Tag Archive for 'healthy change'

Why do parents drug their children?

Published
by
Warwick
on December 4, 2009
in Health
. 0 Comments

It seems that never a day passes without media reports of the problems that obseity are causing to the health of a nation and the rapid growth in lifestyle diseases such as diabetes.

Observing what children are ‘taught’ about food, it should not be a surprise. We can blame all the food and restaurant franchises for pushing junk food but how about parents taking some responsibility?

Parents (and grandparents) often use sweet and salty food as a bribe to acquiesce (calm down) children. When you see a three year old eating a hamburger for breakfast, can you blame them for future diet problems? To my mind, the parents are doing what’s easy instead of teaching their children about ‘reward motivation’ and healthy eating habits.

Instead they are setting their children up for sugar and salt addiction. A recent study have also found other consequences for using junk food as a daily pacifier. British experts studied more than 17,000 children born in 1970 for about four decades. Of the children who ate candies or chocolates daily at age 10, 69 percent were later arrested for a violent offense by the age of 34.

Link to article on how eating candy can lead your child to crime.

11 Lessons from a triathlon race

Published
by
Warwick
on August 12, 2009
in Health and Skills
. 0 Comments

Lessons from Triathlon racing

I just completed a personal best time in the Gansu triathlon in Western China.  As I was going through the process of preparation and observing my team-mates from Shanghai Triathlon Club, I realised that there were many useful lessons in preparing and competing in an endurance race.

I am going to share these lessons in detail over the next several tips, here is a summary to get you started:

Lessons from Triathlon Races:

1. Do your best - The only way to learn is to stretch yourself.
2. Enjoy it - Remember to look up and enjoy the process while it is unfolding.
3. Run a race of one - The only person you are competing against is yourself.
4. Finish healthy - Identify your bottom line target.
5. Finish with a personal best - Set up some stretch targets.
6. Win the mind game - Prepare for the mental challenges ahead.
7. Consistency is the key to good preparation - Understand what it takes to succeed.
8. Stress free preparation - Lay the groundwork for a good on-the-day performance.
9. Test the conditions - Experience the environment ahead of time.
10. Know the rules -  Some broken rules are going to ‘cost’ you.
11. Develop self-awareness under pressure - Keep a clear head at all times.

There are lessons in any project that requires careful preparation and execution. Have a look out for future tips as I expand on these lessons and show how they can be relevant for activities other than sports.

Take the kettle off before it boils: Take time to decompress

Published
by
Warwick
on May 18, 2009
in Health and Skills
. 0 Comments

About three years ago, a trainer friend of mine passed away from a heart attack. He was over-weight, lived off fried food and did not do any exercise. He was multi-lingual, a warm friendly funny man in his 40s. I miss his sense of humour and diverse talents. Recently another trainer friend of mine suffered from Bells Palsy which causes a partial paralysis of the facial muscles. He is in good shape, doesn’t drink or smoke and works out and plays basketball. He is also multi-lingual, a warm friendly funny man in his 30s. He has been on a punishing travel schedule traveling two or three cities a week, training up to 20 days a month. I look forward to enjoying his diverse sense of humour and talents for many years to come.

We are all striving for greater success in our lives, but at what cost?  We push through the tiredness, stress and heavy workload to make the next target. What are you doing to pause your life? You need to add a few days a month (or at least a quarter) to fully relax.  I am spending two days this week in a bamboo mountain forest retreat attending a yoga and emotional freedom workshop. I have never done yoga and am not really that sure what emotional freedom really means, but I do know one thing. I am totally going to forget about checking emails and traffic jams and the small frustrations that can get in the way of our lives.

I expect to come back full of fresh air, much more relaxed and enriched by learning some new techniques. I will come back healthier and fitter from the fresh air and morning walks in the forest. Really looking forward to it.  I plan a monthly away day with my wife and it allows us to get grounded before we move onto another month.  Take the kettle off before it boils. And that reminds me, it’s time for some peppermint tea.  Have a relaxed and refreshing day.

Take control of your life: Drop what you don’t need

Published
by
Warwick
on April 24, 2009
in Health and Skills
. Closed

For as long as I can remember, I have hated gyms. As a nature lover, they stand for all the things I don’t value. Indoor life. Stuffy. Repetitive, loud music.  I have never joined a gym and the only time I visit one is when I am traveling and I visit the hotel fitness center.

I just bought a gym card.  Interested to how why?  Why I would change my deep seated aversion to gyms? In a nutshell, it’s because this attitude wasn’t serving me anymore.

I recently moved to the suburbs of Shanghai. My preferred exercise is swimming but there are no pools nearby and although it’s outside the city center, the roads are not that great for cycling and I am still aware to avoid pollution (which brought on an asthma attack last year).  I actually have a negative mindset about running to go along with my anti-gym attitude so I rarely jog outside anyway.

I have a target of competing in a couple of triathlons this year and want to beat my personal best. My target is to finish between 2 hours 30 minutes and 2 hours 51 minutes.  When I looked at my resources, I found that with no pool, a busy work schedule and not much training, I had a perfect combination of excuses.  I enjoyed this for a few weeks after moving, but finally got irritated enough with this inertia and still wanting to pursue my goal of completing up to 5 triathlons this year, that I had to revisit my two beliefs: I don’t like (and am not good at) running and I don’t go to gyms.

Just two minutes from my apartment is a gym equipped with the latest treadmill and cycling equipment. There is even an outside pool which opens in the summer.  I challenged my previous beliefs. I set up a time to visit the facilities and - to be honest- they have some nice kit.  I decide to sign up for a membership when I realised that this was the only chance for me to pursue regular exercise - essential for a healthy triathlon finish.

In a recent trip to Beijing, I also realised the benefits of combining running with treadmills. Technology is way cool.  You can measure speed, heart rate and calories burned which are all useful to gradually increasing fitness. I want to avoid exercising too much too soon.

I worked out my maximum heart rate here. Importantly, I can also find out that as a beginner ( I have been inactive for way too long to have any base fitness) I should only exert my heart to 50-60% of its maximum. So now I have a heart rate target.  When I am on the treadmill I can set a 30 minute jog to take me no higher than the heart rate I punch in.  This helps me exercise in a very precise way that helps me bring my body up to higher levels of fitness in a sustainable way.

By opening myself up to challenge an old belief that it not serving me anymore, I realised that I could now exercise more sustainably and scientifically. Which is good because it means I can now accurately predict my times for the run section (and the cycle section when I get onto the gym bikes).

Most of all, I now have no excuse not to exercise as the gym is a couple of minutes walk away from my door. Also, a motivator for me, is that now I have paid money for the membership, I will want to make sure I can get a good return on my investment.  Already this week I have started with some gentle fast walks (I record all the measurements) and can now plan an exercise program to support my goal of competing in more triathlons. Just one week ago, I really couldn’t see what I could do. But the fog has now lifted.

What belief or habit do you have that no longer serves you?  They might be holding you back from living with abundance and achieving all your goals and dreaming.  If you need support by working with a coach, contact me.