How To Get Motivated To Workout

With health and fitness becoming ever more popular and people wanting to be the healthiest versions of themselves. It can feel quite overwhelming knowing where to start, who to listen to, what exercises you should be doing and what you should be eating. With this overwhelming feeling becoming all encompassing, it can be hard to stay, or even get motivated.

We All Have Our Off Days

However, we all have our off days when working out, or eating healthy couldn’t be further from what we actually want to be doing. No matter whether you’ve been working out for years, or you’re a total newbie. Motivation ebbs and flows with life’s ups and down. You’re never going to be 100% motivated 100% of the time.

Don’t Rely On Motivation

Motivation isn’t some thing to rely on when it comes to health and fitness. Yes, it’s great when you have it bucket…

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Name Your Adventure

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Motivation plus tips for breaking through trials and tribulations

The Fundamental Elements of Excellence

In our world today, there are literally tons of motivational techniques, courses, books, hypnosis, and trial and error. What if I were to tell you that there is another way? A simpler, less stressful way to get more out of li

I present to you, BATESism.

Yes, I made an acrostic out of my last name- and why not? It’s all the help, with a touch of hype. These five tenets will take you “from the poorhouse to the penthouse”.

            In life, there will be times where you must pivot. There is nothing wrong with that, as life makes demands upon us to where we must adapt, overcome or regress, degenerate and die. Life itself is a living, breathing thing, as are we as sentient beings. Personal success is paramount to the collective success as a people as a whole- then as a nation, as states, cities, towns and so forth. At the end of the day, it still boils down to the individual. And individually, have you ever wanted to achieve more, be more, do more for yourself? Have you ever looked at something on television, or in the movies and felt some sort of connection, as to say that you want something that has been presented? What is it about life that you just cannot seem to figure out? What is it about YOU that you may not be able to figure out? Do you like where you are currently? Do you even like yourself? Is the yearning, thirsting, and dreaming for what is “out there” reaching a fever pitch?

            What is the way you want to be depicted and viewed as? Where do you want to be in a given period of time? In the annals of time, there have been those who break through and make a difference. I want you to be one of those. I want you to teach, instruct, mold and inspire others to greatness. With my concept of BATESism, simply five tenets can change your life if you put in the work. You put in the time, the effort, the careful planning, the EXECUTION of the plans- your life will become something to behold. These five tenets (made up of the letters of my surname) will atomize you. This will be a defining moment. This is how BATESism breaks down:

B- Believe (in yourself): Believe you CAN. Whatever it is that you are looking to do, the first and most important step of this thing is to believe in yourself. Have faith in yourself.  Have confidence in your abilities. This is the foundation of “the achievement pyramid”.

A- Achieve: Achievement is “the work”. It is the doing, it is the proving ground. Wanting, yearning and dreaming will have to eventually give way to action. Action, no matter how small, no matter how incremental, will change your circumstances. It will change your life.

T-Total: When it comes time to act, leave no doubt. When it is time to “show and prove”, make such an impression that they will not easily forget you.

E- Excellence: In our world of ever-decreasing standards, expectations and diminished outcomes, be the exception. Be exceptional.

S-Success: This is a no-brainer. Success, getting the most out of yourself at every turn, getting the job done with a definite posture, even a bit of flash and flair is paramount. Maintaining a standard of excellence is not only your duty and your responsibility, it is your trust. It is part of your DNA. It is a major part of your destiny and a big part of your legacy.

Combining these factors with a can-do spirit and a dogged determination to succeed, you will win. Success does take time, but it is worth it. Think of it in this manner: How good will this be for your descendants, your progeny? Imagine what all this will do for your reputation? How your family, friends and all others will look at you, and look to you for help, support and answers. Your hopes, your dreams, your plans and even your schemes can all be realized…

….with just a little bit of BATES.

Procrastination: The Dream Thief

Procrastination. One of the many long, multisyllable words we have in our version of the English language. According to Oxford Languages, procrastination is “the act of delaying or postponing something”. Seems harmless at first glance, delaying or postponing. In all reality, procrastination is what I call a “Dream thief”. The illusion that you have when it comes to this is “oh, I’ve got time to do it, I’ll go here, go there, etc”. In all reality, we all have a finite time to do things. As you all know in life, there are several points in life that have a “Turning Point”. A turning point, according to vocabulary.com, is “a specific moment when things begin to change”. Take the example of one Miss Rosa Parks that day on the bus, or the day when “Give me liberty of give me death” was first uttered. We all have our turning points. We all have dreams. Procrastination will lull you into a false sense of security, stealing your creativity and killing the dream.

How many projects, how many dreams have been indefinitely delayed because of procrastination? According to CBSNews.com, procrastination costs upwards of $650 BILLION USD a year. How many of you have lost out on something because of procrastinating? I can attest to that. Relationships, jobs, money-making opportunities, acting jobs, etc. People who are doers can get into what’s known as active avoidance- being busy for the sake of busyness. Being busy for busy’s sake is also a way to procrastinate. You get so busy being busy you can gloss over the 950-lb Silverback in the room beating its chest and throwing bananas at you. You glide on, thinking “you’ll get around to it”, but you never do. Again, I’m guilty of this. You now know what procrastination is, what it can cost.

The big question is obviously, what can you do about it? In the speeches, sermons and symposiums I have watched dealing with his subject, the solution(s) all fall to one thing: make up your mind, commit to doing the things that matter instead of continuing on in the delusion. In a Business Insider article I read recently, there are 4 types of procrastinators:

1) the overbooker (too busy to do what they really need to do)

2) the novelty seeker (always having the newest, freshest ideas)

3) the self-deprecator (who will admit their laziness) and the last one,

4) the performer (“I work well under pressure”).

All four of these are deluded by their pride and are seduced by the illusion of having more time than they really do have. The solution with all procrastinators, including the four archetypes I just listed, in reiteration, committing to doing a thing, one thing at a time, starting with our 950-lb friend who is enjoying boinking those aforementioned bananas off your thick skull. Defeating procrastination is just like overcoming anything else in life- one day at a time, one situation at a time. Ever allow yourself to get comfortable in this- that’s how you ended up here in the first place. Lastly, I leave you with this: don’t give up hope. Yes, procrastination is a thief, it costs us so much. It’s easily defeated once we know what to look for. Hopefully my suggestions will get the ball rolling in your favor.

RESOURCES

1. https://www.businessinsider.com/main-types-of-procrastinators-how-to-avoid-accountability-coaches
2. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-staggering-cost-of-procrastination/#:~:text=Think%20the%20time%20you%20spend,at%20a%20shocking%20%24650%20billion.
3. https://www.google.com/search?q=procrastination+definition&oq=procrastination&aqs=chrome.2.69i57j0i10i433l2j0i10j0i10i433j0i10i131i433j0i10j0i10i433j0i10l2.14244j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
4. https://www.google.com/search?q=turning+point+definition&sxsrf=ALeKk02mEbZOyGghtpsdMDBXrNxPqYaFYg%3A1620836245745&ei=lf-bYLC_LJLR9APu17_YAQ&oq=&gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAEYAzIHCCMQ6gIQJzIHCCMQ6gIQJzIHCCMQ6gIQJzIHCCMQ6gIQJzIHCCMQ6gIQJzIHCCMQ6gIQJzIHCCMQ6gIQJzIHCCMQ6gIQJzIHCCMQ6gIQJzIHCCMQ6gIQJ1AAWABgseMGaAFwAngAgAHtAogB7QKSAQMzLTGYAQCgAQGqAQdnd3Mtd2l6sAEKwAEB&sclient=gws-wiz

Legacy

HFG Founder and Chairman Kente’ Bates gives his take on building and preserving a legacy.

The Canvas

For First Time Lifters…

It’s a new year. For those people who are picking up lifting for the first time, whether it’s at a gym, a class or at home…

• Study. In my opinion, the best way to get the results always starts with a good working knowledge of lifting, what it does to the body and mind and most importantly, what lifting can do for all other parts of your life as well.
• Listen to your body. In the past, I’ve often listed this last (as in most important). For this year, I’m putting it second. Obviously we’re all different. Our individual bodies respond to lifting, fitness in a different way than anyone else. Again, be studious to listen to your body. Take notes if need be. Get all you can from it.
• Enjoy yourself. In the past, I’ve approached this topic as a Drill Sergeant would- with the accompanying intensity, spit flying, etc. Not for 2021. This year I want all of you to enjoy lifting, to fall in love with it as I did. The gym saved my life. I think fondly of how I found myself in sweat, banging away in the gym. Those 4+ hour workouts had shown me what I was made of. It will be the same for you, of course to a varying degree.
• Don’t discount the element of fun while learning how to lift, how to eat, etc.

In summation, let this be the beginning of something great. Don’t limit the changes just to the gym. Let it be a process you introduce for the rest of your life as well.

Knowledge, awareness and action. Three very important basics to have and to master.

THE BASICS ALWAYS WIN.

What 3 Common Food Cravings may be telling You REPOST (all credit to livestrong.com)

What These 3 Common Food Cravings Are Trying to Tell You

By Kim Conte Updated February 3, 2020 Fact Checked

Sometimes listening to your food cravings is better than brushing them off. When you’re craving french fries, a chocolate shake or a juicy steak, that simply means you want to eat these delicious foods and you want them now, right? Not necessarily.

According to Tiffany Mendell, RDN, CDN, a New York-based registered dietitian-nutritionist, there are several physiological reasons behind your cravings. The severity and frequency of your food hankerings can be affected by a combination of unhealthy lifestyle factors, such as being dehydrated, lack of sleep and an unbalanced diet.Making sure that you get enough healthy fat, protein and complex carbohydrates to satisfy you is important for keeping cravings at bay. Stress can also play an important role: “It’s hypothesized that cortisol — one of the body’s stress hormones — may potentiate the reward system in the brain with food and cravings, making it more difficult for a person to resist a craving,” Mendell tells LIVESTRONG.com.

And, of course, insufficient sleep can also have an effect by altering the body’s hunger hormones and causing us to produce more of a hormone called ghrelin (which increases hunger and appetite) and less leptin (aka the satiety hormone), according to a March 2016 study published in the journal Sleep.

Read on to find out what’s possibly behind your cravings, and how you can honor them in a way that’s good for your body

1. If You’re Craving Salty Foods, You May Be DehydratedClose-up of friends eating during an outdoor dinnerBefore you reach for another chip, trying drinking a glass of water. Whether it’s because you drank too much alcohol last night, are on a long flight or another thirst-inducing situation — can come with some serious cravings for salt.”Sodium is a major electrolyte in the body; electrolytes (which are minerals) help to maintain fluid balance in the body,” Mendell says. “Dehydration is essentially a loss of electrolytes and fluid that can occur from excess sweating, heavy alcohol intake or vomiting/diarrhea. So a craving for salt could indicate dehydration as the body is looking to restore electrolyte and fluid balance. “Additionally, some research has shown that salt cravings can indicate mild calcium deficiency in the body, according to the Institute of Medicine. However, more research needs to be done in order to solidify the connection between salt cravings and a need for calcium-rich foods.A Healthy Way to Satisfy Your CravingGood choices for salty food cravings include dried seaweed, tomato juice, salted almonds or broth. 2. If You’re Craving Fatty Foods, You May Need More Sleepfish and chips fried cod, french friesGoing to sleep too late might cause you to crave fried foods. As Mendell explained, not catching enough zzzs can alter the body’s hunger hormones, ghrelin and leptin. There’s also research showing that sleep deprivation can cause a person to eat an average of 385 extra calories the next day, according to a November 2016 meta-analysis in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. What’s more, lack of sleep can have a direct effect on cravings — and one type of food in particular. “Insufficient sleep can also raise the blood level of chemical compounds called endocannabinoids,” Mendell says. “This increases the reward value of food and causes cravings for high-fat, calorie-dense foods.” If you typically struggle with intense food cravings, try to focus on improving your sleep habits and hygiene.

If you simply can’t resist your craving for your sweet treat of choice, try eating a small portion of it after eating a balanced meal first. And if you know you won’t be able to stick with a small piece, opt for some fresh fruit or a square of dark chocolate.

Read more: The 7 Best Sweet Snack Ideas to Beat Your Sugar CravingsThe Bottom Line on CravingsWhen it comes to resisting cravings, Mendell reminds us that it’s not always about willpower. In fact, foods that are high in sugar and salt — namely, processed foods — have a powerful effect on our brains and keep us wanting more. That’s why it’s so difficult for you to stop eating a bag of pretzels while a bag of carrots is an entirely different story. “Our taste buds are very malleable and repeated exposure tends to influence our taste buds to prefer certain foods,” she says.So if you want to stop craving processed foods high in sugar and salt, start with a diet of mostly unprocessed, whole foods, and your taste buds should adjust accordingly.

A Healthy Way to Satisfy Your CravingOpt for healthy fats such as avocado, nuts and nut butter, seeds and fish over fried foods.

3. If You’re Craving Sugary Foods, You May Need to Eat a More Balanced Diet. A diet too high in sugar and refined carbohydrates can cause intense cravings. Cravings can happen for a few reasons. “Repeated exposure to overly sweet foods skews people’s taste buds,” Mendell says. “It makes less sweet foods like fruit and vegetables seem less palatable.”This is particularly bad news for people who take in a lot of artificial sweeteners (think: diet sodas and sugar-free snack foods), which are 200 to 600 times sweeter than table sugar, per a June 2010 study in the Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine.Additionally, if your diet is too high in refined carbohydrates — which can cause a rapid spike and drop in blood sugar levels — you’ll crave sugary foods to raise your blood sugar again.

A Healthy Way to Satisfy Your Craving

KTC Repost

All credit goes to Doug Kaufman and Know the Cause.