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Showing posts with label Motivating Yourself. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Motivating Yourself. Show all posts

June Weight Loss Quotes

June in Toronto. The weather is amazing, the idiot mayor is away at rehab, you have vacation time coming up... this is a very good time to be exercising.

So don't delay, get motivated and go outside and exercise. Rain and snow isn't really an excuse this time of year. The weather is beautiful and calling out to you!

So grab your running shoes, your bicycle, your tennis racket, your golf clubs, your archery equipment, your swimming trunks and go!



Mark Twain: Habit is habit and not to be flung out of the window by any man, but coaxed downstairs a step at a time.
 
Julius Erving: If you don't do what's best for your body, you're the one who comes up on the short end.
 
Jim Eason: If you want to look young and thin, hang around old fat people.
 
Unknown Author: Instead of giving myself reasons why I can't, I give myself reasons why I can.
Vince Lombardi: It's not whether you get knocked down; it's whether you get up.
 
Milton Garland: My advice is to go into something and stay with it until you like it. You can't like it until you obtain expertise in that work. And once you are an expert, it's a pleasure.
 
Winston Churchill: Never, never, never, never give up.
 
Eleanor Roosevelt: No one can make you feel inferior without your permission.

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi: Not to have control over the senses is like sailing in a rudderless ship, bound to break to pieces on coming in contact with the very first rock.
 
Horace: Rule your mind or it will rule you.
 
Ellen Degeneres: You have to stay in shape. My grandmother, she started walking five miles a day when she was 60. She's 97 today and we don't know where the hell she is.
 
Benjamin Franklin: You may delay, but time will not.
 
David Viscott: You must begin to think of yourself as becoming the person you want to be.
 
Eleanor Roosevelt: You must do the thing you think you cannot do.
 
George Bernard Shaw: You see things; and you say "Why?" But I dream things that never were; and I say "Why not?"
 
Ralph Marston: Your goals, minus your doubts, equal your reality.
 
George S. Patton: You're never beaten until you admit it.
 
Lee Iacocca: You've got to say, I think that if I keep working at this and want it badly enough I can have it. It's called perseverance.
 
Unknown Author: You don't drown by falling in the water. You drown by staying there.
 
Unknown Author: You don't realize how strong a person really is until you see them at their weakest moment.
 
Goethe: Take care of your body with steadfast fidelity. The soul must see through these eyes alone, and if they are dim, the whole world is clouded.
 
Jim Rohn: Take care of your body. It's the only place you have to live.
 
Thomas Fuller: That which is bitter to endure may be sweet to remember.
 
Samuel Johnson: The chains of habit are generally too small to be felt until they are too strong to be broken.
 
Marvin Phillips: The difference between try and triumph is just a little umph!
 
Plato: The first and the best victory is to conquer self.
 
Vincent Lombardi: The good Lord gave you a body that can stand most anything. It's your mind you have to convince.
 
Leigh Hunt: The groundwork of all happiness is health.
 
Anthony Robbins: The higher your energy level, the more efficient your body. The more efficient your body, the better you feel and the more you will use your talent to produce outstanding results.
 
Roger Bannister: The man who can drive himself further once the effort gets painful is the man who will win.
 
Author unknown: The road to success is dotted with many tempting parking places.
 
Thomas Jefferson: The sovereign invigorator of the body is exercise, and of all the exercises walking is the best.
 
Carl Sandburg: The time for action is now. It's never too late to do something.
 
Harold Wilkins: The world of achievement has always belonged to the optimist.
 
Heraclitus: There is nothing permanent except change.
 
Swedish Proverb: Those who wish to sing, always find a song.
 
Elie Wiesel: Ultimately, the only power to which man should aspire is that which he exercises over himself.
 
Martin Luther King, Jr.: We must accept finite disappointment, but we must never lose infinite hope.
 
Harriet Beecher Stowe: When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems as though you could not hold on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.
 
Quintus Horatius Flaccus Horace: Who has courage to say no again and again to desires, to despise the objects of ambition, who is a whole in himself, smoothed and rounded.

The Two Step Approach to Weight Loss

Two Steps...

Step One - Eat healthy.

Step Two - Exercise daily.

We all KNOW these two steps, and yet people are often looking for shortcuts and excuses to not do either one or both of these two steps. How you accomplish steps one and two are largely up to the individual. You might listen and read to the advice of others, but in the end it is the individual who decides to take action in whatever manner they see fit.

Or lack of action as is often the case.

There are many different ways to eat healthy.

Eat in moderation.
Count calories.
Low or moderate carb diets.
High protein diets.
Low fat, low sugar diets.
Avoid anything unhealthy diets.
Vegan / vegetarian diets.
Etc
Etc

And likewise there are many ways to exercise.

Walking daily.
Jogging daily.
Going to the gym daily.
Weightlifting at home daily.
Yoga daily.
Various sports, daily.
Etc
Etc

Some people won't even do them daily, they might only be exercising once, twice or three times per week and still be doing well physically because they are at least exercising regularly and they are eating healthy.

The problem I find is for people who get easily discouraged, who cannot find an activity they really like, who think they don't have the time to exercise (and yet have time to watch TV or answer messages on Facebook), and who have difficulty controlling their eating habits.

My advice is to not despair. Do not give up. Do not get discouraged. Stay focused. Keep exercising. Keep eating healthy. How you do it is not the problem, that you keep doing it is the most important factor.

If a diet / exercise plan doesn't seem to be working for you, the answer is not to stop using it. The answer is to either keep doing it until it does work, or to try a different diet and exercise plan that does work. Don't just stop altogether. Change it until it works.

And don't cheat on your diet / skip exercise sessions and expect to lose weight. Cheating on your plan and then blaming the plan is not the solution. You only have yourself to blame if you skip exercising / cheat on your diet.

And don't stop just because you cheated on your plan either. Just get right back at it, keep working at it. Giving up because you made one or two mistakes isn't going to solve your problem. You need to stay focused.

Some people like to claim that weight loss is 90% exercise and 10% diet, or 10% exercise and 90% diet, or whatever combination they say it is. They're all wrong.

What it really is is 10% diet, 10% exercise and 80% willpower.

Willpower to keep going. To never give up. To stay focused. To keep doing it even in the face of mistakes.


You cannot be awesome unless you attempt the awesome

"You cannot be awesome unless you attempt the awesome." - Charles Moffat, Toronto Personal Trainer

If you want be a more awesome and amazing person - and this applies to having an awesome and amazing body - then you need to start doing and practicing more awesome and amazing things with your body.

Examples

You need to practice jogging long distances if you want to run a marathon.

You need to practice archery regularly if you want to be able to shoot a moving target.

You need to practice yoga and stretching / flexibility exercises if you want to be amazingly flexible and have amazing posture.

You need to practice your tennis swing if you want to be an awesome tennis player.

And so on and so forth.

Basically anything amazing that you want to do is more or less achievable, but you need to practice.

Don't let weight or age or even disability stop you. During the last summer Olympics a Korean archer competed who was legally blind (he can only see blurry colours) but his disability did not stop him from competing in a sport that requires visual acuity.

So if he can do it, what is stopping you?

Lack of time? Just make the time.

Physical ability? Take the time to improve your physical ability.

Disability? You can learn to overcome disability. You may never be great, but you will still be awesome.


May Motivational Quotes plus Im Dong-Hyun Quotes

"Nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent."
- Eleanor Roosevelt

"It took me a long time not to judge myself through someone else's eyes."
- Sally Field

"It's not who you are that holds you back, it's who you think you're not."
- Author Unknown

"I'm not old enough to play baseball or football. I'm not eight yet. My mom told me when you start baseball, you aren't going to be able to run that fast because you had an operation. I told Mom I wouldn't need to run that fast. When I play baseball, I'll just hit them out of the park. Then I'll be able to walk."
- Edward J. McGrath, Jr.

"You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them."
- Michael Jordan

"Always act like you're wearing an invisible crown."
- Author Unknown

Below are quotes from 'legally blind' Korean archer Im Dong-Hyun. In the quotes he describes how he does archery, despite being barely able to see the target.

"Archery requires very sensitive muscles."
- Im Dong-Hyun

"If I couldn't see the colors, now that would be a problem."
- Im Dong-Hyun

"Archery is not a sport for everyone. The equipment costs a lot, and it is not easy for everyone to find a place to play. It is perhaps similar to golf, but of course there are more golf courses than archery fields."
- Im Dong-Hyun

"I used to play football at school, and I enjoyed really physical sports, but I now try to avoid any sports that might build up different muscles. That might have a negative impact on my archery."
- Im Dong-Hyun

"For me, seeing the target and not seeing the target doesn't make any difference."
- Im Dong-Hyun

"I had a strong desire to become an archer from the very first time I tried it. I forgot my other ambitions. I just wanted to compete in the Olympics."
- Im Dong-Hyun

"I try not to push myself too hard, but I also need to perform and earn the results."
- Im Dong-Hyun

"When I look down the range at the target all I can do is try to distinguish between the different colors."
- Im Dong-Hyun

April 2014 Exercise Quotes

"If you’re not eating the right foods in the right amounts, all the exercise in the world won’t combat the caloric intake." - Jennifer Hudson.

"If you cannot take responsibility for your own well-being, you will never take control over it." - Jennifer Hudson.

"I started thinking about little kids putting a cylindrical peg through a circular hole, and how they do it over and over again for months when they figure it out, and how basketball was basically just a slightly more aerobic version of that same exercise." - John Green.

"Exercise is medicine. Literally. Just like a pill, it reliably changes brain function by altering the activity of key brain chemicals and hormones."
- Stephen S. Ilardi PhD.

"Medication isn’t the only way to correct brain abnormalities in depression. Physical exercise also brings about profound changes in the brain - changes that rival those seen with the most potent antidepressant medications." - Stephen S. Ilardi PhD.

"Let each man exercise the art he knows." - Aristophanes (450 BC - 388 BC).

"Bodily exercise, when compulsory, does no harm to the body; but knowledge which is acquired under compulsion obtains no hold on the mind." - Plato (427 BC - 347 BC).

"Just as animal research tells us that gluttony and sloth are side effects of a drive to accumulate body fat, it also says that eating in moderation and being physically active (literally, having the energy to exercise) are not evidence of moral rectitude. Rather, they're the metabolic benefits of a body that's programmed to remain lean."
- Gary Taubes.

"When we exercise self-control on a given occasion, we win for ourselves a little credibility we can rely on the next time around. Pretty soon we develop a reputation to ourselves that we want badly to uphold. With each test that we meet, our resolve gains momentum, fueled by the fear that we may succumb and establish a damaging precedent for our own weakness." - Daniel Akst.

"A good exercise for the heart is to bend down and help another up." - Anonymous.

"Too many people confine their exercise to jumping to conclusions, running up bills, stretching the truth, bending over backward, lying down on the job, sidestepping responsibility and pushing their luck." - Anonymous.

Ten Workout Quotes by Women


"I make sure I do my best, because it is always worth it, no matter what you want to achieve in life!" - Andreia Brazier.

"It's easier to wake up early and work out than it is to look in the mirror each day and not like what you see." - Jayne Cox.

"Wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you are." - Marilyn Monroe.

"It's not about perfect. It's about effort. And when you bring that effort every single day, that's where transformation happens. That's how change occurs." - Jillian Michaels.

"Anyone can be cool, but awesome takes practice." - Lorraine Peterson.

"If women quit doing things just because they were hard they would never accomplish anything. Instead women accomplish great things every day. So why not you?" - Suzanne MacNevin.

"Every woman is the master of her own destiny. It is just a matter of taking control of it." - Suzanne MacNevin.

"Don't let men tell you what you can and cannot do. If you want to lift weights, then lift weights. If you want to run a marathon, then run a marathon. If you want to do your best in a particular sport, then do your best. Don't let naysayers hold you back from doing what you want to do." - Suzanne MacNevin.

"Fat is just extra baggage that women carry around with them. It is like having an extra large purse and not using what is in there. This is why I carry a man's wallet and a pocket knife. The same reason why I exercise daily. Because I don't want the extra baggage slowing me down." - Suzanne MacNevin.

"You change yourself every day. Why not change yourself for the better?" - Suzanne MacNevin.

Exercise Quotes for February

"To get back my youth I would do anything in the world, except take exercise, get up early, or be respectable." - Oscar Wilde, before he died at the age of 46.

"Walking is the best possible exercise. Habituate yourself to walk very far." - Thomas Jefferson (1743 - 1826).

"Exercise alone provides psychological and physical benefits. However, if you also adopt a strategy that engages your mind while you exercise, you can get a whole host of psychological benefits fairly quickly." - James Rippe, M.D.

"Dig where the gold is…unless you just need some exercise." - John M. Capozzi.

"Extreme exercise doesn’t save you from poor food choices. It can be difficult to exercise and erase away that chocolate cake or pizza pie. It doesn’t work that way." - Jennifer Hudson.

"To resist the frigidity of old age one must combine the body, the mind and the heart - and to keep them in parallel vigor one must exercise, study and love." - Karl von Bonstetten.

"Exercise ferments the humors, casts them into their proper channels, throws off redundancies, and helps nature in those secret distributions, without which the body cannot subsist in its vigor, nor the soul act with cheerfulness." - Joseph Addison.

"Ultimately, the only power to which man should aspire is that which he exercises over himself." - Elie Wiesel.

"Why do strong arms fatigue themselves with frivolous dumbbells? To dig a vineyard is worthier exercise for men." - Marcus Valerius Martialis (40 AD - 103 AD).

Note - I could not believe the above quote is real. Did they really have dumbbells 20 centuries ago??? So I decided to do some research, and yes, they really did have dumbbells that many centuries ago. Below are some dumbbells (known as Halteres) from Ancient Greece. They look very different, but not so different as to be unrecognizable. So I learned something today. Huzzah!


January Weight Loss Motivational Quotes

Oprah Winfrey is a weight loss icon for millions of women in North America. For 25 years her weight loss journey was the talk of significant media buzz - especially when it came to regaining weight on her sometimes roller coaster ups and downs.

This is a problem many people (not just women) deal with. What it makes you realize over time is that fad diets are temporary and that it requires a lifestyle change to make permanent changes that stay with you. You can do it! You might lose battles, but it doesn't mean you lost the war. Never give up and you will succeed by making changes in your lifestyle.

"I finally realized that being grateful to my body was key to giving more love to myself." - Oprah Winfrey.

"The big secret in life is that there is no big secret. Whatever your goal, you can get there if you're willing to work." - Oprah Winfrey.

"If you neglect to recharge a battery, it dies. And if you run full speed ahead without stopping for water, you lose momentum to finish the race." - Oprah Winfrey.

"Getting my lifelong weight struggle under control has come from a process of treating myself as well as I treat others in every way." - Oprah Winfrey.

"There is no easy way out. If there were, I would have bought it. And believe me, it would be one of my favorite things!" - Oprah Winfrey.

"It is confidence in our bodies, minds and spirits that allows us to keep looking for new adventures, new directions to grow in, and lessons to learn -- which is what life is all about." - Oprah Winfrey.

"In every aspect of our lives we are always asking ourselves, "How am I of value? What is my worth?" Yet, I believe that worthiness is our birthright." - Oprah Winfrey.

"Partake in some of life's sweet pleasures. And yes, get comfortable with yourself." - Oprah Winfrey.

"With every experience you alone are painting your own canvas -- thought by thought, choice by choice." - Oprah Winfrey.

"Use what you have to run towards your best; that's how I now live my life." - Oprah Winfrey.

"Energy is the essence of life. Every day you decide how you're going to use it by knowing what you want and what it takes to reach that goal and by maintaining focus." - Oprah Winfrey.

Self Discipline Vs Hiring a Personal Trainer

When it comes to both exercising and dieting one of the biggest obstacles for many people is simply to self discipline themselves and find motivations to stick with their exercise / diet regime.

It is very easier to start an exercise or diet regime, but much harder to stick with it when it starts to become a challenge.

Over time people start making exceptions and excuses and it is important to make a distinction between the two.

An exception is when you have no other choice in the circumstances. eg. You get invited to Christmas Dinner at your parents' home and your mother insists you try the new recipe she made using brown sugar, milk chocolate, caramel, maple syrup and other very sugary things. Yes, in theory you could refuse. But it is your mother! You are obligated to try it due to the special circumstances.

An excuse is when you say "I won't exercise today because it is raining."

So let us stop and discuss some Techniques to Strengthen Self-Discipline

#1. Know your goal, know it well and work towards it.

If you want it bad enough, there's no reason why you cannot achieve it! Sure, you may have to wake up early to exercise, or exercise after work when you are already tired. Maybe you even have to give up something for a while (like a favourite TV show you can always watch later) to get it done, but if it's important, you must harden up and face the fact that you won't reach your goal by wishing for it. You have to WORK for it.

This is a good time to practice visualization. Imagine crossing the finish line, buying clothes a couple of sizes smaller, going swimming without feeling embarrassed. Understand your goal and what you have to do to obtain the result. You can even make a before photo and imagine your after photo that you will take when you succeed.

#2. Remember how it feels when you succeed at things.

Think back to other achievements in your life. How did they make you feel? No matter how much you hate exercising, everybody agrees that the feeling afterward is worth the effort. Feeling good for the rest of the day, having more energy, and enjoying the accomplishment is something to remember when you are not feeling motivated. Thinking to yourself "this does feel good to know I am making progress and I'll feel great when it's over," will help to get you started and keep you going.

#3. Some effort is required.

When the going gets tough you need to be even tougher on yourself to make sure you do it.

If you are already working out, you should do a good job. Even if you don't feel 100% full of energy at least try to go a little farther than your mind wants to go. Obviously this does not apply to exercising over injuries or over training - but if you aren't injured then don't be afraid to push yourself further.

People can have trouble pushing themselves on their own, and it causes the workout to become sloppy, and not very effective. If you're already out there, and you're taking the time and energy, make it worth something!

#4. Hire a personal trainer to give you an extra push.

Need help? Time to hire a personal trainer once per month, once per week, once every two weeks. Whatever you need to accomplish your goal. You could hire me if you live in Downtown / Uptown Toronto, but ideally you should hire a personal trainer you feel comfortable with and they work hard to keep you motivated and on track.

If you are looking for a personal trainer in Leaside (where I now live) let me know and I can help you out. I am here to help!

True, hiring a personal trainer is more expensive than self-disciplining yourself, but it also pushes you further and helps to keep you on track for working towards your goals.

December Exercise Motivational Quotes

"I hate saying, 'I like exercising.' I want to punch people who say that in the face. But it's nice being in shape for a movie, because they basically do it all for you. It's like, 'Here's your trainer. This is what you can eat. ... I don't diet. I do exercise! But I don't diet. You can't work when you're hungry, you know?"
- Jennifer Lawrence (star of The Hunger Games)

"I don't really diet or anything. I'm miserable when I'm dieting and I like the way I look. I'm really sick of all these actresses looking like birds... I'd rather look a little chubby on camera and look like a person in real life, than look great on screen and look like a scarecrow in real life."
- Jennifer Lawrence

"One time I actually used it for defense. I pulled into my garage and I heard men in my house. And I was like, 'I'm not letting them take my stuff. I had just gotten back from training, so I had the bow and arrows in the back of my car. I went to my car and I put this quiver on me and I had my bow and I loaded it and I'm walking up the stairs. And I look, and my patio doors were open, and there were guys working right there, and I was like, 'Heyyy, how you doin'?' They [her friends] were like, 'We've got to stage someone to break into your house and you can kill them!' That would be the funniest news ever. Katniss Everdeen actually kills someone with a bow and arrow!"
- Jennifer Lawrence

"I eat like a caveman. I'll be the only actress that doesn't have anorexia rumors! I'm never going to starve myself for a part. I'm invincible. I don't want little girls to be like, 'Oh, I want to look like Katniss, so I'm going to skip dinner!'"
- Jennifer Lawrence

"For 'X-Men' I was lifting a lot of weights. I actually lost a lot of mass when I quit 'X-Men' because I was working out so much and very muscular and strong."
- Jennifer Lawrence



"You must begin to think of yourself as becoming the person you want to be."
- David Viscott

"Living a healthy lifestyle will only deprive you of poor health, lethargy, and fat."
- Jill Johnson

"Your goals, minus your doubts, equal your reality."
- Ralph Marston

"You've got to say, I think that if I keep working at this and want it badly enough I can have it. It's called perseverance."
- Lee Iacocca

"You don't drown by falling in the water. You drown by staying there."
- Unknown Author

Exercise Vs Bullies and Depression

Exercise is an amazing thing for the human body.

It builds self-confidence. It keeps away depression. It burns calories. It builds muscles. It promotes better sleep.

And it deters bullies in school.

If the photo of the kid on the right looks familiar that is because it is a young Arnold Schwarzenegger when he was 14 years old.

He didn't start weight lifting and weight training until he was 15 years old. Before then his favourite sport was soccer.

And it certainly did not stunt his growth either. Weight lifting took a skinny teenager who had confidence issues and turned him into a weight training champion and later a Hollywood success story.

Parents these days worry about their kids a lot. They worry because their kids are being bullied in school, because their kids are moody and depressed, and they think they can solve these problems by taking the poor kid to a psychiatrist.

A psychiatrist who will often prescribe anti-depressants designed for adults for children.

I would argue however that teenagers are already going through enough hormonal problems that throwing anti-depressant medications into the mix causes a lot more harm than good. If anything anti-depressants are probably stunting their growth, contributing to childhood and teenage obesity rates - and worse - creating a culture of drug addiction within the child's mind.

In contrast exercise (not just weight lifting, any kind of exercise) is a natural remedy for depression. Exercise boosts a person's sense of well-being, their metabolism speeds up, they burn more fat, build more muscle, sleep better, and feel more positive about themselves.

That increased self confidence also means they can stand up to bullies / ignore bullies more easily, without feeling like a loser because they know they are better than the bully. (Bullies are inherently filled with their own feelings of inadequacy and usually take to bullying because they have troubles at home, have weight issues, feel they are less intelligent compared to other students, any number of causes.)

In other words thanks to boosted self-confidence and an increased lack of bullying the child becomes ever more confident in their own abilities - and yet often has a degree of humility because they remember where they once were in life.

Many parents often get their kids martial arts lessons when they discover their kids are being bullied, but honestly any kind of aggressive exercise would help dramatically. I say aggressive with respect to exercises that utilize weightlifting and resistance training, including many kinds of sports. So for example jogging simply isn't aggressive enough because it would only build leg muscles and endurance and would not build the same amount of self confidence that came with learning a sport like caber tossing.

Now admittedly your kids probably won't get into caber tossing. But this is just an example of many of the sports that kids can get into that are more physical and require a bit more brute strength and effort compared to other exercises that are comparatively not that difficult. Parents need to encourage their kids to try these more difficult sports so the kids have a chance to try something they might like, and the boosted confidence from doing it (even if they didn't like it) will stay with them for years.

Some parents even hire personal trainers for their kids in an effort to encourage their kid to enter a life of healthy exercise which will keep their child on a healthy track all their way through life. It probably won't lead to the Olympics or professional sports, but the child which grows into an adult will have many years of happiness and health ahead of them thanks to the parent who planned ahead and put some thought into their child's exercise regimen.

Speaking for myself my parents put me through numerous years of ice skating, swimming, boy scouts, and as I got older and started making my own decisions I got into cycling, archery, boxing, tae kwon do, freehand mountain climbing, and many other physical activities long before I became a personal trainer.

I am very thankful my parents took an active interest in my physical and mental well-being.

In our day and age, with the USA and Canada's cutbacks on physical education, the lowered interest of children with sports (and increased use of computers / electronic gadgets), it has become ever more important for parents to encourage children to engage in sports and physical activities.

Find something that your kids enjoy and encourage them to keep doing it. It doesn't matter whether it is ballet or parkour (although I recommend wearing a helmet for parkour) and find ways to add such activities to your child's weekly schedule so they are guaranteed to keep doing them for years to come.

And if it is an activity that both parents and child can take part in, so much the better!



November Motivational Quotes

"To all my little Hulkamaniacs, say your prayers, take your vitamins and you will never go wrong."
- Terry Gene Bollea, aka "Hulk Hogan"

"If I do hit that rope and do a hop, skip and a jump and get up as high as I can, I'm just going to hold my breath, because I know i'm going to hear all kinds of scar tissue popping."
- Terry Gene Bollea, aka "Hulk Hogan"

"Negativity and Hulkamania - 2 things that don't go together."
- Terry Gene Bollea, aka "Hulk Hogan"

"I train all the time and the weird thing is I'm in the gym with people between 20 and 25 years old and I look in the mirror and I look better than they do and they are young kids - either they haven't trained hard enough or they aren't serious enough."
- Terry Gene Bollea, aka "Hulk Hogan"

"I'm 58 years old and I just went through 8 back surgeries. They started cutting on me in February 2009, and I was basically bed ridden for almost two years. I got a real dose of reality that if you don't have your health, you don't have anything."
- Terry Gene Bollea, aka "Hulk Hogan"

"A healthy body is the guest-chamber of the soul; a sick, its prison."
- Francis Bacon

"Live with intention. Walk to the edge. Listen hard. Practice wellness. Play with abandon. Laugh. Choose with no regret. Appreciate your friends. Continue to learn. Do what you love. Live as if this is all there is."
- Mary Anne Radmacher

"From the bitterness of disease man learns the sweetness of health."
- Catalan Proverb

"The concept of total wellness recognizes that our every thought, word, and behavior affects our greater health and well-being. And we, in turn, are affected not only emotionally but also physically and spiritually."
- Greg Anderson

"There are six components of wellness: proper weight and diet, proper exercise, breaking the smoking habit, control of alcohol, stress management and periodic exams."
- Kenneth H. Cooper

October Motivational Quotes

"Grab life by the horns before it grabs you by the balls and twists hard."
- Charles Moffat


"Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming."
- John Wooden

"When you find peace within yourself, you become the kind of person who can live at peace with others."
- Peace Pilgrim

"Success, happiness, peace of mind and fulfillment - the most priceless of human treasures - are available to all among us, without exception, who make things happen - who make "good" things happen - in the world around them."
- Joe Klock

"When we are unable to find tranquility within ourselves, it is useless to seek it elsewhere."
- François de la Rochefoucauld

"Peace is not something you wish for; It's something you make, Something you do, Something you are, And something you give away."
- Robert Fulghum

"Crystallize your goals. Make a plan for achieving them and set yourself a deadline. Then, with supreme confidence, determination and disregard for obstacles and other people's criticisms, carry out your plan."
- Paul J. Meyer

"Desire is the key to motivation, but it's determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal - a commitment to excellence - that will enable you to attain the success you seek."
- Mario Andretti

"Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try."
- Unknown

"You've got to get up every morning with determination if you're going to go to bed with satisfaction."
- George Lorimer


The Benefits of Fresh Air

Lack of fresh air in the human body leads to the following symptoms:
  • Fatigue
  • Drowsiness
  • Dullness of mind
  • Irritability
The simple act of getting up and going outside therefore can do wonders to rejuvenate and motivate your body to keep going outside more regularly.

If a person stays indoors too often they will also get more of the harmful effects of tobacco smoke, city smog, re-circulating air in buildings, improper ventilation, exhaust, and many other pollutants.

Now you may think, wait, city smog indoors? Yes. In fact smog particles collect indoors whereas outside they are blown away on the wind and eventually filtered by rain, air moisture, etc. So since it doesn't rain indoors the quality of air suffers as the smog particles collect. (Which brings up a healthy reason to buy an air purifier.) In cities like Toronto where we have very good air quality the smog isn't such a big issue, but that doesn't mean you won't see huge physical and mental benefits from going outside more often.

However going outside regularly gives you many positive side effects:
  • Reduces depression
  • Promotes healing
  • Sparks creativity
  • Acts as a painkiller
  • Reduces fat by introducing more Vitamin D into the body
  • Boosts brain power (more oxygen to the brain)
  • Less Fevers
  • Less Colds
  • Less Lung disease
A lot of this is because the air outside has a higher concentration of oxygen in it. You could try and fix this by having more plants inside your home, to give you a higher oxygen level, but the quick and easy solution is to simply go outside more often and breathe deeply as you go for a walk, jogging, walk the dog, nature hike, bicycle ride, etc.

Fresh air due to its higher oxygen levels helps with many things.
  • Fresh air purifies the blood more.
  • Fresh air soothes the nerves, stimulates appetite, helps digestion, and induces more refreshing sleep.
  • Fresh air invigorates the vital organs and aids the body's defense system in getting rid of an accumulation of impurities and toxins.
  • Fresh air brings life to your skin, and a healthy tan doesn't hurt either.
  • Fresh air influences your mind, imparting a degree of composure and serenity while simultaneously acting as a natural painkiller.
  • Fresh air, especially when we exercise outdoors, will stimulate our appetite, and greatly aid and improve digestion of food.
  • Exercises performed outdoors in fresh air offer increased aerobic benefits. Taking in more clean air helps improves your breathing technique. Better technique increases stamina. More oxygen to the muscles reduces the lactic acid build-up in the muscles which leads to cramping and pain.
  • Oxygen electrifies the whole system, causes the body to be strong and healthy, and will refresh the system.
  • Oxygen has negative ions that are useful in giving electrical energy to the body, especially the nervous system. This will give us a sense of well-being, serenity, and composure.
  • Oxygen kills bacteria as it strengthens your immune system. When the white blood cells are called upon by the immune system to destroy germs, bacteria and viruses, they need much more oxygen than normal.
CONCLUSIONS

More oxygen to your brain, more oxygen to your muscles, more oxygen to all your vital organs, more oxygen to your skin, your blood, everything. Everything benefits from fresh air and boosts your health dramatically.

You are never too old to start a new sport

I was going through old emails earlier today and found one I had failed to answer (it was in the wrong folder).

In the email a mother was talking about signing her son up for archery lessons and said "he is kind of too old to start new sports".

I read this with quiet bemusement.

I didn't laugh out loud or anything. I was just mildly amused and a tad indignant. How is SIXTEEN too old to start a new sport?

I mean com'on, many athletes don't start their preferred sport until they are 17, 18, 19 or well into their 20s.

And there is nothing stopping adults and even seniors from taking up a sport - including a competitive sport - well into their golden years.

An elderly (and even overweight person) can easily learn to do the splits (see photo below) or any number of other activities during their older years.


They might get really into bicycles - and even fixing bicycles in their old age.


They might take up archery as a recreational sport - or even compete in archery competitions.


They might even take up boxing, martial arts or yoga.



What it really comes down to is that there is nothing stopping you from starting a new sport - and even competing in a new sport.

Age, disability, sex/gender, being overweight - these are just excuses.

Willpower and taking the first steps towards a new goal, those are the deciding factors.

September Motivational Quotes

"Don't dream it. Do it. Only then will you succeed."
- Charles Moffat


"Do the one thing you think you cannot do. Fail at it. Try again. Do better the second time. The only people who never tumble are those who never mount the high wire. This is your moment. Own it."
- Oprah Winfrey

"Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm."
- Winston Churchill

"Some people dream of success... while others wake up and work hard at it."
- Author Unknown

"Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, I will try again tomorrow."
- Mary Anne Radmacher

"Eighty percent of success is showing up."
- Woody Allen

"Try again. Fail again. Fail better."
- Samuel Beckett 

"Adversity causes some men to break; others to break records."
- William Arthur Ward
 

"Champions keep playing until they get it right."
- Billie Jean King
 

"Fans don't boo nobodies."
- Reggie Jackson
 

"Gold medals aren't really made of gold. They're made of sweat, determination, and a hard-to-find alloy called guts."
- Dan Gable
 

"Good, better, best. Never let it rest. Until your good is better and your better is best."
- Tim Duncan

"Gray skies are just clouds passing over."
- Frank Gifford


Food Motivation Quotes

"You wouldn't choose to eat poison would you? So why would you choose not to eat healthy?"
- Charles Moffat

"I do the same exercises I did 50 years ago and they still work. I eat the same food I ate 50 years ago and it still works."
- Arnold Schwarzenegger

"One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating."
- Luciano Pavarotti

"Shipping is a terrible thing to do to vegetables. They probably get jet-lagged, just like people."
- Elizabeth Berry
"When baking, follow directions. When cooking, go by your own taste."
- Laiko Bahrs

"It's bizarre that the produce manager is more important to my children's health than the pediatrician."
- Meryl Streep

"The bagel, an unsweetened doughnut with rigor mortis."
- Beatrice & Ira Freeman

"We are living in a world today where lemonade is made from artificial flavors and furniture polish is made from real lemons."
- Alfred E. Newman

"Tell me what you eat, I'll tell you who you are."
- Anthelme Brillat-Savarin 


Motivational Cartoon - Treadmill with Laptop

I agree. People would run a lot more faster if it meant their downloads downloaded faster. It would be very motivational for people to keep jogging.

Normally I don't post funny stuff like this but this time I made an exception.



August Exercise Motivation Quotes

"You've lost weight before. Now just do it again and again until it becomes a lifestyle instead of a random whim."
- Charles Moffat

"Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength."
- Arnold Schwarzenegger

"Winning isn't everything, but the will to win is everything."
- Vince Lombardi

"Sure I am this day we are masters of our fate, that the task which has been set before us is not above our strength; that its pangs and toils are not beyond our endurance. As long as we have faith in our own cause and an unconquerable will to win, victory will not be denied us."
- Winston Churchill

"Courage is as often the outcome of despair as of hope; in the one case we have nothing to lose, in the other, everything to gain."
- Diane de Pointiers

"A winner is someone who recognizes his God-given talents, works his tail off to develop them into skills, and uses these skills to accomplish his goals."
- Larry Bird

"Win as if you were used to it, lose as if you enjoyed it for a change."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

July Exercise Motivation Quotes

"If you don't control your life then life will control you. Grab life by the horns and never let go."
-Charles Moffat

"I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times."
-Bruce Lee


"Mistakes are always forgivable, if one has the courage to admit them."
-Bruce Lee

"If you love life, don't waste time, for time is what life is made up of."
-Bruce Lee

"If you always put limit on everything you do, physical or anything else. It will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them."
-Bruce Lee

"A goal is not always meant to be reached, it often serves simply as something to aim at."
-Bruce Lee

"If you spend too much time thinking about a thing, you'll never get it done."
-Bruce Lee

"Take things as they are. Punch when you have to punch. Kick when you have to kick."
-Bruce Lee

"It's not the daily increase but daily decrease. Hack away at the unessential."
-Bruce Lee

"The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra."
-Jimmy Johnson
 

"Don't look where you fall, but where you slipped."
-African Proverb
 

"Practical life teaches us that people may differ and that both may be wrong: it also teaches us that people may differ and both be right. Anchor yourself fast in the latter faith, or the former will sweep your heart away."
-Augustus William Hare and Julius Charles Hare, Guesses at Truth, by Two Brothers, 1827
 

"Look at everything as though you were seeing it either for the first or last time."
-Betty Smith, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn 


"Time you enjoy wasting, was not wasted."
-John Lennon
 

"Have a heart that never hardens, a temper that never tires, a touch that never hurts."
-Charles Dickens
 

"Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant."
-Robert Louis Stevenson
 

"It's better to fight for something than against something."
-Author Unknown
 

"Promise only what you can deliver. Then deliver more than you promise."
-Author Unknown 


"Life is like riding a bicycle - in order to keep your balance, you must keep moving."
-Albert Einstein
 

"Sandwich every bit of criticism between two thick layers of praise."
-Mary Kay Ash 




Looking to sign up for archery lessons, boxing lessons, swimming lessons, ice skating lessons or personal training sessions? Start by emailing cardiotrek@gmail.com and lets talk fitness!

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