That's Fit

As fabulous as we at That's Fit think this blog is, the truth is there are hundreds of wonderful blogs on healthy living to be seen all over the blogosphere. So in this feature, Fit Links, we'll introduce you to some that have caught our eye.

We all have something that motivates us. When you can whittle those feelings of inspiration and motivation down into a short, uplifting phrase, it becomes a motto or a mantra that moves you when you just don't feel like moving. Nike knew this when they developed their "Just Do It" campaign. Those three little words say so much.

Fat Man Unleashed recently wrote his three-word memoir, Be About It. For him, those three words symbolize action and accountability -- in life, but especially in fitness and health. He then "tagged" several of his readers to come up with their own short memoirs about life, fitness, and health and they're pretty interesting:

• Nutrition Fitness Life: "The best is yet to come."
• Weight Ladder: "Happy, healthy, wealthy, wise."
• Go Workout Mom: "Ask, Seek, Give: Love living life!"

What about you? If you had to write a six (or three or five or whatever) word memoir about your health and fitness habits, what would it be?

Would you like to see a blog featured here on Fit Links? Leave us a note in comments!

Dick Hoyt, 67, and his son Rick, 46, have accomplished more than many of us could imagine. They've climbed mountains, completed 224 triathlons (including six Ironmans), 66 marathons, a 45-day cross-country bike ride, and more. Obviously, that's inspiring in and of itself.

What makes it AMAZING is that Rick is a quadriplegic and cannot walk or talk -- he was born with cerebral palsy, which kept him from ever being able to control his muscles and limbs, including his vocal chords.

Dick started participating in races and endurance events with his son when Rick was just 11, and the duo hasn't taken more than two weeks off since. Dick continues to train and compete because Rick gets so much joy out of it, and it makes him happy to see his son happy.

I ran really far on Sunday, and when the time came to go to the gym with my husband on Monday, I thought I'd be too beat to perform. I literally was contemplating stretching for an hour as I walked through the front doors. But then! Then I saw something beautiful to my left. Over the dozens of cardio machines to my side, I saw Tom Cruise plopped down on the couch with Oprah and was drawn over to the treadmills.

Curiosity got my goat, and up I climbed on to the machine before me. Now strangely enough, because of a back injury, walking hurts more than running. So with emotional bricks in my shoes I cranked up the speed to six miles per hour and got going. I swear to you that before I turned that darn machine on, I would have never imagined my legs would take me half a mile. Apparently I was wrong.

Turns out that even though I felt sluggish and was full of doubt, I was capable of running for an hour straight! Isn't that insane? I think so. Listen. I've been in this business a long time, and have made a living out of proving to people that they could do the things they thought they couldn't! Feeling slow, tired, and unmotivated is not unusual. What is unusual, though, is finding the inspiration to yank out your personal best, even under those circumstances.

Swimsuit season is fast approaching! It's just around the corner so now is the time to uncover that beautiful beach body you've been keeping under wraps all winter. Is yours hidden beneath an extra layer of winter flab? Have a great exercise plan in mind but having a hard time getting motivated because of stress, pain, anxiety or even depression? Relaxation is one of your body's best healing mechanisms, but it's not always easy to do. Natural techniques like breathing exercises, muscle relaxation, and guided imagery can help, plus you don't need any special equipment or training to reap the benefits.

Here at That's Fit, we're forever grateful for the service, courage and sacrifice made by the heroic men and women who serve as military, law enforcement officers, and firefighters. We're so grateful, that we'd like to dedicate some features to both showing our heroes off, and learning a little bit in the process as well. If you serve your country courageously, are a veteran or know someone who does, please return this form completed to Fitz along with a photo and we'll share your story with the world.

Name:

Age:

Heroic occupation:

If you're in the military...where are you?

How often do you exercise?

What type of exercise do you do?

Any of us who've carried a few extra pounds have inevitably had that ah-ha moment. You know, the one where you look at a photo from your past vacation or family event and think to yourself, omigod, is that me? Is that what I look like? I look so ... fat ... ! The thing is, we see each other every day in the mirror, and so we sometimes don't notice an extra few pounds here and there. Until, that is, we see ourselves from far away, from another point of view.

Truth be told, these moments of realization are hard. But they're also necessary -- we need to face the facts to make changes in our lives. So next time you find a fat photo, don't burn it, bury it in the garden or hide it away. Keep in it plain view--perhaps even on your fridge?--as a reminder to make better decisions.

And trust me--with enough dedication, it won't be long before you can chuck the fat photo and replace it with a fit photo, one that you can truly be proud of.

Congratulations to our Everlast Fitzness Fiend of the Week, Carolyn Kachinsky. Carolyn has literally transformed herself in to one hot mother (of five) in just 24 months! This 45 year old masterpiece of lean muscle gives new meaning to the term "it's never too late". Hopefully she'll send us a photo in her new Everlast tank top. I'm so impressed and inspired by Carolyn. Doesn't she make you want to do better too?

Maybe you'd like to win a smokin' tank from the Big E as well? Wouldn't it be nice to be rewarded for your efforts every now and then? I think you should be. I think you should be my next Everlast Fitzness Fiend of the Week! ....

In my December interview with Oprah Winfrey's health expert, Dr. Oz, I harassed him about not doing real pull-ups with a bar. (He was using the Gravitron). I gave him a bit of a ration, detailed in his Celebrity Fitzness Report interview, and he promised to get a bar and start doing them. He was very inspired viewing this video of Anthony Field of The Wiggles performing an amazing pull-up routine. So, I emailed Dr. Oz some links on where to get pull-up bars etc. and harassed him only a teeny bit more.

Well, Friday I randomly sent him an email asking "how are the pull-ups coming"? His awesome response was that he just filmed an Oprah show and demonstrated 21 pull-ups on air! Hooray for Dr. Oz! The show will air tomorrow, Tuesday February 5th and I'm looking forward to it. I'm so proud of him!

Need a pick me up? The power of positive thinking is a very real thing, and taking some time to focus on the good things in your life can do amazing things for your motivation and your overall attitude and approach to things in life. So what are some of the best things in your life? Can you come up a top 10 list? This guy did, and I think it's a good idea for all of us. We all have different priorities in our lives and different "small things" that mean something to us but it's easy to lose sight of them in the midst of our hectic everyday lives.

I'm really gonna have to do some brainstorming to come up with a solid top 10 list for me personally, but I know one thing for sure: 'laughing babies' is going to be on there somewhere (they crack me up!).

Motivational problems: who doesn't have them? Nobody is really completely free of them because we all have days where we have to make ourselves get up and get moving. Now for some people getting (and staying) motivated is much worse than for others, and finding what works for you to get you moving can be quite a trick. Have you thought about what works for you? Is it rewarding yourself with something new? Or simply focusing on the satisfaction you get after a good workout?

The thing about motivation is that it's not something that can always be created in the same way -- different days need different inspiration. So even though you may have an idea or two of things that help get you in the mood for exercise, do those couple of things always work? If you're anything like me the answer is no, and what you really need is a whole list of ideas to run through every time you're having an off day because it's really hit and miss as far as what's gonna work and what isn't.

Get over it! Haha, I just always wanted a reason to yell that out. And procrastination, especially in the area of your health, is as good a reason as any. Do you have a problem with procrastinating and just taking forever to really get started with all your lofty health and fitness goals? I do, totally. Once I'm going I'm usually able to stick with it for awhile and see some good results, but getting started is the real problem for me.

The reasons why people procrastinate can vary wildly, but I must say I agree with this take on it over at Cranky Fitness, which basically says that procrastinators aren't necessarily the lazy bums they're made out to be. You can be an awesome procrastinator and still be a very productive person -- just not in the desired target areas! So what's the issue? Well only you can answer that question, but it could be something as simple as being afraid of failure (that's when a good solid "get over it!" might help, and the realization that you're already failing by not even trying) or even that you're simply not expecting to enjoy it so you're putting it off for other things.

Try these tips they suggest to help "get over" your own procrastination issues:

Starting to exercise is easy, it's the continuing to exercise that is so difficult. Making exercise a habit, a regular part of your life that you do without thinking, is not easy but it is possible. What makes it so hard? According to this writer it boils down to 3 things:

• You have too many goals
• You think it's too hard
• You don't have enough motivation

And beating those 3 buzz-kills, or whatever other roadblocks you might be experiencing, can be done by following these 4 steps:

• Set yourself just one goal that is easy and measurable
• Log your efforts daily
• Report to others
• Add motivation as needed

These ideas make sense to me, and although they are all things we've heard before the trick is to actually do them consistently!

Via Lifehacker

Does your fitness or dieting plan need a jumpstart? Why? Obviously you've stalled, or hit a wall, or fallen into a rut, or whatever, but what is it that makes you want to break free and get moving again? What are you trying to achieve?

Considering your goal and refocusing yourself is one way to get motivated again, but if that isn't doing the trick try this slight variation: name 5 things your current weight or fitness level is preventing you from doing. Your goal may be to lose 25 pounds, but a list of things you'd like to do may have goals on it like wearing a certain size jeans, looking great for a specific event, or doing something physical like rock climbing or kayaking. By naming specific things that you want to do when you're thinner/healthier you can rejuvenate your spirit and inspiration, and get the focus shifted off the scale and more onto your life. So what are 5 things that you can (and will!) do when you reach your goal that you can't do now? And just how bad do you want those things?

For this week's Fit Factor, we're going back to basics and learning the ABCs of fitness. Whether we're just starting out or are seasoned veterans, we all need a little reminder every now and then of why we're doing it, how to get fit and what we want to achieve. Here we go:

A: Aerobic exercises. Also known as cardio. It's what burns the most calories and will ultimately help you take off that fat.
B: Barbells and dumbells. Don't get too caught up in cardio, though. Weight lifting is
C: Crunches. Want awesome abs (and really, who doesn't)? Crunches will get you there. Do some every day.
D: Depression: Exercise is known to combat the blues. Next time you have a bad week, go for a run instead of hanging out with a gallon of ice cream. You'll feel so much better.
E: Elliptical trainer: If you have trouble with your knees, or even if you don't, the Elliptical trainer is a low-impact, high-calorie-burning workout.

Got a special something that cheers you up, puts a bounce in your step, keeps you on a motivated roll? I do. There's the loud music I pump through my MP3 player when I run and the candles I burn while I write -- Pumpkin Pie and Cinnamon Stick are the my scents of the season. And I love, absolutely love cool weather. It was 68 degrees this morning in Florida. The high today will fall somewhere in the 80s. I know that's still pretty warm but compared to the stifling heat we've had lately, this is a cool Fall day. It makes me happy, energetic, enthusiastic about life.

Today I ran in the cool air. It's my perfect scenario -- running in crisp temperatures -- and it made me realize there must be something that inspires each of us to reach for the stars. Whether embarking on a new diet plan, a fabulous exercise program, or a renewed commitment to all things health-related, there's got to be something that helps you soar.

Think about it. What makes you want to be the best you can be? Sunsets? A fresh bouquet of flowers? Looking at old photos? If you can't quite decide, take a peek at these 100 ideas. See what grabs you, and then let that something power you forward as your hop on the treadmill today, grab that juicy apple, resolve to stop smoking.

We all have our ups and downs -- there's no getting around that -- but a little inspiration may be all it takes to climb out of the valley and journey to the peak. That's how it works for me.