Mental Mastery Part 2, You Are the Thinker

This is the first truth you must realize in your quest to control your mind. Most people feel powerless as to the thoughts they entertain. However, you are the thinker before the thought and you have the power to scan every thought and choose whether or not you will allow it into your mind. In other words, you are the gatekeeper to you mind and thus you choose which thoughts you let in and which thoughts you keep out.

This is not an easy task, but it is necessary if you want to change your life. Not only are you the gatekeeper for the thoughts you allow in your mind, you have to examine your mind for the false ideas that have already taken root and are producing fruit in your life now. Some of these false ideas you got from your parents, grandparents, and other loved ones who taught you the things about life they learned. While well-meaning, some of the things they taught you may now be causing some of your biggest limitations in life. These ideas are hard to let go of because you have trusted and believed them to be true for so long.

If you are having any recurring problems or conditions you can’t seem to overcome it may be that you have a deep-rooted belief that you are unconsciously aware of in your mental garden. This belief was probably planted in your childhood by some well-meaning people in your life, or it could be a result of some deep hurt you have experienced. However, you must get rid of this false idea if you are to change the condition. For example, when I was a child my older brother was very outgoing and I was completely the opposite. Consequently, my brother got all the attention at my expense and I was deeply hurt. As a result, I learned to guard my heart and not to let people get very close to me. This belief carried over into my relationships as an adult and I could never let anyone get really close to me no matter how hard I tried. It wasn’t until I realized that subconsciously I was still carrying the same belief from my childhood that I could change my relationships. I had to uproot that old belief before I could let people get close to me again.

You also allow false ideas to subconsciously enter your mind through conversation with friends, things you read, and what you hear in the news. You have to be vigilant of what you consciously allow to be planted in your mental garden, for a thought will always produce fruit in the form of conditions after its kind.

The above information is from my new book called Balanced Life Living Life From Within. It's available for purchase on Amazon.  Click here to review and purchase a copy.

Mental Mastery, Part 1

After twenty years of working one-on-one with people trying to help them improve their health and fitness level, I have realized that no one ever rises above what they think they can accomplish.  Thus, one of the first things necessary to help people transform is developing a healthy mental outlook.  In the next series of post I will touch on the subject of improving one's mental attitude, not only about health and fitness but also about life.

Out of your mental world of thought is born the conditions and circumstances that populate your life. Entry to the spiritual realm of harmonious living can only be attained through conscious control of your thoughts. Until you realize that thoughts are what you give life to, you will live under the false idea that you are a victim of circumstance with very little control over what happens in your life.

To master your mental plane of existence is to gain control over the circumstances and conditions of your life. In order to master your mind you have to realize three very important things. First, you are the thinker before the thought, and thus, you are the gatekeeper to the thoughts you allow to enter and dwell in your mind. Second, you are a creative being and you are always creating something via the thoughts you allow to take root in your mind. Third, you are never and have never been a victim of any circumstance or condition in your life.

The above information is from my new book called Balanced Life Living Life From Within. It's available for purchase at: Lulu Press, Inc.

Balanced Life

The following is an excerpt from my new book, Balanced Life, Living Life From Within.

Do you ever feel that life is a struggle? It appears that no matter what you do or what you try, you seem to be going against the current. Have you noticed how some people breeze through life effortlessly and most things seem to simply fall into their laps? How wonderful would it be to have a GPS for your life guiding you to your purpose, love, happiness, fulfillment and abundance?

There is a way of living called the top down approach in which things flow easily and harmoniously in your life. Your life can fundamentally change through an understanding of the scientific principle that you are an energy being and there is more to you than just your physical body.

Take a journey with us as we transform your body, mind and spirit through understanding the laws of the universe, different energetic planes in your body, proper nutrition and exercise, and applying healing modalities to propel your transformation. We reveal secrets to effortlessly become the creator of your life to truly manifest what you desire, and much much more.

Available for purchase online at Lulu Press, Inc.

Maximize Fat Burning in Your Exercise Program

With warm weather approaching, most people want to look good in their more revealing summer wardrobes. This time of the year I hear a lot of complaints like this, "I put a pair of my shorts last week and I don't like the way I look in them."  Then I get the question of how to get rid of the extra layer of fat that was put on during the winter? My answer is always diet and exercise.  While diet is the major part of the answer, in this post I want to talk about exercise, specifically, cardio.  In order to most efficiently burn body fat you have to do a combination of strength training and cardio.

A brief explanation of how your body responds to exercise will help you understand how to do your cardio in a manner that is most efficient in helping you burn body fat and firm-up.  Your body has two basic ways of generating energy for your muscles in response to exercise. One involves your body using oxygen to burn calories to provide fuel to exercising muscles. In this method, your body is most efficient in burning stored body fat because fat must have oxygen present to be converted into energy to fuel your muscles. Activities that cause your body to use this method to generate energy are called aerobic. Examples are brisk walking and slow running. When you are doing activities such as these, you are exercising in the aerobic zone.

The other method that your body uses to provides fuel to muscles does not require the use of oxygen. In this method your body primarily uses carbohydrates that are stored in the muscle to generate energy. Anaerobic activities that require a quick burst of energy such as heavy weight lifting and sprinting require your body to use this method. Activities that cause your body to use this energy production system are called anaerobic exercises.

Knowing which energy system you are using when you exercise is important if you want to maximize fat burning. In my fitness program, I do strength training in the anaerobic zone to build and maintain muscle, while performing cardio in the aerobic zone to burn fat.

When planning your cardio exercise program, design it around the following three concepts:

Frequency – I recommend you do at least three sessions of cardio each week but no more than six. This is ample exercise to achieve the health benefit, and burn body fat, while also giving your body maximum recovery time to build and maintain your hard earned muscle mass. I personally do four to five cardio sessions per week as a part of my fitness program.

Intensity – I suggest you do your cardio exercise in the range of 60 to 80 percent of your estimated maximum heart rate. This is called your aerobic zone and is where your body is most efficient at burning fat as fuel. Anything above 80 percent of your estimated maximum heart rate will tap into your anaerobic energy production system, meaning you will stop using stored body fat to feed your muscles.

Use the following method to calculate your estimated maximum heart rate and your aerobic exercise zone. Take the number 220 and subtract your age. This is your estimated maximum heart rate. Now take 60 percent of this number to get the lower end of the range of your aerobic zone and 80 percent of this number to get the upper end.

For example, I am 55 years old, so my estimated maximum heart rate is 220 – 55 = 165 beats per minute (bpm). Therefore, the lower end of the range of my aerobic zone is 165 bpm x 60% = 99 bpm, and the upper end of my aerobic zone is 169 bpm x 80% = 132 bpm. So when I do my cardio exercise, I work out at a heart rate between 99 to 132 bpm.

The easiest way to see if you are staying in your aerobic zone is with a heart rate monitor. If you do not have access to a heart rate monitor, you can use the following method to check your heart rate and stay in your aerobic zone. Take the lower and upper range numbers you calculated above and divide them by four. This is your 15 second heart rate count. Then during your workout periodically stop and check your pulse for 15 seconds to see if your heart rate falls between the two numbers you just calculated.  I’ll use my example again. The lower and upper ends of the range of my aerobic zone are 99 and 132 bpm, respectively. Therefore, my 15 second heart rate count is 99 bpm / 4 = 25 for the lower end of the range and 132 / 4 = 33 for the upper end. Thus, when I’m doing cardio, I stop to check my pulse for 15 seconds making sure the number I get is between 25 and 33, so I’m in my aerobic exercise zone. This is the intensity range that my body is most efficient at burning fat for fuel to provide my muscles the energy to exercise.

Duration – It is my observation that you get the most benefit from your cardio program if you combine it with strength training and do between 30 and 45 minutes three to six days each week. Do the 30 minute sessions after strength training and the 45 minute sessions on the days that you do not weight lift.

Design your cardio exercise program around the three principles above and you’ll notice a real difference in the way you look and feel.