"Finding Fulfillment in Physical Activity" - By Guest Blogger Cathy Sullivan

We all have areas in our life where we naturally excel, and areas in our
life where we tend to struggle. As we enter adulthood (or often well into
adulthood), we begin to understand our strengths, talents, and activities
that we enjoy. Hopefully, for most of us, this is how we determine our
career or livelihood. We also recognize areas in our life where we struggle,
and what we need to do to address those issues.

As health and fitness professionals, most of us enjoy physical activity. I
would say that fitness professionals tend to be more passionate about their
careers than their peers in different professions. After a long week of
work, I choose to unwind with a good long Saturday bike ride, followed up on
Sunday by several hours of running. How is that not everyone’s idea of a
good time?

Unfortunately, I think that this enthusiasm leads many people to believe
that exercise must be “fun”. There is a misconception that if exercise is
not fun for you, then maybe exercise isn’t for you. We all have heard, and
we all understand the benefits of regular physical activity. However, many
people have a difficult time seeing the long-term benefits of exercise when
the short-term effect is often thirty minutes of pain, mind-numbing boredom,
or listening to a constant internal monologue about how out-of-shape, tired,
or uncoordinated you might be.

In order to better understand the mindset of a non-enjoyer of exercise, I
thought about an area of my life where I struggle, and how I address those
issues in order to lead a healthy, fulfilling life. The area of my life I
chose: math. I am horrible at math. I still add, subtract, and multiply
using my fingers. It is a miracle that I survived high school math, let
alone college math. I am certain I will be one of those parents who can no
longer help their fourth grader with their math homework, because that is
where it gets to complicated. That said, I still need to create a budget. I
still need to balance my bank account, plan for savings, and pay bills. I
feel better when I know what I am able to spend, able to save, and have
available in my bank account. While I would prefer to bury my head in the
sand and not do it, I feel much better about myself when my checks clear and
my bank card is not declined.

Do you see where I am going? Exercise may not be fun for you, but my hope is
that it will be fulfilling. You don’t have to be a runner to be an
exerciser. You don’t have to love group fitness to be fit. But I do
encourage you to try many different activities until you find something that
you can feel successful doing. Try a variety of classes until you find
something that “isn’t so bad.” Work with a trainer to put together a program
that addresses your strengths, and the areas of fitness where you would like
to improve. Work out with friends to enjoy the social aspects of activity.
Once you find something and stay consistent, I guarantee that you will see
benefits. Stress reduction, more energy, increased self-esteem, weight loss,
and increased strength are just a few examples of such benefits.

Hopefully at that point, you will then feel about exercise the way I feel
about math. It may not be the highlight of your day, but doing it is much
better than the alternative.


Cathy Sullivan is a NASM-certified personal trainer and group fitness
instructor at Equilibrium Fitness for Women.

MAYBE IT'S MY FAULT

Michael Jordan provides the ultimate motivation with a journey through his legacy that challenges you to look beyond your limits and rise to your potential.

How to be Great

Think of the greatest athlete, musician, artist or business professional
that inspires you. Were the amazing talents such as Michael Jordan, Tiger
Woods and Warren Buffet each born with a special gift of abilities wired
from birth that most of us don't have?

Believe it or not, research is showing that it's not that simple. In fact,
many child prodigies don't go on to major success in the area of their early
gifts. And many of the greatest performers, athletes and business people
never showed any early signs of aptitude.  So, how did they become great at
what they do?

The Research on Great Performance

In 1993, Florida State University professor K. Anders Ericsson and his
colleagues published a paper on 'expert performance' which, along with the
additional studies around the world that it inspired, made some very
interesting discoveries:

*        Nobody is "great" without lots of work. Early aptitude is not a
predictor for greatness in a given field without consistent practice over a
long period of time.
*        The most accomplished people in any field need about 10 years of
hard work before they become "world class". They call this the 10 Year Rule.


Many of these scientists are now saying that "targeted" natural gifts do not
exist at all. You are not born a gold-medal Olympic athlete, CEO or chess
grandmaster. Rather, greatness is achieved by hard, focused work over many
years.

Tiger Woods started practicing golf at 18 months, and was encouraged to
practice by his father. He had been practicing intensively for 15 years
before winning the U.S. Amateur Championship at age 18.

But you and I both know people who work very hard. Many work for decades at
a job or hobby without approaching greatness. Why don't they become "world
class", then?

It turns out that it's not just hard work that is required. What is required
is focused, consistent practice over a long period of time. Something the
researchers are calling deliberate practice.

What Does This All Mean?

We don't have to be born with a special talent in order to be great at
something. We just have to have the desire to constantly improve our skill.
Most people won't go through the long and difficult process of deliberate
practice. But this is what can separate you from the pack. This is what
makes great performance rare: most people either don't believe they can do
it, or aren't willing to do the work to become truly great at their passion.
So ask yourself, are you ready push yourself to the next level?

Get In. Sit Down. Shut Up and Hold On.

 

By Julian J. Varela

Not long ago I spotted a man standing in line at Trader Joe’s with a t-shirt that read, “Get In. Sit Down. Shut Up and Hold On.”  Since the phrasing was quite unique I couldn’t help but ask him about it.  "Get in, sit down, shut up, and hold on is the catchphrase of the Bali Slingshot located in Indonesia” he said.  The slingshot is somewhat of an amusement park attraction with a capsule that accommodates up to two people which is lowered and stretched between two towers by gigantic bungee cords. The cords are stretched to capacity and then the capsule is released and catapulted 164 ft. skyward in less than 2 seconds to maximum height before decelerating into a series of bounces and being lowered back down to its launch pad.”  “The t-shirt is right on because there’s nothing you can do except to do as it says; sit down, shut up and hold on, oh, and try not to throw up.” 

Like many things in life one thing can be a metaphor for another and the phrase mentioned above is no different.  And I think “get in, sit down, shut up and hold on” is a perfect metaphor for overcoming each challenge that we may encounter in life.  The thing is, is that we’re all pretty much the same with very slight differences.  Each of us may have different obstacles or even the same obstacles but we react to them in our own unique way.  You may be trying to give up alcohol and there’s nothing more than a nice cold drink after a long hard day at work.  The difficult conversation you’ve been meaning to have with your spouse, co-worker, family or friend is the last thing you want to do.  You may want to quit after the first 5 minutes of your run.  You may be dieting and really want that delicious plate of brownies that your friend pulled out of the oven.  Getting up early for an early morning workout doesn’t sound that fabulous after all.  Perhaps procrastination has gotten the best of you and you can’t seem to sit down and write that term paper you’ve been assigned.  Or maybe you have a list of sales leads you’ve intended to call and haven’t taken the time.  Let’s face it; we are all faced with numerous things on a consistent basis that are difficult or even downright scary.  If you want to get through the scariest part sometimes the best thing to do is to get in, sit down, shut up and hold on.  Be afraid and do what you have to do anyway.  It’s OK to be scared, fearful, anxious, nervous, lazy or ambivalent.  Feelings happen and thank goodness you have them.  Now just recognize them, accept them and hang on till the feelings subside.  Fight through the feelings and do what needs to be done in lieu of them. 

Getting in tune with our feelings, emotions and reactions to obstacles and challenges will certainly help you become more pro-active rather than re-active in almost every situation in life.  So the next time you find yourself in front of a big, hairy, audacious challenge just remember to “Get In. Sit Down. Shut Up and Hold On.”  Oh, and try not to throw up. 

Julian J. Varela holds a Master’s degree in Exercise Science and Health Promotion and is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist.  Julian co-owns Equilibrium Fitness and Equilibrium Fitness for Women.  Contact Julian at Julian@eqclubs.com with questions or comments.  Follow Julian’s blog at julianvarela.blogspot.com.

"Got Motivation?" - By Guest Blogger Natalie Rossier

Got Motivation?

We hear it almost everyday and know that we need to workout, eat a balanced diet and build strength to live longer, healthier lives. However, funny as it may sound, sometimes we need a little extra push more than our health to get to the gym.  We live in one of the 'happiest places on earth,' so why not take advantage of it!  Start hiking, trail running, biking, swimming, try playing beach volleyball or take a walk down Avila's Bob Jones Trail.  Taking advantage of our beautiful scenery and outdoor playground here in SLO is a great motivator to get to the gym.  For myself, working out and staying healthy and in shape is fun.  Why, you may ask? I use these outdoor activities to get my own tushy into a combat class, cycle class, or my own strength workout.  This way, my workouts do not only benefit my body and overall health, they allow me to hike to the top of Madonna Mountain without passing out;)  Getting involved in fun physical activities you enjoy can lead to achieving your ultimate health and fitness goals such as losing weight, running a race, building bone density and gaining control of your future health.  Motivation for your health can be found anytime, anywhere but sometimes you might have to look for it.  I ask you this, what is your motivation?

~Natalie Rossier, ACSM Certified Personal Trainer and your biggest fan

The Best Path Isn't Always the Easiest Path

Interestingly enough many individuals who approach me regarding advice on how to improve their health have many other challenges that they are dealing with other than just poor fitness levels.  Once we start focusing on overall health, time management and a balanced lifestyle, confidence tends to improve in conjunction with fitness levels.  Once the clients confidence level increases he or she usually starts to look at other challenges in their life with more confidence and what do you know...they tackle those as well.  Overcoming obstacles isn't an easy task but focusing on health has a way of providing a certain level of confidence and gives the ability to tackle other sticky spots in life.  Once of my favorite Native American stories on overcoming obstacles is below.  Enjoy. 

A Native American Story
There is a legend among Native Americans concerning the two paths of life.  One path slopes gently down some low hills to the valley below. The legend says that this is a broad and easy path, but it leads into the desert where death waits. The other path winds upward over a steep and rocky trail. It is filled with many difficulties, and only the strong can reach the heights of the mountain where the eagles soar. Through this legend, Indian parents teach their children that the easy way is not the best way. Strong character is built by facing the obstacles and overcoming them, instead of trying to avoid the difficulties by seeking a life of ease.

SOURCE:
“Sower’s Seeds Aplenty”
Brian Cavanaugh, T.O.R.
Paulist Press

Check out this video from Dan Buettner on "How to live to 100+" - Enjoy!