Tuesday, April 29, 2008

A samurai, his toothpick and your self-image...

There's great quote from Hagakure (Book of the Samurai) that goes something like this:

"A Samurai always uses a toothpick, even when he has not eaten."

For the Samurai, saving face was of utmost importance. Even when too poor to eat dinner, the samurai would pretend he had, just to keep up appearances. After all, who would want or trust the services of a samurai who was not even able to feed himself!

This wisdom has an equally important place in our modern lives as well.

Think about it for a bit and I'm sure you will find a way to use it!

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Shoes are not so good for your feet!
Proven again by science.

I encourage my clients to train barefoot when at home and in flat, thin soled shoes at the gym as I have always believed cushioned shoes to be less than optimal for most types of training.

Check out this ARTICLE in New York Magazine all about how shoes may not be good for your feet and that a transition to more barefoot activities will keep your body in optimal working order for much longer!

Thursday, April 17, 2008

My Brother, the comedian...
Is there nothing he cannot do? : )

This week I have been preparing my 07 income tax. Very exciting... So many receipts, so little time!

I will be back next week with more entries and an April Newsletter. This month, I am giving you a video of exercises to do at your desk. These exercises will help your posture tremendously as well as give you energy right to the end of your day!

In the meantime, check out my brother's presentation from Ignite Seattle "A Pseudoscience Guide To Geek Dating".



Wednesday, April 09, 2008

Real Fitness results!

During my 7am class today, Sharalyn remarked she has lost 1lb a week since joining 2.5 weeks ago. This is a great result and further proof my Real Fitness program works!

Well done, Sharalyn!

I welcome anyone to try Real Fitness FREE for one week. I practically guarantee you will want to continue training with us. What have you got to lose?

About a pound a week, apparently... : )

Tuesday, April 08, 2008

Go with the flow... Yes or no?

As we all know, over-analyzing things tends to get us nowhere fast. We spend too much time thinking and not enough time doing. The obvious reaction to this can be to do just the opposite... go with what comes and let the universe figure it out. This second option unfortunately leaves us with the same result (and anxiety) as the first since little gets done as we have no plan.

What are we to do? Howsabout going with the flow yet having a hand in controlling the direction!

All this means is that we need to set some kind of short and long term goals. The long term is easy since we just state what we want to happen in the end (being realistic, of course). The short term goals are the most important as they will lead us to the final result. These short-term goals should be able to be accomplished in two to three weeks or less. Each time one of these goals is reached, we get the added bonus of a sense of accomplishment and added energy to tackle the next one. An object in motion tends to stay in motion, so says one of the fundamental laws of physics. The inertia created by short-term acheivable goals keeps us in motion until the greater goal is reached. This method also insures we do not feel overwhelmed by the immensity of the larger task, and indeed arrive there sooner.

Such "steps on the ladder" allow us to forget about how much we have to do and therefore worry less. This, added to the momentum of our day by day acheivements, truly allows us more room to "go with the flow" and enjoy life now, later AND in the distant future!

Break it down!

Monday, April 07, 2008

The website is back!

Last week, the server that my site was on retired. It retired a bit earlier than I had expected so the site was down for a couple days. I am now back up and with a new web address.

My site is now at http://www.fit4real.ca/

Much more easy to remember and I am now able to go beyond the limitations of my personal site.

My old site at http://www.stevemcminn.com/ now redirects to fit4real.ca

I can be reached at either steve@fit4real.ca OR steve@stevemcminn.com

Stay tuned for more posts over the next few days!
Enter The Kettlebell
Start your Hardstyle kettlebell training with ETK!
Power to the People - Russian Strength Secrets
PTTP Puts you on the path to Deadlift Dominance!