Motivation

You are currently browsing articles tagged Motivation.

Challenge Yourself: 1 Minute Plank

May 4, 2010 in Fitness, Motivation by admin | No comments

image via www.cookinglight.com

image via www.cookinglight.com

When people think fitness goal they usually think of double digit weight loss way down the road, or big fitness events like running a 5k or a marathon.  But even if you don’t have huge amounts of weight to lose, or any desire to run for hours, you still need to have a goal to keep you motivated.  If you are searching for a challenging goal that will give you a rock hard core, aim to hold a plank for one minute without wobbling.

Here’s the game plan:

  • First, see how far you have to go.  Get on your belly, and place your elbows directly underneath your shoulders.  You can clasp your hands to give you more stability, but make sure your forearms are flat on the ground to not put pressure on your shoulder joints.  Then, raise up on your forearms and toes, keeping your body straight.  Make sure your body is a straight line from your shoulders to heels, being sure not to sag your hips or bend at the waist (see picture above.)  Keep your belly button pulled in and breath steady.  Time how long you can hold your plank.
  • Next, work your way up to a minute.  Get into plank position, and start your timer.  Hold the plank for as long as you can.  When you can’t hold it any longer, drop to your knees and stop the timer.  Rest, then raise back up and start the timer again until you reach a minute.
  • Repeat this cycle 2 times a week, trying to reduce the amount of times you drop to your knees, until you can hold the plank for a full minute straight.  Too easy?  Try your plank on your hands instead of your elbows.

In Good Health,

Kelly Turner

Kelly Turner is an ACE Certified Personal Trainer and health and fitness writer from Seattle, WA.  Her writing has appeared in numerous magazines, and she currently blogs for Breathe Magazine, is the Health and Fitness Expert for Twirlit.com and feature fitness writer for FitPeeps.com.  To contact Kelly with any questions, email her at kellycturner@hotmail.com.

Tags: , , ,

Don’t Sabotage Yourself.

January 15, 2010 in Motivation, Nutrition by Dave | No comments

The Wothington Ladies

MSNBC.com claims self control is contagious.

Want to be a Winner? Surround yourself with Winners.

Choose your friends and associates carefully.

Self-control is contagious, a new study suggests.

In one study, the researchers randomly assigned 36 volunteers to think about a friend with either good or bad self-control. Those who thought about a friend with good self-control persisted longer on a handgrip task commonly used to measure this behavior, while the opposite held true for those who were asked to think about a friend with no restraint.

And on the other side they say, “people with lousy self-control influence others negatively. The effect is so powerful, in fact, that just seeing the name of someone with good or bad self-control flashing on a screen for 10 milliseconds changed the behavior of volunteers.” They also say that the opposite is true, and thinking about someone with good self control will help others have better restraint.

Its happens.  You go out to dinner with a friend, they order first and get hi-cal appetizers, a huge meal that usually involves fries and possibly a dessert.  Suddenly the salmon and salad you were about to order sounds. Not so tasty, and you say “screw it, I’ll have what their having.”

No one else is responsible for you or the decisions you make.  Don’t allow others to unwittingly sabotage your goals.

Now. Change the stats.  Reverse the order. Your influence will positively impact them. What you do that’s in your best interest weight and health wise. The very choices you make. Helps others that are nearest to you. If you can’t  do it for yourself. Do it for them.

And the easiest thing to adjust. Surround yourself with like minded people with similiar goals. You’ll move farther faster than you ever thought possible.

Dedicated to Your Success,

Dave

Tags: , , ,

Operation: Don’t Eat it

December 8, 2009 in Motivation, Nutrition, Tips and Tricks by Dave | No comments

cookies3

You’ve tried your best, and you’ve done well: you’ve kept all the crap out of the house, you’ve been making your workouts consistently, making smart choices when away from home, and clued in all your friends and family that you are trying to make healthy changes.

You’ve done everything right, but then somehow something sneaks into your house.  Maybe its come cookies left over from your kid’s school party, a jar of candy canes from the office, or a yule log the neighbor pawned off on you brought over.

Great, no it is in your home, probably staring you in the face on your kitchen counter, and tempting you at every turn.  What do you do?

Depends.  Is it there because no one else wants it and is hoping someone else will eat it?

If yes:

Give it away. Pawn it off onto someone else, pronto.

Throw it away. Junk food is a waste anyway, so you can waste it by eating it and ruining your efforts, or you can waste it by throwing it out.  The last one? Calorie-free.

Ruin it. If the cookies on a paper plate wrapped in cellophane is too tempting, even in the trash (it didn’t touch anything!) ruin it.  Pour water on it.  Or coffee grounds. Or crumble them up in make sure they fall deep into the trash.

If no, and it’s something the rest of your family wants, if you don’t devour it first:

Make it hard to get to. Wrap it up extra tight.  a few dozen times. Then  put it in a tupperware.  Each layer is a second chance to say no.

Out of sight, out of mind. Put them in a high cupboard, deep in the pantry, or under some crap in a drawer.

Individually package everything. You can allow yourself one treat, but where people usually get into trouble is when they go back for another one.  And then eat the crumb that dropped which means you have to eat the next one it touched, etc.  If you want one, grab one, but just ONE.

Freeze it. Frozen cookies or brownies are still good if you let them defrost- it just takes a little time and patience. Patience is the enemy of an impulse snack, so the longer something takes to prepare, the less likely you are to inhale it.

Just say no. To someone else.  If you think you might eat it, tell your significant other to keep you away from it, or rather, keep it away from you.  Why should you be in charge of something that is going to tempt you?

Never say “oh well” when temptations try and trip you up.  Get rid of it, or do your best to keep as much distance between it and you as possible.  The occasional treat is fine, if you really want it, but never ever eat something just because its there.

Tags: , , , , , ,