count down

Well I'm on the count down for the end of the first step in my Body for life challenge. Two weeks to go. I am going to continue with the Body for life for the next year to go alone with my UBBT. I think though that at the end of two weeks I will change up some of my weight training routine .I have been working mostly on the machines in the gym maybe I'll try some free weights now.
I have been trying to read "Way of the Peaceful warrior" but can't seem to find the time. A few minutes here and there just doesn't work for me.I need to sit down and concentrate on the book. I have come up with a solution though, I have found the audio book and am going to down load it onto my ipod. That way I can hear the book while I'm running.Is that cheating? Oh well it will work out better.
Speaking of running, I hit the 5 km. mark on Saturday. There's no limit to where I might end up now. My partner also hit the 5km mark,but I know he could go to 10 km if he wanted to. He's so kind to my ego. Lets me have my small victory's. I must say that my training gets easier with my weight lose and better cardio conditioning.
See you at the finish line
Linda

RUN FOREST RUN

This week I reached an all time personal record of running four kms. Now this sounds great and for me it is, but it's not pretty.
If you are on the track at the same time I am, you will hear me coming up behind you well before you see me. I"m afraid I still sound like an old steam engine. I am hoping this too will pass. Speed you ask? Well most people can probably walk faster than I run, however this does not bother me. IT STILL FEELS GREAT. I have always wanted to run but never had the drive to do it. Now I have learned to push past the pain in my legs and ignore my screaming lungs. I just one foot in front of the other and count off the kms. I have asked myself at least a dozen times "why can I do this now and never before?" I really don't know yet.Maybe its my workout partner, or maybe it the Ubbt. challenge, or maybe its the body for life program. It could of been a full moon on the day I finally committed to doing this, I"ll let you know when I figure this out. Anyway my new goal is to make the five km. mark by Christmas. For the first time in my life I can say this and know I will do this.
I FEEL GREAT! Talk to you soon
Linda

The universal law of reciprocation

I am going to take a paragraph out of the Body for life book by Bill Phillips: "Many people want to get before they give. In the long run, this formula never works.My experience has been this; When I focus on creating value for others, in either my personal or my professional life, I don't get back a return that merely equals what I invest, I know my return will be double , triple, even 10 times greater. This is such a fundamental truth that I don't even think about it. I don't pay attention to my future return. The payoff will be automatic. And it will come in many forms;pride, fun, fulfillment, friendship. self-esteem, energy."
I came across this statement in his book when I first started my body for life challenge and I can't tell you how true it has turned out to be. I am constantly shocked and surprised at the positive energy around me from people who I wasn't even aware of. If I have given even one person encouragement or hope to become better within themselves then my challenge will have been a success. It is one of the biggest turning points in my life so far. I challenge you to take this step and see what happens. I promise you it will be worth it.

On another subject I had an awaking moment this week. Towards the end of the week, Thursday, Fridayish, I had a incredible craving for sweets. I thought I was past this point in my fight with my weight, but here it was again. I struggled through it with little or no cheating. But looking back on it today , Sunday I see the truth in the fight. I was in an emotional battle with myself and I have always been an emotional eater. You know that sugar will sooth me for awhile until things look better. I made it past the pressures I had created in my mind and now I can see where the cravings had come from. Maybe next time it will be easier. I hope so,
talk to you next week

Linda

Turn on the light

During this Saturdays wind storm we had a tree fall on a power line and it put us out of power for twelve hours.It changed our family plans a little bit. Both the teenagers had come home with movies and games to entertain themselves for the evening. Well needless to say without power that was hit on the head. We all had to find another way to entertain ourselves for the night.The fireplace warmed the basement,candles gave us light to see and we had to take out the old board games.It turned out to be a good night. We all went to bed early for a change and somewhere in the middle of the night the Fortis workers got the tree off the line and restored the power.Hu ray for men who work in the dark and cold.
This in a round about way brings me to a subject I have been struggling with for weeks.There is a great deal of excitement in our Kung Fu school this last month as students find their Kung Fu Mojo as Sifu Tiffany Playter likes to say. It's the place that you finally find and know you are doing something right. Your body starts to respond to what your brain has been trying to tell it.You move with the right timing and flow and it looks good. You know you have gotten it right. This same feeling, your Kung Fu "mojo" happens when you are exercising or doing push ups, sit ups, etc. You want to shout it to the world and you have every right to be proud of it. You have worked hard. Now I know I have been feeling this way about my Body for life program and my UBBT challenge too. I feel good and I want to share it with the world. I want to tell everyone who will listen how to do it too but here is where I have encountered my struggle. Not everyone is in the same place as I am.There are other students out there who are not in this frame of mind. Their personal life is giving them problems that may seem insurmountable. In stead of making them stronger Kung Fu may be the last thing on the list to make things right.This week they are standing next to you next week they may be gone. Would I notice? Would I really care enough to say maybe I could have done something to help them hang on?
Would this have been an act of kindness? Could I have made some small difference to help them through until they felt stronger? Could my feeling of empowerment have made them feel small? I know I can't save the world or I can't read another persons mind but maybe if I come down to earth, back to the basics, I would see where I can extend a hand to that person and help them through until they are feeling stronger. After all this is what we are trying to do isn't it. We are training our body to do kicks, punches, etc. but we are also training our minds. We are trying to take our Kung Fu further that the physical and make it about a whole rounded out person. One who will in turn take it out into the world and show them what we are all about.
I don't know if I have gotten the feelings I have been letting bug me out I probably haven't made much sense or how a power outage has anything to do with someone struggling to stay in King Fu. I guess what I was trying to say was when you are feeling alone in the dark there is someone out there in the light to help you see until the dawn.
Well I tried... until next week
Linda

Scrimmages

There is a lot of great information out there on fitness,I find it very easy to get distracted and confused. I guess it's just like all the diets there are, you have to find the one that works for you and stick with it.I am in the seventh week of the body for life program now. This program is definitely working for me.I am not on schedule for weight lose, but I knew that was an unrealistic goal for me from the start.I also have to take into account that I blow the diet for the first two weeks of the program,so with that in mind I'm not that far off.I always believed the line "you will not crave sweats if your eating right was a load of ... well you know,but it is true for the most part.I have been able to turn away from a lot of my old time cravings lately.So the battle only feels like small scrimmages now.Maybe by Christmas I'll have to buy some new clothes, here's hoping.... talk to you next week,

Linda

Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving is such a wonderful time to gather family and friends around me.It's also a good time of year to reflect on the year as it comes to a close.Upon doing this I see that 2008 has indeed come with so rather big personal changes .All for the good.There seems to be a great deal ahead too.One of these changes occurred just last week when I started logging my acts of kindness.I started out thinking this would be a rather easy undertaking.Well what is a random act of kindness?Is it something you would have done anyway or is it something you had to give some self sacrifice for?I don't know about you but it made me realize how often someone else did some act of kindness for me.I tend to walk around with the opinion that everyone is out for themselves.You know get the other guy before he gets you.What an eye opener.I wonder when I became such a cynic ?Well its just something else to work on, Trust.
The diet and exercise is going along just fine.It feels more natural now.Anyway, have a great Thanksgiving!
Until next week,
Linda

Open your eyes and look around you

To spite the struggles I have encountered this week it was a positive experience.
I felt very apprehensive about posting this challenge in public to start out with,but it has been such a good growing tool.I am very pleasantly surprised with the great support I have been getting from the people around me.
I have stepped up my challenge and have been accepted by Master Brinker to be a student member of his UBBT.I feel a little bit like I had a running head start as the Body For Life is one component of this test.Anyway the excitement in the Black belt class is so thick you can almost touch it.It's great to be a part of this.There is so much more to being a Black Belt than you can imagine,I can't wait until you are all there with your black belts.The Black belt really is just the beginning....
Life is good, see you next week,

Linda