Shape Up America http://www.shapeupamerica.com Wake Up America Sat, 28 Jun 2008 15:53:26 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5 en Tips to self improvement http://www.shapeupamerica.com/2008/06/27/tips-to-self-improvement/ http://www.shapeupamerica.com/2008/06/27/tips-to-self-improvement/#comments Fri, 27 Jun 2008 22:38:01 +0000 admin http://www.shapeupamerica.com/?p=40 There are so many different situations that we face in our daily lives. These can be good things or bad things and if we mentally aren’t prepared or do not prepare ourselves, it can really affect us on long term basis. Here are some things you can do to improve your ability to better deal with situations.

  • Move on. It’s very important to realize that whatever occurred in the past cannot be changed. Whether you cry over it for days and reenact different scenarios in your mind with different ending. What’s happened has happened so it’s time to move on, regroup your thoughts and feelings and look forward to making the best of things.
  • Be Optimistic. There are two ways of looking at things: a negative and a positive way. If you embrace anything with a positive mindset, the end result may not be as bad as you thought. If you look at it from a negative outlook, you’ll probably suffer through out.
  • Be Hopeful.  Always stay hopeful and on the upside of every situation you’re in.  If you have your beliefs set to a positive outcome on things, you’ve already achieved success.  Hope builds keeps a person sane, increases confidence and builds strength.
  • Think Loose. Don’t see things in black-and-white categories.  If your performance falls short of perfect, don’t see yourself as a total failure.  Some people like to pursue perfection in everything they do, that is too much pressure.  Don’t pick out a single negative detail and dwell on it exclusively.  It’ll only distance you away from reality.
  • Be Rational. Don’t assume that your negative emotions reflect the way things are.  Be rational about things, don’t let your emotions cloud your thoughts and reasoning.  Think before you say and do something.
  • Don’t label yourself. If something don’t work out, don’t label yourself as a loser and a moron.  Pick yourself up, encourage and keep going.  Don’t see yourself as a cause of some negative external event which you were not even responsible for.

Click on my previous article to see a large list of tips to improve thyself.

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50 Habits of “Natrually Thin” People http://www.shapeupamerica.com/2008/05/30/50-habits-of-natrually-thin-people/ http://www.shapeupamerica.com/2008/05/30/50-habits-of-natrually-thin-people/#comments Sat, 31 May 2008 04:02:02 +0000 admin http://www.shapeupamerica.com/?p=57 Just found a great article at RD.COM and I felt I must share it with my readers as well. The article lists 50 habits of naturally thin people. Here is the list of 50 habits and at the bottom of the list is a direct link to the article at rd.com:

  1. Wake-up workout
  2. Go for the grains
  3. Add some protein
  4. Balance booster
  5. Be a ballerina
  6. Coffee saver
  7. Better your bagel
  8. Tone in traffic
  9. Snack smarter
  10. Casual day payoff
  11. You know squat!
  12. Switch your soda
  13. Talk it up
  14. At lunch, pick a pita
  15. Get face time
  16. Firm as you file
  17. An apple (or more) a day
  18. Try a simple chair workout
  19. Carry some weight
  20. Tweak your treat
  21. Pump at the pump
  22. Do the pizza pat
  23. Shop till the pounds drop
  24. Eat like a kid
  25. Recharge yourself
  26. Jog for junk mail
  27. Use better butter
  28. Step on it
  29. Start with soup Order
  30. Play footsie
  31. Make perfect pasta
  32. Climb up!
  33. Fill up with fruit
  34. Have your cake
  35. Ease into evening
  36. Get your chocolate fix
  37. Crunch for your clicker
  38. Lift those hips
  39. Sing a song
  40. Make it bacon
  41. Move it, Soccer Parents!
  42. Movie time
  43. Orient yourself
  44. Catch this!
  45. Cut the cheese
  46. Have a hot dog!
  47. Think about your drink
  48. Fix your fries
  49. Scream for sorbet
  50. Make whoopee

Read the entire article here.

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4 Most Harmful Ingredients in Packaged Foods http://www.shapeupamerica.com/2008/05/22/4-most-harmful-ingredients-in-packaged-foods/ http://www.shapeupamerica.com/2008/05/22/4-most-harmful-ingredients-in-packaged-foods/#comments Fri, 23 May 2008 03:34:05 +0000 admin http://www.shapeupamerica.com/?p=55 Ninety percent of Americans’ household food budget is spent on processed foods, the majority of which are filled with additives and stripped of nutrients. Discover which common ingredients in the foods you eat pose the greatest risk to your health.  The four things are Trans Fats, Refined grains, Salt and High-Fructose corn syrup.

Read the entire article on RD.COM

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8 reasons why this is the dumbest generation http://www.shapeupamerica.com/2008/05/13/8-reasons-why-this-is-the-dumbest-generation/ http://www.shapeupamerica.com/2008/05/13/8-reasons-why-this-is-the-dumbest-generation/#comments Tue, 13 May 2008 16:43:33 +0000 admin http://www.shapeupamerica.com/2008/05/13/8-reasons-why-this-is-the-dumbest-generation/ There is an interesting article out at boston.com. Here are 8 reasons why this is the dumbest generation:

  1. They make excellent “Jaywalking” targets
  2. They don’t read books — and don’t want to, either
  3. They can’t spell
  4. They get ridiculed for original thought, good writing
  5. Grand Theft Auto IV, etc.
  6. They don’t store the information
  7. Because their teachers don’t tell them so
  8. Because they’re young

Read the entire article here.

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Sites With Free Exercise Videos http://www.shapeupamerica.com/2008/04/25/sites-with-free-exercise-videos/ http://www.shapeupamerica.com/2008/04/25/sites-with-free-exercise-videos/#comments Sat, 26 Apr 2008 03:50:29 +0000 admin http://www.shapeupamerica.com/?p=53 We’ve compiled a list of websites that offer free exercise videos and techniques. There are many fitness related websites out there but they mostly offer written exercise instructions and tips. In my opinion, learning and following an exercise technique by watching videos is more effective and easier to follow for majority of the people.

The following is a short list so please add to the comments section if I’ve missed any of the major websites on this topic.

YouTube - YouTube.com has tons of free exercise videos. Just search the specific type of exercise videos that you want (abs, yoga, pilates, zumba, cardio, body building, back exercise, leg exercises etc.) and lots of results will show up!

Physical Activity at Work - People who work at their desks all day tend to stay in one position for a long time. The exercises in these videos are designed to counter the effects of sitting at your desk. Several part video series showing from how to relieve some stress at work with basic yoga moves. The main site also very informative providing tips on health and fitness.

Bodybuilding Exercises Video Compilations - This website has many videos on body building. You can find an instructional video for every body part.

SportsKool - The first television network dedicated to delivering in-depth sports expert instruction and coaching for a wide range of sports and athletic activities. Sportskool helps athletes of all ages take their game to the next level by offering guidance and insider tips from the world’s best athletes. You can watch many of their videos on their website.

LifeSkool - This is the sister site of SportsKool and it targets not just health and fitness but all the other fun stuff in life. Click the link to go directly to it’s Health and Fitness section where you’ll see many exercise videos free to watch.

Compilation Of 14 Yoga Instructional Video’s - Very nice compilation of yoga instructional videos.

Exercises for your iPod - The iPod Gym is offering free videos of several different exercises for fifth generation iPods

Physical Fitnet - Over 800 videos! Learn new exercises to shake up your routine and increase your fitness results. Workouts for weight training, your favorite sports, getting fit and more.

Exercise TV - Preview or try full length workout videos for free.  You can also download the videos to watch later.  Choose from many different workout series.

Exercise Database Guide With Exercise Video Demonstrations - In this website you can select any muscle group to see all available exercises. Each individual exercise page will tell you the primary muscle trained, secondary muscles trained, equipment needed, mechanics type, and teach you proper exercise technique. Each exercise includes pictures and a video demonstration.

Workouts on Demand - In this website you can find workout videos for all levels. Only thing though they aren’t free but a short preview is available for all videos which for some is good enough.

MyFitTribe - A community based fitness site with lots of instructional fitness videos.

Weightlifting & Bodybuilding Workout Routines - Learn weightlifting workouts and bodybuilding routines to build strength and muscle tone, using exercise and fitness equipment at your local gym in this free exercise videos series on weightlifting and bodybuilding workout routines.

Expert Village - If you’re into how to videos then you this site need to be on one of your favorites. This is a video only how to site that provide instructions on many things including techniques on various types of sports activities and exercise videos.

UWL Exercise Video Index - Looks like an older website but has a huge collection of exercise videos for all types of workouts. Build your strength, gain speed and stamina.

Performance Workouts - Another huge list of workout videos. Similar to the UWL website.

The Best Exercise Videos - A popular blog post listing numerous free exercise videos.

Coopers Guns - Muscle Exercise Encyclopedia. Simply click on a muscle group for an exhaustive lists of possible exercises. Each exercise links to a video demonstration with instructions.

Body Building Videos - Large collection of bodybuilding video compilation.

Exercises & Fitness for Pregnant Women - Learn safe & effective pregnancy fitness exercises such as the kegel exercise, in this free pregnancy exercise video series featuring a professional trainer.

Strengthen Your Upper Back Easily - A short video on how to strengthen your upper back easily without hurting yourself. Lots of other exercise videos on this site.

Three important tips to exercise - An effective exercise program needs to have a number of characteristics in order to yield you actual effective results. There are various such components. Three are mentioned in this video.

Video Fitness Coach - This is a direct link to a youtube channel which regularly uploads basic fitness videos. It also provides tips and techniques for proper eating habits and exercise are presented weekly.

Morning Exercises for Back Pain - Fix your lower back pain by doing this daily morning exercise.

There are probably many more. Please add to our comments section if you know of any websites that offer free workout videos.

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Web Based Exercise and Fitness Tracking http://www.shapeupamerica.com/2008/04/18/web-based-exercise-and-fitness-tracking/ http://www.shapeupamerica.com/2008/04/18/web-based-exercise-and-fitness-tracking/#comments Fri, 18 Apr 2008 05:45:00 +0000 admin http://www.shapeupamerica.com/?p=52 Biking

Many of us always find it very hard to get into the habit of fitness, exercise and eating right. It’s almost impossible for someone whose lifestyle does not involve physical activity to suddenly get into shape. As with smoking it’s very hard to quit. Many of us already know that smoking is bad for our health as well as being out of shape and obese but how do we get out of this slump? What can we do to get motivated, not for one day or a week but for the rest of our lives?

In this article, I’ve tried to dig into many popular fitness sites and in particular the websites which are community based, provides basic programs to keep track of all exercise and diet plans. Although this list may not help most of us, but it will help the few that have some inner motivation to reach out to people similar to them who also want to change. You can find a fitness companion on the virtual world, share ideas, track your exercises and much more. The following is a list of 25 different most popular websites which I find valuable.

  1. Traineo - a weight loss and fitness tracker designed to keep you motivated to achieve your fitness goals. Get other people to motivate you and on track with your diet and fitness tracking.
  2. FitDay - Create a free account to enter your daily foods and exercise and analyzes and tracks all your information.
  3. Crossfit - A free fitness website that posts a new “Workout of the Day” every day. The workouts focus on total body fitness. The workouts are used by military personnel, athletes, and normal people. The site also contains an index of the exercises used in the workouts complete with videos and slide shows. They offer a newsletter for those willing to pay. It is an outstanding site for both fitness gurus and average Joes.
  4. FitWatch - Offers free fitness and nutrition tracking that allows you to keep track of your exercise and diet. There’s also a paid version that offers more features.
  5. WalkerTracker - a community site for pedometer fans to log and track their steps.
  6. MapMyRun - A community web site for runners and joggers who want to stay healthy, lose weight or train more effectively.
  7. TheDailyPlate - Just tell The Daily Plate what you’re eating, and they’ll do the work, drawing charts of the nutrition you’re getting or should be. It has a calorie calculator, food journal, diet tracker, fitness log, forums and so much more.
  8. My-Health-and-Fitness - Provides bunch of free health programs mostly web based. This is useful if you want to add it to your website. Check out the following neat tools on the site.
    • Office Fitness Timer - a free PHP / Javascript tool that will help you keep fit while working at your desk. Just use the timer to take stretching breaks, or Tai Chi sessions.
    • Daily Diabetes Diet Counter - a free, Javascript-based counter that helps web site visitors with Diabetes track their daily intake of calories, starches, vegetables, and more.
    • Weight Loss Recipe Book - a free, community-driven online recipe book. You just approve recipes and watch your web site content expand!
    • The Anti-Diet Pill - a visually appealing randomly generated diet tip script (say that ten times fast) that you can add to your web site for free.
    • Exercise Tip Email Buddy - a free program you can add to your web site that will allow visitors to sign up for an automatic exercise tip e-mail list. Great for building up a mailing list while you get your health related newsletter ready.
    • Health Tip Email Buddy - a free program you can add to your web site that will allow visitors to sign up for an automatic health tip e-mail list.
    • Calorie Burning Calculator - a free health calculator you can add to your web site so that visitors can calculate their basal metabolic rate (BMR), or the number of calories per day their body requires to maintain it’s weight.
    • Quick Health Calculator - a free online calculator to calculate body mass index, or BMI. Add it to your health-related web site for added functionality
    • Health and Fitness Calculator - a free software program calculator for your Windows desktop that calculates body mass index, or BMI, as well as risk some weight-related health issues.
  9. WorkoutZone - Pretty cool site to track your workout.
  10. I-Fitnesscenter - The online fitness center and walking club. It enabled you to use your IPod for exercise tracking. Membership is free
  11. FitTracker - an online community where members can connect with each other to socialize and learn more about health and fitness!
    • Use our diet tracker to monitor your food intake and find out how many calories you are actually consuming every day! Our exercise tracker makes tracking your workouts easy as ever! Access our database of over 400 exercises to track and create workouts!
  12. Gimme20 - Discover existing workout routines or create your own and then track your results. Make freinds, create blog chat and etc. Also track your weight loss.
  13. FitLink - meet workout parnters and track your workouts
  14. My Calorie Counter - free onlin diet and exercise journal
  15. ShapeLink - Free online fitness journal and exercise log!
  16. DietTV.com - Get fit, stay on track and be supported by the community.
  17. MyPyramindTracker - an online dietary and physical activity assessment tool that provides information on your diet quality, physical activity status, related nutrition messages, and links to nutrient and physical activity information.
  18. SparkPeople - Get a personalized diet or healthy lifestyle program. Very active website.
  19. DemandFitness - online video fitness. Join the community.
  20. Family Workout - Free workout tracker for families.
  21. FitNRG - A Fitness, Health and Weight Loss Social Network.
  22. Calorie Counter - As the name implies. This site is all about calorie counting and how to best track your calorie input. It’s pretty cool as it lists all the well known foods and beverages out there with their actual calorie numbers.
  23. hdotraining.com - Considered one of the best e-trainer websites by Men’s Journal. The website only supports IE browser for some stupid reason.
  24. nhlbisupport.com/bmi - The most precise way of measuring if you’re, you know, fat is body mass index, a vital indicator for your risk of heart disease, diabetes, and certain cancers. But how do you calculate it? Step on a scale, plug your weight and height into this calculator, and press Compute BMI.
  25. The Couch-to-5K Running Plan - Not a tracker site but I had to include this. This article provides a schedule for a couch potato to get up and become fit runner.

That’s it for now. If you know of a website similar to the above list, please share it with us.

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Are you getting enough sleep? http://www.shapeupamerica.com/2008/04/04/are-you-getting-enough-sleep/ http://www.shapeupamerica.com/2008/04/04/are-you-getting-enough-sleep/#comments Fri, 04 Apr 2008 16:12:52 +0000 admin http://www.shapeupamerica.com/2008/04/04/are-you-getting-enough-sleep/ We all lose a little sleep now and then. But about 70 million Americans suffer from sleep problems ranging from insomnia to sleep apnea, according to the National Center on Sleep Disorders. Take this quiz to help you learn if you have a sleep disorder.  Click here to take the Quiz.

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All you can eat baseball seats http://www.shapeupamerica.com/2008/04/01/all-you-can-eat-baseball-seats/ http://www.shapeupamerica.com/2008/04/01/all-you-can-eat-baseball-seats/#comments Tue, 01 Apr 2008 05:53:36 +0000 admin http://www.shapeupamerica.com/2008/04/01/all-you-can-eat-baseball-seats/ Many baseball stadiums are selling tickets that come with unlimited snacks. No longer do you fat hogs have to wait online for 30 minutes or more to get a hotdog, instead it’s provided throughout the ball game. You don’t even have to get up to use the bathroom, the stadiums updated seats easily turn into a toilet so you can take a crap and never miss a moment of the ball game!

Dozens of arenas, stadiums and tracks have offered tickets that come with unlimited snacks. The seats have been a hit with fans, a moneymaker for the venues and a worry for obesity-conscious health officials.

Instead of paying for a ticket and multiple trips to the concession stand, the ticket includes everything and costs about 50 percent more. Alcohol and desserts are sold separately.

“I don’t think you’re ever going to get your value from it food-wise, but convenience-wise, I think it is a heck of a lot nicer than waiting in line for 20 minutes,” said Drew Nurenberg, 30, of Malvern, Pennsylvania, who bought all-you-can-eat seats with his wife for a Philadelphia Flyers game last month.

Nearly half of the 30 major league baseball teams have added the all-inclusive seats, and others are looking into it. The NHL has nine teams offering the deal; the NBA has six. The idea has not caught on with the NFL, but NASCAR has put it in overdrive, selling the tickets at multiple racetracks.

Fans get bargain grub, and the venues are able to charge a premium for foods they already buy cheap in bulk.

The result is like a giant hot dog on a hook — a way for teams to lure new fans to their games or get old ones to switch to higher-priced sections. In the past, unlimited food and drink was reserved for luxury suites, which cost up to six figures a year.

The Los Angeles Dodgers first offered all-you-can-eat seats in their right-field bleacher pavilion last season. They averaged 2,200 fans per game in a section that typically opened only when the left-field bleachers were full.

It seems to me capitalism has no limit.

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Some thoughts… http://www.shapeupamerica.com/2008/03/27/some-thoughts/ http://www.shapeupamerica.com/2008/03/27/some-thoughts/#comments Thu, 27 Mar 2008 22:49:23 +0000 admin http://www.shapeupamerica.com/2008/03/27/some-thoughts/ Life can be easier if we follow some simple rules…

  • Learn by doing - Just do stuff, don’t sit around with your mouth open drooling all the time.
  • Finish what you start - If you start something out, finish it.  That’s all, it’s simple.
  • Trust no one - Investigate yourself to find the right answer.  Don’t just get it from someone else and accept it.
  • Put it in writing - Put your goals and objectives on paper and always go back to them.
  • Plan ahead - If you plan ahead, you won’t be left behind.
  • Respect - Respect people and don’t be arrogant.

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Testing ScribeFire http://www.shapeupamerica.com/2008/03/26/testing-scribefire/ http://www.shapeupamerica.com/2008/03/26/testing-scribefire/#comments Wed, 26 Mar 2008 05:49:18 +0000 admin http://www.shapeupamerica.com/2008/03/26/testing-scribefire/ This is a simple post using ScribeFire. If this works well, it’ll make blogging so much more convenient for me!
There are great articles underway so stay tuned. This site is not just about fitness, it’s about shaping up physically, mentally, spiritually, politically and in every other way to maximize our human potential.

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