TRAVEL BLOG

If we don't make time to workout and let the day get away from us, it's easier to say forget it. Other things become a priority and we tend to use being busy as an excuse to skip it. If we're high energy in the morning and missed that window to exercise, we can dread doing it in the afternoon. I just so happen to prefer working out in the morning and understand the feeling of pushing through later. It sucks but doesn't mean to skip the workout. Discipline means doing what you need to do even when you don't feel like doing it. So, it's important to not let ourselves down and make it happen. We can only blame ourselves and will suffer the consequences of not taking care of our fitness business . There will be times missing a workout can't be helped and that's acceptable. Honestly, this is a rare occasion. When busy things seem to take over our entire day leaving us without a sweat session is the norm. Fitness takes good planning, making time and not skippi

Rushing for any goal can create stress, frustration and missing way too much of what's important in life.  I have learned to take things a little slower, practice patience, listen intently and enjoy the moment. I have implemented this philosophy into my fitness, nutrition , work, and play.  I enjoy teaching that nothing good happens fast and the process is the result.  Take workouts for example. Slowing down to execute good form on all exercise is essential. Our focus should remain on the muscle being worked, understanding the movement and doing it right. Lifting weights is a slow and controlled process. When done correctly, we can achieve amazing results .  When we take it slow and think before we lift, our muscles receive a greater benefit. I personally create a two-part motion to weight training. I focus my mind on the muscle being worked, contract the muscle, then execute the lift.   Lifting with purpose creates the best environment for muscle growth and reduces the chance of

Early morning or evening , it's important not to skip your workout. Discipline is doing it anyway even when you don't feel like it. Let's face it, we all have these days.  We don't always feel like getting out of bed to that set alarm. After work we're tired and just want to get home to a hot meal and sofa time.   Sometimes it takes forcing ourselves up in the morning and splashing cold water on our face. Having our gym clothes ready to go in the car after work can motivate us to hit the gym.  Discipline is what takes us to that place called success. It's the inner force within us stronger than our negative mental game trying to sabotage our commitment to fitness.  We need to feel stronger mentally and physically and push through the hard. If we only worked out on the days we felt good, it would become a rare occasion. We can always come up with a reason not to hit they gym. It's those days we feel tired, weak, sore and mentally defeated that make for the

Being fit is not a temporary condition but fills our entire day and life. The motivation to get in shape may have initiated with bikini season or an event. The fitness results, however, should be life long. Unfortunately many settle back into old unhealthy habits , but that's not the way fitness is supposed to work. We are living not realizing life is the event we are getting fit for. I approach my fit lifestyle with a plan. My energy is highest in the morning, so I schedule my workouts accordingly. Starting my day with exercise enables me to feel great for the remainder of my 24/7 fitness shift. The workout is not the only part of staying lean and muscular. Planning my nutrition plays a major role in maintaining my body. I have lots of healthy food ready to go and follow a 90/10 nutrition plan . I may relax some on the weekend shifting down to 80/20 allowing for a few treats. I also drink plenty of water and consider it an essential nutrient. Fitness doesn't end at the workou

Ever have an annoying problem not being able to hear, and it was due to a build up of what’s known as ear wax? One of the most common causes related to loss of hearing is when your ear canal produces a  waxy substance that, unless treated and cleaned regularly, can be a detriment to your ability to clearly hear sounds. According to Healthline, your ear canal produces a waxy oil called cerumen, which is more commonly known as earwax. This wax protects the ear from dust, foreign particles, and microorganisms. It also protects ear canal skin from irritation due to water. In normal circumstances, excess wax finds its way out of the canal and into the ear opening naturally and then is washed away. When your glands make more earwax than is necessary, it may get hard and block the ear. When you clean your ears, you can accidentally push the wax deeper, causing a blockage. Wax buildup is a common reason for temporary hearing loss. More information can be found at this website: http://www.healt

Reaching fitness goals is a great accomplishment to be praised. Are you maintaining them is the question? Fitness is not meant to be a temporary fix but a lifestyle of health and wellness. Sure, you may rock that suit and look good in those pictures but is that all fitness means? True fitness success is when you live it daily. Eating healthy foods consistently and exercise is part of your normal routine. In fact, getting off track for too long doesn't feel right when living a healthy lifestyle. Fitness becomes a priority and excuses no longer get in the way. You refuse to return to being overweight, sick and nearly dead. You get the point. I've seen too many people succeed at reaching goal weights , reduced body fat, and improved health and throw it all away. The belief system we can get away with returning to a few old habits snowballs. The purpose of dumping old ways is to learn and keep new and healthier methods. This is lacking and maintaining our health is suffering. We

We want to be fit, feel good and look great. You may be trolling the net right now for the newest fad diet or quick fix to fitness . We struggle with giving 100 percent to getting in shape the right way. We are stuck in sorta kinda fitness. Sound familiar? We want results but just can't commit to a fit lifestyle . We blame others and ourselves for eating off track and make excuses for missing workouts. When we give a small percentage to doing it right expect small rewards in return. We are wasting too much time and missing too many opportunities to get healthy. Why is that? What is going on in our lives where we stop making ourselves a priority? Instead of looking into the issue, we accept it as our normal. This is an unfortunate truth. We have great intentions and even put in some effort to eat right and exercise . This is awesome and to be applauded. Something happens to halt the process. Our mind plays negative games, we may hear a hurtful comment, or not seeing results causes f

Health food and marketing is big business. Depending on the health food subject, this can stimulate a soapbox moment for me. We have been hit hard with no-fat, low-fat, no sugar, no calories, gluten free and now unhealthy organics are making headway. Whatever current health food trend is happening, food companies are figuring out ways to dupe the consumer. Do you really believe organic Ruffles , Doritos and Cheese Puffs are healthy ?   Really!? Sadly, consumers believe them to be healthy and are loading grocery carts full of unhealthy organic food items. Chips are chips, organic or not and probably one of the worst things to put in your body. Other food items try to squeak by stating they are minimally processed, but processed is processed. Store shelves are lined with convenient organic items and granted some may be fabulous, but most are not. The ingredients tell the real story for anything in a box, bag or wrapper. If you can't understand or pronounce what's on the ingredi

The only hard thing about fitness is negative thoughts about the process. We convince ourselves a boring diet is needed and endless hours of exercise are required. We go as far as considering it a burden and a cramp in our lifestyle. Instead of turning our nose up at the very thought of getting healthy, maybe rethinking the process is all that's needed. Do you think people decades ago farming for a living to survive working from sunrise to sunset worried about a diet? They may have spent hours doing physical labor, but it was a lifestyle and eating healthy was part of it. Nothing complicated, just some sweat, and eating home cooking straight from the garden. Their bodies represented how they lived. Unfortunately, this has been replaced by couch potato channel surfing, stuffing our faces with processed food and diets that don't work. Getting fit doesn't take a miracle diet and certainly isn't a secret to accomplishing the goal. The problem is within our thoughts and un

Have you been feeling unhealthy and just not right for some time? This can be physically or emotionally. Yet, we continue to accommodate and even accept the situation. Our body and mind can only take so much before it breaks. We ignore the signs until we are lying face down in our own hopelessness. We're aware of how unhealthy we are and how bad we feel but continue to tough it out day after day. Instead of making changes to create a better situation , we simply accept unhealthy as our normal way of life. Sad but true. Many of us don't even realize how good we're supposed to feel. We continue to eat processed foods, refrain from exercise and live under a cloud of stress. How often do you take inventory of your life?  Are you accommodating joint pain and illness from eating unhealthy foods leading to being overweight?  Are life's circumstances so stressful to the point of causing depression and anxiety? What's going on at home in your personal relationships?  Is your