Category Archives: General

exercise, General

A new year, a fresh attitude

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It’s been a month since I’ve written on my blog and I sit back and reflect why this is so. I have a myriad of excuses as a teacher, as a busy father, I’ve been on vacation etcetera. But the truth is blogs keep you motivated and in touch with like minded people.

Vacations are a good time to revamp your efforts. You can step back and take a subjective look at things and set your priorities. It’s a time for reorganization and clarity. Over my two week vacation I ran 8 miles per day for a week straight. I’m battling, still, with troublesome teeth. This time a newly put on crown refuses to heal and is causing excruciating pain. It’s tough staying focused under this condition.

And it can be dangerous too as exercise takes a toll and struggling with health problems while you exercise may cause more problems. But I must say I’m the better for exercising. I’m just smart and realize when I really need that break.

I’m back in school (as a teacher), but tomorrow I’m looking forward to another 8 mile run. ;^)

exercise, General

Step it up during setbacks.

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The end of the school year is a crash point for teachers. Much last minute work needs to be done, the kids are unfocused and naturally very irritating during this time, and the body physically, mentally, spiritually, emotionally, and whatever other …ally is spent. However, despite all this, the teacher must keep on trudging till every last kid is dismissed for summer vacation. After all duties have been completed the teacher’s body crashes.

Oh, some teachers have some reserves, but generally the body is completely exhausted and open for full assault by the usual assailants, viruses and bacterial infections. So I spent my first week fighting or rather relenting to this necessary stage before I began my comeback.

Well, that’s a lie. I’ve been doing Taebo with Billy Blanks in the mornings before school for the past month or two. So the end of year crash didn’t hit me as hard as usual. And taking Tahitian Noni (get it at mistergoodbuy) fought off infection and helped me keep my energy levels up.

Now I’m prepared to make my comeback in my chosen sport, running. Sometimes, we compromise, thinking our body just needs more rest until eventually we no longer have a workout routine left. My advice is to keep exercising, even mildly, but keep exercising. For exercise is a rejuvenator and a relaxer. Exercise is absolutely essential for recovery rather than something to put aside during times of physical depression. My keep up the good work. On that note… I am now going on my 8 mile run this morning before it gets too hot here in Florida.

exercise, General

Back on the trail again

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I just finished a brisk 8 mile run. I’m not sure really how fast I ran because I was running at night and I stopped my watch several times at traffic crossings. Unfortunately, at one of those stops I forgot to restart my watch. It’ felt great getting my legs back under me pressing those 7 to sub 7 minute miles. My son Shane went with me on his bike. The last several miles he struck up this stange very annoying tune, “The old man say, the old man says,’aargh'” He just kept kept singing this amazingly annoying lyric over and over again like he was possessed. Yes, I wanted to strike him just once. I wouldn’t strike him twice, honest, just once. Do you know how inconvenient it is to be running at break neck pace having a moron, (ulp, sorry, I did just call my son a moron didn’t I?) Well, I’ll wrap this up, it’s great to be back and I hope not to let anything ( even the most annoying things) block my road to progress. :^) Keep up the good work,

Your cyber running pal,

Lew Jackson

exercise, General

You can do 100 push-ups per day!

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Yep, you can, if not then set a lower more reasonable goal.
I’m a school teacher with a busy schedule, so I do my 100
in the morning’s with my 9 year old son who does his 30
push-ups.

Here’s how I do it:

5 push-ups times 5 sets– that’s 25 push-ups as a warm-up.
I rest  comfortably between sets.

Now my body is ready…

10 push-ups times 4 sets– that’s 65 push-ups. Only 35 left!

20 push-ups straight– my personal challenge.

15 push-ups to finish it up.

But 2 minutes of abdominal crunches
is included for a complete workout.

That’s it… and you can do it too.

Just set your goal and believe in yourself!

PS: If you are in slump, this workout works
great!

exercise, General

I’m having an affair with Asprin

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Oh, I’m sorry, I meant I’m having an affair with aspirin. Ever since I went to the dentist for a crown and had the world’s longest lasting toothache. It has been discouraging, but 100 push-ups in the mornings helps. Prevention is always the key– it’s too late for me, save yourself and take good care of your teeth. Today I ran 6 miles easy in the rain with my running club at school. It’s always good to run with someone for encouragement at least once during the week. So that’s it for me today. I’m back once again. Life is running for me since without it I just get depressed and run down. My shout out to all you faithful runners out there, “Stay healthy and keep running for as long as you can. You got a good thing.” :^)

exercise, General

My take on Exercise

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As I my mention on my health-2-fitness.com homepage, I used to be an avid marathon runner. I weight trained, played handball regularly, and could do 200 plus push ups at a time. I mention this because I was very satisfied with the level of physical fitness I had attained. And yet I also apprehend how eerily close all of us are to becoming a physical debacle.

☺My demise, as I mentioned, came from the rapidly deteriorating condition of my teeth. Bacteria, as well as viruses, can become highly aggressive, and rapidly ruin your overall health, well being, and happiness in short order. My teeth became repeatedly infected and my health and fitness declined accordingly. I was dejected and frustrated, but I stand guilty of taunting invincibility, practicing bad habits, and consuming too much junk food.

☺This is a hard lesson learned. I revamped my health by having the good fortune to afford good dental treatment. Then I began an exercise regimen. At first my attempts to get right back into running failed miserably. The blow dealt to my body dead severe damage to my circulatory, skeletal, and respiratory systems. I was not the same person, just a shell of who I was and I had to accept this fact. The rigors of being a teacher for three years also wrought much damage in reconditioning.

☺It seemed like every morning, I would consume tea with a tablespoon of honey and crushed fresh garlic. The garlic assisted me in combating the large levels of unhealthy bacteria in my system and the black tea helped me fight off viruses. I also took zinc tablets, 50 to 100 mg per day as needed, to build up my immune system and ward off exhaustion.

☺Next I took the drastic step of getting up every morning and just walking on my Tread Climber for a half an hour to an hour. My top speed was a whopping, yet deliberate, 2 mph! As I walked, I read a few chapters of the Bible and then flipped through many index cards I made up with carefully selected motivational scriptures and famous quotes from such people as Gandhi, Bruce Lee, and Muhammad Ali. These became my inner motivational voices that fortified and nourished my mind.

☺Next I hopped on my Total Body Works by Joe Weider. And I did a brief routine that included chest press, rowing, inclined abdominal crunches, and pull ups. I did what I could do every day. I had to develop the consistency that eluded me by trying to get straight back into running. This plan is working very effectively as my general health is stabilizing and I realize I can only get stronger and stronger. Shortly, I will be back into my running routine without the frustrating set backs.

exercise, General

3 Simple ways to vastly improve your health and fitness

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3 Simple ways to vastly improve your health and fitness

Read my brief life story from my new http://www.health-2-fitness.com website

Hi I am Lewis Jackson and I am an avid health and fitness enthusiast. As a youngster, I had a very active lifestyle. My Dad played college football and later became a marathon runner. I literally followed in his footsteps and ran numerous 10ks, half marathons, and marathons. I continued to run through college, but after I got married and built a family, I began to slow down. Health problems involving my teeth contributed to my demise.

However, I fought back and refused to succumb to the damages of a sedentary lifestyle. The importance of exercise, nutrition, and proper rest are now more important in my life than ever. This website shares the resources I’ve found to be most helpful on my road to recovery.

I’ve found regular exercise of 30 minutes or more each day is very important to maintaining physical conditioning. It should not be underestimated in its ability to maintain the circulatory, respiratory, and skeletal systems of the body. We look in the mirror and its hard to detect the body wasting away through atrophy from the inside out. When symptoms of disease or damage occur, it is often too late to affect full recovery. The best health 2 fitness medicine is prevention, even if it is only mild walking each day for half an hour.

Nutrition was something I cheated on as a youth. I loved McDonalds, Burger King, and other processed foods and sugary drinks. My first wake up call was when I learned that many sodas contain up to nine teaspoons of sugar– not to mention the other chemical additives and acids. Even many supermarket foods you buy are heavily processed and contain toxins and synthetics. The nutrition links found on this page will provide alternative food sources that will help rebuild and vitalize your health and fitness from the inside out.

Finally, proper rest and sleep is paramount for full recovery and recuperation from each day’s rigors. You should schedule time for eight hours of sleep each night. Take catnaps to lessen stress on the body during the day. Maintain a positive outlook by feeding your mind and heart positive sources of motivation. It is also important to avoid emotional upheavals and drama in your life. Try to avoid allowing responsibilities to pile up, be proactive, keep life simple, and stay organized.

The three areas, exercise, nutrition, and proper rest, I briefly discussed above are part of what I call my well-being triangle. I hope my brief health and fitness tips have been helpful to you.

General

jump roping my way to health

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I’m now developing a jump roping routine. 300 ump ropes this morning, yes. But now after that I add about 15 DOUBLE jumps. These are tough and build stamina. At first I couldn’t do even 5 double jumps. Now I’m up to 15. Florida is hot and stiffling. It’s easy to lose your wind because you’re suckingin dry hot air. And I had good wind, good stamina for the first half of my 8 mile run. The second half still needs work– the lst 4 miles still needs work. But I definitely think the jump roping is helping a lot.

General

Fay Go Away!

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I’m sure if you live anywhere along the East coast, especially below New York, you have heard of Fay, the tropical storm. It started in earnest on Wednesday and has continued through Friday. This evening we had a series of tornadoes. Many of them were water funnels in the St. John’s River, but we had a tornado miss our home by a couple of blocks. Certainly not a day for running. Actually, I’m a bad boy. I didn’t exercise at all today. I’ve been feeling down. :^( But tomorrow I’m hoping to pep back up. (Okay, I’m going to pep up. :^) To be honest, just about everybody seems emotionally exhausted from this storm. If you have bad weather your way, literally or figuratively, stay strong. Your body is probably preparing to reward you with a bump up in fitness! That’s how it usually goes– you hit a sticking point, but if you keep your routine, your body will bump you up to the next level of performance.

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