-Ronald Reagan, 40th President of the United States of America
In my home office, hung on the wall above and to the left of my
desk area, is a framed commemorative portrait of Ronald Reagan,
which also includes his official stamp and stamp ingot from the
US Postal Service, plus a couple of other keepsakes.
I didn’t agree with Reagan on all of his policies. For example, I
was very disappointed with the Iran-Contra scandal (bringing cakes
and making deals with the Ayatollahs of Iran? Really Ronbo?) And
his delay in driving significant government spending to study and
fight the emerging scourge of AIDS was unforgivable.
However, Ronald Reagan is one of the U.S. presidents I respect
the most. He held to his principles, developed over years of
experience in private enterprise and government. He believed in
America, the promise of her, and that she – and we – could be
great again, could continue to make a meaningful and (mostly)
positive difference in the world again. He believed that the
U.S. and our allies could and would overcome in the Cold
War – and he took steps to help make sure this indeed happened.
And he was a great communicator. He stuck to simple themes,
repeated over and over again. He told stories, he related to
people. He believed the best way was to communicate directly
with us, because he knew we were smarter than the pollsters
and politicians and industrial complex give us credit for.
Many took his simple approach and simple themes as weaknesses,
as signs that he lacked intellectual capacity or curiosity.
Actually, if you read any of his letters, or accounts from
the folks who worked most closely with him, you get a much
different picture.
Well, I’m not here to talk politics. You probably get enough
of that BS from the news media, don’t you? Especially here
in the U.S., where it seems like we are already getting
sucked into “Campaign 2016” as the potential presidential
candidates (and potential potentials) jockey for early position.
I mention Reagan because of the quotation above: “There are
simple solutions to our problems – just not easy ones.”
This applies to many areas of challenge we face in our lives.
Including improving our health and fitness.
The exercise and diet industry thrive on making things more
complex than they really area. I mean, they have to, otherwise
what would be their excuse for publishing twenty new diet
books around the beginning of this year?
(This is just an estimate by the way, based on my doing a
quick count the last time I was in a Barnes & Noble. I’m sure
the actual number of diet and exercise books was even higher.)
Well, as Reagan said, there are simple answers, straightforward
approaches that make sense.
But here’s the catch: they are not necessarily easy.
Now, here’s a question for you:
How would you like to spend less time exercising…do less
exercising when you are working out…and still get great
results?
How would you like an approach to fitness and getting in shape
that can actually fit into your schedule, no matter how hectic
your schedule is?
In today’s society, everyone from parents to executives to
business owners to students are busy. So the prospect of trading
long, boring cardio sessions of 45 minutes to an hour, three to
four times per week (the traditional area people focus on) for
several shorter, more effective, FUNNER workouts per week…is
a no-brainer for many people!
The trick to keeping your workouts short, yet still achieve good
results, is to:
(1) exercise with sufficiently high intensity, to the point where
you are really huffing and puffing; and
(2) focus most of your efforts on certain types of exercises.
It’s a simple approach, actually.
But you do have to work at it. Put in some elbow grease. Make
an effort.
To point #1: Obviously this means pushing yourself. However, to
work at a sufficiently high level of intensity necessitates
using an interval, or pulsing, approach.
Interval Training involves working hard for a short period of
time, followed by either a complete rest or a slower pace of
the target activity. For example, you run at a good clip for
one minute (the work interval), then run more slowly or walk
for two minutes (the rest interval). That’s one set.
Or, you perform repetitions of a compound movement, such as a
squat or pushup, and push yourself to just short of momentary
muscular failure (that is, you can’t do another repetition
without cheating, breaking down in form, or your movement becomes
super slow). Then you rest. That’s one set.
Put together a sufficient number of sets of high intensity
effort, and you’ve got yourself a super workout! And the good
news is, you only need about 20 minutes to complete such as
workout. In fact, if you are really pushing yourself, you
probably won’t want to do more than 20 minutes!
I think people shy away from high intensity training because
they associate it with highly intense levels of effort and think
it is too tough for them to do.
But the truth is, just about anyone can successfully adapt this
type of training, no matter their present level of fitness.
The key is to set the intensity and duration of your work
interval at a level sufficient to push yourself — but not
push yourself over the edge.
Just about every activity I can think of lends itself to interval
training. It just takes a little creativity.
For example, strength training is naturally interval in nature.
You perform sets of repetitions of exercises, interspersed with
rest periods.
Walking and running are also naturals for intervals. Simply walk
or run faster for a period of time, interspersed with periods of
walking or running more slowly.
Certain breathing exercises are interval in nature. Typically,
each exercise is done for a certain number of repetitions. You
pause briefly (rest interval) and move on to the next one. Also,
breathing floods your system with oxygen, creating immediate
surges in energy levels and metabolism.
Now, to point #2: Notice that the type of exercising – walking,
sprinting, resistance training – as well as the types of
movements – squats and pushups – I mention are either full body
movement OR compound exercises.
Compound exercises involve multiple body parts. They tend to be
the most effective exercises because they involve the large
muscle groups, such as your thighs, hips, chest and back. These
muscles require more energy and focus to work hard. Focusing on
them means you can train your entire body with fewer movements.
In addition, compound exercises make much more significant
demands on your entire system, especially if you push
yourself…meaning more calories burned not only during
exercise, but post-exercise.
In fact, a short but high intensity exercise session, focused
on as few as five exercises, can actually elevate your metabolism
for 24 to 48 hours AFTER the exercise session.
Imagine what this could mean to your efforts to get into better
shape, burn off some fat, or get stronger?
It helps to know a few “secrets” to really maximize the results you
can achieve. I share this – and more – with you in my latest
Special Report, <strong>”Ten Universal Strategies for Optimal Fitness”.
This report is an easy-to-read, easy-to-apply distillation of
my many years of learning, experimenting, failing and succeeding
in the areas of enhancing fitness and health.
I cover – in a very concise and hard-hitting way – the most
important elements of a rational, efficient, and effective
approach to getting fitter and feeling healthier than you
ever imagined.
If you’re just starting out and getting back into shape, or
perhaps beginning an exercise program for the first time, this
report will point you in the right direction and show you
exactly what to do to get maximum results.
If you’re already exercising and in pretty good shape, the
information in this report will help you take your fitness
program and results to the next level.
These strategies are universal. They are time-tested. They will
work for you, no matter what your current level of fitness is
today. And they will help you get results, fast.
To read more about this report, or to order your copy right
now, click HERE.
You Can Do It!
“Best Breathing Exercises: Transform Body Mind and Spirit with
Dynamic Energy Exercise!”
http://www.BestBreathingExercises.com
Copyright, Karen Van Ness, 2014