Make exercise a habit
In order to really achieve fitness
success, as I already mentioned, you must be consistent. It's always easier to
have a reason why not to workout. One thing you can do to help you stay on track
is to make exercise appointments with yourself, a friend, or a personal trainer.
If you schedule an exercise appointment, than you will be less likely to skip
your workouts. Even if you're exercising by yourself, make appointments on your
weekly calendar to workout. You wouldn't miss a meeting, or a doctor's
appointment or lunch with a friend, would you? No. If you write it down, not
only will you remember to go but you will eventually make it a habit and
actually find ways to schedule other things around your workout. What else is
more important than taking maintaining your health? Nothing. Poor health wreaks
havoc in every aspect of our lives. Start out by making two exercise
appointments each week for the next month. The following month increase that to
three times a week. By this time you will have created a healthy habit. And if
you have a day where things get real busy and you can't make it to the gym,
that's okay, however be sure to reschedule that workout for another day that
same week.
America, We're Getting
Fatter
America, as a country, our waistlines are
getting bigger. A new report published by the Trust for America's Health found
that adult obesity rates rose in 31 states. The South is the worst region, with
10 of the 15 heaviest states located below the Mason-Dixon line. The South also
had among the highest rates of childhood obesity rates.
There are other notable items in the study:
Twenty-two percent of American adults report that they do not engage in any
physical activity. Mississippi has the highest rate of inactivity at 31.6
percent and Minnesota had the lowest rate of inactivity at 15.4 percent.
Seventeen states require their school lunches, breakfasts and snacks to meet
higher nutritional standards than the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
requires (6 states enacted new laws in 2006-07).
Twenty-two states have set nutritional standards for foods sold in vending
machines, à la carte, in school stores, or in bake sales in schools (9 states
enacted new laws in 2006-07), and 26 states limit when and where these foods may
be sold on school property beyond federal requirements (6 states enacted new
laws in 2006-07).
While every state has school physical education requirements, many are limited
in scope or are not enforced.
Sixteen states screen students’ body mass index (BMI) or fitness status and
confidentially provide information to parents or guardians (8 states enacted new
laws in 2006-07).
Gyms That Push
Supplements
Over the weekend, we got in a discussion
with a couple we met at home fitness equipment store about gyms. They had
recently joined a high-end health club, which they were generally happy with.
Prior to joining the upscale club, they had belonged to one of those corporate
mega gyms. Many of you know the type: huge facilities, more equipment than you
could ever think about using, 24 hours (or at least early morning to late night
hours), etc.
They hated it. It wasn’t so much the blaring music (though that didn’t help
matters), but rather the fact they felt like the gym was constantly trying to
sell supplements and other nutritional “plans”.
We understand that supplements can add greatly to a gym’s bottom line and, from
a business sense, selling supplements is a good strategy. However, the
overwhelming majority (we’re talking in the area of 95%) of people going to a
gym do not need any supplements, except perhaps a multi-vitamin. Worse yet,
supplements (especially the protein mixes and the sports drinks) are a source of
extra calories and consuming them defeats the purpose of going to the gym in the
first place. Not to mention that the fact that a bottle of water and a balanced
diet of non-processed foods is considerably more beneficial.
If your gym constantly pushes supplements and you have a choice of going
elsewhere, do so. There are several community gyms that, though smaller in size,
are quite good. (We’ve often seen Precor machines at these facilities.) YMCA’s
are also a good bet. There are also many smaller, private gyms that are well
run. Look around, your choices may surprise you.
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