Don't Worry, Be Happy

Life is tough. Especially as the work place becomes more fast-paced. We are
expected to physically and mentally be prepared to keep up with the demands
at work as well as at home. It sucks. Stress in small amounts is good. It
keeps us on edge, sharpens our mind and trains us to occasionally perform
well under pressure. But c'mon! I have bills to pay, work to do, dinner to
make, clothes to wash, dog to feed and I have blog to finish. If only there
were a way to make it easier.

There is. Just effin' relax.

Stress in large amounts can be extremely detrimental to your health. Stress
has been linked to obesity, sleeplessness, depression, heart disease,
digestive problems and autoimmune deficiencies. Sometimes people have to
take a minute a prioritize what's on their plate. Eat your meal, then if
you have time, make dessert. That simply means, take on the most important
tasks, then if you have it in you, take care of the smaller tasks. If your
overwhelmed give it the ol' surfer boy attitude and say "whatever, it can
wait until tomorrow, bro."

Too often, I personally find myself stressing about things that aren't
exactly life threatening issues. If I'm late paying my cable bill, will the
world collapse in upon itself? No, at the worst, I will be forced to get up
and go outside. Oh! The humanity!

Another example. Would you rather your kids be 15 minutes late for school,
or would you rather them go to school hungry?
But, hey! At least there on time. Opinions may differ on this, but I don't
think missing 15 minutes of American school amounts to anything more than
what they could learn on Spongebob Squarepants in 5 minutes (did you pay the
cable bill?)
Feed your kids, they learn better with a full stomach
anyway.(http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/85094.php)

With all this being said, there is some stress that cannot be avoided or
disguised with laughter. Divorce, death, injury, illness retirement, and
being fired are huge examples that really do effect our livelihood. For
these, I recommend seeking professional help, talking to family and friends,
or join a group or gym. Vent these frustrations, talk about your feeling.
Don't be ashamed. Everyone has gone through the same thing that you are
going through.

A lot of things in life that we worry about aren't really that serious. We
have to understand the trivial tasks can be pushed aside temporarily, while
bigger priorities are dealt with. As Elbert Hubbard said, "Don't take life
too seriously, you'll never get out alive."

Relax

WOD: Weighted Dips

5-5-5-3-3-3

Playin' the Blame Game: Obesity

This is probably a topic that has been beat to death, but It still bothers me. In this world of finger pointing, who the hell do we blame for obesity? The question brings people to screaming, jumping to the defensive position and hiring lawyers, yet the problem, in my mind has yet to be resolved. Fixing school lunches isn't going to make america skinny again just like Drew Carey isn't going to make "The Price is Right" cool again.

I feel that we have honestly entered a well established way of doing thing and have backed ourselves into a corner. Fast food is a revenue generating, job supplying and economy stimulating powerhouse, to close the thousands of fast food joints would surely mean economical collapse. Like a stone in a pond the ripple effect will be far reaching, effecting the meat, farming, construction and many other industries. So that's out the window.

Culture. As time goes one, we become less apt to make real meals with real foods. Instead we substitute the meats and veggies with preservative laced bi-products that are ready in 4-7 minutes. Thats the conveniance factor! We live fast paced lives, there is NO time to make a full meal, wash the kids, take the dog out, do laundry AND clean the dishes. So the moms of today cook frozen dinners and eat fast food, the daughters grow up and do the same thing to their kids and so on and so forth. You can see where this leads. Another way to look at the culture aspect is the fact that everything is Instant. People know what they want and they want it now, completely forgetting what it feels like to work for something. Then there's video games and computers. I refuse to own a video game system because I have seen the worst it can do. Pale, obese people that are completly removed from the real world. So instead of going outside and enjoying life, they live vicariously through a whimsical character in a fantasy realm.

Fat has also become socially acceptable is some ways. Reuters recently did a story on the fact that as our population gets bigger and heavier, the "normal" weight for average people will also increase. It's scary shit.

The government could also be one of the guilty parties. I pose this question. Have they done enough to inform our society of what an actual healthy diet is? Or have they established false nutritional guidelines to garner the most profit? Money runs the world right?

Genetics? This is a bullshit excuse. Obesity is a modern day problem caused by modern day behavior.

How about looking in the mirror? I mean, we are the ones putting the food in our mouths, we are the ones choosing to stay at home instead of hitting the gym. Well, with about 40 million people in the US living below the poverty line, it's much cheaper to purchase a burger and fries instead of steak and broccoli. It does take motivation to follow a diet and workout program, but there are so many out there that it can be hard to know where to begin. As americans, we tend to give up when the results are anything short of instantaneous so Id say a good percentage of the total reason why we are obese lies here. Self control and self motivation.

So the question remains, who is responsible? The answer is D. all of the above. We cannot pin point it on one certain factor, but must combine alittle bit of everything. Now, A new question arises. How can we fix it?

WOD:

Weighted Pullups

5-5-5-3-3-3

Ehh, What's UP D.o.C: The Dilemma of Contradiction and its Effect on Health

Sounds fancy, huh? Well, I made it up, but there is a growing problem in
America today. It's the abundance of information and the lack of clarity.
We (and by "we" I mean me) at Coalition Fitness are here to sift through
that B.S. The theory basically states: No method is a solid method, each
method can be criticized, improved and negated. In other words, there are a
thousand ways to do one given task, and a thousand different people that
will say their way is better. For example: Deadlifts are the most
important exercise ever. No! Squats engage more muscles! A vegetarian
lifestyle is the best way to live. Wrong! You need meat to properly build
muscle. Burpees suck...well that's just common knowledge and the one
exception to this Law. Think about it. We as Americans spend about 40
billion dollars on diet and weight loss products and services, yet we are
still one of the fattest countries in the world and spend roughly 140
billion on obesity related afflictions. There is something wrong there, and
it's definitely not the lack of information. Everywhere you turn there's
another product or diet that promises incredible results, and FAST! And we
buy into it, like sheep to the flock. The problem is TOO MUCH information.
This blog addresses all the methods that I have seen work in practical
implementations. These are not fads, these are lifestyle changes. This
blog is not a "6 weeks to a beach body" plan, it's a "Obtaining a healthy
and fit LIFEstyle", for good.

So, drop the latest health magazine, put away the ab-roller and log
onto the this blog each and every day. Here, youll find all the information
you need, and the way to avoid the Dilemma of Contradiction is to log onto
to ONLY this website. Simple as that. Problem solved, now join me in a
lifestyle of fitness!

WOD:

Rest Day