Okay maybe it’s just that Love / Hate relationship but certainly it’s not one  of those workouts that I’m thinking of the night before and just jumping at the chance the next day to start.  You don’t agree?  Well maybe you’re not giving yourself the intensive cardio workout that your body is needing.

On a scale of 1 to 10 during your workout, what level would you say you are at if 10 is you can’t hardly breath and feel like you’re going to puke and 5 is pretty much just ho, hum?

So, these workouts typically aren’t fun for me.  And running, come on people, what’s up with that?  I hate it!  Did I just put an exclamation mark at the end of that sentence?  I did!  I just can’t help it!!!  Breathing hard, legs burning and your chest feeling like it’s about to explode.  Who loves that?

Now some of the cardio that I do is intense I have to admit.  It’s not for your average Joe, but really anyone with a desire and commitment can do it.  Take Insanity for example.  This program is aptly named because it truly is an INSANE workout.  Jumping, squatting, hopping around, up and down, plyo this, push up this, jeesh you would have thought I was back in boot camp, only 100 times worse.

But here’s a couple of good thoughts from my dear friend Tony Horton (check him out in the video below).  “You’re only good at the things you do often and you become great if work at the things you struggle with most”.  And I also agree with him that I don’t really enjoy these workouts but they’re important and I do them anyway!

So I’ve rambled on a bit about why I hate cardio.  But it is the one thing my body, my heart and my mind crave.  If I don’t feed them this particular thing, then they all will fall into a state of disrepair and unfortunately the worse that can happen is that my heart decides it’s the weak kid on the block and gives me grief for it.

You all know deep down that the easy low intense cardio that you’ve been doing isreally not helping you to burn fat.  That is one of the goals of doing cardio.  Studies have shown that high-intensity training and especially when combined with an interval workout can burn up to 9 times the amount of fat as other cardio workouts.  Further enhance this fat loss by doing them in the morning on an empty stomach and you’ll have the effects of the workout throughout the day to help burn fat.

So the morale of the story here is to “Do It Anyway”.  Regardless if it’s a little or a lot, just do it!  And if you need some motivating, shoot me an email and I’ll love to partner with you in your success.

If you found even just a tad bit of this post useful, please share it with a friend.  You can click “SHARE” below and then maybe give it a little tweet up top!  Thanks!

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Smiling!

Even as we read the word and think of its meaning we smile inside.  It’s just the nature of things or the Spirit within us that yearns for a moment of happiness expressed in the simple, almost effortless movement of our face, especially when another person is doing it and directed at us.

It’s been said that it takes fewer muscles to smile than to frown.  I’ve heard something like 43 to frown and only 17 to smile.  While most of us assume that’s a true statement, it’s not.  Opps, sorry did I just bust your bubble and make you frown?  I apologize for that and I’m giving you a great big warm smile to show you my sincerity.   With a little research we all can find out that there are only about 37 facial muscles, so the numbers just don’t add up.

As a matter of fact others have written much on this subject and a plastic surgeon by the name of Dr. David Song has been interviewed  and he concludes that it takes 1 more muscle to smile than it does to frown.  Hmmmm….  Very interesting.

So as I wonder about this and read much on the subject,  I’m convinced that there will never be a definitive answer for us.  So why do I even bring this up?  Well, for one thing I feel good when I smile.  I feel good when someone smiles at me.  And the opposite is true of course for the frown.  Now I have a vested interest in people’s lives, fitness, health and wellness.  The smile is one extension of what I’m about.  I like to think about that one extra muscle and whether a person knows it or not, that smile at me means all the more because it took more effort.

So let’s think about it for a moment.  You can see all over my site there is much about fitness, nutrition, workouts, energy, weights, cardio, exhaustion, sweat equity and the like.  I wanted for us to just take a moment and think about exercising those facial muscles, more specifically the ones that create the smile.  No barbells, no resistance bands (unless you count the ones in our braces) and no sweat pouring off  us.  Just good old fashion, think about it and do it!  Walk around all day today.  Smile at everyone you encounter.  Smile at your dog (of course we all do that), smile at your neighbor, smile at the checkout clerk, smile at the deputy giving you a ticket, just smile!

You will no doubt alter someone’s day and it just could be yours. So go exercise those muscles!

So let me leave this with you….If you found these musings about smiling worth a thought or two of your time today, please SHARE this post by clicking the Share button below and then tweeting it up top.  Thank you so much for stopping by today!

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I just finished my cardio at home workout.  It’s been awhile since I did this one so like everything new, the body rebels.  Well maybe my mind any way.   This is Tony Horton’s One on One Cardio Interval routine.  There are twenty different moves.  And you get to do them TWICE!

Here are a few snapshots of Tony Horton doing some of them.  He’s punching, lunging, twisting and hopping.  He’s sweating and I’m sweating.  Shoot, I should have taken a video of me doing it!  This is real stuff.  He glances at his heart rate monitor several times and we’re both on track to 150 plus each time.  He’s 50 and I almost am.  (He’s in a lot better shape than I am though).

So this just goes to show that you can do a cardio in home workout instead of running around the block.  Boring!  This One on One Cardio Interval routine is one of many in Tony’s 2^nd volume in the One on One series.  My advice to you is get them.  Really, they’re only pennies a day and you get one a month.  Lots of variety, great Tony Horton instruction all done in his own downstairs workout room at home.  So what are you waiting for?  Decide today and Get Fit, Get Healthy and Live Again!

Check out my Fitness Page for One on One for a video of this excellent at home workout routine!

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