I bumped into a good friend in the store the other day and and we got to chatting about our kids. She was telling me about her youngest going off to college and becoming an “empty nester”. I asked her about what she planned to do with her “extra” time. (By the way she is very busy, motivated person and won’t have trouble filling the time). She wasn’t too sure but had a couple ideas. I then said “the great think is when you have lasts you immediately have firsts.” Lasts in this case meaning the last time you volunteer in your child’s art class, the last time you take and pick them up from soccer practice, the last conversation about the dance they just attended, you get the picture. While we might be nostalgic about these events, the great thing is they will be replaced with Firsts. The first time you’ve slept in on a Saturday in 12 years, the first time you took a guitar lesson in the evening, the first time you woke up with no plan for the day. So enjoy the lasts and make them as great as they can be, and look forward to the Firsts with great anticipation and an open mind, you may or not know what they’ll be.

If you would like to share a “last” and what the “first” was to follow, please write about it in the comment area.

Thanks,
Charlie

“I haven’t exercised in a long time, where do I get started?”

Great question. In the sea of fitness information and potential choices it can be a bit confusing. Lift weights, “Cardio”, Stretch, Yoga, Pilates, Run, Swim, Cycling, infomercial DVD you bought at 2:00AM the list goes on and on. My advice, just start with something, almost anything, get out there and get going. If you are totally confused on where to begin, I think walking is a great place to start. Walking can be done almost anywhere, is free and is something most of us can and know how to do. Try setting aside 15-30 minutes a day for a dedicated walking routine. As time goes on you can always add more time or a different mode of exercise, like riding a bike, lifting weights or taking a yoga class. If walking isn’t your thing or doesn’t work for you then find something that you can and will do and get out there and do it.

Next piece of advice and an important one, start slowly. The big mistake people make when getting back into an exercise routine is to start doing too much too soon or, once they’ve started, progressing how much and how hard they work too quickly. Too many times this backfires on people with not being able to accomplish what they set out to do, being really sore and/or getting injured. People then tend to get frustrated with the program they have laid out for themselves and many people just give up which is the worst thing of all.

So get out there and get started, but remember to start slowly and build slowly.

If you would like to share what helped you get started with your fitness routine please do so below. If you have questions on how to implement a health and fitness plan for yourself please send me a message through the contact page. I look forward to hearing form you.

Thanks,
Charlie

For my first ever blog post I wasn’t sure what fitness question I should be trying to answer or what fitness myth I should be trying to dispel. For instance: What are the best exercises for my butt? Does eating fat make you fat or is it sugar or both? Can I reach my fitness goals by working out only 10 minutes 2 times a week? Or one of my favorites, “Its my genetics, so I’m doomed, so whatever, give me another slice of pizza and a beer!” All great questions and concerns and maybe I’ll touch on those down the road but for this post I’d like to talk about commitment.

It’s an interesting concept that we all participate in everyday. We commit to work so we can get a paycheck, because we have to pay rent or a mortgage that we’ve committed to. We commit to college because we applied, were accepted and paid the tuition and therefore need to commit to doing the course work so we can ultimately graduate. We rescued a dog from a shelter so our commitment is to love and feed him, not necessarily in that order. The list goes on and on and I think you get the picture. Commitment.

Our lives or full of commitments, some are of our own doing and passion and some are placed upon us and are to no fault of our own. Since I am a husband, father, son, brother and friend I completely understand the meaning of commitment, what it stands for and how important it is to follow through on all of life’s commitments.

But for most of you out there I am communicating to you as a personal trainer and would like to relate commitment to you and your health and fitness. Our many other commitments frequently get in the way of us making headway towards our health and fitness. We tend to not prioritize health and fitness or push it to the back of the line as we put other, “more important” commitments to the front. Now, I’m not suggesting that you take that awesome spinning class instead of going to your child’s piano recital or getting to work late just to get in that weight training session, remember you have a mortgage. What I’m saying is “commit to your commitments.” Find a way to get your workouts in, eat healthy foods and get a good nights sleep along with your other commitments. It can be done, it takes some planning, at times some guidance and, yes, commitment.

So, commit to your health and fitness plan, be willing to make adjustments as you go and in some cases push the restart button. In the end, your health and fitness plan is just as important as many of your other commitments, in fact you wouldn’t be able to do them very well if you don’t commit to it. So my suggestion for you is to take a look at all of your commitments in life and figure out how your health and fitness plan fits in with them. Now, go out and commit.

If you would like to share what helps you commit to your health and fitness please do so at the top of this post. If you have questions on how to implement a health and fitness plan for yourself you can reach me through contact page.

Thanks,
Charlie