Monthly Archives: July 2013

Reach Out To Someone If You’re Struggling

The choice to lead a healthy lifestyle is yours and yours alone. The news/media consistently puts out information on the risks associated with being overweight or eating very unhealthy. It’s well publicized that incorporating some form of exercise into your daily routine has numerous health benefits (obviously needing to weigh the risk of injury depending on what you choose to do).

Now that I’ve stated what to me is the obvious, I write this to those individuals who are struggling to find their path. I will omit anyone suffering from illnesses or injury, for those people must reach out to the medical profession first for advice. But for people who struggle because of those infamous “voices” in their head, or have difficulty making changes in their lives, or find motivation difficult – you may be missing an ingredient that is preventing you from pushing forward.

Reach out to someone, family, friend , or otherwise. Find a person who may be ahead of the curve and is living healthy – ask them for advice. Or maybe team up with somebody else struggling like you, and make the journey together. Sometimes you may feel that you’re on an island all alone. Not everyone can dig down deep on their own and make changes. There’s nothing to be ashamed of when reaching out. It’s about YOUR health, YOUR well being. You should be striving every day to be healthy. And someday you’ll be motivating others without even knowing it at first. Really, just find a way, and if you can’t do it solo, find somebody that can help you.

Yoga – Your Flexibility Is Important

Do you incorporate Yoga or Stretching into your fitness routine? If you don’t, you should. I’ll focus on Yoga, which can be considered advanced stretching.When you engage in regular physical activity, you are working  your muscles. Weight training is most known for building muscle tissue and increasing strength. But regardless of your routine (weights, running, cycling, etc), you are utilizing muscle.
If you’ve ever done P90X® from Beachbody, then you know about Yoga X, a 90-minute yoga routine. The first time I did it, I wasn’t too fond of it (I had never given yoga a chance and convinced myself I didn’t like it without ever doing it). After the 90 day program and doing it once a week (twice on recovery weeks), the benefits of yoga were easily noticeable. I became more flexible, and with the rigors of P90X I felt that yoga aided greatly in my recovery.
Yoga lengthens and stretches the muscle. Yoga is beneficial in many ways (depending on which moves you incorporate into your routine) – flexibility, strength, posture, breathing. It can also relieve stress and benefit the heart. I personally work hard at keeping myself in the best shape I can. I don’t train for competition so I’m not in a gym countless hours a day working muscles groups intensely – I’m just “training” for overall health. But trust me, around 1-hour a day of P90X works the muscles hard. Yoga not only aids in recovery, but it keeps you more refreshed ready to hit it hard the next time. The less flexible you are, the more prone to injury you are. Cool down/stretching after any routine you do is very important and should never be overlooked or ignored as it’s as important as the exercise itself. But yoga should be part of your weekly routine. I currently do Yoga X on my rest day (once a week) and will probably find other routines just to change it up. I’ve researched it’s benefits, and can honestly say I feel the benefits myself.
Just remember, as with any physical activity, there is always the risk of injury. Don’t push yourself past your limit or you might tear something. With yoga or and stretching move, you just want to start feeling the muscle at work. And if you have any medical condition or any doubt, you should consult your doctor before trying yoga.