The Revolutionary A.S.K. Health Improvement Plan

That's right, there is a new revolutionary new health improvement plan out there and you're not going to want to miss it. If you've struggled with weight-loss, increasing strength, enhancing your endurance or improving your overall health this program is for you. But...there's a catch. You have to ask for it.

Every successful person I know did not just happen to stumble upon it. In addition to persistently working towards their goals and pushing forward after significant setbacks they also did one thing that helped them seal the deal: they had help. When you think about it every successful business person has a team of advisers and every competitive athlete also has help in the form of coaches and trainers. Can you imagine an Olympic athlete competing without a team of coaches and trainers? Absolutely not! Successful entrepreneurs have advisers, athletes have coaches and the best students I know have teachers and tutors. If you consider the above it seems fairly obvious that if we want to improve our chances at succeeding it may behoove us to ask for a little help. So if asking for help can significantly improve our chances of succeeding than why aren't more people asking?

Throughout our years in elementary, junior high and high-school we're taught many things including math, sciences, economics, English and a host of other subjects. What I don't remember learning however is how to prepare, plan and monitor dietary intake or create a progressive daily and annual workout regimen. Lastly I definitely don't remember learning assertive communication skills. With that in mind we've seemingly been left to fend for ourselves in all matters of health and wellness. If you're a parent please take this into consideration and help your own kids establish and learn healthy habits while their young; they won't learn this in school and your kids and our nation certainly needs a healthy future generation (yes this is a rant).

As we have discussed the majority of successful people work with advisers, coaches, teachers and mentors to further their success. These individuals understand that it's challenging to succeed on their own yet with the right team and guidance anything is possible. This too applies to our own health and well-being. The challenge is that the common sentiment overshadowing health is that it should be easy. Well, newsflash, it's not. Learning how to balance your life in a way that's productive, efficient, balanced, harmonious and healthy takes a lot of work, dedication and...advice. There are many amazing health, fitness and wellness professionals in our community and the ones I know are generous with their knowledge and advice so take advantage of it. So if you're looking for a little extra help with your own health and fitness goals remember that it may only take three little letters to push you beyond what you've accomplished to-date. You just have to ask for it.

Your Biggest Regret

Some time ago I was reminded of the following story which is a great metaphor for reaching our goals.  Upon first read it may seem like a bit of a downer but I promise there are positive sentiments weaved throughout the rest of the article.  Here's the story:

After a long life a man went to heaven and was graciously welcomed by the Angelic Welcoming Committee.  As is customary after the registration process the angels gave a tour of the grounds which culminated with a tour of the library.  Inside of the library the man saw an open book with his name engraved in golden letters.  As he started to take a closer look an angel quickly closed the book and said, "No, you can't see this."  Well, an argument ensued and eventually the angel said, "Fine, you can look inside the book."  Anxiously the man started flipping through the book and saw himself in pictures with a beautiful wife, a large family, a house on an amazing estate and family vacations from around the world.  "Wait a minute," the man said, "that's not me, I wish it was me but that's not my wife and those are not my children and I never owned an estate, I've lived a solitary life."  That angel replied, "That could have been your life and you could have had those things if you would have just asked for them." 

As I mentioned earlier the above story may come across as a bit depressing or discouraging but after processing it I think you may change your perspective so let's discuss and consider it.  The most powerful sentence from the above story is the last sentence stating, "that could have been your life and you could have had those things, if you would have just asked for them."  You see just about anything we want out of life is within our grasp and really the only thing  we have to do is ask for it.  I'm not suggesting that you just ask the universe to will your every desire and hope it happens, quite the contrary, I am suggesting that there are a few different ways to ask for things and some require a great deal of responsibility and discipline.  Let me explain. 

If you're completing your last year of college and want to go to graduate school you'll have to ask to get in by completing and submitting an application.  If you want to work for our city, county or possibly a local engineering firm you'll have to ask to work there by applying and interviewing.  Would you like to start a relationship with the person of your dreams?  Ask him or her out!  You see if you want something you just have to ask...but there's a loophole.  What if you ask and the answer is no?  Are you going to take only one "no?"  You may have to ask and ask and answer with persistence.  The next person you need to ask is yourself.  Are you willing to outwork everyone else and do a better job than anyone else?  Are you willing to train harder, run further or study more?  Are you willing to fully commit to what it is you want to accomplish?  If you ask and you're presented with the thing or opportunity you have to be prepared to answer with actions. 

Over the years I've never heard anyone say "I wish I didn't work so hard," or "I wish I wouldn't have studied so much," or "I wish I didn't exercise so consistently."  Rather you hear the opposite and when it comes down to it success is happens to those who ask for it, ask other people, ask again and again and ask of themselves.  Remember, you don't regret what you do, you regret what you don't do.   

April is "Let's Move SLO" Month!

HEAL-SLO, a collaboration of over 30 local organizations that works to address the childhood obesity epidemic in SLO County is on another mission to educate and encourage our community to live a healthier lifestyle by becoming more physically active and eating locally and healthfully. 

The goal of Let's Move SLO is to spark community awareness about the benefits of increased physical activity and healthy eating.  This initiative grew out of a conference call with First Lady Michelle Obama, in which 4,500 people committed to making better choices to improve the health of our nation's children through community and organizational empowerment. 

Beginning March 7th, HEAL-SLO members will collaboratively reach out to their constituencies representing several thousand community members to remind, inspire and encourage our community to aspire to living a healthier lifestyle.  Our community will be encouraged to visit www.healslo.com and "Commit" to either "Move More," or "Eat Healthfully & Locally."  Highlighted within the HEAL-SLO website are extraordinary examples of what some of our HEAL-SLO volunteers are doing in our own backyard to empower our local families and youth in an effort to create the nation's healthiest community (visit http://www.healslo.com for more information). 

A perfect example of “Let’s Move SLO’s!” purpose (to spark community awareness about the benefits of increased physical activity and healthy eating) is a collaboration between Equilibrium Fitness, Community Action Partnership (CAP-SLO) and Community Health Centers of the Central Coast which has yielded a boost in fitness levels at Arroyo Grande High School.  Equilibrium Fitness, a project team member since 2011 has further developed the boot camp curriculum and added a very unique and cool addition: a youth personal training workshop.  The program, Fitness Youth Trainers Revolution (FYT Rev), will provide an opportunity for youth to become peer-to-peer fitness leaders and experience what it entails to work as a personal trainer while also enhancing knowledge of anatomy, physiology, nutrition, motivation and leadership.  After a three day workshop and 20 hours of hands-on observation and internship hours, youth trainers will be qualified to teach or assist with Project Teen Health (PTH) 6-Week Boot Camps, a campus-wide health fair, and Healthy Start PE Classes.  The eventual goal is to expand the FYT Rev program to other local high schools, recreation centers and health clubs.  To date, 16 students have completed the FYT Rev program and are currently in the process of completing their internship hours.  "I can't tell you how excited I am to see this program get off the ground" says Julian Varela, co-owner of Equilibrium Fitness.  "I've been working on trying to launch this program [FYT Rev] for years and teaming up with CAP-SLO has been the perfect vehicle for doing so...I couldn't have asked for a better team of professionals to work with”.   As exemplified with FYT Rev, the “Let’s Move SLO!” campaign encourages community members to get active, enjoy healthy foods, and eat locally.  For more information on “Let’s Move SLO!”, or other healthy eating and active living initiatives and organizations, please visit www.HealSLO.org.  

Fighting your Biggest Opponent

No, this article is not really about mixed martial arts, boxing or fighting with another person, rather it's about fighting your own feelings.  If you're trying to take things to the next level of performance regardless if it's your career, your education or personal health and fitness there will be a time when you find yourself fighting against your toughest opponent; yourself.

The simple reason most people don't reach there goals is because they give in to their feelings and quit before they succeed, not because they aren't capable.  The best advice I can give you is to fight through your feelings.  If you want to lose weight, you have to fight through those uncomfortable moments of hunger.  If you want to excel with your school work this semester, you have to fight through those moments of psychological fatigue.  If you want to be a world-class athlete, you have to fight through those moments of physical fatigue.  If you want to be a superstar salesperson, you have to fight through those moments of rejection and dejection.  What's the best way to go about this?  Here's a wonderful piece of advice from a world-class boxing trainer named Teddy Atlas (Atlas, T., 2006.  Atlas: From the Streets to the Ring: A Son's Struggle to Become a Man). 

"At a certain point, if he’s going to get to the top of the boxing profession, a fighter has to learn the difference between the truth and a lie.  The lie is thinking that submission is an acceptable option.  The truth is that if you give up, afterward you'll realize any of those punches that you thought you couldn't deal with, or those rough moments you didn't think you could make it through, were just moments.  Enduring them is not nearly as tough as having to deal with the next day and the next month and the next year, knowing that you quit, that you failed, that you submitted.  It’s a trainer’s job to make a fighter understand that difference, that the parts of a fight that are urgent last only seconds; seconds during which you have to stave off the convenient excuse — “I’m too tired” or “I hurt too much” or “I can’t do this” or even simply “I’m not going to deal with this.” Sometimes it just comes down to not floating — just being there and understanding that if you give in, you’ll hurt more tomorrow. Maybe there is no more important lesson to learn from a boxer than that."

And there you have it.  The difficult times we encounter may slow us down, sting, bruise or even downright hurt but remember, they are just moments.  The unfortunate reality is that the biggest pain comes when we realize that we could have pushed through and succeeded if only we would have persevered for a few moments longer.  So the next time you find yourself in a battle of will remember two things; the opponent is most likely your own head and the ultimately you'll win the fight if you just hold.  If you don't, you may find yourself hurting more tomorrow. 

The Last Motivational Health Article You May Ever Read

Every so often I’ll receive an email or run into someone who has read one of my columns.  Most recently a woman told me, “you know, I really enjoyed that last article you wrote; I felt so motivated afterwards.”  Honestly I don’t think I’ve ever motivated anyone because I think that the only person who can motivate you is you.  If however this article does happen to motivate you, it may just be the last article you ever read if you put these tools to use. 

Here are a few questions for you.  Is motivation a feeling or an action?  How can you tell when someone is motivated?  Can you tell if a person is motivated by how they feel or can you tell by how the act?  Well I don’t know about you but I haven’t figured out a way to read minds or pinpoint feelings at specific times so I will argue that you can generally tell how motivated someone is by how they act. 

I once wrote a short piece on how to get out of bed in the morning; definitely one of the hardest things for me to do.  The question I posed was, when you woke up this morning  did you wait till you felt like it to get out of bed or did you get out of bed anyways and then you felt like it?  In other words most of us never feel like getting out of bed in the morning but we do it anyways simply because we have things to do.  Only after we get out of bed do we start to feel energized. 

Some time ago I listened to an ultra marathon runner present to a group of students.  During his presentation he shared that he normally ran 135 to 150 miles per week (I don’t think I can even drive that much per week).  During the question and answer period of the presentation one student asked; when do you feel like running?  He replied with, “I never feel like running until after I start! 

One of my favorite acronyms is ACE, Action Creates Energy.  Action also creates excitement which is an emotion.  So another way of looking at motivation is to understand that action creates energy, excitement and positive emotions which in turn creates the feeling of motivation. 

So tomorrow when you wake up and have to do something you don’t feel like doing, just start doing it for fifteen minutes.  After fifteen minutes you can decide if you want to keep going but my instinct is that you will have already created enough momentum to continue until you finish whatever it is you need to do because you won’t wait until you feel motivated; you will have just done it regardless…and that’s motivation.

IT'S ALL IN YOUR HEAD

The simple truth behind reaching our health and fitness goals is that it is all up to you. The old saying, "if it is to be, it is up to me" certainly applies here as well as other areas in your life.  Waking up early each morning to exercise isn't easy.  Driving to the health club after a long day at work is often the most challenging thing to do.  Yet have you ever found yourself driving towards the fitness center with every intention to workout but then find yourself making excuses about why you need to get home now to start dinner rather than workout?  Have you ever started to get out of bed before your run only to find yourself arguing with your own mind about how you really should just rest because your body needs it?  Yep, success is all in your head and often our own mind is our own worst enemy.  Taking time each week to reflect on your goals, ambitions, shortcomings and opportunities is just as important as completing your weekly workouts.  Motivation isn't always our best friend but it shouldn't matter; we can still exercise even if we don't feel like it.  So the next time you're feeling sluggish and/or find yourself arguing with yourself about whether you should or should not workout tell your mind to shut up and do it anyway.  Your body will appreciate it. 

The Newspaper Weight-Loss Program

When I was about 12 years old I had a paper route and many of the lessons that I learned then are still pertinent today and taught me much of what it meant to be an entrepreneur.  I found myself rushing back home after school to deliver the papers by 4 PM each day.  On Saturday and Sunday mornings I was up at 5:15 AM to finish my delivery no later than 7 AM.  Rain, sleet, hail, snow, icy roads, bicycle crashes, angry dogs and even sometimes neighborhood bullies proved to be obstacles but somehow I overcame them.  I was a consistent paperboy, had some of the highest sales in the area and earned the title of paperboy of the month at least three times and nominated for paperboy of the year (sadly I was only runner up.) 

In hindsight the thing that I took for granted is the fact that each day without fail, the newspapers arrived at my door ready for delivery.  If you think about it, the consistency and dedication that it takes to print a newspaper should be awe inspiring.  Perhaps taking a lesson from our local weekly and daily newspapers can be used to inspire our own health and fitness routine. 

Waking up before the sun does day in and day out isn't an easy task.  Working long hours, preparing breakfast every morning for the family and the usual routine of daily life can take a toll on our energy levels.  And now you're saying that I should start exercising on top of everything else?  Here's the thing; the earth was here a long time before we were brought into it and will be here a long time after we leave this world.  Now some may like to argue with me on that one but I'm pretty certain we can mostly agree that our existence is a temporary one.  So, what are we to do with all of the time in between?  While I could make this a multiple choice question I'd like to answer it with a resounding "live!"  You see exercise adds years to your life, quality to the years and too many other wonderful things to list.  The unfortunate thing is that too many people struggle with the motivational aspect of living a healthy life that it falls to the wayside.  I don't know about you but I love waking up feeling energized, refreshed and ready to take on the day.  Living a healthy life makes each day possible to live just like that and I can't consider existing another way.  Life is simply too short to feel constant stress, pain, discomfort and exhaustion.  Honestly, I think it's easy to take life for granted and if you're ready to start living, I mean really living, it's time to take your own health seriously. 

I'm sure that there are some days that the local journalist and editors don't feel like writing and or printing the paper and possibly plenty of excuses not to do so.  Simply put they're not just slightly interested in printing the paper each day or week; they are committed to doing it and there inlays the difference.  When you're interested in doing something, you do it only when it is convenient. When you're committed to something you accept no excuses, only results.  So tomorrow morning when you rise to read the early morning news, don't forget that the paper in your hands can provide you with just the dose of motivation you need to start your day off right.