The Fountain of Youth

Ch 16 The Downside of Hero Worship

2012-02-10T19:41:56Z

The "heroes" of sports have never been heroes to me because dad taught us that people are people, no matter how famous or successful they are.

From an early age, I accepted that my favorite athletes – Muhammad Ali and Reggie Jackson – could be very flawed human beings.

I went to my first NFL game with the express purpose of seeing O.J. Simpson play. Can you imagine? We all know now what a false idol O.J. proved to be.

Read more here: www.mcclatchydc.com/2011/11/16/130240/commentary-we-shouldnt-blindly.html#storylink=cpy

Consider the events of the last week – the horrific revelations of child sexual abuse on the Penn State campus that caused the firing of Joe Paterno, the winningest coach in college football history.

Read more here: www.mcclatchydc.com/2011/11/16/130240/commentary-we-shouldnt-blindly.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: www.mcclatchydc.com/2011/11/16/130240/commentary-we-shouldnt-blindly.html#storylink=cpy

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Some folks just don't like heroes

Some of us are taught from early on that there is no such thing as an exceptional human being. Parents are very good at teaching this, but peers can be effective as well. Both can have passions for sullying the reputations and accomplishments of anyone. They especially have a need to find something wrong with those whom others look up to.

This is true for people in all areas of life, but particularly true when it comes to sports. According to them, a superior athlete must be on steroids (now for both men and women,) or guilty of something other.

There are rules against steroid use and moral outrage over glaring faults. No matter how great an athletic accomplishment, it's marred by either or both of these. The glory of the new record goes away almost immediately, making as if it never existed. So too with any adulation for the person who accomplished it.

Without going into a defense of the athletes themselves, let's just say that the indictments are just, and that those who expose the vices are in fact wholly virtuous. This means that the athletes really aren't worthy of respect and should be forgotten about entirely. That should score more than enough points for these suspicious parents (who've possibly never won a trophy.)

Without holding any bias against them, the problem is not so much that these parents are wrong, but more that they never seem to have any adulation for anyone. In other words, they believe that no one is all that awesome anywhere.This is the message they send to their kids and to us as well. If it were not so, they would be saddened by a hero becoming human, and make certain that a replacement was quickly on the way.

But this is seldom the case. Instead, these types of parents are elated in finding some reason to discredit a fine performance or performer. By demonstrating that the super-person is not super, it allows them to prove that "people are people, no matter how famous or successful they are." See quote above. Presumably then, the world becomes a better place for everyone.

Reading between the lines relative to the dad above, what his son and we should do is this : 1.)stumble onto a star if we must; 2.) remember that no one can shine brightly by wholly honest means;3.)find the fault; 4.)laugh and say see how smart I am; or, 5.)wait until the star shows their true colors. In short, listen to me and you'll never feel less than anyone.

There may be some truth in the dad's position. Star athletes do marginal things--things which the common people do. They may even occasionally do ones like this dad does everyday of the week. But what about the heroes that no one knows anything about, other than that they came in second? Is a silver medal status not worthy of any adulation or respect? Is a tenth of a second less on a 400 meter butterfly really all that insignificant?

Well, maybe it's "insignificant" to someone who would never stoop to being a competitive athlete! But to those who know what it is to do a 400 meter butterfly, this attitude that the upright second placers are just "losers" is horrendous.

The benevolent interpretation of this dad's refusal to acknowledge greatness is that he wants to keep his son from feeling inferior to anyone who has accomplished anything. That's a way of promoting self-esteem--not a very effective one, but one which allegedly has a good intention.

But how likely are any of us to excel if we have such an attitude? How likely are we to get any type of a lift from anyone's ability to make it in spite of incredible odds? How likely then are we to even keep at a fitness lifestyle when it feels like we're making no improvements?

For the sake of argument, maybe we'd all be better off just kicking back and enjoying life, forgetting about trying to accomplish anything. That would be easy if everyone were the same, meaning no one was outstanding. Then we wouldn't even have to care about the twenty extra pounds to say nothing of breaking one of our own records, for example a seven minute mile. None of that would matter. Same goes for not having to feel that the time for the 400 meter butterfly was truly awesome--a very handy non-feeling if we can't even make it for 100 meters freestyle without catching our breaths!

But do kids (the ones inside of us especially) really want to be like this?

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This study on Chimpanzees might interest you - when chimps are tested they prefer looking at pictures of the most popular members in their troop to getting a tasty snack - these animals who share over 99% of our genetic material will give up a tasty snack to look at a picture of a celebrity chimp!

Read more: http://technorati.com/entertainment/celebrity/article/the-sociobiology-of-hero-worship-or/#ixzz1lcHFod

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Maybe hero worship is natural

We all know that we get hungry and want to eat. This is only natural. But the implication here is that a chimp looking at a picture of a celebrity-chimp is even more natural.

Of course, chimps are not people--they're not entirely like us. Certainly, they would not do well traveling the freeway, putting in an eight hour day and then returning home to parent little chimps. But, they're close to us genetically. So, studying them in an attempt to better understand ourselves may make some sense.

If so, we can say that hero worship is more important than many of us may be thinking. Too many of us have parents like the dad at the start of the chapter. That may keep us from even starting to think in this way. In many cases, for decades, we have discredited others who have excelled for reasons we might not even begin to understand.

As a result, we are now numb to greatness. For instance, the Olympics can happen, but all we care about is that the USA got more Golds than any other country. Or, we can hear that the Dolphins beat the Steelers, without caring about much other than we won the bet. In other words, we don't even begin to wonder about what any of the individuals did, where they came from, how their performance outshone anything other in their or their team's career. In short, we don't even acknowledge the existence of an exceptional individual.

The question is "is this healthy?" After all, chimps seem to be preferring super-chimps to bananas, while we're preferring banana splits to outstanding athletes. Could it be that the chimps are misguided? Of course not.

It may be a huge step from a celebrity-chimp to a Michael Phelps, or a Jack Lalanne, but it might make sense taking it. Those who admire the accomplishments of people like these would certainly agree. Their high comes from seeing Michael do a flip turn, or from seeing the late Jack outshine a counterpart one third his age. Their great feeling doesn't seem at all unnatural. In fact, it's the opposite. It's a healthy turn on. It makes their workout better, their diet easier to stay on, and their brand new supplement worth at least a month's try.

Perhaps the dad above thinks all this is just childish thinking, or playing with our emotions. Maybe he thinks it's no more than a crutch. He may be right. But, if it makes a positive difference, why ignore it? If we choose not to, then maybe we should call hero-worship child-like.

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What drives our endless fascination with celebrity worship? And more importantly, can its enticing seduction ever be harmful to our health?

The answer, it seems, depends a lot on who is doing the worshiping -- and the reasons why.

"Like most things there's a dimensional approach here; there are some people who are fascinated by celebrities lives, but also involved in meaningful activities and relationships in their own lives, and for these people star watching is usually a harmless diversion," says Eric Hollander, MD, professor of psychiatry and director of the Compulsive, Impulsive and Anxiety Disorders program at Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in New York City.

For others, however, things don't go quite that way.

Hollander says there are an increasing number of us for whom the fascination with celebrities is a substitution for real life -- with the focus on a celebrity replacing the focus that should be on our own lives. And that, he says, is the point at which some folks begin to get into trouble.

Depression, anxiety, and a decrease in self-esteem are just some of the documented problems that can result when we take the focus off our own lives and instead focus all our energy on the life of a celebrity....

Fischoff, who has academically studied the cult of celebrity, says the very need to find an idol and follow him is programmed into our DNA.

By Coeli Carr
WebMD Feature

Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

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Hero worship can be bad

Like anything, too much of a good thing can be bad. Too much hero worship does have a downsides.

1.)One of the downsides is that it can become a substitute for using our own heads. In the present context, this means doing what we think our heroes would do, without factoring in our own needs and aspirations. In the previous chapters, this was cautioned against.

It does no good to be someone we aren't. We're ourselves and that's a person whom we should respect and develop. Doing so makes us proud of being us. But, we'll never have this experience if we're doing anything other than staying with our well-planned fitness lifestyle--the one of daily workouts, diet and supplementation.

Keeping at this is difficult. The temptation is always there to go back to old ways. The temptation is always there to skip the workout, go out for a real burger, save the money on the supplements. This should never be allowed to happen, and it need not, if only we are always doing the right things.

That's where the heroes come in. They would never go off course; and with a little imagination we can see and hear them say "Just keep at it" in way that will make that come about.

This is why these people are important. They're examples of what keeping at it can do. Knowing that they've said no to temptation, knowing that they started out from a place even more humble than ours is a living reminder that we can make it. Of course, following their advice as best we can, and as much in keeping with what we need, is important as well. But the truth is that most of us already know what we have to do, it's just that we have a tendency to quit, or, in some cases, to never really start.

A little healthy hero worship can change all of that.

2.) Another bad aspect of hero worship is that we compare ourselves to our heroes. This can make us feel very one down as if we will never measure up to one tenth of their stature. That can be enough to make us give up entirely.

To keep this from happening, we have to know where these people are coming from. That, of course, is not from outer space, but rather from a point which we may be even lower than the one we're at right now. Becoming familiar with this can thereby become as important as knowing Phelps' latest time for the 400 or Jack's unbelievable feat on his seventieth birthday.

Thus, a familiarity with everything, or as close to that as we can come, is essential. The image of these people has got to be in our heads to do it's work. Then we can be just like the chimp--happier with a celebrity image than with a couple of bananas.

What could be more really human?!

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LaLanne opened what is commonly believed to be the nation's first health club, in Oakland in 1936. In the 1950s, he launched an early-morning televised exercise program keyed to housewives. He designed many now-familiar exercise machines, including leg extension machines and cable-pulley weights. And he proposed the then-radical idea that women, the elderly and even the disabled should work out to retain strength.

Full of exuberance and good cheer, LaLanne saw himself as a combination cheerleader, rescuer and savior. And if his enthusiasm had a religious fervor to it, well, so be it.

"Well it is. It is a religion with me," he told What Is Enlightenment, a magazine dedicated to awareness, in 1999. "It's a way of life. A religion is a way of life, isn't it?"

"Billy Graham was for the hereafter. I'm for the here and now," he told The Times when he was almost 92, employing his usual rapid-fire patter.

Another time, he explained, "The crusade is never off my mind — the exercise I do, the food I eat, the thought I think — all this and how I can help make my profession better-respected. To me, this one thing — physical culture and nutrition — is the salvation of America."

January 23, 2011|By Claudia Luther, Special to The LA Times

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Pay your money and take your choice

Except for those like the writer at the start of the chapter, the one with the negative dad, we can choose whomever we might want to look up to. Actually, he can as well, but not without heroic diligence and concentration. Without a lot of introspection, he simply will feel too guilty to continue on once he starts admiring someone. That's because the dad (either the real one or the one inside his head) will be constantly reminding him that there's just no really worthy of all that adulation. Who really wants to feel this way?

To keep from this depression, we should all have a hero. But who's a good hero to choose? Jillian Michaels was talked about in previous chapters. So too was Jane Fonda and Jack Lalanne. Then too, the Rocky character has come up quite often. Now, we've heard the name Michael Phelps. All are awesome. All can work.

But Lalanne's talked about here a little more completely, maybe because he spanned two generations and did the most. Too, a considerable part of our world is better because of his eighty years of dedication.

In his words, he was once a sugar addict. But he was other things as well. He was Mr America. He was a pioneer in fitness, in fact referred to as the grandfather of fitness, establishing health clubs and designing exercise equipment. He was an author of a few books. He was a lecturer. He was an athlete who performed unblievable feats in his senior years--sustaining a fitness lifestyle with two hour daily workouts until his death at 96.

And, he lived an exemplary life. For all of those years, the worst that could be said about him is that he wore a jump suit on his TV fitness programs. Presumably his critics think he should have worn sweat pants or shorts.

Though currently deceased, he can be Googled for practical tips, speeches, quotes, and advice on the juicer he thought everyone should have. Doing that should be enough for anyone to have their own Jack internalized and ready to say whatever is needed to make it through any tough time imaginable.

Was Jack like everybody else? Yes...yes and no. He had his trials a long time ago, but he corrected his bad habits. That makes him like a lot of us. But he did such a fine job of taking off from there that he left a legacy for future generations to do the same. That is unlike what most folks do.

For certain, if he were a super-chimp. the primate above would definitely prefer thinking about him to eating a banana.

Wrapping it up

It's true that we all can get too engrossed in people greater than ourselves. That can have bad consequences. It can make us forget about what we have to do to actualize our own potential. It can make us feel inferior or hopeless. And, it can make us completely disappointed if we find that out that our heroes are just not the respectable human beings that we need them to be.

But, none of these things have to happen. Or, if they do, we can find another person to look up to. In other words, we don't have to stay unimpressed like the writer at the start of the chapter. All that's necessary is to know our heroes not only as they are, but how they were-- how they were before they've made their journey. Knowledge of those things in conjunction with knowledge of ourselves can provide the inspiration that we all need to get us from where we are to where we want to go.

For further thought on Jack Lalanne order my e-book "Think and Grow Fit."

Ch 15 My Fitness Lifestyle to Help with Yours

2012-02-03T21:07:57Z

From Medicine.net

Fitness 101: The Absolute Beginner's Guide to Exercise

How to get started with an exercise program.

(continued)

Get Ready continued...

But no matter what your medical condition, you can usually work out in some way.

"I can't think of any medical issue that would get worse from the right kind of exercise," says Stephanie Siegrist, MD, an orthopedic surgeon in private practice in Rochester, N.Y.

After assessing your fitness, it helps to set workout goals. For example, do you want to prepare to run a 5K? Hit the gym five times a week? Or just walk around the block without getting winded?

"Make sure the goals are clear, realistic, and concise," says Sal Fichera, an exercise physiologist and owner of New York-based Forza Fitness.

Whatever your goals and medical condition, approach any new exercise regimen with caution.

"Start low and go slow," advises Bryant. Many beginners make the mistake of starting out too aggressively, only to give up when they end up tired, sore, or injured, he says. Some get discouraged because they think an aggressive workout will produce instant results.

"Generally speaking, when people go about it too aggressively early in the program, they tend not to stick with it over the long haul," says Bryant. "What you really want to do is to develop some new habits that you can stick with for a lifetime."

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From About.com

Beginning a workout program for weight loss can be overwhelming. What exercises should you be doing? How much? How often? How hard? With proper planning, you can set up a complete exercise program to help you reach your fitness goals, whatever Before you get started, make sure you check with your doctor to make sure you don't have any health or medical problems. Then get some paper, a pen and a calendar and get ready to plan your program. Planning things out will make it easier to reach your goals and to stick with your program for the long term.

Basic Steps

Below are the steps you'll need to take to set up a good solid routine:

Set your goals
Set a timeframe for your goals
Figure out how to meet your goals with an exercise program
Structure your program
Maintain your program

At my beginner's corner, you'll learn exactly how to do all of these things from setting goals to what to wear to reach your goals. The important thing to remember is that it won't be easy! There aren't any shortcuts to health and fitness and it will require some effort and discipline on your part. What makes it easier is preparation, planning and consistency.

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Get free personalized health guidance for you and your family.

Get Started

Mayo Clinic Health Manager

Fitness programs: 5 steps to getting started

Are you thinking about starting a fitness program? Good for you! You're only five steps away from a healthier lifestyle.

By Mayo Clinic staff

Starting a fitness program may be one of the best things you can do for your health. Physical activity can reduce your risk of chronic disease, improve your balance and coordination, help you lose weight — even improve your sleep habits and self-esteem. And there's more good news. You can do it in just five steps.

Step 1: Assess your fitness level

You probably have some idea of how fit you are. But assessing and recording baseline fitness scores can give you benchmarks against which to measure your progress. To assess your aerobic and muscular fitness, flexibility and body composition, consider recording:

Your pulse rate before and after you walk 1 mile (1.6 kilometers)
How long it takes you to walk 1 mile (1.6 kilometers)
How many push-ups you can do at a time
How far you can reach forward while seated on the floor with your legs in front of you
Your waist circumference as measured around your bare abdomen just above your hipbone
Your body mass index

Step 2: Design your fitness program

It's easy to say that you'll exercise every day. But you'll need a plan. As you design your fitness program, keep these points in mind:

Consider your fitness goals. Are you starting a fitness program to help lose weight? Or do you have another motivation, such as preparing for a marathon? Having clear goals can help you gauge your progress.
Create a balanced routine. Most adults should aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity — or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity — a week. Adults also need two or more days of strength training a week.
Go at your own pace. If you're just beginning to exercise, start cautiously and progress slowly. If you have an injury or a medical condition, consult your doctor or a physical therapist for help designing a fitness program that gradually improves your range of motion, strength and endurance.
Build activity into your daily routine. Finding time to exercise can be a challenge. To make it easier, schedule time to exercise as you would any other appointment. Plan to watch your favorite show while walking on the treadmill, or read while riding a stationary bike.
Plan to include different activities. Different activities (cross-training) can keep exercise boredom at bay. Cross-training also reduces your chances of injuring or overusing one specific muscle or joint. Plan to alternate among activities that emphasize different parts of your body, such as walking, swimming and strength training.
Allow time for recovery. Many people start exercising with frenzied zeal — working out too long or too intensely — and give up when their muscles and joints become sore or injured. Plan time between sessions for your body to rest and recover.
Put it on paper. A written plan may encourage you to stay on track.

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The next step

Congratulations. If you took the last chapter seriously, you spent a lot of time getting your heroine or hero
clearly in your mind. That is, you psychologically perspired and reaped the reward. As a result, your imagination is significantly improved. Now, you'll be able to get inspired every time you feel like quitting. Therefore, you won't quit.

OK... maybe you think you still may. In that case, just keep the corporate fitness director's email address in your address book and/or do the same for a friend or two--ones who'll help get you back on the wagon before you fall off. That's the safest and smartest way to make it past tax season if you started in January. Got that all done? Great!

But, you aren't done with your imagination homework yet. What you now need is a script for your Jane, Jillian or Jack--what they'll say to you. This is crucial unless you're going to make an appointment with them, tell them your life story, and then follow each and everything they have to say. That's never going to happen. As you know, they're not like doctors, who see you for about thirty minutes, keep charts, write prescriptions and give advice. What you do with an icon is respond to their website and have its' automatic responder prepare a fitness program just for you. That really may provide quite a bit of helpful information. However, even if you look at this regularly, you'll still be left with questions and concerns.

Therefore, what you've got to do is think. This will probably be harder than getting your icon foremost in your imagination. But that's what you have to do. To get the ball rolling, you should : 1.) start with the articles above; 2.) answer my questions below; 3.) internalize everything that you get from your icon's auto responder; 4.) come up with whatever you need to hear when times get tough. That's your next homework assignment. Doing a thorough job of all this will give your Jack, Jillian or Jane some good things to say during the hard times ahead. Then, all you need to do is always listen to what they have to say. Sound easy? Good luck. You'll need it. It may prove to be the hardest thing you've ever done!

It's not easy

I may now be sounding very pessimistic. If so, it's to make Jillian the country's second hardest trainer--second only to me. But, easy answers are for the gullible people, who are always at the mercy of corporate America's advertising departments (and aspiring national gurus, who have a penchant for hanging it up after they've made their fortune.) They always try to make people think that just taking their pill, using their machine or following their advice will make an overnight difference. Unless you've been into a regular fitness program for a very long time, it is highly unlikely that any of these will be of any help whatsoever.

The truth is that it's hard to get into fitness, even for former athletes. After a period of hanging it up for whatever common sense reasons (such as the demands of profession and family,) it's still hard. Thus, if you're a complete neophyte, you're forewarned! That's the bad news. The good is that it really does get much easier to do far more than you can today. Thus, staying at it can actually (will) get to be fun.

Both the bad news and the good should be taken seriously, if you want to stay on the wagon. But most importantly, you've got to get your icons saying the right things at each and every juncture--things which you know are true. The only caveat is in believing that all you need do is to now and then take a look at Jane's, Jillian's or Jack's website and newsletters. Assuming you even do this beyond the first week, it will never enough. You have specific needs and concerns, which may be only partially touched upon in all of what they have to say.That's why you have to think for yourself, while carefully reading all of their material. That's how you get them to say the right things every time the important questions come up. (These will be anything from "why am I doing this" to "why will things work this time--not not work like the last." Daunting queries of this nature, and others, will afflict you every day for at least your first year.)

It takes a while

That may sound absurdly long to wait for anything pleasant. Hopefully it doesn't take that long. Perhaps you will not be such a doubter; or perhaps you'll see tangible results more quickly. But it's better for me to ar on the bad side, never leading you to believe that all will be well "by next week." That's something the advertising experts (and those like them) keep promising. Neither a fitness lifestyle, done as regularly as the brushing of your teeth, nor the changes, which you'll see in the mirror, will ever occur this quickly.

There are those who'll vehemently disagree. After they read what I do, and my rationale for doing it, they may say that nothing which I've got to say will ever get results for anyone. That's meant to entice you into the equivalent of attending a boot camp--one of those barbaric places (or states of mind) with a strenuous make or break you atmosphere. That's the supposed only way to get you fast results. Follow their advice if you must. You may lose ten pounds. But, it's more likely that you'll get injuries and the feeling that you're just not cut out for a fitness lifestyle.

Beware of those who promise quick results

The only positive thing that I can say about these folks is that they may occasionally be good for some who are already fit. For instance, I'm inclined to try out some of their ideas once in a blue moon. But, remember, I've been regularly living a fitness lifestyle for quite a while by most people's standards. Furthermore, with what I do, I continue to make minor but actual improvements (muscular development, ability to do more rpms, fat loss) generally a couple times a year. So, I'm not initially enthusiastic about some brand new pill, gadget or guru. Started before going to high school, my own tried and true program is really quite enough. That's the point I hope to get you to.

But, if you're one of the under-forty folks, this may not be enough of a turn on. You'll be more interested in body building or perhaps marathon championships. Therefore, you should start looking for a more sports oriented tutor. I had one like this in 1978, who was a world champ; and working out with him changed my life. So, find someone like this if you can. Nevertheless, you would do well to get yourself in shape first. I certainly was back then, and that was fortunate. What my mentor put me through would otherwise have injured me. It is dangerous to throw oneself into a training routine that you cannot handle physically. (Reread the above articles.)

Start slowly

This chapter is about using your head, which, when it comes to fitness, almost always means starting slowly and remaining consistent. To get you doing that, I have provided an honest portrayal of what I currently do, which has evolved since 1961. I mention this not to impress you with my ability to stay on the wagon, but rather to suggest that a fitness lifestyle is good for you even as you get older. (I am 63 as I write. I'm also far more fit than I was when in high school.) This is something that is not believed by most. Rather, people seem to believe that our prime went away long ago, and that we should now take it easy. What's ludicrous is that this advice passes as street wisdom for folks thirty-something as well as for those who are seventy-five. More and more studies are beginning to say otherwise.

My workout routine may require too much time for the average person with a family and job. Most employed moms and dads don't have (or think they don't have) two hours a day to invest in working out. Therefore, cutting the exercise time in half may be necessary. That's OK, as long as you are eating properly and supplementing. Whatever you do, doing it every day is essential. It really should become like the brushing of your teeth. It's that way for me, though this was hardly the case when I was a fat kid right before high school. And, if it's any help, it wasn't even that way through high school, when I was just out for swimming. Maybe, if I would have been out for more sports than one, training year round like my really good state champion teammates, things might have been different. So much for all about me.

Reputable sources say much the same things

The above articles are from the Medicine.net, About.com and the Mayo Clinic. All are from very common sense places (perhaps you'll think boring) to start you off in your thinking. If you do a good job with them, answer my questions below, and study your icon's material, your Jillian, Jack or Jane will know what to say to you. They'll start talking to you about what's really important. But, for that to happen, you really need to do the thinking beforehand. You might also want to discuss these things with others in a group setting. All that's crucial. If you can't immediately see why or how, go through the steps and give it a little time. Your most important muscle is your mind; and, it develops through solitary questions, answers, and imagination in conjunction with shared dialogue.

A few hours of thought can make this time different

If you don't do this homework, your icons will have nothing important to say when you need them the most. They'll just appear for a moment, only to fleet away in the face of some more pressing mental obligation, such as your boss needing the year end report done by ten tomorrow morning. In a situation like this, a mindless, inarticulate icon, will not keep you on the wagon! It will only make you feel like you've wasted your time in immature hero-worship.You must hear (and see) them say what you know to be true for you in order for them to be effective.

This may sound like you just talking to yourself via daydream imagery, meaning that you really don't need them--that you need only the facts and beliefs. That may be true after a few years and a number of changes--ones which you can really see in the mirror. But until then, you will continually be tempted to give up, or go off the wagon even though a part of you knows that this shouldn't occur. To keep that from happening, you simply need a two second reminder from a special person of what really matters.That is the crucial part which your imaginary icon can play--something which the flesh and blood one wishes they could do for their millions of fans. They would happily tailor their standard advice to fit you, where you are at, right now.

Don't be ashamed to ask for help

If all of this sounds esoteric, confusing, or like too much, you should ask for help. That means knocking on your corporate fitness director's door-- something which may be hard. But that's not something to be ashamed of. It's just part of what you may have to go through, assuming you want to make it. Even if you think you may not need help, you should ask for it anyway. Being unsure is a good indicator of a need for encouragement.You'll never be laughed at, and will probably find out that you were on the right path anyway.

The most important thing is for you to become your own person. That is entirely different than a contestant (a number) in a biggest loser competition, or whatever. Nothing else has a chance of long term success. The resistance, objections and fantasies associated with daily workouts, diets, and supplements are relentless, some would say vengeful. They're why most people quit. Having your imaginary icons saying what it takes to offset the negativeness makes all the difference.

My fitness lifestyle to help with yours

What follows is what I do. It is not specifically recommended for you, though some of my preferences may be good for you to try. It is included here to get your mind in gear. It spells out what I do and why.That's what you have to think about for you. Having your own answers to the important questions, your own fitness preferences, and your own idea of what you can or cannot handle on a daily basis is essential. Once you have all of that, your imaginary Jack, Jillian or Jane will know what to tell you when you need to hear it the most. Getting that as part of what you can see and hear in your mind is the first of the giant steps in your fitness journey--becoming your own version of Rocky.

MY WORKOUT

Done everyday--not every other, not if I feel like it, not when I get up on time etc. In other words, always. Out of the house by four. Back by six. Why do I do it? Working out makes the whole day better from professional hours through those at home. Also keeps BMI in check at 22.6. Therefore, I don't miss, not even on my birthday or Christmas. (And why would want to? Those are special days, that I especially want to enjoy!)

A.)Weights

1.)Situps
2.)Leg raises
3.)Leg extensions
4.)Back arch
5.)Flies
6.)Calf raise
7.)Preacher curls
8.)Bench wide
9.)Bench narrow
10.)Bench medium
11.)Seated chins
12.)Cable rowing
13.)Neck
14.)Delt pulls
15.)Diaphragm pulls
16.)Behind the neck pull downs
17.)Torso pulls
18.)Wide delts
19.)Narrow delts
20.)Medium delts
21.)Leg machine quads
22.)Leg machine curls

Sub-total 50 minutes. This is followed by:

B.) Cardio

40 MINUTES on sit down bike while reading and/or memorizing

C.) Feeling Good (endorphins)

2 or 3 15 minute walks per day while anticipating or cooling down after meetings; one after the evening meal.

Total TIME 120 or so minutes per day

Now... what are the reasons that you (will) workout? What do (will) you do? How often? When during the day? What will prevent you from working out? How have you got this handled? How do you feel about working out? What will you do to make it fun?

MY DIET

Gluten free, organic. Two meals daily.(Makes me feel good. Studies show positive effect on brain and rest of body. Easy to digest.) Approximately 2000 calories per day. Results in approximate two pound loss per year, gives adequate energy for next day's workout. Add natural fruit juice (generally no more than six-eight ounces) if meals do not give feelings of recovery, physical rejuvenation. I never go to bed hungry or exhausted.

Now...why do you eat what you do? How much, when and what? Is it safe, or do you still blindly put whatever looks good into the grocery cart? Do you read the grams of sugar, fat, the number of calories per serving--actually noting portion size?! Do you have a safe way of satisfying cravings? Do you know where to find one that you can enjoy and afford?

MY SUPPLEMENTS

I have at least two check ups per year(supplements and dosages noted in my file,) proving this program of pills is OK, when used with daily exercise and healthy diet. My supplements (types, brands and dosages worked at for thirty years) help in energy production, rebuilding after workouts, and anti-oxidant protection. They help me make physical improvements, recover between workouts, stay free from colds, or injuries etc. They enable me to stay razor sharp for the entire professional day. Food alone (especially of the FDA-OK strip mall grocery store variety--generally referred to as real food) would never do this.

1.)Vitamin C 10gms
2.)Creatine 12gms
3.)Vit-100 ( 2 powerful multis--at least 30 times MDR for the basic nutrients)
4.)Caffein 500mg
5.)Yohimbe 3 gms
6.)Cider vinegar plus glucomman (1 gm)
7.)Green tea 1200mg
8.)Complete Amino twice daily
9.)Ginkgo 240mg
10.)Saw Palmetto 320mg
11.)DHEA 100mg
12.)Acidophilus 8billion units
13.)Fruit juice 140 calories minimum
14.)Vitamin B3 40,000 IUs
15.)Arginine 4gms
16.)Papaya 1 stick

Cost --about 100.00/mo. wholesale

Method of remembering--the Rocky method (like swallowing the raw eggs) four times daily from little pill containers. Approximately 40 units total.

Now... are you on supplements?

To sell those who hate all those pesky pills... everyday workouts and being "with it" for the entire work day are impossible without them. Same may be true for appetite control. None of us get enough from grocery store food to work out everyday and stay on top of our game.

_______________________________________________________________________

Wrapping it up

Most trainers will never share what they do. That's because they believe only in telling you what to do. Perhaps they've got a good thing to say now and then, but I doubt that they do when it comes to the long haul. In the words of Plutarch, the well-known first century biographer, "The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled." All of the above is an attempt to kindle your fire.

Being very diligent in all of the homework--getting your icons saying what you need to hear, is the only way to make a lasting change into a fitness lifestyle. Doing that with someone, such as a corporate fitness director and/or a group, can make this hard task much easier, if not fun. Without a doubt, it's the best way to forever lock you into your own version of Rocky

For further thought on mental imagery order my e-book "Think and Grow Fit."

Ch 14 One Percent Inspiration 99 Perspiration

2012-01-27T21:19:24Z

Ch 15 The New Sweat (Perspiration) Shop (machines and the cardio)

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. And...

"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 a 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 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'll 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 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 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 Rocky. That's a fitness lifestyle that works, like his. It's never missing at getting up early, running through Philadelpjia, 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 would 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 in us, if only for a little while.

Nevertheless if we're honest, we've got to admit that it'd be nice to be less the way we are. But 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? 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. Almost all of us are not 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. We need 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 They should be right on top of our favorites, but they seldom are. If they were, they really might have the impact they should. 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 this, 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 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. Accept it. If it helps, we can always be our real selves after we've been being our version of Rocky 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 into our own Rockys. We help 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 beside 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 (no 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 eating. Getting depressed 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 supplements. 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 few pitchers of beer? Then too there's always that good tasting popcorn with the bad oil\ at the theater. Is life really worth living if we can't have any of these? Our icons would never agree. In Jack's words, "Are you kidding; I take forty to fifty 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). We all know what they would say if they were right there beside us, The trick is to get them there 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 next morning. 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.

Too easy of a job? Well there's one of you and 4999 others. Everybody needs to be in daily touch with their icons. That's the only way to get a company of Rockys.

Genius is largely the result of hard work, rather than an 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 can 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 banalities from the everything now generation

The good news of this is that that 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 are 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 have looked at our icons' websites. How many times did we really try to figure out why we missed our supplements, workout or daily exercise requirement. How much psychological sweating did we do, really?

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 when everything else feels like it's in our best interests. 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 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 makes our icons fade into the background. That is, how do we keep from asking how ourselves how we feel today to what's Jillian, Jane or Jack got in mind for us regardless of how we feel or think.

That may sound Draconian, completely feeling less, too severe for anyone. But how many of 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. 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 turn us all into Rockys.

So... what should we do?

Spend a little time subscribing to our icons' websites and then spend a lot of time getting them into our heads. (they've all got great advice 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 is this : keep a journal of what goes through your mind right before working out for an entire month. Do this whether you make it to the gym or not. Now look back through all thirty one entries. They will 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 boring. 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 new 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 are into getting us back on. Another a wasted month of 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 icon can be 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 their simple answer to why am I falling off again.There's no pill, no easy answers, no magic. Making that happen requires the proverbial ninety-nine percent perspiration.

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

Fitness Found to Benefit Cancer Patients

2012-01-25T17:24:20Z

Fitness Found to Benefit Cancer Patients

A panel of advisors from Penn State University's Medical school asserts the importance of exercise for cancer patients before, during and after treatment. As physical activity level guidelines continue to change the mindset of resting and taking it easy has been replaced with remaining active to boost health, quality of life and fitness. Findings made by cancer researchers over the past few years are beginning to result in the implementation of exercise rehabilitation programs for cancer patients. Following in the footsteps of similar programs used for recovering cardiac patients, exercise rehabilitation provides multiple benefits for people while going through and recovering from various cancer treatments. These are some of the benefits that can be attained.

Stress Reduction

It's natural to experience stress when dealing with the effects of cancer and its treatment no matter if one is going through a common cancer like skin cancer or a very rare disease like mesothelioma. But stress does more than alter the way you feel emotionally. Stress also leads to or exacerbates physical experiences. Participating in exercise programs that involve running, walking, swimming or yoga can help you release feelings of stress and replace them with calmness and happy feelings from endorphins. The release of endorphins, a natural hormone, increases feelings of happiness, which can greatly benefit your quality of life.

Improved Muscle Strength

Muscle strength impacts other functions of the body. When your muscles are strong and are exercised regularly, they provide you with strength and range of motion needed to smoothly move through your daily activities. Muscles that aren't developed and strengthened can become tight, which affects your range of motion, and more prone to soreness. Incorporate exercises such as those found in yoga and Pilates to strengthen your muscles and keep your body flexible.

Cardiac Conditioning

The condition of your heart affects the level of energy you have. Since cancer treatment can leave you fatigued it's important to participate in aerobic exercise that encourages heart health and helps you feel more energetic. This can help you move through your day with greater ease and reduce frustrations faced when you find yourself unable to tackle tasks that were once easily accomplished.

Natural Mood Improvement

Feelings of depression, sadness and anger are natural when dealing with a diagnosis of cancer. Exercise helps you counteract these feelings by relieving stress and providing you with an avenue to work toward improving your health. Whether you choose to walk with friends, bike ride with families or take a yoga class, the emotional and mental benefits can be just as important as the physical ones.

Quality of life is important. To go through daily activities while dealing with the effects of cancer you need physical strength and stamina, as well as a reduction in stress. By participating in a physical fitness program you can improve your ability to deal with the effects of cancer treatment and maintain an improved quality of life.

Ch 13 Our Heroes and Heroines

2012-01-20T20:44:00Z

_________________________________________________________________

From LOSING IT! With Jillian Michaels
Friday, December 30, 2011

How to Get Back on the Wagon

It happens — you over-indulged over the holidays, missed a few workouts and now you feel like you've fallen off the weight-loss wagon. It's tempting to mentally slap yourself around, right? (Or head for the fridge.) Before you start, I want to remind you of something: Being hard on yourself is so 2009 — that's the Old You.

The New You knows how to deal with setbacks and get back on the wagon. And after all, there are no mistakes, just learning experiences. Weight loss is a process — it takes time. You will encounter small failures — everyone does — but every pound you gain can be lost.

And if you miss a workout, it's not the end of the world! Get to the gym the next day and continue to focus on your short-term goals. Just because you made bad choices today doesn't mean you can't start over tomorrow. New day? New beginning. And don't you forget it!

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Those are the words of Jillian Michaels, the nation's toughest trainer. The temptation is to say that they're taken out of context, or only to entice folks into being in one of her classes. After that, she turns into her real self : she gets tough. Nevertheless, the words are there, and they do speak to a truth needed to be heard by all, namely, "Just because you made bad choices today doesn't mean you can't start over tomorrow." No matter how we slice it (unless we haven't backslid in months) , she is right.

If only we could follow through with her for the long haul. That is the place to start--where we're at, which is probably just after having quit not that long ago. Of course, Jillian is always on top of her game and always there. All we have to do is subscribe to her website, religiously turn into her TV programs, and do what she suggests.

The only question is will we do all that, or if so. for how long? There needs to be follow through for the long haul. Simply trying to get into it, only to quit after a few weeks, does nothing. Any pounds we may have lost all come back, as if with a vengeance. Lasting fitness doesn't come overnight. The lifestyle changes which are required take months, sometimes years to master.
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Why Jillian? Why a Corporate Fitness Director?

Supposedly Jillian connects with fifteen million viewers per week. In theory, and as most would agree, she has killer exercises, perfect diets, and even her own line of supplements. Then too, she has a special fat burning capsule, which probably works, but which some authorities think is very unsafe.

Nevertheless, she has a national presence, meaning that virtually everyone knows about her, and is thus interested in following her advice. Most of us get blanket emails from her, probably not even to junk, delivered right to our in-boxes. So, it's hard to ignore her. And, who would want to? She certainly has an attractive, enviable athletic appearance. The question is does all of what she says work for everyone?

Perhaps it should. There's very little in what she basically recommends that anyone would have a lot of trouble with. Granted, her fat burner may be a bit radical, but it probably works wonders without side effects for some. The important thing is that she appeals to a considerable number. That's pretty much the same as the other celebrities.

For example, Jack Lalanne had a TV show and a similar national presence for quite a long run. The same was true for Jane Fonda, though she's perhaps best known for her videos, which sold by the tens of thousands. Jillian can be thought of granddaughter to these icons, who influenced millions of lives. But how many of us actually connected with them at every available opportunity through the course of one full year, to say nothing of numerous years? A few most likely, but how many really?

Not to discredit any of these super stars. They're all exceptional in their own rights. Possibly they can even be thought of as the trainers of trainers (who, are likely to keep posters of them, check their websites often, possibly buy their products.) But what about the people just starting out--those with less than eighteen months of experience? Aren't these folks the ones that Jillian is talking about in the above quote (and whom Jack and Jane both know all too well,) namely the ones who "fall off the wagon," looking for a little encouragement to get back on? Where are the results of the icons' efforts on these newbies?

In other words, why do the streets of Downtown USA look as bad, in fact worse, this year than last? As if that's not enough, why didn't the over-forties get more influenced by their parents to religiously follow the advice of Lalanne and Fonda?

Fitness takes time and hands on support. That's why a fitness director is necessary for a company. This is a professional ( a seasoned, fit person, but not an icon,) who has an office right next to the brand new gym. That person can : 1.) be visited before during or after a daily workout; 2.) be talked to about their twenty five years of experience with supplements; 3.) give face to face counsel about the latest ideas on eating right; 4.) discuss the details of regular workouts, which can be analyzed and perfected until they become part of our lifestyles.

Everyone new needs all of that. Everyone needs it within the context of a personal relationship--a standing side by side, facing the realities of fitness. And, unless we say "no," everyone needs an email when there is a no-show, followed by a discussion about why and what can be done to make tomorrow different.

The TV icons cannot be there through the ups and downs. Jillian with her fifteen million viewers simply does not have time, as much as she may wish she did Nor does Jane Fonda; nor did Jack Lalanne, or, if they did, they would have to charge(d) dearly for their presence-- something which would make most of us never contact them again. If only they had an office down the hall. If only they could actively care if we stayed at our daily routines. For obvious reasons, they can't.

Nevertheless, many people get turned on by celebrities. It's the mystique (where they're coming from, what they've become, what they've got to say) that does it, presumably. That's their total package, which has an irresistible power to bring us along into their way of thinking. With each, there's something that grasps our attention and keeps us doing what without them would be impossible. In essence, they're our heroes or heroines, and they really should be revered as such.

A "with it" corporate fitness director will support an interest in any of these people, or any others, who are sure to follow. They really can get the ball rolling, so to speak. In some cases, they may even keep it doing so for quite some time. That is why saying "yes, they're exceptional, but we are looking at at least six months worth of everyday following their advice to the letter" is essential. In short, hero worship with disciplined follow through is what's required.

Clearly, if we would all connect for our required turn-ons (perhaps "inspirations" is more polite,) get a gym membership, change our eating habits, and get into supplementation, the company would have no need of hiring a corporate fitness director or implementing a fitness program. Those are things we all can do. The question is "will we all follow through on our own?"

Perhaps the answer is dependent upon why we're doing what we're doing. After all, we really are rational beings, difficult as we may sometimes feel to be true. In other words, if the reason for doing it is right (something we can live with for the long haul,) we'll have a chance of continuing to do it. So, it makes good sense to get into some brutal self-honesty.That's because persistence is the name of the true and lasting fitness game.

To help in the process, it should be remembered that most of our primary motivations are generally dependent upon age. For those under forty, it's appearance. Under-forty people are not that far away from being on eHarmony, hopefully with great past success. Too, there is still the desire to attain a great body, perhaps like the one they had in college or might have liked to have had at some previous period.

Moreover, as it is unlikely that under-forties have had significant health issues, there is a greater emphasis on physical aesthetics than on health.That is, fitness is pursued in order that a great body may follow. There is nothing wrong with that. The only trouble from a corporate perspective is that the body builder motif may take precedence over a more holistic emphasis--one which can have a significant positive effect on performance in the business world.

For those over forty, things are somewhat different, though not entirely. Physical attractiveness is still a goal but it is not as prevalent. Much more so is the concern with staying young. This connotes overall healthiness (unlike parents perhaps who started having health troubles as they went past their forties,) remaining with it, optimistic and enthusiastic. But the desire to look like a favorite movie star may still be hidden in the background. For that, no one (especially doctors) should fault us. Self-esteem is part and parcel of being "with it."

Jillian, Jack or Jane can be icons for both groups, but will probably be viewed a little differently by each. For example the under-forties will be most interested in these peoples' physiques. The over-forties will probably be intrigued at how well the older icons (or possibly even Jillian at 37) are doing in spite of their years.

A corporate fitness director should be supportive of all of that. It's all about getting everyone to be "with it." every hour of every day. People like Jillian, Jack, or Jane can be used as touchstones in that effort. In other words, getting us to imagine what would Jillian, Jack or Jane have to say about what we're doing can make a huge difference. Keeping these types in mind is a help to all of us.

However, doing this is often thought of as encouraging "hero worship," which has a negative spin. It suggests excessive adulation or veneration, which exceeds healthy respect. That's another way of saying not using one's head. Yet, when negatives present themselves--negatives such as I'm too tired to workout, I don't have the time and the like, thinking is completely inappropriate. One must simply do it. And that's what any of our icons would say if they were right there beside us. Therefore, raising the question what would Jillian say to not showing up for today's workout will be far more effective than anything the corporate fitness director might be thinking of coming up with.

Being More with It--The Corporate Fitness Directors Goal for Everyone

Getting everyone to be more "with it" (an aspect of being youthful) is the business reason for the fitness director's job. That's the company's reason for the new gym. It's believed that if everyone were more "with it", the bottom line would in fact be better. Besides, it just makes for a better company--a more enjoyable attractive place to work. That's what brings in more dollars. It gets more out of the people who work there. It makes the company's investment in all of us pay off-- what's expected of each of us whether we ourselves are into looking better on the beach or impressing our doctors during our annual physicals. Either, or both, will go hand in hand with all of us being more in touch with the here and now.

Not everyone can be 100% "with it " (as in the opposite of "presenteeism") all the time. It's even doubtful that a real life version of Rocky would always be "with it." Of course, the movie portrayed him as always being in touch, always going beyond, always getting better--whether that meant running, doing sit-ups or pounding the side of beef. What we never saw was the hour to hour, day to day struggle to make the gains he made. Of course, no movie director would bore an audience with that. But that is how it is in the real world.

While we may not be in training to go the distance with an Apollo Creed, we must still do the same things that a Rocky-type does. We must remain constant in their training practices. We must do better the next day than the one before. We need to eat right, sleep right, focus, keep our lives in order. But the opponent of our effort is different than Rocky's. The opponent shifts from Apollo Creed to ourselves.

Granted, there still are some who will just always like "real competition." For the modern day office worker, this is sometimes the marathon runner. For them, fitness is training to do the Boston Marathon in a set time. For others, there may just always be that need to outdo someone a floor down in something like a biggest loser contest. None of this is bad, it's just not one hundred percent congruent with developing a more effective business professional.

Actual competition is something which may have made sense when we went against the school in the next suburb, eventually going against the regional winners in the state meet. It's just that we're grown up now; we're real people : at least that's how we think of ourselves. We've got families, jobs aspirations for promotions, concerns about retirement. While doing the Boston Marathon, or winning a few bucks as the biggest loser may have some allure, it's hardly as much as the other more pressing "mature" motivations.

So how do we get more "with it"--healthier (less overweight), attractive (look better in our business casuals,) optimistic (more enjoyable for our families and co-workers), effective (more upwardly mobile-- promotion material.) We get into fitness!

What's everybody up to fitness-wise at this very moment?

This is a difficult question to answer without a questionnaire and a lot of interviews. Nevertheless, it is possible to make a guess without any of these. We can conjecture that everybody is doing what they think is right when it comes to fitness. That may be anything from "Lets' wait and see what might get us into it" to "I've already started with the intent of having a fitness lifestyle as regular as tooth brushing by June of next year." But more than likely, for most, it's trying to get back into fitness, just like Jillian talked about above. Whatever the reality, it is not as important as the ideal.

That's why icons (heroes and heroines) are so important. We need them much more than the facts about us. We need to think about something different than that we've started again, with an even greater fear that this time will be no different. That's the sad result of realistic thinking based on history : what happened before will happen again; and, we'll be no better off for yet another effort. No one needs this kind of realistic thought--thought which possibly should be labelled "negative." Still, the truth remains that unless the reasons for backsliding in the past have been isolated and corrected, failure is again to be expected. That is realistic.

The best antidote for negative thinking is concentration on the ideal. In this chapter, that means getting into our heroes and heroines. In other words, it means really answering questions like "What would Jack, Jane, Jillian have to say in an instance like this?" That is, it means answering ones which are all about again giving up and going back to old ways.

It would be wonderful if we all had the personal email addresses or phone numbers of our icons. It would be even more wonderful if they would return our emails and calls.That could really save us from forgetting about them when we need them the most. But that's just not realistic. That's why we need a corporate fitness director--one who knows that from time to time we all need a reminder that there is a Jillian Jane or Jack, and that it's time to think more about them than ourselves.

As can be seen above, even the country's toughest trainer, Jillian Michaels, knows we all need to get back into fitness without any insults to our characters. That's the unexpected nice side of her. Of course, we all know she will get tough (probably much like a drill sergeant) with us later, like when we're thinking about going through the motions instead of going for the gold, or however we want to talk. But, being up and going's primary, and that's what she's helping us to do.

So...have we all talked with our imaginary heroes and heroines today?

For further thought on inspirational personalities order my e-book "Think and Grow Fit."

Ch 12 Your Goals Are Better than Mine

2012-01-14T21:19:46Z

More About Buff Bosses and Presenteeism

In the last chapter we talked about bosses--how important they are especially if they're right beside us on the treadmill or doing a workout at a time which everyone knows about.Their presence is constant reassurance that we're OK for doing our workouts instead of looking busy at our desks --probably little more than "presenteeism," anyway.

"Presenteeism" is a newly coined term for being at work even when sick. We've all done this either to avoid using up sick leave or keep from missing a day at the office. The implication here is that "presenteeism" can include a lot more--not being at 100% of potential at all times. Perhaps this is better called going through the motions. We're all guilty of this from time to time, employees and executives alike. This can be due to distraction from psychological issues, possibly the result of problems at home. It can also be due to little more than boredom. Then too, it can be that we are simply coming down with something that we're hoping will run it's course. The important thing however, is that we don't want our routines interfered with--we want to be at work, just not wholly into it.

While some may take umbrage with the implication that they're not hitting on all eight cylinders for every minute of an eight hour day, others will admit that they probably would want to, if only they felt more like it. We all want those great feelings of being unstoppable at what we do, always putting out--exceeding yesterday's top end. But the drive to do that is just not there all the time--maybe not as much as we wish. Those who would like to be hitting on all eight more often are the perfect candidates for a fitness routine.

Fitness cleans out the cobwebs in one's head, decreases the onset of actual illness (especially in conjunction with various supplements such as the very inexpensive, but effective mega dose of Vitamin C,) increases energy, decreases everything from minor discomfort to migraines. It makes all of us work more efficiently. It's the cure-all for the humdrum existence.

The employee who has a knowledgeable boss (one who can admit to periods of less than one hundred percent involvement at work) is fortunate. That very human higher-up will be doing the best thing possible to make this problem vanish on a corporate scale. Namely, they will be living a fitness lifestyle--not only for themselves, but for their employees as well. They will be setting a good example just by keeping their own house in order. And, as a sideline, they will be liked all the more for it--something which will go a long way to incurring employee loyalty and retention.

How Does Fitness Eliminate Presenteeism?

Cardio-time on the treadmill or exer-cycle is the perfect opportunity to go through internal "mulling," our personal problems, with the intent of keeping these away from doing something important, such as the month-end report. This may even be the primary reason that our bosses work out. (They have things like month-end reports too.) Doing so really does make problems either go away or convert themselves into solutions.Too, being in better condition will in fact cause many of these problems to never occur in the first place; but that's not easily measured. In fact, the belief that one will make far better use of time following a workout is not easily measured either. Nevertheless, anyone who has been into fitness for at least a year knows this is true.

People into fitness are in better shape, do more, complain less, make fewer mistakes, close more sales, treat co-workers better, get into less arguments with their bosses. They like themselves more, and others like them as well. Consequently, they would never think of coming to work without having first done their workout. Nor would they ever overeat, eat the wrong foods, or miss their supplements. All of these work together to make living more enjoyable and productive.

Their management counterparts are this way as well. They were probably the most instrumental in getting your new fitness program into place to begin with. Yet, clearly, not all bosses in an organization are like this. There are some who are still skeptical, trusting more in the keep their nose to the grind stone approach. Perhaps this will change in time, but fitness is still perceived as "just fun time" by some.

The Most Important Person Is You

These people, the bosses--the pro- and not so pro-fitness ones, are not end and all of everything when it comes to your workout, your diet, your supplements. The most important person is you. Yes, having a boss who works out too is helpful, but it's not essential. You are still number one. But to effectively be that, you've got to have a personal goal-- one just for you -- something which you find exciting--one which you know you can achieve within a reasonable period of time. For right now, let's call this six months. For most people, let's say it's going to be all about weight loss.

People often look to folks like corporate fitness directors for the step-by-step guide to losing weight. Those who say they want to lose weight often expect drill sergeant-like supervision along with a biggest loser contest, having cash reward for dropping pounds. How nice if this would have a chance of working. Corporate America could invest relative pennies to save millions. But, the biggest loser approach with the daily tallies of "who did what" almost never does; or, if it does, the contestants are right back to being fat not long after. To put it mildly, expecting this is like demanding a crutch instead of expressing a sincere interest in how to walk on your own two feet.

A lot of people say that they want to lose weight. That's legitimate, and that's a goal to be sure; but it doesn't say anything about how they want to make that happen. In fact, the thought of coming up with their own plan may even be a bewildering. It may give rise to the objection If I knew that already I would have done it. As nine-tenths of getting into fitness is really about sustained motivation, this is almost never at all on the mark. Yet, a suggestion or two may prove helpful. That is, it may help to get the ball rolling.

An easy catch-all recommendation is losing one pound per week until the desired weight is obtained. That's a relatively easy thing to do. It just requires eliminating about five hundred calories per day and committing to a half hour walk. (A quick and dirty suggestion is to simply eliminate all butter and one piece of bread, never missing a brisk stroll on your lunch hour.) That will drop the weight in a comfortable and safe manner. You can even check first with your doctor,to see if that's right for you, assuming you really think it's worth the co-pay. Yet, it's not all that simple.

For this to work, you first really need to know how much you eat per day, everyday. The question is "Do you?" Do you even remember what you ate yesterday? Do you think that there may be a set quantity of food that you always consume whether you're aware of it or not? Are you aware of what makes you eat more often? Answering these questions with the resolve to make the necessary adjustments is where the real results begin.

The challenge for both you and the fitness director is to find what will work for you to get you where you want to go in a reasonable period of time. It starts small and works up. Mostly, it's about asking the right questions and then never failing to act upon the right answers. Over enough time that will result in a day in day out never missed hour long workout and a completely satisfying, tasty, nutritional, supplement-enhanced diet. Most people would think of all that as synonymous with being their own fitness-person. Everyone can get to this point.

What is Goal Setting All About?

There are some very good schools of thought which say that all you need is a standard workout routine, never going above two thousand calories, always taking your multis. It's all kind of like brushing your teeth--something everybody does in pretty much the same way every morning. That may not sound very exciting. Perhaps it sounds more like doing a boring routine than coming up with an exciting goal. But this most likely is more than you are doing right now. If so, it would be good to make that your long range goal for seven days a week. The important point is that this in itself is a goal. You can come up with other more fun ones once that one's been mastered.

Some people reading this will immediately be discouraged from ever trying to get into fitness because it sounds like a "forever proposition." It sounds like going from Sacramento to New York, never getting a chance to see the sites once we've made it. Yet, this works, and does lead to bigger and better things. Once we get there, we find a way to improve upon the supposed boredom, and we enjoy doing so. But a goal like this is simply too far off for most. Something far more immediate is required, such as perfect gym attendance for the first month. Grade school as that may sound, that really works. But why does it?

Always striving for something more (even if it's just perfect attendance) is simply how we're set up as human beings. We are never satisfied with ourselves for just what is OK right now. That's true of everything, and it's especially true for fitness. There's always something more that we can be better at or do more of. We can always do the reps more strictly on the machines. We can always go beyond the current plateau of rpms on the stationary bike. We can always cut a calorie or two. But those should be down the road, after we've got a few more basic milestones attained. The good news is that this all becomes easier the more it's done.

However, there are times when making improvements seems impossible. It's as if we are at a point beyond which nothing will ever happen. This is known as hitting a plateau. It's nothing more than the body regrouping itself for the next natural upward spurt. It's a natural phenomenon.The most important thing to realize about it is that it should never be a reason to quit. Of course, it can cause us to feel like giving up. If what we're doing just does not get us to the point we think we should be at, in the amount of time we think that it should take, we tend to get discouraged. Possibly we are doing something wrong. Possibly we don't have enough growth gene, or GH factor, as is so much in vogue to talk about today. If only we did our exercises differently, or followed a certain new diet, then we would start looking like our favorite movie stars, possibly starting tomorrow.

There is nothing more absurd than this type of thinking unless we've really been living a set fitness lifestyle without deviation for a two year period. Indeed, even that might not even be long enough. No one starting out even for the tenth time has ever been at their fitness lifestyle for that long. The typical amount of time is about three months, having turned over a leaf after the first of the year only to decide that it again isn't working right after tax season. This type of thinking, if it can be called that, has got to be anticipated beforehand and ignored when tax time comes around. How is that possible?

Small Frequent Goals are Best

The first thing that a corporate trainer should get from someone starting out is an agreed upon goal (preferably in writing.) Most people think that this should be losing twenty pounds by June first, or something similar. When starting out, this is doing little more than setting oneself up for failure. That's why a goal of staying at it two weeks after April Fifteenth is superior.

Not everybody responds in the same way to supposedly tried and true procedures or products. The wonder apparatus and miracle pill manufacturers know this. That's why every new wonder product that hits the market has a disclaimer which says individual results may vary. (To those who believe that none of these products ever do what they claim, this may be the only true assertion on the label.) That's because : 1.) we all have different places that we're coming from; 2.) we are different sizes; 3.) we all do different things to get us where we want to go; and 4.) we all have different body chemistry.

However, there is a way address the problem the same for everyone. It has to do with the right mental image. Getting fit should be seen as a cross country journey from California to New York, always spending the night in a new city a long the way. That is drastically different than seeing it as a jet ride which is like an overnight makeover into magazine cover model (the kind of thinking our overnight everything culture gets us into.)

If you think of getting into fitness as a cross-country trip in a car, you can easily see that getting to the first city by nightfall's the most reasonable thing to do. Yet for some that might even be a lot. They may actually have trouble just getting to get to the third tier suburb of their hometown by lunchtime . If so, that's OK. The decision to leave home with the intent of getting to the first destination is all that matters.

The point is that fitness neither comes overnight nor does it comes from going after the impossible. Everyone knows this in theory, but few live as if it were true. Instead, we go from one routine to another, one diet to another as if going out of our way to hit cities that are not even close to being in straight line between home in California and our end target in New York. What could be more confusing, exhausting and self defeating? Can't we see that planning the route beforehand, resting at each city along the way, and then going from there the next morning is the only sure way to get to our destination?

For the sake of argument, though, we can take a jet from LA to NY. This is like getting into an extreme makeover program. In other words, we really can go to a clinic, do everything they say, and turn out to be someone completely different in under sixty days. If we can afford do this, without insurance coverage, perhaps it should be given a shot. But where will we be without the 24/7 guidance of your makeover team once we've come back to the real world?

There may be one in a thousand who will immediately get into a never-stop ninety minute a day routine, a proper diet and adequate supplementation to maintain the newly acquired magazine cover look. The question is "Is that really going to happen?" Is anyone who has only been introduced to a crash course in appearances really able, on their own, to do what the movie stars regularly do to maintain themselves?

It's doubtful.

Stops Along the Way and Presenteeism

This chapter started out talking about presenteeism, which might better be called "going through the motions." This what a robot does. It gets turned on by someone else, and then mindlessly does the job that its operator wants it to do. That's what we've all been about in fitness whenever we started at the first of the year finding that we are no longer interested in doing anything by tax season. It's what we did when got into the last biggest loser program.

But why didn't this work? After all, it should have. Doesn't every company (even ones without a brand new gym) have one of these from time to time?

It didn't work because afterward we rebelled against being robotic. We're people, not machines. But we can get into being mindless! Thus, we've got to resist the temptation to act like a robot.

The best way to not be a robot is to simply be a car owner--a person who sets up a road map from California to New York, and then stays on course. What could be simpler? That's something we all know we can do. We can drive to a motel not that far away, and then start out again after a good night's rest. We can do that in our own cars, at our own pace. All we need is the resources to make it from one motel to the next (taking it one day at a time.)

With a few short term destinations and a long term one in mind, everything changes. It makes us "with it" in thought feeling and action. That is the first step to getting where we want to go. Humble as it may well be, it's the only real game in town. In a way, it's like Rocky going from a one mile run to a five, maybe from pounding the side of beef from ten minutes to an hour. We didn't see that in the movie, but that is how it is in real life. Just like him, we can do the things we can --knowing that these will lead to others, and that those in turn will lead us to the big time.

That's where we all have to be from hour to hour, week to week. Fitness takes time : it doesn't come overnight.

Where's Your Buff Boss Along the Way?
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Your buff boss is always en route to the city of his or her choice. Same goes for your buff, or not so buff, peers. Some folks think that shouldn't really matter, but it does. That's just how we are as human beings. So, instead of trying to act like lone wolf Rocky, we'd all be better off exchanging emails and texts along the way. That's kind of like never missing group meetings--something that really will make a much more enjoyable cross-country journey for everyone.

TEAM-- Together Everyone Achieve More.

For further thought on how to become fit while working at a job order my e-book "Think and Grow Fit."