What’s in a Hug?

Did you ever wonder why people hug?  When close friends see each other they exchange hugs.  When people haven’t seen one other for a really long time they hug out like crazy, picking each other up and sometimes even twirling them around.  When we are saying our goodbyes we tend to hug off before we go our separate ways.  When we feel amazing or we feel sad, we hug.  So what’s in a hug?

When we hug we exchange information through out bodies, the energy we carry at a particular moment in time is like an aura about us.  When we feel happy and hug somebody else, they too will feel that joy and happiness, because you radiated it to them through your body.

Healthy Way of Getting in Shape

I have noticed that one of the most talked about subjects aside from sex and money is how to look good and gain/lose weight.  With so many fads out there about dieting it’s no wonder the general population is confused.  The most interesting fact that is always over looked is the fact that each individual knows exactly what needs to be done to attain their desired weight.  The culprit is the fact that they are either too lazy, or just don’t have the time to do the needed research.  If it’s the latter, then I totally understand and that is why I think it’s important for those people to pay trainers to come up with the best program for their goals and needs and see dietitians who have the know how about what foods should be consumed and how often.

Many know that eating right and exercising provides the lasting results.  What many do not realize is that it’s a commitment.  Just like we commit everyday of our lives to eat three to five meals a day, we must do the same with exercise.  Yet since people like to cut corners, what we as a general public do is eat much and exercise not so much.  A really bad combination as we already know.  Starving yourself is not a good option as it results in fat being stored away when you actually do eat (your body assumes it will be in the starvation period and therefore converts as much as possible into fat for later use).

So what is the healthy way of getting into shape?

Body Image

While working in retail I learned how obsessive women are about their bodies and self-image.  No matter how beautiful a woman looked in my eyes (aside from being a photographer, I’m always keen to a female body, they are just beautiful) I would hear her complain about her body image.  Its astonishing how insecure women are about their self-image.  Out of 100 women that walked into my store, I would say only 5 % were comfortable with their bodies and had no problem with how they looked.

As much as I love America, I have to say that American’s tend to put too much pressure on their women to look and act like heartless mannequins.  I don’t understand why women pay attention to magazines, celebrities, and other mass media outlets, rather than men.  I have heard over and over and over from men that they love women with curves.  If almost all male sources say the same thing, then why do women insist on starving themselves and hating their natural beauty?

Is hand sanitizing causing you to be sick?

(fyi… it’s just my opinion, I am by no means a doctor)

Remember the old saying, a little bit of everything is good.  A lot of one thing could be poisonous?  Have you ever noticed that doctors almost never get sick?  That’s because they are exposed to germs on a daily basis.  Granted they wash their hands with soap after every patient they see to minimize their chance of getting sick.

That said here is why I believe that hand sanitizers are not for every day use.  When we eliminate 99.9% of germs (as the hand sanitizer label claims) we eliminate our body’s ability to be top of the line immune system.

While working in the retail industry I used to get sick on a weekly basis.  I couldn’t understand why.  My diet, stress level and sleeping patters where the same, yet I would get sick for no apparent reason.  I started drinking vitamins to help my immunity system.  That helped out tremendously.  At that time I didn’t realize that because I was exposed to so many different people my body’s immune system was going haywire trying to beat everything I came in contact with. That’s why I got sick so often, and that’s why vitamins helped.  They worked internally to fix what was happening to me externally.

Bodies…The Exhibition

Since I started studying to become a personal trainer I have to memorize many cool things that involve the human body.  Reading text books and seeing the drawings is great but I wanted to really see all the muscles bones, nerves and arteries/veins live.

When the Bodies Exhibit first opened up, I was very much against it.  Displaying bodies in my eyes was very disrespectful to the diseased.  Plus the thought of being next to the bodies that once lived gave me the creeps.  At the same time, the thought of seeing a body in all of its glory was fascinating.  It took me a year to come to a decision of whether or not I should attend.

My first trip to the exhibit was a mixture of excitement and fear.  When I came out I was in awe.  I don’t know how the bodies were handled during the preparation process, but the exhibit does a wonderful job of being respectful to the diseased.  I loved every minute of it. It was educational and mind boggling.

Yesterday I went to see the Bodies Exhibit again, this time to study.  I have to say, this trip wasn’t enough and I’ll be going back again.  If you haven’t seen it, I suggest you do.  From an educational standpoint it’s phenomenal.  Plus its good to know what our bodies are like.

Work & Drama

I’m really happy about the decision I made going into personal training.  It’s a tough job yet the rewards I see are great.  I’m constantly on my feet, though in the beginning was torture.  I would come home and crash because my body wasn’t used to this kind of abuse.  As an ex-accountant I was used to sitting for eight hours a day staring into a computer.  Now I have to walk around and boy my body wasn’t used to the change.  I kept telling my co-workers that I’ll come back to work out but the second I got home and ate I passed out.  That was pretty much my whole week.  I couldn’t even write, though I had great ideas – none of which I remember now because I didn’t have the strength to write them down.

The second week was better, I worked out a few times and I’m feeling more energized.  I have to say that I’m happier now, I’m constantly busy and I don’t have too much time for myself which is good because when I have too much spare time I start having negative thoughts that taunt me.  The only draw back of my career at the moment is that I am still not good at selling my services, but I am making acquaintances with the gym goers and helping them out when ever I can.  I know what I need to do to fix my uncertainty – I need to get fit myself and create a routine that I can teach to others.  Then I’ll be ready to attack and help the average folks get in shape.

Drama at work:

Why People Don’t Like “Chain” Personal Trainers

No wonder people dislike trainers that train in major (chain) sports clubs.  Now not to shit where I sit, but I just started working at a sports club – NYSC – and already they want me to book clients for them.  They don’t care that I still don’t have the actual certificate yet.  Let me rephrase that, they want me to get my certificate ASAP they just don’t care that I train people in the mean time without it.

I have noticed how these so called trainers – my colleagues- train and let me tell you, most of their clients don’t know how to keep good form while they are exercising.  Now if our job as trainers is to safe guard our client’s well being and at the same time attain the client’s desired results, it seems that the NYSC cares more about selling packages and then being a trainer even if it’s to the detriment of their client’s health (joints and what not) in the long run.

Out of the whole bunch of us (me including), there is ONE trainer whom I have seen who really knows what he is doing and is dedicated to the form and fitness of his clients.  I hope to I learn quickly from the best of our trainer(s) and then leave the sports club.  I have seen trainers in other training facilities where they care more about their client then booking the next appointment.  Caring more about money over the welfare of client’s just does not seem to sit well with me.

I’m working…Finally!

Well the good news is I’ll be working come Monday!  I’m very excited.  After a four month break, it was getting to a point were I was going insane.  I learned that I could only be without work for so long before I start going nuts.  Money aside, the fact that I have very little human interaction was causing me to lose my marbles.  Being a very social person, I’m all about meeting new people, learning new things and generally having a good time

Being home, I studied a lot, but it wasn’t the same.  The Internet is a vast cool place to learn many things, but it is not interactive and social as the real human being.

I have to admit that I am a little bit frustrated with the whole hiring process.  I mean I was told I’d start working Nov 3rd, I was then told that they can’t find my information.  Long story short, after a three-week waiting period I am on board!  WooHoo!

And some bad news…found out that my body mass ratio to fat is over the max bracket for my height.  ;-(

This means I will have to step it up a notch, actually step it up big time in the gym, so that I get into shape and drop the ratio to it’s appropriate number.

Food For Thought…

I was wondering the other day how lucky we are to have modern medicine and how over populated we are because of it

I think that modern medicine is a wonderful thing especially when you or your loved one’s life depends on it.  But what if we took a step back thought about this:

1) We created diseases in the first place with the many unnecessary nuances we think are necessary in our lives, and to sustain our lives.

2) Disease is a way for nature to mediate itself and when we play god we wreck with the checks and balances of life.

What do you think?

It’s cool to be Lactose Intolerant

Being Lactose Intolerant Rocks:

1) You can’t drink regular milk – don’t worry you are not missing out.  In United States as we all know cow milk is harmonized to the maximum

2) You get to choose from a variety of products:

My Heaven... Everything Goat Milk

Goat Milk – my favorite!!!
Soy Milk
Watered down Milk – 1-2% Low Fat Milk

3) You get to choose from goat milk products
Goat Cheeses – yummy in my tummy
Goat Yogurt – ooh la-la, awesome!

Cows as we all know are big creatures and their young are just as big.  Come to think of it, a calf is about as big as a grown human.  A baby calf can range from 70 – 100 lbs.  That’s a baby!!!  Which means that the mom (cow) has to provide enough nutrients to feed her calf so it grows strong and healthy.  She needs to make a ton out of her baby and therefore provides as many nutrients as possible to do just that.

We on the other hand don’t need to weight a ton and therefore drinking cow’s milk gives us far too many vitamins and minerals.  And it is quite possible why many can’t digest it well.  Think about it, a cow is really trying to feed her young – who happens to be much bigger than we are – not us.