Your Next 63 Years

Your habits are your Fountain of Youth

I am 63 and live in a way which enables me to remain youthful. That means staying fit, looking younger than my years, staying enthusiastic, always wanting to learn, convinced that I have something the world needs. Those are the opposite of being out of shape, looking 63, acting cynical or hopeless, thinking there is nothing new to be discovered or mastered, feeling expendable. The former group is typically associated with youth; the latter with advanced years.

By living a fitness lifestyle in conjunction with doing what we believe in, we can either be or become the same. No chronological age prevents us from : 1.) living a fitness lifestyle; 2.) thinking creatively; 3.) finding a reason to expect the best; 4.) immersing ourselves in things which we find interesting; 4.) doing something of significance for others. That is, the attributes of youthfulness--those things which we find in younger people (such as graduates in their twenties) can be held onto and developed by anyone, regardless of age.

By doing so, we can either significantly prolong the aging process or reverse it's life-draining effect. This is not only psychological (typified by "you're as young as you feel"), but physical as well. Adhering to proper dietary-supplement-exercise routine, seeking a way for all to work out for the best (reflecting on our daily existences,) continuing to learn, doing something important, all make us think, act and feel positively toward our lives. Together they make us come across as younger than our years.

Doing only one or two of these is not enough.

63 going on 42

I consider myself to be middle aged--neither young, nor old. Everyday I do a two hour a day workout at a measured intensity, gradually increasing speed and resistance at each four month interval. As a result, my performance today is better than when I was on the swim team in high school; and I can still fit into the same suits from back then, though, the chest and shoulders are tighter. Diet, exercise and supplements in conjunction with a meaningful life were all that were required to bring that about.

In a like manner, I work at the mental side of my life. This includes daily reading, thought and presentation of my beliefs whenever they may be of some benefit. To some degree this is no more than extension of the Socratic dictum "the life unexamined is not worth living." It is how I am; it is how I choose to be; it is how I have been for as long as I can remember.

Those who are younger can ward off the effects of aging by doing the same. They can start by doing fitness and thought related activities now to keep themselves from becoming out of shape, bored with their environment, mentally sluggish, feeling unimportant (used by their employer.) In other words, by starting now, younger people can avoid the characteristics and circumstances which are commonly associated with aging.

Those who are older can begin now to turn back the clock. All that it takes is adherence to a fitness lifestyle, a refusal to stop learning, some daily time to reflect on what we are doing, and a commitment to do something that is valuable to others. All of those are necessary as they influence the development of each other. That is, they are synergistic.

Doing these will not make any of us look twenty-two again, but they can keep us from "aging right on schedule." They will also make some other people categorize us as ageless. That is one of the best compliments we can get.

No one is too old to start

There is a belief that, after a certain point, no one can make any changes in themselves. This is something like "You can't teach an old dog new tricks." Nevertheless, studies have shown that it is never too late to begin a fitness lifestyle, and that improvements can be seen in surprising short periods of time. Of course, reflection, learning, self-worth, and commitment to a social good are mental in nature. Thus, it is also assumed that those with more free time, such as retirees, will have it easier than people under 65.

I now write books for a living, never failing to put in a solid forty hour week doing so. That is my way of making a contribution to the world. It is my form of self-expression--something from which others can benefit. Before this, I had my jobs, which I always viewed as something more than just getting a paycheck. Making a lasting difference to others has always been important to me. It will continue to be as long as I live.

No one is too young to start

Everyone needs a similar purpose in life. That goes for younger people as well. Though, younger people may find this too serious, as if it might result in some dire consequences. Having a purpose does not turn any of us into old-fogies. Nor does it make any of us sanctimonious. Being contemplative and necessary make us feel good about ourselves. That is something we never outgrow or tire of.

If we are younger, working at a real job, we can start focusing on what you are doing for the betterment of others through our current responsibilities. That will make the object of our efforts something far greater than merely cashing a paycheck.

Knowing that we are making a difference keeps the clock from going forward. Going through the motions only to pay the bills causes little more than exhaustion--a characteristic of age. Work without a sense of purpose makes us long for retirement, a most curious phenomenon in those who are thirty.

Even though younger people are less prone to diabetes, heart disease and the like, getting into a fitness lifestyle, should still be seriously considered. If nothing else, there is just the satisfaction of liking what we see in the mirror--something which need not go away with thirty-something. Therefore, waiting for a doctor's order to go on a diet, or take the stairs instead of the elevator, should be completely unnecessary. No one should need to tell us that fitness is something we need, whether we have a good BMI or not. We already know that daily attention to our bodies will be far better for us than the sedentary self-indulgence that the media plays up as the American Good Life.

Is there a best place to start?

It is difficult to say whether fitness, thought, learning or purpose is primary. Being fit makes us think about how to act in meaningful ways. Thinking about doing what is meaningful makes us want to be fit. Learning results in a greater passion for living. Caring enough about the world to add something beneficial to it makes us think and take optimal care of ourselves.

Which comes first? Where do we start? Perhaps the best place to start wherever we are the strongest, probably where we are right now. The only thing true across the board is that we think better if we are fit; we care more about the world if we think; we think better if we continue to learn; we want to be fit if we believe we are important. Each of these aspects influence the others.

Is this combination of interests the Fountain of Youth (assuming such a thing can exist?) Total cynics will react with "No." Presumably they would rather wait for a formula which promised to alter a person's genes, assuming that would ever become available in pill form. But, even if we were wealthy enough for this cure, we would only become old people in youthful bodies. The same would be true if we were talking about plastic surgery, along with the latest skin treatments to reverse decades of insufficient water,fruits and vegetables, or, even worse, the effects of alcohol and nicotine.

On the basis of my experience, fitness, thought, learning and purpose are the basis of ongoing youthfulness. These three together can either stop the clock or turn it backward.

What is it like to be 63 going on 42?

Strangers who have not seen my driver's license think act and feel toward me as if I am middle aged--and a little strange because of it. Presumably, I should have some grey hair and a sagging waistline. That would make me "normal," enabling them to feel comfortable. It would mean I were much like them.These include people at church, the grocery store, the health club and the vitamin shop.

Looking younger may sound like fun, but I (and I expect most others) would rather be thought of as normal. People who do not look their ages are not normal. Most probably, we are thought of as health nuts or ones going through an identity crisis.

Many others know me only as a statistic, even if I have met them in person. Their knowledge of me comes only from data on an application, my driver's licenses, and the like. They know that I was born in 1948. To them, that means I should come across in ways which they think are appropriate for my years. In other words, I should live up to their expectation in order to be OK. Need I say that I find excuses for leaving as quickly as possible?

We are who we are, not our ages

Being free to be ourselves is far more important than staying in these types of relationships. Therefore, we should seek out others who are not only open-minded and fun, but respectful. These are persons who believe that age is just a number, ie. not an indication of how we should think, feel, and act. If we want to remain youthful or turn back the clock, we need to continually seek out people who are like this. Unfortunately, the options are limited.

Failure to find compatible people can result in regression-- a state often not only associated with sedentary thoughtlessness, but erroneously believed to be an inevitable result of too many birthdays. That's why the choice of friends is so important.

Things which make us, us

My fitness lifestyle, my thinking, my studies, and my writing are important to me. They make me, me. Similar things should be important for all of us.

Some think that I should have outgrown these decades ago in the interests of maturity, presumably. After all, they sound like activities appropriate for a graduate student just ready to publish a thesis, or start a career. They apparently are not fitting for raising a family, paying bills, keeping a job. Thus, long ago, I should have said "been there done that" in the interests of acting my age--the one on my driver's license. But I refused then, and continue doing so today. I would not think of giving up the doing any of these even on my birthday or Christmas.

No one should stop growing at any point. There is little so old-sounding as the platitude "I've seen it all." Can anyone who regularly says this really deny the thrill of having seen something in a new way, having learned something different, having said something significant to make a difference in someone's life, or having made an improvement in fitness? Everyone has experienced one of these at least once. But how many work at making all of them happen as a normal course of day to day living?

What will the next ten years bring?

Unfortunately, here as elsewhere above, there are no studies to help answer this question. Thus, a belief, which we all can share, may be all that can be expected.

My expectation is that in ten years, by continually working at it, I will be more proficient at being more fit, more contemplative, more knowledgeable, more influential. That is because I can always work at being better in all of these areas. Doing so is never curtailed by an increasing number of birthdays. The same can be true for anyone.

If we see ourselves as only working for others, or being a retiree filling empty hours with hobbies, or living out our days with people who seemingly never grow, we need to make a change. Ideally, this involves only looking within to find a greater over-arching purpose with more empathy toward those whom we already know. Most of what we are missing can be found inside of us, if we'll only invest some time looking. Finding it can result in an ability to put more energy into what we are good at (our work) and who we are closest to.

If we see ourselves as healthy enough, but still immersed in the standard American lifestyle, we need to immediately rethink our position. That is simple enough with all of the information on the internet. But initially, making the change will not be easy. It will be hard work.

Can we work too hard?

Many people think that too much work will leave us exhausted (burnout). As I have only increased in energy in the last four decades, I do not think they are right. Perhaps there will be studies which prove that working at what we love increases the ability to do more, but it is doubtful. Rather, it should just be thought of as self-evident that labor at what we hate causes eventual exhaustion, while labor at we love results in over-all development (as if our entire self were a muscle.)

But some object that any of us can contract a terminal illness or simply wear out, much like a car after 250,000 miles (or a person after eighty-five birthdays.) True, that can happen even in a well-planned orderly life. But that may not happen. Counter to what the cynics really believe, it is not inevitable. As they say, The only things certain are death and taxes. Or, If it can go wrong, it will, as per the well-known Peter Principle from a few decades ago. Neither of these need to be the final word, if we keep on growing.

Focusing on growth-- life imagery-- promotes a more youthful outlook. For example, the only sure way to not win is to not play. Or, if it can go right, it may.

We can control quality more than quantity

This is a book about fitness, thought and social involvement. It is about quality of life, not length of days. However, I admit that I would like to be humanly effective (youthful) beyond 126, just to be the first. Perhaps that is a major motive in my writing. Yet, I know that is not as much under my control as is my effort to live everyday as fully as I can. Doing so has gotten me to where I am right now--not looking the age on my driver's license.

But how do I know that the above is what caused it--that it is the fountain of youth? Might it not be that I come across as younger because of some genetic predisposition--one which, by itself, seems to have stopped my clock thus far?

So many never tire of confidently asserting that the positive drive of youthfulness and fitness are only the result of genes. But how reliable are they? Would a true expert on genetics ever make such a comment? What tests could substantiate that right genes, independent of lifestyle, turned old into young?

On the other hand, who would want to wager that being sedentary, not caring about others, eating poorly, never supplementing and waking up each morning just to play golf will not take its toll on all of us? Perhaps only those who have blind faith in tomorrow's FDA approved drug. Sadly, that is what viewing one too many TV commercials can encourage us to gamble our lives on.

For me, it started with fitness

Because I have been at fitness since just before high school, approximately fifty years, I know of the positive effect that this can have of every aspect of my life. And, I know of the achievements of some athletes. Some are outstanding in just their physical achievements (records, and the like.) Others are far more exceptional.

The latter group is most important to me. I have the deepest respect for those who appear throughout the book-- the late Jack Lalanne, Jane Fonda, Dara Torres. All of these people have excelled athletically in spite of their age. They themselves might even say that they have (had) excelled because of it. They might say, "And why not : practice makes perfect." That may sound facetious until it is realized that these people simply kept at what they do--never cutting back, always going forward.

Nevertheless, there is another aspect to Jack, Jane and Dara. Some might say that this is the more important one.They are crusaders in their own right. They speak out on things which are important to them. Dara cares about the supposed over the hill athlete (over 35, that is), Jack cared about corporate America and senior fitness. Jane continues to champion various social causes. All lecture, write books, make public appearances. The world they live in makes a difference to them.

Dara, Jane and Jack do all of what has been talked about above.

What are we doing in the here and now?

Are we putting in time fulfilling our company's purposes, believing that the long rest of retirement will make these efforts worth while? Or, are we retired, filling empty hours wondering if anything new will materialize today?

If we care about stopping the clock, or even turning it back, being fit, thoughtful, open to new things and purposeful is what we should center on for our own lives. This combination is the realistic Fountain of Youth.

Posted by mark clemens at 4/26/2012 2:21 PM | Add Comment

Introduction -- The Empty Gym

We would all like to believe that there are easy answers for our fitness problems. If only there were an easy way to get in shape. If only there hours enough in the day to do it. If only this time would actually work.

Maybe now is the time that everything really can change forever. Is your company one of the 81% over 5000 employees that's started a fitness program? Have they come up with an economic incentive? Have they put in a workout facility where you work?

If you've answered yes to any of these questions, you know that you are not the only one who cares about fitness. The company you work for does too. That might be enough to get you back at it again. Hopefully, that will do it for you.

But even if it does, will you still be at it six months down the line? You know that consistency is a big part of having fitness work, so that's a concern. If only your New Years resolutions would have worked in the past. Well...now if all you have to do is go downstairs on you lunch hour (or take advantage of their program), there just might be some lasting changes coming.

This book is all about making fitness work this time around. It assumes you want that, and knows it's what the company wants as well. Why else would they have set up incentives or put a new gym right downstairs in your building? They know it's know it's good to have a fit workforce, and you know that being fit is the best way to be.

In what follows there are a lot of references to the movie "Rocky", Jack Lalanne, Jillian Michaels and Jane Fonda. All of these can be glanced at on the internet and of course you can always see Rocky I if you already haven't. The movie's an example of the will inside of all of us--something which we all need to make fitness work for the long haul.

For further thought on making fitness a part of your everyday life order my e-book "Think and Grow Fit."

Posted by mark clemens at 4/11/2012 1:34 PM | Add Comment

Ch 23 Wrapping It Up

Fitness has come along way since Jack Lalanne started promoting it back in the mid-thirties. There are now countless supplement shops and workout places throughout the country. Too, the need for good nutrition has come to the forefront.

One of the major advances in the last decade has been the appearance of corporate fitness programs.
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According to the Wellness Council of America, as of 2010, of companies with more than 50 employees, 81 percent have wellness programs. Fitness programs are an investment in the employees in an organization that pays off for the company.

Corporate fitness programs are company-sponsored gym memberships, in-house gyms and group exercise programs, which encourage employees to participate in healthy activities. Companies use these programs to improve the health of the workforce and encourage team building within the organization. Fitness programs also result in savings for the company in health care and increased productivity. Employee morale improvement and reduced absenteeism are the reasons for increased productivity in companies with corporate fitness programs.

The advantages of fitness programs depend on the type of program the company institutes. For example, in-house gyms and fitness rooms are a convenient way for employees to work out. Some companies offer discounts on memberships in local gyms to promote fitness and exercise. This helps employees afford a program to get in shape and improve health. The company sometimes offers employees payroll deductions to pay for the programs.

The advantages for employees are improved health, increased energy and prevention of diseases and conditions. The benefits to employees are visible and easily identifiable as health improves. Weight reduction for obese employees results in improved health and reduction of the need for some medications.
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This article suggests an entirely different world than a even a decade ago. Companies are now getting on the fitness bandwagon either by offering incentives to their employees or by putting a brand new gym in the corporate facilities. They're doing that to beef up the bottom line through increased productivity and decreased health care costs.

They're also doing it because of the obesity scare--namely that by 2020 three out of every four employees will be obese (and thus prone to other more costly conditions to say nothing of reduced productivity.) That, of course, assumes present trends will continue. The implementation of a corporate fitness program is an attempt to avert the crisis.

OUR PARTICIPATION

Eighty-one percent of companies with more than fifty employees having a fitness program is an impressive figure. But,having a program in place, doesn't guarantee that it will be taken advantage of by a significant number. Or, if it's being taken advantage of right now, will it be in six months? Really there is very little difference between a corporate fitness facility and the opening of a mall fitness facility down the block. How many will be regulars after the first four months no matter how enthusiastic they were when signing up?

This book has been about making a corporate fitness program work for the bulk of the employees. It has assumed that this means over seventy percent. It acknowledges that there just are some folks who cannot see how diet exercise and supplements can improve anything, and that some are already fine athletes in their own right. The seventy percent makes up the majority who would love to get with the program, if only they could figure out how.

The preceding chapters have offered suggestions on how to get these open-minded people doing what they want, and keeping them at it for...really... the rest of their lives, Consequently, the typical quick fixes and numerous biggest loser contests have been systematically replaced by an emphasis on personally constructed programs with individual goals. These are all distinctly different than the typical cash or T-shirt reward for dropping the most weight, only to have it all back on before the end of the fiscal year.

To make a program really work, a full time corporate fitness director is needed. That person is essential as everyone seems to need help doing what they already know they should. The mere availability of the essentials (corporate gym, supplement and natural food stores, internet gurus) does not insure that everyone will incorporate all of these into their lifestyle. We're all still too close to our commuter lifestyles with their rest and relaxation, three square meals from the four food groups, fast food for treats (if not complete meals), micro-waved dishes, and endless relaxation time in front of the TV or computer.

Some of us know this is all wrong, but still can't seem to get on a better path. Having someone like a corporate fitness director with group programs along with one-on-one education can make all of the difference. That's because there are just too many good grown-up reasons (typically thought of as excuses) for not doing what's best for us. Those all have to go the way of the dinosaur.

NO EASY ANSWERS

Everyone would like to believe that there is an easy-answer or cure-all for unfitness. If only we could decide on a fat burner, find an appropriate workout CD, subscribe to the right fitness newsletter, get some high-tech equipment into our basement, then we'd look good for the beach in no time. Actually, that's not so far off. But the amount of time needed to make that happen is much longer than most of can tolerate (or that most advertisers promise.)

Knowing that not enough results fast enough will make us want to quit in under three months is half the battle. It may make that urge to quit seem to much like been there done that (like two years ago, right after the First,) and thus enable us to push through this time in spite of discouragement. So too will cutting back to more manageable levels--like doing only thirty minutes a day on the exer-cycle in stead of the standard hour. That can make it easier to stay at it for the long haul. That's what we have to do.

Hanging tough until there are observable results can take long periods of time--certainly in excess of six months, possibly much longer. None of us want to hear that. Nevertheless, the crucial response to inevitable discouragement is to simply ignore the feeling that if something right were going to happen it would have by now. That translates into staying at it even when the most grown-up (good business sense) response seems to be cutting our losses. The proverbial period is the one which starts with the New Year's resolution only to have everything be done before tax season.

To hang in there for the long haul, we need a primary interest in ends other than an improved mirror image. These could include but aren't limited to :1.)feeling great all of the time; 2.)improved sleep; 3.)better performance at work; 4.)more optimistic attitudes; 5.)more rpms and reps on the gym equipment; 6.)a feeling that we're turning back the clock. Those may not be as exciting as becoming like the model on the latest gym ad or supplement bottle in under two weeks, but they are definitely worth the effort; and yes, what it takes to attain them will eventually make a significant difference in our appearance.

Chapters 1- 2

These chapters basically assert that getting into a fitness lifestyle is not easy. In fact, the psychological perspiration required is harder on us than the physical perspiration once we're into it. Most of us know that we have to get into a fitness lifestyle : it's better than a modern day version of Ozzie and Harriet and it'sessential to our highest well-being. But our backgrounds, the media and even our doctors make it difficult to switch from what we're currently doing. That's why we can have so much available to us and still not have any actual change in what we do.

This can all be different if we simply decide to go for it--something easier said than done, though not impossible The character Rocky is talked about as the prototypical human being. He goes from mediocre training as a boxer in Philadelphia to a level which enables him to fight with the world heavy weight champ. It's his dedication, will and persistence that are everything.

Many of us turn on to this movie. That implies a Saturday night identification with Rocky, even if we'd never care to set foot in boxing ring. There's something about him that we know is part of us. But the identification goes away on Monday morning probably right after entering the freeway ramp on the way to work.

Getting Rocky's determination back into the forefront of our feeling is the first essential part of fitness. The way to do this is to simply decide to get into the shape necessary to go the distance with our Apollo Creed. It is as simple and as excuse-free as that. It is saying that today is the day that we get up at four, down the raw eggs and do our workout in preparation for the main event. (See this American classic if you never have.)

The way to make this seemingly impossible austerity easier is to be part of a group where the hang-ups to a fitness lifestyle can be worked through. Of course, we won't do this if we're too proud, or too enamored with our own sense of resolve. We won't do it, even if we're told that we should. After all, will power is all, right? It was for Rocky. And we all have Rocky in us, right? Yes, but, we didn't feel much like Rocky getting on the freeway ramp, remember?

Anyway, it makes it much easier to know that there are others experiencing the same things as us. Therefore, being part of group in the interests of really staying at fitness for the long haul is truly worth swallowing our pride.

Chapters 3-5

How appealing to how many is the indomitable Rocky and his training expected to be? To the vast majority, probably seventy-percent, very much so. Fitness is much talked about nowadays. Besides everybody knows that there's no time like the present and staying at it is where it's at. If only we all could; it just seems so impossible.Thus, new options to making it easier seem to be coming up monthly.

This is also a response to the waning traditional approaches to American health--ones which do not seem to be heading off the maladies of our time. They only seem to be making hopelessly dependent on the new drugs and our doctors' diplomas to save us.

There are some who said no to traditional health decades ago. They have been running marathons, cycling, or working out at their own health clubs. Thus, one might think that they couldn't care less about having a program right where they work. Nevertheless, having a new corporate facility and even a group to be part of may actually be quite welcome. That's because these people know the value of not having to waste travel time, of being able to work out when they need it, and of having a group of people to bounce ideas off of.

But there are others, possibly ten percent who will simply want nothing to do with fitness. They do not see the value in it, believing they (or anyone else) are as healthy as we can all get right now. Besides, it won't save them from a coronary, so they think. So, where's the value? Perhaps they rely on Tylenol, blood pressure meds, McDonald's, real beer, perpetual TV and think we all should grow-up to be just like them. With luck, these people are not overweight and addicted to smoke or drink; but they most likely are, or soon will be. Nothing can be done to help these folks until they first want to help themselves.

Chapters 6-9

The focus of energy has got to be on the open-minded seventy percent (along with the already fit.) These people know that fitness is right for them and welcome the opportunity to make it a basic part of their lives. But change isn't easy, and starting at it is hard on people. There always seem to be near-impossible obstacles that are standing in the way . These include : 1.) no time; 2.) never having worked out and thus not knowing what to do in the gym; 3.) confusion over what's good to eat; 4.) distrust of supplements. Group work is ideal for making these go away.

But some will have it worse. They may have problems with cigarettes, food or pain. Fitness can help make these problems lessen, but it is never going to make an addiction go away. And group work will never be enough.The unfortunate truth is that those who do not have these problems cannot really understand why the others who do don't simply stop doing it. The reason, of course, is that they can't. That's why specialized help is needed.

Health problems are personally problematic. They cost money; they damage appearance; they create self-doubt (why can't I be like everyone else); they create problems at home; they result in lost hours in the office, or severely diminished effectiveness as a result of them.

Health problems are corporately problematic. They affect the bottom line in increased insurance costs; and result in decreased productivity. The major concern is that if something is not done today, three out of every four employees will be obese by 2020. That suggests a never-ending spiral of problems from related illnesses, increased insurance costs and lack of optimal performance.

Chapters 10-11

What's the best way to stop all of this?

What we can do is take advantage of fitness if it's made available in the workplace. Then we don't have to waste time with more traveling to the gym, and we can take an aerobics break during the day to clear our heads. After all, that's why the new gym was put there in the first place.

Too, we can always ask for help from someone who's been at fitness for a virtual forever. There's nothing so reassuring as the knowledge that someone has survived as a result of a few decades of training. After all, "common sense" says that anyone past high school is too old for much other than a job interspersed with sufficient rest and relaxation. In other words,if there's a fitness veteran to help get us into a new lifestyle, we've got a better chance of staying at it.

Last but not least, we can look up to our bosses. Lucky is the employee who has a buff CEO. Yes, there are CEOs who wouldn't think of missing their daily stress-buster ten mile. But that's not yet the norm. Perhaps it will be in the next ten years or so. But its still great to see that Mr. A. or Ms Z. frequents the gym even if it's only to do the treadmill. Why? Because it's helpful to know that management works out during the day, thus we can do as well. Further, "they" eat right--like a health nut-- not expecting us to be "real people" with the "mature" steaks, burgers, coffee, martinis or a few beers, etc.

Moreover, having a boss into fitness can have a trickle-down effect. The boss affects the employee; the employee affects his family; the family effects their friends; these people affect other people. Consequently, lots of people feel good about fitness. As a result, we all feel better acting more lively, enthusiastic, and with it. Therefore, we just spontaneously treat others better. Who can put a price tag on that? Who would even want to? The positive effect of the buff CEO is simply a breath of fresh air in the current health-care smog of our country.

Chapter 12

That type of trickle down effect is far more effective than the standard biggest loser contest. The former has a long-lasting effect, while the latter is over in under two months. The trickle down effect promotes ongoing lifestyle changes, something far more valuable for more people than the loss of a few pounds. Those are just likely to return within thirty days.

The trickle down effect, accompanied by one on one counseling in conjunction with group work, has the potential of quickly getting people out of the standard American lifestyle and into one that might have made their high school coaches happy. That's another way of saying into a fitness lifestyle-- the only sure way to optimize the healthy potential in all of us. It's the best way to make medical checkups stellar, turn back the clock, make lasting changes to the waistline and, most importantly, enable us to do better at our jobs than we ever dreamed possible.

No pill, no workout CD, no new high-tech gadget, no quick cure will make this happen, though, admittedly, something like a two week acai cleanse, a brisk daily walk and a heavy dose mufti-vitamin may be a great way to get the ball rolling. It's just that after this easy part, there needs to be arduous follow through. Fitness does not come in spurts or cures like no-refill prescriptions from the doctor or the promises from some advertising department for a new machine or product. It comes from long term dedication and persistence. That is much more like the brushing of our teeth. We all know this. If only we'd act accordingly.

The best way to insure that we stay at it this time is first to think through what, when, and how we are going to keep on doing what we decide to do. In other words, we should do just like the doctor and all of our sensible relatives and friends always say, use our heads. We should do this before getting into a new routine, making sure that what we decide on is something that can be lived with on a daily basis. That may seem like way too much work for those of us who crave the mindless signing up for a biggest loser contest; but this is the only way to actually get fit and stay that way forever.

It can even work if the company CEO is an inveterate couch potato--having put in the new gym only in hopes of getting a tax deduction down the road. It's what Rocky did with his own early morning raw eggs, his running through Philadelphia, the pounding of his sides of beef and his sparring at Micky's gym. Sure, Rocky had a trainer but he was far more his own coach and person than Micky's (Burgess Meridith's) prodigy.

That's the way that we have to be.

Chapter 13-14

To make this a reality, we need an active imagination (an extension of thinking to become fit.) We need an icon in our heads--one who will get us back on the wagon before we fall off. That applies to diet, supplementation and exercise. All of these need to be kept up, yet all can become seemingly too hard to keep at. That's why we need an imaginary Jack Lalanne, a Jillian Michaels or a Jane Fonda to keep us going in the right way on a daily basis. They've got to appear in our minds at the very second we start feeling as if there's a good (grown-up, mature) reason to take it easy today.

Finding the icon who is right for us is simple. Getting them in into our heads is not easy. But it can be done by persistent study accompanied by the humility to accept that we need them. Taking a few months to learn everything about these people, subscribe to their newsletters and really understand what they have to say to us can be far more important than anything we've done in the last ten years. Having them in our heads can really turn our health around forever. It may even keep us from the coronary that some seem to think is inevitable.

Chapter 15-16

However, there is a danger in taking an icon too seriously : there is a danger in hero worship. Before all else, we are who we are and we have to start from where we are in the here and now. That is paramount. Thinking we have to emulate our icon in order to be OK is depressing. Jane, Jack, and Jillian are all peerless in their own rights. They should be, They have been at it for far in excess of a humble decade. As a result, they can do far more than what we can do. Therefore, we shouldn't even try to equal their performance unless we scale it down to where we're at right now. Of course, after twenty years of daily dedication we may have performance levels and records of our own making--ones which our friends, or kids may find fantastic. But this will take time--yes, time--something our fast food mindset finds unacceptable.

Included is a chapter of what I do and why. It's not meant to be anything other than a mere description of what I do with the same regularity as the brushing of my teeth-- an example of something anyone can do even on their birthday, the Fourth of July and Christmas. (Who would think of going to a Christmas party without having brushed, right?) Something like that --something do-able on a daily basis with similar reasoning should be what you are putting together for yourself.

Chapter 17-18

Though MDs are not as enthusiastic about fitness as might be ideal, they are not really adverse to it either. It's just that their main function is to make certain we are healthy. Thus, a pre-fitness routine check up is a good idea. There's always the possibility that we may have something which a two week prescription of antibiotics could cure. Determining that is what they're good at.

However asking our doctors' permission to start training should be definitely out! It is not something a Rocky-type would do. Asking our doctor if fitness is right for us kind of like asking about Cymbalta is right for us. That may sound grown up and mature, but it suggests little more than a child-like dependency on some all-knowing guru. Never forget an MD is trained to do operations, set bones prescribe drugs, ie not coach us to go against Apollo Creed.

If that sounds too disrespectful, look at it this way : 1.) we made it up the stairs to the office (unless we're all still enamored with the elevator); and 2.) he or she can really tell us to not start working out if this is what they really believe. After all, maybe we actually look like we're about to have a heart attack as a result of the three flight climb.

Chapters 19-21

Fitness people work out; they eat right and they use supplements. They do these things because together, they work. Doctors do not have experience with workouts or supplements, though do to some degree with diet (eating in moderation). That's not enough! So, how can they be much help when it comes to fitness? There's the best reason why our icons are necessary. Exercise is king, nutrition is queen and those crucial little pills are the Queen's royal pets. Any program, lacking in any of these, is not likely to have the desired results. Our icons will stand behind all that.

Chapter 22

Recent studies have shown that exercise is good for our minds. Of course, the ancient Greeks believed that as well, but this is seemingly a brand new idea--one that not enough people find respectable. In fact, there are still some who erroneously believe that adult fitness will turn us all into what has been called a dumb-jock!

John J.Rathey's studies with his Naperville high school kids suggest the opposite. Associate psychiatric professor Elissa Epel believes in exercise to curb "rumination". Eric Berne, well-known psychiatrist from the early sixties thinks that taking care of our bodies can help cut down on reach-back and after burn, what he calls mental trash. Our buff-bosses believe that having a gym and a healthy life style will make us more mentally with it by cutting down on stress, illness and lack of energy.

CONCLUSION

Where are we at after all of this?

Still skeptical, or on the way to the gym everyday? If the former, we should keep in mind that the three out of every four of us will be obese by 2020. Is that what any of us want?

It's certainly not what our companies want. That should say something--which, if they continue to say it loud enough, consistently enough, and often enough, just may turn the health of our country around.

Posted by mark clemens at 4/6/2012 12:26 PM | Add Comment

Ch 21 Those Essential Little Pills

The Fountain of Youth published a new post entitled "Ch 21 Those Essential Little Pills" on 3/15/2012 1:35:57 PM, written by mark clemens.

Ch 21 Those Essential Little Pills

SUPPLEMENTS

Most everyone believes in diet (as queen) and exercise (as king.) The two of them together will enable us to get fit stay fit or become super-fit, like body-builders.

Most everyone already into fitness knows that supplements help in the process-- that they're in fact essential. That's why they were called princes and princesses in the last chapter.

Maybe, though, it would be better to think of them as pets. After all, some either do not have kids (princes and princesses) or have bad relationships with them. But pretty much everyone knows that life without Barney the Beagle would just not be the same. Therefore, in that spirit, supplements are like Barney.They are the added features within the exercise-diet kingdom--great additions, which make everything better.

What do supplements do? They help metabolize food, which increases energy; they decrease recovery time; they repair tissue, aiding in the healing process from sprains and strains; they make us feel better. Anyone who has regularly used vitamin and mineral supplements over an extended period of time (at least a year) will attest to at least that, and probably more.

To regular supplement-users, it is inconceivable that anyone would not be using them. That's because they simply cause an all over sense of wellness or good feeling. Thus, even those who refuse to work out, for whatever reason, can still benefit. That's a terrific reason to try them, even if mom told you her cooking was all you'd ever need. In other words, thinking about joining the happy minority of supplement-users is not a bad idea.

Besides, things have come a long way in the last four decades, There are more supplement stores and more supplement options than there ever have been; there are a few MDs who are beginning to cautiously recommend supplements; there are numerous newsletters claiming the benefits of mega-dosages of various vitamins; there have been athletic teams and Olympic athletes using these for decades. Yet, as the figures below suggest, less than two in ten of us use supplements.

OUR DOCTORS

Perhaps this is due to the attitudes of the mainstream medical community. In general, doctors look with great suspicion on what is not part of what they prescribe. As has been stated in earlier chapters, these professionals are: 1.) skeptical over claims made by vitamin users and manufacturers; 2.) very wary of their patients self-medicating; 3.) fearful that supplements will be used in place of food or prescriptions they may deem essential. As a result, in the most extreme cases, doctors may even refuse treatment unless supplements are given up altogether. Most of us know all that.

With such attitudes from those whom we respect, it is difficult to stay at supplementation, if we can even get into it the first place. The feeling is that if supplements really were good for us, they would be encouraged by our doctors. But, for the most part they're not. So, if we want to use them, we're on our own. That may make us think twice about using supplements; or, ideally, it may make us wonder if our current MD is right for us.

However, just like we all need supplements, we all need our doctors. We expect them to be wholly honest with us, and thus know we owe them the same. That is, we should be upfront with them. Doing so will at least give us the option early on of finding another more open-minded doctor, or let them know what we've been taking, should we need "real drugs" for something unforeseen, such as a severe case of the flu. In other words, having what we take in our file is no more than fair treatment of those whom we depend upon. It's also in our best interests, medically.

It is tempting to say that MDs are most adverse to supplements because they've either never used them, or never stayed with a vitamin program for more than a couple of weeks. (It takes supplements a while to become effective. They do not fall into the "quick fix" category.) A study by a major institution may well provide a better answer.

However, for now, it may just be best to speculate where doctors are at when it comes to fitness. For the most part, doctors :1.) preach exercise but do not do much beyond walking moderately if and when they have time; 2.) follow a good diet, and expect us to do the same; 3.) do not encourage vitamins and in general believe they're saving us money by discouraging them. (Presumably that helps offset the costs of the office visits?) Thus, people who believe that doctors are the final word on fitness would be wise to simply refrain from overeating, walk a little bit more now and then, and stay away from non-prescription pills. That will in all likelihood make our MD more confident about getting us to eighty five, or so.

This is not that bad of a reward for doing what our doctors want. We could all do worse. And, it's not that bad unless we might be hoping for something more.

But, like what?

OUR ICONS

How about vibrant health like Jack in our fifties, to say nothing of our nineties, or a Rocky-like intentionality in our forties, or a Jillian/Jane-like image for the up-coming class reunion? Our doctors are not into those kinds of things, and we'd probably have a hard time asking them for advice even if we sensed they might be.

If we are looking for something more, we need to dive into fitness lifestyle. That means : 1.) getting into real workouts (as differentiated from strolling a couple times around the block every other night. 2.) always staying on our diets (which are calorically and constitutionally precise by reason of really reading the labels, eliminating all of the junk, getting rid of the red meat, and staying clear of anything and everything having come to the grocer with pesticides hormones,etc.) and, 3.) really using supplements (as distinct from maybe taking a Centrum now and then as long as the cost doesn't cut too much into the beer and pizza line item in the checking account.) In other words, we need something more than whatever common sense tells us we need to pass our next annual check-up.

Clearly, this requires some courage. There isn't one of us who hasn't heard or read check with your doctor first at least once per day. That all too common street wisdom implies a real conversation to ask permission for anything that might seem out of the ordinary. That includes, but is not limited to, TV's latest new pill which Doctor might say is right for us. Making an appointment for permission is no more than grown-up common sense.

How many of these summit conferences are needed during a year? Hopefully not too many. After all, there is always the co-pay to worry about. Then too there is the reliance on drugs (as if that's so much better than being on vitamins.) But we needn't get into that. After all, the FDA says they're safe with only a few side effects. Besides, the ones we hear of underneath the saccharine elevator music only to happen to other folks.Then too, the pharmacists always get the dosages right, and the doctors' handwriting is always legible. Surely... and the check is in the mail.

THE SWITCH

The alternative to being into standard health (AMA, etc.) is being into fitness (ala Jack, Jillian or Jane, etc.) That means having a daily imaginary conversation with our icon (no co-pay) to make sure we're still on track. It can also mean trading in our current MD for another MD (preferably an athlete in their own right) at the Sports Medicine Clinic. There, at least, we have a very good chance of not getting rejected for wanting to be seriously into supplements. However, these folks may want to know what we're combining with what and the like. If we don't appreciate that, we're forgetting they're taking some extra time with us. Justifying our program to them might be something from which we might actually benefit.

But some caution is in order. Relationships to family doctors can go back a long way. Thus, we can find that introducing something like a passion for fitness might destroy and otherwise highly therapeutic relationship. That's bad. Why? Health is not just about prescriptions, operations and casts for broken wrists. It's also about the human interactions which, most often, get better with time. These alleviate anxiety. In short, knowing that Dr X will always be there to take care of us makes his or her medicines and treatments work better (figuratively and literally.)

Severing this relationship is not easy. Nor is it even advisable, unless we are really convinced that being fit is superior to just being OK. in other words, it really might be more sensible to just cut back on eating, never miss that after-dinner stroll every other night or so, and promise to never take more than an occasional Centrum. That way we'll avoid feeling guilty for those daily five mile runs on our lunch hour--the ones we're supposedly too old for. Same goes for sneaking those vitamins which we only eliminate daily anyway, to say nothing of trying a bottle of Jillian's fat burners ( a mortal sin to be sure.) In other words, we'll be able to look Doctor straight in the eye and say that we've been good.

The icons throughout the preceding chapters all use supplements. But they're not all the same in what they take. Nor are they really clear about how much they take. That's even true of Jack who has the longest history of what seems to be rather standard supplement usage and who comes closest to Rocky downing the raw eggs. (Jack had a daily blender concoction of vitamin pills, kelp, and vegetables--all of which according to him tasted awful; none of which is spelled out anywhere for us to copy.)

Jane is next, having been on vitamins presumably since the Nixon era. But her current comments are about testosterone supplements, which some may find problematic in spite of the Web MD blessing.

Last is Jillian, who's claim to supplement fame is in a fat burner, never saying much about the more commonplace vitamins and minerals or even workouts in her fat-burner advertisements. The impression we get is that the fat burners are all we need (probably unintentional from the Nation's Toughest Trainer.) That, by the way, has gotten her sued. So, even our super-people are not really all that helpful when it comes to this topic.

Too, there's no one set theory about what works--just like no one believes that Beagles are the only great addition to the household. Nevertheless, there may be a sensible, detailed alternative.

Beyond the three icons, with the general relative guess as to what they take, there is a book having sold five million copies. It spells out how to supplement and is written by an MD and his wife. (Nutritional Healing by James and Phyllis Balch, see below.) Perhaps we should all start there, even before internalizing our icon's website.

If nothing else, we can tell our MD that we did our homework, should we ever get looked at with raised eyebrows after confessing to regularly taking ten times the MDR (minimum daily requirement) for all of the B's, for example. It may even get us kudos with our brand new sports medicine practitioner. Really though, studying a book like this is no more than good sense. It's using our heads!

But, how many of us brave pioneers are out there? There is strength in numbers, so that's important.

In other words, how many supplement users are we really talking about? Maybe it should be countless numbers of Americans, but its not. Here's some data--a little old, but at least indicative that it's still not one out of every three.

A national survey conducted in 2007 found that 17.7 percent of American adults had used "natural products" (i.e., dietary supplements other than vitamins and minerals) in the past 12 months. The most popular products used by adults for health reasons in the past 30 days were fish oil/omega 3/DHA (37.4 percent), glucosamine (19.9 percent), echinacea (19.8 percent), flaxseed oil or pills (15.9 percent), and ginseng (14.1 percent). In another, earlier national survey covering all types of dietary supplements, approximately 52 percent of adult respondents said they had used some type of supplement in the last 30 days; the most commonly reported were multivitamins/multiminerals (35 percent), vitamins E and C (12–13 percent), calcium (10 percent), and B-complex vitamins (5 percent).

--------------------------------------------

These numbers are not good from a national fitness perspective. No one can keep up daily workouts in addition to the demands of the standard American work week without using supplements. Clearly, there are those who disagree. But, they, in all likelihood, haven't been : 1.)on a strong multivitamin since undergrad days; 2.) a champion athlete; 3.) aware of how they feel and perform on an hourly basis; 4.) working on a sophisticated supplement routine for at least twenty-five years; 5.) scrutinized by a pharmacist relative to potential harmful effects; 6.) straightforward with every primary care physician for at least a decade. All of that is to say that, to a few of us, supplements are indeed more than an alleged waste of money.

Nevertheless, the supplement users are still in the minority. It's just that there are far more today than were when Lalanne started promoting fitness. Indeed, there weren't even places to easily get them back then.For instance, Milwaukee WI's first health food store appeared in about 1960. (Jack goes back to the thirties.) At least now there's a considerable number in each major city, to say nothing of many fine wholesale outlets on the internet. All of that's great, even if there always seems to be some presumed out of shape legislators who have the need to highly regulate, if not end, this essential business.

So, where are the icons at, when it comes to supplements?

JACK

In one of his many interviews, he was asked if he used vitamins. His response is below and was probably accompanied by shocking disbelief that anyone would even ask. The exact dosages of what he took every morning aren't available, so we're on our own trying to figure out the nutritional magic for someone incomparably stellar.

What may be helpful is talk about how he took his nutrients. He was just like Rocky downing them no matter what the taste. This is a great lesson for the pill-o-phobes, who just can't swallow all of those doctor un- friendlies. (They're so big, making them stick in our throats.They eventually cause liver trouble, as if Doctor's pills never would, etc.) When the effect is experienced the effort becomes a joy. In other words, after doing our homework, we should forget about mom's phobias, and just trust the icon!
---------------------

Share Guide: Do you use supplements? Jack LaLanne: Are you kidding? About 40 or 50 a day. Everything from A to Z. Ninety percent of them are natural, as much as I can take. I take enzymes, I take herbs, the whole bit!
________________________________________________________________

So much for Jack. He uses the more standard supplements and thinks that we should all be on them, but he never comes right out and says this. He did however heavily promote his juicer which is a good way for us to get a lot of nutrients very quickly.

JANE

Jane is a bit more controversial. She has recently been talking about the use of testosterone as a supplement, but does so never forgetting healthy lifestyle and good genes. Does she use anything besides her latest supplement? More than likely she does, as she was detained during the Nixon era for smuggling what were supposed to have been drugs. Of course, they were actually vitamins.

Is she still on them now? More than likely. But Jane is most about lots of vegetables and daily workouts. Staying sexy has probably always been part of that. And, remaining open to something new (her testosterone supplement) at seventy is indicative of being younger than her years. It seems that makes her worthy of more palatable descriptions than "aging bombshell" and "workout diva."

Too, she's implicitly criticized for still being irritated over her bout with Nixon right after Klute in the seventies. Fine, we can criticize her if we want, but Jane still is an activist (maybe her version of Rocky,) and what she went through is still with us. There are still folks who think that supplements are in the same category as steroids. They think this without even considering that steroids were once given by doctors to those who had been bed-ridden with muscular atrophy. Perhaps they still are.

But, steroids or not, pills which we put together all on our own, without the doctor's blessing, are problematic to many. That's one of the chief reasons for a continuing aversion to fitness with perpetual addiction to the standard American- grocery store- FDA approved- good life. Hopefully, that really does get all it's adherents to eighty-five with a place in the sun (don't forget the blockers) as opposed to a bed in a nursing home (where the standard workout is range of motion!)
-------------------------------------------------

(CBS) Jane Fonda may owe her famously sexy body to good genes and a healthy lifestyle, but the aging bombshell credits testosterone for her healthy libido. The Oscar-winning actress and workout diva, now 73, started taking the male hormone at age 70, the Telegraph reported.

"Here's something I haven't said publicly yet," she said in a recent interview. "I discovered testosterone about three years ago, which makes a huge difference if you want to remain sexual and your libido has dropped."

Science seems to be on Fonda's side. Though testosterone supplements aren't approved for use by women, recent studies have shown that they can boost women's sex drive, according to WebMD. Women who take testosterone have been shown to have more sexual thoughts and fantasies as well as more satisfying sex.

--------------------------------------------

The actress (Jane) had just finished working on Klute - hence her distinctive haircut - when she was arrested at an airport in Cleveland on November 3, 1970.

The customs officers wrongly accused Fonda of drug smuggling after finding vitamins labelled b, l and d (breakfast, lunch and dinner) in her bag.

Known for her political activism, her arrest over something so innocent as vitamins was a sign of the paranoia of the time.

At the time, the actress was on her way back from speaking at an anti-Vietnam war fundraiser in Canada.

___________________________________________________________________________

JILLIAN

Does Jillian take supplements? If so, this is not in the forefront of her non-workout presentations. She's more about good tasty healthy meals and her fat burner. This is her claim to supplement fame. Is that good?

The writer below doesn't think so. It's as if Jillian is trying to say all you need is my formula. That is something that probably isn't really representative coming from the "Nation's Toughest Trainer." But it would be good, it seems, if she were a bit more in our faces about exercise, especially for her new potential fat burner customers.

Pills alone won't do anything for the long haul, even if diet is modified to keep the weight off. How many do we know whom this has never worked for! We all know that the yo-yo phenomenon is almost certain to afflict anyone who goes on a crash diet, miraculously dropping twenty as if overnight. Those won't stay off. Workouts are necessary to make things right for the long haul--to make a lasting physical transformation. It is unlikely that Jillian would disagree with this even at an advertising meeting to make a more alluring label for her product.

The actual ingredients of her wonder drug are accessible on the internet. Unfortunately, it's a proprietary blend, so we don't really know what the dosages of each of the ingredients. But that doesn't mean it won't work. Facts are helpful, but have a tendency to really satisfy no one other than academicians. What most of us care about is results. People say that Jillian's pill works.

What follows is a criticism of Jillian's contribution to the supplement part of the fitness triad. It's OK, but her product may actually be better than what her critic suggests. In other words, asking if her critic actually tried her fat burner, or even a much more prosaic appetite suppressant, might not be completely out of line. After all, his mom probably never used any of this stuff, right?

--------------------------------------------------------------I

Two capsules of the Calorie Control supplement are taken before each meal and two capsules of the Fat Burner are taken daily.

Even though Jillian Michaels has created an entire portal of diet books and fitness DVDs, her Quickstart Rapid Weight Loss System does not come with any specific diet or exercise guidelines.

Click here to learn more about the Jillian Michaels diet and fitness programs.

Diet pills are never an answer to weight loss and no one should know this better than diet guru Jillian Michaels. The launch of her own diet supplement system therefore comes as a bit of a disappointment to those who eschew pill popping for the tried-and-true regimen of diet and exercise in order to lose weight.

Her Quickstart Rapid Weight Loss System might confuse her devoted followers and send the wrong message to anyone looking to lose weight the old-fashioned but proven way.

However, if you are interested in using Jillian Michaels Quickstart weight loss pills, then speak with your doctor before beginning.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

ABOUT THOSE ESSENTIAL LITTLE PILLS

As spoken of above, there is a good book (see below) on supplements written by a doctor and his wife. Though most MDs are not pro-supplements, a few are. This book is a great resource to help in making our own decisions about how much and what is needed for our highest level of fitness. Using it, of course, assumes that we know ourselves well enough. Unless we're hopelessly dependent on our doctors, that shouldn't be all that revolutionary of a notion.

The only thing a little problematic is that the Balchs' book centers on what's wrong with us and how to correct it. That is not as good as assuming there's nothing wrong and that we only want to feel better each new tomorrow. But a little reading between the lines and a lot of experimentation can get us to that point.

The most important initial lesson is over how much is enough. The assumption that one hundred percent of the minimum daily requirement (however this was determined) is enough for everybody is severely undercut. That can be seen by glancing at the Balchs' recommended dosages. Initially, this may be a bit disconcerting.

Consequently, few of us will follow the Balchs' recommendations to the gnat's eyebrow. But, we will get a good idea of where we can start to correct any health problems we may have. That will give us an idea of how to strengthen any potentials which could help us to live more fully.
----------------------------------------

Prescription for nutritional healing

Phyllis A. Balch

113 Reviews

Penguin, Oct 19, 2006 - Health & Fitness - 869 pages

Natural health's number-one bestseller for more than twenty years, completely revised and updated.

With more than five million copies sold, Prescription for Nutritional Healing is the most trusted, comprehensive source on dietary supplements, vitamins, minerals, and herbs.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

F

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Posted by mark clemens at 4/5/2012 10:37 AM | Add Comment

Ch 20 Exercise is King

The Fountain of Youth published a new post entitled "Ch 20 Exercise is King" on 3/8/2012 9:01:42 AM, written by mark clemens.

Ch 20 Exercise is King

If nutrition is queen, then exercise is king. So says the grandfather of fitness Jack Lalanne. Neither Jillian, Jane, nor Jack's wife, Elaine, would disagree. Exercise is essential to fitness and anyone who doesn't say so should be suspected of not caring about us for the long haul.

The question we have to ask is how much, or what's enough? That's because the chief reason for most of us not exercising is time. With hour long commutes, demanding jobs and time owed the kids, we just haven't got any to spare, or so we think. Thus, what amount of time does it really take to make a significant difference (knowing we may not even have that to spare?)

Possibly the best way to start answering this question is to look at what our heroes do. Surely, Jack was the most prolific with his feats of endurance including an incomprehensible pull of barges with passengers on his seventieth birthday in San Francisco Bay. But few of us really care about things so fantastic (and there were others such as 1033 push-ups in 23 minutes.) This is all too much like the movie Rocky actually going the distance with undisputed heavy weight world champ Apollo Creed. Too, there are the celebrity images of Jane and Jillian, to say nothing of their obvious ability and form as seen on their videos.

All of that is enviable. But none of what they do (or are) could possibly have come from just a few jumping jacks now and then. It must have taken countless hours of work. So, does any of Jack's, Jillian's or Jane's exceptional ability really matter to us?

Beyond an initial "How awesome," probably not. Why? Because the price we'd have to pay to become their equal is simply too much.

Rather, we're concerned with looking good, feeling great and being all that we can be both as business people and as parents. Sure, it would nice every now and then to land a stellar contract or to make a significant contribution to the workplace, whatever that might mean. They're our scaled down versions of the big event. Those are our Apollo Creed bouts--occasional ones which we'd love to win.

But we really don't aspire to be Jack, Jillian or Jane with all of their peerless excellence. That is, we can be Rocky-enough a few belt notches less, a dress size or so smaller, a lot more enthusiastic about living than we currently are, and victorious in landing the big deal when the opportunity presents itself. That's because we are work a day mature people with families and careers, not aspiring fitness icons like our heroes. In short, our fitness requirements are not as great, but they are great enough for us. Therefore, we've got to put a limit on the hero worship.

Who we have to be is us, not our icons. Being us is being our own Rocky. Being Jack, Jillian or Jane is being someone we're not. Relying on them for inspiration and help is as close to being them as we should be. So, have they suddenly become obsolete? No. We simply have to do as they say, not as they do!

What then would they tell us about exercise?

Fascinatingly, that far less is necessary to get us where we want to go. Granted, we may feel their initial recommendations will never be enough, but we can always adjust upward in eighteen months or so. Until that point, doing what our heroes suggest, never missing is where it should be at. And that, by the way, may not be all that much of a piece of cake.

So, what's the magic number? Believe it or not, it's around thirty minutes a day, and not even every day. That's something our doctors wouldn't raise eyebrows over (even if most don't do even that.) It might be something we all could do, if only we'd go to bed a half of an hour earlier.

Too easy?

Doing a thirty minute workout everyday with the intensity our icons recommend is not easy. If we've never seen a Jane or Jillian video, we should really do so. Getting into that kind of intensity and speed is crucial. Same goes for any reruns of Jack's shows, remembering that he never rested between sets. The 1950's and 60's wisdom still holds good for today.

What follows is a little about exercise as it relates to the lives of these exceptional people. The hope is that knowing more about them will keep all of us religiously at it for far longer than the standard sporadic three months or so. And yes, that's the old start after New Years only to quit before tax time scenario.
____________________________________________________________
JILLIAN

Most people know Jillian from the Biggest Loser show. Actually, we could know her from her newsletters and advertising campaign as she is probably the most prolific exercise promoter around today. What she believes in is a thirty to thirty five minute workout, which most people describe as a killer. But people like that because it works, and because it comes from her herself (a little rough around the edges as has been said. ) She leads in a straight forward earthy manner.

Even more appealing may be her concentration on self esteem and personal empowerment. These are more acceptable motivators than working out to become attractive--something which the medical community (with the exception of plastic surgeons) finds unnecessary. Hopefully this attitude will change with time, as most of us really would like to like what we see in the mirror. Anyway, Jillian is the assertive woman-- one who has overcome and gone far beyond her past, That makes her a heroine.

What is most interesting, however, is the assertion that she herself works out for four to five hours a week. That is less than an hour a day! (Looking that good should require more time, or so it seems.) Of course, her workouts are intense. And, the ones she recommends for us are thirty to thirty-five minutes in length. Thus, for business people who typically have a time problem, she may be more than just another fitness entrepreneur.

The following two excerpts give a little taste of Jillian, the icon. For those who like her, there's a considerable number of books and videos to get us into the right habits. Same goes for her numerous newsletters. But, the important thing about Jillian is the intensity. That is something which must be there if the time investment is going to be that small.

A suggestion would be to first preview the videos only for two weeks to a month while getting up to their speed via walking or jogging.
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Meet your trainer Some people are genetically blessed with flat abs. Fitness pro Jillian Michaels, 34, is not one of them. In fact, by eighth grade, the 5-foot-2 Los Angeles native had reached 175 pounds, thanks in large part, she says, to an unhappy relationship with food, passed down to her from her dad. "It seemed the only way my father knew how to relate to me was through food, so we'd have ice cream and huge bowls of popcorn," Michaels says. As her waistline grew, her self-esteem shrank. She hit rock bottom at age 13, when she was kicked out of a martial arts class for sneaking in Cheetos. "At the time, I was so angry at my instructor, but then I realized he was right. So the next week, I went back and was like, 'OK, I'm ready!' Suddenly I went from the kid in school who everyone would make fun of to the kid in school who could break two boards with her right foot. I felt empowered for the first time," says Michaels, who went on to not only earn her black belt but also shed an astonishing 60 pounds. Now the 115-pound Biggest Loser motivator works out four to five hours a week to stay strong inside and out. "Fitness is not about six-pack abs," she says. "It's a tool to help you reinvent yourself. It's about exercising your greatness, feeling the full potential of your power and reaching it with no shame." Those abs? They're a little bonus.

JillianMichaels.com

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JPGstart says:

Looks like a great exercise to do. Jillian's story is a great one. We all need that person to tell us its time to start getting physically fit. Like she said its not about the abs or even the small size for me its about being healthy and feeling good about myself. When you stop looking at exercise as a chore and look at it as a good thing you do for yourself it is more fun! I like getting fit with some of the best fitness DVDs available today in the privacy of my own home. revupforfitness.com/

<div< a=""> class="dated">Posted: 1/19/2012 9:13:31am
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JANE

Jane describes herself as a feminist and activist. For that she appeals to many who also appreciate her continued good looks at 73. The important point is that whether we look at the older videos from a few decades ago, or the more recent ones, we get a glimpse of what can happen if we stay at fitness for more than the proverbial three months. Surely, Jane has been at it for the better part of her life, but likely did not really get the greatest benefit until about thirty years ago. That's when her eating became a non-issue. Still, old videos or new, the proof is still there that continued exercise makes a significant difference.

Her latest video is low impact, which may be in keeping with her need to target Baby Boomers. Of course, she is one, and as a sideline, confessed on the Today Show to not being able to do as much as when she was younger. But she is still doing far more than most of us, and she is doing it in spite of serious injuries along with what now sounds like a quest to stave off Alzheimers.

In the excerpt below, she is training to climb the Himalayas. That is her Apollo Creed event. We can all learn from this if we have a need to find something to motivate us. Something like an extraordinary climb will do it just as well as looking great in the mirror. But, a big event assumes we've been at fitness for a considerable period. For most of us, that isn't where it's at.

Rather, we are right alongside her with the injuries--possibly with the same ones that Jane's actually had. Too, she suffers with what sounds like a rather catastrophic fantasy life. She seems to believe that if anything can go wrong with her, it will, unless she keeps working out. The huge plus, though, is that she has pressed on in spite of her injuries and fears. As a result, she is more than worthy of being thought of as icon.

Most of that can be seen in the excerpt below. Like Jillian, her workouts are a half hour. Something we should all be able to do.
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The Oscar-winning actress suffers from osteoarthritis, a hereditary from of arthritis, and required surgery on her left knee in 2009 forcing her to use a wheelchair for a short time.

She has insisted that her joint problems are not as a result of strenuous fitness regimes she undertook in the past.

"My family's osteoarthritis (the gradual disappearance of joint cartilage) is a matter of genes, not working out," she said.

Miss Fonda had a titanium hip replacement in 2005 and has endured years of painful back problems.

She released her last workout video in 1995 and has brought out 23 in total in addition to five workout books and 13 audio programmes.

Shortly after having knee surgery in November last year she said: "I'm slowly falling apart and feel like a walking spare parts depot. I had to have it all repaired because I want to climb the Himalayas. And at 8,000ft, my body has to run smoothly."

In response to the secret of her good looks she has said: "I owe 30 per cent to genes, 30 per cent to good sex, 30 per cent because of sports and healthy lifestyle and for the remaining 10 per cent, I have to thank my plastic surgeon. I'm happier, the sex is better and I understand life better. I don't want to be young again."

http://revupforfitness.com/</div><div

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Still the best
Jane is forever young! Her work-outs are all well choreographed, well researched and always fun. She uses a variety of instructors that are down to earth and friendly. She's been my favorite female work-out guru for over 25 years and at 72 years old she is as beautiful as ever from head to toe! Keep 'em moving Jane.
- posted by Marty on 12/11/2010

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JACK (and ELAINE)

Jack was known for his two hour a day workouts--in his words, done mostly as an "ego boost." What was always said about him is that he went quickly from weight-lifting set to set, doing swimming afterward. Like always, that's what he did on the day before he died

In his later years, he mainly promoted basic exercises for over sixty people. There are numerous examples of these in his last book "Forever Young." Elaine, his wife, was a devotee. Doing these, she would join his more intense routine for thirty minutes daily. This is the same amount of time as he advised for us.

Though most would say that his feats were incomprehensible, the most powerful thing about Jack was his personality. At ninety-six, he had the physical energy of a college athlete with the persuasive charisma of the expert in fitness.

Probably the most scientific aspect of his routine was his insistence on varying it every month or so. That meant changing the resistances on his lifts, and sometimes even changing the entire routine. His belief was that the body gets accustomed to certain movements, and, thus, does not respond as quickly as when the routine is changed.

He is known for never missing a workout and for the creation of most of the standard machines found in health clubs today. Mostly for his older followers, perhaps, he created hydrostatics, which is a low impact form of resistance training.

For his core belief, he was all about us helping ourselves to be fit now--not being sedentary, only to find ourselves praying for divine intervention later. He also asserted that most of us start dying at 62, only to be buried by 85. Knowing this man through everything available should make staying at a daily half hour routine no more extra than the brushing of our teeth.

It should also alleviate any fears of getting older. As can be seen in his TV latest interviews, at ninety-six, he had more drive than most people one-quarter his age.

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“Isn’t he enthusiastic?” Elaine chimes in. “Have you ever seen anyone so enthusiastic? And I have to live with him.”

Elaine’s intervention gives me a chance to get a word in. I still want to know about Elaine’s exercise program.” “I work out in the gym and in the pool just like Jack,” she says. “I also work out in the hot tub doing hydronastics, which are aerobic water exercises Jack created.”

“We have a new pool,” she continues, “called the ‘River Pool,’ which is
a resistance pool. “We both work out every day,” she says. “Jack even has a series of exercises we do in our hotel room when we’re traveling.”

What could be considered very ironic is the fact that LaLanne didn't really enjoy working out. "It's a pain in the gluties," he said. "But you gotta do it. Dying is easy, living is tough. I hate working out. Hate it. But I like the results."

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Until his death LaLanne worked out every day for two hours. He lifted weights for 90 minutes, then swam for half an hour.

By AMANDA VANALLEN

Jan. 24, 2011

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WRAPPING IT UP

According to the icons, thirty minutes a day will do it. It's just that what's put into those thirty minutes is crucial.

Do we need a brand new workout space for this? No. The videos of all three icons were designed for in-home use. And, as Elaine said above, Jack had workouts for both of them that could be done when they traveled.

Nevertheless, the new workout space that your company has just put in is probably the best for the long haul. We are social animals and thus do far better when we do what we do with others.

That is true even if we're the only ones in the facility. This ghost town phenomenon is common in the corporate world. Here is the brand new facility with wall to wall machines, and no one is using it! True, if it's open 24/7 that could account for some of the reason. But most of us still think we should be sharing at least the lat machine now and then. So, what's the big deal about showing up?

Just working out there, even if alone, is never the same as doing it in the den at home. it's better for purely social reasons.There's always the chance that co-workers will join us; someone might see us through the door; the boss might think there will be some new great things coming from someone getting into shape. All of that is significantly better for everybody than just doing it where no one can see.

On the other hand, this is not to downplay the icons' videos. These are a great way to get up to speed (so we don't look bad on day one in the workout area) and to teach us what intensity is necessary.

The whole selling point here is that thirty minutes will do it. Even two-hour-a-day Jack believes this, or he would've gotten Elaine doing far more than she did. After all, he had fifty years to do that.

It needs to be stressed that none of the icons-Jillian, Jane or Jack-- believe in diet alone. Yet, some professionals presumably do. Where this came from is unclear unless, from doctors prescribing diet pills. Therefore, it can't be all bad. But, the aftermath without exercise is not great. In other words, after severe weight loss, we just don't look good unless we've been working out.

Then too there's always the need to make up for all of the drudgery by pigging out. That's what often happens after a starvation routine. Exercise, counter to what is generally believed, decreases appetite. It doesn't go the other way around, unless we're still hooked on some version of the standard American diet.

Working out really does change all that.

The point here is that Queen, all by herself, is a sad ruler. She needs the King to make her reign tolerable and to get the country great. Of course, a couple of princes or princesses (supplements) is a very happy addition, as most family people will attest. But that's getting into the next chapter.

For further thought on the benefits of exercise order my e-book "Think and Grow Fit."

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Posted by mark clemens at 3/26/2012 9:18 AM | Add Comment

Ch 22 The Non-Rocky Rocky

1.) Book Description Amazon

Publication Date: January 10, 2008

A groundbreaking and fascinating investigation into the transformative effects of exercise on the brain, from the bestselling author and renowned psychiatrist John J. Ratey, MD.

Did you know you can beat stress, lift your mood, fight memory loss, sharpen your intellect, and function better than ever simply by elevating your heart rate and breaking a sweat? The evidence is incontrovertible: Aerobic exercise physically remodels our brains for peak performance.

In SPARK, John J. Ratey, M.D., embarks upon a fascinating and entertaining journey through the mind-body connection, presenting startling research to prove that exercise is truly our best defense against everything from depression to ADD to addiction to aggression to menopause to Alzheimer's. Filled with amazing case studies (such as the revolutionary fitness program in Naperville, Illinois, which has put this school district of 19,000 kids first in the world of science test scores), SPARK is the first book to explore comprehensively the connection between exercise and the brain. It will change forever the way you think about your morning run---or, for that matter, simply the way you think.

"Exercise is the single best thing you can do for your brain in terms of mood, memory, and learning," says Harvard Medical School psychiatrist John Ratey, author of the book, Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain. "Even 10 minutes of activity changes your brain." If you need a little extra incentive to lace up those sneakers, here are five ways that exercise can enhance your brainpower:
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2.) THE BRAIN IS OUR MOST IMPORTANT MUSCLE

Everyone wants to be like Rocky, but no one wants to be just like Rocky. That is, there's got to be more to Rocky than simply going the distance with Apollo Creed. Few of us care about being in such a fight.

But, all of us care about the persistence and dedication that makes us winners. That's the secret to Rocky's appeal. He goes from no one to some one through sheer determination against all of the odds. That's what we admire.

How does this translate into the business world? We all know it takes guts to hang in there even when times are good. It's every day of doing our best, making everything a little bit better. All the while, we're going for the unusual opportunity that's good for the department, the company and, of course, us as well. Doing anything less is asking for a lees than exciting performance review, if not a pink slip. Hanging tough through all of that may be Rocky-enough for most of us.

But what we care most about are the personal benefits of a fitness lifestyle. The writers in this chapter talk mostly about the mental benefits from exercise (the king), while fitness covers this as well as supplements, and diet. The last two elements-- the queen of the kingdom (diet) and the royal pets (supplements) make consistent serious exercise possible. Why is this important to a business person from a mental perspective?

Surely, fitness is not important to get us "psyched up" for a fight with an actual world heavyweight. But it is important to 1.) keep us sharp for our daily activities; 2.)take care of our depression; 3.)boost our self esteem; 4.)make us feel energetic. Those are all things which make anyone's stay in a workplace more enjoyable to say nothing of more productive.

That's why they should be actively promoted by an employer. Of course, they're indirectly encouraged by the inclusion of new workout facility on the corporate premises. If only these did not so often resemble ghost towns! Perhaps the future will prove different. That may come soon if all of top flight management were visibly at a daily workout. Then more of us would feel compelled to get on the treadmills. Too, significant fitness changes to company policy would continue to happen.

One of these might be in what the noon hour is called. It will be a banner day when HR talks to a new employee about a workout break along with (or in place of) a lunch break. There are enough breakfast-dinner people now to make this more than likely in the next few years. Besides, working out mobilizes endorphins (feel good peptides from the pituitary), which make one less likely to become depressed or overly hungry. Moreover, a couple of hard boiled eggs some raw vegetables and banana do not take an hour to eat.

This may sound facetious to those who are adverse to fitness. According to these folks, everybody should get a lunch break with "real food" (burgers and the like). That's to be expected : it's neither more nor less than right. To people in this category, working out is no more than unhealthy austerity and work on top of work. Of course fitness people neither think, nor feel, nor act this way. And, most importantly, we're neither faking it nor going through a second childhood. That's why those with anti-fitness positions should really try the things presumed only fitting for "health nuts".

John Ratey's book, with it's High School student references (mentioned above), is a must read for anyone with or without kids. (We can assume that what works for kids will work for us. Why? Students are a far more convincing focus group than lab rats or monkeys.) His studies focus on a Naperville IL high school, which is off the charts in performance. The reason for this is that the kids start off their day in the cardio-room with scientifically metered workout. As a result, their academic skills register double the kids who sit all day, participating only in standard every other day phy-ed.

How does this apply in the business world?

We are always using our heads. We always want to do a better job at what we do. We want promotions; we want to be thought well of by peers and management alike. All of that can come from the investment of our brain power. That exercise makes a difference in brain function is what Ratey's book is all about.

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3.) BEYOND BRAININESS

People in the corporate world all experience stress. Of course everyone does, it seems, as this word occurs almost as frequently as check with your doctor; but people in the corporate world have it worse. Business people are always expected to perform, meaning land the sale, get the report done, complete the daily tasks, keep up the company image. Moreover, there's always those nerve wracking commutes. None of that is like kicking back for a week in Orlando.

In fact, it's the opposite. It raises our blood pressure, elevates our heart rate, makes us go harder than we might like. Why? Because we know we have to win (in many instances just to survive) at each and everything we do on a daily basis. And, that says nothing of those occasional big deals that can mean so much. It's the having to win that makes things hard. Too much of this, too often, can make us hope for an early retirement.

That's bad enough. What's worse is having it get us before we get it. This can mean heart attack, or stroke. To younger people, or ones that may simply feel young (probably because they've been at fitness for the last decade), this may sound too bothersome to talk about. However, the fitness folks are still in the minority. For the majority, our jobs are felt as hard and wearisome. In fact, they may be causing premature aging (grey hair, expanded waistline, stooped shoulders), unless there's something being done to counter them. That something is exercise. And yes, again and again, proper diet and supplements makes that possible on a daily basis.

In other words, waiting for the weekend to play those eighteen holes of golf is not enough. We have daily pressures that continually need to be offset if we are going to take the best possible care of ourselves. The article below gives a glimpse at the chemistry involved, and a feeling for the present threat, if nothing is done. Of course, anyone who's been regularly at fitness for a long time already knows all this.

But some of us are still skeptical. Why? Probably because workouts are are initially (never forever!) hard and time consuming (until we've got our system). Maybe the following will help.
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The Mind-Blowing Effects of Exercise
By Deborah Kotz, Angela Haupt Us News and World Aug 2012

Jumping on the treadmill or cross trainer for 30 minutes can blow off tension by increasing levels of "soothing" brain chemicals like serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine. What's fascinating, though, is that exercise may actually work on a cellular level to reverse stress's toll on our aging process, according to a 2010 study from the University of California—San Francisco. The researchers found that stressed-out women who exercised vigorously for an average of 45 minutes over a three-day period had cells that showed fewer signs of aging compared to women who were stressed and inactive. Working out also helps keep us from ruminating "by altering blood flow to those areas in the brain involved in triggering us to relive these stressful thoughts again and again," says study coauthor Elissa Epel, an associate professor of psychiatry at UCSF

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4.) OUR DAY TO DAY EMOTIONS

Now we're all into hitting the gym at least five days a week, right? Probably not, as Ms.Kotz talks only about women. C'mon guys; it works for us too. Or, are we really going to play that sad old being seasoned gives us clout routine? How many of us would secretly like to be ten years younger if only we could? Fitness can turn back the clock. But longevity is not all that's being talked about.

Ms.Epel talks about ruminating. What is that? Wikipedia says that :

Rumination is a way of responding to distress that involves repetitively focusing on the symptoms of distress, and on its possible causes and consequences. Rumination is more common in people who are pessimistic, neurotic, and who have negative attributional styles. The tendency to ruminate is a stable constant over time and serves as a significant risk factor for clinical depression. Not only are habitual ruminators more likely to become depressed, but experimental studies have demonstrated that people who are induced to ruminate experience greater depressed mood There is also evidence that rumination is linked to general anxiety, post traumatic stress, binge drinking, eating disorders, and self-injurious behavior.

So, are we all depressed? Probably not severely so, but it's likely that we're not all as happy as we'd like to be. That's because there's other things that go on inside of us as well.

From back in the sixties, Eric Berne, originator of Transactional Analysis, talked about reach-back and after-burn. These are common sense ways of talking about what we all go through. Probably our grandparents would have called it worry, but Berne's words may suggest something different. "For instance, a person expecting to take a trip on Monday starts getting irritable and worried on Friday. He may start trying to clear his overflowing inbox, cut short his evening relaxation, start preparing and packing for the trip, worry about what clothes to take, and so on. However, 'for people who have unusual difficulties with anticipatory stress, the reach-back of an event such as a major vacation trip or a wedding may be several weeks."

Berne was a group psychiatrist, finding himself confronted with the mental trash (as he called it) of his patients every day of the week. Their problems were probably far worse than ours, but this is only to suggest a difference in degree, not necessarily in kind. We all get uptight thinking about what's coming whether it's from the desk next to us, the one upstairs or the kids at home. The question is how much are we going to let it take away from the focus on our work? It doesn't have to be as much as it currently does.

The point is that this type of mental processing becomes far less extensive when we work out. Even Berne believed this, saying that "the body is the only known vessel of the human spirit." To set a good example (and stay healthy), he walked a lot.

For us, just getting on the exer-cycle or treadmill for a relatively short period can shift us from being ruminators to being effective planners (Berne's "cure" for reach back). That can save us countless emotional hours, giving us more energy for other things--things like pouring more of ourselves into our jobs and home life.

The opposite of reach-back is after-burn, which Berne understands as the effect a past event continues to have on our schedules, thinking and free time even after it is substantially past. This can include : 1.) what we should done; 2.) what we should have said; 3.) what we didn't think of, and the like. All of that is distracting and potentially painful.

^{Are those not the types of things that we go through our minds when we're at our desks, behind the wheel during the commutes and probably at night when trying to unwind? OK, perhaps a few of us have better things going on in our heads, but how many? That mental trash is all pretty normal, and we're all pretty much normal. What can we do about our rather dreary humanity?}

^{We can work out, pure and simple.}

^{Our mental trash is at it's worst when not offset by exercise, proper diet and supplementation. Anyone who has been at fitness for a while (who wouldn't think of going to the office without having first worked out) will tell us that.}

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^{5.) ROCKY RUMINATES? NO WAY}

^{Can anyone possibly believe that Rocky went through any of this mental trash? Of course not. Heroes and superstars do not have such mental processing. At least no film producer is going to use up hours on something this pathetic. OK, maybe Rocky confided a little of his hopelessness to Adrian. But we're talking under thirty seconds followed by nice things said to her, more training and further human resolve. What is that in relation to our hours of the same type of ruminating? Same goes for Jack, Jane and Jillian. They may tell a bad story (like how it was when they were kids), but they won't spend much more time at it than Rocky. Rather, they'll get completely back to doing what they love. That's the difference between them and us.}

^{We all go through the same mental processing, but our icons experience the effects to a far less damaging degree than us. How are they able to be so rumination-free? Because they work out; and because they have been consistently at it for decades.}

^{Executives of large corporations know all of this to some extent. In the case of the CEO who hasn't missed a ten mile run on his or her lunch hour in years, it is especially so. People like this know that without their workout, and everything that leads up to it, they would never be able to function at maximum capacity. That is, they would never be able to hit on "all eight" for 24/7 (like a CEO should); and, they know that would never be best for themselves or the company. That's why they got all of their other less fit colleagues to sign off on the new exercise facility down stairs. Now, if only everyone would use it.}

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^{6.) THE FLIP SIDE OF FITNESS}

^{No one wants to hear how bad things can get when we don't do something we should. That's too much like what we heard when growing up. If we don't do as we're told, this is what we can expect. Yet, fitness does make a difference and not being into it does have a price tag. Therefore, it might be good to wrap things up by saying that it's not only time to start but, more importantly, time to commit to never stopping. The concluding excerpt may help if we're still on the fence about a fitness lifestyle.}

^{Following a sedentary lifestyle is more dangerous for your health than
smoking, says a new study reported in the South China Morning Post, and
carried out by the University of Hong Kong and the Department of Health.
In the study, researchers looked at the level of physical activity in
people who died and were able to correlate their level of physical
activity with their risk of dying.}

The results are fascinating: 20% of all deaths of people 35 and older were attributed to a lack of physical activity. That's more deaths than can be attributed to smoking. Looking at specific diseases, the risk of dying from cancer increased 45% for men and 28% for women due to lack of physical activity. The risk of dying from respiratory ailments was 92% higher for men and 75% higher for women. The risk of dying from heart disease was 52% higher for men and 28% higher for women, all due to a lack of physical activity. It turns out that being a couch potato can kill you, literally.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/001547.html#ixzz1pgfnBAL

Posted by mark clemens at 3/23/2012 9:39 AM | Add Comment

Ch 19 Nutrition is Queen

A.)INTRODUCTION

Jack Lalanne said that "Exercise is king and nutrition is queen, Put them together and you have a kingdom." He spent over eighty of his ninety-six years proving this to be true. As spoken of in previous chapters, his professional accomplishments in fitness alone are impressive.But his athletic feats ( too fantastic to list) were even more phenomenal than his Mr America title in 1955. All of that was done in opposition to the prevailing medical attitudes of his time--ones which are still with us to some degree.

This chapter is about nutrition. For anyone who wants to be their own Rocky, eating right is crucial. We always have to put the right fuel in our bodies to go the distance with our own Apollo Creed. If we fail here, we won't be able to keep up our workouts and we won't live to our utmost each day. Those are the essential steps for getting us to where we want to go.

The question is what's right when it comes to eating? As pointed out in the last chapter, doctors do not really get involved in dietary advice unless we are obese. Then they may have some recommendations, the most effective of which is an appetite suppressant. This will work; therefore, it's good. But, if changes are to be permanent, dietary alterations will be necessary after it's stopped. That's true for all of us (who may have lost some weight with an over the counter suppressant.)

Thus, the next important concern is over committing ourselves to eating right. Returning to the Rocky movie, we really never saw him do much other than eat raw eggs right before his morning run. But, helping the script a bit, we have to guess that he must have been eating more than just a few raw eggs. There's no other way to go from nobody on the street to world class boxer. Clearly, the movie didn't get into this, but we have to. Everyone knows that proper nutrition is needed for energy production and muscle repair. But, once again, what's right?

Is there one diet which will work for everyone? Certainly there may be one in the back of the minds of responsible nutritionists. (See the Palaeolithic diet below.) Nevertheless, we're all unique people with specific tastes and preferences. This is especially true when it comes to diets. Some things work for us and some don't. Some we can live with; some we cannot. Some things are enjoyable, while some are not. So, how do we find out what's right for us?

We read over the existing literature, right on the internet., and there's a lot by some rather credible sounding people. That's step one : that's our homework. Too, a commitment to keep working at this (like how do we tweak our diet to make it more fun and more effective) is crucial. Assuming that we're a work in progress is far better than thinking we as good as we'll ever be. This type of thinking is the only way to really make our workouts pay off--keeping us gleefully on Jillian's wagon forever.
_____________________________________________________________________

1.) Where to go next

The next thing is to do is eliminate the bad from our eating habits. In other words, throw away what's bad in the ice box. Don't eat it! Don't give it to pets. This is extraordinarily difficult. Nevertheless, none of our heroes--Jack, Jillian or Jane--would ever say otherwise. There simply are some problematic foods which we've eaten for decades--ones we're psychologically hooked on. We grew up with them. We may even think that life without them is not worth it. But we've got to get with the new program, or we're going to stay looking like a before picture. There's no other way; and waiting until we've eaten up the bad stuff to save the money is an excuse we'd never accept from anyone else.

So, what's bad? Starting with Jack, we can see what has to go from our lifestyles. Equally as important is what has to replace it. The second excerpt will take care of that.

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Interview by Dennis Hughes, Share Guide Publisher

Jack LaLanne: It isn't what you do once in a while that's a problem; it's what you do all the time. Look at the average American diet: ice cream, butter, cheese, whole milk, all this fat. People don't realize how much of this stuff you get by the end of the day. High blood pressure is from all this high-fat eating. Do you know how many calories are in butter and cheese and ice cream? Would you get your dog up in the morning for a cup of coffee and a donut? Probably millions of Americans got up this morning with a cup of coffee, a cigarette and a donut. No wonder they are sick and fouled up.

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In this excerpt, Jack is about what we shouldn't eat. He was a sugar addict eighty years ago and simply made the decision to quit, largely through the inspiration of Paul Bragg. Many of us are still at this point today. We eat sugar because it tastes good and because most of what we get from the store is loaded with it.Closely reading the labels (before putting the goods in the cart) will demonstrate how true this is.

But it doesn't stop there. It goes on to butter cheese, ice cream, sodas, snacks, pizzas, red meat dairy products--most of which we think is no more than normal, and what we need. As if that's not enough, some of us still smoke and eat donuts--something we wouldn't think of combining in Barney the Beagle's dish.

How did we get this way? Granted, some may say how else is there, but there is a better way. We've come too far from the Ozzie and Harriet land of a few decades ago. Those old American goodies, which were supposedly so normal and OK, are now known problems for people. There are articles on top of articles all over the internet which support this. Yet, we still ingest the bad stuff. Why?

Either we haven't really read the existing literature, or we haven't tried any of the newer recommendations to see what difference they might make. Yet, some of us know better and still do what we shouldn't. How can this be?

We eat the way we do because of how we were taught.We were raised on certain types of foods--some which we now feel we can't live without. These can anything from meat and potatoes to Mountain Dew and onion rings. Our parents were into these; so were our friends. Most likely, they still are. Then too, there are always the fast food places. We're still eating Big Macs and Kentucky Fried Chicken. To many us, it would be UN-American not to. Besides, they're relatively inexpensive.They're part of our way of life--so much so that anyone who wouldn't want to eat these would be suspect as a person ( a health nut, a radical, a fanatic, etc) .

It would be inauthentic to say that all of these things are OK, as they will not kill us. That may be true if we are talking about the immediate present (eating them in moderation as doctors are so fond of saying.). But what about over the long haul? Just because they're approved by the FDA isn't reassuring enough. There are too many things approved by this agency which turn out later to be unhealthy. In some cases, they're even lethal. it's just that the media has way of downplaying their badness. No one who is seriously into fitness would deny this.

Many of us say we know that, but continue to eat them to keep from being a health nut. Or, we still eat them because the taste is supposedly so far superior to what the fanatics eat. If that sounds like us, we need is some new friends--ones who are enthusiastically fitness conscious. That means friends who will refuse to eat the things that are unhealthy, choosing always to eat what's good. Being part of a group can help with this.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

2.) Be Smart; Be Fit

Jack LaLanne:You don't have to be a nut. You don't have to be like Jack LaLanne either. The way I eat, I get my nutrition from fruits and raw vegetables every day. My wife and I eat out practically every night, and I've got every restaurant trained. The Chinese restaurants we go to have brown rice, and other restaurants make sure they have the right soups for us, with no butter or cream.
--------------------

Jack's eating is far less out of place today than it probably ever was throughout the bulk of his career. Yet some of us may still find his fruits and vegetables to be mildly intolerable along with the brown rice and the aversion to butter and cream. Perhaps this sounds too drastic. If it's any help, he also ate a 50 gm protein shake in the morning followed by fish chicken and occasional turkey in the evening. But all of that may still sound to UN-American to be do-able. If so, it's time to ask ourselves some serious questions.

Do we care about being fit, or don't we? Without the proper foods, our workouts won't work. That will make us quit. To keep up our workouts, and to keep our weight at appropriate levels, we need to eat low-calorie foods that do actually nourish our bodies. All of that is impossible on burgers, fries, micro-waved pizza and beer. Replacements for these allegedly indispensable treats (start looking at string cheese and grapes as Jane advises below) need to be found today--not sometime down the road, assuming the exercise pays off, or whatever.

Part of Jacks' message is to keep it fun. He and Elaine used to eat out every night. That was his turn-on--something which may not be possible for many of us in today's economy. Yet, we all eat away from home now and then. When we do, it's important that we stay on course. Jillian also makes a point like this below. According to both, we have to stay "on the wagon" at all times. Jane would also agree. This requires some thinking about what's available and what others can do to provide what we need. In other words, there's no time off for good behavior; and, if we're doing it right, we shouldn't even care.

Many may initially find this type of dieting to be too austere or Spartan. In fact, the very word diet suggests not enough or boring. But, this doesn't have to be. When we realize how many extra calories can come from a night out at the wrong place, or how badly the wrong foods can effect the next day's workout, it makes good sense to liven up our good eating habits..
________________________________________________________________

3.) It Gets Easier With Time

Like Jack, Jane had eating problems prior to what may sound like a lot of easy answers. Nevertheless, she overcame them and simply went on to living in a way that complements her workouts and keeps here fit. Again, in her diet, we see large quantities of fruits and vegetables, but now with a twist. Jane thinks in terms of color to make it easier to eat the right things. In addition, she has herself primed from early on with breakfast, using innocuous snacks to ward off hunger as she goes about the tasks of her day..

This, in addition to the helpful hints on her website, make proper diet seem effortless. In fact, it most certainly now is for her. But that was not the case until 44.

In short, none of our heroes had it easy to begin with. Therefore, none of us should feel they're anything other than human--just like us, except with the answers we need to acquire.
------------------

By Joanne Eglash

Diets Examiner

Joanne Eglash has an M.S. in nutrition and more than 20 years of journalism experience. She regularly writes about diet, health, fitness, and...

Continue reading on Examiner.com Get Jane Fonda's diet secrets for looking fabulous at 74 - National diets | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/diets-in-national/get-jane-fonda-s-diet-secrets-for-looking-fabuous-at-74#ixzz1nbZp8UiM

Turning 74 on December 21, Jane Fonda stays slim and energized with a carefully planned diet. It hasn't been an easy path to health for the celebrity actress and activist: the Daily Mail reports that Jane did not conquer her eating disorders until age 44, when she shifted to a low-fat diet.

Jane currently follows a color-based diet, with a goal of variety, from purple foods like blueberries to green veggies such as asparagus, and then something red (apples or red peppers) or something orange (it's the perfect season for juicy oranges!).

In addition, Jane eats a healthy breakfast and snacks on salt-free rice cakes and raw veggies, according to the Daily Mail.

____________________________________________________________________________

4.) Get Creative With Healthier Meals‏

Like Jane, Jillian is concerned with making sure we get enough tasty good food during the day.

One of Jillian's consistent concerns is that we stay on the wagon. Like Jack who loves going out to eat, and Jane who seemingly loves to grab healthy snacks on the run, Jillian talks not only of making things healthy and enjoyable, but also of being prepared with controlled healthy tasty options during the day. All of these people keep diet and enjoyable together. Further, they advocate thinking ahead. If we're any different right now, we should be following their lead immediately. An extra five hundred empty calories tonight, imitating the Mardi Gras before Lent, will only make tomorrow's workout harder.

Play With Your Food

Choosing foods that you actually enjoy is a crucial part of eating more healthfully. If you don't like what you're eating, you'll eventually find an excuse to fall off the wagon, right? Sometimes it just takes a little modification to make an old favorite healthier and more enjoyable.

Get tips on how to create healthier meals

Stick With Your Diet When You're On The Go

In a perfect world, we'd whip up balanced, nutritious meals that we'd sit down and enjoy with our friends or family. And when our days were packed full of errands, meetings, and play dates, we'd have tons of low cost, portion-controlled, healthy, and tasty options to pick up along the way. Well, that's not the case: The reality is that things get much trickier when we need to grab meals while out.

__________________________________________________________________________

5.) Today's Responsible Super Nutritionists

With so much diet information out there right now, it only makes sense that someone would try coming up with an authoritative benchmark. What follows is one such academic attempt, which, eventually, may completely replace the standard balanced diet advice with the three meals a day from the four food groups. Of course, there have been numerous attempts to do this already, from one new food pyramid to another. All of this has been done in good faith as has the work of the following academician. We would be wise to take him seriously.

But, in the end, it's what we call our own on a day to day basis. Of course, it would be best if it incorporated all of the latest concepts, but that might not be possible for philosophical reasons. For instance, we may wonder why a cave man diet would really be the best option for a modern day office worker. It's just that really answering this question, instead of merely dismissing it with a smile, is where it should be at. That's what we all must do if we want to break away from the easy answers of the past--the ones that may still be psychologically hooking our friends, families and neighbors.
---------------------

An Interview with Loren Cordain, PhD

by Robert Crayhon, MS
Reprinted by permission from Life Services

Can fifty thousand years of human evolution be wrong? What are we really "designed" to eat? Are high carbohydrate "Food Pyramid" diet standards a health disaster? What do palaeolithic fossil records and ethnographic studies of 180 hunter/gatherer groups around the world suggest as the ideal human diet? Find out in nationally acclaimed author and nutritionist Robert Crayhon's interview with palaeolithic diet expert, Professor Loren Cordain, Ph.D.

But now, proponents of the Palaeolithic diet are defending their research and the diet by saying eating like a caveman may be the healthiest thing you ever do.

The eating regimen consists of fruits, vegetables, lean meats, fish and nuts. The dieters are told to avoid salt, sugar, milk and grains, as humans in the Stone Age time did not have access to such foods.

Many nutritional experts, like Harvard nutritionist Dr. Walter Willett, believe the 1992 pyramid does not reflect the latest research on dietetics. Certain dietary choices that have been linked to heart disease, such as three cups of whole milk and an 8 oz (230 g). serving of hamburger daily, were technically permitted under the pyramid. The pyramid also lacked differentiation within the protein-rich group ("Meat, Poultry, Fish, Dry Beans, Eggs, and Nuts").

Some of the recommended quantities for the different types of food in the old pyramid have also come under criticism for lack of clarity. For instance, the pyramid recommends two to three servings from the protein-rich group, but this is intended to be a maximum. The pyramid recommends two to four fruit servings, but this is intended to be the minimum.

The fats group as a whole have been put at the tip of the pyramid, under the direction to eat as little as possible, which is largely problematic. Under the guide, one would assume to avoid fats and fatty foods, which can lead to health problems. For one, fat is essential in a person's general sustainability. Unsaturated fats from a natural source can actually aid in weight loss, reduce heart disease risk, lower blood sugar, and even lower cholesterol. These fats can be found in olive oil nuts, pesto, seafood (including fish, shrimp, squid, and krill among many more) and avocados. Also, they are very long sustaining, and help keep blood sugar at a steady level. On top of that, these fats help brain function as well.

_______________________________________________________________

6.) A Personal Offering

We all need to make a decision relative to what we eat. It's either that or simply go about doing whatever we like (maybe trying to cut down like the doctor advises,) and hope for the best. That is the riskiest option possible. Looking around at main street America should be enough to convince us all of that.

What should we do? Follow the writer's advice? No and yes. No if it means exactly copying the diet which follows; yes if it means doing our homework, and then restocking our refrigerator today --not when it becomes empty.

Yes also means continuing to work at it. Something as enjoyable as Jane's trip through the day with enough colored vegetables, Jillian's creative dishes or Jack's finesse with the restaurant owners is not going to come over night. Nor will knowing how much we need to keep up our workouts without getting fat. Same goes for sifting through the academic thinking of sound nutritionists-- understanding what they are saying and then painstakingly determining what parts of it works for us. All of that is what's ahead if we really care about being fit.

But what do I personally eat, and why? (I'll tell you, but it's far important for you to answer that for you! Here's my answer to prime the pump for your own.)

My wife (who loves to continually come up with new recipes from books and the net) and I are on a gluten free diet. We're on it because it makes us feel good, and because it enables me to make improvements in my workout and maintain my BMI. It also fuels our thinking during the day and at night, digests completely and does not put weight on. Too, it completely eliminates the bloating which comes from the standard wheat based American diet.

In this diet is included between thirty and sixty grams of protein (fish, chicken, turkey, very occasionally hamburger), approximately 130 grams of carbohydrates, ten different fruits and vegetables, a lot of different teas, some low fat treats such as date bars, homemade bread (as store bought is too expensive and less nutritious) and some other healthy enjoyable things that I'm sure to be forgetting. Daily calories are around 1500 for her 2050 for me (due mostly to body weight--14.25 calories per pound.)

We eat twice a day; occasionally snack with natural juice and supplements for me, soup with gluten free crackers for her. We stay away from restaurants that do not have gluten free dinners and carefully choose what we eat when in other peoples homes or at meetings. (If any of that creates a social problem, we find other activities to do with these types of people.)

That's it; and that's enough. That works. Moreover, It's not boring, not weird (except to a few of our Ozzie and Harriet acquaintances,) and not expensive.

Will any of that work for you? If maybe, then try it for a month and see. But only do it (or something other that sounds more like you.)That should cause a great difference in how you feel and a slight one in how you look.

Just don't let the queen of fitness be the only one to rule. Bow to the king as well with some kind of workout, preferably everyday.

B.) WRAPPING IT UP

When it comes to health matters, it's always good to say check with your doctor first. Well, we can all do that if we like. But our doctors are not a nutritionists in most cases. Therefore, what would be better is to say take a week looking through everything dietary that's out there on the net. Then, and only then, re-stock the refrigerator.

Of course, consulting our heroes is always good. That's been stressed in previous chapters. But all of what they say will not work for all of us. If we try to make it, we'll only rebel with some time off for good behavior--some time which will ramp up into quite a bit. We just are not mindless children anymore, and it's time we start acting our age, which, in this case is not a put-down. That's why the homework has to be done--kind of like helping the heroes to say the right things to us. Too, it helps to know where they've come from and what they do now. That should enable all of us to come up with a considerable number of good ideas (including but not limited to tasty meal plans) and a lot of optimism.

The point here is the same as everywhere : use your head. We all know ourselves better than anyone (or we can if only we'll get out our notebook and pencil.) That will enable us to make the choices we need to make--anything from what hero to consult, to what specific foods to cook etc. None of that is easy, but it's worth the effort. And, it's got a far greater chance of enabling us to make it for the long haul -- greater than figuring mom was right (so leave well enough alone) or that some brand new starvation diet promising to work wonders will actually keep the pounds away forever.

As this is a book about fitness in the corporate world, it makes some sense to now bring up our work day world. We are at our desks for at least eight hours, possibly more. That is preceded and followed by a long commute--more sitting-- in most cases. That means leaving home early and returning late. During that time most of us are likely to get hungry. What we do during these hours--and there's a lot of them-- will effect our overall fitness level and may even determine whether or not we are able to stay at it. Therefore, it would be best if our company cafeteria had only healthy options for us to choose from. That means no more coffee, pastries, wheat bread sandwiches,etc.In other words, no more "normal food."

That may sound draconian to some, possibly to our corporate executives as well. But something must be done to end the spiraling poor health of the country. Having a cafeteria with only healthy options is a good place to start. Those who refuse to eat those types of foods can of course always bring their own bag lunches and thermos bottles. Nevertheless, the corporate position should be clear relative to nutrition (queen.) This will be nothing other than consistent with their thinking about the brand new workout facility (king.)

For further thought on fitness diets order my e-book "Think and Grow Fit."

Posted by mark clemens at 3/1/2012 1:40 PM | Add Comment

Ch 14 One Percent Inspiration 99 Perspiration

The Fountain of Youth published a new post entitled "Ch 14 One Percent Inspiration Ninety-nine Perspiration" on 1/27/2012 1:52:51 PM, written by mark clemens.

Ch 14 One Percent Inspiration Ninety-nine Perspiration

We can make fitness a reality

Edison is first reported as saying "Genius is one per cent inspiration, ninety-nine per cent perspiration" sometime around 1902, in the September 1932 edition of Harper's Monthly Magazine.

"I have not failed.I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."

Those are two quotes from Thomas Edison, possibly the world's most prolific inventor. He had ideas and devoted countless hours to making them work. His finding of ten thousand ways that something didn't work was his positive spin on failure. Presumably, he knew that if he hadn't failed enough times, he would never have been successful. Consequently, he talked in terms of the negatives as if they were positives.

When we get into fitness we are like him, but in a very limited sense. We have an idea of what we'll look like twenty pounds less or ten years younger. Then go about trying to make that happen. But how hard do we try? In our estimation, very hard. But is it anywhere close to the effort of Edison? How many of us can say that we've found ten thousand ways (or even just thirty) of not staying at our fitness lifestyles?

The vast majority of us start in January as part of a new year's resolution only to quit by tax time. This is common knowledge to health club owners and may become similar in the business world even with a brand new facility right downstairs. There will still be that drop-off of effort for reasons we don't come close to really comprehending. That has got to stop.

But will we, as children of the fast everything generation, be able to make it stop? Will be able to keep ourselves from quitting? Most of us still believe that we can do anything if only we will. Yet this quitting compulsion (anti- perseverance) is scary. Possibly a little more from Edison will make a difference.

1.)Nearly every man who develops an idea works it up to the point where it looks impossible, and then he gets discouraged. That's not the place to become discouraged.

2.)Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.

Those words were written over a hundred years ago, long before the been there done that cliche of our fast everything generation. Consequently, they may seem a little old fashioned. After all, how many of us can say that once we fell back into the same old patterns that we simply found a new way of working at it again? Chances are we thought that if it didn't work once or twice it must be broken. (Must be that we have some genetic problem.)

If Edison had been like that, we'd still be using candles.

This chapter is about getting into fitness and staying at it. It's about inventing a fitness lifestyle that works for us as individual people. Perhaps that's like inventing an electric light bulb which can burn for fifteen hundred hours--something no one thought possible--no one except for Edison, apparently. He always knew that he could make that happen : it would just a while to figure out how.

One Percent Inspiration

Let's say that our electric light bulb is like Rocky. That's a fitness lifestyle that works for us. It's the same as never missing at getting up early, running through Philadelphia, downing nutrients, doing the right things-- always focused on going the distance with the world champ. That's a real winner. That's someone we'd like to be.

When seeing the movie, we say yes to the character. We'd love to be in training just like him, always staying at it, just for the love of the challenge. Then we'd be doing what we know we should--something which is no different than what we want. So... that's what we do--exactly what we want, right? No way.

After watching the movie Sunday night, next morning we just turn off the alarm at seven. Then we head for Starbucks, down our cappuccino with or without pastry, make the commute, and stumble into work by nine. In other words, we're right back to the real world in less than twelve hours, leaving Rocky and the best part of ourselves in the never never land of the movies. But we can't deny that he brought out the self-determination in us, if only for a little while.

If we're honest, we've got to admit that it'd be fun to be like him. But we're us, not him. So how do we change? How do we get into being a super early riser? How do we really get through the streets of our Philadelphia? Where do we come up with an idea like pounding a side of beef? How do we know what supplements (our raw eggs) to take? What's a good diet for a person in training (low carbs, no bad fat, what?) Where do we get the courage to go against our Apollo Creed (that challenge which could eventually get us promoted)?

Questions like these all need answers before we can really follow in Rocky's footsteps. In the movie, he just knew what to do. Consequently, he kept on doing it. None of us are at this point. That's why this movie does not work beyond Monday morning, after having seen it on Sunday night. We're just not yet ready to emulate Rocky; but that doesn't mean we wouldn't want to, if only we could. What we need is intermediaries.

To become like Rocky we first need our heroes and heroines. In the last chapter, we talked about icons. Most of us have them. Jillian Michaels is probably now the most popular. Before her, it was Jane Fonda and Jack Lalanne. Of course, there are others as well, but they're not as well known. The point is that some of us have access to these ideal people either through their videos or websites. If only we would consult them often--like everyday!

The problem is that we never do so enough. We may subscribe to their websites. But too often we delete their newsletters without even reading them. Or, we put them unopened into a folder, which we never glance through even on the weekend. They should be right on top of our favorites, but they seldom are. If they were, they really might have the impact they should. Then they just might become part of us.

To make that happen, we have got to get them into our heads. We have to let them replace our supposed realistic selves with all of that alleged "wisdom" such as it's our bodies telling us that we just need to take a little break, or that we better take it easy at our age, and similar inanities, To keep from being into ourselves, our icons have got to be studied on a daily basis. They should be looked at for ten minutes before leaving the house on the morning and before going to bed. Then, their influence might really have a chance of sinking in.

Cynical people call this hero worship; That's supposed to be a put down. It either means we (childishly) can't be our own person or we don't have the will power to do things on our own. Well, maybe that's true. So what? Get real. Stay away from the cynics. Accept it. If it helps, we can always be our real selves--John, Al or Susan-- after we've been into listening to Jane, Jack or Jillian for six months or so.

That really might be better than what everyone else is doing. Just look at main street USA and conclude that everyone is making it to the gym everyday, eating no more than two thousand calories and doing well with all of our supplements. Is a university study really necessary to determine if this is the case?

We need our icons

We all need help getting to be our own Rocky. We need help from our intermediaries in the form of a constant reminder of what we should be doing when the temptation to do the tired out tried and supposedly true seems all-compelling. Celebrities like Jack, Jane and Jillian are best to help with this. Everybody knows them and is impressed by their before and after stories, and pictures. That's why they have the power to excite the imagination, motivating us to action, when all else seems to fail. That's why they are important.

The only difficulty is that we don't think about these people enough, if at all, when times get tough. Their image ought to spontaneously arise in our imagination as if they were standing right there in front of us. All too often, that doesn't happen. Instead, we find ourselves being realistic, grown-up, mature, filled with alleged common sense. That's when we think about how busy we are (not enough time), how tired we are (not enough energy), how discouraged we are (not enough results fast enough.) That's when we need our icons the most. But have we done our homework to make them part of us?

Ninety-nine percent perspiration

This where the perspiration comes in. It's the psychological perspiration that's the hardest. Lifting the weights or peddling the bike (the real sweat) isn't nearly as difficult . It's the getting to the gym to do them that's the hardest.

The same goes for eating. Getting depressed, frustrated or discouraged will make us feel like pigging out. We should know that about ourselves by now. That's why we have to decide to do something other long before that happens. But that's tough. It's a lot harder than actually saying no thanks at the table. That's where our icons come in. Certainly none of them would let their emotions get out of hand; so why should we?

Then too there is the supplement issue. They cost money, probably a hundred or so a month from a good wholesale house. Think of what we could use those dollars for. How about going out for a few wheat crusted pizza and a pitcher of beer? Moreover, there's always that good tasting popcorn with the bad oil\ at the movie theater. Is life really worth living if we can't have any of these? So, save the money, right? Our icons would never agree. In Jack's words, "Are you kidding; I take forty to fifty supplements everyday."

The very first habit to master is dialoguing with these iconic people instead of with ourselves. Doing so may not be all that easy.

The ten thousand attempts of Edison

Supposedly scientists had been trying to invent a light bulb for close to eighty years before Edison. But none had perfected a bulb that could last for a considerable amount of time (go the distance.) It took Edison's hard work sifting through supposedly thousands of possible options to develop the carbon filament in an oxygen free bulb. This is the one that lasted for fifteen hundred hours.

We go through much the same thing trying to get our icons to work for us (getting Jack, Jane or Jillian into our heads). In theory, we all know what they would say if they were right there beside us, The trick is to get them in front of us 24/7. That is the same as getting their filament to burn brightly in us for a figurative fifteen hundred hours. If only it would. That's about four hours per day for a year, enough for anyone probably.

The challenge is making this happen, All too often, we get enthusiastic about people like Jack, Jillian or Jane only to virtually forget about them by the end of the week. They may stick in our minds a little more time than Rocky did, but not by much. Certainly, it's never enough. That's even when we subscribe to their websites to get a weekly email. The sad thing is that we may not even open it. Or we may pay four dollars per week for Jillian's advice only to never follow it. The question is can we admit that we are this lax?

If we can, a corporate fitness director may be all that's needed. There probably isn't one who doesn't secretly wish to be as much of a celebrity as Jillian, Jack or Jane. But that's never the case. At best, a corporate fitness director has been there done that (when it comes to fitness) for at least twenty-five years and has no trouble asking if an icon's newsletter has been opened yet today. That's the most important part of the job-- done with a smile, of course.

Genius is largely the result of hard work, rather than inspired flash of insight. Thomas Alva Edison

Many of us used to believe in sudden flashes of insight called Aha experiences. It is as if we could turn off the radio, think really hard and suddenly come up with the answer to why we again missed not only our workout but also our calorie restrictions and our supplements. Then we would magically get back on the wagon, never to fall off again. More absurdities from the everything now generation?

The good news is that this is possible. The bad is that the real answer, the one that has the power to get us back on the wagon and keep us there forever, may take many (maybe hundreds) times of asking. Again, we can benefit from the words of Edison. Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.

How is this even remotely close to been there done that; guess I'm not a fitness type person. Isn't that what we're prone to say when we've failed again (for the third time, maybe) looking for a way to get ourselves off of our own hooks? How many times had we really looked at our icons' websites? How many times did we really try to figure out why we missed our supplements, workout or daily dietary requirements. How much psychological sweating did we do?

The hardest thing to get is a primary right attitude. Some may have other words for this like the soul of a champion or the heart of an Olympiad or the determination of a Rocky. But the plainest words are perhaps the best. What we're talking about is nothing more than the decision to do the right thing no matter what. Wanting to get there should make us go to our favorite icon's website in a sincere attempt to let them do their magic. That will get us back on the wagon, ideally, before we fall off.

A corporate fitness director has seen people struggle with this time and time again. It's the same old sad story with many different reasons for it's continued perpetuation. The real issue is over what to do when our icons fade into the background. That is, how do we get from asking how ourselves how we feel today to what's Jillian, Jane or Jack got to say?

That may sound Draconian, completely feeling less, too severe for anyone. But how many of us are this way about brushing our teeth? We don't go through the should I or shouldn't I routine. We just do it. In fact, we wouldn't think about leaving the house if he hadn't And, we expect that everyone else we meet is the same. We don't need an icon for this anymore, if in fact we ever did. Mom or Dad probably did all that needed to be done, long before we can remember. That's why we now just automatically do it. We've got to get into being the same toward fitness. There's no other way to become like Rocky.

So... what should we do?

We should spend a little time subscribing to our icons' websites, and then spend a lot of time getting them into our heads. (By the way, they've all got great advice on their websites and pretty much say the same things.) That's the 1/99 scenario. In fact, thinking of it just this way may help. If we spend the next one minute deciding between Jillian Jane, Jack, or some one other, we should spend the next ninety nine (one hour thirty nine) getting them into our heads. For those of us who've done this before, the ninety nine minutes isn't even close to enough. But it's good for openers.

What we can all do to make this work is simple : keep a journal of what goes through our minds right before working out, right before pigging out, right before refusing to swallow all those pills. Do that for an entire month. Do this whether we do the right things, or not. On day thirty-one, look back through all the entries. They'll be the same, even though they sounded different each time they were written down.

There isn't any of us who can tolerate being this muddled! Consequently, changes will occur.

But if they don't, this can mean a walk down to the corporate fitness director's office. Talking about our icon with a sympathetic figure will help to get this individual into our minds. That's what has to happen, or we will be continually falling off the wagon-- angry at anyone, including ourselves, who might be unenlightened enough to try getting us back on. Another a wasted month of all that, and we'll have pulled muscles, bruised egos and heaven knows what else.

Corporate fitness directors have seen this thousands of times. The good ones know that they can't be there for everyone 24/7. But an imaginary icon can be, at least until fitness becomes the same as the brushing of our teeth. Getting a Jack, Jillian or Jane into our heads is where it's at. That's the simple answer to why did I fall off the wagon again.There's no pill, no theoretical answers, no magic. There's just a get with Jillian, Jack or Jane. But making that happen requires the proverbial ninety-nine percent perspiration.

For further thought on icons and hard work order my e-book "Think and Grow Fit."

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Posted by mark clemens at 2/28/2012 10:55 AM | Add Comment

Ch 18 A Pound of Cure

Doctors and Exercise

In the last chapter we talked about getting back on the wagon before falling off. This is a figurative way of speaking. It involves translating feelings experienced early on in the day into mental images. (The assumption is that we all can do this, if only we will.) Too, it involves knowing our favorite hero well enough, so that he or she can be instantaneously experienced-- seen and heard right there beside us when we start feeling ourselves going off course. All of that is the essence of forethought--what we need to remain consistent with a diet, supplement and exercise.

What we didn't explicitly talk about is that falling off the wagon will (not can) have some serious consequences. It really will require a pound of cure. Backslides or lapses always need to be addressed, assuming we want to get back up to speed. Without doing so, the one "little" deviation results in "big" trouble : it causes the second, third, and fourth, which ultimately results in the allegedly reasonable need to quit. As we all know, this ultimately causes a loss of self-confidence (requiring a ton of cure.)

However, using the ounce of prevention pound of cure analogy in this sense is not the only one of importance. We may really need the same type of thinking long before the first day of getting into a new fitness lifestyle. This refers to the doctor's visit--that essential afternoon appointment, which is the only responsible thing to do before a lifestyle change. Why? Because there are things, sometimes hidden from us, which would make exercise temporarily unwise. Too, there may be drug interactions which could make the addition of supplements problematic. Last but not least, calorie reduction with the substitution of gluten-free for wheat, fish and chicken for red meat, fruits and vegetable for snacks may be somehow unwise (though it is unclear how) at least for the present. In short, it's always good to check with our doctor first.

But this shouldn't just be to find out if we're medically OK. It's also to put our doctors on notice. They need to be explicitly told ( not asked, unless we need to hear better take it slow and the like) about our getting into a fitness lifestyle. The best way to be explicit about our intent is to simply have a list of exact dosages of supplements, an outline of expected exercises with their regularity and duration, along with two weeks of meal plans (listing grams of sugars carbohydrates and protein along with calories.)

Being confronted by anyone this together (having used their head so much) may be alarming even to a seasoned professional. Most people just ask if they're healthy enough for healthy activities, to paraphrase the latest libido stimulant commercial. Of course, we can do that, if we must. But this helps no one really, even it passes for grown up mature protocol. It's what we've all come to expect--something which says virtually nothing (other than that we'll surely seek immediate help for a problematic condition lasting more than four hours!) What's really needed is an OK stamp to train like our version of Rocky, ie. not a permission slip to walk a few blocks after dinner three times a week, which is what the standard inquiry brings to mind.

To get what we really need from our MD requires quite a bit of homework on our part. So, that should be started very early on. But it needs to be remembered that it will have to be read, and there are others behind you in the waiting room. So, our written plan should be double spaced and cut up with bold headers. Color coding makes some sense as well. That all should at least get a professional glance, a courtesy scan of about the same amount of time as it takes to scribble out a prescription.

More than likely, this will result in the MD finding something questionable with what's been put together. Only working out every other day as opposed to every day (as your hero and corporate fitness director think best) is most common. That's the alleged cut in stone advice straight out of the sixties, which "everyone" is supposed to know anyway. Ignore the fact that most doctors don't even work out three days a week. Anyway, finding something amiss with your plan is to be expected. Therefore, all that should be cared about is obtaining a good to go stamp, nothing more.

The most unfortunate thing about this visit is the lack of encouragement. That's what people generally expect from these professionals. Partially this is due to their heavy patient loads, wherein a check-up for a healthy person is far less important than anticipating a by-pass surgery for someone really bad off. Too, it it is the result of their training in curing disorders, not preventing them.

Perhaps all of this will change as more MDs actually prescribe fitness lifestyles for their patients and live them themselves. But lamenting over that not being the case right now is a waste of energy. (This is a job for ACSM. See below.) Too, allowing their lack of enthusiasm to become an excuse for not getting a check-up, or for having second thoughts about getting fit is simply childish. Again, an OK stamp or a good to go stamp is all that should be sought. That, they are more than willing to give if they see that there is nothing wrong right now--something which should be very reassuring.

Beyond this, the over-arching goal should be to meet doctors where they are at after one hundred fifty years of modern medical advancement, and go from there. In other words, fitness without a doctor's blessing is foolish. That's why scheduling a follow up appointment for six months down the road makes good sense as well. In this way, problems can be headed off should they happen to appear (another ounce of prevention,) and first powerful complements of how great things are going may also be received. Both will make the rest of the year go even better.

What appears to be coming

It can never be stressed enough that most doctors come across as apathetic toward fitness. That can be something which kills the enthusiasm to start a fitness lifestyle. How this can be has been touched on in previous chapters. Perhaps these professionals ought to be more supportive than they are; but they cannot be because they themselves do not workout, do not supplement (though this may be changing as will be discussed below,) and do not really know much about nutrition other than one really shouldn't overeat. People often expect that doctors know everything at least when it comes to health. Thus, anything which would make us healthier should in fact be well-received and encouraged by them. However, aspects of fitness are not part of their schooling and, with back to back appointments, hospital visits, operations time is just severely limited.

The not too distant future may be different. As can be seen in the letter below, physicians are encouraging other physicians to get with it at least relative to exercise. The letter below is from ACSM --the American College of Sports Medicine, which has over 45,000 members and an impressive staff of highly educated leaders and trustees. (Google their website.) Hopefully, with their influence, doctors will in fact start being more proactive about recommending exercise to their people for preventative and recuperative purposes. But it's unlikely that there will be any great difference in the country until more Mercedes with MD stickers are seen in front of the local health clubs.

Still, there is hope, as can be seen from the following letter. With as many people currently involved in ACSM, and with as impressive of a staff, it may be that gradually more doctors will actually start practicing what we erroneously think they preach, namely preventive health and dynamic physical excellence.

Dear Health Care Provider,

What if there was one prescription that could prevent and treat dozens of diseases, such as diabetes, hypertension and obesity? Would you prescribe it to your patients? Certainly.

The guiding principles of Exercise is Medicine^® are shared by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and the American Medical Association (AMA). They are designed to help improve the health and well-being of our nation through a regular physical activity prescription from doctors and other health care providers.

The guiding principles of Exercise is Medicineare as follows:

Exercise and physical activity are important to health and the prevention and treatment of many chronic diseases
More should be done to address physical activity and exercise in healthcare settings
ACSM and AMA are making efforts to bring a greater focus on physical activity and exercise in healthcare settings

Please feel free to peruse this Web site for additional information. You will find a more detailed description of Exercise is Medicine, ways you can counsel patients on their exercise regimens, and information on how physical activity can be an integral part of any patient’s healthcare program.

We urge you to make exercise consultation a regular, important part of your interaction with every patient at every visit.

Thank you very much for your interest in this initiative. We look forward to working with you more in the future to help advance the Exercise is Medicineprogram.

Sincerely,

Robert E. Sallis, M.D., FACSM

Task Force Chairman, Exercise is

Medicine
2007-08 Past-President, American College

of Sports Medicine

Ronald M. Davis, M.D., FACPM
Past-President, American Medical

Association

Doctors and Supplements

Most doctors are not pro-supplements. This is for a number of reasons : 1.) they fear that people may substitute vitamins for regular medical care and a good diet; 2.) they know of occasional scare stories (miniscule numbers in comparison those of big drug companies, pharmacies and hospitals) of supplement abuse; 3.) they feel there may be adverse drug interactions with their prescribed drugs either at present or down the road; 4.) they believe there are poor quality supplements out there presumably from outside the USA; 5.) they have been steeped in professional skepticism over claims made by supplement manufacturers and even fellow doctors. Consequently, most MDs will do little more than mildly tolerate a patient's desire to try supplements out for whatever reason.

Nevertheless the following article from UPI appeared in 2011. While it may make the reader wonder about how the data was collected, who was asked (ages, parts of the country and the like,) it at least suggests that there may be some breakthrough in doctor's attitudes toward supplements. Perhaps it says no more than it seems there are more doctors who are willing to try supplements with the possible intent of augmenting their practice by recommending them when they feel more comfortable. But the fact remains that even the humble mufti-vitamin is only reluctantly encouraged.

WASHINGTON, March 13 (UPI) -- Not only do many physicians recommend supplements to their patients, many take them themselves, U.S. researchers say.

The study, published in Nutrition Journal, found 75 percent of dermatologists say they use dietary supplements and 66 percent recommend them to their patients; 57 percent of cardiologists use supplements and 72 percent recommend them to their patients; and 73 percent of orthopedic specialists use supplements and 91 percent recommend them.

"Health professionals, including physicians, have an interest in healthy lifestyles and in habits that may contribute to wellness, which may include the use of dietary supplements," Annette Dickinson, consultant to and past president of the Council for Responsible Nutrition, said in a statement.

The multivitamin is most of often taken by the specialists -- 44 percent of all cardiologists, 61 percent of all dermatologists and 57 percent of all orthopedists say they had taken a multivitamin within the past year.

More than 25 percent of physicians in each specialty said they had used omega-3/fish body oil, while 20 percent of each of the three specialty groups said they had taken a botanical supplement in the past year. Green tea was the most popular.

Health and wellness were the top reasons physicians said they took supplements -- including 32 percent of cardiologists, 42 percent of dermatologists and 43 percent of orthopedists.

Read more: http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2011/03/13/Doctors-recommend-and-take-supplements/UPI-91481299994337/#ixzz1n8ugvMFc

Are supplements good? If Jack Lalanne were asked he would say, absolutely. So too would Jillian Michaels, and Jane Fonda. Are these people nothing more than a happy result of the placebo effect as our MDs seem to think? It's unlikely. But our doctors, even with their obstinacy on this issue, are still worthy of our respect. Therefore, being completely honest with what we're taking to complement our fitness lifestyle should be a top priority. This means bringing the list to the check-up and having it put in our file. If nothing other, that will save having to remember when being treated for a something severe, such as a car accident. No one wants to think like this, though these things do happen, and the first professional to be called is one's physician. To do the best possible job for us, they need to know all of the facts.

But are our doctors using these products and not telling us? If so, what does that say? Perhaps the most charitable answer is that some may be experimenting on themselves to see if there might not be some good in what so many fitness folks seem to believe is so essential. Nevertheless, it needs to be remembered that our doctors weren't trained for this in college or grad school, and even their more well-known peer celebrities such as Dr. Weill, Dr. Mercola and Dr.Oz are looked on with suspicion. Thus, it may be a while before our doctors get as enthusiastic as we might like.

Doctors and Diets

Unfortunately, there don't appear to be any studies on what doctors are telling patients to eat. Nutrition is an important part of health, but really this area does not yet seem to getting the same attention as supplements and exercise. This will probably change as more of the newer diets incorporate and go beyond the three meals a day from the four food groups advice from fifty years ago. But for now, people should continue to do as they're doing, namely be content with seeking nutrition specifics from their heroes, or other reputable institutions, such as the Mayo Clinic.

Perhaps that's why few people would ask a doctor's advice on diet, unless they're overweight. The assumption is that most of us don't think we have to. We already know what we'd be told. Don't overeat; eat a balanced diet; stay away from snacks and alcohol; drink enough water and watch the coffee. Actually this is not bad advice. It really will keep us looking as good as our physician. But what if we'd rather look like our favorite movie star?

Sharing this aspiration with our doctor is not only unwise but a waste of time. It is the former because it puts us in the second childhood category, (forget about any good coming from enlightened self esteem,) and the latter because doctors not only don't know, but don't care. It needs to be remembered that doctors have been trained to cure "real problems"--not do cosmetic counseling.

For diets, we need good advice. That can be gotten off the internet, from books and from our heroes. But we should always make sure that whatever we decide on does not contain too many calories, is not imbalanced, is not boring. These things we all pretty much know, meaning we shouldn't burden the doctor with any of this. The MD is neither nutritionist nor Olympic coach, and shouldn't be expected to be either.

In short, when it comes to diet, we're on our own... unless, of course, we're obese. If that's the case, we may be put on (or request that we put on) an appetite suppressant. The ones from the doctor have very plain labels, no brochures with models who've never been fat, and they do work. Moreover, the doctor knows the result will not be due to the placebo effect.

Wrapping it up

Almost all of us have doctors whom we like, trust, and who do a great a job for us. Possibly we've been with them for decades. They're well-meaning and very good people.

When it comes to fitness, however, they may prove disappointing. If so, it's because we are expecting things from them which we shouldn't. Specifically, this refers to positive input relative to diet, exercise and supplements.

That is why we really need to get familiar with our heroes--Jack, Jillian, Jane or whomever. Many of the answers to our questions are on their websites and in their newsletters. That's where we should be doing our brainstorming. In other words, we shouldn't be assembling a notebook page of questions (completely different than a straightforward workout plan) for the preliminary check up.

Nevertheless, our doctor is a great ally. This person can let us know that we are OK or good to go with a fitness routine--that there's nothing drastically wrong either with us or with our plan. In other words, nothing should hold us back. Being told that is huge, as many of us have never embarked on fitness lifestyle, ever.

No company, no corporate fitness director, no hero or heroine would ever expect us to do anything counter to what our doctors have to say. Their word is respected and greatly appreciated whenever its given. And, of course, no one would want to think about not having one in case of an emergency.

The trouble is that we may be unrealistically expecting fitness encouragement from these professionals. That may come in a few years, when more MDs frequent the health clubs, use vitamins, and become more knowledgeable about the latest nutrition facts and advances. But, until that time, we should all be content with the mere knowledge that we are OK and good to go.

Of course, Rocky was never seen going to the doctor before starting to train for his big fight. But he wasn't necessarily doing the wisest thing either. In other words, listening to Mom when she says it's only a movie may really be best in this instance. Like all of us, a real Rocky could've had something amiss with him--a bug which would have made a two week delay (with a small bottle of antibiotics) completely in order.

Doctors are invaluable for this type of thing and may become even more helpful as they become more comfortable with fitness. But for now, one should simply expect only what they know how to give. Knowing that we can always depend on them for this makes them at least one step above a lot of people.

For further thought on doctors and fitness order my e-book "Think and Grow Fit."

Posted by mark clemens at 2/24/2012 2:14 PM | Add Comment

Ch 17 An Ounce of a Prevention

The tell tale signs of falling off the wagon

Running out of gas is not a fortuitous experience except in an unknown car with a broken gauge. It is always something which occurs as a result of putting off a fill up, doing things which seem more important, thinking there's more gas than there really is. It is always a pre-planned occurrence in a loser's script.

Eric Berne, originator of Transactional Analysis 1913-1970...from "What Do You Do After You Say Hello?"

Being on your hero's mailing list, having their link in your favorites is good, but it's never enough. That is, looking through their auto responders, reading their biographies, perusing their advice is never as good as seeing and hearing them say "Just do it," or whatever we need them to say.

But it's not just a question of hearing the right things or seeing a hero in our minds' eye. It's also a question of when. Long before we think we need them is ideal It should be like having a gas gauge in a car, one which lets us know when we're on one quarter full. What would be even better is having that accompanied by a voice saying you'd better get gas at the first upcoming pump.

Something similar should be operative when it comes to fitness. It should be that the one quarter mark is the time to think, feel, or do something about our workout, diet or supplements-- not when the needle is on red. And something relatively human should be there to tell us what we already know, namely that it's in our best interests to do something now.That's why our hero has got to be available within us 24/7.

What we really need is a hero that comes to mind in the early evening possibly twelve hours before the next work out. This is far better than having them appear five minutes before gym time, reminding us that out starting time is four am. We know that already. What we don't really know is that we must be in bed by nine, or we'll never make it. That is something that Jack, Jillian or Jane can say at 8:00 PM, possibly in the form of better cut the TV short and start getting ready for bed.

Another message that would be good concerns eating as it relates to emotional trouble. What we need is not someone who reminds us that we should keep on our diet. This we already know. Rather, we need a hero who'll say, it looks like you're going to have a frustrating time with the report, so you're going to feel like pigging out tonight, so it's better do something now to ward off that frustration or take care of that hunger before it's sure to be too much to handle."

Last but not least, we need to hear a message about buying supplements. Most often our ordering is done on the at much the same time each month. The temptation is to give ourselves a raise by not spending the money for the PeterPanPills--the ones which the medical community thinks we shouldn't need anyway. That prejudice may start becoming active right after the last expenditure. It is at this point that our hero needs to remind us of our need for the extra nutrients to keep up the workouts, and that the food we get simply does not have enough of what we need.
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A 24/7 imaginary hero

Clearly these messages are within the contexts of our heroes' websites. But they're what we need to see and hear--experience, not just read. That's what we need if we're going to stay on course. Moreover, it's exactly what we'd hear if our hero were right at our side, living with us.

The most important thing is to get a good feel for whomever we choose as a hero. That generally can be gotten by carefully reading their website (aloud now and then is good,) preferably over a few weeks, always doing our homework, learning everything that's there. This may have some value in bringing up something which we didn't already know. But this is less likely than us getting acquainted with the personality of the person we like. That's the most important thing.

It can never be stressed enough that the problem most of us have is in the actual doing of what we know we should. Few of us are really that much in the dark when it come to the nuts and bolts of a fitness lifestyle, though it's true that there's always something which we can pick up. The big thing is in actually getting the right things to work for us. This, of course, means getting us to religiously work at them.
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It's a question of when

The best motivator--the best safeguard against falling off the wagon (diet, supplement, or workout-wise) is the image of the celebrity we like. We need to see and hear them say the right things. But this has got to happen early in the day, not ten minutes before dinner time or time to go to the gym, not right before ordering next month's supply of vitamins. Moreover, hearing it after we've overeaten, missed our workout spent our extra money on Kentucky Fried Chicken is less than helpful. Truly, guilt can motivate us for the next time, but it is more likely to make us feel like losers-- people who never give themselves a chance to win.

The important thing to remember is that going off of a fitness lifestyle does not just happen out of the blue. It starts early in the day, week or month--building in intensity until it broadsides us. After sneakily coming up on us, we are made to feel that the only reasonable or mature thing to do is go off the wagon. (For example, who's got the time make up their workout after already being late getting out of the house?) Granted, things may be different when it comes to something like a medical emergency with a family member. But, in all honesty, how many times does this really happen each year? The truth is that we generally know what's going to get us off course long before it actually does.

It is in the early stages that our hero's got to be effective. Allowing that person to be that way is all up to us. We need only to turn them on in our minds and then listen to what they have to say. The time to do this is when we feel that we might be prone to fall off the wagon later on in the day, ie. not when we've already decided that it's mature, realistic, or whatever to do so.
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An active imagination is our best friend

Nowadays one of the things we say a lot is unfortunately. We say that when something doesn't work out. Generally this is used in conjunction with a polite no when we can't help someone. For example, if we own a grocery store and some one asks if we sell screwdrivers we will most likely say unfortunately, we don't. This is much nicer than saying no...and we don't sell floor covering either; or just plain no, we don't, and walk away. Clearly, we know that the unfortunately response is best if we want them to buy their weekly supply of groceries before leaving.

The point here is that no one would expect a grocer to sell screwdrivers. So, its OK if we don't have them on the shelf. In fact, it can be seem a little odd if anyone would even ask. (OK, maybe there is a grocery store in some other part of the tucked away part of the country that does sell screwdrivers, but most simply don't.)

It gets a little more tense when someone asks if we can do something for them. Here the unfortunately no I can't may require a little more verbiage. For example, if we are asked at the office to give for the American Cancer Society, we may have to say unfortunately I just gave to Easter Seals. Or, if we are asked to give time for an extra activity at church, we may have to say unfortunately I just took on something else at work, so no, I can't right now.

The truth is that we could have come up with five dollars for the Cancer folks or possibly an hour for the church. But we're unwilling to dig into our reserves to do so. Of course, we can't say yes I've got the time (or the money,) but I'm unwilling to give them up now or whenever. This may be most honest, but it falls into the surly or rude category. Thus, we say unfortunately I can't with whatever other excuse we may think necessary.

The problem in most instances is that we really believe we can't do what's being asked of us. In other words, we are generally not thinking sure I can give five bucks to the Cancer Society but I really want it for beers with the guys. Or, sure I've got a little extra time to give to church, but I'd really don't want to miss my favorite TV show. Therefore I'm going to say "unfortunately no" to this person so I don't make them an enemy. In addition, we really believe that we don't have either the time or the money, because our pay checks aren't big enough or there aren't enough hours in the day.

The trouble with all of this self-delusion is in not being aware of our ability to find resources for what we need when it comes to fitness. It is very easy, and natural nowadays to say unfortunately I just overslept so I missed getting to the club at four. Or, unfortunately, it took me more time to do the year end report so I just couldn't get to the gym. Or, unfortunately, it cost more going out eat this month so I just couldn't afford the vitamins. Or unfortunately we just had too many people's houses we had to go to, so I just didn't stay as close to my diet as I should have.

Unless we are talking about buying a Lexus on a minimum wage salary, the truth is that we can find the resources for anything that we really want to do, namely get in shape and stay that way forever. And, there are indicators which tell us how much we can invest in doing so. For one thing, we can check our account balances. We can check right on the internet if we happen to have left our checkbook in the car. For another, we can assess the amount of time we spend working at our desks. Not every hour must be filled to get our jobs completely done. And, not all modern day bosses are so tyrannical as to expect more than is necessary to make that happen. Too, we really can get out of some social obligations without getting into trouble. Looking carefully at our resources will make us aware of what we have available. But really we have to look, and be very honest when doing so.

What this means is that we've really got to pay attention to our figurative gas gauge if we want enough fuel for those few extra miles (to go Rocky's distance.)
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Ignoring our gauges is just uncool

This applies to the quote at he beginning of the chapter. No one would ever believe us if we said unfortunately I just ran out of gas and I have no idea why. And, no one would ask if the gauge in our car were broken. No one is that nice. Besides, if it were broken, it'd just become that way, and we'd have had a good idea of how much was in the tank prior to it happening. The truth is that we put off going to the gas station, probably for a few days straight.

The same scenario applies to fitness. 1.) We know when we're very tired from an exceptionally hard day, but we prefer watching the same old reruns instead of going to bed earlier. Thus, we miss our early morning workout. 2.) We know that we a number of social obligations, but we don't do anything to re-arrange our social calendar or prepare for having to eat some other person's cooking. 3.) We know when we will have extra financial obligations during the month, but do nothing to eliminate some of the fluff so that we've got the money for the vitamins. In other words, we set ourselves up to fall off the wagon.

Therefore, it's really our fault when all of these things "just happen." It isn't unfortunate : it's just downright irresponsible. Berne, the famous psychiatrist from the late sixties, quoted above, would say that we unconsciously do (or don't do) these things to justify a sad outcome--one which makes us look like a loser in a melodrama --the character Mom loves the most. But we needn't get into all of that.

The real question ought to be what to about it so that we don't get into being a loser--so that we don't go off the wagon. In other words, how do we get back on the wagon before falling off. The answer is to be familiar with our "gauges" while simultaneously listening to our heroes when they say fill up now--now, when the gauge says one quarter, not when it says empty. That requires a highly developed imagination.

When we get really good at having one of these, we will then see ourselves falling off the wagon long before we do. That's the precise moment when we also need to experience our hero telling us to hang on tighter, ie. go to bed earlier, save the money for the vitamins and decide beforehand that wherever we are we're going to eat only what's good for us and not a morsel more.

Having all of that going on in our imagination early in our day, when we start to feel as if there might be a problem later-- long before workout time, dinner time, or supplement purchase time will keep us from ever falling off our wagons again.
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Going through the motions is never enough

“Being busy does not always mean real work. The object of all work is production or accomplishment and to either of these ends there must be forethought, system, planning, intelligence, and honest purpose, as well as perspiration. Seeming to do is not doing.”

Thomas Alva Edison quotes (Most famous American Inventor who, singly or jointly, held a world record 1.093 patents. In addition, he created the world's first industrial research laboratory, 1847-1931)

One of the best ways to stay on the wagon is to be the person who's driving it. This is entirely different than going along for the ride with someone else doing the driving. As pointed out in earlier chapters, the latter is most like signing up for the biggest loser contest or playing the part of a recruit in a boot camp--neither of which are optimal ways of getting fit and staying that way forever. The former is where it's at, or where it should be at if we really want to win. But it's hard; so it can make us want to just go through the motions, or let someone else tell us what to do.

First off, it may be confusing to think of a hero telling you what to do, while at the same time being our own person. This confusion can be remedied by a little consciousness raising : 1.) we choose our own hero like Lalanne, Fonda, Michael, or whomever; 2.) we figure out what we need to hear them say to us; 3.)we study all of their material to simply absorb all of the good common sense advice which they have to teach; 4.) we get our own imaginations going in service of our desire to be the fittest person that we can be. That's the best way to get someone telling us what we already know--the very thing that most of us sorely need!

In other words, we choose the hero to listen to, even program them just for us. That's the best way of getting us to appropriately respond. When we are into all of this, we are not one of the other losers in a biggest loser contest or a rookie in a boot camp. Rather, we are are our own person, in charge of our fitness and total health. We are our own coach turning us into our own Rocky, who can go the distance with the champ. Simple as this is, it isn't easy. Therefore, it may make us want to ease up.

The desire to do this comes over and over again. It happens long before we ever get to the gym, sit down to dinner or plan out what vitamins to order. It occurs whenever a let whatever happens happen frame of mind comes up--one which will never be in our best interests. What has to happen is that we immediately shift back into being the in-training champion whom we really are (the one who goes the distance everyday--every day preparing to go the distance with the champ.) How does that happen? In a way very much the same as above.

We have to get our imaginations in gear to head off this laxness. We have to be where our heroes would want us if they were right there with us. None of them would ever let us start thinking of taking it easy at our workouts, of taking a "little" break from all of the diet food, of missing a months worth of vitamins to save a little money for some fun stuff. They would know that we were thinking about any or all of these long before the crucial time, and they would cut off our laxness on the front end--right at the very thought of longing for all of that ease of the American good life. (How many commercials do see like this day after day.) Neither Jack, Jillian, nor Jane would ever be sympathetic with this lapse into Lala Land.

For those who think this type of fitness thinking is just too hard, trust this : it gets easier with time, consistency and a few successes. Nevertheless, it seems preferable either go through the motions or follow a Drill Sergeant type. Either of these will make make our minds shut off--during which time we will have only a marginal chance of getting some benefit. That may sound like as good as can be expected, but it has the greatest likelihood of causing injuries or quitting. Why? Because we're people and therefore never really very inclined to do anything against our will!

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Wrapping it up

If unfortunately plays a big part in our every day speech, we need to be careful. It is one thing to use it for staying out of trouble when saying no to people, but it is quite another to really believe in it. If we believe that things actually under our control are somehow just the whim of destiny, we are missing out on our ability to shape our own life--that's our ability to be our own version of Rocky.

Being aware of ourselves is key (knowledge of what the "gas gauge" says.) We simply have to know what we can and cannot do--what causes this and what we can do to perform as best as we really can. We all can imagine ourselves doing what we know we shouldn't. We all can imagine what our heroes would tell us to do. And most importantly, we all can be the drivers of our own wagons instead of the mere riders who are prone to fall off. But being our own person takes forethought and an active imagination. That's oftentimes harder than doing a hard workout.

Nevertheless, by always doing both, we can and will go the distance as our own Rocky.

For further thought on heroes and heroines order my e-book "Think and Grow Fit."

Posted by mark clemens at 2/17/2012 9:45 AM | Add Comment

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Your Next 63 Years

Introduction -- The Empty Gym

Ch 23 Wrapping It Up

Ch 21 Those Essential Little Pills

Ch 21 Those Essential Little Pills

Prescription for nutritional healing

Ch 20 Exercise is King

Ch 20 Exercise is King

JillianMichaels.com

Ch 22 The Non-Rocky Rocky

Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain [Hardcover]

1.) Book Description Amazon

Ch 19 Nutrition is Queen

By Joanne Eglash

Ch 14 One Percent Inspiration 99 Perspiration

Ch 14 One Percent Inspiration Ninety-nine Perspiration

Ch 18 A Pound of Cure

Ch 17 An Ounce of a Prevention

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