Sword and Shield

People always find excuses for not exercising/working out. You probably have heard, and used, many of them yourself:

"I can't do that."
"I don't have the right equipment or space."
"Go to the gym? With all those other people?"
"I'm just not motivated to start, and besides it's boring."

And my all time favorite:

"Me? Why I'm already healthy."

Yeah and that's not a 64 ounce Pepsi in your hand, its ice tea? Please, let's be honest and stop with the bullshit. We all have room for improvement with our fitnes and health. I don't care if you're Bob Harper, Tony Horton, or a Beachbody Coach ... We all can improve. And there is the keyword folks, improve. The funny thing though, is that when it comes to our diets, fitness and overall health, we can be a tad on the blind side of things. But when asked to improve our productivity at work, improve our grades in class, improve our relationship with family, it's all but a given that the effort will be there. So, why not but forth the effort with health?

For some, it's the act of exercising or working out (there is a big difference between the two). Many people who are overweight (obese) or out of shape think the physicality is extremely daunting. That's when the excuses from above come out and play. These people have already defeated themselves even before the first step has begun. Its a mental fail on their part, but it's not entirely their fault. I'm willing to bet that most, if not all, have been told repeatedly that, "they're not good enough", "you're too fat to do that", or "why try, you'll just fail" by society in some way or form. Dude, that ain't cool in my book. Now more than ever we need encourgement, acceptance and positive reinforcement for all of us walking this Earth.

Ladies and gentlemen, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but we all need to wake up and realize that obesity is a real, tangible epidemic. It's not an epidemic that is exclusive to the United States, this dilemma is worldwide. It doesn't care about race, religion or sexual orientation. Obesity doesn't give a damn if you're young or old, whether you're just making waves in life or at the riding the coat tails of success - obesity will find you and kick your ass. It's everywhere, engulfing our lives with heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and premature death. It's an unrelenting warrior on the battlefield who wants nothing more than to see you at 9:00AM with a 16 ounce Pepsi (diet or not, doesn't matter kiddies) and an Egg McMuffin. Yep, that's right fat and cholestrol all washed down with liquid sugar to sweeten the kill shot.

The funny (and slightly disturbing) thing is that we've forgotten about one of our greatest weapons against the enemy: decision. It's so plain, simple and overlooked yet an effective weapon when wielded correctly. Making wise choices with our health is can turn the simple decision into both sword and shield against Obesity. These decisions don't have be the type that move mountains or shatter worlds, instead they can be as minimal as choosing carrots over kettle chips. Or taking the stairs instead of the elevator. They can be as big as taking on the beast that is Insanity, P90X or any other extreme workout program. Whatever the choice be, it's your decision to bear the sword and shield to protect your future from Obesity and Unhealthy Ways.

I believe every person is worth that commitment, to pick up sword and shield to fight for and with. We need to stand our ground together, many becoming one, joining the fight against Obesity and Unhealthy Ways. This isn't a fight that can be won overnight or by a single individual. But together, if we all pick up our swords and shields, we can fight against Obesity and gain our lives back. We all can take our lives back by standing together and proclaim (raise your clenched fist here), "I WILL NOT BACK DONE! I WILL NOT GIVE UP! I WILL NOT FALL VITCIM TO UNHEALTHY HABITS! I HAVE MADE MY DECISION!!"

So I say this to you, I challenge you to pick up your sword and shield today. Start fresh, start anew and make a bold commitment to yourself against Obesity and Unheathly Ways. Build your foundation with tenacity, grit, and an indeniable will. The battle for a better tomorrow awaits us! Will you join the front lines? Make your decision, stand tall, and ready yourself for battle!

GO GET YOURS!!


#TakeOnTheWorld

The Foundation that Horton Built

The Foundation that Horton Built

I've done it. There is no looking back or regretting my decision. I've .... moved away from P90X. Good lord, that was a tough one to write. After doing P90X and fully embracing (some say I'm an addict, I disagree completely) Tony Horton's philosophy, I am moving onto a new program from Beachbody - Les Mills Pump. This is something I didn't see coming at all. I thought about buying P90X2 and progressing on with Tony's newest adventure. However, I was just sold on the videos and what I was reading about LMP online. Even "talking" to some who are in the midst of doing their first tour of duty with LMP was extremely motivating and getting me hyped to check it out. So here I am today, P90X free and jumping head first into a new program with ambition, drive, tenacity and high expectations!

In all honesty though, P90X will always be with me. The ground work, the foundation was laid with P90X. I have a very concrete foundation to build my tomorrow on. It's rock solid, won't budge, crack, or be broken by anything. The mindset of "I presently struggle with" has been with me from day one of P90X and will always forever be with me. That philosophy has been applied to so many areas (and needs to be applied to still more) of my life that it probably should be tattooed onto my back! It's that very philosophy which will be part of my Les Mills Pump foundation going foward. I plan (and already have) to attack Les Mills Pump with the same tenacity and intensity that I did P90X. Just cause the pay loads (amount of weight lifted) are currently lighter, doesn't mean I'm taking it easier folks. It means more repetitions ... many, many more repetitions!

I'm just completing my first full week and I'm loving it. The "Rep Effect" is very similiar to Tony Horton's 10-12. If you lift heavy loads at 8-10 reps, you're building bulk while lighter loads at 10-12 will give you a more toned look. Well, instead of doing 10-12 reps, you're doing upwards of +500 reps per workout! Yeah, that is pretty nuts! Craziness ensues dude and that "muscle fatigue" really sets in multiple times during each workout. But that is where the money is people, the muscle fatigue. The last one reps got to hurt n' burn cause that is when the most change is happening with your body. Plain and simple, you need to feel intense burn to make change. And trust me, you feel it many, many times during a LMP workout! But the music, trainers (Petter, Asa, Susan, Rachel, Jericho, The Bens, Joel, etc) and the crowd keep you motivated to push for more!

Ladies and gentlemen ... I am not a P90X addict. I am a Beachbody addict and damn proud of it.

At Arm's Length with the Real You

How many people do really know? In this age of social and digital media, our "world" has expanded exponentially. We can blog, post, tweet, Facebook, and rant to an entire social network that wasn't within our reach fifteen years ago. Now, all we have to do is push "send" and our thoughts can reach others half a world away. For better or worse, this is the world we live in today. But I ask you, how many people do you really know? How many of those Facebook friends have celebrated a birthday with you? Been there to rescue you in an hour of need? Or helped celebrate a moment of triumph? Can you really call all those people "friends"?

Yes, our society has gone digital, sometimes too digital, but the old fashioned way of communication is still in play: face-to-face conversation. We still need to have human contact, that human element to life. We cannot live in a digital plane and hide from people. That isn't a realistic possibility. Ours is a world of facial expressions, body language, hand gestures, stuttering, and stammering that cannot be duplicated by smiley faces or hearts. 

So, I ask again, how many people do you know? Do they really know the "real" you? Your fears, hopes, dreams, and nightmares? How about your aspirations? Your defeats? Do they know the simple surface things? What is your favorite color? The food you can't stand to even smell? Guilty pleasure? Or the place you feel the safest? I'm pretty sure they don't. But those real friends, the ones who you grew up with, know every little detail about you. Or those who you met in college, the ones who helped you figure out what to do in the "real" world. And your co-workers whom you may see more than family. How much do they know about you? Or do you keep them at arms length because you're there "just to get the job done not make friends"?

The reason I bring this up is very simple. How many of us actually really let others into our lives? Do we let even our closest friends/family see a glimpse of who we are? There are very few of us that walk this earth that have been completely vulnerable ... at the mercy of the opinions of those we call friend. We are all very comfortable with the surface stuff. It's when we dig a bit deeper that it gets complicated? But really, is asking someone how their family is doing or what their hopes/dreams are, is that really digging too deep? How many of us know the passions of our co-workers are outside of work? Do we even know where they're originally from? Or if they hold a Masters degree in English? I can safely say that I don't.

We all need to make a better effort in knowing those around us. I'm not saying we have to know every little hope or dream, but we need to make an effort to know more about those around us. And we all also have to make more of an effort to open up our lives to those who may inquire. That conversation about music could evolve into a lifelong friendship. Discussing one's passion for rescuing pets could lead to fulfilling role as an animal shelter volunteer. We don't need to be so guarded with our lives. Yes privacy is important, but only to a certain degree. We don't need to have everyone at arm's length. Instead we should be trying to learn about all we can in many ways.

We should be celebrating every one's life now, when we're here. Life is not but a journey, but it's a journey that should be celebrated each and every single day with the sounds of joy and laughter. We need to celebrate our friends and family while we have them close to our hearts here on this earth.

RIP Karon Wendt ... this should have been written a long time ago. I thank you for your generosity, kind words, and sharp tongue. You have been missed and will continue to be missed by many. I only wish those words of kindness could have been shared with you while you were here with us. I miss hearing your laughter and seeing your smile at work each day. Rest in Peace .....