Your starting point is your choice.  Ground up, or Top Down, it’s totally up to you.

Personally, I like to start from the top.  My approach is Top Down, outside in.  That means starting with your physical appearance and what others can see, and then addressing internal issues.

Twenty five years ago maybe you had your hair cut every two or three weeks, but right now, today, you have someone cutting it once every four months.  There’s a good two months when your neck is all hairy and the hair is just sticking out in all types of weird ways from your collar.

Having you hair cut made you feel good because…you looked good.  There’s no secret there.  If you like the way you look, you’ll feel better about yourself.  There’s a saying, “look good, feel good,” and it’s all about confidence.

As I’m writing this, I just started laughing to myself because I was in a hole, and I know that some people could’ve been in a hole so deep, they let themselves go for years and years and years.😆.  I can laugh at this because I was there.  Two years ago I saw a shirt hanging in my closet that I wore in 1999.  ..I couldn’t believe I still owned that shirt.

Anyways….Hair cuts, grooming, new modern clothes, and footwear are ways to help improve our look.  Keeping up to date with our  appearance not only makes us feel good, but it increases our confidence, and it changes the way others see us as well.

Trust this.  Our outer appearance is what people see first obviously, so if you’re slipping in this area, people notice.  Well, people that care about you will notice.  If your neglect continues they’ll begin to wonder.

“Oh did you see Betty today.  She still has that jacket from like 10 years ago.  Is she poor, is she working, what’s she doing with her money, maybe she’s depressed.  I think Betty is smoking dope.”

Dieting and exercising, in my opinion, are on the border – meaning they’re the transition from outer to inner.  Dieting and exercising improves so many things, but specifically, they change our look and improve overall health.  Doing both moderately will help put us in a better state mentally, improve our health, and enable us to look better.  Exercising improves cardiovascular health, blood circulation, and thus, overall digestion.

Imagine your inner body is a pond.  Without circulation and movement the water gets stagnant and containimated.  When the water flows it stays clean for the most part and containmenants don’t have time to gather.  Even if you get out for a walk or sit on a stationary bike and peddle, that’s moving.

All of this this brings us back to The Push.  The refusal to let ourselves go and neglect our bodies puts us back in a position where we’re feeling good about ourselves.  We look good, and we know it.  We feel it, and we’re confident.  We might not standout, but we’re good with what we’re working with.  You’re not running home anymore, in fact you’re having a good time and enjoying yourself.

I’ll tell you this because I know it’s true.  Sometimes we get frustrated and upset with other people and choices we make, but it’s because something is off within us.  The root of our frustration is simply, not doing what we want.  You wanted to go shopping, but you didn’t, you wanted to run, but you decided not to, you wanted to reach out to contact a friend, but you didn’t, you wanted send a funny email, but you decided not to, and then, when the weekend came, you went out with some friends who were talking and laughing about how they did all the things you decided not to do.  The frustration within projected envy and a sense of jealousy.  The people around you picked up on your impatience.

You had nothing to say because you didn’t want to do anything, so you just stood there with a fake smile on your face and listened.  The people around you knew you weren’t yourself, and they couldn’t figure out why suddenly you were the quiet one in the group.

My advice is for you to do what you want.  Whatever it is, do it.  Don’t be a victim of self-abuse, meaning don’t beat yourself up later for not doing what you wanted to do now.  Don’t limit yourself.

Eventually, people’s views about Betty will change.  “Did you see Betty?  She just got her hair done, and it looks really good.  Did you see Mr. Smith with his new Pants?  He got a complete wardrobe update.  He’s looking super-stylish.  Boy, that Betty is in really good shape, she’s almost 40.

Eventually, Betty does all the things she wants to do, and she’s happy.  She has something to talk about.  She’s actively living, and wants to share her experiences.  She’s laughing and talking and the life of the party again.  She’s Pushing it.

Now Betty wonders why Joan isn’t herself.  “Did you see Joan at the party all quiet and standing there with that stupid fake smile.”  Joan’s running home now complaining about the place, the people, and everything else.

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Push or Get Pushed!

 

     What’s up?  I can’t believe how popular total body workouts are becoming.  I’m not a stranger to the fact that these workouts have been around almost as long as lifting weights has, but the popularity of these workouts change with the needs of those lifting the weights.

     Everyone is out for different results, and that’s because we all have different goals.  As you know I’ve been training my whole body in a single session, and my workout has been as follows:

Chest- Dumbbell Bench Press: 4 sets @ 16, 14, 12, 8 reps.

Back-Seated Close Grip Rows: 4 sets @ 16, 14, 12, 8 reps.

Shoulders- Seated Strait Bar Press: 4 sets @ 16, 14, 12, 8 reps.

Legs- Squats: 4 sets @ 12, 12, 10, 8 reps.

Tricepts- Close Grip Push Downs: 4 sets @ 25 reps.

Bicepts- Alternating Dumbbell Curls: 4 sets @ 25 reps.

     It’s a very basic work, but it’s good, and if it’s preformed at a high intensity, you might puke.  I almost did!

     I did however, want to introduce a couple of variations that I’m now experimenting with to shock my body a little.  Professionals say our bodies can adjust to workouts, which results in minimal gains, so it’s important to keep things fresh.  Shit gets stale.

     The first thing you can do is change the frequency or time between lifting sessions.  If you start things off lifting every Monday, that’s good.  Stick with that for a month just to get the ball rolling again.  When month two begins, start training once every six days.  So that would be Monday, Sunday, Saturday, etc.

     When month three begins, change it again to once every five days.  If you can get yourself up to once every three days, that’s fantastic.  As you close the gaps between training sessions, you can also change the routine.

     If you use my workout above as a base to start with, then let’s use chest as our example.

Chest- Dumbbell Bench Press 2 sets @ 16, 14 reps.

Strait Bar Bench Press- 2 set @ 12, 8 reps.

     So, as you can see, we’re still doing 4 total sets, but we’re doing two different exercises for the body part.  You can do the same thing with Legs, Back, Shoulders, and Arms.

     If you want to make it high intensity then check this out.

     Start with Dumbbell Bench Press, and do your first set of 16 reps, then immediately, without a resting period, jump to your flat bench (which is already set-up and waiting) for your set of Straight Bar Press @ 12 reps.  Rest for 45 seconds to 1 minute, and then repeat.  Bam!  Chest is done already.

Remember, with total body routines, the focus is muscle strength and endurance.  It’s not really a mass-building workout.  Think hard and fast.  Stay moving.

Alright everyone, as always, if you have any questions or comments please write in.  We love hearing from you, and don’t forget to tap the follow button.

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Have A Wonderful Evening