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From: Robert LaPointe Subject: Set Yourself Up for Success Date: 7/19/2004 10:16 AM Hi If you begin your day by succeeding at doing something positive you've established some psychological momentum to help you along for the rest of the day. Some people set up elaborate morning workouts that begin before dawn and may take as long as 45 minutes to an hour to complete. If you're super disciplined that approach may work for you, but even the most dedicated athletes can oversleep, get rained out, or simply not want to roll out of bed. When that happens, we end up starting our day with guilt. That's not a good start. One way around this is to set a minimum morning goal that you know you're going to accomplish no matter what. I do 3 deep breaths in front of the kitchen screen door every morning. Doesn't matter what the weather is. Freezing? I do them. Stinking-Potomac-Basin-humid? I do them. Of course this has physical benefits, but vastly more important is what the HABIT of doing something (again, it doesn't have to be big, or hard, or impressive - it just has to be consistent) does for your sense of who you are and how reliable you consider yourself to be. You can do this with any number of exercises. How about doing one push up first thing in the morning? That may not sound like much . . . unless you're one of those folks who haven't done push ups in years. For you one push up is a realistic starting point. And you know what? By the end of the week, one push up won't satisfy you. It will seem like a tease. Once you can do ten or fifteen, I'd recommend sticking with that. Of course you can do more for a morning workout, and if you want to add something to the ten or fifteen push ups, by all means do so. As a matter of fact, if you're looking for a complete routine that builds stamina, strength and flexibility - all while developing skill - you could get on the Kung Fu Conditioning program at www.mindbodybreakthroughs.com. If you want something more geared to balance, tone, and relaxation, you could do the Tai Chi Toning program also at www.mindbodybreakthroughs.com. The important point here is that you absolutely, without fail do the ten easy push ups, because those are your minimum goal that you can easily accomplish, no matter what. And by accomplishing your goal, you've not just begun your day by stimulating your body, you've begun your day be setting yourself up for success. Train like you mean it.
Rob LaPointe |
