This may not seem like it has anything to do with health and fitness but let me explain. I’ve talked to my 21 year old son about life’s windows of opportunity and how, in being too lax, he may miss his chance at something significant. This doesn’t mean you jump at everything that comes your way (because you’d end up going in ten different directions) but you also don’t have forever to accomplish things in life.

There are many who think they have time to address their health needs, and put it off year after year. They hear about co-workers and family members who have just discovered some ailment, feel some compassion, then they think they’re doing fine because they haven’t gotten such news and carry on with their busy life. Does this sound familiar?

Sure, there are brief (and I mean brief) periods in life where you really cannot spare a moment to tend to your health needs BUT for every reason you can give me why you can’t, I can probably give you two reasons why you should.

You don’t have to wait for someone else. You don’t have to wait until the kids grow up—in fact, you shouldn’t if you want to teach them how to live a healthy life. You don’t have to wait until you have money. You don’t have to wait until you change jobs. You don’t have to wait until the semester is over. You don’t have to wait until the relationship settles in. You don’t have to wait until the doctor tells you. You don’t have to wait until someone asks you if you are pregnant. You don’t have to wait until your belly becomes a massive crumb-catcher. Shall I continue?

The opportunities are before you. The time is now. Contrary to how you may have been living, you don’t have forever to care for your body. Even if you are thin…even if your check-ups are normal…if you don’t eat well and exercise at all, you are laying a foundation for a painful ending. Instead, you need to treat this time in your life as your opportunity to lay a strong foundation for your later years. (We will talk about the difference that this can make later on.)

Take advantage of the resources now available to you. You can find a wealth of information on the internet, there are gyms and trainers all over the place, there are countless DVDs and home-based programs on the market, and even employers are much more attentive to the health needs of their employees. And the great news is that it will get even better. You can expect to see more healthy foods available in restaurants, as well as convenience and fast foods. And rather than having exercise as a competing need, your family, employer and friends will join in on your efforts.

Before it becomes a Mt. Everest climb, take advantage of your window of opportunity to care for your body today. Carpe diem. (Seize the day.)

*** Thanks to so many of you who have completed our online general health survey, we have exceeded our goal of 500 responses! Our efforts will continue so don’t hesitate to take the survey and encourage others to do so too. We will be making modifications to incorporate nutritional questions in the next version. Thank you again for your help and contributions to Build a Healthy Hawaii. Please visit my website www.lifefitnet.com to complete the short 12-question online survey that should take only 2-3 minutes to complete. Many thanks again!  Lori

It has been proven over and over again by scores and scores of people across America that most will tend to ‘let themselves go’ until something (an event/incident) creates an urgent situation.

I went to Kailua Beach this weekend, just needing a 1-2 hour mental break, and here I found my inspiration. Several people were coughing and gagging in between puffs of their cigarette. An elderly man with what looked like a 50-pound medicine ball belly struggled to sit in his beach chair. Two beautifully fit women were walking the shoreline in their bikinis. A young overweight male was fully clothed in the hot sun, watching his friends frolic in the gorgeous, cool waves.

It made me think….

If we accept certain truths: that health declines with excessive weight and inactivity, that the human body’s physical condition will tend to deteriorate with age if ignored, that with effort and dedication comes reward, that what sounds too good to be true generally is, and you don’t get something for nothing, then we should be able to deduce that, at some point in our lifetime, our physical body and health condition will worsen if we do not make an effort to ‘preserve it.’ (I realize that ‘preserving it’ leaves a lot up to interpretation but hear me out.)

See, I believe that some of us have set a personal standard or limit, if you will, and for many others they’ve allowed themselves much more leeway, not knowing what “acceptable” is and what is or isn’t part of the natural aging process. So they live freely, enjoying all of life’s pleasures, never re-defining a physical standard as they move through life decade after decade, through marriage, kids, jobs, and whatever life brings you.

Rather than holding to a standard that they’ve set, they leave it in the hands of someone else (likely their physician) to tell them when age and life has caught up with them and that they suddenly have to make it a priority.

I encourage each of you today to consider setting your personal standard of health and physical condition. So many have challenged our old definition of what 40, 50, 60, 70 and 80 should look like. Look at Kristy Brinkley, Dara Torres, Suzanne Somers, Michael Douglas, Harrison Ford, and Sting…the list goes on and on.

Hold to a standard that you define rather than waiting until it’s a health issue. Don’t forget, many doctors of the past have been trained to treat illness, not prevent you from getting there. So they’ll only bring it to your attention when your health is in jeopardy. I don’t think you really want to live on the edge of unhealthiness, right? Wouldn’t you prefer to maintain a healthy life?

So look around, aim high and dare to expect more of yourself. 40 doesn’t mean accepting a pot belly, 50 doesn’t mean you can’t be strong and active, 60 doesn’t mean you just watch the grandkids and can’t participate, 70 doesn’t mean you sit and watch the world go by, and 80 doesn’t mean you should just be satisfied with being able to feed yourself.

Redefine your life, set your own standard of health and condition, and dictate how you age and what you want to be able to do. You will create your own urgency (probably long before your doctor’s warning would have come) and your quality of life along the way will be immeasurable.

*** Thanks to so many of you who have completed our online general health survey, we have exceeded our goal of 500 responses! I am reviewing the data and will share this great information soon. Our efforts will continue so don’t hesitate to take the survey and encourage others to do so too. We will be making modifications to incorporate nutritional questions in the next version. Thank you again for your help and contributions to Build a Healthy Hawaii. Please visit my website www.lifefitnet.com to complete the short 12-question online survey that should take only 2-3 minutes to complete. Many thanks again!  Lori

Have you marveled at the accomplishments of record-breaking athletes or sat in awe in the ability of young adults who seem almost super-human. No doubt that those who are nationally or world-ranked are not only genetically gifted but have also dedicated years to training fanatically in carefully designed programs.

Consider how competition training or even competitive play can take you to a much higher level of performance. Speaking from personal experience, I can tell you that I accelerated my gains in each contest training cycle and I’ve even found myself naturally ‘kicking it up a notch’ just by contemplating competition.

Whether you are interested in actually competing or not, you may still benefit from the spirit of competition and the training program that competitors utilize. So what do competitors use to propel their performance?

One key component is the use of a carefully designed progressive training cycle which builds week-by-week toward peak performance (generally a specific day—i.e. the contest). Such a program typically extends a minimum of 12weeks. If you have never tried a training cycle, but have trained consistently for a good period of time (at least a year), and have found your progress slower than you desire, this may be just what you need to take your performance to a higher level. Training cycles provide numerous advantages: it steps your body to physically develop the strength and conditioning toward your ultimate goal; it keeps you focused from week-to-week on very targeted objectives; it psychologically prepares you to achieve levels previously unattainable.

Your best bet in setting up such a program is by talking to a coach or experienced competitive athlete. I’ve seen training cycle samples in sport magazines but, of course, they are not customized to you and your personal strengths or weaknesses. However, if you’ve built a fairly good base, you could still reach levels you never thought you could. It works for a variety of strength and endurance training sports: runs, bike races, weight lifting, paddling, kayaking, swimming, etc.

In addition, anticipating competition taps into the depths of your emotional, mental and spiritual powers to drive you through periods of exhaustion, aches and pains and self-doubt. Whether it is rooted in pride, fear or even obligation to those who have supported you, it ultimately draws out of you the spirit and drive of a champion. Now, that’s powerful! It frequently results in training intensity that your regular workout routines could never facilitate.

Group training can also provide a favorable competitive situation if you train with others who are better or who are very encouraging. Either can change ordinary training into aspirational training.

Take your training to the next level and get the competitive edge!

*** Thanks to so many of you who have completed our online general health survey, we have exceeded our goal of 500 responses! I am reviewing the data and will share this great information soon. Our efforts will continue so don’t hesitate to take the survey and encourage others to do so too. We will be making modifications to incorporate nutritional questions in the next version. Thank you again for your help and contributions to Build a Healthy Hawaii. Please visit my website www.lifefitnet.com to complete the short 12-question online survey that should take only 2-3 minutes to complete. Many thanks again!  Lori

Boredom seems like a common reason why people stop an exercise program. Long ago, I dismissed it as “different strokes for different folks,” thinking that that particular exercise was just not their thing. Now I realize that it probably had more to do with them stagnating in a “routine” rather than truly their dissatisfaction with the exercise itself.

So what can you do to avoid boredom? Well, first, as with many other things in life, the more you learn about it, the more interesting it becomes. This applies to sports and fitness as well.

As you explore the sport, you will likely find that everyone has their own theory on how to train. This is where the confusion sometimes leads novice participants to find one program and just stick with it. That might work for a while but because the human body is highly adaptable, it will adjust to the program within weeks. And in a matter of months, you could find yourself on the path to boredom if you don’t work in some progression (whether it involves altering weight, sets, reps, pace, etc.).

Unfortunately, many are given a workout routine once (by a friend or a trainer), they stick with it to a tee, and eventually find themselves mindlessly going through the motions week after week. I’ve seen those people at the gym with the glazed-over look in their eyes, watching others and moving from one exercise to the next without a sweat.

Here’s my tip… Don’t ever accept a boring routine--at least not for more than a day or two. If you are not engaged, change it!!! There is nothing (no program) that is etched in stone that is declared the best and one-and-only way to train effectively. There are thousands of different ways to go about stimulating your muscles and body to achieve the results you are after. That’s why I could never understand someone saying they got bored. It’s like my kids saying that they are bored at home when they have Wii games, board games, computer games, Legos, a puppy, a ping pong table, water guns, books, cable TV, bikes, scooters, and the list goes on and on. Well, the same applies with training.

Before you fall into a humdrum exercise routine, de-value its worth and start seeking other things to occupy your time, vary your program to stay interested. Any one or more of the following changes can be made to your training program to help you break out of any rut:

1. Change your schedule - Sometimes even changing the days and sequence of your training shocks the body enough.
2. Change the exercise - There are several ways to skin a cat--so to speak. Rather, there are various ways to train the same muscle group. Try different exercises.
3. Change the equipment - Using other equipment even for the same exercise can work. E.g. Dumbbells vs. machines vs. barbell vs. bodyweight vs. isometric, etc.
4. Change the weight - If you are consistent, your body will strengthen and you may want to increase the weight resistance to continue to build on what you’ve already done.
5. Change the sets - When I wanted to focus on developing a body part, I doubled my sets and got noticeable results within a month or two.
6. Change the reps - If you normally do 10 reps, one day try 12-15 and see if you are able to complete it. This may also serve as an indicator of a new set-point for yourself.
7. Change your pace - You may slow it down or speed it up, or even vary the pace if you generally use a fixed pace. The change can make a difference.
8. Change the order - Even mixing the order of exercises you typically do can bring about a positive response.
9. Change your rest period - You could lengthen or shorten your rest time between sets or eliminate them altogether. For example, supersets involve going back and forth between two exercises without rest or try circuit-type training where you go through a whole “circuit” of exercises without rest.

10.  Change the mix - You could adopt several of the above, including mixing cardio, resistance and flexibility moves together.

11.  Change the environment - I’ve trained at many different gyms and have had some of my best workouts resulting from this change.

12.  Keep an open mind and be inquisitive. Try new exercises. If you see someone doing something that looks interesting, check it out.

13.  Write down what you do and regularly review your results. This will make it even more obvious when you are at a standstill and you may be able to take action before boredom has a chance to set in.

14.  Make progression a mental habit. For example, once I hit my desired reps, I’m already planning what to progress to for my next workout. This keeps you looking forward and it immediately sets higher expectations of yourself. Conversely, complacency could be what prevents you from seeing the results you hope for.

There is just one rule that I’d urge you to follow… while change is good and necessary to break through a plateau, do not take such extreme steps where it exposes you to injury (I.e. drastic increases in weight, distance, pace, range of movement, etc.).

You can see that the list of options is quite extensive. I’m sure that there are even more that I may have overlooked. So boredom should never be your excuse. If you feel stuck in a training rut, change it up!!!

*** Thanks to so many of you who have completed our online general health survey, we have exceeded our goal of 500 responses! I am reviewing the data and will share this great information soon. Our efforts will continue so don’t hesitate to take the survey and encourage others to do so too. We will be making modifications to incorporate nutritional questions in the next version. Thank you again for your help and contributions to Build a Healthy Hawaii. Please visit my website www.lifefitnet.com to complete the short 12-question online survey that should take only 2-3 minutes to complete. Many thanks again!  Lori

So let’s assume that you’ve set your goals, identified your short-term objectives, considered other meaningful measures of success, selected the activities that appeal to you, and have a program that is appropriate for your level of fitness. Now, let’s make sure we’ve planned and prepared accordingly.

One of the common failures in sticking with a New Year’s fitness resolution is that life eventually gets in the way. I can tell you with certainty that if you do not continue to make it a priority in your life routine, it will fade away into oblivion. It isn’t only a matter of scheduling it in or making arrangements for the needed resources (equipment access) or child care? Absolutely not. While taking care of those details enable you to succeed, so much more depends on whether you are mentally prepared for it.

The motivation to stick it out and make the needed life change could be rooted in any one or more of the following: 1) Knowledge—knowing where to go and what to do to address the problem, 2) Realization—truly coming to terms with the reality, significance or severity of one’s health status. Yes, this means that you stop the false reassuring mental conversations like, “Well, I’m not that bad because so and so is even worse,” and deal with the reality that you have a problem which you need to confront, 3) Value—gaining a clear understanding of the importance and need for life change, 4) Belief—having the will and confidence that you can make a difference and achieve the desired results, and 5) Acceptance—meaning that you finally become accountable for the change and avoiding the “poor me” self-pity that can swallow you up and keep you trapped.

Once you’ve taken care of the psychological preparation (which I realize is an on-going process), then planning out the details of how you support your decision should happen while you are good and ready. Resources and support are ever so important. There are cost issues—which can be worked around by taking advance of our great City and County Parks and Recreation Centers, exercising outdoors or even in the privacy of your own home. For most people, traveling this journey alone can be very difficult. Talk to others and get support from trusted friends and family who support your effort. Do not be discouraged if one or more of them aren’t enthusiastic advocates. Sometimes you just have to prove that you are serious first. And believe it or not, children do not have to be an excuse. It’s good for them to participate too. They love the time spent together and it’s good for the whole family (in so many ways).

Now that you’ve addressed the situational factors, as well as the mental, psychological and emotional factors, you are well on your way. (I know I’m making this sound a LOT easier than it is but the only way to get there is by taking the first step.) Be Strong, Live Long.

***HOORAY!  Thanks to so many of you who have completed our online general health survey, we have reached our goal of 500 responses! I am now reviewing the data and will share this great information soon. Our efforts will continue so don’t hesitate to take the survey and encourage others to do so too. We will be making modifications to incorporate nutritional questions in the next version. Thank you again for your help and contributions to Build a Healthy Hawaii. Please visit my website www.lifefitnet.com to complete the short 12-question online survey that should take only 2-3 minutes to complete. Many thanks again!  Lori