NIFS Healthy Living Blog

Holidays are times when you can relax and reflect, spend time with friends and family, and indulge in copious amounts of turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, and pie. Well, maybe don’t eat so much pie. But we do have plenty of reasons to not only be grateful, and to be inspired for the future.

Top Ten Things That Inspire Me

You probably have a hundred things you are excited about for the next decade. I have compiled my personal Thomas’s Top Ten list of things I am inspired by and that make me smile.

1. Good health: There’s a lot to say about good health, such as being able to do things you like to do, go places you want to visit, and experience everything life has to offer. Being in the fitness industry predisposes a person to being health-minded, but it’s not an easy road and definitely something not to be taken for granted.
2. Good friends: Spending time with friends is important. Like good health, this isn’t always easy and sometimes there are roadblocks along the way. I believe my favorite place on earth is wherever my best friend is at that time.
3. Pets: If you have pets, you instantly have a built-in best friend. When treated well, these little animals can give you love and affection after a long day at work, or give you the inspiration to go out and exercise when you are tired.
4. Sunshine: Sunshine is such an important aspect of life that it comes in at number four on my list. Without the sunshine, there is no life. Go out on a sunny day and see for yourself. There is something to be said for rainy days too… without rain, there would be no trees, flowers, or rivers.
5. Fresh air: I am grateful for fresh air, even if it’s cold and crisp. Being able to breathe well is something to be thankful for because it isn’t easy for everyone. Fresh air can improve your sleep as well as overall well-being.
6. Clean water: Having a clean water source and plenty to go around is a beautiful thing. All too often, we take having clean water for granted. Our bodies need water to function well—and being able to stay outwardly clean doesn’t hurt, either.
7. Good sleep: Sleeping is where we recharge our batteries. After a long day of work and play, our bodies need sleep to rebuild muscle and alleviate mental fatigue. Also, sleeping in on the weekend is okay!
8. Books: I am very grateful for not only the ability to read, but also all the books that inspire me in life and work. Even further, books allow not only for education, but also relaxation. There is something to be said about someone who enjoys being an active participant in their entertainment. Also, you can multiply your happiness when you share your books with your friends.
9. Music: Sometimes people can associate music and songs with nearly every aspect of their lives. You can almost define certain life events with music (what was your high school spirit song, or are there any songs that you remember from elementary school?). Also, music helps inspire and motivate people to exercise. Over the years, music may change, but the effect is still the same.
10. Mountains: This can be taken both literally and metaphorically. Mountains are amazing. Thousands of years old, stoic, and everlasting, mountains can be a destination for relaxation (vacation), exercise (hiking), and relaxation. Thinking outside the box, a “mountain” can represent your own personal goal for the coming year. I am thankful for mountains because they are the ultimate reason for pursuing a healthy lifestyle.

What Inspires You?

What ideas are on your Top Ten list? I’m sure there are many I have failed to list that are as important or possibly more important than the ones I have listed. Take a few moments and jot them on a piece of paper. That’s how I started this blog!

Looking forward to a New Year and new decade is an exciting prospect. NIFS will be looking help you reach your goals, motivate you, and educate you with the most knowledgeable and expert advice available. Happy holidays and have a GREAT 2020.

This blog was written by Thomas Livengood, NIFS Health Fitness Instructor and Personal Trainer. To read more about the other NIFS bloggers, click here.

We’ve all been there, right? You’ve chosen a new habit that you want to form: go to the gym four times a week, choose one day a week to grocery shop and meal prep, maybe start work on that side hustle you’ve been meaning to do for years. You’re all in, gung-ho for about five days, and before you know it, you’ve fallen back into the same routine as before. That bright flame that once was your motivation has faded into the background. Now what?

Just Do Something

Relying too much on willpower or waiting for motivation to strike is one of the biggest pitfalls when it comes to habit formation, or just keeping up with the craziness of each day’s to-do list. Motivation is fleeting. It comes and goes just like the wind. But there is one trick you can use to help breathe some life into your willpower: The Do-Something Principle.

Like the name implies, by taking one small, actionable step, you can help elicit some feelings of accomplishment and inspiration to push you ahead. I loved the way Mark Manson described it: “Action isn’t just the effect of motivation; it’s also the cause of it.” (Read more about Mark here—but be advised that his writing includes expletives.) And it’s him I credit for the Do-Something Principle.

Action Leads to Inspiration, and More

The principle looks a little something like this:

Action -> Inspiration -> Motivation -> New Action

Too many times we think that the order of the operations is inspiration, followed by motivation, which then leads to action. But this rarely happens. And if it does, it’s usually short-lived at best. Sometimes just accomplishing a small task, like saying “I will put my gym shoes on,” can lead to the next step of “Well, I might as well go outside if my shoes are on,” and before you know it you’re out taking a walk and being physically active.

This logic can be applied to other facets of life as well. Say it’s a project at work, like a report you have to write. You know it’s been on your to-do list for a few days, but instead of tackling it you’ve been spending time looking at email or getting sidetracked by other menial tasks. Maybe you’ve even felt a mental roadblock when it comes to that report. This is exactly where you can use the Do-Something Principle. Even just sitting down, opening Microsoft Word on your computer, and throwing a few thoughts down on the page can help spur you on to complete that report.

Anecdotally, when I personally feel like the mountain of tasks in front of me seems a tad overwhelming, saying “Just do something” as a mantra works to keep me grounded. I choose the most important of what’s in front of me and literally just do something to work toward completing that task. I think Brad Stulberg, author and performance coach, described it concisely in saying “Show up. Mood follows action. Just get started. Because it’s really as simple and hard as that.”

Find Motivation Through a First Step

So whatever tasks might lie ahead for you, if you’re having any difficulty getting started or feel a bit of resistance, give the Do-Something Principle a try. Sometimes it’s literally just a matter of taking that first step, even if you aren’t 100% sure of what that step even is. Regardless, Nike wasn’t too far off when they said, “Just Do It.”

This blog was written by Lauren Zakrajsek, NIFS Health Fitness Instructor, Personal Trainer, and Internship Coordinator. To learn more about the NIFS bloggers, click here.

A few summers back,  I spent 5 fantastic days in Maui with my wife and her family, and as you can probably imagine, I had the best time of my life there! I have been so lucky to be included on my wife’s family vacations and have had the opportunity to visit some amazing places, each one better than the last. For that, I am extremely thankful!

Having the opportunity to travel is a pretty new concept to me, and the memories that are made and the realignment after some time off are priceless. I am beginning to believe that taking time to travel and explore new places ranks pretty high on the wellness scale, and I would urge anyone to make it happen. Maybe it’s not Maui, but do make it a goal to travel to a new place often and experience what the world has to offer.

Maui provided so many new experiences for me, some very surprising and unexpected and some life-changing. For example, wild chickens run around all over the place and are not that afraid of the human folk. SPAM isn’t discontinued; it thrives in the islands (still scratching my head on that one). And oh, jet lag is truly a thing; I never put much stock in the jet lag phenomenon, but it’s legit.

What I will take with me forever after this amazing, probably once-in-a-lifetime trip, are some of the life habits of the true islanders. Now of course it is still America, and there are those who take the island for granted and act as many do here in the mainland. But those who are native to the island or who are truly captured by the immense spirit of its origins and traditions, these are 5 habits they practice. I think anyone can benefit from them, no matter where they are in the world.

Aloha the One You’re With

Easily the most recognizable Hawaiian term, aloha has a lot more meaning than simply “hi” and “bye.” Hawaii is not the Hi and Bye state! Aloha means love and affection, as well as hello and goodbye. I think it’s a very good thing that when you see someone you let them know you care about them, and when they must go, you remind them that you love them. Make it a point to tell the ones who mean the most that you love them the most. And while you’re at it, share a little love with a stranger by simply holding the door for them, or buying that cup of coffee for the next person in line. Saying Mahalo, or thank you, for everything to everybody can go a long way toward making someone’s day. Bottom line: share the love!

Pau Hana: Make Time for Recovery

Work is done (pau hana); it is time to chill! Hawaiians work hard so they can relax even harder, and how can you not find relaxation in a place like that? But we usually don’t find time to relax and recover; instead we find more things to do, work out even harder, and not get a good night’s sleep of 7–8 hours a night. Taking time off, in this case from exercise, should be viewed as part of your training. When you find times throughout your day to relax, even for a few minutes, it can add productivity to your work day and help keep you fresh for family time when you get home as well as help lower stress levels. Now we may not be able to stretch out on the beach for a nice long nap every day, but we can find ways to chill out and retool that work for us.

Ono Grinds: Good Nutrition That’s Delicious

Good food (ono grinds) can be found all over Maui and includes items you may not find anywhere else. Have you ever had eggfruit? Neither had I until I visited Maui, and it is delicious. You can find fresh local fruits and vegetables as well as lean meats that are native to Hawaii all over the place there. Hawaiians take their food very seriously, I found. And I can argue that you can find the same quality of foods near you. You may have to skip out on the eggfruit for now, but there are plenty of markets, even year round, that can supply you with fresh fruits and vegetables. I don’t think I need to reiterate the importance of choosing foods that are close to their source; we’ve covered that many times in the past. Find a market and go shop there! While you’re there, pick up something you’ve never tried before and go for it. You never know; you might find your new favorite food. Hawaiians take pride in their food and how they enjoy it, as should we.

Hoike ia & Nani: Adventure and Beauty

Search for hoike ia (adventure) and find nani (beauty) whenever you can! Some of my fondest memories of my trip were long, relaxing walks along the ocean to soak up and be mesmerized by the beauty that surrounded me. Breathtaking views of sunrises and sunsets, whales breaching, and turtles swimming were served up in abundance. It was impossible not to become entranced with it all and find yourself searching your soul and losing yourself in the moment. So many opportunities for adventure and being surrounded by nature were available to me daily, and I took advantage of every minute. From snorkeling and whale watching, to watching the sunrise at the top of the largest volcano on the island and then riding a bike down the side of it, there were so many adventures and so much beauty to be had.

You may not have a volcano right outside your back door, but there is beauty and adventure to be had anywhere, you just have to take time to act on it and then appreciate it. This beauty and adventure will not be found in the television or on Facebook, you have to get out there and seize it.

Ohana and Moolelo: Family and Tradition

I learned the Hawaiian translation for family (ohana) early in the trip and found that ohana means a great deal to the people who live there. I couldn’t help but feel the overpowering sense of family and moolelo (tradition) with the people who live on the island. I truly felt as if I was part of the large Hawaiian ohana by the way I was treated by most. We attended a luau during our time there and the tradition that was on display was captivating. We were treated as if we had lived there for years, and they truly felt that we were a part of the family, even if it was just for that night. That’s a feeling that is pretty rare in most places, but it doesn’t have to be. I was pretty jealous that they make such a huge deal about their heritage, traditions, and ohana that we here in the mainland just don’t do.

If you take anything from this post, please make your ohana the most important thing in your life. Don’t let a day go by without telling those people that make up your ohana how much they mean to you. These most important people in your life may not always be here; cherish and celebrate them with your own ohana mau moolelo (family traditions) as much as you can.

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My trip to Maui has left me with long-lasting changes to the way I view the world and treat each day. And although I am describing takeaways from the islands, you can find inspiration and meaning anywhere. It will all be determined by the way your eyes perceive what you are looking at. Find the beauty, search for some adventure with your ohana, take time to relax and recover while enjoying some ono grinds, and spread the love!

Mahalo and Aloha!

This blog was written by Tony Maloney, ACSM Certified Exercise Physiologist and Fitness Center Manager. To find out more about the NIFS bloggers, click here.

To begin, let us visualize a scenario: the sound of weights moving; bodies exercising yet moving in unconventional patterns; and grunts and groans from fitness enthusiasts, gurus, and wannabes alike. The setting is unlike any you have experienced, because there are hundreds of people, exactly like you, motivated to not only learn about fitness and new exercises, but also driven to get better (both physically and mentally) from a personal standpoint.

If you guessed that you were at a Fitness Summit, you are correct. Every year thousands of trainers descend into various summits around the world, all looking for professional development, motivation, and enlightenment.

Where Your Trainer Finds Inspiration and Education

Fast-forward a few weeks or months. Your trainer asks you to do the impossible: a single-leg pistol squat on a BOSU ball with an overhead dumbbell press. “Whoa, did you just say what I think you said?” or “Do you trainers just sit around and dream up these crazy exercises as a way of torturing us?” you may think to yourself. The answer to that question is “Well, yes, we do.”

From a professional standpoint, learning about new exercises is very important in making sure you are getting the best, most up-to-date information available for not only safety, but also results. When you aren’t here at the gym working out with us, we like to “sit around” and discuss new exercises, variations of exercises, new equipment, what works and what doesn’t work, and programming. Then once or twice per year, we drive to another city to meet with hundreds and thousands of other trainers who all bring their individual ideas. We actually learn a lot every time we go to a summit. We bring it back to NIFS and share it with you and our coworkers.

Other Sources of Workout Ideas

Other than summits, we read fitness journals and blogs, watch web videos, and meet daily to discuss what we have found. Watching other trainers train and other members try their own exercises from a distance gives us inspiration to try something new, or at least register it into our fitness library. But be warned: just because Suzy can do one-armed handstand pushups doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a good idea for you to do it as well. If you see something and want to try it, ask a NIFS staff member whether it is right for you. There’s a good chance it is good for you, but if not, there are possibly several alternatives.

For an updated fitness plan or to try something new altogether, see a NIFS HFS or personal trainer to discuss your needs. We will provide the direction and motivation, and you provide the SWEAT!

As always, muscleheads evolve and rejoice.

This blog was written by Thomas Livengood. To find out more about the NIFS bloggers, click here.