Is it worth it?

Do you ever happen onto someone’s “day” and wonder why they take things so seriously. Or maybe you find yourself exploding over something that doesn’t really matter.

I rounded the corner of the building and there was the scene.

A little boy with mixed emotions in his eyes. A breadstick on the ground and a mother with set jaw and anger on her face. After walking past I heard her say firmly,” I am very angry.” Well duh, you didnt need to say it luv!

He knew it when he accidentally held the plastic sleeve the wrong way and the bread dropped onto the ground. My heart went out to the poor kid as it was obvious it had been a mistake and couldn’t she have said,” What a pity that dropped,  Never mind, I know it was a mistake.”

 What happened before the event, I don’t know. I am sure the Mum may have had a challenging morning and it might have been the last straw. Is it in perspective for a 4 year old kid though? They just see a bread-stick dropping on the ground and think, “That is worth getting very angry about!?”

Do you see how we can transfer importance on to others through our own frustrations.

I love these life lessons because I too have been there but I was probably taking my ‘venting’ out on an adult.

Write in the comment section and tell me a story of frustrations in your day that you observed or mishandled.

Cheers Tim James

The small disciplines or small errors in judgement!

If you add up the small daily disciplines or errors in judgement then you can see what the sum total is but never till its too late.

It is not the big decisions we make that cause the greatest change but actually the 50 or more small decisions that affect us long term.

If I decide between skipping breakfast (error in judgement) or making time to have some eggs or museli and yoghurt (daily discipline ).

If I decide to watch that evening sitcom or walk the dog

If I decide to call a friend to encourage them to workout with me or catchup to go shopping

If I decide to have the cheesecake or opt for a piece of fruit and some raw nuts

If I decide to spend 30 minutes on the treadmill @ low intensity or spend 8 lots of high intensity sprints.

If I decide to put aside $20 for a rainy day or spend it on that “special”

If I decide to pack my lunch the night before or buy takeaway from the noodle shop

If I spend 15 minutes reading a nutrition book or delve into a romance/drama novel

If I reply to that unanswered email or surf the net

If I add vegies to my meal or opt for that microwave meal

If I take my multivitamin and mineral supplement as preventative or take a pharmaceutical for my symptomatic cold

If I choose a top quality omega 3 supplement or have a mercury contaminated fish fillet

None of these choices are necessarily bad or good but they add up over time to an outcome.

5 Unique exercise methods

The purpose of this post is simply to inspire you with more ideas if you are looking for different ways to workout. It is not meant to be exhaustive or complete but to begin your journey in “different”

Battling Ropes – This method has been around a long time in the military but is becoming more popular in fitness training methods like “Crossfit”. There are so many varieties but it is a killer upper body and cardiovascular workout all in one.

Sledge Hammer and Tyres Another brilliant use of cheap equipment to develop upper body strength and also lower body if prescribed correctly. One word of advice is clean your tyres with soap and brush or use gloves as they get you pretty dirty. Double hand, single hand or alternating are some different grips for the sledge. Tyres can be dragged, flipped, hit, rolled etc….

Kettlebells- My favourite- If you come to my Wednesday morning fitcamp sessions you can find out more but ever since my instructor course with Australian Kettlebells I have really enjoyed learning how these teach me to improve my technique.

Bodyweight- What I love about bodyweight is how much we dont utilize what we have for free. Learning handstands and one legged squats and pullups is just the beginning. Just take a look at what people in modern dance comps are doing with gymnastics or go and see a Cirque- circus and you will be WOWED and inspired.

Cars- Sounds strange but all you need is an empty car park and 3 people to push and one to steer. This is a great finisher and really drains the legs. A little tap on the brakes can make it really evil )

I hope you enjoyed this and let me know what else you would like me to write about!

Cheers Tim

Where’s your head at?

Life has it’s ups and downs. It can be smooth one week and challenging the next.

What is your mind set on through all this?

 I hope it is your goals! If life needs to be constant in order for you to keep your mind on your goal then nobody would achieve anything. It is the ability to get back on the “bike” and keep cycling that makes the difference.

Here are a few pointers to what keeps me motivated.

Surround yourself with like minded people who also want to achieve similar goals. When you have a low day and you confer with them they can remind you why you are doing this and likewise you can encourage them.

Be crystal clear about what your goal is and refine it if you are not clear. The clearer the goal the easier it is to reach out and achieve it. Build a vision board that has pictures of things or emotions that you would feel when you reached your goal.

Work on daily affirmations. Look in the mirror and tell yourself the goal but in the present tense. eg. I am … and it is May 31, 2010. You will not only be focusing on your own success but your mind cannot dwell on negatives while you are doing this. The effect will be you reprogramming your subconcious which is what controls your actions.

When you are feeling swamped with challenging stuff sit down and make a list of five things in your day that you are currently grateful for. It will help you to see that it is not all that bad and “this too shall pass”.

Maybe you have had an experience that got you out of the slump. Please leave your comments below. I always love reading them.

Cheers Coach Tim James