Health Fitness Guide - Thoughts, the Foundation for all Health and Fitness Achievement

Like any learned skill, there are certain basics that must be mastered first. The very bedrock upon which all health and fitness achievement rests are thoughts. Everything man-made in the world or any action you've taken in the past all started with a thought. There is not one man-made object or goal that didn't start as a thought in someone's head that was then made into reality. Your toaster, your TV, your automobile, your desire for better health.

A single thought ultimately transformed into physical reality.

In order to achieve any health or fitness goal you must start with this basic concept; thoughts are things. Thoughts are the foundation upon which you build the framework for attainment of your goal. Every thought has a physical manifestation in our bodies; every thought produces physical substances called neuro-transmitting enzymes that have instant effects on how we feel and who we are at the cellular level.

Don't believe me? Think of biting into a big, juicy lemon or think about fingernails slowly running down a chalk board and tell me you didn't have an immediate, physical response.

Or how about a thought that changed the world?

Every day, thousands of times a day, all over the world people fly from destination to destination. It's amazing that a person can step into a device that lifts them off the ground and flies through the air at great speed sometimes over great distances safely carrying them to their destination in a matter of minutes or hours! Only a bit over a hundred years ago that would have been considered impossible or a miracle. Yet it happens every day today and it started with a thought in someone's head that man could fly. On December 17th, 1903 the thought that man had had for generations to fly, became reality.

That is the power of thoughts!

If you can have that kind of immediate response from such a simple thought, just imagine what you can accomplish with a focused, burning desire backed by faith and persistence!

Life isn't fair or normal, there's just life. But that should be a comforting thought. If life were fair all things would be equal and all people would be equal. The logical conclusion is that there could be no social movement up or down, no bettering of yourself nor worsening, no getting healthier, just stagnation. Because life isn't fair it means you have the ability to control whether you improve your life or make it worse but at least you have the ability to make change.

What about external influences which you have no control over? Say your significant other is killed in a car accident or you become paraplegic in a skiing accident. The list could go on and on. But there is one thing you have total control over.

Turning the Internet into a Free Yellow Page Listing for Your Health and Fitness Business

Online search activity rose thirty-nine percent last year to hit an all-time high of 5.7 billion searches, according to Nielsen Netratings, the global leader in Internet market research. Studies have also discovered that searchers are using the Internet as their global and local "yellow pages". Whether they are searching for the latest movie times, a good Moroccan restaurant, a nearby health spa or a fitness center in their city, fewer and fewer people are picking up the big yellow book and spending fifteen minutes trying to find your listing.
Instead, they have a permanently-connected broadband link to Google, Yahoo, MSN or their favorite local search portal, and within seconds they have typed in something like "Denver health spa" or "North Seattle chiropractor," received thousands or millions of results, and scanned the first few until one catches their eye.
Many business owners in the health and fitness industry think it is good enough to put up a web site and print the URL on their business card. They have no idea that thousands or millions of other web sites are competing for the same terms (usually product/service+location) or that, without being properly optimized, their web site is destined to sit in the darkest corners of cyberspace. If the purpose of the site is to act as an online brochure, sort of a convenience for those who already know about your business, then it doesn't need to rank high on the search engines.
However, if your web site is meant to bring in sales, leads, news clients, members... what good is it doing way back on page 55 of Google for your best search terms? If you run a fitness center, shouldn't you be on the first page (or at least the first few pages) for "Your City Fitness Center" or "Your City Gym"? The same goes for all local businesses, from chiropractors to martial arts schools and health spas.
But it doesn't have to be local either. What if you manufacture fitness equipment, or produce a health supplement and want to market your products nationwide or globally? The same principal applies - either you compete for those key terms or you sit back in the corner and throw money away on hosting and web site design, never to obtain a positive return on investment.
Now that you know "something" needs to be done, let's discuss what that "something" is. It goes by the name Search Engine Optimization - SEO, for short. Search engine optimization is a mixture of Internet marketing, web site design, copywriting, PR, coding and other factors with the solitary goal of getting your web site to show up better on search engines for a certain group of keywords and phrases.
Professional search engine optimizers study the algorithms patented by major search engines to determine how each determines how to rank a web site. Google alone looks at over 200 factors when choosing where to place a web site on its result page for a search! Lucky for you there are firms out there dedicated to staying on top of the latest SEO strategies. Just be sure to choose the right one, because not all search engine optimizers are created equal.

Health and Fitness Clubs Surprise Rise?

It came as no surprise to me. The report from FinancialWeek.com pronounced that memberships to health and fitness clubs were actually on the rise, even in spite of current economic conditions. The biggest growth is coming from elder 'Boomers', age 55 and up.

Um... that would be me!

So why the surprise? The fact that my age demographic is leading the way in the current membership explosion shouldn't be a surprise to anyone. It was the Boomers who started the whole craze.

I can't say I'm big on joining a fitness center as I prefer doing my own thing. Here in my high rise condo, I have access to an indoor pool and a very well-equipped gym.

I rarely use it. But whenever I walk by, the majority of people who do use it are... you guessed it - minimum 45+. One of the regulars is 78 years old!

For myself, I spend a good amount of time in the stairs, currently running 5 cycles up and down 22 floors, three times a week. It takes just over 30 minutes. As well, Maggie and I do a fair bit of walking after dinner and on weekends. Add a few stretches coupled with some occasional resistance training as recommended by most professional trainers and I'm good. In fact, I'm pretty darned proud of my 55+ year old bod!:)

The Lure of Health and Fitness Clubs

It's hard to resist those health and fitness club flyers, isn't it? Boomers especially cling to the vision of maintaining a youthful, vigorous appearance. We're getting more 'quantity' of life, with age expectancy rising all the time. What Boomers demand now however is 'quality'. They want to squeeze as much enjoyment out of their ever lengthening years.

Of course, you could always take the Rodney Dangerfield approach to looking your best, "If you want to look thinner, hang around more fat people."

Personally, I believe you actually become who you hang out with. My job teaching young children for the past 37 years has certainly had a better effect than any gym. Plus the fact that Maggie is 12 years younger keeps me energized as well!

Choosing a Health and Fitness Club

Whether or not you join a health and fitness club is a matter of choice. Some people need the extra push and accountability that a personal trainer or other club members will give. Organized gyms also can provide a social outlet which is most important in this day and age of increasing isolation and cocooning.

Of course, due diligence is required before signing on the dotted line at any fitness center. While the initial offer to get you in the door may be quite enticing, you have to be extremely aware of the inevitable upsell to an annual or 'family' package deal.

The main question is, will you actually stick to the program? Most clubs are banking that you won't! They know most people are very weak when it comes to keeping commitments, especially the pain-for-gain kind. They also know these same people are even weaker when it comes to asking for a refund. They would rather simply slink away rather than be held accountable.

The fact is, most health and fitness clubs are very strict with their refund policies. This brings a whole new meaning to the term, "Use it (your membership) or lose it (hundreds of dollars of your hard-earned cash!)".

Warning: Health and Fitness Club Fraud

It's not bad enough that you have to be aware of 'upsell-hell' when you shop around for a training center. It's extremely rare NOT to be confronted with an upsell opportunity, so expect it. (Do you want fries with that?)

Maggie actually had such an experience with a spa, very similar to the gym bait and switch routine. She purchased a basic package, only to be told the next week that the package was 'discontinued'. She would have to upgrade.

The following week, she was pitched to add a massage. The week after that, she was followed by a rep with a clipboard, showing her all the benefits she would gain if she upgraded to the next better deal. Maggie didn't return again after the 5th week. She just cut her loss. Obviously, this spa mistook her for an ATM machine.

Occasionally though, you'll come across outright frauds. The news from my old home town of Nashua, N.H. recently reported that the president of a new, unregistered health and fitness club was found guilty of illegally using $14,000 in pre-paid memberships to carpet his facility. Apparently, this person was a firm believer in exercise as law officials concluded that he planned to take the money and run!

Health and Fitness Magazines

Today, maintaining health and fitness have become more important than ever before. With illnesses becoming more often, we have to equip ourselves with everything necessary to maintain health and have a good quality of life. One of the best ways to jumpstart your way to better health is through reading health and fitness magazines. These magazines offer helpful tips, advice and recent discoveries about health that should come handy. Note that although fitness magazines are aimed mainly at body- and health-conscious audience, everyone will surely benefit from all the information they provide. Here are some of the most popular health and fitness magazines today:
Muscle & Fitness Magazine
This magazine was released mainly for bodybuilders. However, if you are conscious about your health and do workouts, you can use vital information on this magazine. There is a version of this magazine called Muscle and Fitness Hers aimed mainly towards health-conscious ladies. This magazine contains tons of information that can range from bodybuilding foods, diet programs, weight loss strategies, workout information, supplements, and other recent discoveries.
Shape Magazine
Shape Magazine has been edited to help you get a better understanding of fitness. It features articles from experts in the fields of nutrition, exercise, beauty and psychology. Shape is mainly geared towards fitness enthusiasts who surely will benefit from each and every bit of information that the magazine contains. It highlights news, step-by-step guidelines, recipes, and tips in beauty, fashion, style, and everything in between.
Men's Fitness Magazine
Men's Fitness is also a magazine designed for the modern health conscious men. It contains articles containing important details on maximizing workout, optimal diet and nutrition necessary for perfect fitness. Each issue is aimed at showing you how to properly workout your specific body parts, look better, unleash your sexual drive, and essentially put adventure back into your life.
Subscribing Health and fitness magazines cover everything a health and body-conscious person needs to know. If you are aware of the importance of maintaining tiptop health, and are actually doing something about it, a subscription to these types of magazines will provide you great discounts than buying them at the newsstand. Health and fitness magazines are usually offered in an attractive price package through websites.
Consider subscribing to a health and fitness magazine as an investment for your health and yourself. There is nothing more important than valuing health. Today, it may seem like an added financial burden but the long-term benefits that reading about health can give are far worth it. Besides, you can get subscriptions at rock bottom, discounted prices. However, be careful with the website you will subscribe to. Trust only the most reliable website that has a good reputation online.