Today I’d like to share with you an article by one of my favorite health and fitness experts, Lori Shemek.  Enjoy!

Your 5 Quick No-Fail Action Steps to Exercise Success – The SMART Program

By Lori L. Shemek, Ph.D.

Most of us start an exercise program and soon give-up. Why? When we first begin we are all pumped-up ready to follow our goal(s) without fail. One problem is that initially we may have too much exuberance. This leads to over-training resulting in injury. But most commonly, it is our inability to stick with the program due to injury, external/internal events and more. If I told you there was a blue-print, a map, that told you everything you must do in order to be successful in your exercise endeavors, would you want to learn about it? Well, look no further. Here I have put together a simple list of necessary elements that are vital to your successful health goals. The program I’ve created is called the S.M.A.R.T Program. These five actions will literally create fitness success in your life.

The S.M.A.R.T Program

S – Schedule

Schedule your exercise. There is much research showing that by writing down the date and time you will be exercising will ensure success. By scheduling your work-outs, you are creating neuronal pathways in the brain that set-up this expectation that you will be exercising on a certain day and at a certain time. After roughly three weeks, you will have literally created a habit! The act of scheduling also conquers the objection to “I don’t have enough time to exercise” Treat your scheduled exercise with the same regard as you would a doctor or dentist appointment.

M – Motivation

Motivation can be hard to come by when we are faced with all of the external and internal pullings of our lives. This is why, if you are to remain motivated – you must always remember the reason why you wanted to exercise in the first place. Go back to that place when you were first energized and ready to conquer the world! Keep the reasons “why” imprinted in your brain and habitually go to it when motivation wanes.

A – Action

Just Do It! I know it can be difficult to get moving at times, but just remember this..energy creates energy. The more you move your body, the more energy you have – even while exercising. By moving your body you will profoundly change your life. You will have the leg strength to move your body easily through life, you will have a heart that will not have to work as hard, and you will have powerful lungs. So, from now on, do not think about whether or not you’ll exercise – put your shoes on and Just Do It! Let me repeat: Just Do It!

R – Rest

Do you know why most people quit their exercise programs? Injury and fatigue. These people are so energized in the beginning, that they go to the gym twice a day, they run way to many miles, they pump way too much iron etc, and then they get injured, discouraged and quit. Rest is vital to a well-rounded exercise program. By over-doing your fitness, you are depleting your energy stores rather than building them up. This has an overall effect that targets your motivation and action. Important: Start out slow and easy, then gradually build-up your endurance.

T – Tenacity

Did you know that some of the most successful people in the world share a common characteristic? They are tenacious. They persist until they have achieved their goal, even when they feel like quitting. You must believe that you hold the power to do anything that you set your mind to. When you feel like giving up – ask yourself if there isn’t something else you can do. Can I put more effort into making my fitness goals a reality? Have I tried another strategy? Will quitting help me accomplish my goals? Remember that trials will come, difficulties will arise and you will want to quit. Reject all thoughts of failure. Tomorrow is another day and as long as you get back on the horse, you will succeed..because you are tenacious.

Your health and your quality of life depend upon your actions. As long as you follow the S.M.A.R.T. Program tenets – you will achieve success!

“Our decisions – not the condition of our lives – determine our destiny.” ~Tony Robbins

Living a healthy life is easy once you have the knowledge. If you would like to learn more about how to easily integrate the S.M.A.R.T Program into your life or any other area of health and nutrition, please visit us here: http://www.dlsHealthWorks.com/ and while you are visiting, please sign-up for your FREE Health Tips. Here you will find everything you need to create optimum health in your life.

Lori L. Shemek, PhD, CNC, CLC, is Founder and President of DLS HealthWorks. Lori has devoted the past 20 years practicing and teaching others how to easily CREATE OPTIMUM HEALTH in their lives. Lori is the Co-Author of “A Practical Guide On Aging Parents And Nutrition.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lori_L._Shemek,_Ph.D.
http://EzineArticles.com/?Your-5-Quick-No-Fail-Action-Steps-to-Exercise-Success—The-SMART-Program&id=3187222

I’ve heard them called saggy, baggy, flabby, wiggly, and jiggly.

I’ve also heard them called bat wings or angel wings, although there’s nothing angelic about them!

You know what I mean - that flap that hangs from your upper arm and wiggles when you wave goodbye.   One of my sisters had a teacher with arm flab that quivered impressively when she wrote on the chalk board.  The teacher’s first name was Valeria so my creative sister named that body part valeria as in, “Wow! Look at that lady’s valeria!”

Whatever you call it, today I’d like to offer 2 tips for avoiding saggy arms.

1. Don’t lose weight too quickly.  When you lose weight too quickly your skin doesn’t have time to adjust and conform to your new shape.  Also, people who lose weight too quickly are more prone to gaining it back.  If you continuously re-stretch your skin, it eventually loses it’s elasticity and is unable to tighten up any more.
2. Exercise to build muscle. Skin that’s filled with nice, firm muscle won’t be as jiggly as skin filled with gelatinous fat.  And when you diet away your arm fat, exercise to fill that space with muscle rather than let it go to flab.

Of course there’s no way to eliminate all the motion unless your arm is completely made of bone!  But you can create a healthy, firm sway rather than settling for quivery, saggy arms!

If you enjoyed this article, please share it with your friends and followers.  Thanks!

Here’s a short little Thanksgiving video for you.  Have a wonderful day!

Today I’m going to share with you a fabulous FREE  resource called Fat Loss Quickie Motivation Boosters.

This eBook/worksheet/video package was put together by Scott and Angie Tousignant who developed the Sizzlin’ Circuits videos and, of course, the famous Fat Loss Quickie program.

Motivation Boosters is a collection of 7 strategies that Scott and Angie used to completely transform themselves into the fit, healthy people they are today.  The heart of the program is a set of printable worksheets on topics such as goal setting and tracking, and how to discover which of your fitness beliefs are holding you back.  I particularly like the calendar used to countdown the days until the date you’ve set for meeting your goal.  There’s even a cute bulls-eye graphic to hang on your refrigerator to keep you on target!

The eBook has detailed instructions on how to use each worksheet and videos to explain even further.

I urge to you download the Fat Loss Quickie Motivation Boosters package right now.  After all, it’s FREE so what have you got to lose?

Here’s an article on aerobic exercise by Ralph J. Greene.

Benefits of Regular Exercise – What More You Need To Know

By Ralph J. Greene

Nowadays, people have become busy and preoccupied by work that we all tend to want things to be done instantly and the easy way. Eating fast food has been common to people who seem to be running after time. Instead of climbing up the stairs, we take the elevator. Instead of walking to a nearby grocery shop, we go by car. Our late nights are spent sitting on the couch and being holed up in front of the television until we fall asleep. We forgot about the significance of regular exercise and its benefits.

We need to work our way to physical fitness by using our muscle groups. Aerobic exercise is an activity which uses oxygen in our body in a way more than we usually utilize. These exercises are continuously and rhythmically done. Walking, jogging, running, dancing, bicycling, swimming, and jumping rope are some examples of aerobic exercise. Activities which can be done in our homes so we need not go too far.

Exercise has significance in strengthening the heart muscle contraction which improves the blood supply to the heart and muscles. It also improves ventilation or the movement of air in and out of our lungs. It also prevents accumulation of secretions in our lungs which allows us to breathe easily. It improves our appetite and aids peristalsis or the contraction and relaxation of the muscles in our digestive system which facilitates the movement of the food that we take in. During exercise, our metabolic rate increases therefore are calories are being used up.

It has been found to reduce the level of triglyceride or fatty acids and cholesterol in our body. It also lowers our blood sugar by improving the efficiency of insulin, a hormone responsible for lowering our blood glucose level. Since it promotes blood flow, waste products of our body are excreted more effectively which is beneficial to our urinary system. It also maintains the tone and strength of our muscles and improves flexibility. But the most important benefit of all is that it improves our body image and self-concept. It promotes a sense of well-being and helps perk up our tolerance with regards to stress.

These activities are easy and most of us have probably done nearly all of this while we were kids. It is recommended to people of all ages. Even people over 60 years can benefit from regular exercise and it does not mean wearing ourselves off inside the gym with all those weights and strenuous activities. Ideally, it is best to choose an activity which we enjoy so we do not feel forced and pressured and end up regretting and being pessimistic towards these. We also need to be sure that our body is capable of doing these things by having a thorough check-up with a physician first. Regular exercise is an activity which one can enjoy and reap health benefits from. With all these benefits listed, who wouldn’t want to do it now?

Ralph J. Greene enjoys writing for Uniformhaven.com which sells cherokee scrubs and landau scrubs as well as a host of additional products.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ralph_J._Greene
http://EzineArticles.com/?Benefits-of-Regular-Exercise—What-More-You-Need-To-Know&id=5300079

Here are some good aerobic exercise resources for you to check out.

I’ve been reading a lot of opinions about San Francisco’s decision to ban McDonald’s Happy Meal toys so I’m going to add my two cents to the discussion.

The toy is not the reason kids are eating Happy Meals.  The reason they eat them is because their parents buy them!

If you read this blog regularly, you know that I don’t believe in banning any particular food or food group.  Everything in moderation.  I personally don’t think a Happy Meal every now and then is going to permanently injure anyone.

The health problems – particularly obesity – occur when parents feed their kids Happy Meals or other not-so-good foods on a regular basis.  Why would parents do this? Here are some of the reasons, not based on any formal research, just my personal observations.

• Laziness (often referred to as “I’m too busy” or I’m too tired.)   Mealtimes come around at about the same time every day.  If you know that you’re going to have busy or tired days, make a plan.  Have something in the house that’s going to be easy to prepare or pick up healthy food to go.  McDonald’s is not your only choice.
• Ignorance.   Some people honestly just don’t know anything about proper nutrition.  If you’re one of those people, educate yourself!  If you have the knowledge, share it!  Instead of banning meal toys and spending tax money to enforce that law, maybe San Francisco could spend it on nutrition education programs.  Parents want information.  We don’t want our eating habits controlled by the government.
• Lack of parenting skills. If you can’t say no because your child throws a tantrum, or all the other kids are doing it, or they say they’ll hate you if you don’t buy it for them, that’s a parenting issue, not a nutrition issue.  Read a book, take a class, join a support group.  Do whatever it takes to give you the courage to do what you know is right.
• Just don’t care.  Now, remember that I said earlier I think any food is ok as an occasional treat. When I was growing up, we only had sodas in the house for birthday celebrations.  It was a big deal!  But we didn’t keep them in the house all the time.  If you are aware of the health problems linked to most fast foods, and talk about how terrible Happy Meals are, but continue to feed them to your child on a regular basis, well, actions speak louder than words.

Please share your comments below.