Tag: self-confidence

My favorite form of physical exercise.

I would say that my favorite form of physical exercise is weightlifting. I like lifting weights, because it increases muscle size and tone, but it does something else. From my experience, when the amount of muscle increases on your body it sort of makes you feel healthier. I think it maybe changes your metabolism or balances your hormones or something. Seeing your muscles get bigger probably also boosts your self-esteem. The only downside are those days you really push yourself and can barely move the next three days. This doesn’t happen as often once you make it a habit though, or maybe you just get used to a certain level of pain. Overall, I still think it’s one of the best physical exercises you can do.

I used to lift weights more often, but I’ve kind of gotten lazy since I moved downtown. My building does have a nice gym as one of its amenities, and it doesn’t require a membership, so there’s really no excuse to not walk down there. They are all machines though, because that’s probably the safest, especially if you don’t have a spotter. I’m not against machines, but I think I do prefer free weights. Back when I owned my own home, I had a good weight bench and decent set of free weights in my garage. I used them quite often. To be perfectly honest, it might also be that I don’t care to work out around strangers. Having a private home gym was definitely a huge benefit for me.

A few years back, I sort of went through a health improvement phase where I was really into weightlifting. I lifted like three or four days a week. I would say the phase became habitual enough that it lasted for over a year. I was also following a workout plan laid out in a health book I had read. It’s really amazing how a book can change your life by giving you the right motivation. I wasn’t really that overweight, but I did lose a significant number of pounds during the process. I would honestly say that period of time left a very pronounced effect on my health, and I am still reaping the benefits years later.

The book and plan I followed was called Bigger Leaner Stronger by Michael Matthews. This book was geared toward men, but he also has a book specifically for women called Thinner Leaner Stronger. I really do believe it changed my life. I would be a lot less lean right now, and probably have a few more health issues if I had not found this book. I’m also considerably more muscular these days, which is kind of nice. If you need to turn your health around, I highly suggest getting a book with a plan and trying to stick to it for a year. You will be glad you did. Also, get a gym partner. It really helps to keep the motivation going.

Bigger Leaner Stronger: The Simple Science of Building the Ultimate Male Body

How to transform your body while eating the foods you like and doing a few challenging (but not grueling) strength training workouts per week. Oh, and cardio exercise? Completely optional.

Here are just a few of the things you’ll discover inside this workout book for men:

  • The 10 biggest fitness myths and mistakes that keep guys weak, fat, and confused. For example, “calories are all that matters,” “carbs and sugars make you fat,” and “some guys don’t have the genetics to get big.”
  • The primary driver of muscle growth that forces your muscles to get bigger and stronger. And no, it has nothing to do with “muscle confusion,” “functional training,” or any other pseudoscientific fitness nonsense.
  • How to create meal plans for building muscle and losing fat with foods you love so you never feel starved, deprived, or like you’re “on a diet” (and especially a “bodybuilding diet”).
  • 12 months of paint-by-numbers resistance training workouts for building a full chest, wide back, powerful legs, and bulging arms . . . in only 3-to-5 hours of weight training per week.
  • A no-BS guide to fitness supplements that’ll save you hundreds if not thousands of dollars on useless (and sometimes even dangerous) pills, powders, and potions

What’s your favorite form of physical exercise? Do you spend much time in the gym? Do you like free weights or machines? What’s your best advice on getting and staying healthy? What’s a book that really changed your life in some way? Tell us all about it! Thanks for reading, and don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe!

People I think are successful.

When I think of successful, who comes to mind? I guess I would need to sort of define success before I could determine who is successful. Let me think of some things that I think of when I think of the word success first. Here are a few things that come to mind.

  • A successful person has to believe in themselves. To be successful, you need to believe that you can achieve the goal. This requires you to have or develop a level of self confidence in your own abilities.
  • A successful person is able to achieve the desired result. People aim for different objectives, but a successful person has to have the ability and will power to push though and achieve their goal.
  • A successful person is someone who has put in the work. Winning the lottery doesn’t make you a success. It might help spur you toward it, but to be successful, you have to accomplish something on your own.
  • A successful person is someone who didn’t lie, steal, or bully his way to success. There is some degree of honor necessary. You can’t be truly successful if you have sold your soul to get there.
  • A successful person has to have perseverance and patience. Some goals take a long time and you may fail many times and have to put yourself back on track. A successful person has to get back up and keep trying.
  • A successful person has to have the nerve to take risks. There’s a luck factor involved in success. Fortunes were made merely by being in the right place, at the right time, and being prepared and willing to take on the job. Fortune favors the bold.

Based on this definition, I suspect there is no one who is perfectly successful. That being said, I do think a few famous people have achieved enough to be considered a success. I might not agree with what they accomplished, but I do admit they were successful at their objectives. Here are a few people I think might be considered relatively successful.

  • Steve Jobs. He was very successful at starting and leading Apple to the height of it’s position in our society.
  • Elon Musk. He managed to start and lead several successful companies, and is seen as a visionary by some of his fans.
  • Bill Gates. I don’t always agree with him, but I believe he was very successful at getting Microsoft to it’s prominent role in our society.
  • Steven King. He’s on my mind because I’m reading his book On Writing. I wouldn’t say he is my favorite author, but I believe he has been very successful.