How to be grateful, even when times are tough. . .

Although I know to whom gratitude is directed, and that it shouldn’t be me or a fitness coach, I thought this e-mail from “Coach Tyler” had merit because it reminds us that setbacks are often a push forward.  Many of his points are quite Biblical (and since for many fitness/nutrition is the new God, I understand that). Even the word Eucharist means Thanksgiving!  He writes about three setbacks—a car accident, a job loss, and injuries that could have ended his successful private training business created after overcoming the first two: I promise if you read this whole email, you’ll be grateful you did :-) To start… First, let me explain what true gratitude is. Then, I wanna share with you 3 short stories from my life that will drive this point home. Let's dive in... Gratitude… many people think that in order to be grateful, you must have circumstances in your life that push you to experience gratitude. If life is good, you are grateful, if life is bad however… you throw a stink and tell yourself, “poor me.” While any gratitude is better than no gratitude, the most important kind of gratitude you must develop is called unconditional gratitude. Much like unconditional love where you love someone without conditions, unconditional gratitude is where you are grateful regardless of the circumstances that are happening to you in your life. And… One of the best ways to develop this is to remind yourself that with every hard hill you must climb, there is an easy slope waiting for you on the other side. In fact, here’s my personal life motto… “Everything That Happens To You Happens For A Good Reason. It’s Your Responsibility To Find That Reason!” Nowadays, when something bad happens to me, I look for the lessons, I look for the learning opportunities that came from my struggles. And… I assume that these bad circumstances are there to guide me towards something greater than I ever thought was possible. Let me explain... My first big lesson in unconditional gratitude came over a decade ago when I was hit by a car and ended up in the hospital where I had to relearn how to walk after more then 3 months of painful recovery! At first, I considered this a curse, and… like most people, I played the “poor me” game for several weeks. However… This accident is what led me down the path to learning the workout techniques I used to transform my body. And… It ultimately resulted in the creation of all of the Warrior Made workouts that we send out every week! Having seen this unfold in front of my eyes, I began to realize that life has a plan for me and it has one for you too! Then… Years later, something terrible happened… I lost my job! You see… At the time I was working a construction job and my wife was going to school full time. I worked every weekend just to make a living and to pay the rent. I can even remember my wife calling me to ask if she could buy a cup of coffee… It was Wednesday and I told her that she would have to wait until Friday. What a terrible feeling, not being able to provide a cup of coffee to the person you love most in this world. But… Like I said, it got worse… Work got slow and I got laid off! I can remember walking into my bedroom, my wife looking at me with eyes that knew something was wrong. I said to her, “I lost my job today” she looked up and said… “Ohh, you had me worried that someone died (I’m a bit dramatic). So what if you lost your job, you’re the smartest guy I know, this is the best thing that ever happened to you!” And… she was right! I went to work for myself, I busted my ass and ultimately built a successful personal training practice and boot-camp program through a local gym. As you can see... Another low point in my life actually turned out to be the catalyst to me finding success in teaching people how to transform their bodies and lives. But... That too didn’t last long… At the time I was working from 6am to 7pm 5 days a week and more on the weekends. If you came by the gym, I was likely there and I prided myself on my work ethic and on the fact that I did whatever I could to help my clients succeed! Then… One night I went to an adult gymnastics class with a friend of mine and it happened again… I was trying some new gymnastic moves that I probably shouldn’t have been doing and out of nowhere, my right knee collapsed and I tore my ACL, MCL, LCL, Quad and Meniscus! Overnight, I realized that there was one huge flaw in my “successful” bootcamp and private training programs… If I wasn’t there, everything failed! Which led me to 2 options… Let my programs fall apart because I couldn’t show up, or… figure out how to run my business from my laptop on my couch! I again busted my ass, learning how to automate my gym programs and eventually, I started a blog with much of the same content I was sharing with my students. After a few months, I was working less and less on the boot-camps and more and more on my online business and within 1 year of starting my first online community, I replaced my entire income from running private training and boot-camps! This led me to where I am today, the proud owner of Warrior Made! Which... Is growing so fast that I can hardly believe my eyes! And… I owe all of it to getting hit by a car, losing my job and brutally injuring my right knee in a sporting accident! All things that would leave people angry, upset and irritable! Instead... I was able to find the good in these things and today, I wouldn’t change a thing. In fact... I'm eternally grateful for everything in my life including the seemingly hard times! So… My gift for you on Thanksgiving is this… Right now, take a moment to think about your past, to find something that you may have considered a curse at the time but eventually became a blessing. Once you have that in your mind, take a second to realize that most of the bad things that are happening to you right now, are just currents in your river of life, coaxing you towards becoming the best version of yourself. And… Everything that's happened to you up to this point has happened for a reason. Perhaps even a good one? It’s your responsibility to find that reason and make a positive impact on the world! Happy Thanksgiving Norma and don’t forget to be unconditionally grateful for everything that happens in your life! Coach Tyler

The morning exercise routine

Until this summer, I usually walked about two miles in the morning, always choosing a flat street to accommodate my bursitis pain and getting at least a mile along Lake Erie.  Then the Wellness Center opened in 2018.  Now I walk there (about 1 mile to get there), exercise on a cycle and a treadmill (about 4 miles), then walk home, about 1 mile, and pick up 2 or 3 miles during the day walking to various programs and activities.  Returning home through the woods has been especially nice.

 

 

From a drone photo

How the LAPD stays fit

Our niece (foreground, white shirt) showing her fellow LAPD officers how to workout and push themselves to their full potential. Dripping sweat, pushing hard, lifting weights and heart rate up. She loves that!  Makes my 40 minutes on the treadmill at Lifetime Fitness look pretty tame. She's the mother of three, twins who are 3+ and a 15 year old. Her husband is also a police officer.

Adventures at the gym

Today one of the instructors showed me how to use the machines. First I told her everything I didn't want to do and any health problems. So in addition to the treadmill, which I've been using about 3 weeks, she showed me five machines, 4 of which were in a special section called "physical therapy." I decided not to argue with her when she told me two sets of twenty on each machine.  I've known this body a lot longer than she has and if I do 5, I'll be pleased.  Even after a demo, I came home and took a hot shower and some Advil.  She told me she used to weight 220 lbs. and looks like she might be 115 max. now.  It's always cold there, even though I see a lot of people sweating.  So I went to Wal-Mart and bought myself some new work out clothes with longer or mid-arm sleeves.

Calculate your BMI and physical activity

I tried three different BMI calculators, and got three different answers (all within normal). But I like this one best because it took my sex and age into consideration and eliminated Asian Americans from the race category (they are smaller than European Americans). Also the site added some advice. https://www.smartbmicalculator.com/?ru=2 So if you're going to do the usual New Year's resolution, try this one.

I was surprised when reading this article on physical activity and its relationship to the deadliest killers, to see that 54% of American adults actually do get the recommended 150 minutes a week (about five 30 minute workouts).  There are at least six fitness/gyms within 2-3 miles of my residence, so someone in suburbia is working out.  I am registered at two of them, but I'm not very regular, except on my exercycle in my office. I prefer walking outside, but a slight hill bothers my bursitis.

https://www.yelp.com/search?cflt=gyms&find_loc=Upper+Arlington%2C+OH

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5327681/

"Adults who met the PA guidelines were significantly more likely not to report high cholesterol, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, arthritis, asthma, depression, or overweight. Furthermore, adults meeting the PA guidelines were significantly more likely to report having health insurance, consuming fruits daily, consuming vegetables daily, and not being a current cigarette smoker."

Wednesday at Lakeside

Busy Wednesday. I'm going to the herb group at 8:30 on the lakefront. I only use salt and pepper when I cook, but it's a lovely group and a nice way to meet people. Then I'm taking my friend Nancy out for a birthday lunch at that new pay it forward diner in Port Clinton that helps the low income http://www.bistro163.org/ .  I hear the food is great.  Staffed by volunteers.  Then the community picnic is at 5:30. I'm debating about attending the afternoon lecture on nutrition and fitness. Tough life at Lakeside Chautauqua, but someone has to do it.

Update:  The herb group meeting was great.  Looks like an interesting season of programs with a field trip to Mulberry Creek Herb Farm, 3312 Bogart Rd. Huron, OH 44829

Lunch at Bistro 163 was delicious.  What a wonderful program.  Suggested prices, and the staff are volunteers, sort of like docents, who explain what the non-profit is about.  During the school year they bring kids there for tutoring, and then send them home with a healthy snack.  I had salmon and a salad, and Nancy had flat bread with figs, bacon and focaccia which I tasted, and we both had coconut bread pudding for dessert.

I did make it to the afternoon nutrition lecture, which included some very basic information about calories, metabolism, micronutrients, and controllable and uncontrollable factors. She reported on the Biggest Loser study (2016) and long term change. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27136388 and some interesting books by Brian Wansick, Mindless eating and Slim by design.  I learned that people who have food on their kitchen counter, particularly cereal, are more likely to be over weight, and people who have fruit on the counter, weigh less.