If you are trying to do more movement, but walking isn't cutting it, you might need to step it up a notch. You can wear a backpack with some weight in it, and do what is called rucking. Basically, you are walking with your backpack with weight in it. Just start with around 5-10% of your bodyweight. What this does is, it adds extra weight for you to move with, which leads to more calorie consumption. It also trains you to keep your posture in mind by engaging more of your core. How can you do this? I'm glad you asked. Here are some ways to Ruck when it comes to day to day tasks: - Ruck instead of going for a typical walk - If you need to do shopping, walk with your ruck - If you have dogs, take them for a Dog Ruck - Go out and ruck around with your friends, since you don't have to make it an intense cardio session, you can still converse - Take a nice Romantic Ruck with your significant other - Where your ruck if you use a push mower to mow your lawn Work hard. Improve yourself. Be the Hero. You got this.

Cardio can get overwhelming, especially if we get to the point of huffing and puffing and needing to catch our breath. It's not a bad thing, especially if you are just starting out or juat getting back into exercise. How I overcame this issue is by breathing through just my nose for at least the first half of my cardio session. I call this pure nasal breathing. Why would this work? It's pretty simple. You start training your body to use oxygen more efficiently. Learning to do this will also help you recover faster after your session. If you are only starting with just 10-20 minutes of cardio, just do cardio at a pace that is still challenging, yet allows you to breath just through your nose for the first half, then finish as you normally would. Over time, you can use this technique for 60%, then 75%, then eventually 100% of your cardio session.

One way you can get better results with different goals is by doing a little bit more than originally planned. For example: - If you have a goal of reading 5 pages for the day, read 6 pages - If you had a goal to run 15 minutes, run for 16 minutes - If you wanted walk the dog for 10 minutes, walk the dog for 11 minutes - If you are writing a book and you wanted to write 200 words a day, go for 220 words and/or complete the current paragraph Adding some extra effort to ordinary tasks will lead to extraordinary results in the long run. Work hard. Improve yourself. Be the Hero. You got this.

Sometimes, life tells us that we have to do this, this, and this, leaving us with only a little amount of time for exercise. And sometimes, it kills the drive to workout that day. I am speaking from experience, but also hear from different people, "I don't have the time to go to the gym." I get it. As I am writing this, I work about 48 hours with a machine shop, work at a gun store on the weekends, studyto be a better personal trainer, and I am working to build this community. I am grateful, though, because I get to share how I workout with such a busy schedule with everyone who is looking for help. Here's a few tips: - Pairing up exercises, or doing supersets, helps cut down time - Doing circuit training, which is a chain of 3 or more exercises, with only a little bit of rest when the circuit is done, saves time - Going into the Workout Session with a plan saves time - Doing compound movements, like Push-ups, Squats, Deadlifts, and Chin-ups hit multiple muscles, saving more time than doing simple movements like Bicep Curls, Chest Flies, and Leg Extensions Some of these methods have cut down my gym time from around 60-90 minutes to around 25-45 minutes. Work hard. Improve yourself. Be the Hero. You got this.

It happens to everyone I meet. Which is cool, because it helps people bond over struggles. Here are a few examples to help get you started when forming a good habit, or trading a bad habit for a good one: ◇ If you want to start reading, just make it a goal to read at least 1 page throughout the day, then add more as you get comfortable ◇ If you are starting a fitness journey, start by doing exercises for maybe 5 minutes, like walking or doing some push-ups, and build up from there ◇ If you want to cut down on soda, just start by drinking 8 to 16 ounces of water before you drink the soda, then also drink 1 less serving (i.e. if you drink like 10 cans of Coke, just cut it down to 9 cans of Coke for a few days) ◇ If you want to cut down on candy and baked goods, try finding some fruits you enjoy, and eat 1 piece of the chosen fruit before eating any baked desserts or candy, and eat 1 less serving of baked desserts or candy These are just a few examples, but the premise can apply to many other goals. Change is challenging, but small steps along the journey will eventually lead to covering lots of distance. Work hard. Improve yourself. Be the Hero. You got this.