Tell Me I'm Pretty

I don't need validation of any kind especially being pretty. I'm a guy. I"m not supposed to be pretty. I'm a rugged guy, a male. Some say I suffer with toxic masculinity. It's called being a man that God created. And I don't need validation in that area. I'm very secure with that.

But I digress.

But the title speaks volumes about our society and it's insecurities today. Everyone is looking for validation in some way, shape, fashion or form. I'm not saying that we shouldn't validate others. We need to lift up others, encourage them, come along side of them and help them. But just to validate someone for the sake of doing so goes against my grain. Sorry but I am not here to give you a participation trophy. If you want it, earn it.

Please understand, I'm not being mean or cold hearted. But our society today is handing out validation as if it was Halloween candy. People want to be validated without working for it and if you don't give it to them they get angry.

To be validated, in anything, you need to prove your worth and demonstrate some determination that you are working towards your goals, giving it your best without compromise.

Which brings me to my blog post today. Tell me I'm pretty.

I was having a discussion with my Pastor two weeks ago and I was sharing with him how difficult it was to get people to pursue a healthy lifestyle and to get fit, healthy and lean. He said to me that I experienced the same problems that he did when people came to him for counseling. They expected him to waive a magic wand over them and all their problems would be fixed. His counseling as with my health coaching, both require personal effort, dedication, sacrifice and discipline in order to see change and breakthrough. Not a magic wand.

The commercial diet industry is no different. Well, that is, they want you to believe they have a magic wand. Just eat the food and lose the weight. Sounds great, right? They send you all the food, you just microwave it, eat it and PRESTO CHANGO, you have lost the weight and you are healthy!

Uh, not so fast there bub.

Weight loss is not typically healthy. For most every single commercial weight loss diet you see, the weight you lose is going to be from muscle and water, not fat. The first week you are going to be placed on a diet plan BELOW 1,000 calories per day. That's starvation - that's not healthy.

Next the food is processed in a factory and full of preservatives and additives. And that's not all. The food quality itself isn't any better. You might as well go and purchase some Little Debbie snack cakes and just cut them into quarters because the food quality is no better than that.

And the celebrity spokespeople are not exactly telling you the truth either. They typically get paid huge sums of money just to push their diets. Some to the tune of $1 million dollars. They also have personal trainers, personal chefs to prepare their foods along with personal stylists, make up artists and some great cosmetic surgery. That would be nice if all that was in the fine print of these commercial diets, wouldn't it?

But they hammer you with advertising..millions of dollars of advertising. They are going to do their best to get their message of "You are pretty", all you need to do is go on their diet plan. And it will be so easy, no hassle, no work, no preparation. There is your magic wand!

THE HARD COLD TRUTH

Diets don't work. At least in the long term. That's why each year, every single commercial diet program comes out with a "New and Improved"...whatever plan. The question you need to ask yourself is, "If the diet plan was so good last year then why do you need to have a new and improved version of it?"

That's because they diets simply don't work. They know it and sooner or later you will too.

But do you know what does work? Science works. Nutritional science to be exact.

We know exactly how food works with the body and in the body. We know how it works with exercise and without. We know that it can cause disease and prevent disease and in many cases reverse disease.

We know what it takes to lose fat and to restore healthy, lean, fat free muscle tissue. We know that it takes to burn calories in order to lose fat and not just weight. And we know that fat loss is better served when it is combined with a structured strength resistance training program and not aerobics.

And we know this. It takes effort, not a magic wand.

But if you want it bad enough, you will do what you have to do to get it. But if you are one of those individuals that have decided to do something about it, just know that you are in a minority. The majority of people don't want it. They don't want to make the effort. They want the participation trophy; they want to be told they are pretty; they want to glorify obesity. And typically that translates into millions and millions of Americans.

Hopefully you will be one of the few that will step out and step up and take charge of your life, health and fitness. And when you do, it won't just be pretty. It will be pretty awesome.

Stay Healty - Stay Strong!
JR

Lessons I learned while washing my car

Just this past Saturday, I decided it was time to wash my Toyota FJ. It was dirty....I mean really, really dirty, both inside and out. But hey, it's not your typical SUV..this is a bad boy, off road vehicle that is designed to handle the abuse I can dish out to it. Only problem is, I have never taken it off road and the most abusive thing I have done to my FJ is that I took it to Houston Texas last year and we survived Hurricane Harvey. 

Anyway, back to my story.

When I decided to clean the ol' girl, there she sat, never once complaining that she was dirty. Afterall, this is a mechanical machine, not a human but as a man, we have a tendency to assign certain human values to inanimate objects, such as our cars and trucks. 

But when I tell you this vehicle was dirty, I mean it was dirty. I had given my FJ a total overhaul in cleaning and a mechincal checkup just prior to leaving for Houston last June, so I knew she was looking great and highway ready....then.

So off I went. And came back to Kentucky about 10 months later. And I hadn't washed my FJ one time during that extended stay in Texas. I went through the Texas heat and dust, followed by a lengthy and nasty winter only to find that my FJ had gotten as dirty as I believe I have ever seen it. I mean, the grit and grime on the floor was just "stuck" there...it wouldn't budge with a vacuum cleaner. It was like glue. And the wheels, wow, I know black wheels are all the rage right now, but my wheels are a beautiful chrome type magnesium wheel that are supposed to be a bit shiney when clean. 

Well, I decided Saturday that it was time to do something. So I embarked on a 5 hour journey of washing and cleaning. I mean, under the hood was so filthy as well and that was going to require some tender loving care as well.

I won't go into detail all that I had to do - but I was sweaty and nasty after I was finished - I kinda looked like what my FJ looked before I started cleaning it, only it was me afterwards. 

Now when you see my FJ, she is beautiful and gleaming and it smells great inside and all the gunk and grime is gone. She looks nearly new. Except......

There are places on the FJ that will never be the same. For one, my beautiful wheels. Inside the wheels, in between the spokes, there is a deep oxidizing that has occured due to brake dust and road salt from the winter that sat there for over a year. These places are nearly black and simply will not return to it's normal luster as when I first bought my FJ brand new in 2008. 

Then there is the small matter of a few places that had I seen it, I could have eliminated small body dings and scratches. Nothing bad, but they are there.

The interior is doing great, and while the floor is clean and all the grit and grime is gone, there are discolorations from the dirt and mud that sat there too long. Now don't get me wrong, these things aren't major issues but they do distract, at least to me, from the beauty of this vehicle. And all because I neglected to keep it clean for over a year. I did perform regularly scheduled maintenance as required but the body and wheels have suffered due to my neglect. 

It was during this time, when I was trying to clean these wheels that the Lord began to speak to me about health and wellness. It was like He was saying, that while our bodies seem to be doing well, even when we neglect them, there is irreversible damage taking place. 

This was an A-ha moment for me as a health professional. The Lord was giving me a wonderful example of how we all tend to neglect the care and maintenance of our body and as long as we do the basic stuff, we think all is well. Until one day we decide to clean up our act. We begin to clean off the gunk and dirt only to findout that we have become hypertensive, or diabetic, or our weight has gotten out of control. You can problably think of any number of things...but I hope you get the point.

Unfortunately, when we decide to do something about it, it could be too late for a complete restoration. It may be that at this point we have to include using medication to manage our health, whereas before, we had no such problems. And it just might be, that we can never return to our previous state of health. That's the result of neglect, a lack of discipline and most certainly a lack of conviction. We chose what we wanted instead of what we needed. 

Immediate gratification is a pyria to our society. It destroys our conviction; it eats away our discipline and wreaks havoc on our future. Its a cancer that starts slowly and works its way through every aspect of our life. It doesn't just show up one day in a big way - if it did, we would be more apt to face it and fight it but unfortunately, our desire to give in to our flesh starts small and grows a little bit every day. We think, well, that wasn't so bad so I will do it again. We never realize that its the little things, done on a daily basis that becomes the big things in our life. 

I had many beautiful and warm days that I could have washed my FJ and really cleaned it up but I wanted to enjoy those warm days because in my mind, I thought, it will be warm tomorrow and I will wash the FJ tomorrow. But you know Kentucky weather, warm one day, snow the next. And I just kept putting it off and all that salt built up on my wheels and oxidized the brake dust and ate into my wheels forever discoloring them.

That's what a lack of conviction does - it breeds a lack of discipline. It makes slackers of us all and we end up paying a big price for it.

Now my wheels still look good and the oxidation won't affect the overall performance and life of those wheels. And if it did, I could buy new wheels I guess. But that's not being a good steward of what God has given me. I did not respect that gift. And it was a gift of sorts because for years I had wanted an SUV - a good SUV and at the time, I was financially able to purchase my FJ. Oh and my intentions were grand at the time; never let it get dirty, always perform maintenance on it, keep it well groomed, etc. But did I? No, I didn't.

Don't get me wrong, I didn't blatantly abuse my FJ, I just didn't care for it like I should have. God gave me a wonderful gift because, trust me on this, it came in handy during Hurricane Harvey in Texas. This FJ can go through about 33 inches of standing water and it proved itself during that time and it did so wonderfully. But I became complacent with my gift. I became a bad steward with it. And it suffered. 

You may think I am going on about how my FJ looks. But in reality this isn't about my FJ; its about you and me and how we take care of our own body.

We are the temple of the Holy Spirit and the body God has given us is HIS gift to us and when we accepted Christ as our savior, we were bought with the price of blood and as such, we became HIS. So He places HIS Holy Spirit in us and that makes us HIS temple and as such we are to care for it and make it a great place for HIM to live. But we are Americans. We have a tendency to chase those things we want and not necessarily what we need. And in the end, we pay a big price for it - compromised health. 

Nobody is perfect, only Christ. But it is through Him, that we gain our strength and endurance. Will that make us perfect? No but hopefully it will help us keep our wheels clean. :) 

Remember, we must be faithful in little if we are going to be faithful in much. There were a lot of men in the Bible that really messed up bad but they were redeemed, repented and got back up on their feet and moved forward in Christ. Granted they had to carry a bit of unwanted baggage with them but that was the price to pay for disobedience and a lack of discipline. Which can sometimes be a strong reminder to us if we get to the point of becoming complacent or lazy in our convictions. 

I hope this has blessed you today. 

Now go wash that car. 

Discipline - Is it Your superpower?

Where there is a lack of conviction, there is no discipline. Where there is no discipline, there is no lack of excuses. (JR Smith)

And there we have the ultimate truth. 

Having a conviction about something, something that really matters requires discipline. I have seen a lot of people who thought they had conviction on social issues, which meant they had no discipline. They want change NOW...they say they will do whatever they have to do to get change NOW...and if they don't get it NOW, well, they just move on to the next social justice cause - depending on how they feel or who is telling them to feel that way. 

Now, this isn't a blog about social justice issues. Rather it is about discipline. 

John Maxwell has said, "Anything in life worthwhile is an uphill climb" 

Climbing indicates there is work ahead. Sometimes challenging work. But if your goal is to reach the peak of that mountain, you are going to do what you need to do to get there. And that requires conviction and discipline. You can't have discipline without conviction. 

(Agent Colson from The Avenger movie)

Social justice warriors typically don't have much conviction, just a lot of emotion and someone to tap into that emotional energy to achieve their goal, not the goal of the social justice warriors. 

To achieve something worthwhile in your life, you must have a vision. The vision, if it is desirable enough, must have conviction to go for it and the discipline to achieve it. And that may take time. 

Too many times I have asked individuals if they want to train with me. And a lot of times I get very similar answers.

* I would like to, but I don't have enough time
( hidden meaning - it doesn't mean enough to me)
 No Conviction

* I would like to but my money is tight
(hidden meaning - other I have other priorities)
No Conviction

* I have a program I am happy with right now
(hidden meaning - don't challenge me to get uncomfortable)
No Conviction

* I'm doing okay right now
(hidden meaning - I don't really care)
No Conviction

Without conviction there is no discipline. Without discipline there is no limit to the excuses we can come up with. And no matter how brilliant those excuses may sound, they mean nothing. Nobody is impressed with them. But they do say a lot about the person making the excuses. 

We as a society have learned to put off what needs to be done today for the things we want to do. And in reality, we settle for less. We accept fun today and complain about pain and sickness tomorrow. 

We have what we tolerate. And all too often, I see people tolerating being overweight, in pain, sick and having a bad life overall. Because they have no conviction. No discipline. 

Dr Mark Hyman has stated that about 97% of all diseases today are lifestyle induced. We have what we tolerate. 

Sometime ago, someone said something very wise.

" The best preparation for tomorrow is the wise use of today"

If you are not preparing for tomorrow by being a good steward with today, don't expect great things to happen. They won't. But you will get what you pay for. And if you are paying for fun and thrills today, then you will earn the dividends on that lifestyle which for the majority, means obesity, diabetes, hypertension, arthritis, heart disease. You get the picture. 

Therefore you could say that the lack of conviction can lead to diseases and having a really bad life. 

"You are free to make choices but you are not free from the consequences of those choices" 

Choose wisely. As we age, it can be great but if you aren't doing what you need to be doing today, then tomorrow is going to really be painful. 

Stay strong - Stay Healthy 

Keep Your Eye on the Year 2030

I remember a song from back in the mid 60's called 25-25. It was referencing the future of the year 2525. It scared me. I mean as a 12 year old it kinda put a fear in me. Although I knew deep down inside I wouldn't be around in 558 years my future, it still frightened me.

Fast forward to 2018.

Now we are focusing on twelve years into our very near future, 2030. Sounds futuristic doesn't it? In the movie Star Trek TNG, First Contact, the first warp engine was invented in the year 2063. That's just 33 years away. (I wonder if we will have faster than light speed travel in just 33 years? LOL)

But that's just sci-fi.

But what is coming in 2030 is as real as it gets - no science fiction here.

Most state governments are projecting that by the year 2030, obesity rates are going to be out of control and near epidemic. And along side that projected expansion is diabetes, arthritis, hypertension, cardiovascular disease and obesity related cancers.

This is real.

Unfortunately, I have yet to see any state government, on any of their state sponsored web pages offer a clear way forward. They have a lot of services and programs in place but they aren't working. If they were, they wouldn't have all these horrible projections facing their citizens.

Kentucky alone (for example) has a state wide obesity rate of over 33% and by the year 2030 it is projected that just a little over 60% of the population will be obese. In measurment terms, that is a BMI of 30 or above. And Tennesse isn't fairing any better. It is projected to be about the same as Kentucky. And according to the most recent data, adult obesity rates now exceed 35 percent in five states, 30 percent in 25 states and 25 percent in 46 states.

Did you know that prior to twenty years ago no state had an obesity issue of over 15%. And prior to that, the early 70's, Kentucky had an extremely low obesity rate, around 10-12%.

So What the heck happened?

I could muse on this for hours and offer you a grand dispensation on how the events just after the late 60's led to our current health condition of today. And for the most part, much of what I would share would be right. But it doesn't make a difference. Not now...not today.

What does make a difference is, "What are YOU going to do about your health and wellness?"

We see that government funded programs look good on paper and a lot of money is spent on these programs and keeps a lot of people in the state governments employed. But really, it doesn't help in the direct fight against obesity and its related diseases. I support much of the programs these states fund - they are important. Programs such as school activity, breast feeding, farmers markets, rails to trails, free access to public gyms for basketball and other activities - they are all good but they do not directly address the issues of obesity and diabetes. They skirt around the issues. And if you do want to take advantage of these programs, you have to go to them, at their locations such as an extension agent, or a hospital or other authorized location. Why must we make things difficult? Why can't we make it easy for the end user to get access to these programs? Why can't we get workable programs online?

The one industry that has a proven track record of addressing obesity, managing weight issues, improving health and wellness is the FITNESS INDUSTRY. We have a proven track record of well over 100 years fighing obesity and diseases through fitness and healthy nutrition practices. Heaven forbid these governments actually turn to the professionals that actually have a proven track record addressing these issues.

I know I can't change all the health issues facing Americans today, but I am going to do my best in addressing obesity and diabetes issues as best I can. I have developed a program called The New Directions 2030 Wellness and Lifestyle Initiative. It is simple and straight to the point. And when completely implemented, will make dramatic changes in the lives of all people and bring a new tool (or weapon) in the fight against obesity and diabetes.

We are going to make the program personal; we are going to make it easily accessible; we are going to set up (in the near future) wellness zones in which all people can get physical access to the coaches that we sign up to help in this fight. It is my greatest joy (and passion) to help everyone and I want to make this program available to everyone. We will develop ways to help those who cannot pay and for those that can but it will be a fair and balanced approach.

This is a fight that can be won regardless of your current condition.

Projections for 2030 are not good. Nearly every state is going to experience wide spread health issues that could be called epidemic. Those that have a pre-existing health issue now are going to need to take extra precautions in the next 12 years to ensure their health and lives are not at an extreme risk. And for those that are "healthy" now, well, 12 years can make a big difference if you don't take proactive, preventative steps beginning today. You might be fine now, but where will you be in 12 years? You simply do not know, so why leave anything to chance? I don't.

Please understand, I'm not condemning state government programs. But common sense will tell you, based on their current projections, something isn't working and it's not going to work regardless of all the programs in place. Granted, these programs do help but they are too fragmented and have no direct assault on the diabetes and obesity issues each state faces. And remember, state statistics are based on the population as a whole, as are the provided programs to address these issues. But obesity and diabetes is a very real and very personal issue and programs directed at the residents as a whole of any state simply will not fly if it is YOU that needs to do something.

Those who have diabetes right now, must seek medical help. You cannot allow this disease to go untreated. It can have devistating effects from losing limbs, going blind or death. So PLEASE - seek medical help if you suspect that you have diabetes or you know that you do have it but have done nothing about it. But don't let that stop you from also aggressively pursuing other options either.

The New Directions 2030 Wellness and Lifestyle Initiative can work for those with diabetes and other diseases as well as it can for those that are now healthy and wish to remain that way - 12 years from now and longer.

If you would like more information on The New Directions 2030 Wellness and Lifestyle Initiative, then check out my website at www.biofitexercise.com or you can email me at biofitexercise@gmail.com

In the meantime, I wish you all the best in your personal fitness management program.

Stay Strong!

Muscle - It's not just for athletes anymore

Since September 11th 2017 my life dramtically changed because of Hurricane Harvey. I won't go into detail but I am moving in a different direction. After the coaxing of several friends I have decided to "blog" more often. They feel I have something relevant to say. Of course, I'm not here to change the world but if I can change the world of just one person, then I will feel my mission is being successful.

So what does all this have to do with muscle? Well it is a blog and I am adding this to my offerings as a fitness professional of 35 years. I believe that I have something to say and something to offer to anyone willing to listen. I am old school but old school works. Yes, in the old days, we didn't do blogs, and when I started in this business, there was no internet and no cell phones. I remember when I got my first "bag cell phone" and it was pretty cool. Now I carry a cell phone in my pocket that would make Captain Kirk jealous because it is more advanced than his communicator. But I digress!

Back to the muscle issue.

Muscle used to be for athletes and bodybuilders. And going to the gym used to be just for those that were already in shape. I never subscribed to that philosophy though. I believed the ones that needed to be in the gym were those that were overweight and out of shape. Where else are you going to reverse that condition? And back then, there were no treadmills, no bikes, ellipitical trainers had yet to be invented. (Dang, I really am old school now that I think about it... ) There were just weights and the ones that used them were the athletes. So you could kind of see why the overweight and deconditioned were reluctant to join a gym. But all of my clients did join a gym at my urging.

One of the things that science is just now figuring out is just how great and important strength training is for the human body. And researchers are scratching their heads at how effective strength training is for cardiovascular health, fighting disease and offsetting muscle loss due to sickness and inactivity. It is great for protecting bones and when those bones are injured, strength training does a great job in healing them.

Not so with aerobic exercise - at least not to the degree that strength training does. And that is why I believe that you need to do strength training and get your muscle on!

For example, strength training is awesome for those with diabetes. Over the years, I have seen countless numbers of clients that have experienced incredible results with strength traning. And the reasons are many. For example, strength training will do the following:

• Increase new lean muscle tissue and thus new insulin receptors allowing more sugar to be transported into the muscle
• Using available sugars for lifting weights for both usable energy at the time and for immediate recovery after the workout
• Burn bodyfat for longer periods of time after the workout called EPOC, which means "Excess Post Oxygen Consumption" or in some circles, the "afterburn" which can last upwards of 48 hours depending on how intense the workout was
• Can improve cardiovascular health and fitness in greater ways that can aerobics because of the SAID principle or "Specific Adaptation To Imposed Demands". In other words, the ejection fraction will be greater, stronger and fight cardiovascular disease because of a more powerful heart where an aerobic heart may be strong for faster, shorter pumps, but that's really not realistic whereas strength training mimicks more in life than aerobics does
• Strength training has been around since the 1700's and aerobics was invented by Dr. Kenneth Cooper in 1967. Just like the low fat diet, the introduction of aerobics has made more people fat and out of shape because the approach is all wrong. 
• Strength training is incredible for improving aerobic conditioning and anaerobic conditioning whereas aerobics only addresses one side of the conditioning continum. 

The problem with strength training though isn't without it's faults though.

• You really don't want to do it by itself as you can get hurt - you need a spotter.
• You need someone to help you master the correct form. (That's why there are coaches)
• Women still think they will get big and bulky - THEY WON"T.
• You can get sore at first - but it soon passes 
• It requires work and dedication when you lift heavy things. 

Now the great thing about strength training is that you don't need to lift heavy things. In fact, strength training, also called resistance training can involve nothing more than your body weight. You just have to know what you are doing and how to go about it. Simple and that's why there are coaches. 

So there you go. My blog. While I have blogged on and off for several years, I am dedicated to making this a regular thing. I have some things to say and my friends think I do too. So who am I to argue with them? 

If this article has blessed you in any way (or not) would you please let me know? Shoot me an email to biofitexercise@gmail.com and tell me your thoughts. And be nice. 

Stay strong and continue to Fight the Good Fight of Faith! 

Coach JR