New Website!

After 6 successful months in my new office, I am pleased to announce that I have an official home on the web.

For information about services, how to schedule an appt., and about me, feel free to check out:

www.langelierspc.org

I plan on updating and adding things often, so check back often!

Guest Post: Balancing Your Fitness Goals

The following post is from Michelle Pino of New York. She is based at a spa called Skana and is a lifestyle and wellness enthusiast. May is National Physical Fitness and Sports Month (no wonder I like May so much!) and May 12 starts National Women's Health Week. Effective goal setting is a common session and workshop topic of mine, and it is always helpful to hear another's input on the subject. This is truly a post for everyone today.

Michelle will cover some basic goal-setting principles for both athlete s and non athletes alike and discuss the use of a modified" Vision Board"-a widely used, fun, and effective way to visualize and plan a roadmap to success. 

The month of May is a great time to get motivated.  Most people are unaware that May is the host to National Physical Fitness & Sports Month, as well as National Women’s Health Week, which kicks off on Mother’s Day.  The warm weather is finally here to stay, so get outside and get moving!

Balance is an important part of being successful at any health-related endeavor, whether the goal is improving health or losing weight. However, how can this balance be created in the bigger picture? People already know that dieting isn't sustainable. Diets might produce short-term weight loss, but they only force the body into starvation mode in the long run, resulting in more fat gain. This means that the conventionally excessive diet and exercise plan just doesn't work well. It spurs some people to waste untold hours at the gym without getting the results they expect. Meanwhile, others never get started because the prospect of fitness seems too intimidating. In truth, exercise has to be optimized, and it shouldn't be excessive. Below is a look at how you can develop a balanced exercise plan.

Organizing Your Fitness Goals

Many people envision an overwhelming pile of impossible goals and checklists when they imagine balancing an exercise plan. Inspiration is what's needed to overcome this feeling, and an inspiration board is an ideal way to develop a plan and keep track of goals and achievements. Whether simple or detailed, an inspiration board can bring ideas, thoughts and dreams out into the open. Ultimately, this results in better-organized thoughts and a focus on the target.

How to Make an Inspiration Board

This process shouldn't be boring. First, look for words, items and pictures that make you want to improve your health. You can look online, in magazines and at recipes for a start. Carefully study the images you find, then figure out how they're connected. Recognize their similarities and relate them to the fitness goals you've brainstormed.

Choosing Your Focus

Now you're ready to make an anchor point for your journey. An example of this could be a picture of a friend that suffered from cancer and made you want to improve your health. This picture will become a motivator that helps keep you on track toward a healthier life when you're feeling less motivated. Arrange the main items and images on your board so that they surround your anchor point. To create a feeling of connection throughout the board, take away items that don't fit. Finally, it's time to inspect your board for anything that doesn't match your goals, whether they're general or specific.

Put this board in a spot where you'll see it every day. This way, your creation will always remind you of why you're getting fit, driving you and giving you a sense of responsibility in the process. As you work toward your goals, you can continue to put new items, pictures and words on your inspiration board. For example, you can post your weight loss and measurements there. However, there are no limits to what you can use there, so just make sure you always enjoy using this board.

Photo Credits:

Smoothie recipe from Bar10der

Purple athletic tank from athleta: Athleta

New York golf course from turning stone resort: Atunyote

Running on road from Flickr: Running 

Pink golf ball from Flickr: Golf ball

Michelle can be reached at pinomichm@gmail.com.

Life Lessons Wrapped in Sport

Today I was inspired to revise and re-post perhaps one of the more cathartic (at least in my little bubble of a world) blogs I've ever written. Why rehash something I've already done, you ask? To be honest, I was partially inspired by a good friend of mine at breakfast today, Richard T., that some ideas are worth repeating. Maybe I just need to revisit for myself as I get ready to start some new projects and re-visit some I put on the shelf are important to me.

In this ongoing process that is life, below are some reflections that I posted toward the end of 2012. I'm encouraged that I feel the same way today reading them as I did writing them then.. Take them as you will and enjoy:

Never, ever count yourself out. Stay in the game regardless of how bad things seem at the time. Difficult times are here to make us stronger, not break us down should we choose to see it that way. We are stronger than we think we are.

Try something new. Do something for the first time. Surprise yourself. 

Be solution focused vs. focusing on the problem. 

When in doubt, reach out.

Related, get uncomfortable from time to time. Become familiarly comfortable with getting out of your comfort zone. Every seasoned veteran in sport or other profession once didn't know what the heck they were doing. 

Be your own cheerleader. Accept yourself for who you are and work to be the best at being who you can be. Sure, you'll have bad days here and there, but in the grand scheme it doesn't matter. 

If you believe in yourself long enough, it becomes second nature. When you don't feel confident, remind yourself what got you to where you are in the first place. 

An emphasis on quality is impeccable. An emphasis on quantity is often overrated. Focus on what you're doing in the immediate. Things get done better and faster that way.

Deliberately stolen from Dr. Rob Bell: "Find small ways to improve on what you're already doing, but make it better".

When in doubt, reach out (yes I said that twice). Sure, some people in this world may just plain suck, but good people exist. Surround yourself with supportive people and those who make you feel good. 

This one I've been working hard on...An athlete is who I am-being an athlete it has garnered much so far, but it doesnot define me as a person. The whole is different than the sum of its parts. 

So if you're still reading by now, I'll leave you with that little slice of gibberish disguised as insight-or the other way around.  Remember life is a process. What maxims do you live by? 

Stay the course.