing the unthinkable is not easy. It requires an unshakeable determination to overcome any obstacle. Scott Rigsby not only has done the unthinkable, he sees no finish line in sight. Rigsby embraced this motto when he decided in 2005 to change his life, and the world, by breaking down barriers for physically challenged athletes. Little did Rigsby know that his inspirational journey would soon impact generations of able bodied people. He believes he has a genuine purpose to make a difference in peoples lives. He is on a mission fueled by a simple prayer that if God would open doors for him, then he would go through them. Sounds rather trivial until you hear his story of tragedy and his struggle to simply carry on.

Once that door first door opened more than 15 years after his accident, a relentless and determined Rigsby arose and never looked back. A once beaten man from a small town was now taking on the world.

He completed 13 triathlons and 5 road races on his way to setting world records for a double below-the-knee amputee in the Full Marathon, Half Ironman, and International Distance Triathlon, earning him a spot on the 2006 USA Triathlon Team. As his accomplishments mounted, so did Rigsby’s desire to do the unthinkable and take his mission to the next level. He would tackle the toughest endurance test of them all, the Ironman, to raise the bar and inspire all challenged athletes to reach beyond their circumstances.

On October 13, 2007, after enduring the elements for 16 hours and 43 minutes, Scott Rigsby became the first double-amputee on prosthetics in the world to finish an Ironman distance triathlon with prosthetics at the 140.6-mile World Championship in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. Rigsby used “swim legs” to navigate the difficult 2.4 mile ocean swim, “bike legs” to cycle 112 miles through the heat and gusting winds of the Big Island lava fields on a standard road bike, and “run legs” to complete the marathon segment in darkness and intense pain.

With 17 minutes to spare before race organizers called things off, the announcer screamed, “Here he comes, it’s Scott Rigsby, he’s going to do it. Unbelievable!”

Unthinkable, Rigsby’s unique story of success and failures, all started with a decision and the desire to never quit, no matter what, no matter how long.

Defining Moments

“In 1992, Julie Moss’s athletic performance at the Hawaiian Ironman Triathlon went beyond winning, beyond sport, and smashed head-on into the realm of human drama.  She led the women’s field after nearly ten hours of racing.  As she came down to the final 400 meters, however, with the finish line banner in sight, her body simply gave out.  She went from running to walking to staggering in the blink of an eye.  The frailty of the human body was on display before millions as she stumbled and then fell.  Like a fawn taking it’s first steps, she willed herself to her feet and continued on toward what would have been the biggest win of her young career.

Like a punch-drunk fighter she was out on her feet, oblivious to the crowd massed on each side of her.  She fell again and lay on the street.  Her body had betrayed her.  With less than five yards to go, the second-place woman passed her for the win.  With the ABC cameras recording each moment, Julie summoned every ounce of courage and crawled toward the line.  The crowd went deathly silent.  Within an arm’s length of the finish, she reached one hand across the line and collapsed onto her back.  There was a small smile playing at the corners of her lips as she was carried to the medical tent.

Her message was clear:  To win is to finish.  To finish is to win.”

source: Workouts for Working People by Mark Allen and Julie Moss