It is certainly true that at best you can only ever be a 2nd rate someone else; only you can be the #1 You! No one else can claim that position, just you.
That is encouraging, and yet I caught myself thinking today....is that enough? Is that really the whole story?
"Know Thyself, And To Thine Own Self Be True." Absolutely, definitely, this is truth. You have to know who you are at your core, and be true to yourself as already stated above.
I'd like to submit that being yourself is only 50% of the equation.
The challenge I have when thinking of this, is that it basically leaves a person in a stalemate. Being yourself means you first find out who you are, and then be it. That doesn't offer any direction though, does it? It just means you've discovered things about yourself, and you have accepted them. Don't get me wrong, that is a fantastic place to get to - I just think there is a whole new part of the journey that opens up at this point!
Once you know who you are, you also need to start figuring out the truth to the next question: "Who do I want to become?"
The way everything works in life is either growth or decay, life or death. Nothing in our entire world just sits in neutral. A standing pool of water if left alone will slowly begin to become overgrown, or brackish, and eventually turn into a muck pond, swamp or other pool of water that is unsuitable for drinking.
On the other hand, fast flowing water doesn't have time to grow moss - it's in constant movement. This is one of the reasons why commercials for drinking water always show a flowing stream of crystal-clear water...water in motion is clean, usable.
Who you are, the real you and where you are going, is the same way. If you make the effort of self-discovery, then you need to take the next leg in the adventure...look down the road 2, 3 or 5 years, and ask yourself:
What picture of 'me' do I want to see?
Is there anything about me that I would like to clean up, improve or strengthen in the future?
What images of myself did I have when I was growing up that I haven't accomplished yet, or have accomplished but could be better?
Am I standing still (stagnating), or am I progressing forward to something new?
How can I change course to get back on track for things I have always wanted myself to become?
Which friend or friends can I include on this course of self-aware improvement, that can help uplift me, be honest with me, and keep me on track?
What opportunities are available for me right now to help with this process?
Many other aspects of your life can fall into place while pursuing your goal of You. For example, you may see yourself now as not being energetic enough, and you are sad that you tend to decline offers to go out because you are always tired. You've made this discovery of yourself and want to do something about it, so you make a plan to start going jogging three times a week. The first week is hard, the second week a little easier, and by the third week you've added an extra day in because you are enjoying the extra energy you are feeling throughout the day. You start eating healthier, because your body is demanding more of the right foods to fuel the running you are doing.
A Thursday night comes by, and some co-workers ask if you want to go out with them for some appetizers after work. You say yes, head out, and while enjoying their company you suddenly realize that you would never had said yes to an invitation like this a month ago! You would have been too tired!
The choice to do something about yourself, (I'm not happy with my lack of energy, so I am going to change it) has given you advantages you didn't see before! You concentrate better at tasks, have more energy at work so you are accomplishing more during the day, you're more capable in your social life because you aren't tired after work any more, and your self-esteem is going up as a result!
If you don't know who you are - and I mean the real honest personality inside - take the time of self-discovery to learn about yourself. When you do, take the next step, which is really the most exciting, and find out just what is really possible with that great amazing person, called You!
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Monday, September 12, 2011
Gaining Perspective
Sometimes in my life when I am confronted with a daunting task, something that I think is either very difficult or impossible, I shrink away from it, and doubt, worry and fear set in. Despite all the positive people I associate with, the good books I read, I can still succumb to the negative influences of the world around me and feel discouraged, beaten.
Make sure you check your Perspective.
Perspective is a way of regarding situations or topics, or a mental view of the state of one's ideas. Put another way, it means being concerned with the future or things related to the future. This can tie very closely into your self-image: if your self image is low, your perspective (outlook) on life will most likely be low (negative) as well, and conversely if your self-image is high, your perspective (outlook) on life will be high (positive).
What is your self-image? I like this description best. Self-image is not what you think of yourself, and it is not what other people think of you. No! Your self-image is defined as what you think other people think of you.
There is a great moment in the movie Hoosiers that talks directly to your perspective. Coach Dale, played by Gene Hackman, and the team are entering the empty gymnasium for practice before the State Finals. He commented the week before that the boys on his team have probably never seen a building bigger than 2-storeys except in a picture, because they are all farm boys having never been to a big city. The looks on their faces as they walk into the immense gym says that he was right. The boys are scared, intimidated and feeling smaller than they ever have before!
Coach Dale pulls out a tape measure, and calls one of the boys to hold it at the baseline while he takes the end to the top of the key. He makes the boys measure the court and call out the number! Then he has the boys measure the height of the rim of the basket. Finally, he tells them, "I think you will find that the measurements are exactly the same as our gym back in Hickory." All of the boys smile, and suddenly their fear is gone because they know...it is the same sized court, just in a bigger building.
Some powerful tips here!
Making the boys do the measuring, they are involved, and they know that the coach isn't lying about the numbers, or just trying to make them feel good. Because they are the ones taking the measurements, they have an ownership in it, and confidence in knowing the point he is driving at.
The second point is that, in a very real, observable and practical way, the Coach gives the team something they can believe in: themselves. They have won dozens of games up to this point already. This court is the same size as every other basketball court they have played on. They now have confidence and belief in knowing that the task set before them is possible.
When Fear knocks, if Faith answers, no one is there!
Be sure to check your Perspective daily. Thomas Edison said, "If we did all the things we were capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves." He's right - you are infinitely more capable than you will ever give yourself credit for. Go out and make yourself proud! Work hard, work smart, and set out to accomplish the tasks and goals set before you. You can do it!
Henry Ford said, "If you think you can, or if you think you can't, you're right."
Solomon said, "Whatever it is you find to do, do it with all your might!"
If you still have trouble knowing what perspective you should be looking from, think of it this way:
You're on a football team, at the centre of the field lined up against a dozen of the nastiest, meanest looking players you've ever seen.
On your side of the line is just you, and God.
Who's going to win? =-)
Now maybe you don't believe in God, and that's fine, but for the sake of extending this example, just imagine that there is a God who is all-powerful, and He is on your team. What could ever possibly stand against you?
That's a perspective I can feel confident with.
Make sure you check your Perspective.
Perspective is a way of regarding situations or topics, or a mental view of the state of one's ideas. Put another way, it means being concerned with the future or things related to the future. This can tie very closely into your self-image: if your self image is low, your perspective (outlook) on life will most likely be low (negative) as well, and conversely if your self-image is high, your perspective (outlook) on life will be high (positive).
What is your self-image? I like this description best. Self-image is not what you think of yourself, and it is not what other people think of you. No! Your self-image is defined as what you think other people think of you.
There is a great moment in the movie Hoosiers that talks directly to your perspective. Coach Dale, played by Gene Hackman, and the team are entering the empty gymnasium for practice before the State Finals. He commented the week before that the boys on his team have probably never seen a building bigger than 2-storeys except in a picture, because they are all farm boys having never been to a big city. The looks on their faces as they walk into the immense gym says that he was right. The boys are scared, intimidated and feeling smaller than they ever have before!
Coach Dale pulls out a tape measure, and calls one of the boys to hold it at the baseline while he takes the end to the top of the key. He makes the boys measure the court and call out the number! Then he has the boys measure the height of the rim of the basket. Finally, he tells them, "I think you will find that the measurements are exactly the same as our gym back in Hickory." All of the boys smile, and suddenly their fear is gone because they know...it is the same sized court, just in a bigger building.
Some powerful tips here!
Making the boys do the measuring, they are involved, and they know that the coach isn't lying about the numbers, or just trying to make them feel good. Because they are the ones taking the measurements, they have an ownership in it, and confidence in knowing the point he is driving at.
The second point is that, in a very real, observable and practical way, the Coach gives the team something they can believe in: themselves. They have won dozens of games up to this point already. This court is the same size as every other basketball court they have played on. They now have confidence and belief in knowing that the task set before them is possible.
When Fear knocks, if Faith answers, no one is there!
Be sure to check your Perspective daily. Thomas Edison said, "If we did all the things we were capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves." He's right - you are infinitely more capable than you will ever give yourself credit for. Go out and make yourself proud! Work hard, work smart, and set out to accomplish the tasks and goals set before you. You can do it!
Henry Ford said, "If you think you can, or if you think you can't, you're right."
Solomon said, "Whatever it is you find to do, do it with all your might!"
If you still have trouble knowing what perspective you should be looking from, think of it this way:
You're on a football team, at the centre of the field lined up against a dozen of the nastiest, meanest looking players you've ever seen.
On your side of the line is just you, and God.
Who's going to win? =-)
Now maybe you don't believe in God, and that's fine, but for the sake of extending this example, just imagine that there is a God who is all-powerful, and He is on your team. What could ever possibly stand against you?
That's a perspective I can feel confident with.
Saturday, September 3, 2011
5 Ways To Burn Fat
Hey gang! I have copied here a list of 5 great things to do to burn off calories. I am going to start working on some of these tips right away! This list was copied from Brian's Blog at http://profitnesstraining.blogspot.com/ - check out his blog for more tips on health, nutrition and fat-burning solutions!
From Brian @Pro Fitness Training:
5 Surprising Things That Burn Fat
Increase your fat-burning using these 5 simple tricks
Want to burn more fat? Who doesn't, right?
So here are 5 tips to help you do it...
TIP 1
Eliminate the Starch
Starches, such as rice, potatoes, some veggies, oats, etc. are often considered "health foods."
While they can be healthy, they can also pack on stomach fat big time!
Well... how does THAT work?
Simple: Timing is everything.
And we take a "weekly" approach to foods rather than a daily approach. This keeps your metabolism guessing. If your body cannot figure out what you're up to, fat burning is that much more powerful. And you can get by with eating starches... at least at specific times on specific days. It all depends on when you work out!
So it is a simple rule when it comes to starches. Only eat a starch in the meal following a workout! You will be replacing the glycogen that you burned working out instead of that glycogen getting converted to fat because your storehouse is already full. The body can only store approximately 300-500 calories of glycogen!
TIP 2
Can the PoP
This one is really hard for me. I've been hooked on diet-soda on and off for years. When I go to get into top shape I have to get rid of the diet-sodas... yes, DIET-sodas. Need I say "real" sodas too? They are loaded with sugar.
Why diet-sodas? A recent study revealed that people who drank diet-sodas actually increased body fat when compared to those who drank sugar-sodas. What the... ??
Yep. Your body cannot be fooled by aspartame and chemicals. Sorry, but that's the truth.
What you need to be drinking: A quart of pure water per 50 lbs of bodyweight a day.
I mix it with lemon and a bit of Stevia (an herbal sweetener) and make lemonade. It's awesome!
Or a nutrilite twist tube to get added vitamins and anti-oxidants.
TIP 3
Stay Hungry
Arnold's first movie was "Stay Hungry" (well, after "Pumping Iron" that is). You cannot rest on your butt and stay hungry. You cannot think you've "arrived" and stay hungry.
It takes a special person to be hungry... and an even greater one to stay that way.
I want you to stay hungry in two ways: In how you workout and literally... stay a bit hungry before you go to bed. Not "starving"... just a bit hungry.
For your workouts, I have a great solution. Get into the gym on a regular, consistent basis and let us help you melt body fat.
You see, progression -- "forced" progression -- is the best way to stay hungry. Progression is built into our training System.
As far as staying hungry at night? Check with your doctor and if he/she okays it take 500mg of potassium and 1000mg of magnesium/calcium a few hours prior to bed. This helps with the hunger pangs. Also, keep hard-boiled eggs in the fridge. If you get really hungry, eat one with half the yolk (toss the other half.) It keeps me full for an hour at least.
TIP 4
Cardio Clarity
Hours and hours of cardio a day is not the answer. However, you can do "light" cardio (i.e. brisk walking, or riding the bike at 60% of your max) just to burn off calories. That's okay... and personally I don't find it that boring if I'm watching a TV show. It does not interfere with my main fat loss exercise (weight training... YES!) And it burns off about 400 calories an hour.
What does work is early morning fasting cardio... but you only need 15-20 minutes when you are running on empty.
TIP 5
Get Raw At Night
Raw veggies with your last meal and as a snack will really help your fat burning going in the right direction. Keep an assortment of cut up veggies in the fridge for convenience. Give this a try. The fat loss is well worth it.
From Brian @Pro Fitness Training:
5 Surprising Things That Burn Fat
Increase your fat-burning using these 5 simple tricks
Want to burn more fat? Who doesn't, right?
So here are 5 tips to help you do it...
TIP 1
Eliminate the Starch
Starches, such as rice, potatoes, some veggies, oats, etc. are often considered "health foods."
While they can be healthy, they can also pack on stomach fat big time!
Well... how does THAT work?
Simple: Timing is everything.
And we take a "weekly" approach to foods rather than a daily approach. This keeps your metabolism guessing. If your body cannot figure out what you're up to, fat burning is that much more powerful. And you can get by with eating starches... at least at specific times on specific days. It all depends on when you work out!
So it is a simple rule when it comes to starches. Only eat a starch in the meal following a workout! You will be replacing the glycogen that you burned working out instead of that glycogen getting converted to fat because your storehouse is already full. The body can only store approximately 300-500 calories of glycogen!
TIP 2
Can the PoP
This one is really hard for me. I've been hooked on diet-soda on and off for years. When I go to get into top shape I have to get rid of the diet-sodas... yes, DIET-sodas. Need I say "real" sodas too? They are loaded with sugar.
Why diet-sodas? A recent study revealed that people who drank diet-sodas actually increased body fat when compared to those who drank sugar-sodas. What the... ??
Yep. Your body cannot be fooled by aspartame and chemicals. Sorry, but that's the truth.
What you need to be drinking: A quart of pure water per 50 lbs of bodyweight a day.
I mix it with lemon and a bit of Stevia (an herbal sweetener) and make lemonade. It's awesome!
Or a nutrilite twist tube to get added vitamins and anti-oxidants.
TIP 3
Stay Hungry
Arnold's first movie was "Stay Hungry" (well, after "Pumping Iron" that is). You cannot rest on your butt and stay hungry. You cannot think you've "arrived" and stay hungry.
It takes a special person to be hungry... and an even greater one to stay that way.
I want you to stay hungry in two ways: In how you workout and literally... stay a bit hungry before you go to bed. Not "starving"... just a bit hungry.
For your workouts, I have a great solution. Get into the gym on a regular, consistent basis and let us help you melt body fat.
You see, progression -- "forced" progression -- is the best way to stay hungry. Progression is built into our training System.
As far as staying hungry at night? Check with your doctor and if he/she okays it take 500mg of potassium and 1000mg of magnesium/calcium a few hours prior to bed. This helps with the hunger pangs. Also, keep hard-boiled eggs in the fridge. If you get really hungry, eat one with half the yolk (toss the other half.) It keeps me full for an hour at least.
TIP 4
Cardio Clarity
Hours and hours of cardio a day is not the answer. However, you can do "light" cardio (i.e. brisk walking, or riding the bike at 60% of your max) just to burn off calories. That's okay... and personally I don't find it that boring if I'm watching a TV show. It does not interfere with my main fat loss exercise (weight training... YES!) And it burns off about 400 calories an hour.
What does work is early morning fasting cardio... but you only need 15-20 minutes when you are running on empty.
TIP 5
Get Raw At Night
Raw veggies with your last meal and as a snack will really help your fat burning going in the right direction. Keep an assortment of cut up veggies in the fridge for convenience. Give this a try. The fat loss is well worth it.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
August Blog Time
I was about to write on a specific topic, but I realized after posting the July blog that I like quotes, and I know of several others that need to be stated. My original topic I will save for September. =-)
I truly hope you find something in these quotes to help you keep going, press on and more forward to progress and success in whatever it is you are doing! God bless!
"The person who gets the furthest in life is generally the one who is willing to do and dare. The sure-thing boat never gets too far from the shore." Dale Carnegie
"A gold medal is a wonderful thing, but if you're not enough without it, you'll never be enough with it." Irv Blitzer (John Candy), Cool Runnings
"The successful always has a number of projects planned, to which he looks forward. Anyone one of them could change the course of his life overnight." Mark Caine
"I've never known anybody to achieve anything without overcoming adversity." Lou Holtz
"Whatever your hand finds to do, do it, with all your might..." Ecclesiastes 9:10
Saturday, July 23, 2011
July - no Blogs here!
I didn't have a chance to blog on anything in July. Basically the fault is all mine - I didn't make time, didn't force myself to sit down and start writing, and didn't put the responsibility firmly on myself to get it done. I could make excuses about summer activities, vacation, work, and more, but really the honest truth is I just didn't do it.
So instead, here I am at the end of August, preparing to enter this in for July to cheat a little bit. The OCD in me doesn't want to skip a month, that would make the calendar uneven. So instead, I am going to add in some quotes that are my favourites "of all time" to share with you, and just pretend that I submitted this post in July (work with me a little here).
These quotes inspire me, remind me of what's right and wrong, or give me a boost whenever I need it. Hopefully they will do the same for you.
The first one is lengthy, I know, but so amazingly powerful. Read it through!
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.” - Theodore Roosevelt
"Imagination is more important than knowledge." Albert Einstein
"If you think you can, or think you can't, you are right." Henry Ford
"Do, or do not, there is not try." Jedi Master Yoda
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
A Journey of a Thousand Miles....
Everyone knows the old Chinese proverb. But do you know how to take it to heart, and do you know what it means?
I don't claim to be an expert on the subject, either, but I did want to share some of my own insight, in the hopes that it might spawn some ideas of your own, perhaps some motivation for whatever journey you are on right now.
Every journey begins with a single step. Dr. Robert Schuller said that "...beginning is half done!" And that is so true! Actually taking the first step - starting out, taking the first bit of action, really beginning - is about 50% of your journey! Thousands and thousands (if not millions) of people every day have ideas, inspiration, dreams and desires that they want to achieve, and some of them even decide to do something about them.
But a decision isn't enough: you have to take action! Move! If your goal is business, or education, or a relationship you want to improve....whatever it is, the journey begins not when you say you are going to start, not when you decide to start, not when you believe the timing is right. No, the actual journey only starts when you take action, and take the first step.
I would dare say that a good majority of people never even start. I'd call it 80%. And of the 20% that actually do take action, I would say that probably only 20% of those people make it any further than step #1.
Why?
Journeys are hard. If your goal is a really worthwhile attainment of something special, of something that means something to you in your heart of hearts, than you have to expect that it will be a hard journey. Most people take the first action step...and then stop. Fear, worry, doubt, negative influences of other people telling you that you will fail, they have the power to stop you.
Don't let them!
Here is the bottom line that you need to know. Look back at the proverb: "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." Does that give you the impression that after one step, the next 999.99 miles are a breeze? Do you imagine that for the second step the person on the journey is rocketed, magically teleported, or otherwise shot to the finish line? No! The journey begins with a single step! So how do you get the rest of the distance?
By taking one more step.
Just one! Don't worry about step #3 right now, just finish the second step! Now, once you have completed step #2, don't try to skip over to step #10. It won't work! Finish step #3! And if you make it, then you can try.....step #4. And so on, and so on.
What I am trying to say is that you need to take every measure of your journey towards success one day at a time, because regardless of your particular endeavour, your goal is to succeed, right? Each and every day, choose your behaviour, choose your attitude, and choose what action you will take to complete the next step. Not ten steps, not fifty miles...just the next step, because the only thing you can affect is what is available for you to do right now, today.
There are dozens of books that speak on this topic. Read them! One of my favourites is "The Slight Edge", by Jeff Olson, and another classic is "Peak to Peek", by Dr Robert Schuller, but there are many more.
I wish you great success on your journey! Here is an Irish blessing for your journey to leave you with:
May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face, and rains fall soft upon your fields
And until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Spring Cleaning
Ahhhhhh! Spring is in the air!
Signs of Spring: There have been no shortages of Garage Sales all over the city the last few weekends. It is like a scene from a movie where the empty street during the week becomes crowded with shopping stalls overflowing with knick-knacks for sale - Calgary's Garage Sale extravaganza starts the moment Spring does!
And of course, let's not forget the ultimate in sure signs that Spring is finally here - I have seen not just one, but dozens of Robins all over the city!
The Spring rain has come, finally, and with it the clean up of the streets of the grime remaining from winter. Our entire street is practically glowing green now as all the plants burst into life! I am very grateful for spring: for me it is the best symbol of renewal, revitalisation, growth and second chances. As a matter of fact, I hold a deeper resolve in Spring Time for committing to new Resolutions than I do at New Year's Eve.
I think most people do, even if only subconsciously.
Everyone has junk, both material and insubstantial, that they need to clean up. For us, we had a driveway full of garbage from the renovations we're finishing up, as well as few boxes of stuff that just seemed to accumulate over the winter. May long weekend was finally the time to throw it all into the truck and make a trip to the city dump! We also took some time to clear out our mental garbage as well, by looking at the failures of the last few months to find out what was good, what was bad, and changing our game plan in order to achieve new goals.
My hope every Spring is to start new, start fresh, re-commit to the goals I have been pursuing, or sometimes get rid of the old goals that were missed, lest the weight of missing them drags me down to a stop.
Spring is movement! It is momentum! I hope you have a chance to re-align yourself to your goals, clean up any mental or physical baggage that might be holding you back, and truly make a fresh start! June is almost upon us - let's all make sure we start that month with a clean slate, ready to progress forward to happiness, freedom, prosperity, or whatever else your goals may be this year!
Thanks again, Mother Nature, for showing us that all it takes sometimes is a little Spring Cleaning. =-)
Andreas Z.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Hey Everyone!
I want to share this music video with you all, a message of hope, belief in yourself and your dreams, faith in your team, and that possibilities exist for you to accomplish anything you need to even in your darkest hour. I don’t know if the message in these lyrics and video will touch you as they do me, but I hope that you can at least feel some inspiration from it.
Bookmark this song, so whenever you are feeling low you can play this music video to bolster your spirits once again. I believe in you!
Sincerely,
Andreas Z.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
5 Surprising Things That Burn Fat
A great post from my buddy and mentor Brian! His Blog is at:
Increase your fat-burning using these 5 simple tricks
Want to burn more fat? Who doesn't, right?
So here are 5 tips to help you do it...
TIP 1
Eliminate the Starch
Starches, such as rice, potatoes, some veggies, oats, etc. are often considered "health foods."
While they can be healthy, they can also pack on stomach fat big time!
Well... how does THAT work?
Simple: Timing is everything.
And we take a "weekly" approach to foods rather than a daily approach. This keeps your metabolism guessing. If your body cannot figure out what you're up to, fat burning is that much more powerful. And you can get by with eating starches... at least at specific times on specific days. It all depends on when you work out!
So it is a simple rule when it comes to starches. Only eat a starch in the meal following a workout! You will be replacing the glycogen that you burned working out instead of that glycogen getting converted to fat because your storehouse is already full. The body can only store approximately 300-500 calories of glycogen!
TIP 2
Can the PoP
This one is really hard for me. I've been hooked on diet-soda on and off for years. When I go to get into top shape I have to get rid of the diet-sodas... yes, DIET-sodas. Need I say "real" sodas too? They are loaded with sugar.
Why diet-sodas? A recent study revealed that people who drank diet-sodas actually increased body fat when compared to those who drank sugar-sodas. What the... ??
Yep. Your body cannot be fooled by aspartame and chemicals. Sorry, but that's the truth.
What you need to be drinking: A quart of pure water per 50 lbs of bodyweight a day.
I mix it with lemon and a bit of Stevia (an herbal sweetener) and make lemonade. It's awesome!
Or a nutrilite twist tube to get added vitamins and anti-oxidants.
Eliminate the Starch
Starches, such as rice, potatoes, some veggies, oats, etc. are often considered "health foods."
While they can be healthy, they can also pack on stomach fat big time!
Well... how does THAT work?
Simple: Timing is everything.
And we take a "weekly" approach to foods rather than a daily approach. This keeps your metabolism guessing. If your body cannot figure out what you're up to, fat burning is that much more powerful. And you can get by with eating starches... at least at specific times on specific days. It all depends on when you work out!
So it is a simple rule when it comes to starches. Only eat a starch in the meal following a workout! You will be replacing the glycogen that you burned working out instead of that glycogen getting converted to fat because your storehouse is already full. The body can only store approximately 300-500 calories of glycogen!
TIP 2
Can the PoP
This one is really hard for me. I've been hooked on diet-soda on and off for years. When I go to get into top shape I have to get rid of the diet-sodas... yes, DIET-sodas. Need I say "real" sodas too? They are loaded with sugar.
Why diet-sodas? A recent study revealed that people who drank diet-sodas actually increased body fat when compared to those who drank sugar-sodas. What the... ??
Yep. Your body cannot be fooled by aspartame and chemicals. Sorry, but that's the truth.
What you need to be drinking: A quart of pure water per 50 lbs of bodyweight a day.
I mix it with lemon and a bit of Stevia (an herbal sweetener) and make lemonade. It's awesome!
Or a nutrilite twist tube to get added vitamins and anti-oxidants.
TIP 3
Stay Hungry
Arnold's first movie was "Stay Hungry" (well, after "Pumping Iron" that is). You cannot rest on your butt and stay hungry. You cannot think you've "arrived" and stay hungry.
It takes a special person to be hungry... and an even greater one to stay that way.
I want you to stay hungry in two ways: In how you workout and literally... stay a bit hungry before you go to bed. Not "starving"... just a bit hungry.
For your workouts, I have a great solution. Get into the gym on a regular, consistent basis and let us help you melt body fat.
You see, progression -- "forced" progression -- is the best way to stay hungry. Progression is built into our training System.
As far as staying hungry at night? Check with your doctor and if he/she okays it take 500mg of potassium and 1000mg of magnesium/calcium a few hours prior to bed. This helps with the hunger pangs. Also, keep hard-boiled eggs in the fridge. If you get really hungry, eat one with half the yolk (toss the other half.) It keeps me full for an hour at least.
Stay Hungry
Arnold's first movie was "Stay Hungry" (well, after "Pumping Iron" that is). You cannot rest on your butt and stay hungry. You cannot think you've "arrived" and stay hungry.
It takes a special person to be hungry... and an even greater one to stay that way.
I want you to stay hungry in two ways: In how you workout and literally... stay a bit hungry before you go to bed. Not "starving"... just a bit hungry.
For your workouts, I have a great solution. Get into the gym on a regular, consistent basis and let us help you melt body fat.
You see, progression -- "forced" progression -- is the best way to stay hungry. Progression is built into our training System.
As far as staying hungry at night? Check with your doctor and if he/she okays it take 500mg of potassium and 1000mg of magnesium/calcium a few hours prior to bed. This helps with the hunger pangs. Also, keep hard-boiled eggs in the fridge. If you get really hungry, eat one with half the yolk (toss the other half.) It keeps me full for an hour at least.
TIP 4
Cardio Clarity
Hours and hours of cardio a day is not the answer. However, you can do "light" cardio (i.e. brisk walking, or riding the bike at 60% of your max) just to burn off calories. That's okay... and personally I don't find it that boring if I'm watching a TV show. It does not interfere with my main fat loss exercise (weight training... YES!) And it burns off about 400 calories an hour.
What does work is early morning fasting cardio... but you only need 15-20 minutes when you are running on empty.
Cardio Clarity
Hours and hours of cardio a day is not the answer. However, you can do "light" cardio (i.e. brisk walking, or riding the bike at 60% of your max) just to burn off calories. That's okay... and personally I don't find it that boring if I'm watching a TV show. It does not interfere with my main fat loss exercise (weight training... YES!) And it burns off about 400 calories an hour.
What does work is early morning fasting cardio... but you only need 15-20 minutes when you are running on empty.
TIP 5
Get Raw At Night
Raw veggies with your last meal and as a snack will really help your fat burning going in the right direction. Keep an assortment of cut up veggies in the fridge for convenience. Give this a try. The fat loss is well worth it.
Get Raw At Night
Raw veggies with your last meal and as a snack will really help your fat burning going in the right direction. Keep an assortment of cut up veggies in the fridge for convenience. Give this a try. The fat loss is well worth it.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Happy New Year Resolutions
Happy New Year!
Amazing – it hasn’t quite sunk in yet that it is 2011. I haven’t actually had the need to right the date anywhere until just now, and it doesn’t seem real! And even more amazing is that tomorrow is already January 3rd – how did New Years Eve already get 3 days behind us? I hope everyone had the opportunity to enjoy the Holidays with family and friends, raise a glass in good cheer, and usher in 2011 with good tidings!
One thing that is very natural to consider at this time of year is Resolutions, vows we make to have positive changes occur in our lives for the upcoming year. I want to share with you some tips for making, working through and keeping resolutions, whether they are made January 1, or at any other time during the year!
Remember, the opposite of success is not failure; the opposite of success is quitting. I could add that quitting can also be defined as having all the skills, ideas and resources to do something, but never starting. Start! The rest will fall into place as you make your way down the path!
Tips for making resolutions:
Allow room for growth
It is always easier to make a resolution than it is to keep it! Give yourself some room to grow, become better and stronger, then tackle the resolution again.
Avoid using “absolutes” when making your vow. Saying things like “I promise to always, forever...” or “From now on, I will only...” or “Never again will I...” or “Every day this year I will...” can very quickly becoming a suffocating task instead of a liberating accomplishment. This is because all it takes is for you to miss one single day and the entire resolution is over, finished, failed, and the reasons may be perfectly excusable! Illness, family or work commitments, being out of town/country and many other things that may be out of your control can stop you from making the daily promise.
Instead of giving yourself ultimatums like this, try making your resolutions goals to achieve instead. Use wording for your resolution similar to these: “I am setting a goal to reach my ideal weight by May 1st, 2011” or “I will have this storage room cleaned out before the house party in June” or “I am going to finish writing this book by February 20th, 2011”.
Reset your focus if required
The next step is a direct influence from your goal, and is difficult to do because it involves personal will power. The most obvious is sticking to a routine that might be daily or weekly goals, and making sure you keep on track. A good tip here is to make your new routine a habit. Once something becomes a habit, it becomes a natural part of your life and therefore very easy to maintain. The trick is continuing with something long enough to make it that habit!
The other part of this is continuing on, pushing through to reach your goal, even if you miss the deadline! Every successful person, in sports, media, politics, business or any endeavor, has learned how to constantly reset their goals in order to attain them. It is a very rare person and situation in deed that reaches the goal on the first try!
Let’s use the example of reaching your ideal weight by May 1st, 2011. And let’s assume that your personal weigh-in day comes on May 2nd, and you realize you are still 10 pounds away from reaching your goal. This is not a time to throw your hands up in disgust, grab a bag of sugar donuts and forget the whole thing! Look at far you’ve come! You’ve probably already made some positive lifestyle changes, lost some weight and some inches, and even if you haven’t, do you really need to wait another 8 months before trying again with a new resolution. All you need to do is reset your goal! Maybe you can make a new date of June 15th, and then go for it! Get some advice from someone who has already lost that weight, or a personal trainer who understands your needs and goals, and then keep working at it!
Use the resources available to you
Did you know that you have unlimited resources? It’s true! I don’t have space in this email to really dive too deeply into this topic, but let me sum it up this way: have you ever heard of the Six Degrees of Separation? Did you know that mathematically most everyone on the planet has a friend or associate that connects you to another person, who connects you to another person, and so on, until you effectively can reach almost everyone on the planet within approximately 6 jumps? So if you are looking for a photographer for your wedding or other special event, somewhere within the network of people that you already know is a person who has a great recommendation for you! You need to start asking, and soon it will come to you! Like I said, there really is a LOT more in depth to this, but this will give you the important highlight!
Think of it this way – imagine an archer shooting at a target. He pulls back the bowstring, lines up his shot, and lets fly! The arrow, however, misses the target. The archer does not look to see what is wrong with the target that caused him to miss! Instead, he looks internally to himself to see what he needs to change about himself in order to hit the target on the next shot.
To say it another way: the road to success is paved with failure. Each failure brings with it an opportunity or a lesson, and if we are humble enough, it allows us to grow into a stronger, better person or team, which brings us closer to the desired goal!
I hope this helps you to set some goals for 2011, and succeed! I am more than happy to help with your resolutions if I am able to, even if that is simply discussion to help clarify a goal.
God bless, everyone! And Happy New Year!
Sincerely,
Andreas Zimmermann
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)