EasyBlog

Summer is winding down and the days will get shorter, cooler and darker. But don’t let this mean your workouts will get shorter, less frequent and less intense. Instead use the change in seasons to revamp your workout and increase your positive self-talk.

How do you keep yourself going to the gym when it gets colder outside? Working out with a friend or buddy is a fantastic way to make sure you get to the gym (they keep you accountable and call you on it when you slack off) and make sure you have more fun. Fun you say? At the gym? Yes, absolutely. 

I started running in high school. As kids we always chased each other, but running in a straight line was new to me. I lived out in the country on a long, hilly road. Once I started to run on my own, my normal route was to run to the highway and back – 1 mile out and 1 mile back. To get there, I had to go up a little hill, then go up a really big hill to complete the first ½ mile. It was always a challenge but one that I enjoyed. Now when I run races and see a hill coming, my adrenaline surges. I’m so excited to charge that hill because I’ve been doing it all my life!

The race landscape has changed over the years. There are many 5K runs, some 2 mile fun runs and walks and this year I heard of my first quarter marathon. Whatever your preferred distance, realize that you can run any distance you want. Really you can! The healthy human body is so amazing and is limited only by our mental attitude. We like to ask newbie runners if they can run a mile. Usually they respond yes. Then we tell them that if you can run 1 mile, you can run 3. Then, if you can run 3, you can run 5. If you can run 5, you can run 10. If you can run 10, you can run a half-marathon – 13.1 miles. So, if you can run 1 mile, you can run a half!

For Father’s Day, my boyfriend’s son is planning on giving his father a juicer. (Don’t worry, we won’t spoil the surprise as he already asked if it would be used before purchasing it!) His son made us a “green” drink this past summer and it tasted surprisingly delicious. See picture. I hadn’t given it much thought since, but then my “butts and guts” class instructor who is also my yoga teacher mentioned we should Google Green Smoothie Girl. This is how the story continues.

I’ve always been a good student, so if my teacher asks me to do something, I do it. I learned that Green Smoothie Girl is a website developed by a woman, who while currently a best-selling author, used to weigh over 200 pounds and had over 21 chronic health problems. Through her green smoothies diet and switching to whole foods, she is now a 135 pound athlete with no health problems. That was of interest, so I kept reading.

Current nutritional guidelines advise eating between 5-9 servings of fruits and vegetables a day. At first glance, that may seem difficult but broken up throughout the day into meals and snacks it’s doable.

How much of the servings should come from fruit and how much from vegetables?

A person can typically eat as many vegetables in a day as they want as long as they are prepared in a healthy way without deep frying or too many sauces or dips. Always look for variety, although green leafy types should be the preference.

We have a joke about “going to the club” and “going to the jungle gym”. It sounds uppity to call it a club, yet it is short for health club, so I call it the club. My counterpart calls it an adult playground, hence the name jungle gym. Whatever you call it, health and fitness clubs have inundated our country and are available no matter where you live.

Why should you belong to a health and fitness club?

If you remember the basics for living a healthy life, they are eat well, get enough sleep and exercise, and in my world, be happy. To focus on just the exercise part, it is recommended that a person get 60 minutes of exercise a day.

Exercise helps your body function well, keeps you healthy, elevates your mood and can be fun. Exercising in a fitness club with other people around can be fun because studies show that whether you are exercising, commuting, or doing housework, everything is more fun in the company of others.

Fitness, my health and sports have been a passion of mine since I was 4 or 5 years old. I recall watching my father take very good care of his body. He spent most of his free time in city league sports in Racine, Wisconsin. He set a fine example for me to follow.

Over the years I've worked hard to maintain a healthy body. But no matter what shape you are in, now is a good time to start being healthier.

To help jump start any regimen one thing any man should do is to invest in a system cleaner. System cleaners are designed to flush your colon and your digestive system as a whole so that when you start to eat better or take vitamins or other supplements, it will absorb better into your system.