Tag Archives: Fitness

PP1: Live Fit, Live Free, Part 1

Overview of the Fitness Lifestyle

Health, or the pathway to health, has been overcomplicated by all the conflicting information published by “health” organizations. That is a shame, because all the confusion makes it hard for you to make solid health decisions. Well, that all ends today. Health should be easy. And living a healthy lifestyle should be simple. The goal of PP1: Live fit, Live free, is to demystify the conflicting health information. Below are the 4 principles that my family and I use to live an easy and simple lifestyle. I call it a fitness lifestyle. First, I want to give you a little background information on how I came up with these four principles.

Many moons ago, I learned a 6 dimensional model of wellness in one of my undergraduate classes. I was intrigued by the model, and I felt that it made tons of sense. However, it does require a good bit of knowledge to implement successfully. I actually found myself exploring a ton of avenues in order to be perfect at living well. Later in life, I added a seventh dimension, which complicated things even more. These seven dimensions form the foundation of the wellness model that my family and I live by, and it is the foundation of the principles that I will share with you here. However, I do not want you to become an expert in all of these aspects. I just want you to be aware that they exist. Let your health care provider become the expert.

7 Dimensional Model of Wellness

Intellectual Wellness
Physical Wellness
Emotional Wellness
Social Wellness
Spiritual Wellness
Environmental Wellness
Occupational Wellness

It took me many more years of education and experience to fill some much needed gaps between knowledge and application. In fact, I am still learning how specific parts of these dimensions impact health. PP1: Live fit, Live free, is the easy button for you. I reduced the 7 dimensional model to 4 principles, which are also action steps. I found that simplicity rules the day.

Many of my personal training clients and patients achieved their goals faster when I simplified and combined concepts. When it comes to making changes, knowledge is important, but repeatable action is the most important thing. So, I do not want to overwhelm you with knowledge here. I want to give you the basic framework that formed the basis of my fitness lifestyle. So, whenever I mention that phrase, you know that I have these seven aspects of wellness in mind. For me, the 7 dimensions are categories that I would use to measure results. For you, the 4 principles are action steps for you to get results. These action steps have improved the overall health and fitness level for my family and I. They have also helped to reduce our stress levels and medical visits. For me, it has been instrumental in living life with more purpose and job fulfillment.

Action Steps to Health | Fitness Lifestyle

Eat Clean.

The Foundation of Health. A strong mind and body comes from a healthy gut. That starts with daily nutrition from a variety of nuts & seeds, tons of vegetables, fruits, lean animal/plant proteins, and healthy fats and digestive support in the form of whole-foods supplements and essential oils.

Train Hard.

Move Better | Move More. Regular exercise strengthens the muscles and supports the cardiovascular, circulatory, and lymphatic systems. At a minimum, your training program should include dedicated time for mobility, flexibility, strength, and endurance. Incorporating essential oils into your recovery program can support joint mobility and ease feelings of tension in the body.

Use Essential Oils.

Targeted Support. Essential oils are a natural solution that you can use as your first line of defense, for getting consistent quality sleep and managing stress, and for supporting the body’s natural pathways of detoxification with natural cleaning and self-care product.

Enjoy LIfe.

Do What You Love | Love What You Do. Each of use is uniquely powerful. Finding out how you are uniquely powerful is the key to unleashing your infinite potential and your greatest joy in life. This may be the most important action step.

This concludes Part 1 of PP1: Live Fit, Live Free. In Part 2, I will invite you to put the model into practice.

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They changed the channel toward more healthy TV programming

by Ryan P. Desmond

Changing the Channel

In a recent Tweet, Life Time made the public aware of a change in the way they are doing business. They decided to change the channel on their TV programming. In exchange for the negative news cycle, Life Time will air shows that are more positive and family oriented, in an effort to improve emotional well-being.

Bahram Akradi, CEO of Life Time, founded the company to promote a healthy way of life. The leadership feels this change is consistent with their philospohy and client’s desires for a healthy, family environment.

Kudos to the Brand

I am not sure if Life Time abides by a Christian philosophy; however, I give kudos to the company. This decision is more consistent with their business philosophy, and it also parallels my belief of healthy, biblical living. Our Way of Life should always reflect the teachings of Jesus Christ and laws of God. Proverbs 4:23 says, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it” (NIV). These words of wisdom are a short statement that draws from the life experiences of our forefathers and give us direction for applying biblical principles in a practical way.

We are rarely able to list all of the potential outcomes of the decisions that we make. Still, that does not change the fact that our decisions often have profound, everlasting affects. That is why the wisdom of others is so important. That is the significance of living in a biblical way. We are able to take advantage of the experiences of so many that have come before us. And in hindsight, we are delighted when we see how our decision to live biblically saved us from heartache. 

Psychologist, Dr. Graham C.L. Davy, Ph.D. believes, “[the emotional content of films and television programs] can affect your psychological health, by directly affecting your mood, and your mood can then affect many aspects of your thinking and behaviour.” His belief supports the sentiments expressed by the author of Proverbs. We must guard our hearts and minds from negativity of all kinds, even sensationalized news. Negatively-charged, sensationalized news has the potential to affect our mood for an entire day. An article published in the Harvard Business Review said, “Individuals who watched just three minutes of negative news in the morning had a whopping 27% greater likelihood of reporting their day as unhappy six to eight hours later compared to the positive condition.”

Summary

As Christians, we must be well informed regarding the events that occur in life. We must also guard ourselves from the onslaught of negative outcomes that sensationalized news tends to market. That is just a way for them to improve ratings. Staying up-to-date on current events, like crime, famine, war, violence, political unrest, and injustice is important to life, because we are more aware of the types of decisions that we must make. And our decisions have the power to guide the world in a godly direction. Life Time has taken a huge step toward creating a more biblical environment on earth.