Make Your New Years Resolutions Come True this Year!

 

Clue:  If you want to make your resolution come true -- willpower won't get you there!

Achieving goals is best approached as if you are trying to overcome an addiction.  In fact, that is exactly what you are doing. We all have addictions.

"Willpower is for people who are still uncertain about what they want to do."  -- Helia

If willpower is required – there is clearly some type of internal conflict. You want to lose weight, but you also want that beer.

When willpower is required there are two causes:

1. You don't know what you want, and you therefore have internal conflict.

2. You are not committed to a goal/change and created the conditions that facilitate your commitment.

What do you really want?

If reaching your goal requires willpower, you haven't figured out what you want. Because once you really make a decision, the internal debate is over.

After you decide what you want, the decision is made. Thus, all future decisions regarding that matter have also been made. No questions.

So, are you serious about this? Until you decide, you'll be required to use willpower, and will continue making minimal progress.

Are you committed?

When it comes to achieving goals, commitment involves:

·        Making it public

·        Setting a timeline consisting of small measurable goals that lead to the overall goal

·        Creating several forms of feedback and accountability

·        Removing everything in your environment that opposes your commitment

Once you truly commit - it's as though you've already succeeded. All doubt and disbelief are gone.

Commitment involves building your life around your goals. Your internal resolve, naked to an undefended and opposing environment, is not commitment.

Create conditions that make success inevitable

You will fail to achieve your goals if you don't change your environment.

An alcoholic who really wants to quit drinking needs to not hang around bars and people drinking, but this analogy applies to all goals!

So consciously create an environment that facilitate your commitments. Actually, if you're really committed to a goal, this is exactly what you'll do.

This is how personal growth occurs. We adapt to our environment. Thus, personal growth involves deliberately choosing or creating environments that helps mold us into the person we want to become.

Summary

Bill Walsh said, "If your why is strong enough you will figure out how!"

If you're required to use willpower:

·        You haven't made up your mind.

·        Your desire (your "why") for your goals isn't strong enough.

·        You haven't fully committed to what you're going to do.

·        Your environment is not in alignment with your goals. You haven't created an environment that facilitates reaching your goals.

The Incredible Mental Health Benefits of Exercise!

High levels of stress are being reported by most Americans!  About half of U.S. adults say that uncertainty about the future makes them feel that it is impossible to make plans for the future.    About a third say their stress levels are so high that they sometimes struggle with even basic decisions.   It has been estimated that 75 – 90% of all visits to primary care physicians are for stress related problems.

The great news is that exercise is extremely effective for reducing stress and relieving anxiety and depression!

Exercise Drives Multiple Pathways to Reduce Anxiety and Depression

Exercise boosts BDNF (brain derived neurotropic factor) which improves learning and memory and literally acts like miracle grow for the brain.

Through a separate action exercise causes muscles to help detoxify a toxic chemical called Kynurenine.   Kynurenine is produced from the faulty metabolism of tryptophan.   Under conditions of acute or chronic inflammation Kynurenine forms Quinolinic Acid instead of serotonin.  Excess Quinolinic acid is directly linked to major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia – Kynurenine clearance in exercised muscle cells suppresses this build-up in the brain.

Overtime regular exercise remodels the brain’s reward system leading to higher levels of dopamine and more dopamine receptors.    Through this action exercise can both relieve depression and increase your capacity for joy.

Exercise also boost levels of endocannabinoids (yep – the same ones that come from the cannabis plant!).  The “high” from exercise comes from a boost in endocannabinoids.     These endogenously produced chemicals dock on brain receptors and reduce anxiety and induce a state of contentment.    Studies have found that these brain changes help boost positive interactions with friends and family.

The latest research even shows that lactate – produced during intense exercise – travels to the brain from muscles where it is produced – and alters brain chemistry in ways that can reduce anxiety and protect against depression.  

The Evidence on Effectiveness of Exercise for Anxiety and Depression

A recent Metanalysis of 25 Randomized Controlled trials found that aerobic exercise improved depression – particularly for moderate or intense aerobic activity.  In addition, this metanalysis found that previous studies underestimated the power of exercise to control anxiety and depression.

Intense aerobic exercise has also been found to be very effective in treating anxiety – specifically the lactic acid produced during intense intervals has been shown to have a strong anti-depressant effect.  Furthermore, lactic acid has been shown to be linked to improved REM/dream sleep.    After lactate is released by muscles, it travels through the bloodstream to the brain, where it can reduce anxiety and protect against depression.

An analysis of 15 different studies showed that aerobic exercise - especially high-intensity aerobic exercise - reduces symptoms of anxiety.   These anti-anxiety effects persisted for several months after cessation of exercise.

All the participants in the studies had some degree of anxiety.   Their symptoms presented on a spectrum including anxiety disorders, raised anxiety levels, and raised anxiety sensitivity - a condition in which a person feels anxious about the physical symptoms that can accompany anxiety.   People waiting to receive treatment for anxiety served as the controls for comparison.

The found that participants who did both low and high-intensity aerobic exercise experienced greater improvements in their anxiety than non-exercising people in the control group.    High-intensity exercise reduced anxiety symptoms more effectively than low-intensity exercise.    The various interventions lasted between 10 weeks and six months, with participants exercising three times per week on average.

Multiple mechanisms are responsible for the anti-anxiety effects of exercise.   However, one key mechanism mentioned above is the production of lactate from high-intensity exercise.   Increased lactate levels promote the production of lactate which increases the levels of norepinepherine and serotonin levels.  Low levels of these neurotransmitters can drive anxiety and the inability to handle stressful situations.   Learn more about lactate and its effects on the brain in this Found My Fitness Episode featuring Dr. George Brooks:  https://www.foundmyfitness.com/episodes/george-brooks   

Holiday Gifts for Fitness Enthusiasts

 

There is still time to order from Amazon and get a delivery in time for Christmas!    So what should order for the fitness enthusiast in your life?   Fortunately, there are some fantastic products to allow you to get a great workout at home or on the road when you cannot get to the gym. 

Inertia Wave – a true game changer product that looks like a Battle Rope but delivers so much more – check out this short video to see what the Inertia Wave is all about:  https://youtu.be/RBDJrEES3Jg The product delivers the finest HIIT workout available; is super easy to use, and very easy to travel with – a perfect gift for the fitness enthusiast in your life – to order click here:   https://inertiawave.com/ at $118.95 this is incredible product that will last a lifetime!

Quiet Punch – a simple to set-up and use device that you mount in between just about any standard door.     Once it is set-up it provides a square punching surface mounted between two poles that go across the door frame and is suspended by bungee cords from the poles.      You can really get after it and get a fantastic boxing workout that is does not shake the house down!    The app comes with great workouts and the system has a cell phone holder so you can watch and follow one of the many boxing/fitness videos available through the app.        You can purchase from Amazon or directly at www.quietpunch.com for  $125

Core Coaster is another dolly device at a much lower price point.   It has larger wheels rather than using the balls like Core Flyte.    If you are going to use on carpets this product should allow smoother movement because of the larger wheels and the platforms are also much larger than Core Flyte.    The three wheels are mounted in a swiveling carriage mounted to bottom of the platform which allows 360 movement just like the Core Flyte.     At $39 these are a steal!  You can purchase directly from Amazon.

Bellabooty – a great product that allows you to easily load the most effective glute training movement – the hip thrust – without the need for a big barbell:  https://bellabooty.com/  At just $59.95 this is a great gift for anyone who wants to be able to strengthen and tone their glutes!

Elastic Resistance – are a fantastic way to provide a full body workout that can be done in a very small space and virtually anywhere.    There are two main types of elastic resistance: 

Circular Tubing that usually has handles attached – can purchase many different types directly from Amazon

Flat Circular Bands – www.resistancebandtraining.com or directly from Amazon

If you also include a door mount which typically is placed through the inside edge of the door jam while door.   Then you close the door and there is usually a loop or other way to attach tubing to this anchor so that you can push and pull against the tubing.

There are literally hundreds of highly effective exercises than can be done with elastic resistance and for less than $100 you can buy several different sizes/strengths of bands and sizes along with door mount and take them anywhere!   Resistance bands can be purchased directly from Amazon and great brands include Lifeline Fitness www.lifelinefitness.com and www.resistancebandtraining.com for flat circular bands.

Another fantastic band product is the X3 Bar System - https://www.jaquishbiomedical.com/products/x3-bar/ - this clever system allow for maximal safe loading and a highly effective full-body workout!.    X3 is on sale for $399.

Another similar system is the Harambe System - https://harambesystem.com/collections/harambe-systems Full Harambe systems start at $515.

Suspension Trainers – the most well-known is TRX, but there are quite a few high-quality options.   Suspension Trainers use straps with handles and by adjusting your hand and foot position relative to the straps and where they anchored you can do hundreds of exercises and work your body head to toe.   These systems are light and very easy to transport.     Most come with some type of door or universal mounting system to allow you to use them in many places from a hotel room to a playground to a gym.

High quality Suspension Trainers include:

TRX – the most well know product on the market and it is available from TRX available on Amazon for $149.    Or buy directly from TRX at www.trxtraining.com

Lifeline Jungle Gym XT – another fantastic product with a split anchor design which allows you to precisely target certain muscles better such as chest doing chest flies.   At $99.99 this is a great value and a virtually indestructible product.   This product can be purchased from Amazon or at www.lifelinefitness.com

 

How to Handle Holiday Stress!

 

Although the holidays are a fun time of year they are also a very stressful time of year!   45 percent of Americans say they would prefer skipping the entire season because of financial pressure.  Most Americans feel that the stress really starts to build around December 13^th, grows worse through the 18^th and peaks on Christmas Day.

This holiday stress can be highly detrimental to your health, and it is sad but true that many take their lives during this season.    The physiological impact of this stress manifests as increased cortisol which boosts blood sugar levels, helps drive weight gain, and breaks down muscle.

Here are some tried and true ways to combat the holiday stress syndrome:

1.  Get your workouts in!  Now is NOT the time to skip workouts – even a short one can have an immediate and lasting effect in reducing your mental and physiological stress response.    A quick high intensity workout - just three 20 second sprints with one minute of active recovery – is proven to help maintain fitness and immediately improve mood while lowering blood pressure, mental stress and appetite!

2.   Get your Sleep!   Easier said than done, but focusing on when you eat, go to bed and wake up can keep your body in a good rhythm.   A simple way to do this is get up and go to bed at the same time every single day regardless of the day of the week – do NOT change your schedule on weekends.  

Then try to keep your food and beverage intake (except for water) in a 12-hour window so that you are NOT eating or drinking anything (except for water) for 12 hours.   For example, if you wake up at 6am and drink a cup of coffee at 7am (the clock has started at 7am).   That means you want to take in your last food or beverage no later than 7pm.     

So, if you know you are going to go out to parties try to take in your first calories at 8am to give you until 8pm to finish all food and beverage intake.   By keeping your sleep/wake cycle consistent along with your eating and not-eating schedule you allow your body to recover better.

3.   So if you are going to go out to parties – start early and leave early or just start drinking water and nothing else once you hit the end of your 12 hour window.

 4.   Set an alcohol budget – and switch to water after you hit it.     Doing this along with scheduling your wake/sleep cycle and food intake cycle can prevent a lot of issues while allowing you to have a great time!

 5.   Do not overbook yourself or your family – plan on downtime and keep it simple.     Less is often more in life the holidays are no exception!