I have got to be honest, the beautiful day we had yesterday here in my area was definitely a tease. Of course, we are back to 30 degrees today and possibly 10 degrees with the windchill over night. The previous nice day, however, did get me thinking about all the great things I love about spring and summer. So I thought I would put this post up for people that may also be getting the spring/summer jitters and may be looking to get themselves in better shape before the season. I have recently helped a good friend of mine lose over 50 pounds over the course of 5 months. He had never really exercised before and didn't know what to expect. I love it when I get challenges like this. I explained everything to him and met him at the gym. I wrote up meal plans for him and exercise regimens. He was pretty discouraged at first, but I told him, "you're just starting out!" I explained that all the secrets and rules couldn't be explained all at once. Processing all that information at once would be like teachers explaining how to count and how to perform Algebra in the first grade. "Baby steps," I explained. Now my friend does pull-ups, jogs, eats healthy, does martial arts (even has people ask him for private lessons). At about the second month mark he started telling me that he was glad he was seeing results, but was still frustrated because he knew if he stopped he would go back to the way he was. Which of course wasn't a bad thing. He was always talking about getting in shape so I just helped him out with some information. So after he told me about how he knew he was going to go back to the old him if he stopped exercising, he also explained that he didn't like exercising. So I changed the routine a little for him and he liked it more. Later he joined martial arts which was a lifelong dream of his. After that he was hooked. He loved and still does love his martial arts classes. It wasn't soon after his martial arts class that he began going to the gym more and more because he was enjoying what he was doing. That is the keyword folks; enjoying. Lets all say it together, ENJOYING. You see exercise doesn't have to be about doing hours of work that we don't enjoy. It can be fun and you can laugh while you do it. I see my friend on a weekly basis and he still loves exercising. As a matter of fact he even teaches me things now. It has also built up his self-confidence a great deal, which I sometimes regret because I can't shut him up now. No I'm only kidding! He's a great friend and I am proud of all the work he continues to put in.
So like I said before, the purpose of this blog is to help others like my friend. It doesn't matter if you are just starting off or if you have been around the block a few times. Just send me comments, and tell me a little bit about your situation and I bet I can help. You can also e-mail me at MyStepUp1@hotmail.com. Good luck and I hope I see you with me for this spring and summer! As always donations are always welcome so that I can hopefully reach more people. I do ask for comments though :)
