Act like an athlete

I just came across a nice article via Twitter. It gives some solid advice on weight lifting for beginners.

15 Bodybuilding Tips for Beginners

All the things mentioned in the article are valid and valuable, especially number 15: Act like an athlete.

It is well known that our attitude determines our success. We must think and act like athletes do if we want to achieve success in our fitness journey. Every step we take, every decision we make, needs to be driven by a desire to be the best we can be, and emulating the attitudes and behaviors of athletes is a great way to start. From planning our meals and our training, to pushing through when obstacles arise, the athlete mindset can be our best tool for success.

20 Mantras That Will Motivate You to Weight Train

I received this article and want to share it with you:

20 Mantras That Will Motivate You to Weight Train

Here is the list in case you do not want to read the full article:

1. Make muscles. Not excuses.
2. What seems impossible today will one day become your warm-up.
3. A one-hour workout is 4% of your day.
4. Do something today that your future self will thank you for.
5. Sore? Tired? Out of breath? Sweaty? Good. It’s working.
6. Strong is what happens when you run out of weak.
7. Strive for progress, not perfection.
8. Where there is no struggle, there is no strength.
9. The pain you feel today will be the strength you feel tomorrow.
10. If it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you.
11. Your body can stand almost anything. It’s your mind that you have to convince.
12. Don’t stop when it hurts. Stop when you’re done.
13. Wake up with determination. Go to bed with satisfaction.
14. When you feel like quitting; think about why you started.
15. You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have.
16. You’re not going to get the butt you want by sitting on it.
17. Think of your workouts as important meetings you’ve schedule with yourself. Bosses don’t cancel.
18. Will it be easy? Nope. Worth it? Absolutely.
19. Exercise because you love your body, not because you hate it.
20. You will never know your limits unless you push yourself to them.

Dancing for fitness

Many of us are on the path to better health and better fitness. But sometimes that can get boring for some people. Here is an idea to spice things up: go dancing! My favorite type of dancing is called Contra:

The music is great, the people are fabulous, and the workout is unbelievable. Try dancing for two-three hours and burning over 2000 calories while you are having a blast!

If Contra is not your thing (what??? how can that be!?!), then maybe some of the many other forms will work: Salsa or other forms of Latin dancing can be great, Swing and similar dances are quite popular, and Tango and other ballroom styles are a fabulous option.

When given the choice … dance!

Greatist

I have been reading and enjoying the articles from the website Greatist. They have excellent content ranging from recipes to tough exercises. For example, they just published this great list of ten moves that will challenge any fitness enthusiast. Enjoy!

Control is the key

Throughout my fitness journey I discovered that control is the key to success. When I took control if my life I was able to lose 80 pounds in six months. When I relinquished control of my fitness I gained 50 of those back. Yup — I am just like you! I am in it just like you are!

I know what you must be thinking: "Really? Everyone knows tha you have to have control!"

And you may be right. People do know that control is the key to success. Yet, taking control can require an enormous amount of determination. Why? Because it is easier to just go with the flow, letting the currents take us wherever they may want to. What are these currents? The advertisers that want to sell you "stuff" (things you do not need); the food industry that wants you to eat more (super size the whole thing, why don't you?) and drink more (sodas, that is — a super-high profit center); the parmaceutical industry that wants you to consume more pills to fight the effects of the food and drinks you ingest; the medical industry that wants you to spend more money on health care (including doctor visits, hospital stays, medications, surgeries) and health insurance (but not on healthy fitness).

I want you to take two points from this post:

1. The difference between success and failure is very small. Watch this video by Tony Robbins and you will see what I mean:

2. The only way I have found to gain control of fitness and health is to plan (and record) the three critical aspects of fitness: activity, nutrition, rest. Your first challenge is to make a plan of how you will spend you activity time, how you will invest in your nutrition, and how and when you will rest. Think about that until the next post.

Remember: when nothing seems to be working, simply stop and make a small change to move you in the direction of your goals.

Another fitness blog? Oh no!

Fit … Healthy … Alive!

Source: beliefnet.com

Greetings!

Yes, here comes another fitness blog! :-)

Hopefully, though, this blog will take a different direction than others out there. Entries in this blog will have three significant aspects:

• For beginners: we all start somewhere. And getting started is the hardest part of it all. In these entries I want to help those that are struggling to get started or that are just starting the journey. And becoming fit, indeed, is a journey, not a destination. I look forward to sharing the road with you!
• Minimalistic: over the last few years I have realized that you need very little to be fit. I will share the basic tools with you. For the most part, they are free or very inexpensive. 
• Balanced: my road to fitness involved a slow but significant re-balancing of various aspects of life. In short, fitness comes from balancing activity, nutrition, and rest. Without these three pillars fitness is impossible. That is why "diets" fail most of us: they only focus on one area (eating). You also cannot exercise your way into fitness if you continue eating poorly. Finally, our bodies need rest in order to be fit. We now know that not enough sleep (and other types of rest) will lead to disease.

Please remember the old saying: a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.

Fitness is the path to health and happiness for many. It definitely has been for me!