Look at yourself NAKED regularly. Get bloodwork/medical checkup every year or so, especially if overweight and sedentary. Know the difference between overweight (“a few extra pounds”) and obese. The doctors often use BMI which doesn’t tell much valuable info. But when looking at your naked body in a mirror with truthful eyes, the difference between overweight and obesity should be clear. Obesity can be very deadly, not to mention expensive. No one “needs” six-pack abs. Likewise, no one needs to carry the weight of two people on a skeleton built for one.

You can be overweight and often still be healthy, especially with regular exercise, decent genetics and a decent diet. However, the same will most likely never be true for obesity. Am I suggesting that we all welcome each pound of body fat? No. Do I think six-pack abs are a requirement to be considered healthy and fit? Most certainly not. Just know that there is a difference between “some extra pounds” and obese. Most often this difference is easy to see with truthful eyes. Obesity can be very deadly and expensive, especially as time goes on. This photo shows two women, both supposedly the same age and the same height. Notice the difference in body fat, both inside and out. Keep this in mind, depending on someone’s height and body type, scale weight can often be misleading and vary greatly from person to person. I have friends that are well over 200lbs and perfectly healthy at their respective weight. However, I would probably be quite unhealthy with over 200 pounds on my frame. For the sake of comparison, imagine the girl on the right is at a low-risk “healthy” weight and body composition, and the girl on the left is the same girl a few years later with 130 pounds of body fat (which would now be more than twice her original weight, placing an enormous strain on all her bodily systems). My point is that we need to pay attention to our bodies. It’s so easy to let go of awareness and care, especially as we get older and life gets busier. This photo, this post, was not posted to fat-shame anyone. This a caring reminder that health is important and obesity destroys health. It has been proposed that the single best thing that any human can do to improve their health is to consistently walk 30 minutes every day. You may only be able to do 10 minutes. If so, this would be great place to start. Obviously, many other things will be in order over time but this is what I always recommend starting with first. Be better every day. #blueskystrongbox

New Weekly Health & Fitness Tips! Your health is the foundation that everything in your life is built on. Do not sacrifice it for anything else. It’s very common these days to find those that sacrifice their health for fitness gains and vanity. This can only last for so long without paying a price. If you want to look better, feel better or live longer then take good care of your health first and always. Begin with what I call the “big 3”. #1) Hydration. #2) 30 minutes of brisk, yet relaxed, daily walking. #3) A regular sleep schedule that allows you to get between 7-9 hours of sleep without the aide of drugs and alcohol during the waking hours.

Ok. So if you’ve never seen this video, you need to. It’s profound. It’s close to 10minutes long but absolutely worth it (and it’s even entertaining). Wanna take better care of your health? You gotta move more. The simple task of moving 30 minutes daily is proven to be extremely potent and may be the best medicine you don’t have to buy, just do. Find and watch this video. #blueskystrongbox #bssbbooks

New Weekly Health & Fitness Tips! “No pain, no gain” has always had limitations. You don’t have to be in constant pain to make progress. This week i talk briefly about soreness due to exercise. Some soreness is normal, unavoidable and typical ok. Some is not. Normal soreness should be infrequent and bi-lateral. In other words, if one arm or leg is sore, the other side should be equally sore. This kind of soreness is mostly due to microscopic tears in the muscles, which sounds bad but is actual very normal, due to them having to work against incoming resistance. But there are other kinds of soreness, which affects areas in a way that is not productive and may even be harmful. They may even seem similar to the good kind but are more intense and shouldn’t be frequent, or chronic. Don’t seek out soreness. Instead, gradually disrupt your homeostasis. Too much damage done too often is to be avoided. “Stimulate, don’t annihilate”. Progress can be made without killing yourself in the gym. So my questions is always this, When is it really ok to be really sore on a regular basis? The answer is, it’s not ok. Say what you want, do what you will but trust me, being sore on a regular basis, to the point of altering the way you were meant to move, is almost always gonna be wrong, especially if done intentially.

New Health & Fitness Tips! This week I want to talk about a common occurrence, the obsession of counting calories. Things such as how many calories we eat and drink, how many calories we burn while exercising or meeting our daily step quotas. I’ve been there. Many of us have. Some of us, for medical reasons, may always need to count such numbers. And that’s ok. Health is most important. I’m talking more about vanity, which is also important to many people. It’s not that I think counting calories is completely pointless for making improvements in body composition, it’s more to do with the disregard for everything else that often accompanies. Common sense things like quality of sleep, reduction in stress, quality of food, quality of exercise and how each of these can make or break the hormone balance that controls everything you’re probably wanting to do. For those that may be in the middle of your own battle with calories, remember this important detail. Counting calories is not a long term solution. Do the right things most of the time and eventually you shouldn’t have to worry so much about all the numbers.

New Weekly Health & Fitness Video Tipz! This week I demonstrate and describe a short and simple exercise routine that can be done anywhere by most anyone, with very little equipment. Don’t be put off by the fact that it might only take 10 minutes to do the entire workout. Don’t be put off by the fact there are only 3 exercises. I’m not going to go into great detail on this today, but just know that exercise need not be long or include lots of exercises to be effective. All 3 of these exercises will help improve the three big areas that constantly need our attention: Stretching, Strength & Stamina. Do you need to lose body fat? Then focus most of your precious energy on eating better and food prep, sleeping well and managing your stress. Most of us don’t need to exercise hours on end. But yes, we should move every day and eventually work towards 2-3 days of simple strength training each week. There will be much more on all of this in the coming year. In the meanwhile, get to work. Ask for help if you need it. You are in control.

New Health & Fitness Video! Today starts the new year. Figure out what you want, then figure out your plan. Lastly, put it into motion, starting today. Ask for help if needed. Happy New Year!