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Thoughts to ponder- Travel doesn't have to mess up your workouts...

One of my colleagues recently had a relapse of his Lymphoma and has been going thru Chemotherapy. In his treatment, the doctors have continually been amazed at how his body has not dealt with the Chemo as badly as many patients – much which they attribute to his exceptional health as a result of exercise. Not only has his body had as many adverse reactions, his body fought the Blood Cancer on its own and was able to delay its onset.

For now he is still going thru his treatment, hit what the doctors call “rock bottom” Tuesday and is now on his way back up. But all the way thru it he was riding a stationary bike in his hospital room rather than just lying on a bed. While we can’t all do that in every situation, he and many of the doctors will attest that this is one of the reasons he is doing so well.

Now he just wants to get back up on his feet and convince the doctors to put exercise equipment in the waiting room for all his friends and family to use as well. So keep up the exercise, you never know what it will eventually save you from. . .

Did you make a New Year’s Resolution? Have you kept your New Year’s Resolution? It is very commonplace that we make resolutions during this time of year and it is also very commonplace that these fall by the wayside. But your New Year’s Resolution doesn’t have to fall by the wayside. Each year when I hear people talk about making their resolutions, it is like they are each trying to outdo each other. Have you ever thought about being the one who makes the easy one, but finishes it? Whatever your resolution, simplify it and you will have great success. Keep reading for other tips and tricks to simplify your resolution and stay on track by clicking here.

Are you at risk . . . ? Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the United States for both men and women with coronary heart disease as the most common type of cardiovascular disease. But there is good news - Exercise has been shown to help reduce the risk by improving almost all of the contributing factors like high LDL cholesterol, low HDL cholesterol, high triglyceride levels, blood pressure and much more.

Find out your risk level by answering a few questions from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute in this link or clicking here and answering a few quick questions from the American Heart Association. Then click on the Exercise Tools and start working to improve or maintain it, Join one of the challenges or e-mail me about e-training to help with your specific needs.

Tri4Fitness.Net founder takes position at The Cooper Institute. . . Michael Harper resigns from Tarleton State University to take a position as an Associate Director of Education in the division of Education at The Cooper Institute.

“Mike has been an integral part of developing our athletics program success over the last few years,” Reisman said.  “As our first full-time strength and conditioning coach, Coach Harper did an outstanding job, and he will be missed here at Tarleton.  He held the respect of his peers and the student-athletes, and we want to thank him for getting this program off the floor.  We wish him the very best in his new endeavors and hope he will be as successful there as he was here at Tarleton.”

Read other reactions and full coverage by clicking here or visiting www.TarletonSports.com

Why wait for your New Year's Resolutions? Many people are forming resolutions for the New Year, but it always makes me wonder why it takes us coming to this point to start this new resolution, rather than have just done it in the past – like the weight loss challenge I organized just before the holidays – I had many people scrutinize me that I would even think of starting a weight loss challenge right before the holidays – but over 30 individuals jumped on board and took the plunge – it just goes with the idea of why wait. 

Why wait to eat right?  

Why wait to exercise? 

Why wait to take care of your body?

The list could go on and on. . . So click here and start on your New Year and New You now!

• Are you in control of your life?

That seems like such an easy question to answer - of course. But maybe you really aren't - take a look and see: does work run your life, if you needed to get away, could you. Or maybe you are one that says, I'm in control, unless my significant other tells me otherwise.

Your personal determination will determine the improvements you make in your life. Encouragement from others is important, but you must take that first step - maybe it is just a small step, but it is a step.

When I first began triathlons, I had my sights set on a 70.3 half-ironman race. But this wasn't my first step. My first step was a sprint race - oh and when I finished I thought there was no way I would ever get to the next step - body completely worn out. Then I did my first Olympic distance race and even made it to the 70.3 race and now keep on racing.

So maybe your first step to have full control of your life won't be to completely stop smoking in one day or doing a hour long workout. But one less cigarete or ten minutes of physical activity a day might get you there in the end.

• The 110 pound weight loss

This is a story about Sharon, who has worked with me in different fitness capacities. Her story as she shares it, starts about 6 years ago where she weighed in at 270 pounds, or at least that is the last time she stepped on a scale to see what it was. Sharon’s story is still developing to this day, but please read the short version or click on the link for the full version.

 After about a year of marriage and that new life, I was finding myself unhappy and even dissatisfied with myself. So I decided to try a new regime/diet. Like many people, I slacked off here and there and eventually dropped the entire workout/healthy eating scenario. Then after having a son, I needed to be healthy for myself, but I also had someone else depending on me to be healthy.

With this new found motivation, I started walking – That is all I could physically do at the time, but you have to start somewhere. I progressively added to the routine and even did the unthinkable of run. This continued for about a year, in which I took off about 70-75 pounds. This was great, but I wanted more for myself and added to my routine. I found out through trial and error that things have to be changed up every now and then or your body stays where it is at and the results you desire are no longer coming.

 With this new found lifestyle, I managed to drop about 100-110 pounds and gain a more positive outlook on life.  With all of the changes that I made to my outer appearance, I made many to my inner self too.  I feel that loosing the weight was a stepping stone, a very steep stepping stone, which allowed me to venture out into a foreign location, the “healthy world” and discover a new life. In my new life, I have done many of the unthinkable from becoming a certified aerobics instructor to completing a marathon and 2 half marathons.

 Click here to get the full version of Sharon’s story and read more about how she handles her weight management today, some of the lessons she has learned and some of her advice for you.

• Exercise & Vacation-Do they mix

Wow it is already summer - trips are happening, work related, vacation related and much more. All of these activities alter the normal daily routine. This last week I was on a vacation at a camp and I realized how hard it can be to workout unless it is planned in advance. My days were full go all day from 6:30am until almost 11pm. Within that it would have been very easy for me to forego exercise at all.

Instead, exercise was made a priority for me. I started with a plan and stuck to it. I made sure that I brought the things with me that I needed to exercise - which can be anything from empty  milk jugs you can fill with water for dumbbells, to a exercise ball that you inflate, to exercise bands - they all fit easily into a bag and can be taken anywhere.

Then I made sure I had a time each day set aside for that exercise. It could have been easy to forego the exercise, but instead use these crazy summer months to explore new ways to exercise.

• Turning Goals into Habits

Once that you decide that change is going to be a part of your life, how do you stick with it? We have all heard that you should create a goal, write it down, break it into small steps and have benchmarks. But these are still all things that are not common part of our lives.

So instead we must change our thinking from goals to habits. Habits take such a stronghold in our lives and often are reason why we need goals. While habits can often be thought of in a negative light, they are still strong influences on our lives and thus the thought mind needs to be changed to a positive thought.

It has already been established that change can take you a lot of places, now just think of where you can go if change is a part of your daily life. It all starts with what you believe YOU can do.

• Where does 1 degree take you?

• Getting what you've never had...