Today IS the Day: 4 Fitness Mistakes to AVOID

Have you ever woken up and decided that TODAY was the day to make a change in your life? Did you do well that particular day of your decision only to find that, the next day, life still looked the same so you abandoned your resolve? Unfortunately I have found this happen, time and time again, with my clients who make the decision to improve their health & fitness. I have discovered that, when all of the excuses are stripped away, there are 4 main fitness mistakes that people make in their initial decision. Making these mistakes will greatly decrease the chance of truly being successful and meeting your goals. Let's examine each of these because you may be making these choices unconsciously. As you read, I want you to be brutally honest with yourself.

Fitness Mistake #1. People are looking for a quick fix.

Yep, it's true. In today's "instant" society, people are still looking for that quick way to lose 10 lbs without working out or eating healthy. They want to simply pop a pill, take some drops, drink 2 artificial shakes per day, or put a body wrap on. I'm going to be straight with you.There isn't a quick, healthy fix to good fitness. You must put in the time and the sweat. Think about it. How long did it take you to get to the point where you are at today? I can take a pretty good guess that it wasn't overnight. Don't expect, in a healthy manner, to lose the excess weight or gain additional muscle in a week either. You are setting yourself up for failure with this mindset.

Check in: Is this YOU?

Fitness Mistake #2. People don't know where to start, so they just DON'T start.

Have you ever felt so overwhelmed with life that you just sit in the middle of the floor in the midst of all the "stuff" because you don't know where to begin? I hear from so many folks who reach out wanting help but simply don't know where to begin. They feel paralyzed. After all, we are barraged daily with health & fitness options on the TV, in magazines, and in our community. It can be overwhelming especially when you've been down this path before unsuccessfully.

Check in: Is this YOU?

Fitness Mistake #3. People aren't willing to invest in themselves.

OK let's talk straight. I hear this excuse, and yes it IS an excuse, all the time. You may not like what I'm going to say, but I'm going to say it anyway because I feel obligated. Someone has to say it.You absolutely, without a doubt, CAN afford to take care of yourself. You CAN find the money needed for a fitness program. Unless you are on the streets, you DO have disposable money. Granted you may not realize it, but if you were completely honest and really looked at your finances, you would find it. Stop eating out for a month and use that money. Sell some of your old clothes that you no longer wear. Get rid of your cable for a few months. Replace a healthier meal option, such as Shakeology, and decrease your typical grocery bill.If you truly honestly want to find the money, you will. If you don't, you'll find a reason to not be willing to invest in yourself. It happens all the time.

Check in: Is this YOU?

Fitness Mistake #4. People try to go at it alone.

Often times people successfully maneuver around the first 3 landmines only to hit a roadblock here. We are proud people. Most of us don't like to ask or admit that we need help. Unfortunately this last mistake can make or break you. Support is incredibly important, yet often overlooked, piece of the fitness puzzle.To be on your journey while surrounded by people who won't let you fail is an incredible motivator when you've had a rough day and want to throw in the towel. Whether you team up with a friend or join a coaching group of some kind, stay engaged.

Check in: Is this YOU?

In short, I want you to meet your goals. I want to see you successful. I want you healthy, happy, and fit.I want to see you have the energy to keep up with your family and do the things that you want to do. I don't want to see you fall into the trap of any of these fitness mistakes and be derailed once again. It's time to say ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. Are you ready?

After all:

Fitness + Nutrition + Support = SUCCESS FOR LIFE

Give yourself a gift this holiday season. All wrapped up into one, give yourself the gift of fitness, nutrition, AND support by joining my Post-Holiday Challenge Group TODAY! Don't wait. We will be starting on January 2. You are worth it.

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Losing Body Fat With Diet and Exercise

If you are looking for some trouble-free approaches to get rid of extra fat, there are many food regimen and workout plans available to choose from that are going to help you lose weight.

Yet, what they do not let you know is that unless you truly change your life-style, you are never going to be able to maintain the weight off. This is one of the reasons why it is so highly recommended to combine diet and exercise in order to be successful with your weight loss venture.

Plenty of people don't like to exercise because they do not think it is enjoyable. This is why it is necessary to find something that you really enjoy doing. It could be anything from having a nature walk with your relatives to asking a neighbor to go walking with you. This is a tremendous way to catch up on visiting with a friend. If you think about it for a while, you could be having the same conversation on the telephone. In this way, you are in fact getting out and doing something about your health. Sooner than you know, you will realize that exercise is in fact very addicting.

If you still have a tough time remaining on task, you may consider purchasing yourself a gym membership. Many individuals will confirm that the only motive they utilize their gym membership is because they do not want to see it go to waste. If you can come by someone to go to the gym with you, this is going to be beneficial to both of you. Other folks will tell you that they eliminated their cable tv subscription and used the money for a gym membership instead. If you work out when your favorite tv shows are on, it will make the entire situation completely pain-free.

Now that we have your exercise down, we need to start thinking about what you are putting in your mouth. Without a doubt, you are going to really want to cut down on your carbohydrates. It is essential to still eat a satisfactory amount of carbs so that you have energy to get through the day. You need to know the significant difference between good carbohydrates and bad carbohydrates. Fruits and vegetables are good carbohydrates. It is generally a good idea to load up on as many fruits and veggies as you can. Some people opt to eat a salad at the very least once a day. This is a tremendous way to get all of your vegetable portions in one meal.

If you unite diet and exercise simultaneously, it will not take very long before you start being able to see the positive results and you can testify to other people you have found simple methods to drop unwanted bodyweight.

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3 Bad Reasons for Rhinoplasty

Rhinoplasty is a popular surgery, and many patients are happy with the results. However, there are some bad reasons to get this operation done. You should consider these and then decide if it is best for you to get this procedure performed.


If you see a nose that you like on a celebrity, you can let your doctor know. In fact, you can even bring in a picture of the person so your practitioner has an idea of what you want. However, you cannot expect the result to look exactly the same, nor will you look like the celebrity afterward. In fact, you should not get rhinoplasty if your main objective is to look exactly like someone else, since you will be disappointed.

Another reason not to get this surgery done is if you cannot take any time off work to heal. You can expect to not see the final results for several weeks, during which time you may be bruised or even have bandages on your nose. If you cannot stand being seen in public like this, you will need to take weeks off work and away from your daily routine. This is not possible for everyone, and you do not want to be surprised with this fact after you get the operation done. For this reason, make sure ahead of time you can manage the recovery period. Keep in mind that for most people, the results of the rhinoplasty are well worth the healing time.

In addition, you should not be getting the rhinoplasty for anyone but yourself. If you have always been fine with your nose, and suddenly a few friends claim you would look better after surgery, you might not have a good reason to get the surgery. Your friends do not have to go through the operation or recovery like you do, so it should not be up to them. Plus, they may change their minds later or tell you they were not serious. This is why you should get the surgery done for yourself only, since you will be looking at the results every day. As long as you have wanted a better nose for a while now, or even your whole life, you have a good chance of ending up happy with the results when you get the operation.

If you are considering rhinoplasty, you should make sure you indeed have some good reasons. Otherwise, you could end up regretting the decision. The good news is that many people who get the operation for the right reasons are satisfied with the outcome.

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What Causes Muscle Growth?

In order for muscles to grow, three things are required:

1. Stimulus - exercise is needed to make the muscles work, use energy and cause microscopic damage to the fibers.

2. Nutrition - after intense exercise the muscles need to replenish their stores of fuel.

3. Rest - it is during the rest or recovery phase that the muscles repair the microscopic damage and grow.

Muscle size increases due to hypertrophic adaptation and an increase in the cross section area of individual muscle fibers. Intensive exercise impacts more on the strength influencing fast twitch type II fibers, therefore the increase in muscle size is accompanied by greater strength.

This will deplete the muscle's energy stores and cause microscopic damage to the muscle tissue. During recovery, these stores of glycogen and phosphocreatine will replenish from carbohydrates and creatine ingested as food or supplements. Amino acids supplied in the diet will trigger the protein synthesis that repairs the damaged muscle and lead to the creation of bigger muscle fibers.

To achieve continuous improvement you will need to keep reaching for higher levels of training intensity otherwise the improvement process will grind to a halt. Fortunately, this is relatively easy to plan for provided certain basic principles and rules are clearly followed. Just be sure to build sufficient rest into your training program otherwise the hard work will go to waste. For many bodybuilders and athletes generally, it is the rest element that seems most difficult. Subsequent articles in this series will examine these principles in detail.

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How Long Should You Rest Between Muscle Building Sessions?

In an earlier article we concluded that muscles must be worked to failure if an adequate hypertrophic response is to occur. Whether this involves one or more sets is irrelevant as in either scenario the muscles must be worked to failure and beyond. This causes significant microscopic damage to the muscle tissues and it is during the period of recovery that protein synthesis undertakes the repair process that results in bigger muscle fibers.
But how long does this process take and when is it safe to expose those same muscles to further intensive exercise? Scientific studies suggest that muscle fiber degradation takes approximately five to seven days to repair and recover. Any further exposure of the affected muscle to intensive activity will interfere with the recovery process and actually prevent it from achieving maximum growth. However, using the muscle to assist in exercising other body parts or even taking part in low intensity aerobic exercise will not prevent recovery.
It follows therefore that each muscle group should be trained intensively only once each week in order to allow full recovery. This can be achieved by incorportating a split training regime that allows you to work out several times each week but still exercise each muscle group intensively only once every seven days.
You can find out more about building muscle by visiting the site listed below.

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