Focus: A Weight Loss Strategy
I just finished working my quads on a weight machine. My head races and my body hums all in an attempt to lose weight. Only moments ago, my legs worked so hard that they began to fail. They worked so hard that my muscle tissue cried out in pain and began to tear. Now having just finished, my body sweating with the effort, I can rest for a couple of minutes before doing it again. Each day this week I will have targeted a different group of muscles. Each day I will work them, stretch them, and tear them. Each day, I will work so hard that my heart beats a new rhythm into my metabolism. Each day, my body will set to repair the damage I have done in such manner that it does not happen again. Each day doggedly break my body down and force it to improve itself. This is working out, this is getting fit, this is what it takes. As I sit and stretch between sets, my quads still reeling, I scan around the gym. I take in those around me. At this hour, there are few people willing to brave the cold mornings to make the run to the gym. There are two people working with some free weights near by. They are within earshot and while I am resting I listen to them complain about, work, relationships, their bosses, clothes, their bodies and their friends. The conversation flows from one topic to the next seamlessly and it is clear by their candor that they know each other well; that they have been friends and work out buddies for a while. What grabs my attention however, is not the meandering topics of their conversation, but the fact that conversation is occurring at all. I ponder this until I start on my second set. As my second set starts, all I can focus on is exercise; flexing my muscles against the weight. During the relatively short time it takes for me to run through my set and completely exhaust my quads, every action, every breath becomes an exercise in methodical control and economy. Every action I make is geared to the exercise at hand. When I finish and I reengage with the world, I come back to the two people and their on-going conversation. As they chat, they work through a routine of exercises that look habitual and ritualized. When they work their muscles, they go through the motions; intent more on the conversation and company then their bodies. There is a point to this. There is a myth, an urban legend if you will, that says going to the gym will make you lose weight. It is a logical extension of the same myth that says I need to go to the gym, I am out of shape. These two ideas have become synonymous with healthy lifestyles and fitness. For the two people I observed, simply being at the gym was enough to assuage their concerns for their physical health. The bottom line is that this is an illusion. To make yourself fit, you need to break your body down and force it to rebuild. The idea being that after the rebuild, you will be stronger and fit. This cannot occur by merely being in a gym, or as in the case with the talking pair, this cannot occur by going through the motions of working out. Before I get accused of being a fanatical meat head just understand that I carry an extra few pounds around my waist. All I know is that to really make progress, to have physical and visible results, you must have an impact on your body. The kicker is that they almost have it made. These people are at they gym early on a cold morning. They are committed to their weight loss goals. They go through the motions of their exercises like a well rehearsed dance routine. Clearly they want to achieve something with their bodies. If they just focused, and worked their bodies just a little more; enough, say, to deny them the ease of conversation, then the results would be tremendous. The whole point is that you have to be clear about what it is you want to accomplish. I know with every fiber in my being, that I will burn off the extra weight around my waist and that I will firm up my desk loving muscles. But I won't do it by talking. The Icon Diet offers a step by step weight loss program to help people lose weight quickly, naturally and effectively. Visit the site by going to... http://www.zizzoo.com/guides/loseweight/index.php
MORE RESOURCES:
Defining yoga, one style at a timeCommon Ground, CA - 15 hours agoThat’s the philosophy that inspired Jivamukti Yoga founders Sharon Gannon and David Life, who developed the style in their Manhattan studio in 1984. ... |
Library offers beginner's yoga classLog Cabin Democrat, AR - 16 hours agoA beginner's yoga class is being held weekly at the Faulkner County Library. The class is on-going, meeting from 7 to 8 pm on Tuesdays. ... |
Yoga event to raise money for animal shelterMinot Daily News, ND - 2 hours agoBy JILL SCHRAMM, Staff Writer, jschramm@minotdailynews.com Two Minot yoga instructors have teamed up with the Souris Valley Animal Shelter to share the ... |
Living Your Yoga: Seated pose brings tranquilityWashington Examiner, DC - 8 hours agoBy Kimberly Wilson Andrew Harnik/Examiner Welcome back to our ongoing series dedicated to living your yoga! This series explores yoga as a lifestyle through ... |
Supatha Yoga celebrates anniversaryScarlet Scuttlebutt, NJ - 2 hours agoThis dream included sharing her lifelong passion for yoga, a practice that saved her life and has kept her healthy for more than 35 years. ... |
Yoga - Google News
|
 |
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Read Food Labels To Lose Weight
I was at the grocery store the other day, doing my weekly shopping and reading food labels like I always do, when and acquaintance came up and said, "Why are you reading labels? You can eat anything you want with all of that exercise you do!" I have to say that this is probably one of the biggest misconceptions that people have.I talk to many people who are frustrated because they are working out and not losing weight, or not seeing the results they want.
Changing Our Eating Behaviour
Changing our eating behaviour is one of the critical lifestyle changes necessary if we are going to successfully lose weight and keep it off.For many people, changing eating habits is one of the hardest things they'll ever do, as anybody who has gone on a diet and tried to stick to it can attest.
Possible Pitfalls
There are as many reasons you've given yourself to eat as there are minutes in a day. Storm clouds do it for me.
Dieting Torture By Another Name, It Doesnt Need To Be That Way
I have tried many "diets" here in the USA and in England and to me they all felt like self inflicted torture. They were boring, tasteless, and restrictive.
Scientific Guidelines for Effective Weight Loss
If you have been dieting and haven't lost weight, stop! Don't even think about trying another diet, because it will produce the same results you have already seen.Below you will find "Scientific Guidelines" for weight loss that have always been around, but are not followed by the majority of weight loss programs these days.
How To Cop An Attitude With An Overzealous Hostess
We all encounter those hosts and hostesses who feel it is their duty to make us eat whatever their specialty is and generate a sense of guilt if we do not flatter their creation by stuffing ourselves with it, regardless of our weight control plans and weight loss goals. Here are some nice ways to decline her offering.
Diet Plans for a Low Carb Diet
One of the most popular diets is the low carb one. But because of its popularity the number of diet plans is growing, and growing and growing.
A Diet Made For You Will Make All The Difference
To achieve your goals you need a diet that takes into account who you are and what you want.People diet for lots of reasons, and with lots of aims in mind.
The Maharishi Ayurveda Approach to Weight Loss
5 Easy Steps to A Healthier WeightAlthough different people have weight problems for different reason, these 5 tips address fundamental lifestyle habits that affect virtually everyone. The really good news is that these 5 powerful tips are easy to implement and can bring about great changes in your life and health once in place.
Treadmill Weight Loss Tips
These treadmill weight loss tips are a great way to help you shed a few pounds and shape up. A treadmill is designed for the most natural form of exercise which is walking.
It's Not Just About Dieting
You may not like what I'm about to say, but dieting alone will not help you to lose weight. You have to give your body the exercise it needs.
Learn The Basics Of Weight Loss
Have you been surfing the web trying to find a way to lose weight? Are you looking for the perfect solution to your weight loss desires? If you have done much surfing, I'm sure you've found thousands of sites offering to provide you with the BEST weight loss solution. Are they all the BEST? Do they all work wonders? Will you never have to worry about weight loss again?Before you spend lots of hard earned cash on weight loss pills and potents, and hours and hours trying to find the perfect solution to your needs? Let's examine some basic facts about why we gain weight and why we lose weight.
Fat Loss Exercise Strategies
How many calories you consume has a big impact on fat loss or gain. If you eat more calories than your body is able to burn will result in weight gain.
How Julia Roberts Can Help You Lose Weight
How would you like Julia Roberts to coach you on how to lose weight and have the body you want?In my practice as a psychotherapist and life improvement mentor, I teach my clients how their favorite movie stars can become their personal success coaches, in five simple steps. You can try the same steps to change your life.
How To Be A Big Fat Loser In 2005
Now that the temptations of the Holiday season have passed it is time to stop feeling like a big fat loser and become one by losing all the fat you gained. And I am here to tell you how to do it in seven easy to follow steps.
VPX ZERO Carb Fat Incinerating Protein - Go ZERO!
It's always great to find a protein supplement with very low carbohydrate amounts, but it's even better when there are none at all. VPX Zero Carb Protein is perfect, it's got no fat, no carbs, and tons of protein.
Fast Weight Loss and Exercise - Pay Now or Pay Them Later!
Why have I allowed myself to get into this shape? Have you ever said that? With life comes responsibility and with decisions comes consequences. It's your choice today to do something positive.
Advanced Body Acceptance: The Secret To Weight Loss Success
Self-acceptance and body love can be tough concepts to grasp and even tougher to incorporate. The degree of difficulty doesn't seem to matter if you're thin or very large or somewhere in-between.
Weighing in on Weight Loss
Dieters have long searched for secret paths to easy weight loss. Soon enough, anyone trying to lose weight will discover a mind-boggling variety of weight loss plans, even some that appear to contradict others.
Meet the New Look Ronald McDonald
In a global television commercial just launched (10 June 2005), Ronald McDonald energetically rides a bike. He deftly shoots hoops with basketball megastar Yao Ming.
|
