We all know strength training is important and that the Curves circuit provides overload to the muscles. But are you truly getting the most benefit from the machines? When we make our muscles work against a resistance they aren’t used to, we overload those muscles and this is the goal of strength training. When we consistently overload our muscles, there are several positive benefits we receive! Strength training produces lean muscle tissue that’s metabolically active, so this means we can increase our metabolism and burn more calories throughout the day…even while at rest! Lean muscle tissue also gives us that toned appearance which I’m sure we all would love with the summer months here! Not only that, we increase our strength! We all have kids, grandkids, nieces or nephews we enjoy playing with….well building lean muscle will help us keep up with them!
So now that you know the benefits, how do we ensure we get these benefits! Well, it’s all about the work we put into those machines! Really push HARD on those strength machines…this is where the real work is done. Then, truly recover on the recovery boards so you are ready for that hard push on the next machine. I recommend asking a Circuit Coach to check your form on each machine periodically. It’s one thing to simply use the machine, but if we aren’t using correct form, full range of motion and 100% effort….you aren't getting the full benefit! You’ll really feel and see the results and will be a great inspiration to your friends and family!
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
7 Tips for Cleaning Fruits, Vegetables
Posted By Dr. Mercola
June 07 2011
Nearly 48 million people are sickened by contaminated food each year in the United States. Many people don't realize that even produce can sometimes be the culprit in outbreaks of food-borne illness.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) offers the following tips for protecting yourself:
1.Wash your hands for 20 seconds with warm water and soap before and after preparing fresh produce
2.Cut away any damaged or bruised areas
3.Gently rub produce while holding it under plain running water
4.Wash produce before you peel it
5.Use a clean vegetable brush to scrub firm produce
6.Dry produce with a clean cloth or paper towel
7.Throw away the outermost leaves of a head of lettuce or cabbage
Sources:
FDA May 23, 2011
Time May 30, 2011
June 07 2011
Nearly 48 million people are sickened by contaminated food each year in the United States. Many people don't realize that even produce can sometimes be the culprit in outbreaks of food-borne illness.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) offers the following tips for protecting yourself:
1.Wash your hands for 20 seconds with warm water and soap before and after preparing fresh produce
2.Cut away any damaged or bruised areas
3.Gently rub produce while holding it under plain running water
4.Wash produce before you peel it
5.Use a clean vegetable brush to scrub firm produce
6.Dry produce with a clean cloth or paper towel
7.Throw away the outermost leaves of a head of lettuce or cabbage
Sources:
FDA May 23, 2011
Time May 30, 2011
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Curves Becomes a SCENT-FREE Environment
Did you know that many people become physically ill from scents? We have an increasing number of members and staff that have allergies and/or a sensitivity to many scents. This can cause them to get headaches, nausea, anxiety, a change in mood, and more.
When I learned that the chemicals in perfumes, colognes and scented lotions can have this affect on people, I knew we had to make Curves a scent-free environment. No one wants to to inflict physical discomfort to someone else, so I knew when I made this announcement, our members would be willing to comply.
So we ask that you please refrain from applying anything with a scent before coming to Curves. Thank you for your understanding!
When I learned that the chemicals in perfumes, colognes and scented lotions can have this affect on people, I knew we had to make Curves a scent-free environment. No one wants to to inflict physical discomfort to someone else, so I knew when I made this announcement, our members would be willing to comply.
So we ask that you please refrain from applying anything with a scent before coming to Curves. Thank you for your understanding!
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Give me some Attitude!
One key to being healthy and having a stress free life is happiness.
Looking at a recent internet survey that identifies the “keys to happiness,” we discovered that attitude ranked the highest at 59%, followed by love at 23%, achievements at 8%, creative activity at 5% and money at 5%. Therefore, if you want to motivate yourself in your daily life, you must manage and be in control of your attitude. So what is attitude and how can we use attitude to change the way we think and talk to ourselves?
Attitudes are basically our established way of responding to people or situations and, of course, these are learned behaviors based in our core beliefs and values. Yes, attitude drives behavior. What is in your mind actually drives your actions. This serves as a reminder from the previous lessons about the power of positive
self talk.
By choosing an attitude, whether positive or negative, it drives your mood and sends messages to everyone around you! That’s correct; we said you choose your attitude. One thing we know for certain is that we cannot control everything that happens to us or everything that we encounter in daily life. But we can always control our response. Let’s look at an example. Can you control if someone cuts you off on the highway? The answer is no. However, you can always control your response. You can get angry and react in a negative or hostile manner, which really does nothing to change the situation or you can choose to wave and move on about your merry way. In other words nobody can choose your emotions; ultimately, you are in control of them. Always remember that no one can make you mad or make you sad or make you happy. You choose to be mad, sad or happy. Attitude is your choice, how you respond is your choice, the action then that you take is your choice and it all starts with the power of the mind. Attitude and self talk guides the mind and establishes the process of behavior we display. In other words, your body language as well as the spoken word is a direct reflection of your learned attitude response.
There is a quote by Ramona Anderson that says, “People spend a lifetime searching for happiness; looking for peace. They chase idle dreams, addictions, religions, and even other people, hoping to fill the emptiness that plagues them. The irony is the only place they ever needed to search was within.” It is up to you to be the difference maker in your life and have a powerful impact on every one you come in contact with.
Science tells you that armed with a positive attitude, you will live a longer and happier life. That is a fact. Researchers followed 1500 people for 7 years. All 1500 were in good health when the study started. Researchers followed how they aged by measuring things like weight loss, walking speed, exhaustion and grip strength. They found that people who maintained a positive attitude were significantly less likely to show signs of aging, were less likely to become frail and were more likely to be stronger and healthier than those that had negative attitudes. They found that if your cup is half empty and you have a doom and gloom attitude than you are in fact slowly killing yourself or at the very least your negative attitude is making you weaker and more aged.
There is a reflective book written by Parker Palmer titled “Let Your Life Speak”. The book title in the Quaker admonition means to “let the highest truths and values guide everything you do.” Listening to your life comes with listening and accepting your “true self” with its limits as well as potential. For example, most of us are aware of Michael Jordan’s career as a basketball player. Most of us would label his career as highly successful. However if you look at the stats it might be a bit confusing. “I have missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I have lost almost 300 games. On 26 occasions I have been entrusted to take the game winning shot…and missed. And I have failed over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” Do you think his cup is half full? Do you think his belief system made him successful? Would Jordon’s career have been different if he focused on the failure of missed shots as opposed to an attitude of gratitude for the shots made? You betcha!
Consider this quote by Melody Beattie. “Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates vision for tomorrow.”
When you think of problems…you attract problems. When you think of solutions…you attract solutions. Today is the first day of the rest of your life. Start today with an attitude of happiness, solutions and most importantly gratitude.
Looking at a recent internet survey that identifies the “keys to happiness,” we discovered that attitude ranked the highest at 59%, followed by love at 23%, achievements at 8%, creative activity at 5% and money at 5%. Therefore, if you want to motivate yourself in your daily life, you must manage and be in control of your attitude. So what is attitude and how can we use attitude to change the way we think and talk to ourselves?
Attitudes are basically our established way of responding to people or situations and, of course, these are learned behaviors based in our core beliefs and values. Yes, attitude drives behavior. What is in your mind actually drives your actions. This serves as a reminder from the previous lessons about the power of positive
self talk.
By choosing an attitude, whether positive or negative, it drives your mood and sends messages to everyone around you! That’s correct; we said you choose your attitude. One thing we know for certain is that we cannot control everything that happens to us or everything that we encounter in daily life. But we can always control our response. Let’s look at an example. Can you control if someone cuts you off on the highway? The answer is no. However, you can always control your response. You can get angry and react in a negative or hostile manner, which really does nothing to change the situation or you can choose to wave and move on about your merry way. In other words nobody can choose your emotions; ultimately, you are in control of them. Always remember that no one can make you mad or make you sad or make you happy. You choose to be mad, sad or happy. Attitude is your choice, how you respond is your choice, the action then that you take is your choice and it all starts with the power of the mind. Attitude and self talk guides the mind and establishes the process of behavior we display. In other words, your body language as well as the spoken word is a direct reflection of your learned attitude response.
There is a quote by Ramona Anderson that says, “People spend a lifetime searching for happiness; looking for peace. They chase idle dreams, addictions, religions, and even other people, hoping to fill the emptiness that plagues them. The irony is the only place they ever needed to search was within.” It is up to you to be the difference maker in your life and have a powerful impact on every one you come in contact with.
Science tells you that armed with a positive attitude, you will live a longer and happier life. That is a fact. Researchers followed 1500 people for 7 years. All 1500 were in good health when the study started. Researchers followed how they aged by measuring things like weight loss, walking speed, exhaustion and grip strength. They found that people who maintained a positive attitude were significantly less likely to show signs of aging, were less likely to become frail and were more likely to be stronger and healthier than those that had negative attitudes. They found that if your cup is half empty and you have a doom and gloom attitude than you are in fact slowly killing yourself or at the very least your negative attitude is making you weaker and more aged.
There is a reflective book written by Parker Palmer titled “Let Your Life Speak”. The book title in the Quaker admonition means to “let the highest truths and values guide everything you do.” Listening to your life comes with listening and accepting your “true self” with its limits as well as potential. For example, most of us are aware of Michael Jordan’s career as a basketball player. Most of us would label his career as highly successful. However if you look at the stats it might be a bit confusing. “I have missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I have lost almost 300 games. On 26 occasions I have been entrusted to take the game winning shot…and missed. And I have failed over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” Do you think his cup is half full? Do you think his belief system made him successful? Would Jordon’s career have been different if he focused on the failure of missed shots as opposed to an attitude of gratitude for the shots made? You betcha!
Consider this quote by Melody Beattie. “Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates vision for tomorrow.”
When you think of problems…you attract problems. When you think of solutions…you attract solutions. Today is the first day of the rest of your life. Start today with an attitude of happiness, solutions and most importantly gratitude.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Stress Management
Stress! That one simple word conjures up an incredible emotional reaction in people. An incredible negative emotional reaction, that is. While stress can occur from a physical threat to life, far more stress occurs normally due to family, friends, job and relationship events or simply from worrisome thoughts. During physical danger, your body uses the "fight or flight" response to its benefit, but during mental triggers when the released hormones and chemistry is not used for a useful purpose, they create tension in the walls of the arteries and begin a number of serious disease processes. Perhaps worse, they accelerate aging.
Managing stress is a personal matter, but fundamentally it involves balance; a balance between friends, work and self. When any one of these areas begin to dwarf the others then mental stress triggers are more likely to happen.
Here are three good ways to manage stress:
1. Exercise. Exercise is a great way to lessen the likelihood of stressful triggers occurring and also eliminate some of the destructive chemical components of stress. When you exercise you put time into yourself and you might even enjoy exercise as part of a larger group or community of people. This helps provide important balance to your life. Further, since exercise is a physical response, you get to “use” the chemicals that occur after the mental trigger event, thereby lessening the physical impact they have on you.
2. Relaxation Techniques. There are a variety of simple relaxation techniques including progressive muscle relaxation, guided imagery, meditation, even prayer. These help create balance in the body also. Research these techniques on the internet and choose one that is best for you. The key is to be consistent as consistency matters in using stress management tools.
3. GABA. Gamma Amino Butyric Acid is a natural amino acid based compound that acts as an important neurotransmitter in the brain. Taken before bed GABA helps promote deep, relaxing sleep and taken during the day acts as an effective calming agent.
Whatever you decide to do to help manage stress, you need to realize that having a positive outlook or mind set is very important. There is a huge body of research demonstrating that people with happy, positive attitudes get ill less often, recover faster, age more slowly and live longer than do people with negative mental attitudes.
As important as choosing the right stress management technique is, it is equally important not to take short cuts and choose stress management routes which add to the destructive component of stress. Here are some of the improper stress management techniques that you should avoid.
Pharmaceutical Drugs. There are millions of people taking drugs such as the Benzodiazepines. While these may be helpful in the very short term for managing seriously acute stress episodes, using them for extended periods to alleviate anxiety is a prescription for biochemical disaster. Pharmaceutical drugs come with a host of negatives and should not be the first line of defense against stress. When evaluating drug options, you might also want to consider the natural alternative GABA which when taken during the day in 500 mg. to 1 gram doses can act as a mild sedative.
Recreational Drugs. Even worse, many people try recreational drugs such as cocaine to limit their stress. While cocaine might make you feel a bit less stressed temporarily since it affects dopamine levels, over time, you need more and more of the drug to get the same reaction. And along with drug use, comes a variety of very negative physiological and psychological effects.
Alcohol. Alcohol is widely used as a stress deterrent. A small amount of alcohol may actually be beneficial to a person’s health but few people can consume alcohol in small amounts. Alcohol use leads to alcohol abuse and an incredible number of physical and mental problems.
Nicotine. Many people enjoy smoking, believing that nicotine helps them to sharpen a bit mentally and help create a calm, relaxed feeling and attitude. Since cigarette smoke contains an uncountable number of harmful chemicals and is directly responsible for 450,000 deaths a year, obviously, the harm here greatly outweighs the benefits.
Avoid all these negative stress coping mechanisms. They can only lead to harm.
Managing stress is a personal matter, but fundamentally it involves balance; a balance between friends, work and self. When any one of these areas begin to dwarf the others then mental stress triggers are more likely to happen.
Here are three good ways to manage stress:
1. Exercise. Exercise is a great way to lessen the likelihood of stressful triggers occurring and also eliminate some of the destructive chemical components of stress. When you exercise you put time into yourself and you might even enjoy exercise as part of a larger group or community of people. This helps provide important balance to your life. Further, since exercise is a physical response, you get to “use” the chemicals that occur after the mental trigger event, thereby lessening the physical impact they have on you.
2. Relaxation Techniques. There are a variety of simple relaxation techniques including progressive muscle relaxation, guided imagery, meditation, even prayer. These help create balance in the body also. Research these techniques on the internet and choose one that is best for you. The key is to be consistent as consistency matters in using stress management tools.
3. GABA. Gamma Amino Butyric Acid is a natural amino acid based compound that acts as an important neurotransmitter in the brain. Taken before bed GABA helps promote deep, relaxing sleep and taken during the day acts as an effective calming agent.
Whatever you decide to do to help manage stress, you need to realize that having a positive outlook or mind set is very important. There is a huge body of research demonstrating that people with happy, positive attitudes get ill less often, recover faster, age more slowly and live longer than do people with negative mental attitudes.
As important as choosing the right stress management technique is, it is equally important not to take short cuts and choose stress management routes which add to the destructive component of stress. Here are some of the improper stress management techniques that you should avoid.
Pharmaceutical Drugs. There are millions of people taking drugs such as the Benzodiazepines. While these may be helpful in the very short term for managing seriously acute stress episodes, using them for extended periods to alleviate anxiety is a prescription for biochemical disaster. Pharmaceutical drugs come with a host of negatives and should not be the first line of defense against stress. When evaluating drug options, you might also want to consider the natural alternative GABA which when taken during the day in 500 mg. to 1 gram doses can act as a mild sedative.
Recreational Drugs. Even worse, many people try recreational drugs such as cocaine to limit their stress. While cocaine might make you feel a bit less stressed temporarily since it affects dopamine levels, over time, you need more and more of the drug to get the same reaction. And along with drug use, comes a variety of very negative physiological and psychological effects.
Alcohol. Alcohol is widely used as a stress deterrent. A small amount of alcohol may actually be beneficial to a person’s health but few people can consume alcohol in small amounts. Alcohol use leads to alcohol abuse and an incredible number of physical and mental problems.
Nicotine. Many people enjoy smoking, believing that nicotine helps them to sharpen a bit mentally and help create a calm, relaxed feeling and attitude. Since cigarette smoke contains an uncountable number of harmful chemicals and is directly responsible for 450,000 deaths a year, obviously, the harm here greatly outweighs the benefits.
Avoid all these negative stress coping mechanisms. They can only lead to harm.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Positive Self-Statements
Today’s “brick” of change focuses on the internal dialogue that we all have running through our heads. We all constantly talk to ourselves, and theproblem is that most of the time the dialogue is working against us. It causes us worry, indecision, poor performance, etc.
Today’s training is very pivotal. When we take control of our internal dialogue, our success in weight loss, in lean muscle gain, actually, in looking and feeling better than we ever dreamed…it is virtually guaranteed.
Let’s take dieting as an example. When you actually sit down and analyze the things that over-eaters (or under fit people) say, the self-statements are all negative. This is simple to see in the more obvious ones like, “it’s no use, I am always going to be fat.” Or, “I just can’t lose enough weight to look good.” But negative self-statements also hide out in thoughts that on the surface don’t seem so negative. For example, “Stay away from those cookies,” really means, “I am fat and I can’t eat what I want.” All these self-statements pave the road to fitness disaster. A personal favorite of people over these years is, “no one cares if I am fit or fat so why not eat what I enjoy.” What they are really saying is that, “It's too much work to get back on the path to fitness.” Statements like these are impossible to hurdle. They must be eliminated.
Eliminating them is really simpler than it sounds. Don’t believe us? You’ll be sorry! Here is the proof. Think of a very simple word like “red.” Now, whisper and shout the word “red” at the same time.
Can’t do it, can you? What do you think we are trying to tell you? If you said that certain things cannot co-exist in the same moment, you are right. You can whisper or shout but you can’t do them at the same time. Well, the same thing is true for positive and negative self-statements. They can’t exist in your head at the same moment. To get rid of the negative ones, we simply need to put positive ones in their place. We don’t expect you to do this all at once. It takes a little practice but why not start today?
If you need a bit of help getting started, here is a simple little grouping that you should memorize and say to yourself whenever you get hungry, think about your diet, or really think about anything that involves fitness or a change in your lifestyle.
I feel thinner.
I am thinner.
My path is correct.
How does this work in the real world? Out of habit you pass the cupboard and open it up. There is a half eaten bag of Oreos there. No internal discussion allowed. You immediately jump to something safe and positive.
I feel thinner.
I am thinner.
My path is correct.
You shut the cupboard and move on. Trust us; there is incredible power in positive self-statements. From time to time, you will learn to make these more detailed and stronger. They will serve as one of the most powerful bricks to your eventual fantastic fitness success.
We also need to look at how task oriented thinking and positive self statements intersect to create a strong, positive, focused mindset.
Let’s imagine waking up today and feeling great. There is promise for this being a great, great day but there are always negative thoughts and distractions that can come your way. We have a name for those things. We call them, “mental gravity.” Just like physical gravity keeps your feet planted firmly on earth, there is mental gravity working to keep us down as well. Much of the reason people have trouble losing weight or increasing their fitness level is mental gravity; that is task irrelevant, negative, outcome oriented self-statements.
As an exercise, just free your brain for a moment to experience these terrible, gravity oriented self-statements. Here is a partial list of the ones that jump to most people’s minds who are dieting and failing:
I feel fat.
I am fat.
I feel lonely.
I am not desirable.
I am old.
I’ll never lose weight.
I’ll quit before I really get started.
My joints ache.
My life is hopeless.
And this is just the beginning of the list. It’s really, really weird to see them in print. But we guarantee that from time to time, maybe not this exact minute, but many times during the average diet, you are going to have similar destructive, gravity-based self-statements. Saying, “I am not going to think about them” is as silly as saying, “I am not going to think about an elephant.” Try that, “no matter what I do, I am not going to think about an elephant. No elephants.” Everyone knows the outcome to that….correct, a big old elephant that you can’t get out of your mind, no matter what. The same thing is true of negative gravity self-statements. The more you say you won’t think about being fat or you won’t think about being sad, you guessed it, the more those things move back into your head. The only hope you have of continuing the small, incremental success we believe is possible for everyone is to put real, positive, task relevant, process oriented self-statements in their place.
Whenever you feel “gravity” today or in the near future, you need to execute these positive statements. You need to realize that mental gravity is TOUGH and that you need to create better self statements addressing those issues so that you do not go backwards in your drive for optimal fitness.
Try these self-statements to address serious mental gravity issues as they occur:
I am a good person.
I care about others.
I can be happy.
The future will be great.
One step at a time.
Smile wide. Those self statements should do the trick. No matter how badly you are feeling, you will be able to keep your focus, stay in control and leap yet another step forward.
Today’s training is very pivotal. When we take control of our internal dialogue, our success in weight loss, in lean muscle gain, actually, in looking and feeling better than we ever dreamed…it is virtually guaranteed.
Let’s take dieting as an example. When you actually sit down and analyze the things that over-eaters (or under fit people) say, the self-statements are all negative. This is simple to see in the more obvious ones like, “it’s no use, I am always going to be fat.” Or, “I just can’t lose enough weight to look good.” But negative self-statements also hide out in thoughts that on the surface don’t seem so negative. For example, “Stay away from those cookies,” really means, “I am fat and I can’t eat what I want.” All these self-statements pave the road to fitness disaster. A personal favorite of people over these years is, “no one cares if I am fit or fat so why not eat what I enjoy.” What they are really saying is that, “It's too much work to get back on the path to fitness.” Statements like these are impossible to hurdle. They must be eliminated.
Eliminating them is really simpler than it sounds. Don’t believe us? You’ll be sorry! Here is the proof. Think of a very simple word like “red.” Now, whisper and shout the word “red” at the same time.
Can’t do it, can you? What do you think we are trying to tell you? If you said that certain things cannot co-exist in the same moment, you are right. You can whisper or shout but you can’t do them at the same time. Well, the same thing is true for positive and negative self-statements. They can’t exist in your head at the same moment. To get rid of the negative ones, we simply need to put positive ones in their place. We don’t expect you to do this all at once. It takes a little practice but why not start today?
If you need a bit of help getting started, here is a simple little grouping that you should memorize and say to yourself whenever you get hungry, think about your diet, or really think about anything that involves fitness or a change in your lifestyle.
I feel thinner.
I am thinner.
My path is correct.
How does this work in the real world? Out of habit you pass the cupboard and open it up. There is a half eaten bag of Oreos there. No internal discussion allowed. You immediately jump to something safe and positive.
I feel thinner.
I am thinner.
My path is correct.
You shut the cupboard and move on. Trust us; there is incredible power in positive self-statements. From time to time, you will learn to make these more detailed and stronger. They will serve as one of the most powerful bricks to your eventual fantastic fitness success.
We also need to look at how task oriented thinking and positive self statements intersect to create a strong, positive, focused mindset.
Let’s imagine waking up today and feeling great. There is promise for this being a great, great day but there are always negative thoughts and distractions that can come your way. We have a name for those things. We call them, “mental gravity.” Just like physical gravity keeps your feet planted firmly on earth, there is mental gravity working to keep us down as well. Much of the reason people have trouble losing weight or increasing their fitness level is mental gravity; that is task irrelevant, negative, outcome oriented self-statements.
As an exercise, just free your brain for a moment to experience these terrible, gravity oriented self-statements. Here is a partial list of the ones that jump to most people’s minds who are dieting and failing:
I feel fat.
I am fat.
I feel lonely.
I am not desirable.
I am old.
I’ll never lose weight.
I’ll quit before I really get started.
My joints ache.
My life is hopeless.
And this is just the beginning of the list. It’s really, really weird to see them in print. But we guarantee that from time to time, maybe not this exact minute, but many times during the average diet, you are going to have similar destructive, gravity-based self-statements. Saying, “I am not going to think about them” is as silly as saying, “I am not going to think about an elephant.” Try that, “no matter what I do, I am not going to think about an elephant. No elephants.” Everyone knows the outcome to that….correct, a big old elephant that you can’t get out of your mind, no matter what. The same thing is true of negative gravity self-statements. The more you say you won’t think about being fat or you won’t think about being sad, you guessed it, the more those things move back into your head. The only hope you have of continuing the small, incremental success we believe is possible for everyone is to put real, positive, task relevant, process oriented self-statements in their place.
Whenever you feel “gravity” today or in the near future, you need to execute these positive statements. You need to realize that mental gravity is TOUGH and that you need to create better self statements addressing those issues so that you do not go backwards in your drive for optimal fitness.
Try these self-statements to address serious mental gravity issues as they occur:
I am a good person.
I care about others.
I can be happy.
The future will be great.
One step at a time.
Smile wide. Those self statements should do the trick. No matter how badly you are feeling, you will be able to keep your focus, stay in control and leap yet another step forward.
Friday, November 19, 2010
The Mental Approach to Fitness
43 Days to Go!
Each day you have learned something that has enabled you to create a small positive change. On day one we called these the “bricks” of change and that over time, a lot of small changes results in a huge change.
Now we are going to spend a few days on the mental aspects of improving your health and fitness lives.
A New York Post article referenced a study of women who knew they were overweight and had tried dieting. Since they really didn’t know how to diet properly, the more they started and stopped, the more weight they gained. The study drew the conclusion that dieting improperly is worse than not dieting at all. One main reason for this resides about twenty-four inches above our bulging belly buttons, in our brains. If we try something and fail, often times we stop caring for a short period and actually do the opposite of what we had originally intended. Psychologically speaking, we are thinking too much about final outcomes and not enough about the process involved in getting there.
Back in the early 1980’s, there was a talented Penn State place-kicker. Herb’s story was amazing in that he was struggling mightily as a major college kicker. After seeing his talent during practice versus his much poorer live game performance, he was asked to describe as specifically as possible the “internal dialogue” running through his brain before a kick in practice versus that of a game. His dialogue before kicks in practice was TOTALLY about the process of kicking. He was thinking about his steps, his plant foot, driving his leg through the ball. All his internal thoughts were directed to the process of kicking. Before game kicks, it all changed. He was thinking about the score of the game and the impact his kick would have on it, missing the uprights, making the kick, what Coach would think, what his Uncle would say after the game, adulation from his girlfriend; in other words, all outcome thoughts. The conclusion was simple once he saw clearly what he was doing. Process thoughts lead to success while outcome thoughts lead to failure. Herb righted this dialogue with a simple series of mental exercises and from that moment on Herb ran off a string of incredible kicks, a few of them stress packed last second bombs from 50 yards and
beyond.
The first important cognitive part of any program that involves change is to not think about the success or failure of the small changes you are making toward your bigger goal. Think about the changes themselves.
TODAY’S BRICK: THINK ABOUT PROCESS STEPS RATHER THAN OUTCOMES
Take Melissa, for example. Let’s say she had a bad day yesterday and ate a bag of Mint Milano cookies between lunch and dinner. If she looked at the outcome, success or failure, and beat herself up over failing, she probably would have gotten upset with herself, boomeranged, ate a big dinner with dessert, a bag of chocolate covered peanuts and a pint of ice cream at night. (Sick? No, actually quite normal for a lot of over-eaters.) If she had some cookies and didn’t accomplish the change she intended, the better way of handling would have been to look at the process. Maybe she needs to make sure there are no cookies near her. Or maybe she needs to drink a lot of water to fill herself up during that troublesome time period. Or maybe she just needs to start out with a different small change and get back to the snack change later when she is further along in the program.
See what we mean? Try to be successful but when you are not, as they say in Brooklyn, forgetaboutit. Dieting is not like landing a plane. There, if you miss the runway, well, it’s a much more costly blunder then we will find in dieting. Miss the runway…be upset; eat a snack….forgetaboutit!
Seems like a lot of words to drive home today’s “brick,” right? Here is the short form: think about the process you are going through and not the outcome. Process thinking leads to success. Outcome thinking leads to failure.
Continue to try to not eat snacks between meals and to do that, drink a lot of water with meals and between meals so you feel fuller and therefore will be less likely to snack. How’s that for using our bricks to link up? If you get the urge to snack, think water! You may end up having to mentally picture drowning those poor dancing Mint Milanos with a fire hose, but either way, make sure to be thinking process the entire way.
Each day you have learned something that has enabled you to create a small positive change. On day one we called these the “bricks” of change and that over time, a lot of small changes results in a huge change.
Now we are going to spend a few days on the mental aspects of improving your health and fitness lives.
A New York Post article referenced a study of women who knew they were overweight and had tried dieting. Since they really didn’t know how to diet properly, the more they started and stopped, the more weight they gained. The study drew the conclusion that dieting improperly is worse than not dieting at all. One main reason for this resides about twenty-four inches above our bulging belly buttons, in our brains. If we try something and fail, often times we stop caring for a short period and actually do the opposite of what we had originally intended. Psychologically speaking, we are thinking too much about final outcomes and not enough about the process involved in getting there.
Back in the early 1980’s, there was a talented Penn State place-kicker. Herb’s story was amazing in that he was struggling mightily as a major college kicker. After seeing his talent during practice versus his much poorer live game performance, he was asked to describe as specifically as possible the “internal dialogue” running through his brain before a kick in practice versus that of a game. His dialogue before kicks in practice was TOTALLY about the process of kicking. He was thinking about his steps, his plant foot, driving his leg through the ball. All his internal thoughts were directed to the process of kicking. Before game kicks, it all changed. He was thinking about the score of the game and the impact his kick would have on it, missing the uprights, making the kick, what Coach would think, what his Uncle would say after the game, adulation from his girlfriend; in other words, all outcome thoughts. The conclusion was simple once he saw clearly what he was doing. Process thoughts lead to success while outcome thoughts lead to failure. Herb righted this dialogue with a simple series of mental exercises and from that moment on Herb ran off a string of incredible kicks, a few of them stress packed last second bombs from 50 yards and
beyond.
The first important cognitive part of any program that involves change is to not think about the success or failure of the small changes you are making toward your bigger goal. Think about the changes themselves.
TODAY’S BRICK: THINK ABOUT PROCESS STEPS RATHER THAN OUTCOMES
Take Melissa, for example. Let’s say she had a bad day yesterday and ate a bag of Mint Milano cookies between lunch and dinner. If she looked at the outcome, success or failure, and beat herself up over failing, she probably would have gotten upset with herself, boomeranged, ate a big dinner with dessert, a bag of chocolate covered peanuts and a pint of ice cream at night. (Sick? No, actually quite normal for a lot of over-eaters.) If she had some cookies and didn’t accomplish the change she intended, the better way of handling would have been to look at the process. Maybe she needs to make sure there are no cookies near her. Or maybe she needs to drink a lot of water to fill herself up during that troublesome time period. Or maybe she just needs to start out with a different small change and get back to the snack change later when she is further along in the program.
See what we mean? Try to be successful but when you are not, as they say in Brooklyn, forgetaboutit. Dieting is not like landing a plane. There, if you miss the runway, well, it’s a much more costly blunder then we will find in dieting. Miss the runway…be upset; eat a snack….forgetaboutit!
Seems like a lot of words to drive home today’s “brick,” right? Here is the short form: think about the process you are going through and not the outcome. Process thinking leads to success. Outcome thinking leads to failure.
Continue to try to not eat snacks between meals and to do that, drink a lot of water with meals and between meals so you feel fuller and therefore will be less likely to snack. How’s that for using our bricks to link up? If you get the urge to snack, think water! You may end up having to mentally picture drowning those poor dancing Mint Milanos with a fire hose, but either way, make sure to be thinking process the entire way.
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