I will endeavor to avoid the usual platitudes, but you must admit, the promise of a fresh start that a new year implies is alluring. Who among us has not desired a do-over or clean slate sometime in their life?

Therefore, every January we create this imaginary new life, one that begins on the 1^st. Well, since many continue to celebrate on New Year’s Day which may include some of our old, bad habits, the new life begins on the 2^nd. Unless of course the 2^nd is any other day of the week than Monday because who can start something new in the middle of the week or on the weekend? Everyone knows Monday is the starting line. So, the new life REALLY begins on the first Monday in January after the 1^st day of the month. This is widely known and accepted in any civilized society. 

What is the origin of this fascination with new beginnings?

When I see babies, I see a new life just starting; when all things are new. The first chapter of their story has not been written but it has begun. Babies look and listen to everything with wonder and fascination. Have you ever watched a baby look at and move their own hand with complete amazement as they try to comprehend this marvelous discovery?

Think about it. All things new. Everything interesting and exciting. That is the allure of new beginnings.

At some point in our life we all want to be a new or different person.  We come face to face with our faults and short comings; how we hurt or even continue to hurt others around us. Others find themselves in a cycle of additions or a series of bad relationships. Some have been hurt deeply by others. Life has become dull or meaningless. The list goes on and on.

If only we could go back and make a past experience new again.  

God understands. He knows you. He knows your heart. He knows your hurts, doubts and disappointments. In His Word, God said “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb.” He knew you before you were born and just like any good parent, He desires a personal relationship with His children, which includes you. Likewise, in the heart of every person is a desire to know God. Though that desire may get buried under the weight of our human experiences, it is there.

Because He loves us, the One who knew you from the beginning of your story does want to make all things new in your life.

This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! (2 Corinthians 5:17)

A new life has begun-a new spiritual baby!

After I invited Jesus to be my Lord, He immediately began to make this true in my life. I began to see this life from an eternal perspective as my relationship with Him continued to grow. All things truly began to be new again. It is an amazing thought that newness of life started from His death on the cross!

2019 can be truly new through the One who knew you from the beginning.

Making a New Year’s Resolution is a great way to make a positive change in your life. But unfortunately, according to U.S. News, approximately 80% of resolutions fail by February. How can you make a lasting change? To be successful at something you would like to achieve, it is important to make sure your resolutions are SMART.

SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time Bound.  

• Specific For example, let's say you want to get healthier. Is that specific? Not really.  What does being healthier mean to you?  Be more specific. Do you want to lower your blood pressure? Get off Diabetes medication? Lose 20 pounds?  A specific goal has a much greater chance of being accomplished than a general goal.  
• Measurable Now that you have made the goal more specific, it should be easier to measure.  Decide to track the goal per week or per month and decide the measures you will use to track. For example, if I want to lose 20 pounds, I will weigh myself once a week with a goal of losing 2 pounds per week. Keeping track of progress gives incentives to keep going.  
• Attainable If you don't have the time, money or talent to reach a certain goal you'll fail and be miserable. In some cases of health or fitness resolutions, you may need to consult with your doctor to ensure it is a safe and/or realistic resolution. I heard of someone who resolved to read 75 books in a year.  She didn't think about how much time that would actually take and with a full time job, a husband and child, that goal really wasn't realistic for her.  However, that doesn't mean that you can't try for something that might sound impossible and make it happen by planning smartly and going for it!  
• Relevant  Is the resolution something that is important to you?  Why do you want to make this change? Goals are more likely to be reached if they are significant to you.  
• Time Bound  Goals need to have a time limit or date to be reached to help keep you motivated and to establish a sense of urgency to prevent life from getting in the way. Also, if you have a big goal, like losing weight, making small specific goals toward that big objective will be motivating and keep you going. When my resolution was to run a half marathon, the mini marathon training schedule provided built in smaller goals along the way. In the months leading to the mini, having a 5k and 10k set up on specific dates (that I registered and paid for which really helped with accountability!) kept me on track toward the bigger goal of the half marathon and gave me the satisfaction of meeting those achievements as well. Having a deadline or set date makes it more likely it will happen. 

Instead of vague resolutions, SMART goal setting creates a set path towards your objective.  Every goal or resolution can be made SMART and then will be closer to reality.

Need help with your health and fitness resolution? Schedule a Fitness Assessment with a LivRite trainer today!

If you are looking to lose some weight you might be wondering what is the fastest and best way to get rid of fat. At the very basic level, to lose weight you need to create a calorie deficit. That is, to burn more calories than you are taking in. Of course, there are many things that can complicate that simple (but not easy to do) equation. Those complications aside, and not taking your nutrition into account, what is the best way to exercise to burn more calories and lose weight? Cardio or Weight Training?

Cardio, like running, the elliptical, brisk walking, a Zumba class or spinning, is great for your heart and does burn more calories per minute than resistance training while you are completing the exercise. The amount of calories expended depends on the type, intensity and duration of the exercise. Keeping your heart rate elevated at a consistent level is called steady state cardio (for example, walking at the same brisk pace for 30 minutes). Varying the intensity of your cardio (for example, sprinting for 1 minute then jogging for 2 minutes) in high intensity intervals (HIT) burns more calories than steady state cardio and does create more calorie burn for up to 24 hours after you exercise due to your body recovering from the high intensity intervals.

Resistance training with weights is important for building and maintaining muscle and bone mass. The more muscle you have, the higher your metabolic rate overall. That means you will burn more calories all the time with more muscle! Also, you will continue to burn calories after a strength training session. With steady state cardio, your calorie burn ends with the exercise. This afterburn created by weight training is due to your body repairing the microscopic muscle tears that happen when you challenge your muscles with weights. These tears will repair and that is how your muscles get stronger.

Which is better for weight loss? It’s a close call, but weights edge out cardio for weight loss when you look at the metabolic effects that occur after weight training. According to a study in the Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport (2017; doi:10.1016/j.sams.2018.02.010), even when a cardio and weight training session burnt the same amount of calories, the group who worked out with the weights had more metabolic effects that could influence long term training results.

For the best results, do both! Both weight training and cardio exercise are important for your overall health. Either combine your cardio and strength training in intervals or complete your strength training then get your cardio in for optimal calorie burn. Choosing the type of these workouts depends on your fitness level and which you like doing. The exercise that will burn the most calories is the one that you will do on a consistent basis!

Have questions about how to plan your workouts for optimal weight loss? Contact a LivRite trainer today!

Looking for great weight training workouts? Take a look at our exercises library for instructional videos. 

Every year I watch at least one version of Charles Dicken’s A Christmas Carol. By far my favorite stars Alastair Sim as Scrooge. He is both ideally mean and believable. I attempted to watch the version with George C. Scott as Scrooge but could never get past his role as Patton. At any moment I fully expected Scrooge to roll down the streets of London in a tank on his way to take out Bob Cratchit’s house.

This year I did something I have never done: read the book! Though I did complete it, after a few pages I was reminded that I do not speak “Charles Dickens” very well.  Often I would read an entire paragraph only to realize I had no idea what it meant. The power of “context” and familiarity with the story pulled me through.

I want to share a passage from the book and if you have never read it or at least watched the movie (Scrooged with Bill Murray does not count…not even close.), then I may lose you for moment but hold on, the principle is awesome.

To briefly set this up, Scrooge is being escorted by the Spirit of Christmas Past and now taking watch over the company Christmas party thrown by his boss, Mr. Fezziwig when Scrooge was young in his career. While watching the replay of the party, Scrooge took leave of his senses and forgot he was mean and nasty and enjoyed the party.

Charles Dickens describe Scrooge’s state as “His heart and soul were in the scene, and with his former self. He corroborated everything, remembered everything, enjoyed everything and underwent the strangest agitation.”

At that moment, the Ghost commented “A small matter to make these silly folks so full of gratitude.” Scrooge, again forgetting his ornery-self, disagreed with the Ghost. Here is what Scrooge said in Fezziwig’s defense:

“It isn’t that” said Scrooge, heated by the remark, and speaking unconsciously like his former, not his latter self. “It isn’t that, Spirit. He has the power to render us happy or unhappy; to make our service light or burdensome; a pleasure or a toil. Say that this power lies in words and looks; in things so slight and insignificant that it is impossible to add and count ‘em up; what then? The happiness he gives is quite as great as if it cost a fortune.”

I love that exchange. In a moment of clarity, Scrooge realized the impact of the powerful positive influence Mr. Fezziwig had into the lives of his employees. Fezziwig VALUED others. It was no small thing what Fezziwig did for those he led. Mr. Scrooge basically said it was priceless.

In many ways can’t the same be said of you and me?

In Paul’s letter to the church in Philippi he wrote: 

“Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse.” (Phil. 4:8-9, MSG)

Daily we have the opportunity to render people happy or unhappy; to lighten their load; to help make their life a pleasure not a toil.  Do we not have the power to see the best in people; to perceive their potential regardless of their behavior? Do we remind them and our hearts that God loves them as much as He loves us; that He has a plan for them, just as He has for us?   

I Corinthians 15:57, NIV “But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”    

Jesus was an indescribable gift willing to die for our sins.  Rising again on the third day willing and able to live in our hearts today.

Merry Christmas to all and “God bless us every one!” 

Seated Leg Curl Machine

Step 1: Adjust the machine lever to fit your height and sit on the machine with your back against the back support pad.

Step 2: Place the back of lower leg on top of padded lever (just a few inches under the calves) and secure the lap pad against your thighs, just above the knees. Then grasp the side handles on the machine as you point your toes straight (or you can also use any of the other two stances) and ensure that the legs are fully straight right in front of you. This will be your starting position.

Step 3: As you exhale, pull the machine lever as far as possible to the back of your thighs by flexing at the knees. Keep your torso stationary at all times. Hold the contracted position for a second.

Step 4: Slowly return to the starting position as you breathe in.

Step 5: Sets of 10-12 repetitions.

Caution: Do not use so much weight on the exercise that you are swinging and jerking as you can risk both lower back injury and also a hamstring tear.

How many sets sets should I do?

Complete 3-4 sets of the seated leg curl before moving on to the next exercise.

LOOKING FOR MORE GREAT LEG WORKOUTS? 

Check out our full list of leg workouts in our exercise library. 

Or you can jump straight to my 5 favorite leg exercises for leg day 

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