Advice for Changes in Wellness, Fitness and Life, “This Is Your Year”
My good friend, Evita Ochel, has written a great free book to help you change and grow with wellness, fitness and life titled, “This Is Your Year.”
A balanced life is definitely your best chance for a quality life.
The book contains 52 encouraging stories from experts who will help you grow, change, expand and evolve into the best version of yourself. My story is on page 59, in case you’re wondering. I am grateful that Evita asked me to contribute to this great book!
Here are some quotes from the introduction of the book:
“Change is the most constant phenomenon of life. We see it on every level from the microcosm to the macrocosm. Our Universe is constantly changing; our solar system; our planet. Nature is constantly exhibiting change. Our bodies change. Our minds change. Our relationships change. Cultures, customs and traditions change. Political policies, economies and our world constantly changes.”
“Given this, one would think that the human being would be an expert at dealing with change. Yet it is this very phenomenon that causes us the most problems, challenges, heartaches and headaches. Most of us resist change on every level, and at every chance we get. We are quick to form attachments, derive habits and try to live in a predetermined, stationary state. Change causes us to complain, become depressed, confused and harbor various negative thoughts and feelings, which in turn lead to negative behaviors. What we do not realize however, is that going against the Universal nature of all that is—change—is the root cause of our dissatisfaction and unhappiness. It is not the person, place, thing or event that makes us unhappy, but change itself, or rather how we deal with it.”
“To understand why this is so, we have to understand or realize another given in nature—growth. If we look around at just the natural world, which is our best and most trusted teacher, we can see that if something living is not growing (or expanding), it is dying. Even the things we consider non-living are undergoing constant change. If we relate this to our human nature, we begin to see that what causes us the most pain and suffering is the suppression of our internal growth. It is natural for us to grow, this is what feels good. While we can have periods of integration, it is unnatural for us to stand still or contract, or experience a sort of inner dying. It is painful on many levels of our being.”
“Growth. Change. Expansion. Evolution. Each of these is in its own way synonymous with life, living and being alive. Change fuels growth and expansion, and in turn we evolve. Yet it is these very aspects that most of us fight against and try to suppress on a daily basis. We undervalue growth/change/expansion/evolution of the self, others and society, and they mirror this back on us. Therefore in going against nature—our nature—we subject ourselves to lives based on struggles and suffering. We expect things and people to stay the same, when we should be celebrating change.”
“Whether you know it yet or not as your personal truth, at our essence, we are energy beings. We are infinite. We are eternal. Therefore our soul, our spirit, our essence craves growth and expansion. When we deny ourselves this, we feel pain—mental and emotional pain, that oftentimes even turns into physical pain. All of us expect a baby to grow into a child and then into an adult. We would find it unnatural and problematic if a baby did not experience physical growth and change into an adult human being one day. Yet while we accept this external physical growth, we often forget that there is also an internal spiritual/mental/emotional growth taking place as well. And unlike the physical growth, our internal growth is not meant to stop, not in this lifetime, nor beyond it.”
“There are 52 stories, subdivided evenly between the mind, body and spirit sections. Why 52? One reason is to give you lots of resources of insights and inspiration that can be used along your personal journey of change, growth, expansion and personal evolution. Secondly, there are 52 stories so that there is one for every week of the year.”
Evita recommends that you read this book in one of the following ways: randomly, weekly, all at once, or by section.
One of my favorite sections in the book is “We Are In This Together.” This is why Evita wrote this book—we need to help each other in this life.
Download your Free Book now because “This Is Your Year!“
Evita Ochel
EvolvingBeings.com
10 Minute Shuttle Run Workout Torches Fat
Shuttle runs are proven fat burners and are time efficient exercises—meaning you will get maximum fat-burning benefits in less time.
Don’t let your metabolism get sluggish or slow down. The number one reason that womens’ metabolisms slow down is loss of muscle mass. Save your muscle mass with short, effective interval cardio workouts like shuttles.
Muscle tissue is the most metabolically active tissue in your body. Your body has to work harder to maintain muscle mass. So, muscle mass is your top fat-burning tool. Work hard to build and maintain your body.
Circuit weight training workouts with light weights increase growth hormone in your body. Growth hormone elevations during this type of exercise have been shown to decrease body fat and increase protein synthesis after exercise. Growth hormone helps promote tissue repair and muscle mass growth from lifting weights.
Intense interval cardio exercises such as sprints and shuttles also increase growth hormone release.
Heavy weight lifting (you won’t get bulky) will give you exercise-induced testosterone increases, which will help you build muscle mass.
“As women age, their metabolisms slow down, mainly because they are losing five or six pounds of muscle each decade starting in the mid-20s,” explains fitness expert Wayne Westcott, Ph.D., fitness research director of the South Shore YMCA in Quincy, Massachusetts.
“There’s no reason you can’t have the same metabolism in your 30s and 40s that you had in your 20s,” stresses Pamela Peeke, M.D., author of Fight Fat After Forty.
Use shuttle runs to add variety to your cardio workouts, burn fat faster and really lean and tone your body.
Shuttle runs are effective fat burners because of at least three mechanisms:
1. Interval cardio - Research has proven that the benefits of anaerobic exercise (like sprint interval cardio) is superior to aerobic exercise for fat loss, fitness and heart health.
The progression of your cardio exercise should be low-intensity aerobics to moderate/high-intensity aerobics to high-intensity anaerobic exercise.
2. Speed – Sprinting activates your bulkier, shapely fast twitch muscle fibers. These fast twitch muscle fibers lie dormant when you do slow-paced cardio sessions (hint).
Sprinting will really burn the fat on your butt, hips, thighs, hamstrings and lower legs. Fat will also be burned on your upper body. You don’t have to be fast, just run as fast as you can during the shuttle.
3. Sudden changes in direction – This adds more intensity to an otherwise intense form of exercise. Shuttles will improve your dynamic balance, power and coordination.
Try these 2 shuttle runs for cardio in your workouts to burn more fat (run on grass or rubber surface):
Speed Shuttle Drill or 5-10-5 Cone Drill – Place three cones in a straight line, 5 yards apart. Start in a 2-point or 3-point stance at the middle cone.
Run as fast as you can to the left cone (5 yds) and touch ground with your hand, run as fast as you can to the right cone (10 yds) and touch ground with your hand and finish running through the middle cone. That’s one repetition. Rest 1 minute between sets. Do 8-10 sets per workout session.
Speed Endurance Shuttle Run – Place cones at 5, 10, 15, 20 and 30 yards. Sprint to the 5 yard cone and sprint back to the start. Then, sprint to the 10 yard cone and sprint back to the start. The same would be done at the 15, 20 and 30 yard cones. That is one set. Rest for 2 minutes between sets. Do 5-6 sets.
Add shuttle runs to your exercise mix and you will start to see your body toning up faster.
Be sure and download my FREE 14-Day Accelerated Fat Loss Program and torch body fat now!
“Exercise is not my life…..exercise makes my life better!”
Her Fitness Hut is featured on EmpowHER, a great health issues website for women! Her Fitness Hut has also been named in the Top 50 Personal Training Blogs by Physical Therapy Assistant Schools!
Check out my other great blogs:
My Fitness Hut Blog has been recognized by Stanford University Wellsphere as a Top Health Blogger! Quite an honor coming from that institution!
Sports Fitness Hut Blog has been recognized by Stanford University Wellsphere as the #1 Sports Fitness Blog and NursingDegree.net as one of the Best 100 Health and Nutrition Blogs for Athletes! The blog has also been named one of the 50 Best Sports Medicine Blogs by Masters In Healthcare! It is an honor to be recognized by those in the health and academic fields! Afterall, health is number one for everybody—including athletes!
Your Smoothies for National Peanut Butter Day
I have your healthy, delicious smoothies for National Peanut Butter Day….just use all natural peanut butter without any added sugars or preservatives.
You can use smoothies in the following ways for fat loss and weight management:
1. Smoothies are a great choice for healthy, energizing snacks during the day. Forget about the 100-calorie snack packs and sugary treats for snacks. They leave you unsatisfied, under-nourished and wanting to eat even more.
The American Dietetic Association also recommends healthy snacking. Snacks bridge the gap between meals and can help you eat less at regular mealtime.
Going too long between meals can cause you to load up on sugary carbohydrates to get quick energy. These types of snacks are usually high in calories, not very nutritious and cause rapid ups and downs in blood sugar levels (you will crash).
Do not skip meals. Eating every 3-4 hours keeps your metabolism and energy humming during the day. Starving yourself or severely cutting your calories will only slow your metabolism and cause you to store fat (your body’s survival mechanism).
2. You can use smoothies as meal replacements. You can use all sorts of healthy foods that you love in them. A 400-calorie smoothie is an ideal meal replacement if you’re on the run or don’t know what to eat.
3. Smoothies are ideal for pre- and post-workout nutrition. This will help you build more muscle mass. You have to eat enough of the right foods to rebuild your muscles bigger. Even if you gain weight, you will be leaner because muscle takes up less space than fat.
4. Avoid weight gain while you travel by packing smoothies. Food in airports are overpriced and many times unhealthy. Some of you travel as much as 200 days a year. Smoothies can help keep your eating under control. So, don’t just plan and pack your clothes….plan and pack your foods also. Haphazard eating or grazing will skyrocket your calories and pack pounds on your body.
Here are 2 smoothies from my FREE Download Smoothies for Every Day:
PEANUT BUTTER SMOOTHIE
–1/4 cups peanut butter, chunky or smooth
–1 cup vanilla ice cream
–1 cup milk
Place all ingredients into blender and blend on high until just combined.
PEANUT BUTTER BANANA SMOOTHIE
–2 large ripe bananas, peeled, sliced, frozen
–2 cups milk
–1/4 cups creamy peanut butter
–2 tablespoons sugar
–1 teaspoon imitation banana extract
Place all ingredients in blender. Blend until smooth. Pour into tall glasses and serve immediately.
It doesn’t take many ingredients to make smoothies, so you will save money. There are over 100 recipes in the book for you to use every day if you want!
Download your free Smoothies Book now!
“Exercise is not my life…..exercise makes my life better!”
Her Fitness Hut is featured on EmpowHER, a great health issues website for women! Her Fitness Hut has also been named in the Top 50 Personal Training Blogs by Physical Therapy Assistant Schools!
Check out my other great blogs:
My Fitness Hut Blog has been recognized by Stanford University Wellsphere as a Top Health Blogger! Quite an honor coming from that institution!
Sports Fitness Hut Blog has been recognized by Stanford University Wellsphere as the #1 Sports Fitness Blog and NursingDegree.net as one of the Best 100 Health and Nutrition Blogs for Athletes! The blog has also been named one of the 50 Best Sports Medicine Blogs by Masters In Healthcare! It is an honor to be recognized by those in the health and academic fields! Afterall, health is number one for everybody—including athletes!
Recent Comments