Be present. Enjoy each moment. Enjoy the Holidays but also…start preparing now for the future (2019).

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Simple thoughts for the end of the year. Enjoy this time. Start preparing for the future. Don’t worry about what/how you “used to be” or even what you “hope” to be in the future. Take a kind inventory of who you are and where you are today. If you’d like things to be different, start working on a realistic plan to put in motion in the weeks to come. Starting in the new year, I plan to shine some strong mojo outward to help. Till then, get your mind right. I will do the same. Let’s tell ourselves these words: “don’t be afraid to be strong”. This starts in the mind and in our hearts. It’s about so much more than health or fitness. #bssbbooks #blueskystrongbox

A post shared by Blue Sky Strongbox (@blue_sky_strongbox) on Dec 17, 2018 at 7:47am PST

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Priorities during Disruptions: Travel, Vacation, Holidays, Company in town…

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Vacation. Travel. The holidays. It’s important to enjoy some down time. It’s also important to spend time with family & friends. Maybe it’s just you? That’s great too. Alone time is also very important. But what are the priorities for someone who is trying to shed unwanted body fat during such disruptions? The most important thing is your total calories each day (aka “how much we eat and drink). Don’t worry so much about exact numbers. We are all aware of what “reasonable” and “obnoxious” looks like. Aim for more reasonableness, less obnoxiousness. Don’t worry so much about exercise either. By all means, if you can or want to, do so. Enjoy. Just know that your main secret weapon will be walking as much as possible. Every single day. All day long. Walk your ass off if possible. Of course, that’s not possible. Good thing too. Personally, I like to do short 5-10min workouts most mornings. Not because I may burn a few calories, which is probably less than 100 calories in this particular case (less than a can of soda). I exercise because it makes me feel better, gives me energy plus helps maintain my basic strength levels and lean muscle mass, which increases in importance as we age. I suppose I could do a longer workout but why?! At some point, exercising longer just to burn a few more calories becomes counterproductive, disruptive and unhealthy. It makes much more sense to consume fewer calories to begin with. I hope you see my point. I was just gone for 2 weeks. Each morning I did 10 deep squats, 10 pushups and 10 pullaparts with a old rubber tube that I typically travel with. I did 3 rounds of that, stretching between each exercise. That’s it. Nothing too complicated. (The details here are not really too important.) I have said this before and will say it again now: what we eat & drink (and how much) affects our body-fat levels much more than exercise ever will. Exercise is super important, for many other reasons besides being a tool to help burn calories. During such temporary disruptions, control what you eat and drink. That way there’s less to deal with later. Be reasonable. Reasonability, in most situations, is a very good friend. #bssbbooks #blueskystrongbox

A post shared by Blue Sky Strongbox (@blue_sky_strongbox) on Dec 3, 2018 at 12:59pm PST

Eliminate time-wasting & negativity!

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How much control do we really have of our Time & Energy? Pay close attention to all that may waste our time and energy, especially that which serves no real purpose or brings no real joy. Eliminate or reduce if possible. Future success (in all areas) is dependent on it. And it’s not because I say so. It’s because it is so. With all this said, attitude is important. A strong theme of positivity is extremely beneficial and suggested. #PositivityCreativitySimplicity #moretechnologymoretimewasted #negativitynotneeded #blueskystrongbox

A post shared by Blue Sky Strongbox (@blue_sky_strongbox) on Oct 8, 2018 at 9:54am PDT

Childhood Obesity is Still on the Rise

 

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Stay positive y’all but do understand that although food quality and exercise participation seems to be improving on some fronts, its actually having little-to-zero impact on the people who need it most. Us first-world people, as a whole, must learn to eat appropriate amounts of better quality foods, get better rest + move better and more often than we currently are. It’s about the balance, the journey. It’s a mindset. It’s about continued education, learning, knowledge. Slow & steady wins this race. Every day we wake up, we must have a plan. Live every day with purpose. Help others. Be supportive. Be caring. Be better every day. Lead by example. #bssbbooks #blueskystrongbox

A post shared by Blue Sky Strongbox (@blue_sky_strongbox) on Jun 4, 2018 at 5:41pm PDT

We Cannot Shortcut Everything

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We all love a shortcut. Unfortunately, most of them are the equivalent of fools gold. However, a penny a day saved for 80 years is $29,2oo. Small, seemingly insignificant, things can add up. TURN UP THE VOLUME. #RememerShawshank #carltonsmixtapegumbo #BSSBmotivation #blueskystrongbox

A post shared by Blue Sky Strongbox (@blue_sky_strongbox) on Jun 1, 2018 at 1:15pm PDT

“What exercise would you recommend if I only have time to do ONE exercise?” (Video below from my Instagram page)

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TURN UP THE VOLUME. Today is an important (free) video I did for everyone that asks, “What’s one good exercise you recommend for busy people?” It’s a great question and one that I do get often. So if you were to just do one (strength) exercise, I would recommend choosing one from this list. I tried to choose exercises that I do myself. I also tried to choose exercises that had variety and could be done in almost any situation with a variety of equipment or no equipment. One single exercise practiced correctly, intensely enough & often enough can give a tremendous bang for the buck. If your main goal is to lose body fat, focus 99% of your effort on nutrition and 7-9 hours of sleep every single night. For health, most folks don’t need to do a bunch of exercises to strengthen the body. But we all do NEED to do something. Strength is super important for everything that relates to health, fitness and enjoying a long higher quality of life. Strength doesn’t have to mean working out all the time or building big muscles, if that’s not your cup of tea. Strength exercises come in many varieties. Most people just do nothing their entire adult lives which catches up to most people later when they are too weak to do basic everyday tasks. Do know that a “strength” exercise is the same thing as a “resistance” exercise or even a “weight-bearing” exercise. Don’t ever be confused. Keep things simple. Remember, your form (how you do the exercise) is very important. Doing it regularly is also very important. Write me with ANY questions you may have… so here’s the list: 1) The Swing 2) Deadlift+Carry 3) Squat to Row 4) Goblet Squat 5) Turkish Getup 6) Crawling 7) L-sit. With all that said, the single best “general” exercise in the world is WALKING. Seriously. People often think I’m joking but I’m not. Personally, I prefer and highly recommend walking uphill whenever possible. Walking daily is essential. #blueskystrongbox

A post shared by Blue Sky Strongbox (@blue_sky_strongbox) on Mar 20, 2018 at 3:43pm PDT

New Health & Fitness Tips! So i’m doing a Free Video Series on what i consider to be the Essential Elements of Health & Fitness. Until the end of the year, my plan is to release one new video each week covering a fairly wide range of information, doing my best to limit most of the main points to 3 things. Tune in. These videos are free. I’m doing these to help. I know more than anyone how confusing and frustrating diet and exercise stuff is. I’ve worked professionally as a Personal trainer for well over a decade. My hope is to clear up some of the confusion. Take notes, ask questions. I’m always here to help…