Do something, anything because I said so

If it seems like I'm a little random today, I'm blaming it on the fact that I slammed my head hard playing softball last night. Today my head hurts, I have the brightness of the screen turned down, loud noises really suck and the only thing that is making the pain behind my left eye go away is coffee. There are probably a host of other homeopathic remedies I could try and I plan on trying some of them later in the day, but as of now, crack in the form of coffee is doing just fine.

Just don't hold me to any sort of coherent thoughts and/or statements.

Let's begin.

I've really been thinking about life activities lately and the role the play in the life of individuals who are fit and healthy. There is a key acronym floating around our industry called NEPA, or Non Exercise Physical Activity. Basically NEPA is anything you can do to get some sort of extra exercise without actually doing any exercise. Confused perhaps? Let me provide you with some examples: parking far away from the entry to any sort of shopping store, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, disabling the automatic pull function on your lawn mower, walking a round of golf instead of using a cart and my favorite of them all…..surfing.

I am lucky to live in a place where it's sunny 330 days a year, so the option of being outside and doing something is always there and it show's with the people who inhabit this city. As I type, its blue sky and sunny with temperatures climbing up into the 70's. Yet there are people who aren't so lucky. The Eastern seaboard is getting hammered right now with horrible weather and odds are it's going to drive people in doors and on their couches. It's these times where you need to get creative. Can't get out of your house because you are snowed in? Here's a suggestion: during the next commercial break, do walking lunges across the room. Got a set of stairs? Do reverse lunges off the bottom step before you go to the bathroom (or after if you can't hold it). Got little kids? PLAY WITH THEM! Set the example that even though the weather sucks worse that Jake Gyllenhaal's acting, you can still stay active inside your house.

For those that CAN get outside during the winter, there is really no excuse not to do something active. Walk on the beach, take a hike into the hills (urban hikes are fun too if you have no wilderness), take your kids to the park and teach them a new game or sport. Whatever you do, don't waste the opportunity to get outside away from the monotony that is the television and video games.

Take in some much needed Vitamin D from the sun (if it is available), start a snowball fight with your neighbor or shovel their driveway. Do something to take your non-gym activity level up a notch. It's during these times of winter where you can set the foundation for a newer, healthier you come spring time.

Only One Body

Guest post today courtesy of Mike Boyle:

Imagine you are sixteen years old and your parents give you your first car. They also give you simple instructions. There is one small hitch, you only get one car, you can never get another. Never. No trade-ins, no trade-ups. Nothing

Ask your self how would you maintain that car? My guess is you would be meticulous. Frequent oil changes, proper fuel, etc. Now imagine if your parents also told you that none of the replacement parts for this car would ever work as well as the original parts. Not only that, the replacement parts would be expensive to install and cause you to have decreased use of your car for the rest of the cars useful life? In other words, the car would continue to run but, not at the same speed and with the efficiency you were used to.

Wow, now would we ever put a lot of time and effort into maintenance if that were the case.

After reading the above example ask yourself another question. Why is the human body different? Why do we act as if we don’t care about the one body we were given. Same deal. You only get one body. No returns or trade-ins. Sure, we can replace parts but boy it’s a lot of work and it hurts. Besides, the stuff they put in never works as well as the original “factory” parts. The replacement knee or hip doesn’t give you the same feel and performance as the original part.

Think about it. One body. You determine the mileage? You set the maintenance plan?

No refunds, no warranties, no do-overs?

How about this perspective? One of my clients is a very successful businessman. He often is asked to speak to various groups. One thing he tells every group is that you are going to spend time and money on your health. The truth is the process can be a proactive one or a reactive one. Money spent on your health can take the form of a personal trainer, massage therapist and a gym membership or, it can be money spent on cardiologists, anesthesiologists, and plastic surgeons. Either way, you will spend money.

Same goes for time. You can go to the gym or, to the doctors office. It’s up to you. Either way, you will spend time. Some people say things like “I hate to work out”. Try sitting in the emergency room for a few hours and then get back to me. Working out may not seem so bad. Much like a car, a little preventative maintenance can go a long way. However, in so many ways the body is better than a car. With some good hard work you can turn back the odometer on the body. I wrote an article a while back ( Strength Training- The Fountain of Youth) that discussed a study done by McMaster University which showed that muscle tissue of older subjects actually changed at the cellular level and looked more like the younger control subjects after strength training.

Do me a favor, spend some time on preventative maintenance, it beats the heck out of the alternative. Just remember, you will spend both time and money.