The Fountain of Youth

People have had thoughts about the end of the world for as long as they have been able to think. They have been most prolific on this subject during extreme oppression and persecution. In one form or another, there has always been the hope that an end would come to everything, vindicating the faithful.

Things are a little different nowadays. They are not quite as turbulent, at least for us. But we now know more about the cosmos and thus find ourselves contemplating the possibility of being hit by a meteor. Clearly one very large one could end life as we know it. Luckily this is not very likely and therefore not much talked about. If it were, people would find it difficult o keep going each day.

Sometimes a vaguely similar thought pattern emerges in the realm of fitness. That is, people come to fear that what they rely on for their fitness lifestyles may somehow become non-existent. This is especially so given the state of the economy, which impacts the places we work out, the vitamins we take, and even the foods that make up our diets.

With all of the layoffs and tight money this becomes especially frightening. Who can be sure that the clubs we go to every morning will still be open next month/ Or, for that matter, what about the vitamin companies we rely on? Will they be in existence next month? Will they become bankrupt thereby making it impossible for us to get the supplements we need for maximum development and energy reserves?

Then too, the economy may not be the major culprit. Perhaps it will be the government. It seems there is always a handful of legislators who want to shut down the supplement industry. Possibly one day they will succeed in their dismal, unhealthy efforts. If so, they will be thinking that they are saving their constituents from the alleged downside of mega-dosing, ie. getting too much of a good thing. How absurd this is in comparison to the tens of thousands who become crippled due to drugs from the major pharmaceutical manufacturers or mistakes on the part of local pharmacists. Nevertheless, how possible it is that these lawmakers could one day win.

As if that is not enough, there are the chemists of the food industry itself. Will they deem that what what we are currently eating is still safe safe and optimally nutritious? This may sound like a facetious query unless you have lived through earlier years when milk went from number one source of nourishment to being very questionable for a considerable number of people. Lactose intolerance is now an acceptable term. It was not so forty years ago.The same may be coming for wheat. Many of us rely on breads, pasta, flour products. Where would be if one day it were seen as a likely agent for a number of the too common maladies in our country? Clearly, some nutritionists today believe that it is the primary cause of belly fat. What if it were worse than this? Could we really make it without our sandwiches, pizzas, pancakes and the like?

Psychologists often call this type of thought catastrophic thinking and attempt to cure people of it. They often do so with tongue in cheek, using the label of “phobia.”Nevertheless.any of the above mentioned things can happen. Therefore, we need to have a plan B so that we are never even temporarily stopped from doing what we must to get more fit by the day. That means knowing about other vitamin companies, knowing about other health clubs, and being prepared to switch main sources of foods in our diets.

Some call this “being flexible.” The Boy Scouts called it “being prepared.” Whichever may be preferred, that is how we must be mentally long before we need to act on it. That is the only way for us to maintain the feelings necessary for optimal fitness development. In other words, living with anxiety or dread is simply unacceptable.

Leaving any of the catastrophic feelings in the back of our minds, trying to convince ourselves that nothing bad will ever happen, takes psychological energy away from the ability to remain constant and effective when it comes to supplementation, diet and exercise. That type of fear–dormant worry– inevitably leads to quitting. When that happens, there is only the return to the “tried and (allegedly) true” ways of sedentary living with its grocery store food, Big Macs and beer. All of these, it is sadly trusted, will be around forever.

In the interests of healthy, infinitely more fit, country, let us hope they all soon go the way of Bernie Madoff. You can help bring this about by just continuing to say “No” to all of them.

For further thought on replacing a normal lifestyle with a fitness one order my book “Think and Grow Fit.”

Nearly everyone relies on cruise control for driving. Turning it on makes a long drive much easier. Freeing your feet from the accelerator pedal, you can relax, not having to be concerned with maintaining a constant speed. Fuel efficiency is thereby optimized and the amount of time in getting to a destination is automatically regulated.

Of course, there are times when cruise control is not good. These include times when it rains, icy conditions or in heavy traffic. Then it is best to simply stay alert and keep your feet on the pedals. But, generally, these times are exceptions to the rule and are not part of this analogy for fitness.

Fitness cruise control is no more than setting up the significant parts of your fitness lifestyle in advance. This makes your life regular, taking the guess work out be getting in shape. It frees you to simply “let go and let nature do its ‘thing.” This occurs by simply deciding beforehand what is needed for each day, and doing no more or less than just that.

For supplementation, this means setting up your nutrients to be taken at a specific time each day. When you do this makes no difference. All that does, is doing it– getting your supplements ready to be taken at the most opportune intervals. For this purpose, the use of small cups is superior to relying on the MDs standard pill containers which allow no more than two to three small pills between each of the partitions. The cups can accommodate many large capsules such as vitamins far more easily. (Twenty or more per day is not unusual.)Having these ready for you every time that you need them to maximize your workout and recovery time is what makes them do what they ought. This eliminates having to open each individual bottle when you remember to do so, or, even worse, when you feel like it. Being like this only invites forgetting or cutting back to save save money. Such irregularity will not allow your supplements to work.

For dieting, you should plan all of each day’s meals beforehand. Being able to see an entire day’s worth of food in advance sends the message to your brain that there is more food on the way should any one of the individual meals leave you a little hungry. This is far superior to eating whatever is in sight until you are filled (“pigging out”), or eating as much as may seem normal right, eg.as much as mom might have thought okay. ( “Remember the poor starving people in India.”) All of the exercise in the world will never be maximized by eating like this. Too, by pre-determining what will be eaten during the day,you are freed from having to consciously balance each meal for optimal nutrition. If it is all done beforehand, you will help your body to optimally process each meal, using them best for both muscle repair and energy,

For exercise, fitness cruise control means knowing what exercises are to be done each day and then doing them. It is the opposite of doing what you feel like (eg. quitting early or not showing up) or even what you think you should be able (one more repetition than yesterday.) Being on cruise control means predetermining the number of sets and repetitions which will work the muscles groups best. Getting onto a program that does this on daily basis without causing extreme fatigue or pain is much like letting your car’s cruise control do most of the work for a trip so that you can simply relax and enjoy the ride (like what you begin to see in the mirror.)

Of course a few other lifestyle factors should be touched upon. Sleep is essential. Six to eight hours at the same time each day should be allotted. As water is far more necessary than most people believe, a set container should be on the sink at all times. Six to eight eight ounce glasses per day of the filtered variety are best. Too, the constant refusal to get into any of the bad habits should also be part of your daily life. These include-but are not limited to- smoking, alcohol consumption, and snacking on sweets, fast food or the tempting leftovers just because they are there (otherwise going to waste) and you feel like it.

The whole idea for fitness is to get your life onto a set pattern. This may be very hard for those who believe that rigor is somehow detrimental, but being on a set routine really is the same as using the car’s cruise control. This allows you decide upon the best speed beforehand, thereby enabling the car to metaphorically drive itself. The same type of thinking should apply to fitness. You do not want to to be making endless decisions throughout an entire day of what exercise is best to do, what capsules should or should not be taken, or of how much of what food is too much or too little. Doing this is exhausting, and invites early quitting–a phenomenon which is all too frequent.

For further thought on set fitness patterns order my ebook “Think and Grow Fit.”

The magic bullet theory originated after the assassination of JFK. It was part of an attempt to cover up a conspiracy. Allegedly, the magic bullet entered the president’s head turned around inside of his body and came out at another point to lodge itself in the governor who was riding with him. All of this was to substantiate that theory that a lone assassin, firing a single shot, was the only person who could have killed the President.

Some people may still believe this today. But there is an ever increasing number who simply accept that JFK’s end came by reason of triangulated rifle fire.

Similarly, in fitness there are still a few who believe in a magic bullet in the form of single pill, a certain diet or a special machine to make a lasting difference. There are ads for each of these, promising to magically get people ready for the beach in under sixty days.

People who want to get in shape and stay that way for the rest of their lives, know that a more comprehensive approach is necessary Just like having more than one sniper play a role in the Kennedy assassination, there must be more than one factor for getting people permanently fit.

Most people know that proper diet, intelligent supplementation and, of course, regular workouts will provide the needed fire power to result in lasting fitness. Most know that only one of these is like a lone assassin using an outdated rifle (much like Lee Harvey Oswald), trying to do a precise hit on a rapidly moving target. And most know that all three together, executed with cool calculating resolve will get the job done.

This is the new common sense of fitness–that it takes all three to do what we want. People know that if they only diet, the excess weight will come back on as soon as the diet is over. They know that the latest machine takes much more than ten minutes per day of use. And, they know that the latest capsule will at best cause only a temporary loss of water weight or elimination of intestinal accumulation.

Nevertheless, people still buy into the magic bullets hoping to become fit and stay that way forever.
How does that happen? Why do people still invest in the latest easy simple answers when all the while they know better?

Perhaps the answer is somewhat the same as why the magic bullet theory worked during the Kennedy era. It made people feel content that there was nothing malign in this country other than one lone mentally imbalanced assassin, That is what we all really wanted to believe, even when the facts suggested otherwise.

When it comes to fitness we all want to believe that there is nothing wrong with us–nothing other than a singular isolated problem that a simple, easy solution could eliminate and keep from ever coming back. How wonderful that would be. Were that truly the case, we could go on as we like, never having to significantly alter our lifestyles.

The truth is that if we are not living in a fitness centered manner, we may use a magic bullet to drop a lot of unwanted weight only to have it return in a shortly thereafter. If we are not exercising daily, cutting fats and carbohydrates from our diets, and not supplementing adequately we will not remain as one of the people we want to look like on the beach this summer. Worse yet, we may not even get there in the first place. The magic bullets seldom do what they say even for the short term. They even warn that “individual results may vary.”

That is why we have to simply bite this magic bullet and get with a program that is more like sophisticated triangular fire We can get on any one one of the good ones that are out there, but it must be one that we like– one that includes palatable dieting, intelligent supplementing and agreeable exercising. There is no other answer to getting in shape and staying that way for the rest of our lives.

For further thought on diet, supplementation and exercise order my ebook “Think and Grow Fit.

For many people every day is an off-day. There seems to never be enough energy to make it to the club, not enough will power to keep at a low fat low carb diet, not enough belief in supplements to keep on taking them day-in day-out. Consequently, the vast majority of those who start in on a fitness lifestyle, quit in under three months.

Perhaps the best advice to these types of people is to simply stay at it for six months no matter what. That means they should continue to workout, diet and supplement even if the mirror (or how they look in their jeans) seems to say that they are doing nothing. Regularity and persistence are the only things which ultimately cause change. These are little more than the result of doing the basics every day, always refusing to miss.

Nevertheless, some people have been at their routines for much longer than six months. They have gotten into new habits, into a new way of living and find themselves happily unable to think of going back to their old patterns. Perhaps they even spend a fair amount of time trying to understand how their friends cannot be just like them.

These types of people do what they do because it makes them feel good. They love the feelings of relaxation and tiredness after a good workout. They love the excitement of doing one more rep than yesterday or running with just little bit longer stride. They are into the feelings of just enough (never too much) food, which converts itself into energy and the stuff of muscle repair. And, because they can pin point the difference that each supplement makes in how they feel and perform, they never miss their daily capsules.

People who are that much into their routines almost always feel great. Furthermore, they are perceived as being healthy, fit and generally enthusiastic by those closest to them. But almost always feeling great is not always. That is, there are days that are simply not as good as the great normal days. Generally, this is reflected in the quality of their workouts but it can also extend far into the recovery period.

In other words, now and then, their daily routine does not go quite as well as is expected. For those who are heavily into fitness, this is a very real, almost frightening concern, even if it is laughed at by their unfit friends.

Conventionally healthy others- those who are not ill or obese, but also not into everyday fitness regularity- have their own adamant beliefs about feeling good. On the basis of presumed vast experience, they say that everyone goes through ups and owns. Therefore, it is unrealistic to expect that every day will be optimally great. But these critics have presumably never stayed at a routine for a long enough period or they would find it hard to say this (especially when their number of great days is less than ten per month.). The truth is that those into a fitness lifestyle feel great virtually all of the time.

For fit people, off-days are almost always the result of having eaten something which did not digest well. In other words, the food is still in the stomach waiting to be utilized by the entire body. Conceivably, this may be the result of an unknown allergy to a particular type of food or possibly not enough of a particular enzyme in the system. But the chemistry is not all that important. What is crucial is that this problem is not a silent indicator of fitness days being over for good. (There are far too many who feel that it may really mean just that.)

If digestion is the problem, as it probably is, the cheapest and quickest remedy is to take a tablespoon or two of cider vinegar. This is the least expensive digestive aid, but not the only one. Jack Lalanne, if he were still alive, would recommend drinking fruit or vegetable juice made with his juicer. Whichever, or whatever (as some prefer papaya or even yogurt), getting your stomach back on track should get your workouts back to where you want them.

For further thought on the maintenance of a fitness lifestyle order my book “Think and Grow Fit.”

“No big deal” is what your fitness lifestyle should be. That means it should be something which you do regularly, spontaneously and comfortably. In other words it should feel right, make you increasingly more fit, and get you to look the way you want in the mirror.

Few people can really say this about their fitness lifestyle. Much of this type of healthy living is inordinately hard for them. For instance, getting to the gym everyday is next to impossible. Or, keeping on the right diet through the holidays is something that never happens. Or, finding the money for those much needed supplements seems tantamount to reducing the national debt. And, all of that is in spite of knowing the right things to do.

What is the main cause of the trouble? Perhaps anxiety is the best answer. A fitness lifestyle is just not normal. Therefore it makes people uneasy It is counter to the messages of the medical community and the media. What they have to say reduces to what is called common sense–something which every adult should adhere to. In general, their message suggests : 1.) cutting back on exercise after high school (taking it easier as one gets older); 2.) eating reasonable amounts of FDA approved food from the grocery store; 3.) staying away from the bad habits as well as too many of the presumably superfluous supplements (even if Jack Lalanne said that he took forty to fifty of these per day from A to Z.)

MDs with the help of the media promote all of this. They are adamantly certain that it will allow nature to optimally sustain us for the longest amount of time. That is, it will get us safely through to our middle eighties without diseases or other maladies. Moreover, they tacitly threaten that any deviation from these supposed irrefutable truths will, not may, shorten life or bring on unhealthy conditions. A fitness lifestyle is of course a prime example of one such deviation.

Therefore, contemplating a fitness lifestyle may give rise to a number of haunting questions. Is it really as good as what the doctors are promoting? Will it cause problems down the road that no one knows about now? Is it too hard for some people, maybe too much so because of age?

People who experience doubts like these while still trying to supplement, diet and exercise daily will feel that they are always making an “heroic effort.” In other words, they will find that simply doing the basics of a fitness lifestyle is a “very big deal.” Perhaps it will make them feel much like Columbus’ crew, not knowing if their ship would be destroyed by dangerous entities in the unknown Atlantic.

Fortunately, there is more good news today about fitness than there was knowledge about the Atlantic back in 1492. Right now, an ever increasing number of people are finding that a fitness lifestyle is superior to the living habits promoted by the media and the medical community. That is because of Jack Lalanne, who started it all back in the fifties. As a result, quite a few people are now experiencing a far superior quality of life in comparison to more conventional counterparts.

Perhaps you know of some who have been at fitness for ten or more years. If not, the internet is a great source of data and positive examples Some of its authors can even be called. By using it everyday, one can start enjoying his or her sail from Spain to the New World .Then the hazardous voyage will become more like an enjoyable cruise, something which is “no big deal.”

For further discussion of fitness lifestyles even before they became popular order my ebook “Think and Grow Fit.”

Nobody wants to be thought of as boring. We all would rather be thought of as interesting. Being anything less makes us feel that no one will ever like us.

One of the biggest criticisms of people into a fitness lifestyle is that they are boring. If you have never experienced this type criticism for your diet, supplement routine or workout regularity, you have not been at any of these for all that long. Of course, you could be in a circle of friends who are all keenly attuned to fitness. This would be a stepped down version of the training camp for the Olympics. But, given the sad state the greater part of America, this is highly unlikely.

Interestingly, it is seldom the fit people that really are boring. They tend to be lively, focused and happy. On the other hand, their unfit counterparts are often quite plodding, lethargic and negative. Yet the latter group is the one which does the criticizing. How can this be?

It may be that the criticism is the result of a psychological projection. Because they cannot see that they are the cause of boredom in a social situation, they find a reason to pin it onto others. In other words, the unfit folks are living in denial. But, whatever the actual cause, the fact of the criticism will remain.

Criticism from others, either actual or imagined, is one of the primary reasons for failure at fitness. Hearing something like “That is the same thing that you do everyday that I come in here” can be enough to make one stop going to the club. The same is true for “I’d really appreciate it if you break up your routine a little as I would like to use the machines when I want to for a change.” Or, more inventively, “Well, glad you made it; now I know its 5:30.”

Typically these types of comments apply to workouts. But, the same types of derogatory comments can occur over dieting and supplementation. Here the arch-critic changes from the person next you at the club to your spouse. “Aren’t you ever going to get off this fitness kick so we can have some fun for a change?” Or, “Do you really have to have all those pills every day? You know much they cost, don’t you?” Or, “Why can’t you just let your hair down once in a while? After all, what are the weekends for?” Clearly, all of these questions are meant to intimidate and modify behavior.

Anyone who wants to be fit needs to expect these types of criticisms from others. They will occur at the club or at home. They will come, and there is nothing that can be done to stop them. But, being prepared will make them easier to take. This is like knowing it may rain even when it is relatively sunny. The best thing then is to simply carry a psychological umbrella , remembering that a little water never killed anyone. The bottom line is to keep them from upsetting your fitness lifestyle.

Of course, if you are both allergic to water and living in a monsoon region, you might consider moving to Arizona (or strongly suggest that your critics do.)

For further thought on being a health nut among the normal majority order my book “Think and Grow Fit.”

One the simplest yet oftentimes most difficult aspects of fitness is simply staying at it. Most everyone knows they should do so. Yet, many find they do little more than start only to just plain quit. All too often this results in the accumulation of excess weight or one of the many maladies which come from carrying it around. When we all know better, why does this happen so often?

The assumption has always been that people are simply undisciplined or unmotivated out some character defect. It is as if they have a predisposition to laziness. When confronted by the need to permanently acquire a new set of habits, they simply put off the decision to do so. For people like this, the death threat of an MD is one of the only things which gets them back on track. This is the one which goes something like “If you don’t lose fifty pounds by Christmas you may not make it to help trim the tree.”

A threat like this from a respected professional can make a difference even in the most unmotivated person. This is especially so, when it is accompanied by a prescription for an appetite suppressant. But the effect only lasts until one is out of the danger zone. Then people either forget to take the pills, or find that the MD will not renew their prescription. This may even be accompanied by a belief, generally shared with the MD, that too much dieting, or too much exercising is ultimately too hard on anyone.

Thus, people return to their old habits. It takes a while in most cases, as the initial loss of the excess weight was a welcome relief. But, the return to old patterns is inevitable. People are just happiest when they are living in their old familiar ways. MDs tend to agree with this, though they may advise cutting back on the amount of food. This goes something like “Just stop after the first helping.” Unfortunately, this advice is almost never enough. There is more to it than that, namely the type of food, when it is consumed, the regularity of exercise, etc. All of this is precisely what created the problem in the first place.

MDs should do something radical about these old habits, but they generally never do. They may suggest in a general manner that a fitness lifestyle “can be of some benefit”, But that is like saying it is “kid stuff”, something that may make sense for someone of high school age. Even if they thought it was responsible or mature, it would require constant checking to implement it. For this, they have no time. Besides that is the job of a personal trainer, not an MD. Of course, MDs do recommend : 1.) keeping the body active by walking (their favorite); 2.) never over-eating; and 3.) getting three square meals from the four food groups every day so that one does not need supplements. That is what they both practice and preach.

There is nothing wrong with any of this. It is merely that it is not right enough especially for those who are coming from a background of grocery store food, a radical aversion to vitamin pills, and little, if any, exercise. Something more is needed, especially if these same people became alarmingly overweight or obese.

What MDs should do after getting a patient to lose fifty pounds is refer them to personal trainer. That will get them a new track, not just back on an old one. In other words, MDs should prescribe (just like they do for the latest wonder drug) a fitness lifestyle–one which is done every day in the same way consisting of a low fat low carb low fat diet, vitamins and exercise, But that does not often happen as MDs themselves do not really believe in these things. That is why they cannot forcefully say that a fitness lifestyle will make a difference. They can only mildly suggest that it may,

Nevertheless, the truth is that a fitness lifestyle will make all the difference in the world. The late peerless Jack Lalanne lived ninety six years proving it. And he would say that it will, not that it “may.” Thus he is the one to consult after having lost a lot of weight. So… thank your doctor for getting you to lose the bothersome fifty; but then Google Jack’s name. If you do the latter often enough, you will stay on track, ie you will keep it off.

For further thoughts on a regular fitness lifestyle order my ebook Think and Grow Fit.

If it ain’t broke. don’t fix it” used to apply to friendships. If what you were doing in them did not create a problem,you were advised to not “rock the boat.” The assumption was that one person may want something more and thus feel inclined to ask for further gratifications. Of course, that almost always led to problems.

In fitness, the dynamics are initially very much the same (though a little different down the road.) It is just that one must relate to oneself instead of another person. As in a relationship with a friend, there has to be an established way of being -a healthy interaction between the two of you on a daily basis. When it comes to fitness, this suggests a regular diet, a well thought out supplement program and, of course, a systematic workout routine. Really getting into a routine like this takes more than just a few days.

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” then applies to those who have been at their routines for some time. A period of six months should be thought of in this regard. However, most new people will not have stayed at it for that long. even though this type of dedication is really what is needed. Therefore, when starting out, acquiring a working diet-exercise supplement is what should be the first crucial goal. This, like establishing a friendship with another human being, is something which takes a fair amount time and patience.

To many, anything longer than overnight sounds like forever. Therefore it becomes a complete drudgery. For instance, saying that no real results will be seen for around six weeks often gives immediate cause to start investigating the many weight pills and diets which have glutted the market. Of course, almost all of these promise near overnight results. Thus they come across as being superior. Unfortunately, they most often never come through as promised. Or, if they do, what they initially correct quickly returns.

Therefore, the first concern of anyone starting off should be to establish a personally viable permanent fitness lifestyle– one that will actually work for the long haul. That is “one that ain’t ever gonna get broke”, or at least one which you are never continually tempted to fix. Depending upon how one chooses to start, getting to this point may take a period of some experimentation initially. That may seem onerous. Yet, after having been at it for long enough, a smooth working routine will result.

Six weeks is a benchmark for the length of time that it takes to acquire this new set of habits. That should be the rule of thumb when starting out. One should simply accept that it will be this long before it becomes easier to eat right, supplement wisely and do your routine than it will be to find excuses for not doing so. When that point is reached, the journey to lasting fitness can be said to have effectively begun.

After this point, stagnation can occur. That is when things change a bit. This often happens about three months down the road. Then, but only then is it necessary to slightly vary ones routine (or do a little “fixin’”.)This is equivalent to tweaking on a computer program. Practically, it may mean lightening the weight while doubling the reps, or increasing the resistance while cutting down the rpms on the stationery bike, or adding an amino supplement to an already established multi-vitamin routine, or, possibly taking off one entire day per month from eating after having religiously adhered to a low fat low carbohydrate diet. Of course, other variations are possible as well.

However, it needs to be stressed that in the beginning, minor alterations like these are little better than excuses for not doing the basics. Therefore, they should be avoided at all costs. Getting into an established exercise, diet and supplement pattern-one that “works ‘cuz it ain’t broke”-is the first single most important thing to be done and done well. After that, a little “fixin’ now and then” really can make everything work even better.

For further thought on getting into a routine that can be effectively tweaked order my book Think and Grow Fit.