Work Less, Do More

"The greatest geniouses sometimes accomplish more when they work less. It is a very good plan now and then to go away and have a little relaxation... When you come back to the work your judgement will be surer, since to remain constantly at work will cause you to lose the power of judgement."

-Leonardo DaVinci, Treatise on Painting

The key to expanding capacity, in any endeavor, is to push beyond your ordinary limits and to regularly seek recovery. Recovery is when growth actually occurs.

The path to growth is simple: regular exposure to incrementally difficult doses of stress.

Challenging a muscle past it's limits prompts a series of reactions in the body which cause you to become stronger in anticipation of the next stimulous. Your ability to effectively respond to the next stimulous depends on your ability to periodically rest and repair your body. Low rest equals low performance.

Effective exercise requires rest at night, between exercise days, and even in between sets of heavy weightlifting.

Performance specialists recommend using rest breaks at work every 90 to 120 minutes to keep your mind alert.

Taking short walking breaks each 90 to 120 minutes during your day, and grabbing a glass of water to go during these breaks, can be an effective way to stay at the top of your mental and physical game.

This week: rest your mental muscle, use daily exercise to refuel and rejuvenate your brain, body, and mind!

Don't Mistake A Workout For Progress

Don't mistake workouts for progress. There are 168 hours in a week. You are lucky if you spend 5 of them exercising. Exercise breaks down tissue... it's what happens during the other 163 hours that you achieve results.

Too often is exercise alone relied upon to achieve exceptional fitness results.

Be aware when you hear yourself say things like "I'm working so hard in training so...

... I can get away with this appetizer."
... I do not need to do my full 3 hours of cardio per week."
... This extra cake won't hurt."
... I deserve this wine/cocktail/beer."

... Why am I not getting results?"

Keep in mind that training breaks down muscle tissue, augments fibers, wears your body. Your job is to do everything you can while you are "resting" to repair your body.

Progress means repairing your body through...

...eating low on the glycemic index.
...eating 5-6 meals per day.
...eating a vegetable, dense carbohydrate, and lean protein with each meal.
...viewing food as fuel.
...never going more than 2 days without a workout (keep your body guessing).
...sleeping 7 hours per night, minimum.

Break down with exercise, but come back stronger through healthy habits.

No Starving, Just Good Carbing

People fast, trim up, starve themselves and even exercise till they puke. Yet how many people actually stop to consider which foods will spike blood their sugar levels the fastest?

The glycemic index is a measure of the rate and the amount a given food will raise blood sugar levels. Food that breaks down faster (high glycemic) will result in a higher spike of your blood sugar, and food that breaks down slower (low glycemic) will provide a more gradual increase in blood sugar.

So why should you care about using the glycemic index as a measure of healthy eating?

Research shared by Werner J. Berger demonstrates that "eating a high glycemic breakfast results in an individual ingesting 80% more calories during the balance of the day, as compared to someone eating a low glycemic meal." Healthy stats for a guy named Berger!

Fast spikes and crashes in blood sugar devastate the bodies' sensitivity to insulin. Over time this can trigger an increase in blood pressure, LDL cholesterol (bad), and unfortunately, reductions in HDL (good) cholesterol.

"No starving, just good carbing" means switching to high fiber, low glycemic diets.

Many people are frustrated by cutting calories and then not seeing weight loss results right away. While the glycemic index may not be the answer, it may provide insight into your particular dilemma.


Foods to avoid:
All junk food, sodas, sports drinks and most highly processed foods.

Foods to limit:
Sweetened fruit juices, white flour, white rice, white potatoes and especially french fries.



Glycemic Index:
(Low 1 - 55; Medium 56 - 69, High 70 - 100)

Cereals:
Corn Chex - 83
Corn Flakes - 83
Cream of Wheat - 66
Oat Meal - 48

Snacks:
Jelly Beans - 80
Pretzels - 83
Popcorn - 56

Fruits:
Dates - 103
Banana - 56
Mango - 55
Grapefruit - 42

Vegetables:
Parsnips - 92
Carrots - 49
Tomato Soup - 38
Lima Beans - 32

For more information on the glycemic index... just GOOGLE IT already!

Nutritional Warning Signs

The American Heart Association suggests that if obesity trends continue as they have over the last 20 years, then by 2048 every single American will be overweight.

Will you be one of these people? How about your kids... will they?

If you experience any of the following on a daily basis then you may be at risk of obesity:

*You are constantly fatigued
*You crave sweets, coffee
*You're often hungry, irritable, or shaky between meals
*You have frequent headaches
*You experience poor memory / concentration, but are relieved by eating

Again, if you habitually experience any of the above then your diet is imbalanced.

Visit www.sparkpeople.com to get control over your eating habits.

Exceptional Habits Initiate Exceptional Fitness Results

It takes great discipline to develop the 5 habits mentioned in the last newsletter. Yet for every disciplined effort you get an exponential return.

If you commit to a new exercise program when do you start feeling stronger? Right away. You will feel stronger right away because finally you are doing something about it!

Some people set a fitness goal and just don't do anything about it.

Failing to do the easy stuff, that you know you should do, leads to feelings of guilt. Guilt erodes confidence.

Failing to attain fitness results is not the result of one single cataclysmic event. Failure is something that accumulates gradually, day by day, as you take casually what is asked of you.

Four servings of water today instead of eight. Two balanced meals today instead of five. No workout, and only twenty minutes of cardio. That's nine strikes against you for the week, and it's only Monday.

Confidence erupts from people who follow the 5 habits. The feeling of accomplishment you will get is almost as meaningful to your performance as the attainment of results.

Strangely, the 5 habits actually become desirable to you at the first sign of results. You will want to do what is asked of you by the 5 habits because those first tastes of results can taste so good.

The key to exceptional results is to do more than asked. Surpass the 5 habits day by day. Go beyond minimums.

A strength AND a cardio workout today. Six servings of fruits and vegetables today instead of five. Ten glasses of water when the minimum was eight. You are four points up and it's only Monday, outstanding.

This week: say less, and do more.

*Action: Record your water intake, cardiovascular work, and strength training sessions this week. As an excellent manager of people once said "don't make the minimum your maximum."

Inspired in part by audio excerpts of Jim Rohn.

5 fitness tips for a year of fitness results

January 1 2010. The world makes another trip around the sun and you get a fresh chance to make this revolution the most effective to date.

Most folks will shrink into old complaints, repeating the roll over act of last year. Sad, but true. A select few, however, will use this year to regain control of their time and their life. Will that be you?

As you dictate your next 365 days, keep in mind these 5 fitness habits:

#1) Get a Schedule

Not a “routine,” routines are boring and besides they are fascist. Get a schedule, something you can look forward to.
The two most important elements of a schedule: when and where. Woody Allen said 80% of life is showing up. Find a way to make fitness something that you can just “show up” to. Group classes, personal training, and planned one on one time with a treadmill are all different ways to plan “showing up.”

* Schedule 3-5 hours of cardiovascular exercise and 2 hours of resistance exercise per week.

#2) Reign In Your Sleep

Just returning from vacation, how many folks sheepishly admit that the best part of vacation was the sleep? Answer – most people do. On vacation you went to bed early, you slept in, and you felt amazing. Highly effective people incorporate rest into their workout program.

* Average at least 7 hours per night of sleep.

#3) Drink, Drink, Drink

Water, of course, is the fundamental element of life. American’s live their life in a mild state of dehydration. Don’t short change yourself drink water. Your energy, stamina, and body composition are all affected by your water intake. Get a water bottle, get a water cooler, and get a lemon or 5 because you’re about to drink some serious water.

*Drink ½ your healthy body weight in ounces of water per day. Ex: 140 lbs = 70 ounces of water.

#4) Just Eat It

Learn what you need to eat. Consult a qualified nutritionist or check out a website like www.sparkpeople.com to learn how you can fuel your body. Post exercise – get a liquid meal replacement in you as soon as possible.
As a rule, if you cannot imagine what is on your plate growing in the wild then it doesn’t belong inside of you. Ever seen a twinkie tree? Enough Said.

*Consult a professional and take control of your nutrition.

#5) Move with a Purpose

Sports have seasons, animals migrate, weather changes. So too must your fitness program change if you are to experience lasting fitness results. As a rule, results happen in increments of 4-6 weeks. If your program’s not changing every 4-6 weeks, neither will your body.

* Know what you are doing, know why you are doing it, and be determined to act with intent.
...

Fitness results come only after you have taken control of your self and your time. This year marks another series of choices. To complain or to control, to roll over or to take accountability - the choice, as always, is yours.

10 Guidelines to Great Lifting

• Do a general (cardio) warm up before lifting
• Perform a specific light warm up set for each muscle group
• Perform exercises throughout the entire range of motion
• Use light weight with new exercises
• Attend to joint pain immediately
• Design programs to enhance muscular balance
• Avoid bouncing weights at the bottom of each lift
• Train each muscle group with multiple exercises
• Execute correct technique and mental concentration

Derived and adapted from the National Strength and Conditioning Association, The National Academy of Sports Medicine, and fifteen years of banging weights.