The preparation begins

I've become so ridiculously busy in the past couple of weeks, but because of that I'm going to go through with my Reset next week (starting Monday). Most people do it to lose weight. I don't need or intend to do that. My reasons are to clean my system out. Detox. I'm tired of being tired. Not smiling and being bubbly. It sucks especially when you need to be on top of you game because people look to you as a role model and for advice. I don't want to be a hypocrite. I guess, if anything, this just shows that EVERYONE (including the people you admire) slip up and need to restrategize and freshen up their gameplans.



One of the most important things with nutrition is getting the right amount of vitamins and minerals in your body. Ideally, you'd want to get that through the foods you eat. WE DO NOT EAT "HEALTHY". I'm guilty as well. Most of you know I'm not a huge supplement person (when compared to most meatheads whose daily meal plans look like a science experiment), but I do take some important ones:

1. Multi-vitamin. We don't get everything. Even when eating Zone/Paleo, I felt I didn't get everything that I should've. Maybe it was what groceries I had. Regardless, I caught up with everything else in that little pill.


2. Protein. This was my "quick meal". The best post-workout nutrition. Why? Because the body doesn't have to break it down as much, therefore the body absorbs it quickly and you really reap the benefits from exercise. Also, if I didn't eat (if i was hungry or not), this is something I could put down to keep "fueling my fire" (brownie points if you know what I'm talking about!)


3. Fish Oil. Healthy fats, peoples. Fats don't make you fat. Processed carbs, too many grains (!), bad fats (trans, LDLs, VLDLs), and lack of activity make you fat. Healthy oils such as this help protect cells (small picture) which of course help everything else function properly as well: joints, heart, brain, eyes, etc.

So those are my three. My good three. You can take everything else, but it's really about taking care of the body. We're so quick to help FIX things when the become a problem. We need to start PREVENTING it. Degenerative diseases are the #1 killer of people today.

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

So you have the weekend to make the choice and I would love for some more people to join along the adventure with me. Let's be a team!

Modern Day Gyms

from the February CF Journal:

"The big-box health club industry at large is the concentrated, stinking, gelid mass of the sum total of this silly bullshit. The industry-standard floor configuration is 55 percent of the space in treadmills and the latest fashion in "cardio" equipment. Closing The Sale is the only valued expertise on the staff. Deadlifts and chalk are prohibited, sweating is discouraged, and noise is considered offensive. Squats and presses are understood to be Smith Machine exercises. There is probably a wrist curl machine. The two-year contract sticks it all together."

- Mark Rippetoe, C.S.C.S. & owner of Wichita Falls Athletic Club/CrossFit Wichita Falls

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Although I am that young 'kid' in the polo at Gold's, I understand the difference and importance of training for health versus training to look "toned and sexy". "Form follows function"- your body will look more athletic the more athletic you become. I agree with the quote above how most facilities will boast about what equipment they have and to follow whatever is currently hot in the fitness & health world.

We've known for ages how to lose fat and stand more straight. Science has proved it too many times. People are just too lazy to get it done because it takes a lot of time and more importantly, a lot of dedication.

Gym chains primary goals is to keep their membership quotas up. They could care less that you've had back problems for ages, they just want your monthly dues. Costs used for equipment forfeit quality for staff resulting in high turnover rates, in turn lowering success rates for clients. These clients end up not wanting to continue in exercising and fall off back into the unfit population. It's a great business, but it shouldn't be classified within the Health & Fitness category.

So how do we change the public perception of gyms? With education. Word of mouth from a group of people who have seen the changes that stick. Leading by example. Showing more that doing something, and more importantly, doing something right yields the results you've been looking for. Big-box gyms are great for those who already know how to workout, but for the beginning novice, exposure is key.

Not everyone does what's best- only smart ones do.