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Day 61

I was particularly struck by a speech by president Obama today on health care in Amercia, or the lack of it for the poorest people, and even some middle class people had to now go without it due to the spiralling costs.

This he said, was totally unacceptable to the american people, the land of the free as he said, and that had paid taxes to get enough health care for them and their family. They pay directly for health care out there of course, and it is very much a case of the have’s and the have not’s.

The part that struck me the most was when he stuck to his principle of getting this bill through congress. He said that many, many presidents since Roosevelt had tried to get this bill through, and the idea of it through of health care for all, but had failed miserably each time.

You have the seemingly “evil” health insurance companies slamming up their premiums so that many cannot afford health care, and the “lobbyists” who are trying to “coax” the senator’s not to vote for it. The whole thing has become corrupt of course and a case of big business winning every time. It’s time for chance and i SINCERELY hope the american public get a health service that works for EVERYBODY. Obama is sitcking bravely to his principles, and you have to admire and love that!

We don’t have such issues over here in the UK of course, and we often take the NHS for granted too much for my liking. However, we do have big business trying to hurt us in a different kind of way over here and it’s sugar addiction!

From previous posts on here, you know i have banged on about how much sugar is in everyday foods, and how it is destroying a lot of people’s lives over a period of years! Diabetes, certain cancer’s, heart disease, obesity etc, the list is pretty long!!

Before you think i am over-reacting, ask your doctor next time how many of his patients come in every day due to improper diet and excess sugar consumption. Ask him then how many end up with long term problems that requite our NHS to help them for many years. The answer will stagger you!!

I have banged on here about how cardiovascular disease didn’t even exist until 1912, which coincided with sugar being added to everyday foods in a big way. Big business carried this one in a big way over the last century, particularly the last 40 years WHEN THEY realised sugar was REALLY addictive! Over 40g of refined sugar each day can lead to serious health problems over a longer period of time, let’s cut it back now please for your own good, and hope i didn’t sound too patronising there, i didn’t try i promise you.

There are also studies coming out saying that fast food outlets make your food with less meat these days because they want you to chew less. Chewing less as we all know by now causing us NOT to recognise when we are full, therefore making us eat even MORE food. A clever tactic by them that makes you spend more with them each year.

The fast food people also know that the more sugar they put in your food, the more you are likely to come back due to its addictive nature. An awful lot of money has gone into researching this, and the report appeared in this week’s Guardian under the heading, “HOW THE FAST FOOD COMPANIES ARE GETTING YOU ADDICTED”!

The choices are yours, its a free country after all, but we also have the right to know what choices are out there, and you should be well aware by now that excess refined sugar will ultimately have a seriously negative effect on your health! So what are you going to do about it?!! Or are you going to let all those soulless big companies ruin yours and your family’s health?!!!

Let’s make the right choice and don’t up with all their lies!!

Twitt
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Day 51 Use your imagination and let’s mix it up!

Day 51

One of the reasons why some people give up and some people keep with their exercise programmes is down to flexibility and variety. I’m not talking about stretching or anything such thing, I’m talking about being flexible with your workouts, and if you can’t do your scheduled workout, then do a variation of what you were aiming to do in the first instance.

For example, if you were planning to run for 30-40 minutes, and somehow you only had 10-15 minutes, and were still focused on great progress, I would rush over to the nearest most vicious looking hill, and hammer 6 sprints forwards, and 6 sprints backwards, each for a total of 30 yards of so. If you go flat out, you WILL get a great workout in!

Jean asked about interval training, should she do it? I think Jean already knows the answer, of course you should jean and show everyone what you can do! I always say that most people are only limited by their imagination when it comes to training variety.

Jean is talking about interval training, which could be described easily as jogging between one lamppost, then sprint the next post, then jog the next, then sprint the next one and so on. Now THIS is a workout that you will struggle to last more than 5 minutes each time, it is that intense!

Now we are starting to use our minds for our workouts, please don’t end up like some mindless zombie doing boring treadmill runs all the time, PLEASE, PLEASE vary it, not only because it brings great results doing different workouts, but freshens up your mind too!

One word of caution before doing ANY type of sprint work. In my experience, it is always advisable to do some kind of warm up before you sprint flat out, the always present threat of pulling a hamstring or groin never goes away, and the more weight you carry, the bigger danger there is. I’m not being prejudiced there, I’m just saying that I’ve done a million sprint sessions, and although you will get massive benefits from the session, the goal should also be not to get injured, in which case you probably wouldn’t run for a month at least!

The different ways of training are literally endless, and although you must still have a good structure in place, any type of workout is good as long as it’s safe and you’re capable of doing it. The more experienced you are, the more options you should have and as you should realise by now, it’s not simply a case of training for longer the fitter you are, that’s simply not true. It’s about doing “higher quality” training sessions in the time to suit you, and as long as you are improving physically, that’s a great sign surely you are doing all the right things.

Always stick to your fitness standards and we all have our benchmarks on how we are doing. Most people training with me may have a very tough hill as a benchmark, if they can do that consistently, they know they are in great shape. If you can do 40 press ups in one go, and your new limit is just 25, you know you have been slipping and you need to re-examine what you’re doing.

Being in shape physically and mentally can be easier than you think, as long as you know what your good standard in life is, and you try your best to stay there, even through the highs and lows that life often brings.

Twitt
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Day 14

Okay, it’s day 14 and the big question must be “how many of you are still here? How many of you have still got the same enthusiasm as when you first started? How many of you have got even more enthusiasm and finally realise you can actually do this? How many of you have let quitting become part of your life, maybe so much that it’s become a nasty habit that you feel you can’t get out of?

These are the questions that play with our minds from time to time, and it’s day 14, so what’s your decision? Are you getting onboard fully with the programme or are you looking for a trendy quick fix that never works long term? Are you looking down disappointed with yourself that you didn’t reach your potential again and threw in the towel, or do you have that deep glow about you know knowing you are achieving great things in just two weeks, and another 70 days of this will create real life-lasting change in your bodies, your minds and create the best version of you that you could possible imagine!!

The number of unique visitor’s to the site is still climbing well so i’m going to assume that the audience and it’s participant’s are growing, rather than fading way! Fact’s are fact’s and more of you are joining so a big thank you on that!

Weeek three of this programme brings it own challenges, we’re pretty much out of january, and into february and you can tell because the night’s are getting lighter, and in 7-8 weeks time, we are going to be in spring! This is the time when you should really be receiving complements on your efforts, picking clothes you never thought possible again, having a much brighter outlook on your life than ever before, that time is only 7-8 weeks away as long as you buckle down right now and really make this thing happen.

Remember, i keep telling you it’s the journey and not necessarily the destination that’s more valuable. You are learning how to take care of your body, pushing your body to new heights and level of health and fitness, your mind is getting stronger because its constantly being tested because of the difficult decisions you face each day, such as today.

Of course you’re going to get knocked down a few times, that’s life and that may well be happening to you right now in this challenge. The true test of your character though will be if you decide to get up again, or do you lie on the floor giving up? This challenge is all about tests of character, and if you stick it out, not only will you look and feel 100 times better, you will come out a better and stronger person too for the experience!

Let’s have a great week 3!

Keri

Twitt
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Successful………..but happy?

How many people do you know that have climbed the ladder of success, but they have found out that when they have got to the top, they have been climbing the wrong wall. I have met a few, and they have been some of the unhappiest people i have ever met.

There was the story about the millionnaire business owner sitting in a restaurant with his protege, who became very successful himself. He had a large home, a parking place close the front door, and a brass nameplate on his office door. As they were back slapping each other on how well they had done, the business owner asked his protege “how he would define successs”? He replied he couldn’t really answer. Then, the business owner told him that being successful for most people was achieving and having the things that were important to them.

The protege then started to list all the things that were important to him and made him happy, he never mentioned his job. The boss then asked “well, you’re happy right?”, “well no” came the reply. And then the boss asked “well, you’re successful right?”, he didn’t have a reply. The protege just sat there thinking.

To cut a long story short, the protege quit his job two months later. The boss begged him to stay, but there was nothing he could do. He reminded his boss of the conversation he had, and thanked him for pushing him into doing something with his life that he actually loved, and was important to him.

He used to be in telecommunications, he now has a roofing company! He always loved working with wood and now he’s hammering shingles on roofs and building porches and guess what? He’s happy.

I have a post way back called Your drving force, look it up and you will be asked to list those things that really get you out of bed in the morning, those things that are really important to you and drive you on to achieve great things. Once you make a list, you will realise that being fit, strong and healthy is a major part of you achieving all of those things, and most importantly, being happy. It’s a good idea to fill it in, as the 12 week challenge starts next monday, and this will help you keep motivated and strong.

Give it a go,

Keri

Twitt