The Hero's Journey- The Known and The Unknown

The World May Not Be Sane, But There Is An Order To The Disorder! There is too much that doesn't make sense, too many injustices, too many acts of random violence, too much hate toward one another, and many people believing for every moment that this is the way it's supposed to be. It saddens me to see what this world has become at any cost. How this world has literally turned upside down, and as a whole empathy toward one another has been completely lost. What has happened to this world? The days when people were kind and showed support for one another through the toughest of times. Now a person is praised and is backed up by others when they express hate toward someone who did not meet a certain expectation. Smh...

BUT, with that being said, I also believe that we can still maintain our serenity, our spirituality, and our sanity by remembering that for every act of madness there is always a corresponding act of BEAUTY. That we must be anchors of sensibility, oasis of joy, and guideposts of HOPE in an imperfect paradise...especially to those who need it the most.

I want to share something special that happened to me today. I have always tried to pay attention to the signs and messages that present themselves to me. I do not believe in coincidences. I believe that if everyone could see past the distractions, the hate, and the chaos...they would receive messages of hope and love. It is love that truly wins in the end. 

I first want to say that my heart and prayers go out to Ronda Rousey during this difficult time. I was an athlete since the age of 4, and I can completely relate to the challenges she is facing in sport and in life right now. My thoughts go out to her family...her wonderful mother- AnnMaria DeMars, her sisters Maria Burns Ortiz, Jennifer Rousey, and Julia DeMars. At the end of the day, it is family who will support you and help pick up the pieces when all seems lost. 

This morning as I am working on my computer, I looked over at the book Rousey: MyFight/YourFight (a great book that shows the true emotion and passion of Ronda), which was written by Ronda and her sister Maria Burns Ortiz. This whole situation has been very heavy on my heart since all of this went down on December 30, 2016. To me it is more than just fighting...it is living...it is growing...it is understanding...it is surviving...it is overcoming. It breaks my heart to see others hurt and in pain. I tend to feel other people's emotions, and I try to send tokens of love and hope when needed. So I leaned over and grabbed her book...closed my eyes and just opened the book on whatever page it decided to open up to. Just to see where it would lead me.  I do this all the time with books just to see where I land and what messages are given at that right moment. The book opened to page 77. What a message...Absolutely AMAZING!

First, looking at the special number Seven (and doubles too) is considered a very positive number with a strong message. Symbolizing inner wisdom, intuition, contemplation, understanding, inner strength, tenacious, endurance, determination, development, spiritual awakening. But the main message of double 7 (77) is: 

*To Expect Miracles To Occur In Your Life*  

Hasn't Ronda already experienced all sorts of miracles at her young age of 29? Of course she has... so many accomplishments/achievements at a very young age...but it goes deeper than that. I believe that miracles will continue and always surround Ronda and will always be there to give her hope, light, and love. She must trust her instinct and be confident in all of her decisions. She doesn't need to place a high emphasis on all of her successes, but instead focus on her journey...what she has endured, what she has overcome, understanding herself completely through this process right at this moment. Life always comes full circle. The adventure of life is to LEARN. The purpose of life is to GROW. The nature of life is to CHANGE. The challenge of life is to OVERCOME. The essence of life is to CARE. The opportunity of life is to LOVE. The secret of life is to DARE. The beauty of life is to GIVE. 

As I sat back and read Page 77, I began to cry and was overtaken by so much emotion. Amazing page with such an ironic and powerful message. I won't spoil it and will allow for anyone who is interested to go read that page and the message that was as clear as it gets. I am not sure if Ronda will ever see this blog entry (my hope is that she does), but if not, maybe here family will. If not, there are many lessons that can apply to anyone reading this. We all fall, break, succeed, overcome- this is what life is all about. As I read that page, I began to take notes and felt a very strong push to write this blog entry (fyi, this is something I normally wouldn't do, especially with someone I do not know). Like the saying goes- send out love and positive vibes to the universe and that love and energy will go to where it needs to go. There are always two realities...the one outside of us and the one inside. We must constantly remember there is always far MORE TO LIFE THAN MEETS THE EYE. The universe extends far beyond our limited perception and there will always be something new to discover.

My interpretation of Page 77 is The Hero's Journey

*The Known and The Unknown* 

Each of us has a purpose in life...we all walk down our own paths of life different from one another but intersecting, challenged, interacting with others as we walk down our individual path to the unknown. Initially, things go smoothly for some, while others face bumps along the way. You know your time will come when you will be challenged and tested on your journey (this is all apart of life). Life is a beautiful struggle...experiencing the good and the bad, winning and losing>>>with an understanding that one can not work without the other. Sometimes you have to let life turn you upside down, so you can learn how to live right side up again. You must experience both sides of the coin in order to understand the process. The process of who you are, what you are made of, and knowing that there is more to life than what is in front of you. To be able to see beyond the obvious and to discover what lives deep inside of your spirit...is a gift some may never get an opportunity to experience. The part of you that holds your most dearest things, where love lives unconditionally, and the continuous light that shines when all seems dark. Life is never fair and most times it can be very cruel, but through the process of struggle and loss one begins to see through the illusion of life itself. Love, peace, joy, happiness, creativity, and humor are all gifts that are given freely to bring meaning to your life. With these gifts, you are also given a new power of perception to help you detect what isn't meaningful to your growth and awareness.

Only you hold the key to what matters and what is important. This is your journey...your process. Protect it. The more perilous the way, the more freeing it is, for it is in the throes of true peril that we are usually forced to let go of attachments to what once seemed important in order to DISCOVER WHAT IS TRULY IMPORTANT. Your inner journeys-your searches for meaning, place, purpose, and peace...and your paths are the form of expression your lives take. People will try to stop you from overcoming, others will try to bring you down then raise you up...just to bring you back down again, and some will kick you harder when you are down. But when one side reveals itself another side emerges. 

Believe in miracles and know that they are possible. Hold on to the the people who stand beside you when all seems dark. Embrace the ones that will lay down next to you and won't say one thing but you feel the presence of their love. Feel The Gifts Of Love All Around You. You have passion, you have heart, you have fight...and you have something special and magical inside of your spirit. *The love of the person that you have lived for every single day and continue to live for. That love is with you every step of the way...with every win, every loss, every challenge, every moment. He will never leave you. Miracles are real* 

You are stronger than you think, you have what it takes to do anything/to overcome anything, you have a special purpose in this life>>>that is what truly matters. Life comes full circle. To understand is to connect. The more you understand and experience, the greater and deeper you will connect with yourself and with all that is around you. Recognize the gift that lives inside of you...the gift of love. Remember who you are and where you came from. Never forget what you have endured and what you have overcome in LIFE! Life takes you to unexpected places and you meet unexpected people but finally its LOVE that brings you back home...the point of UNITY, LIGHT, and CENTER. 

Everything happens for a reason (blessings in disguise). You may not understand right at the moment what is happening and why things are playing out the way they are, but in time things will reveal themselves to you (only when it is the right time for you). Truth is everyday life. Create an atmosphere of freedom, so you can live and find out for yourself what is true. Absorb what is useful, reject what is useless and add what is essentially your own. May your daily actions and reflections keep you centered and not distracted from your true source of STRENGTH AND PEACE. The earth that nourishes you, the air that rejuvenates you, the water that cleanses you, and the stillness that calms you. Take the time to turn toward the direction in which your heart is stirring. Have the courage to let tiny seeds of possibility grow and take root within you.

Always hold on to what you believe, reach out to what you want to achieve, and FOREVER SHINE YOUR LIGHT! This is your life- full of love, purpose, passion, and spirit- all the things that make YOU! And Absolutely NO ONE can take that away from you. BE YOU, STAY STRONGER, FINISH YOUR FIGHT!  

BELIEVE

It's About HARD WORK And COMMITMENT

Players who PRACTICE HARD when no one is paying attention, build the strong foundation that holds the key to SUCCESS. There are absolutely NO SHORTCUTS...JUST HARD WORK!

You must earn your way to achieve what you set out to achieve! You must PRACTICE every day...NO MATTER WHAT! If you want the RESULTS, you must put in the WORK to receive the REWARDS!

BE DRIVEN to BE THE BEST YOU CAN BE!

Always,
~Dofitness

VEHICLE OF SUCCESS

TRAVELING TWO-MOTION PUSH-UPS ON BALANCE BEAMS:
To reach a successful destination you need a vehicle assembled with wheels of power and strength, the fuel of action, and a driver with patience and hard work. You are the vehicle and the driver of success. So proud of my client. HARD WORK is the way.

Preventing Injuries For Young Female Athletes

Sports build fitness and confidence in young women. Competitive athletics can result in serious athletic injuries that have lifelong consequences. Girls get five times more anterior cruciate ligament injuries than boys. Injuries to the vital knee ligament can cause a lifetime of pain, arthritis and instability. Orthopedic scientists think that women sustain more knee injuries because of muscle imbalance in the lower body. Women have stronger quadriceps muscles, but relatively weaker posterior leg muscles (hamstrings and glutes). Also, women are more stiff-legged when they run and jump. Active young women can prevent serious knee injuries by developing the posterior leg muscles through weight training and functional-high levels of fitness. Many girls benefit from specialized speed- and power- training programs. So train those hamstrings and try to incorporate exercises that work the smaller muscles in your legs (the muscles that will help assist the larger muscles and will help you from getting injured.

Below I have included an image of an exercise that you may want to try when training to strengthen the small muscles in your legs. It is called Over And Backs (as you can see I have her using a cane- I like using the cane because you can challenge yourself by adjusting the cane to go higher after mastering a certain height level). When doing this exercise, find your center point. Keep your shoulders and hips squared in front of you. Contract your quads and  point your toe. Go over the top of the cane tapping the floor and then going back to the other side (try not to rest as soon as you tap, try to go continuous and make sure you watch your form). Do not to bend your knee when doing this exercise. Always keep your quad engaged even when you tap the floor. Over and back= 1 rep....try to do 30 reps and then graduate from there. Exercises like these are effective when your reps are higher. Thanks for tuning in and I hope you have a wonderful day. :)

The Washington Post, September 11, 2007

THE CHRON- GO HARD AND FLEX

Succeed because you are willing to do the things others are not. Fight against the odds and sacrifice. Be motivated with accomplishment. Never stop getting better...Never give up. The only chances you get are the ones you make YOURSELF.

SO GO HARD AND BRING OUT THE BEST YOU.
Love,
Dofitness

DOFITNESS SPORTS-SPECIFIC TRAINING

For the "Tough Athlete" who is going to do whatever it takes to be the best they can be. Dofitness incorporates strength, conditioning, and a little special special to help mold competitive athletes into the overall package. This type of training is hardcore and will push you to limits you never thought were possible. Be ready to bring out the warrior inside of you. 

Dofitness Sport-Specific Training will target overall strength, explosive power, advanced level endurance, foot speed, hand speed, vertical jump, focus, pushing your limits, sprint times, mental toughness, exhaustion drills, specific drills that go hand-in-hand with your sport, indoor and outdoor training that incorporates all styles of training. Do you have what it takes to become the best athlete you can be? OF COURSE YOU DO...YOU JUST NEED TO BELIEVE YOU DO! :)

DOFITNESS TRAINING STATION

TWO INTERLOCKING PARTS OF ONE WHOLE...

TWO FORCES PAIRED LIKE SOUND AND ECHO...
LIKE LIGHT AND SHADOW.

ONE INTERCONNECTED PROCESS

"My Body Is Like An Army"

TRAIN LIKE A FOOTBALL LEGEND

"MY BODY IS LIKE AN ARMY"

Position: RB

Height: 6-1 Weight: 225 lbs.

Born: March 3, 1962 in Wrightsville, GA

College: Georgia

Herschel Walker was a highly celebrated and highly regarded college football player in the United States. He turned pro, having a career in the NFL playing for the Dallas Cowboys amongst a host of other teams before returning to the Dallas Cowboys where he retired. The most amazing thing about Herschel Walker from a fitness standpoint was the way he trained. Going against all conventional wisdom, the Herschel Walker workout is the most intense body weight workout I have ever heard of. Legend has it that Herschel Walker didn't touch weights at all until he arrived in the NFL - Instead he performed an intense body weight workout EVERY DAY since high school (as well as sprinting)! In College and the NFL, he was known by most players as being the best conditioned athlete. Apparently, Walker didn't always show signs of being genetically gifted. He mentions being a tubby kid who, more often than not, was picked last for teams. He even tells how his sister constantly beat him in races! And it was through his determination and hard work that he did everything to overcome these challenges.

"Herschel was 12 when he came to me wanting to know how to get big and strong," High School Coach Jordan says, "and I told him what I told the other kids who asked me. 'Do push-ups, sit-ups and run sprints,' I said. He just thanked me quietly and walked away. To be honest, I didn't give it much thought. Herschel was short for his age [about 5'3", 100 pounds], and he wasn't particularly fast, even though he had some older brothers and sisters who were excellent athletes.

"The next time I paid him any mind was that coming fall. I hadn't seen much of him during the summer and when I saw him in September I was amazed at how he'd muscled up. I asked him what he'd been doing and he smiled and said, 'Just running, Coach, and doing my push-ups.' He was getting faster, too, but back then I mainly remember how strong he was for a boy his age. Later that year, when he was 13, we had the tumbling mats out one day and he and I got to wrestling, and damned if he didn't flip me once, big as I was." But though young Herschel had grown larger, stronger and faster, he was still shorter than most of his classmates, weaker than his father and two older brothers and slower than not only a half dozen or so of the boys his age at school but also slower than one of his sisters, Veronica, 18 months his senior, who's now a sprinter for Georgia. Yet he was not discouraged, because he was gaining on them, and because he felt he knew how to gain still more. Coach Jordan had told him how, a year before. Push-ups, sit-ups and sprints. Push-ups, sit-ups and sprints.

But though young Herschel had grown larger, stronger and faster, he was still shorter than most of his classmates, weaker than his father and two older brothers and slower than not only a half dozen or so of the boys his age at school but also slower than one of his sisters, Veronica, 18 months his senior, who's now a sprinter for Georgia. Yet he was not discouraged, because he was gaining on them, and because he felt he knew how to gain still more. Coach Jordan had told him how, a year before. Push-ups, sit-ups and sprints. Push-ups, sit-ups and sprints.

During that first year Walker had done these exercises every day, unless rain kept him from sprinting along the road leading from his house down to the highway. Jordan had never said how much to do, just to do those three things, regularly. To Herschel, "regularly" meant every single day, and by the end of that critical first year he had done more than 100,000 push-ups, more than 100,000 sit-ups and had sprinted nearly half a million yards. He almost always did his push-ups and sit-ups in the evening, while he was either studying or watching television or, more usually, both. During every commercial break he would pump out a quick 25 push-ups and 25 sit-ups or would alternate the push-ups and sit-ups, doing 50 push-ups during one break, then 50 sit-ups during the next, until he had accumulated approximately 300 of each.

As for his running, throughout each summer and on almost every school day in clement weather he would run series after series of short sprints, most of them 30 yards or less, most of them up the hill to his house.Walker also trained with a tire that was a device rigged up by Jordan; it involved putting a 16-pound shot inside a truck tire and attaching the tire to a 15-foot steel cable, which was then tied to a leather belt around the runner's waist. Dragging the tire developed Herschel's leg and hip power, as did his run-without-ceasing assault on the slight grade leading 110 yards up to his house from the highway. "I wish I had a dollar for every time Herschel ran up that hill," his mother says. "Him and Veronica and the other children would race and race. Even me and my husband would get into it. Later on, some of the time when Herschel couldn't get nobody to race him, he'd go out back to the field and chase those horses around. Herschel wanted to be good mighty bad."

Throughout junior high Herschel was to follow this remarkable regimen every day, every year. He grew taller, and by the ninth grade he stood about 5'10" and weighed 185 pounds, and the muscles of his chest and shoulders and thighs were thick and full. But a couple of boys in his grade still could outrun him. And he had yet to beat Veronica. The prescription? Push-ups, sit-ups and sprints; push-ups, sit-ups and sprints. And prayer.

"One of the things I used to pray for every night was for God to let me beat Veronica," Walker recalls. "I promised that I'd train hard and live a Christian life if only He'd let me get faster." Finally, after his sophomore year in high school, he (and maybe He as well) raced Veronica for perhaps the thousandth time, and this time Walker beat her. And then he beat her again.

And, of course, as everyone knows by now, in his junior and senior years Herschel out-or overran everybody else in Georgia. But even during the heaviest workouts of his track and football seasons, he never failed to do his push-ups and his sit-ups and, when he had the time and the light, his sprints. He never lacked the will. Later on, he even added a little distance work. Says Jordan now, "I remember telling him one day early in his senior year that we were concentrating so much on his sprinting, he'd have to get any distance work on his own. Then, a few months later, I called out to his house late one evening and his mother told me he was out for his after-supper run—about four miles. He'd been doing it for months, she said. And all I'd done was mention it."

When assessing the path to his present eminence, the one phrase with which Walker is most comfortable is Hard Work. "I keep hearing and reading about all this talent they say I've been blessed with," he says, "but I don't see it that way. For a long time I never understood I was blessed, except for having such a good family and all. But I do see I have been blessed, though not in the way people think." He pauses, then points to his head. "This is where I've been blessed. Not in my body. People can't believe how little and slow I was. But I was, and I remember. And I know Coach Jordan showed me the way and God gave me the strength to carry on through all those years.

"My mind's like a general and my body's like an army. I keep the body in shape and it does what I tell it to do. I sometimes even feel myself almost lifting up out of my body and looking down on myself while I run sprints. I'll be coaching myself from up above. 'Come on Herschel,' I'll say to myself out loud, 'pick up those knees. Pump your arms.' If an army stopped training it wouldn't take long for it to fall apart. An army needs discipline, just like a man does."

One of the ways Walker trains his almost frighteningly disciplined mind is through the practice of karate. "I got into it from watching those Bruce Lee films, just like everybody else," he says, "but once I began reading and thinking about it, I saw it as a way to discipline myself, my power. Sometimes I train with a local instructor in Athens, but I always do it for an hour or so every night in my room, by myself. I never miss. I think it helps me in sports as well as in my studying. At first I did it because I wanted to be tough, but I think I can say I'm beyond all that now."

If Walker has gone beyond the "get tough" stage—and both his subsequent behavior and his face, which in repose is so very still as to seem somehow Oriental, would tend to support his assertion—he is one of the few Westerners to have so quickly internalized the Zen foundations of karate and transcended the initial generative hostility of most American boys to whom the activity appeals.

He's amazingly disciplined. He always sits in the exact same chair in our team meetings and he sits up straight and doesn't fidget. He pays close attention to everything that's said and he never forgets a thing. Also, he's often the first one to the workouts, and he always does more than he's asked to do in practice or in a game.

"I think that what happened back in Wrightsville when he was a boy—being outrun by Veronica and being small and everything—might have been the best thing that could have happened to Herschel. That feeling he had of not being the best may have given him just enough of a complex to instill that powerful drive to succeed."

The idea gives pause. Physiologists and sprint coaches agree on one thing—the ability to run truly fast is a natural gift; training is said to only marginally enhance performance. A physically mature individual can expect training to provide little more than a 5% improvement in sprinting speed—from a 10 flat 100-yard dash to a 9.5, for example. So, unless the experts are all mistaken. Walker was born with a genetic predisposition for extraordinary speed. Other premier sprinters almost without exception remember having always been faster than their age-mates.

To lift or not to lift, that's the question for Walker, free to choose his own training program. His answer is startling. "Nobody ever really asked me why I don't lift. They only ask me how I got so big without lifting. The truth is, I knew weights would help me. I've seen them help too many football players and too many track men. But up to now my body's gotten stronger and faster every year on my old program, and what I reckon I'll do is to try and see how long I can keep improving without the weights. 

One thing's sure. Soon as I don't make gains, I'm going on a good weight program. The way I figure it, all the other guys my age have lifted for years and they've already just about reached their physical potential. I figure that when I kick in with a weight program, it ought to add some solid weight and really give me a lot more power." He smiled as he finished this distinctly thought-provoking statement, made at least partly to himself. Scores of defensive players can testify to the percussive force Herschel already produces, especially when he has the time to take a step or two. When those opponents are either overcome by, or forced to gang up to contain, the shock of a head-on hit by Walker, they at least have the satisfaction of knowing they were bested by a man whose combined size and speed—whose power—is unmatched in history. And is growing, because of a continued genetic flowering and further refinements, zealously pursued, in his basic exercise program. To his regular push-ups Walker has added hand-stand press-ups and push-ups done with someone on his back to increase the resistance. During the past summer he also has included sprint swimming in his routine of upper-body work. The swimming was added when Walker, in the pool by himself one day, noticed that a modified form of the breaststroke, in which his body surges more upward than forward, gave his chest, shoulders and upper back a terrific workout. This past summer he swam every day he was able to get to a pool.

THE PHILOSOPHY

Walker’s philosophy on working out is simple: start every day very early in the morning before the distractions of the day come around, and do that work out without quitting every single day, 365 days a year, 366 on leap years, no matter what. What Walker’s freakishly difficult workout regimen shows is that dedication is the absolute most important part of any workout program. When Herschel Walker was an NFL player he never lifted weights, but still performed at a high level. How many tailbacks get strong enough in “old age” in their thirties to effectively play fullback? That’s exactly what Walker did in his last season with the Dallas Cowboys. Dedication and mental toughness are the hardest parts of Walker’s workout plan. He is adamant that these two factors will do more to insure your success than anything else, and he’s lived the life to prove it. For nearly thirty years he has done the same workout, and he’s never skipped a day.

Of course, it is true that body weight exercises, such as push-ups and sit-ups can do a lot for the human body but these are exercises that need to be respected by those who are going to do them intensely. Doing too many push-ups can easily lead to over training injuries and a lot of muscle soreness. If you do them smart, however, you can really grow your strength and even your size, without ever lifting any weights. That is the magic of the Herschel Walker workout routine, the fact that it allows you to gain the size and strength that you want without having to spend all of your time at the gym.

Just get on the floor every once in awhile and do sit-ups and push-ups until you are at failure. Some people even set their watch to go off every 30 or 60 minutes to remind them to do these exercises. It’s an excellent way for you to get in shape and to do so without ever stepping foot in the gym.

HERSCHEL WALKER’S WORKOUT

Push Ups	2000 reps
Sit Ups	3000 reps
Pull Ups	1500 reps
Dips	1000 reps

Herschel Walker: I didn’t grow up with a lot of money. My high school didn’t have a lot of money to afford a lot of the expensive weights. You know all this stuff. They used that as an excuse. I started doing push-ups and sit-ups during commercials as I was watching TV. And started doing about, sometimes 2,000 push-ups, 3,000 sit-ups, 1500 pull-ups, 1000 dips, or different things like that. I started creating different hand positions for all that, and I learned that could work you out.

Below is a more realistic workout to begin with and then increase as your body adapts to this intense daily training.

Herschel Walker Workout - Basic Training

Push Ups	1000 reps
Sit Ups	1000 reps
Pull Ups	1000 reps
Squats	1000 reps

Don't ever underestimate what you are capable of doing...challenge yourself always. Try Herschel Walker's Workout...for fun or to test your mental and physical strength. Just be and if you want to try something..then just GO FOR IT.

Your Ability To Respond

"My philosophy is that not only are you responsible for your life, but doing the best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment."
-Oprah Winfrey

The term responsibility means, "the ability to respond." In any of life's challenges, opportunities, or disasters, we can respond in whatever way we choose. It is this response that dictates what life hands us next. I think it is extremely important to note that in addition to what we can do physically about a situation, we also have the ability to choose what our inner response to that situation is. The idea is that: We control our emotional reaction to the external environment-THE EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT DOESN'T.

Our inner life reflects our outer, and our outer life reflects our inner. It is so important to make changes in both. When a situation arises, ask yourself."What response can I make-inner, outer, or both-that would get me closer to my goal?" Again, it is so crucial to recognize all areas of our self...it is your responsibility to understand and to change things that may prevent you from reaching your goals and your dreams. Like I have told everyone in my life...BE IN TUNE WITH YOUR BODY IN EVERY WAY THAT IS POSSIBLE...SO YOU CAN COMPLETE ANY CHALLENGE/OBSTACLE THAT MAY BE PUT IN FRONT OF YOU!

You have all the opportunities for greatness...it happens every day, every minute!


McWilliams, P. (1994). Do It! p.388-393
Dr. Ellis's Rational-Emotive Institute: New York, NY

Carbohydrates-To Be or Not To Be- The Answer is Both

We have all heard the good and the bad of Carbohydrates. We have all heard of the Atkins Diet. We have all heard that there is a guarantee of weight loss when you don't eat Carbohydrates. We have all heard that Carbohydrates give you the energy that is necessary to workout. I can go on and on for days about what everyone has heard about Carbohydrates. But all in all, I believe that Carbohydrates have been given a very negative label, they have been given the bad rap of weight gain in our society. I decided to ask 10 random people about how they view Carbohydrates. And 7 out of the 10 people believed that Carbs were no good for you and that you shouldn't eat them. Many stated that the reason they were overweight was because of all the carbohydrates they took in on a daily basis. I wasn't shocked but sadly enough, they didn't have the knowledge or the understanding of how Carbs work and how they are necessary in our daily food intake.

Carbohydrates are essential in your daily intake for performance and endurance. It is so important that everyone understands carbohydrates and how they work when you include them in your eating plan the right way and how they work when you restrict their intake.
#1- Brain, nerves, blood cells, and muscles thrive on carbohydrates and will use them for fuel, even when the body has an abundance of fat.
#2- Carbohydrate loading before exercise (eating extra carbs before exercise) increases muscle and liver glycogen (stored carbohydrate) and promotes endurance.
#3- On the days you train harder and longer, be sure that your body has enough carbohydrates to perform and to build.

BE CAREFUL WITH RESTRICTING YOUR CARBOHYDRATE INTAKE.
#1- When you restrict carbohydrates you reduce the availability of carbs, which triggers metabolic changes that switches to body from a fat storer to a fat user.
#2- Low Carbohydrate intake is the best way to lose fat in a short amount of time. The question is will a person keep that weight down when they include carbohydrates back in to their eating regimen?
#3- Low Carbohydrate intake DECREASES endurance. Studies show that diets high in fat and low in carbohydrates cause tremendous decreases in time to fatigue in running, cycling, rowing, climbing, and swimming.

It is so important that you are in tune with your body...know what foods work with your body. You must understand that every person is different and our bodies work differently. Also, understand that you are TRYING to create an unstoppable/well-rounded/athletic physique and without carbs your body will not be able to produce and performance will struggle. Timing and proper use of carbohydrate restriction is important when trying to build an overall, well-conditioned body. *Take in more carbohydrates on the days you train intensely and longer periods. *Take in less carbohydrates on the days you do not train and on the days that your workouts are lower intense.

I agree with both approaches, but I feel it is necessary to understand how your body utilizes carbohydrates. I think it is necessary to bring down carbohydrates on the days you do not train, BUT it is crucial that you take in enough carbs on the days you train. Your body needs fuel in order to perform and to endure the intensity levels that you train at. The body also needs carbs to recover and to rebuild after intense workouts. So...always look at your long-term fulfillment instead of your short-term one. Understand your body- Respect your body- Master your body!

(Current Sports Medicine Reports, 6:225-229, 2007)
(American Journal Clinical Nutrition, 86:276-284, 2007)

Be Careful When You Ice

Often times people don't realize the damage they can do when they ice a body part due to an injury. It is important that you are careful and pay attention to the area of your body that is being iced. It is important that you follow the rules of 20 minutes on/ 20 minutes off. ALWAYS use a barrier between your skin and the ice pack to prevent serious injury to your skin. Be careful when using gel ice packs, they are more dangerous than a bag of ice. Ice packs, which are 32 degrees, or colder when augmented with alcohol. Gel packs are typically colder and can cause serious injury if applied for too long and/or applied directly to the skin. Ice packs help relieve pain due to the cold numbs the injured area...but this numbing effect can be dangerous, however, because when you lose sensation in a part of your body, you have a difficult time noticing tissue damage. 

The Association of Chartered Physiotherapists in Sports Medicine recommends only using ice packs for a maximum of 10 minutes at a time on areas where the skin is close to the bone, and up to 30 minutes on areas with more fat or muscle. ALWAYS cover the ice pack or the affected area with a cloth, towel, or elastic bandage.

The video below shows a second degree burn and frostbite due to leaving a gel ice pack on an injured area for about 45 minutes along with no barrier between skin and gel ice pack. The video shows the sequence of what occurs in a 10 hour span.  Viewer discretion is advised. 

**UPDATE** AFTER DOCTOR VISIT. VIEWER DISCRETION ADVISED.