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HABITS are like WATER 💦. Here’s why ….

One ☝️ of my “soul” places…. Where the grass meets the sand meets the water meters the sky … we’re all walking, talking capsules of predominantly water.

I believe habit is like water (I’ll come back to why later).

Have you set your goals for the year? How are you progressing towards it? How are your physical goals?

Right about now, for some, is a “sticking point “ as far as adopting new/good habits towards a healthier & fitter you.

is Your will power 💥challenged?

What is “Will-Power?”

Well, there are various forms of Power – military power, horse power, financial power, political power, wind power etc

The most relevant to each of us is WILL POWER, the strength to do more than we thought we were capable of doing.

The ability to go that extra step, that is what Willpower is and everyone has a personal limit to how far their willpower will be pushed until it breaks.

Remember, to modify a habit, you must DECIDE to change…. and the most important ingredient in creating belief in change is the WILL to BELIEVE.

… so, you’ve got to keep going…. and build a powerful weapon- “momentum”.

We are affected by what we feel, certainly.

You need to start with education not motivation and letting go bad habits in replacing with good habits isn’t necessarily easy or quick.

It isn’t always simple.

Learn not only to ask questions but more importantly… to ask the RIGHT questions. Not to know the answers…. No. Simply because you have a why(s)?

There is Power in Habit.

There is power 💥in habit.

Yes, there is.

How do I know? Well….

Consistent & persistence application of habits took me to two consecutive world natural physique championships.

Being one of the best in the world in my chosen sport (or anything for that matter) requires many inputs and the adoption of relevant habits. Talent alone is not enough.

You must also have DEDICATION to the DELIBERATE PRACTISE of the DISCIPLINE you’re in.

In effect you must be DISCIPLINED WITH DISCIPLINE. This, my readers, is a beautiful definition of “love”.

Now, anyone that lifts weights (grandfathers & mothers to teens), aiming to build muscle, improve strength & health & transform their body is, by definition – a “bodybuilder”.

The competition for this physical activity is “physique contests”.

Representing Australia 🇦🇺, & competing against the best from nations around the world, I made the Finals (the top 5) in the world at natural physique contest) two years in a row. This was staged in NY, USA.

There is Power in Habit.

Feel your emotions. Think through and with your heart. Listen to your íntuition We are not ‘thinking creatures who feel’ … but instead we are ‘Feeling creatures that think”. We need to always remind ourselves of this.

With curiosity & education, I learned the half dozen (6) key habits that make 80% of the difference in reaching body re-engineering goals (for me, being in the top 5 in the world).

Working “with my body” (increasing awareness of how the body/mind/spirit works) and the amazing machine that is the human body allowed me to achieve efficient & effective results, safely.

One of the things I see after almost 3 decades of training with bodybuilding principles is many people “work against their bodies”, instead of WORKING WITH THEIR BODIES.

For example, each individual cell of the 75 million cells that make up your body is made up of 75% water. So, give it more of what it needs. Thirst should never be an indicator to drink (generally too late).

One (out of the 6 key habits) habit that was a key contribution to achieving a world class physique is:

– adequate (1 litre : 25kg of body weight) daily intake of water (h2o)

Try this one habit for 7 days – 1 week!

(Even if you didn’t change any other existing habit). Your body snd brain/mind will love you for it.

Your energy will go through the roof and you will feel fantastic!

Remember this:

The REAL power in habit is the realisation that your habits are what You CHOOSE them to be.

Brings me back to my first point I made in the beginning of this post, that habit is like water.

Water 💦 creates channels, which grows deeper & broader over time… and even when it stops flowing, it begins when it flows again, the channel/path traced by itself before.

These are the new neural pathways in your brain 🧠!

So, even if you haven’t started, that’s ok, it’s never too late to BEGIN. Just decide to begin.

Besides, LIFE is truly a constant BEGINNING. We are all just at different stages of beginnings

All the very best to you … you can do it.

I’ll share with you the other 5 key habits over the next 5 weeks that makes up 80% of your results. (Simply applying one of nature’s principles: the 80-20 principle).

Cheers 🍻!

The old man –

P.

🌺🌴💥

Changing habits – releasing bad eating habits and adopting some good ones is like facing an internal Predator. You need to ‘face the Lion’ within you. Having a conversation with a lion.
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Eating Right actually takes less time than you think: Tip # 4.

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Tip # 4: Take your Nuts with you, wherever you go!

Total estimated time taken out of your day = approx. 10 minutes (as detailed in my previous blogs) –

Represented by:

Time to perform Tip # 1= 5 min

Time to perform Tip # 2 = 3 min

Time to perform Tip # 3 = 2 min

So, hopefully you are trying to incorporate the first 3 tips I have shared with you in my previous blogs. Also, hopefully, you are slowly being convinced about my subject heading.

With this tip (#4), adding nuts to your day is a fantastic ‘snack’ option. Like I have mentioned in a previous blog, ‘snack’ does not need to be a euphemism for junk food. Snacking can be healthy too and should be encouraged for many good reasons.

What do you need to do?

Eat nuts but don’t go nuts on it!

All you need is a handful. Actually, we all have different size hands so I will be more specific – eat less than or equal to 30g of nuts. Some good nuts to choose from include: walnuts, almonds, cashews, peanuts and macadamias.

Quick snacks on the run should still ideally provide high-quality protein with a controlled amount of carbohydrate. This handful roughly provides between 4g and 7g of Protein and Carbohydrates and vary from nut to nut.

Time taken to perform this Tip # 4 in the mornings is approximately 1 minute. Yep, only 60 seconds. So, the running total for the 4 tips so far is approximately equal to 11 minutes. Eleven minutes out of your busy day!

Just to eat right.

A good snack. Berries are a wonderfully tasteful treat.

Good Fats.
My aim is to show you how my Top Ten Tips to eating right should take you less than 30 minutes of your day. Why is this eating tip worth your time and of great value to your body, you may ask?

Well, it provides ‘good fats’ to your body. Yep, not all fats are ‘bad’, but you know that. Your body needs fats to survive and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. There are some vital minerals and vitamins that are fat soluble only.

For example, vitamins A, D, E and K are some such vitamins. So, these essential vitamins are only assimilated in to your body as nutrients in the presence of fat.

Even for those of you reading this blog that have started or are planning to commence your ‘get fit for summer’ training program, understand that losing fat is assisted when you provide the body with fat. Good fats, that is.

That’s correct – you need fat to burn fat!

Good fats provide many benefits such as omega – 3 fatty acids that elevates good cholesterol or High Density lipo-proteins (HDL). Why is this important? Well, this lowers your risk of heart disease as blood is more malleable, that is, blood is made thinner, hence flows better to keep you alive.

Good fats from nuts also provide joint protection. This is vital for those of you who work out in the gym with weights – like me. Having nuts in your diet allows better recuperation for inflamed joints, stiffness and swelling. You’ve got to be nuts not to include them in your diet after reading this.

It should also be noted that these good fats are found in cold water fish such as salmon, tuna and mackerel and plant-based foods such as flaxseeds and soyabeans. Reach out and grab them and add these sources to your diet.

To dig deep, you have to dig deep.

Nuts come in many sizes.

The average person does not eat adequate daily amounts of these good fats, probably less than 1g per day. Carrying around two or three servings of nuts with you in your busy day does not take much time to consider and provides great value to your body, mind and vitality.

Nuts come in many sizes but are essentially small and convenient enough to eat ‘on the run’. Here’s an old Uni riddle: What do you call nuts on a wall? Yep, walnuts. So go for walnuts. There’s no excuse!

We’re on track to prove that Eating right actually takes less time than you think. So far, a grand total of 11 minutes out of your day to apply my Top Four of my Top Ten Tips to get you in Tip-Top Shape this summer.

You’re now Aware. Apply Action. Adapt accordingly.

My Triple A philosophy to self-development.

Thank you for reading.

 

Until next time,

Do you strive to better yourself in every way?
Are you a Leader?

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