Kim's Fitness and Nutrition

It seems almost silly to speak of change as though it is something that rarely happens, because everything is constantly in motion and endlessly changing. However, I do think that as humans, we have been perpetuating and growing a phase where we have been focused in greed and self-centeredness. This has been escalating for several hundred years. That trend, I do think, is beginning to implode onto itself, and many people feel something shifting. Our economy, our government, our religions, are all being shaken at their very core, and many are crumbling before our eyes. An awakening is starting to dawn in peoples? conscious awareness. Many are looking around and wondering, ?What on earth have we been thinking and doing?? There is a consensus forming and it is saying, ?There must be more to life and there must be a way to live in joy and harmony with ourselves and others, and certainly the path we have been taking IS NOT IT.?

Most of us over 50 and maybe even sooner, have begun to experience those embarrassing moments when we go into a room and find ourselves asking, ?What did I come in here for again?? Or, we are in the middle of a conversation and we draw a blank as to what we were about to say. These happenings are the result of our brain cells shrinking, a reduced blood supply, and a dip in the amount of neurotransmitters we now produce. This is ?normal? to the aging process; HOWEVER, research indicates that if we exercise 3 times a week for 45-60 minutes, we can make a significant difference in our brain health. We can slow, and to a large degree reverse, age-related brain diminishment. Through exercise we cause a birthing of new brain cells, an increase of neurotransmitter production, as well as increase the blood supply to the brain. This in turn actually helps us grow the volume of our brain tissue back. This information was found in a new review of studies in the ?British Journal of Sports Medicine.?

Especially during the winter months, we just do not get enough Vitamin D. When it?s cold outside we are usually reluctant to spend much time out of doors, and we simply cannot eat enough foods to provide us with adequate amounts. A recent study of 13,000 people published in the ?Archives of Internal Medicine? found evidence of the power of D. Not only does it bolster our immune system and help us to fight off flus and colds, but it can actually lengthen our life span! Researchers analyzed both men and women and compared the risk of death over a given length of time between those with very low levels of D in their blood to those with the highest levels. Those with the lowest levels experienced 26% increased death rate (from any cause whatsoever) during the time of the study, compared to those with high levels of D that landed in the top 25% of subjects who enjoyed longer, healthier lives.

These are difficult times, and yet they are times beaming with opportunity and inevitable expansion. We are coming to the end of a very long cycle for our humanity, and those who are primarily observers will suffer most. Those who can bring their awareness back to the visionaries they were born to be will, however, thrive. When we are compelled to dwell on ?what is,? all Law of Attraction can draw to us is more of the same, and with it great pain, fear, doubt and worry. This is not who we are. We are all so much more than mere observers. We are visionaries with an amazing capability for imagining ?what we desire,? as well as the solutions to the many dilemmas we have before us.

It is too familiar and easy to fall into the mindset that expects someone or something ?out there? to MAKE me happy. Just imagine how amazing this world would be if everyone took full responsibility for their own happiness! Can you see it? How beautiful it would be if everyone in a relationship would suddenly release their partners from the impossible burden of making them happy, or their parents, their teachers, their children. No longer would anyone expect the churches or the government or their employers to make them happy. If everyone would embrace the truth of this and live their lives aware that they and they alone are the only ones capable of MAKING themselves happy, I truly believe that this single change would transform our world like no other.

Before we can slip into those summer duds, we will want to shave off those winter pounds that have accumulated. Most Americans pack on 5-15 lbs each winter for several reasons. 1) We feel less motivated to go out when it?s cold and slippery. 2) We usually crave heavier meals like stews and chili, and what would those be without cornbread? 3) The winter months are classic ?cave time? months, when the body and mind yearn for quiet, introspective time and ?snuggled in with a good book by the fire? days. Weight gain is the end result, however, and if you are like me, you will want to slim it down and tone it up before the heat of summer arrives.

There is a very interesting phenomenon that I recently discovered and want to share with you. The conscious mind, let?s call it our Ego just for simplicity sake, is quite adept at watching out for itself, and uses almost any means necessary to justify its behavior. On the other hand, the unconscious mind, our more personal sense of self that we will call our sensitive self, takes pretty much whatever it gets dished. Ironically, it is our sensitive selves that quietly rear their unhappy heads and sneak out and sabotage us. Let me give an example to clarify.

It is rather startling, the number of people who were either brought up to berate themselves or gradually over a lifetime of perceived failures and disappointing circumstances grow into this most debilitating habit. It is a habit, you know. Our minds, that think constantly without end, get into patterns of thought that become compelling to think. If we remain unconscious to these habits of thinking, they become as rutted as truck tracks in a muddy road. It becomes nearly impossible to think outside these deeply ingrained patterns. HOWEVER, if you genuinely desire to feel better about yourself, they can and must be addressed.

There really is no better feeling in all the world then the feeling of alignment. It is not mysterious or ?woo woo? in nature. It is actually the purest, least adulterated form of love imaginable. Love means so many different things to so many people, that to use it as a descriptive word is dangerous and often misunderstood. Just the same, love is the best all around word that there is. Given that it is easily misconstrued, though, I will attempt to express the essence of alignment in several different ways in the hopes of striking a familiar chord within.

As I discussed in my previous article, ?Rectus Abdominis -- The Six-Pack,? becoming lean enough plays a critical role in this muscle?s visibility. Our percentage of body fat versus our lean or muscle mass is key. These percentages change as we age, but for men 20-40 years of age, a healthy percentage would be approximately 8-20%, and for women, 18-24%. As we age it rises slightly; however, a percentage of body fat that exceeds 40% is considered obese.

The rectus abdominis is, without a doubt, the most publicized of all abdominal muscles. The reason it gets so much press is twofold: First, it resides closest to the surface of our bodies, and when we are lean enough, it is visible. Secondly, it is considered one on the sexiest muscles for both the female and the male body. People work very hard to develop this area of their body, and yet there are some very real barriers that must be taken into consideration.

In my last article, I wrote about the transversus abdominis, our deepest, strongest abdominal muscle. This article concerns your internal and external oblique muscles. These are woven, for lack of a better term, in and out of one another, and they descend in and down from your ribs toward midline, and up and in from your pelvis toward your navel. For our purposes, we will think of them as forming a large ?X? across the front of your body; although, let me be clear, they do not. The reason I have picked this symbol to represent them is twofold. First, it gives us a good image of how our waist should appear and secondly, I want you to use a crosswise movement in order to fully exercise them properly.