About Me

I have been a teacher of fitness and health for thirty years. In 1989 I was certified for personal training with the National Acadamy of Sports Medicine. I had a gym in Santa Barbara for eight years. Co-owned and created a spinning bike company which manufactured bikes for five years. Also I have worked with nutrition companies for twenty years. Along with many wonderful non famous people I have trained many celebrities, and members of the Royal Family. My own athletic past consists of long distance running, long distance cycling, cross country skiing, down hill skiing, rollerblading, hiking, sand running, track work, and weight training. I have authored two fitness columns in local papers, and have been writing this blog since January 2010.

Friday, April 16, 2010

Getting Ready for Summer?


I have seen a few ads recently promoting bathing suits for our upcoming summer. Usually they say something about getting ready for summer, meaning, are you ready to put a bathing suit on in public.

I have never understood that philosophy. Why is it that summer and bathing suit weather is the only time we should be in shape? What that is saying is, its all about vanity, and not about health. I don't know why that shocks me, given the superficial society that we live in.

Media promotes an unrealistic view of women and their bodies. With air brushing and computer enhanced photos they create the flawless illusion that we see. Many women feel inadequate about their own body because of the media's constant attention to retouched photos of celebrity bodies.

This past month there have been a couple of female celebrity's, Jessica Simpson and Brittney Spears, who did photo shoots without any makeup or retouching. How refreshing and wonderful of them to make this change. We need more of these types of photo's to get back to reality.

Then there are the Heidi Montags of the world, who in my opinion need a good therapist. I mean really! Talk about being insecure and all about vanity....this girl is the epitome of what is wrong in our culture. She is only about how she looks, which to me looks like a fake, plastic, doll. I hope she gets help soon, so she doesn't self destruct any more than she already has.


I think we should adopt a new philosophy of getting ready for life! Being fit in a bathing suit is fine, but does that mean if you are in winter clothes it is O.K. to be fat and out of shape? Does that mean that we stop exercising in the months that we are not showing lots of skin? It all comes down to our intense focus on how we look, not how we feel, and certainly not anything about our health.

Have you noticed that when you are fit and doing the right things for your body, that you "Feel" better? Have you noticed that when you exercise and eat right, you look better?

Looking good is a side effect of eating healthy and exercising. Our focus should be on how we feel and our health, not just about how we look. Looking good happens when you take care of yourself with good nutrition, regular exercise, and healthy thinking.



Feeling good is where we need to put our attention. It is not just the summer months that you want to feel good. Feeling good is where its at. That should be your motivator, not just how your body looks in a bikini.

We can all appreciate a beautiful body, but do we need to have that as our priority in life? If you focus on how you feel, take care of your body with exercise, your mind with positive thinking, and your soul with meditation and following your passions, you will look great without having to even think about it at all. What a relief that would be!

So get ready for life, and focus on feeling good. Your body will be beautiful for it!

Till Monday,
Queenie

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