“Every positive change — every jump to a higher level of awareness — involves a rite of passage. Each time to ascend to a higher rung of the ladder of personal evolution, we must go through a period of discomfort, of initiation. I have never found an exception.” — Dan Millman, author of Way of the Peaceful Warrior
During the first part of my fitness career, I regularly taught spin classes.…
When I was a growing up, we had a sit-down family dinner every night. In high school and college, I regularly ate with friends in the cafeteria. When I started my first career, I went out for a proper lunch with coworkers almost every day.
But that was back in the day when the once common notion of the leisurely and social meal was the norm.…
In 1975, Nature Valley introduced the granola bar. The initial reception was lukewarm as granola was seen as a “fringe” food. Shortly thereafter in the mid-1980s, Power Bar introduced the first “energy bar,” which was designed for endurance athletes like marathoners and distance cyclists. Power Bar, while popular, was also seen as a niche food intended for elite athletes.
Little did Nature Valley and Power Bar know that they had started a massive trend in the way we consume food.…
Every year, millions of Americans embark on a new fitness routine. While they may have different goals, aspirations, and preferences, most share the same dilemmas, namely:
With the hectic pace of modern life, getting to the gym is no small task. But as difficult as starting a new regimen may be, sticking with it is arguably the more difficult endeavor.…
Not long ago someone asked me to define the word “fitness.” My answer read something like this: “Fitness is an external condition exemplified by an outward expression of one’s own individual physicality.” Merriam Webster defines fitness as simply “the quality or state of being fit,” and being synonymous with health, strength, and vigor.
While we all may define fitness somewhat differently and participate in exercise uniquely, we can likely agree that for many, fitness boils down to three elements — physical function, proficiency of skill, and the aspiration for a “better” physique.…
I can only imagine that one of the many benefits of being wealthy would be to have a sweet state-of-the-art gym set up in the comforts of my home. At such a gym, I could work out in my underwear, blast my favorite workout music at 10:00pm, grunt and throw my weights around, and leave the space a complete mess if my heart desired.…
Every year some sixty million Americans try a new fitness routine. But more than 50% of them drop out within six months.
There are a variety of reasons people give for jumping off the fitness train — among the chief complaints are that exercise is hard, life gets too busy, and the failure to reach a goal. More than anything, though, people stop doing something when they stop getting better at it.…
Physics states that if you move more, you burn more calories, and if you burn more calories, you lose unwanted pounds. This seems logical enough, and most of us have heard this so many times through the mainstream media that it almost seems like gospel. Based on such logic, and to reverse the trends of inactivity and expanding waistlines, people have been joining fitness facilities in droves for the better part of twenty years.…
If you’re like me, odds are you have at least one type of exercise you love and at least one type you hate. And, if you’re like me, I’m betting you tend to choose to do the exercise you love far more often than the one you can’t stand.
It’s long been my assertion that to find true success in fitness, you need to find a way to move your body that moves you.…
If you’ve ever glanced at the fitness and beauty magazines in the check-out line at your local supermarket, you may have noticed a stark similarity in the headlines – Lose 30 Pounds in 30 Days, Get Fit for Fall, and Find Those Toned Abs You’re Looking For. The majority of content reads like a how-to manual with the emphasis on some sort of achievable short-term destination.…
Perhaps the only places you go with regularity that are charged with the sole purpose of addressing your well being are your church and the gym. In theory, a church is a temple of wellness offering community-based unity in thought and faith. And theoretically, a gym is a wellness temple of a different sorts — tasked with promoting a culture of holistic health and fitness.…
If you want to see something scary, take a look at the drivers around you next time you’re stopped at a traffic light or stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic. It’s a good bet plenty of those drivers will have their heads down for one simple reason — they are looking at their phones.
Indeed, distracted driving is a serious problem. Some have even called texting and driving the new drinking and driving.…
