That's Fit

You practice healthy habits. Your partner/family member/close friend does not. It's only natural for you to want to inspire someone you care about to live a healthier life. But how?

When lifting weights, there are two portions of the lift: the concentric phase (lifting the weight) and the eccentric phase (lowering the weight). Of course, this varies depending on the particular exercise you are performing; if you're doing a lat pull down, for example, the pulling down represents the concentric phase, whereas letting the bar raise up represents the eccentric phase. But, even in this case, the weighted plates on the machines are still being lifted and lowered according to ... well, gravity. So, with that all out of the way, I can now finally get to my point.

Given that we commonly talk about "lifting weights" to build and tone muscles, it should only make sense that the concentric phase of a lift is more important. I mean, no one tells their buddy that they're off to the gym to "lower weights," do they? Well, maybe they should, for it is actually the eccentric phase of the lift that causes the greatest amount of muscle development.

During a five-week study, Swedish researchers found that eccentric-only (also known as negative) training caused a more rapid increase in muscle strength and growth than concentric-only training. What does this mean for you? Focus on the negative. When working out, try to take 2 to 3 seconds to complete the eccentric portion of the lift. From there, hold the weight for a full count of one second, and then explode the weight upward to complete the eccentric lift. For more advanced exercisers, you may also want to incorporate "negative reps" into your workout once and a while to help break through fitness plateaus.

A recent study found that although Americans claim to be happier to than those in other countries, we're generally less able to take minor disappointments and setbacks in stride -- we totally let them get us down.

Making a conscious effort not to let small things (like parking tickets or a messed up lunch order) throw off your whole day or week is a big part of having a happy successful life. Maintaining a positive outlook will help you feel more energetic and will benefit all areas of your life. Keeping a mood journal can be a useful tool for keeping perspective, or just taking a step back and looking at the big picture when you catch yourself getting upset over something small.

FitSpirit explores the mind-body connection and the intangible benefits we gain from our efforts to stay physically fit.

Do you engage in "fat" talk? Many women do. It's the norm, actually, for women to regularly say negative things about their bodies. Research proves it.

A study from Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina -- home to great white water rafting, by the way -- reveals that "fat talk" is social currency for women. It goes something like this:

"I'm so fat."

"Oh, no, you look great, but my thighs are HUGE."

"YOUR thighs are huge? Look at MINE!"

And so on.

"Fat" talk is not all bad. It creates a solidarity among females. It allows them to open up. It's a way of sharing, disclosing, and receiving reassurance. But wouldn't it be great if we could bond as women without trashing our bodies in the process?

Let's try to minimize our own "fat" talk and see what happens. I predict we'll boost our moods and may even secure a better chance at making healthy choices, perhaps even trimming down.

A positive attitude can do wonders for mental health. So compliment yourself next time you're about to slip into "fat" talk. Surely, you've got a few redeeming qualities you can acknowledge. I know, it seems like bragging, but give a try. I'll go first. I won't tell you about my least favorite body part, although it's tempting. I'll only tell you this: I like my calf muscles. I consider them my best feature, in fact.

That wasn't so hard. Your turn.

Do you ever notice that a negative personality can be contagious? I've seen this in my own family and within my social group. There are some people that are perpetually positive, while others default to a negative point of view on almost everything. It's more than cynicism as well.

A new study has shown that consumers can pick up negative views of a product when friends and those close to them have negative views on those same products to begin with? For example, if you can't stand the Apple iPod's iTunes software and you share that fact with your close friends, they too may come to dislike the software.

The results from this study also show that people with negative perceptions on a certain product can become even more negative when they meet new people that also have negative feelings about a certain product. In the consumer psychology field, this is huge. If you've ever heard the term "word of mouth," this would be the definition of that, big-time.

Cosmetic medical procedures are becoming more and more commonplace everyday as technology advances, but there are still serious risks associated with even the simplest of procedures. Permanent makeup, which is basically just tattoos, is one that can easily have serious and devastating side effects. Studies have shown that certain shades of the tattoo ink used for permanent makeup cause allergic reactions in a significant number of patients, with redness, swelling, and even permanent bumps in the skin called granulomas resulting. The especially scary part is that it's possible to develop an allergy to the pigment at any time -- even in a tattoo you've had for years!

I for one would never want something permanent like this on my face, with or without the chance for nasty side effects, but for those who like the idea -- is it worth the risk?

The mind is a powerful thing, and that is true even when it comes to working to improve the physical condition of your body. In a recent study that compared participants who had been told they were out of shape to those who had been told they were in good shape (by a believable source after testing had been done), those who were told they were in worse shape reported feeling more fatigued than the other group -- which not only reported feeling less tired, but also had better over-all feelings of well-being. So people who believe they are healthier and making progress have more positive energy and more often ignore feelings of fatigue -- which of course means they're more likely to stick to their workouts.

Sounds like there's a case to be made for "believe it, and it will happen."

There is a big difference between not being depressed and actually being happy. It seems all too often we're focused on the avoiding the negative (stress, depression, anxiety) that we lose track of pursuing the positives. Just because you aren't depressed doesn't mean you're happy.

So in the interest of changing your focus away from preventing negative feelings and more toward creating positive ones, try incorporating these habits into your everyday life:

• Every night write down three good things that happened during the day, and why you think they happened. Gratitude is a powerful tool for the positive.
• Share good news as often as you can, and encourage and reinforce others when they share good news with you.
• Work on cultivating at least one of the following five qualities, all of which have been shown to have close ties with life satisfaction: love, hope, gratitude, curiosity, and vitality.
• Don't always go for "the best." You'll save yourself stress and a lot of emotional energy if you aren't constantly setting the bar so high just because everybody else is. Think about what you really want and really need, and not just what you're supposed to want and need.

Since weight loss plans are never a quick thing, it's easy to let mood swings and attitude issues get in the way as time goes on. Weight loss plateaus and other negative snags are also easy roads to negative thinking and loss of motivation. But common traps like unrealistic dreams, being inflexible, and an all-or-nothing attitude are not that difficult to overcome -- if you can recognize that you have them.

Having a good attitude really boils down to being realistic, not setting impossible standards for yourself, and giving yourself credit for small successes. Click here for more advice on avoiding attitude traps!

If it's your news, or that of a loved one, it's never easy to hear something bad from a doctor. I don't think there's any good way to prepare for the shock that comes from a serious diagnosis, but there are some things you can do to help yourself or a family member deal as positively and effectively as possible.

This article gives 5 ways to help handle the devastation that comes with negative health news, including realizing that the first 48 hours are the worst and not to rush to any decisions. Getting a second opinion is also important, as well as educating yourself on your options and making your own decisions.

The University of Colorado at Colorado Springs recently did some research on aging, and surprise surprise they actually came up with something good to say! When a group of older adults and younger adults were both shown groups of positive images, neutral images, and negative images, the older adults reacted more evenly to the positive and negative, while the younger set responded most to the negative pictures.

What does this mean? Researchers are saying it means that older adults are more balanced, and therefore more positive in general regarding their outlooks. Unfortunately, other than a nice bit of news, it doesn't really mean much -- yet anyway. Research will continue towards developing some real-life applications.

One step to stress relief -- too good to be true? Maybe not. According to some experts optimism, if applied to one's life correctly, can help with everything from boosting your immune system, to making better decisions, to improving heart health.

Of course there are arguments for and against using optimism as a coping mechanism for health and stress related issues, but there is one thing that people on both sides agree on: being an optimist certainly never hurts. And there are several very specific studies out there related to how optimism affects different health conditions, and for things like pregnancy, heart conditions, and battling other illnesses there have been documented positive physical results related to positive thinking.

So if you already consider yourself an optimist, great! If not, maybe you should look at changing your perspective?

Feeling fat has become so common in our society that's it's almost uncool not to feel ugly and overweight. If you're standing around the water cooler with a group of colleagues and somebody complains about how gross they feel and that they're planning on starting a new diet, everybody chimes in with how and why they hate their own bodies. Nobody like's the person who stands there and says, "Yeah, I don't worry about what I eat cuz I'm already so hot." Stuck up fatty...

Now there's nothing wrong with being confident, although it does go best with some humility. But the important thing is not to let the negativity of people around you drag you down, and not to let "feeling fat" become a sneaky term for other emotional issues like being unhappy or lonely. It's difficult, if not impossible, to achieve anything positive if all you've got is negative energy. Start by changing how you talk to yourself, the actual words you use. Be kind (or funny) with yourself, but not self-loathing or critical. Become that confident happy person you imagine yourself to be if you were thinner, and before you know it your body will catch up with your thinking.

"The power of positive thinking." That phrase comes to my mind when reading about the power your body image has on your weight loss and fitness plans. Negative body image equals negative results, and so the opposite applies in that a positive body image will have a positive effect. The media today doesn't help anyone when it comes to fostering a good body image, with rail-thin models and actors everywhere wearing styles that only look right on specific body types. But I will say that I've heard more lately from the media about the media in relation to this negativity problem, so maybe it will start getting better in the future... (positive thinking!)

But "maybe in the future" doesn't help us now, today, does it? Plus, some people would be fighting negativity with or without that extra help from the advertising world, and sadly that bad body image is not only detrimental to your physical appearance but also your emotional health. So if you don't feel so great about you, try these suggestions to improve your body image, inside and out:

According to a study published recently in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings medical journal, people who view their glass as half full will probably live longer than those who see it as half empty. Researchers followed almost 7,000 adults since the 1960s, and found that the pessimistic participants were 42% more likely to die of various causes than their optimistic counterparts.

The reasons behind these results could be any number of things -- like the fact that optimistic personalities are less likely to suffer from depression, and are more likely to take care of themselves by making healthier lifestyle choices.

This isn't the first study to show that a positive attitude can extend your life expectancy, so if you're naturally a pessimist is there anything you can do? Doctors warn that it can be difficult to make changes in your core personality, but not impossible. Studies have shown that therapy and meditation are both effective ways of increasing positive emotions and changing your outlook for the better.