JeDi GyM!!!

Luke, I am your trainer.

Big shout out to David C-H for posting this on facebook and bringing it to my attention. :o) Check it:


Ok, so I might have thought this was a real video until Vader shish kabobed that dude. Gullible much? Guilty as charged. But I actually think this hilarious joke vid is onto something. Why NOT have a Jedi Gym????? Or at least themed work out classes. Having a costume that doesn't affect range of motion might be an issue (teacheerrrr, my gold bikini's chafing meee). And you'd have to work up more of a sweat than the guys in the vid were doing. But it would make exercise fun! And seems to allow more opportunity to interact with fellow gym goers!

A brief google search for non joke establishments found that people are waaay ahead of me. LucasArts held a Force-inspired gym session to promote the European release of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II. And my friend, Seth, pointed me to New York Jedi. A place that holds themed exercise classes on a regular basis!

Whaddyathink? Would you go? Can themed gyms have a successful and viable following? What theme would you like to see (LOTR anyone)?
Comment below. :)

Or should I say, "weigh in" below, hah, kneeslapper.

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Defy the Odds

Aimee Mullins has mastered many roles: Georgetown Graduate, Intelligence Analyst for the Pentagon, Actress, Champion Athlete, Model ..... and Double Amputee. "Born without fibulae in both legs, Aimee's medical prognosis was bleak; she would never walk and indeed would spend the rest of her life using a wheelchair," explains her official website. Fast forward through the years and we find that not only is she standing on her own, but she is one hard woman to keep up with!! A truly "influential voice in today's culture," she's an inspiring example of how powerful the human will can be in determining the outcome of life - against all odds. Watch her talk on the opportunity of adversity. She leaves me speechless. So I'll just reiterate her own words: "Everyone has something rare and powerful to offer our society. And the human ability to adapt is our greatest asset." "Adversity isn't an obstacle that we need to get around in order to resume living our life. It's part of our life." "Conflict is the genesis of creation, of transformation." There's a "difference between the medical condition and what someone might do with it." "The only true disability is a crushed spirit." WOW! Game. Set. Match.

Here's a clip of her on the Colbert Show

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Food Matters Documentary

These cancer patients bridged the before/after gap by simply eating right. No chemotherapy, no radiation, no surgery, no drugs. Just a strict plant-based, raw, fresh food diet with regular consumption of organic juices. It's called Gerson Therapy, and it's entirely unacknowledged by the medical community. “Less than 6% of graduating physicians in the USA receive any formal training in nutrition.”

What's more, profit-driven pharmaceutical companies are inherently bias in the way they run drug trials and the regulatory approval process. "Good health makes a lot of sense, but it doesn't make a lot of dollars."

The FoodMatters documentary (available on netflix instant watch) chronicles our dependence on drug-based remedies and offers an alternative path. Modern medicine deals with chronic problems without addressing why patients get the disease. They treat symptoms while ignoring root causes.

And clearly, it's not working. Incidence of Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and Cardiovascular disease; all rising exponentially. We need a fresh paradigm that goes back to basics. The message promoted in FoodMatters breaks down into four steps.

1) Switch to organic - Commercially available produce grows in soil leached of all nutrients; used and reused. When soil is mineral deficient, so are the plants; weakened and defenseless against bugs and disease. Enter chemical companies with their cornucopia of toxins: pesticides, fungicides, growth stimulants, etc. Then food takes at least a week to travel 2000 miles to store aisles. By the time it's in your basket, it retains 40% of its viable nutrients. Commercial vegetarian food is deficient and toxic. And if we eat it, we can't help but be deficient and toxic in turn.

2) Switch to raw - Cooking foods diminishes their nutrient and enzyme content. Paul Kouchakoff, MD studied "digestive leukocytosis, an increase in the number of white blood cells after eating foods heated to a certain temperature." Basically, the body doesn't recognize cooked food and actually has an adverse immune reaction to it, as if being invaded by a foreign organism. However, Iiiiiii''''mmmmm not sure I agree with documentary on this. Check zis rebuttal.

3) Take vitamins - Orthomolecular medicine seeks to prevent, arrest, and reverse chronic disease using nutrients. Whether attained via supplements, or derived from diet, this brand of megavitamin therapy advocates nutrients in high doses well beyond the recommended daily intake. Conventional medicine denounces it as hazardous. But given the success it's had in treating cancer and viral diseases, perhaps it deserves another look.

4) Take responsibility - People need education, not medication. And once made aware, they need to walk the walk. Take vitamins, eat right, exercise. Nutrition is the best primary prevention strategy available to us. Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, said "Let food be thy medicine" cuz at the end of the day, "you are what you eat."

I recommend the documentary. Here's the trailer.

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Working out but not seeing results? Here's why (pt 2)

Find part 1 here.

Here are helpful steps to succeed with your work out.

6) Believe in yourself.
Do you truly believe your fitness endeavors will pay off? Or is there a voice in the back of your head saying, "Here we go again, how long till I void this workout with cheesecake?" Limiting beliefs sabotage success. If you doubt yourself, ask why. Have you tried multiple times to no avail? Do you think you're unworthy or incapable? Destined to be overweight or scrawny? Once you've honed in on your limiting belief, SQUASH IT! Replace negative thinking with positive affirmations. Visualize success. Match your actions to your beliefs. If you want to be healthy, act healthy until you are. Focus on what you want, not on what you fear. And dare to believe.

7) Rally social support.
Even good intentioned friends and family can dampen your faith in yourself. Maybe you are always the butt of scrawny toothpick jokes. Or teased for your eating. If close relations are holding you back, be honest and ask for their help. Sit them down and explain what you're trying to accomplish. Ask that they say only supportive comments or say nothing. Ask that they not eat that tub of KFC chicken wings around you. Or at least suggest places to hang out that have both fried and healthy options on the menu, so everyone's happy.

8) Have a plan.
Set SMART goals (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely). Get a structured fitness plan - whether it's advice from a friend who's had success, or your own research online. Similarly set guidelines with your nutrition. It's hard to stay on the wagon if you don't know what the wagon looks like. Plan ahead. If there won't be healthy options at a conference, pack a lunch. If you get hungry at work, pack healthy snacks instead of resorting to vending machines.

9) Follow through and have patience.
Outlining the steps to success is easy. Actually walking the path is hard (but worth it).
"90-95% of people withdraw to the comfort zone when what they try doesn't work. Only that small percentage will continually improve themselves; continually push themselves out into the zone of discomfort, and these are always the highest performers in every field." -Brian Tracy, best-selling author
If you don't see gains at first, persist. You didn't gain weight overnight, and you won't lose it overnight. A trainer once broke down the timeline for rededicating yourself to fitness: After the first month, you'll feel better. After the second month, you'll notice visible changes in your body. After the third month, others will notice the changes. Be consistent and patient. Takes time.

10) Reward yourself.
Chart your progress. It'll be handy down the road. Sometimes we forget how far we've come. Appreciate victories big and small. Find rewards (ideally that don't have to do with food). Treat yourself to a spa day. Buy season dvds of your favorite show.

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