Nevertheless, natural juice has a high amount of sugar and carbohydrate in the suggested portion–thirty grams of each per eight ounce glass. Further, it has a total of one hundred thirty calories. Granted, these are of a natural variety and thus not as a dangerous as the same number from white sugar and starch. But, they are still calories, and thirty grams of sugar along with thirty grams of carbohydrates may really be too much when one is primarily concerned with minimizing body fat and building muscle.

However, the trouble here is not with the juice itself. Again, natural fruit juice is a mood elevator and an energy producer. Used properly, it really can help with one’s workouts The question then is over the proper amount.

Everyone is different. No two people metabolize all nutrients the same. Some  have more rapid calorie burning systems, while others have more sluggish ones. Regardless of the amount, what burns completely for one person may not do so for another. Because an excess of unused carbohydrates and sugars will store as fat, it is essential to determine what really can be used on an individual basis.

Yet, rate of metabolism is not the only factor to consider. How many other sugar and carbohydrate units from other foods also need to be taken into account. This is especially true in a day and age of foods being enhanced to taste good– one of the chief drawbacks to grocery store shopping. These foods often times have calories that one might  not expect them to have. For instance, one would not expect high amounts of sugar and carbohydrates in plain breakfast cereals or pasta..Fortunately, the breakdown is usually given on the packaging. But, far too few of us take this as seriously as we should.

Scientifically there are no universal hard and fast rules as to the number of grams of carbohydrate or sugar which are excessive with respect to anyone. To be sure, there are benchmarks based upon total daily calories and standard size. But these do not affect all people in the same way or even all of the time.

Therefore, being cautiously attuned to one’s own self is always in order. Studies have shown that Americans tend to consume one hundred thirty pounds of sugar per year. with the number of carbohydrates being much higher.This number is over twenty five times what it was at the of the turn of the century. And, of course, the cancer rate is far higher today, assuming there  is a correlation.

The whole caution here is to think about what you put into your body as opposed to blindly trusting what may seem to be safe or beneficial. This is true for everything, but here it has specifically to do with natural fruit juice. This type of juice is far safer even than Gatorade and often recommended by experts. But, it is not completely free from potential to work adversely.

Therefore, the best way to use juice is to first use your head. That is far different than using your gut, as it is said, drinking until you are no longer thirsty. Satisfy these needs with mere water.It is also different than drinking the suggested portion simply because it is suggested. In stead, one should use  juice only for energy and then do so only in the amount that is necessary. That means you alone as a thinking person ought to decide how much is right for you. (Hint : if you are regularly working out, eating right and still experiencing belly fat, you are probably getting too much.)

For further thought on using one’s head as opposed to trusting common practices and labels order my book “Think and Grow Fit.”

Things are a little different nowadays. They are not quite as turbulent, at least for us. But we now know more about the cosmos and thus find ourselves contemplating the possibility of being hit by a meteor. Clearly one very large one could end life as we know it. Luckily this is not very likely and therefore not much talked about. If it were,  people would find it difficult o keep going each day.

Sometimes a vaguely similar thought pattern emerges in the realm of fitness. That is, people come to fear that what they rely on for their fitness lifestyles may somehow become non-existent. This is especially so given the state of the economy, which impacts the places we work out, the vitamins we take, and even the foods that make up our diets.

With all of the layoffs and tight money this becomes especially frightening. Who can be sure that the clubs we go to every morning will still be open next month/ Or, for that matter, what about the vitamin companies we rely on? Will they be in existence next month? Will they become bankrupt thereby making it impossible for us to get the supplements we need for maximum development and energy reserves?

Then too,  the economy may not be the major culprit. Perhaps it will be the government. It seems there is always a handful of legislators who want to shut down the supplement industry. Possibly one day they will succeed in their dismal, unhealthy efforts. If so, they will be thinking that they are saving their constituents from the alleged downside of mega-dosing, ie. getting too much of a good thing. How absurd this is in comparison to the tens of thousands who become crippled  due to drugs from the major pharmaceutical manufacturers or mistakes on the part of local pharmacists. Nevertheless, how possible it is that these lawmakers could one day win.

As if that is not enough, there are the chemists of the food industry itself. Will they deem that what what we are currently eating is still safe safe and optimally nutritious? This may sound like a facetious query unless you have lived through earlier years when milk went from number one source of nourishment to being very questionable for a considerable number of people. Lactose intolerance is now an acceptable term. It was not so forty years ago.The same may be coming for wheat. Many of us rely on breads, pasta, flour products. Where would be if one day it were seen as a likely agent for a number of  the too common maladies in our country? Clearly, some nutritionists today believe that it is the primary cause of belly fat. What if it were worse than this? Could we really make it without our sandwiches, pizzas, pancakes and the like?

Psychologists often call this type of thought catastrophic thinking and attempt to cure people of it. They often do so with tongue in cheek, using the label of “phobia.”Nevertheless.any of the above mentioned things can happen. Therefore, we need to have a plan B  so that we are never even temporarily stopped from doing what we must to get more fit by the day. That means knowing about other vitamin companies, knowing about other health clubs, and being prepared to switch main sources of foods in our diets.

Some call this “being flexible.” The Boy Scouts called it “being prepared.” Whichever  may be preferred, that is how we must be mentally long before we need to act on it. That is the only way for us to maintain  the feelings necessary for optimal fitness development. In other words, living with anxiety or dread is simply unacceptable.

Leaving any of the catastrophic feelings in the back of our minds, trying to convince ourselves that nothing bad will ever happen, takes psychological energy away from the ability to remain constant and effective when it comes to supplementation, diet and exercise. That type of fear–dormant worry– inevitably leads to quitting. When that happens, there is only the return to the  “tried and (allegedly) true” ways of sedentary living with its grocery store food, Big Macs and beer. All of these, it is sadly trusted, will be around forever.

In the interests of healthy, infinitely more fit, country, let us hope they all soon go the way of  Bernie Madoff. You can help bring this about by just continuing to say “No” to all of them.

For further thought on replacing a normal lifestyle with a fitness one order my book “Think and Grow Fit.”

Of course, there are times when cruise control is not good. These include times when it rains, icy conditions or in heavy traffic. Then it is best to simply stay alert and keep your feet on the pedals. But, generally, these times are exceptions to the rule and are not part of this analogy for fitness.

Fitness cruise control is no more than setting up the significant parts of your fitness lifestyle in advance. This makes your life regular, taking the guess work out be getting in shape. It frees you to simply “let go and let nature do its ‘thing.” This occurs by simply deciding beforehand what is needed for each day, and doing no more or less than just that.

For supplementation, this means setting up your nutrients to be taken at a specific time each day. When you do this makes no difference. All that does, is doing it– getting your supplements ready to be taken at the most opportune intervals. For this purpose, the use of small cups is superior to relying on the MDs standard pill containers which allow no more than two to three small pills between each of the partitions. The cups can accommodate many large capsules such as vitamins far more easily. (Twenty or more per day is not unusual.)Having these ready for you every time that you need them to maximize your workout and recovery time is what makes them do what they ought. This eliminates having to open each individual bottle when you remember to do so, or, even worse, when you feel like it. Being like this only invites forgetting or cutting back to save save money. Such irregularity will not allow your supplements to work.

For dieting, you should plan  all of each day’s meals beforehand. Being able to see an entire day’s worth of food in advance sends the message to your brain that there is more food on the way should any one of the individual meals leave you a little hungry. This is far superior to eating whatever is in sight until you are filled (“pigging out”), or eating as much as may seem normal right, eg.as much as mom  might have thought okay. ( “Remember the poor starving people in India.”) All of the exercise in the world will never be maximized by eating like this. Too, by pre-determining what will be eaten during the day,you are freed from having to consciously balance each meal for optimal nutrition. If it is all done beforehand, you will help your body to optimally process each meal, using them best for both muscle repair and energy,

For exercise, fitness cruise control means knowing what exercises are to be done each day and then doing them. It is the opposite of doing what you feel like (eg. quitting early or not showing up) or even what you think you should be able (one more repetition than yesterday.) Being on cruise control means predetermining the number of sets and repetitions which will work the muscles groups best. Getting  onto a program that does this on daily basis without causing extreme fatigue or pain is much like letting your car’s cruise control do most of the work for a trip so that you can simply relax and enjoy the ride (like what you begin to see in the mirror.)

Of course a few other lifestyle factors should  be touched upon. Sleep is essential. Six to eight hours at the same time each day should be allotted. As water is far more necessary than most people believe, a set container should be on the sink at all times. Six to eight eight ounce glasses per day of the filtered variety are best. Too, the constant refusal to get into any of the bad habits should also be part of your daily life. These include-but are not limited to- smoking, alcohol consumption, and snacking on sweets, fast food or the tempting leftovers just because they are there (otherwise going to waste) and you feel like it.

The whole idea for fitness is to get your life onto a set pattern. This may be very hard for those who believe that rigor is somehow detrimental, but being on a set routine really is the same as using the car’s cruise control. This allows you decide upon the best speed beforehand, thereby enabling the car to metaphorically drive itself. The same type of thinking should apply to fitness. You do not want to to be making endless decisions throughout an entire day of what exercise is best to do, what capsules should or should not be taken, or of how much of what food is too much or too little. Doing this is exhausting, and invites early quitting–a phenomenon which is all too frequent.

For further thought on set fitness patterns order my ebook “Think and Grow Fit.”

Perhaps the best advice to these types of people is to simply stay at it for six months no matter what. That means they should continue to workout, diet and supplement even if the mirror (or how they look in their jeans) seems to say that they are doing nothing. Regularity and persistence are the only things which ultimately cause change. These are little more than the result of  doing the basics every day, always refusing to miss.

Nevertheless, some people have been at their routines for much longer than six months. They have gotten into new habits, into a new way of living and find themselves happily unable to think of going back to their old patterns. Perhaps they even spend a fair amount of time trying to understand how their friends cannot be just like them.

These types of people do what they do because it makes them feel good. They love the feelings of relaxation and tiredness after a good workout.  They love the excitement of doing one more rep than yesterday or running with just little bit longer stride. They are into the feelings of just enough (never too much) food, which converts itself  into energy and the stuff of muscle repair. And, because they can pin point the difference that each supplement makes in how they feel and perform, they never miss their daily capsules.

People who are that much into their routines almost always feel great. Furthermore, they are perceived as being healthy, fit and generally enthusiastic by those closest to them. But almost always feeling great is not always. That is, there are days that are simply not as good as the great normal days. Generally, this is reflected in the quality of their workouts but it can also extend far into the recovery period.

In other words, now and then, their daily routine does not go quite as well as is expected. For those who are heavily into fitness, this is a very real, almost frightening concern, even if it is laughed at by their unfit friends.

Conventionally healthy others- those who are not ill or obese, but also not into everyday fitness regularity- have their own adamant beliefs about feeling good. On the basis of presumed vast experience, they say that everyone goes through ups and owns. Therefore, it is unrealistic to expect that every day will be optimally great. But these critics have presumably never stayed at a routine for a long enough period or they would find it hard to say this (especially when their number of great days is less than ten per month.). The truth is that those into a fitness lifestyle feel great virtually all of the time.

For fit people, off-days are almost always the result of having eaten something which did not digest well. In other words, the food is still in the stomach waiting to be utilized by the entire body. Conceivably, this may be the result of an unknown allergy to a particular type of food or possibly not enough of a particular enzyme in the system. But the chemistry is not all that important. What is crucial is that this problem  is not a silent indicator of fitness days being over for good. (There are far too many who feel that it may really mean just that.)

If digestion is the problem, as it probably is, the cheapest and quickest remedy is to take a tablespoon or two of cider vinegar.  This is the least expensive digestive aid, but not the only one. Jack Lalanne, if he were still alive, would recommend drinking fruit or vegetable juice made with his juicer. Whichever, or whatever (as some prefer papaya or even yogurt), getting your stomach back on track should get your workouts back to where you want them.

For further thought on the maintenance of a fitness lifestyle order my book “Think and Grow Fit.”

Few people can really say this about their fitness lifestyle. Much of this type of healthy living is inordinately hard for them. For instance, getting to the gym everyday is next to impossible. Or, keeping on the right diet  through the holidays is something that never happens. Or, finding the money for those much needed supplements seems tantamount to reducing the national debt. And, all of that is in spite of  knowing  the right things to do.

What is the main cause of the trouble? Perhaps anxiety is the best answer. A fitness lifestyle is just not normal. Therefore it makes people uneasy  It is counter to the messages of the medical community and the media. What they have to say reduces to what is called common sense–something which every adult should adhere to.  In general, their message suggests : 1.) cutting back on exercise after high school (taking it easier as one gets older); 2.) eating reasonable amounts of FDA approved food from the grocery store; 3.) staying away from the bad habits as well as too many of the presumably superfluous supplements (even if Jack Lalanne said that he took forty to fifty of these per day from A to Z.)

MDs with the help of the media promote all of this. They are adamantly certain that it will  allow nature to optimally sustain us for the longest amount of time. That is, it will get us safely through to our middle eighties without diseases or other maladies. Moreover, they tacitly threaten that any deviation from these supposed irrefutable truths will, not may,  shorten life or bring on unhealthy conditions. A fitness lifestyle is of course a prime example of one such deviation.

Therefore, contemplating a fitness lifestyle may give rise to a number of haunting questions. Is it really as good as what the doctors are promoting? Will it cause problems down the road that no one knows about now? Is it too hard for some people, maybe too much so because of age?

People who experience doubts like these while still trying to supplement, diet and exercise daily will feel that they are always making an “heroic effort.” In other words, they will find that simply doing the basics of a fitness lifestyle is a “very big deal.”  Perhaps it will make them feel much like Columbus’ crew, not knowing if their ship would be destroyed by dangerous entities in the unknown Atlantic.

Fortunately, there is more good news today about fitness than there was knowledge about the Atlantic  back in 1492. Right now, an ever increasing number of people are finding that a fitness lifestyle is superior to the living habits promoted by the media and the medical community. That is because of Jack Lalanne, who started it all back in the fifties. As a result, quite a few people are now experiencing a far superior quality of life in comparison to more conventional counterparts.

Perhaps you know of some who have been at fitness for ten or more years. If not, the internet is a great source of data and positive examples Some of its authors can even be called. By using it everyday, one can start enjoying his or her sail from Spain to the New World .Then the hazardous voyage will become more like an enjoyable cruise, something which is “no big deal.”

For further discussion of fitness lifestyles even before they became popular order my ebook “Think and Grow Fit.”

One of the biggest criticisms of people into a fitness lifestyle is that they are boring. If you have never experienced this type criticism  for your diet, supplement routine or workout regularity, you have not been at any of these for all that long. Of course, you could be in a circle of friends who are all keenly attuned to fitness. This would be a stepped down version of the training camp for the Olympics. But, given the sad state the greater part of America, this is highly unlikely.

Interestingly, it is seldom the fit people that really are boring. They tend to be lively, focused and happy. On the other hand, their unfit counterparts are often quite plodding, lethargic and negative. Yet the latter group is the one which does the criticizing. How can this be?

It may be that the criticism is the result of a psychological projection. Because they cannot see that they are the cause of  boredom in a social situation,  they find a reason to pin it onto others. In other words, the unfit folks are living in denial. But, whatever the actual cause, the fact of the criticism will remain.

Criticism from others, either actual or imagined, is one of the primary reasons for failure at fitness. Hearing something like “That is the same thing that you do everyday that I come in here” can be enough to make one stop going to the club. The same is true for “I’d really appreciate it if you break up your routine a little as I would like to use the machines when I want to for a change.” Or, more inventively, “Well, glad you made it; now I know its 5:30.”

Typically these types of comments apply to workouts. But, the same types of derogatory comments can occur over dieting and supplementation. Here the arch-critic changes from the person next you at the club to your spouse. “Aren’t you ever going to get off this fitness kick so we can have some fun for a change?”  Or,  “Do you really have to have all those pills every day? You know much they cost, don’t you?”  Or, “Why can’t you just let your hair down  once in a while? After all, what are the weekends for?” Clearly, all of these questions are meant to intimidate and modify behavior.

Anyone who wants to be fit needs to expect these types of criticisms from others. They will occur at the club or at home. They will come, and there is nothing that can be done to stop them. But, being prepared will make them easier to take. This is like knowing it may rain even when it is relatively sunny. The best thing then is to simply carry a psychological umbrella , remembering that a little water never killed anyone. The bottom line is to keep them from upsetting your fitness lifestyle.

Of course, if you are both allergic to water and living in a monsoon region, you might  consider moving to Arizona (or strongly suggest that your critics do.)

For further thought on being a health nut among the normal majority order my book “Think and Grow Fit.”

In fitness, the dynamics are initially very much the same (though a little different down the road.) It is just that one must relate to oneself instead of another person. As in a relationship with a friend, there has to be an established way of being -a healthy interaction between the two of you on a daily basis. When it comes to fitness, this suggests a regular diet, a well thought out supplement program and, of course, a systematic workout routine. Really getting into  a routine like this  takes more than just a few days.

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” then applies to those who have been at their routines for some time. A period of six months should be thought of in this regard. However, most new people will not have stayed at it for that long. even though this type of dedication is really what is needed. Therefore, when starting out, acquiring a working diet-exercise supplement is what should be the first crucial goal. This, like establishing a friendship with another human being, is something which takes a fair amount time and patience.

To many, anything longer than overnight sounds like forever. Therefore it becomes a complete drudgery. For instance, saying that no real results will be seen for around six weeks often gives immediate cause to start investigating the many weight pills and diets which have glutted the market. Of course, almost all of these promise near overnight results. Thus they come across as being superior. Unfortunately, they most often never come through as promised. Or, if they do, what they initially correct quickly returns.

Therefore, the first concern of anyone starting off should be to establish a personally viable permanent fitness lifestyle– one that will actually work for the long haul. That is “one that ain’t ever gonna get broke”, or at least one which you are  never continually tempted to fix. Depending upon how one chooses to start, getting to this point may take a period of some experimentation initially. That may seem onerous. Yet, after having been at it for long enough, a smooth working routine will result.

Six weeks is a benchmark for the length of time that it takes to acquire this new set of habits. That should be the rule of thumb when starting out. One should simply accept that it will be this long before it becomes easier to eat right, supplement wisely and do your routine than it will be to find excuses for not doing so. When that point is reached, the journey to lasting fitness can be said to have effectively begun.

After this point, stagnation can occur. That is when things change a bit. This often happens about three months down  the road. Then, but only then is it necessary to slightly vary ones routine (or do a little “fixin’”.)This is equivalent to tweaking on a computer program. Practically, it may mean lightening the weight while doubling the reps, or increasing the resistance while cutting down the rpms on the stationery bike, or adding an amino supplement to an already established multi-vitamin routine, or, possibly taking off one entire day per month from eating after having religiously adhered to a low fat low carbohydrate diet. Of course, other variations are possible as well.

However, it needs to be stressed that in the beginning, minor alterations like these are little better than excuses for not doing the basics. Therefore, they should be avoided at all costs. Getting  into an established exercise, diet and supplement pattern-one that “works ‘cuz it ain’t broke”-is the first single most important thing to be done and done well. After that, a little “fixin’ now and then” really can make everything work even better.

For further thought on getting into a routine that can be effectively tweaked order my book Think and Grow Fit.

Those words are a direct quote from an interview with the grandfather of fitness, Lack Lalanne. Unfortunately, he died last week due to complications from pneumonia; but he was vigorous through the last days of his life. He never missed his two hour per day workouts–for nearly eighty years he never missed them. How extraordinary for a man born in 1914. How much on par though far more extensive than a dedicated high school athlete hoping desperately to win the state meet. Talk about quality of life.

What made Jack tick? In his everyday life, it was diet, supplements (in his words forty to fifty of them from A to Z) and exercise. He never missed at any of these though he traveled extensively, lecturing on the life he loved. He was an authority on fitness, believing that it could transform the life of anyone. His listeners reached from the elderly, whose strength doubled after six months of training, to corporate executives, whom he berated for being more concerned about money than the unfit employees, who looked up to them.

Too many of today’s high school aged people do not really know of this grandfather of fitness. Possibly that is because they have not had the advantage of older generations with baby boomer  parents. How many of these  had a mother who would not think of missing a one of Jack’s TV workouts from the late fifties onward. Many of them idolized him as much or more present day celebrities. To say the least, Jack was an icon, affecting and changing the lives of many.

Jack is remembered for many different things–things which we all have now come to view as commonplace. He started the first health club in 1936. He invented many of the machines that we have all come to expect in the gyms we frequent. He advocated weight lifting for both men and women, when virtually no one believed that this was good even for male athletes. He promoted his juicer, which when used regularly, promotes better digestion and assimilation of the food we eat. And, as a former sugar addict (or so he described himself), he took a stand against soft drinks and candy serving as living proof that anyone can beat a compulsion if only they would commit to doing the right things.

Those were his normal achievements, all exceptional in themselves because of the amount of time that they kept in the public view.Yet, they were very abnormal during his early years. They were so much so that they made him the country’s first health nut. But, in spite of the sports and medical establishment which stood against him, he prevailed to become the nation’s foremost authority on fitness. In his words, back then he was forty years ahead of his time.

Most us today can accept what Jack has taught us. Still, we may have an inability to tolerate him as a super- extraordinary athlete as distinct from a very good one. He did win Mr America in 1955, nothing to ever be taken lightly; and he did do the impossible on his seventieth birthday. The reader can look this up for him or herself. It is too astonishing to write about. The feat will simply cause disbelief in any of the other more believable assertions in this article. Besides, it is more important to talk about what something like all of his his accomplishments really mean when viewed against backdrop of an unbroken life of fitness.

Today we are quick to say that noteworthy physical accomplishments are solely the result of exceptional genes. That is what we do with extraordinary athletes. Because we neither cannot do anything like them, nor even imagine ourselves doing so, it must be that the the superstars are genetically different. Perhaps that is true. But why must this be entirely the case? Why can this not also be due to decades of living the healthy habits?.Jack certainly thought so. He believed that the everyday doing of the right things could make us the people we can barely dream of being. And that is the bedrock of the lectures that he never tired of delivering.

This country is in a sad state. It could be turned around physically, mentally and spiritually by more of us taking this exceptional man seriously. His life was dedicated to getting us where we are today, and it was successful. It has made a difference–one that has lasted. The only problem is that far too few of us follow ardently in his footsteps. Perhaps China would be less of threat to our national self esteem if more of us did.

For more about this extraordinary human being Google his name and order my book Think and Grow Fit.

However, things are different not too far down the road. After once having begun, your whole perception of reality changes. You feel enthusiastic, a result of the new great feelings which have just become part of your entire life. Naturally, this is good; but it often leads to an unfortunate  tendency to overdo. When it does, minor visceral irritations or actual injuries abound. These in turn lead to time off and the possibility of never returning to a regular fitness program. Consequently, everything should be done to avoid these occurrences.

The first step in doing so is to realize that you will probably go head long into a new a new program even if you know this is not in your best interests. The reasons for this vary. They are due to anything from childlike exploration of a new fun thing to the more adult one of just feeling better than you ever have. The effects of a good diet, regular exercise and intelligent supplementation are truly extraordinary. For those who have experienced all of them together (as they might have when out for a sport in high school), they are encouraged to try it out today.

But diving into a fitness lifestyle today may actually prove to be a little dangerous. The truth is that the mind is initially stronger than the body. That is to say, when it comes to fitness, we all believe that we can handle more than we really can.  In the first weeks (as opposed to in a few months down the road), this  is how it is. Eating right, obtaining many times the minimum daily requirements of nutrients along with exercising the blood and muscles in the same disciplined ways each and every day makes one feel like they can live forever.

Nevertheless, this new level of physical excellence does not not immediately sustain itself, nor does it come overnight. The permanent effects of real conditioning take months for almost everyone. Therefore, one should be resigned to patience. All of the joints, ligaments, tendons and muscles need to respond to the new demands being placed on them. To be sure, they will; but they all require  time to recover. The length for this to occur is different for each of us. Therefore you should expect that a  period of at least eight months will be needed. In other words you should not expect anything dramatic overnight.  How then should you proceed?

The answer is cautiously. This is where the  expression “There is a tomorrow” comes in. It goes hand in hand with staying the course for the long haul. It means cutting back when it feels like doing too much will make tomorrow an off day in stead of another day of regular fitness discipline. in short, taking it easy while it making sure to take it steady should be watch words.

Therefore, it can be said that there is “no tomorrow” when it comes to starting; but “there is a tomorrow” after having begun. The whole idea is to make your fitness lifestyle a way of being that is regular as the brushing of your teeth. What it takes to get there is what you have to do.

For further thought on making a fitness lifestyle as much a part you as the brushing of your teeth order my book Think and Grow Fit.

There are a considerable number of Americans who care about fitness and who often pray pray for some things. it is just that  most would never  pray for a male body builder’s large shoulders or woman’s hour glass. In most our denominations, The same might be true of being able to run  the Iron Man competition or swim a three mile. These would be considered  too vain, too personal and too lacking in creaturely concern to be worthy of such solemnity. In other words they would be simply too frivolous for most of us to ask of the Almighty.

Religious positions like this need to be respected.It is the bedrock of the greatest part of American religiosity. Asking for things that ought not to be requested is just not becoming behavior.Therefore, people should be careful in what they ask for ( to mimic a popular expression.)

Nevertheless these same people would never think twice about earnestly praying for themselves when faced with a serious operation or for a loved one in a similar circumstance. The possibility of death and the realization that one just cannot save them self or others can be a powerful catalyst even for the person who refuses to ever set foot inside of a church. Of course, there are still those who prefer to say that simply hang on, hoping for the best. Or trusting that the odds will somehow turn out in his or her favor.

Regardless of the essence of an aversion to prayer, we still are inclined to seek help for what we feels is too much for us. Of course for everyday occurrences we merely rely on daily disciplines and possibly the normal precautions to maintain all over basic healthiness. Thus we never never miss our workouts, never skip or vitamins and always eat the things we know are best for energy production and tissue repair. Doing so we can feel reassured that the body’s natural processes will in fact cause cellular growth thereby enabling us to attain the ends we seek. if we are really that locked into our disciplines, all well and good.

But how many of us can really stay trues to course at all times? How many are so athletically attuned that we would never deviate from the parameters of a   fitness lifestyle no matter what? How many of us are so much like a fine Olympic athlete that we would never lapse into old habits that cause the sedentary natures and overweight bodies that we see everyday?

During the early years of training we may often need to tap into a higher power as it has so often been called. That suggests prayer or at least a very strong hope or faith in something or someone beyond our selves. Without this we will fall into old unhealthy ways or stop far short of the time that it takes to get into dynamic fitness lifestyle.

Prayer or powerful hope can keep this from happening.Yet we may feel somehow constrained to not do what we should. If so we should ask why. Perhaps we will then find that asking for fitness is not as worthy as asking for recovery from an operation. If so we should consider that fitness is really the best preventative medicine known to all but practiced by far too few. It really could be the very thing which saves a considerable number of us from  the health problems that far too may of us have begun to believe are inevitable.

For further thought on maintain a fitness lifestyle in spite of all which detracts us from staying at it, order my book Think and Grow Fit.