Health

Only 10 minutes a day 3 times a week and you can have the body you want. We have all heard a hundred ads like this. I think that many of them actually do work, along with the right diet and additional exercises. Since most of us don’t have this personal lifestyle, it is a lot of people spend several hours in the gym a week. The gym can be a fun place to hang out with friends while feeling you are getting fit. However, if you are simply wanting to get in shape then there are better work out methods.

I have found that I can get in shape working out 5 days a week for 15 minutes a day. The difference between the TV advertised program and my routine is that it is not easy. It requires pushing yourself harder each time. Once you feel that you can’t do one more push-up, pull-up, or whatever, you set in your mind to do three or five more. Don’t take a 5 minute break to catch your breath, move on to the next activity quickly. Since your body doesn’t know what to expect, it has to adapt quicker. If I don’t wake up soar the next day then I know I haven’t trained hard enough.

When an exercise starts becoming easier, you can either increase the numbers or find a more difficult way to do it. For instance, if you are doing push-ups and find they become much easier, try elevating your feet or changing the positions of your hands. Some positions require a lot more energy than others. If you focus on these positions you will increase your strength much quicker.

I focus mostly on exercises that increase my strength and muscle tone and don’t require any equipment. Push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups, jumping squats, wall sits, etc can all be done without any equipment and build body strength very quickly.

I will note that this system is not the best one for everyone. Since it requires pushing yourself very hard each time to see results, it is very easy to give up. It does however, allow you to start seeing and feeling a difference very quickly which can be a motivator.

If you really want to put on muscle, the following video is a pretty good guide.

300 Spartan Workout Training. Home Version - Celebrity bloopers here

I am a very high energy person. When everyone else is ready to call it a day, I am ready for the next event. When I am exercising I always try to push myself a little further and when I am working and studying I generally try to fill all my time so none is wasted. Unfortunately, this is actually anti-productive. To be at your best, the body and the mind need time to rest. When fully rested the mind and body work several times better than it does if you are constantly working at 30%. It’s kind of like using a toy that uses batteries. In the beginning the toy works great, but as the batteries where down the speed of the toy decreases even faster.

I find the biggest reason I don’t get enough rest is because I am trying to do too many things at one time. So how do you find more time to rest?

Increase Efficiency and Eliminate
Whether it is your work, your exercise routine, studying or anything else, you should always be trying to do it more efficiently. First pick out the things that don’t really make a difference whether you do them or not and eliminate them. What activities do you do each day that add no benefit? Can they be eliminated? Once you have removed all of these then focus on the things that do add benefit and try to make them more efficient. If you spend an hour a day exercising, could you change your routine to get the same benefit in 30 minutes? Keep trying different things until you find the best method. This is usually not an overnight process.

Dedicate Time

Set a time each day or a day each week to do relaxing things. This can include resting, sleeping, meditation, reading for fun, listening to music, etc. The idea is to choose things that allow your mind and body to relax and recharge. Once you set this time, don’t let anything interfere with it. It may be difficult at first to get used to doing nothing if you are always on the go, but stick with it for a while and you will start seeing the benefits.
Stop Stressing
Stress both takes a lot of energy and is also not healthy for the body. Accept that things will not always go as planned, but have the confidence that you can get them back on track. Also, realize that while everything seems urgent, most things really usually aren’t. Start leaving things for a couple of days and you will realize that things aren’t as urgent as you thought. Sometimes they will fix themselves.

Alternate Days
Both the body and the mind need time to rest. For some people the best way to relax the mind is by doing something physical. If this works for you, choose one day to do something physical and one day to do something mental.

Cut Out Time Wasters
Things such as watching TV or using the internet can be mentally draining. Limit the time you use each and you will find that you have more energy and more time to do other activities. I currently have no TV or internet in my home. For the first time the days have actually seemed to get longer as I am getting older rather than shorter. I have time do do more things each day and get a fuller nights sleep.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I have quit my job in Tokyo and will be moving to the tropical island of Miyakojima. At this point we have gotten rid of most of our stuff (the rest will be taken tomorrow) and will be boarding our plane in a few days. As the date is getting closer, I starting to focus on all the things I will be able to do in this new life and environment that I haven’t been able to do working here in Tokyo. Below is a list of 10 things I am looking forward to be focusing on.

1. Spend more time with my spouse- With both of us working full time jobs both with long commutes, we haven’t had the chance to spend a lot of time together for the last year. I am looking forward to spending more time together.

2. Catching/finding my own food- Since we will now be living by the ocean, I plan to support a part of our life by catching and finding our own food. Not only will this be a fun activity, it can also reduce our food bills. There is also a great satisfaction to catching or growing your own food that just doesn’t come with buying it.

3. Study more- Particularly language. One of the reasons I chose to stay in Japan was to keep improving my Japanese skills. As we would like to visit Central and South America, I also plan to start studying Spanish. I also plan to study internet marketing. Something I have been studying lately and really enjoy.

4. Exercise- Since I quit my job in August I have been doing a pretty good job in this area. However, I have been slightly limited by places to exercise. In Miyakojima, I would like to increase not only the types of exercise I am doing, but also the amount I am exercising. Miyakojima is one of the locations where they hold the Ironman Triathlon, but I don’t plan to go that far. I will probably focus on martial arts and have actually been considering trying parkour.

5. Scuba diving, Snorkeling, and Swimming- I absolutely love the water and water sports (along with driving and food) have been some of the things I miss the most here in Tokyo. Miyakojima has amazing beaches and great diving. Now The one draw back is diving in Miyakojima is quite expensive so, I need need to figure out a way to do it cheaper.

6. Volunteering- I don’t know exactly what will be available, but I would like to help do something with either the schools or with the ocean. How cool would it be to help as a volunteer diver.

7. Building my own business- I am still working on the exact business plan, but now that I am over the fear of actually starting it I am looking forward to seeing what I can do. The more efficient I got at work, the more I realized how much time I was being wasted. Now I have the chance to try out my own practices and theories.

8. Meeting new people- People in Tokyo can be somewhat cold. Friends are great friends, but if someone doesn’t know you they don’t want to be bothered by you. Miyakojima is much more laid back and the people are much more friendly. I will have the chance to meet people with very different backgrounds.

9. Drive- It seems weird to miss something that I sometimes hated when driving in the states, but driving gives a sense of freedom and can be a fun activity. We won’t need to do much driving on the island, but the occasional drive around the island or to the beach will be great.

10. Enjoying life one day at a time- During my busy week schedule here in Tokyo, I was always waiting for my next day off. The weeks and Months seemed to just fly buy and I felt as though I was a spectator. I am going to try my best to live each day the way I want and to it’s fullest. After realizing how quickly they can go by, I really want to treasure each one.

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