Kim's Fitness and Nutrition

It is my experience that the vast majority of people on the planet are not "self-motivated." Unfortunately, those who "are" receive a great deal of admiration. This leaves the rest of us feeling pretty bad about ourselves. I believe we are simply bucking the natural current of being human. The first thing we need to do is stop beating ourselves up for being human. Accept it for the fact it is and let's begin to move into the solution.

I have been struck lately by the speed at which people are moving. Not only on the highways and in public areas like grocery stores and restaurants, but while preforming their fitness routines as well. Everyone is on such fast, breakneck pace, it's no wonder there is an increase in automobile accidents, anxiety attacks, nervous breakdowns and many more heart attacks. When we finally get a chance to go to the gym, that needs to be an hour or so that is dedicated to releasing the stress we have been gathering all day or all week. Try to take a new perspective as you go into your workout. Imagine that there is no thing more important at this particular moment then you and your undivided attention toward your fitness program. The truth is that if you are not taking very good care of you, then there isn't very much that you have to offer. Your well-being needs to be priority #1.

The time we spend training, for most of us, is precious little, so making it really count is critical. Of course, something is always better than nothing, and there are times we all fly through our workout, grateful to have even gotten it into our busy day. On those days when you can take your time and be particular about it, remember that if you move through each exercise slowly (4-6 counts to contract and 4-6 counts to extend), you will get way more bang for your buck. Momentum carries the weight through the majority of the exercise?s range of motion if we whip the weight up and simply let it drop back down. The slower you move through the exercises, the more muscle fiber you will call upon to fire with each contraction and each extension. The more muscle fiber that is called upon to work, the more complete or comprehensive that exercise is. As you train muscle as thoroughly as you can, you are safeguarding yourself for potential injury with much more benefit for the effort.

Having an attitude of gratitude is sometimes a challenge, especially when we are inundated with so many disheartening topics. I am, without a doubt, a living, breathing Pollyanna, and I am very proud of that. It has been my experience that the more thought I give to something, the more of a problem it becomes. The longer I lament, fuss and complain about something, the larger it gets. Having this realization, I decided to use this principle in reverse. I think that we have a tremendous capacity to influence our lives, either positively or negatively, and in greater ways they we may be aware of. When I do my best to find things to appreciate about everything that comes into my awareness, life seems to go along very sweetly. Am I perfect and does my life go along perfectly? I would be a liar if I said that; however, since I decided to make appreciation a priority in my life, I must say it is pretty near joyous most of the time. I believe the correlation is more than coincidence ... I believe that it could very well be one of the most powerful tools I have ever found.

We are literally being terrorized by our food these days. Everyone is confused about what on earth is really healthy for them to eat. Many people are simply giving up and resorting to eating whatever they feel like eating, others are starving themselves half to death, and then there are those who are doing their best to sift through the conflicting information and make their choice based on what they intuitively feel is best for them. This latter option would be my recommendation for sure. Of course, the only really bad foods for you are those foods that you ?BELIEVE? are bad for you, because then, they are.

There are five components to a well-rounded fitness routine, and they are as follows:

1) cardiovascular fitness, 2) muscular strength, 3) muscular endurance, 4) flexibility, and 5) coordination. Within the category of coordination there is an innate need for balance. If one does not possess a certain amount of balance, then the capacity to be fluid and move through daily physical functions is nearly impossible. However, the human body is quite intelligent, and though this may be happening on an unconscious level, we will change how we maneuver so as to continue functioning, but in a way that no longer requires us to balance. For example, pulling on your slacks in the morning. For years we would simply stand in front of our drawer or closet, select our pants, and balance on one leg while we slipped our foot down the pant leg, and then repeated the same balancing act for the other side. Most of us now sit down on a chair or the side of the bed to put our pants on. Why? I will venture a guess that over the years we have lost our capacity to balance long enough on one leg to manage that maneuver. It may not be a big deal, but it?s those little accommodations that we have made over time that have allowed us to become less and less balanced.

Our bodies are amazing, magical and brilliant mechanisms that are communicating with us all the time. The question is, are we listening? It may sound ridiculous, but I'm not kidding ? we can feel how well our bodies are ingesting our food by the way we feel a few minutes after we finish. Are you feeling stuffed, content, bloated, sleepy, energized, relaxed, or do you experience heartburn or acid reflux ? Do you feel revved up, only to drop like a stone an hour later? These are only but a few examples that come to mind, you get the idea. These examples are messages from your body to your brain, communicating its reaction to the foods you are eating. I really believe that if we make a concerted effort to listen to what our bodies are saying to us, we can learn a lot about what fuels (foods) our bodies most prefer. We can learn this and so much more if we become willing to retrain ourselves to listen to the clues being sent.

One of the aspects of my profession that I enjoy the most is working with clients on their patterns of thought. Yes, your thoughts have a tremendous bearing on absolutely everything in your life, including your success with reducing your body weight. Research has proven conclusively and unequivocally, that what you place your dominant attention or focus on, is and will be made manifest in your experience.