Wait a Minute… Let’s Slow Down

I was writing a post for my blog a while ago, when suddenly, I decided to stop… Why?

I realized I needed to think more about the topic and possibly do some research about it.

“That’s it?” you may ask.

You see, I’ve been blogging for a month now and I’m quite satisfied with the results. All my posts, though, are written in one sitting. If I needed to find or verify some facts, I do it in that time span; from the time I wrote the title, up to the moment I click the publish button.

“I see nothing wrong there?” the main hero said (Okay, I’m just kidding, I just don’t want to type ‘you may ask.’ again.)

Yep, there’s nothing wrong with it. In the future, I’m still going to write and publish posts using the ‘done in just one sitting’ approach. But… If I could make my blog post better… If I take more time thinking about it and/or by doing some more research, then, I’m going to consider delaying publishing it.

I’ve been reading on advice/tips by bloggers and writers on the internet. One advice I hear repeatedly is to spend some time before publishing your article/post. In that way, you can see where to make changes once you look at your article again when you’re fresh.

Since I’ve been rambling for a while now. I’m going to be considerate and write a summary—and I’m even to make it bold so the reader can easily see it.

Summary:
Instead of writing and publishing your blog post all in one sitting, take some time before publishing it; in that way, you can make further improvements—which results on a better blog post.

The Difference Between Getting Fit and Saving Money in the Bank

Image from Flickr by Lummmy

If you like reading blogs and watching videos about fitness, you probably read or heard some fitness experts claiming that getting fit is like saving money in the bank.

Which is true . . . to a certain extent. How? Allow me to explain.

Using the bank analogy, they claim that going to the gym is like depositing money in the bank. The more you exercise, the fitter you get; likewise, the more you deposit money in the bank, the larger your savings get.

That analogy is somewhat accurate—until we take into account one aspect of fitness that is different from how a bank operates. What’s that difference?

Consistency. The only way to stay fit is to continually exercise a given amount of times every week. In my opinion, the bare minimum is once a week, although I find it unnatural.

That is, if you stop exercising regularly, you’re fitness level will decline. If you’re lifting weights for example, and it took more than a week before your next session; most of the time, you’ll find that your strength level went down—even if only slightly.

Compare that to a bank, wherein, even if you don’t deposit money for months, or even years, the amount of money you have there will still grow because of the interest.

To conclude, the key to staying fit is to exercise regularly. Don’t be complacent once you achieved your fitness goals. Even if you only plan to maintain your current fitness level—remember that to stay fit you got to deposit regularly in your special fitness bank.

Just a Quote #2

Actors and politicians are like stocks; their value will rise and fall depending on rumors.

–Whitebeltblogger (or you can substitute anonymous if you like)

Not Just a Quote #2

Be wary when people use ‘we’ in place of ‘I’ — for misery loves company.

—Whitebeltblogger (or you can substitute anonymous if you like)

Maybe you can recall times when other people said to you, things like, “We don’t know what to do,” unless you are someone who is not easily persuaded by the words of others — you may find yourself actually agreeing with their sentiment. Inside your head, you may hear the inner voice, “I don’t know what to do,” when in fact, you knew what to do before.

It’s in our nature as humans to find others in a group that will agree or be with us. Having the ability to persuade others to follow us, was necessary for our survival in ancient times — even to this today.

There are times other people use ‘we’, when in fact, ‘I’ is more appropriate. Like for example, “We are helpless.” Think for yourself, “Is that really true?” I mean, it is obvious that person feels helpless, but is it the case for you as well? Most probably not.

What we could do in situations like these is to offer our help or support to that person, without allowing ourselves to be drawn to their drama. But a word of warning . . . there are some people who are chronic whiners and complainers. In those instances we should just distance ourselves from them, there is a slight possibility that once other people stop listening to their rants and complaints, they will stop doing those unproductive habits.

On the contrary, there are times when you accomplish something worthwhile yourself, then people will claim it is a group effort. If you’re in a team, and they have in fact put in some effort, no matter how small . . . then just let it pass. But, if they do not take part in the activity . . . just smile — you know deep inside yourself, who have accomplished what. Same thing happens when people say: “We won! We won!” when their favorite team wins. That’s another story though.

One Weird Thing I Notice In Some Blogs…

I have only been blogging for a while, but have been reading blogs since — I can’t recall anymore.

There is one thing that I have noticed in some blogs — which is….

Not Just a Quote #1

I once thought of a clever way to send someone two quotes in one text message. Here’s how:

Hey ‘Random Textmate’, I never sent you a quote before. Here’s a single quote -> ‘ and here’s a double quote -> ” . See, I sent you two quotes in one message!

Even with the rather long name ‘Random Textmate,’ the message is less than 160 characters. You can try sending it to your friends, but don’t be surprised if you receive a rather unfavorable response, such as, ‘Corny.’

Oh well, each person has a different sense of humor. Humor is subjective, remember that.

Just a Quote #1

If you can’t read a book, then at least read a blog. If you can’t read a blog, then at least read a quote. If you can’t read a quote, then I got good news for you — you have already read one.

–Whitebeltblogger (or you can substitute anonymous if you like)

Everything is a Skill

I’ve realized that everything we humans do is a skill.

Breathing is a skill — if you’re used to shallow breathing, maybe you can learn to breathe deeply, which releases tension and massages your internal organs.

Walking is a skill — if you’re used to walking slowly, be reminded that any time during your stroll, you have the option to walk faster, so you can reach your destination sooner, or even burn a few more calories.

Eating is a skill — if you like to eat quickly, thinking it’s just eating away your at your time, try eating slowly every once in a while, savor every mouthful; after all, eating should be a pleasurable activity.

Standing is also skill — if you like to stand with your back hunched, maybe you can try standing tall next time; studies show that standing erect affects your confidence level.

Even sleeping is a skill — if you like to think of your problems during the day before you go to sleep, later tonight remind yourself what you have read here; everything is a skill — just relax, close your eyes — and make tomorrow a better day.

The Village Venus Effect

Image from Flickr by Wenchmagnet

Imagine you are living in a remote village — without being exposed to the world outside. You have no access to cellphones, television, or the internet.

In your village, there’s this girl — let’s call her Katarina; she is the daughter of the village chief.

Katarina is a beautiful girl — in fact the most beautiful girl in the village. Since you haven’t seen any other girl prettier than her, you assume that she is the most beautiful girl in the world.

Are you right? Yes … until the day comes that you have to venture in the outside world, and during your journey you saw girls who are far more beautiful than Katarina.

I first encountered the Village Venus Effect on Edward de Bono’s book “De Bono’s Thinking Course.” Simply stated, if you’re living in small village, the prettiest girl in that village, is essentially, the prettiest girl in the world — in your own perception.

How can knowing about this phenomenon add value to our lives?

There are times when thought we have seen it all — when in fact we have only seen the tip of the iceberg. Also, you might be able to recall a time when you made a choice and told yourself that you made the best decision — only to be surprised later on that there are other better options.

The point is not to be paralyzed by continually looking for better alternatives. Sometimes we have to trust our intuition and take action whether we are ready or not — then by being aware of the feedback that is given to us, we can adjust our next actions to take advantage of the situation.

So, the next time you think you have seen it all, or exhausted all the available options — think that outside your village, there are girls far prettier than Katarina.

If you’re wondering where I got the name Katarina, she is one of the champions from the online game ‘League of Legends.’ It is fair to say that if you’re a girl, you can instead remind yourself of the ‘The Village Hunk Effect’ — and there is this guy named Garen.

Useful Tips to Make Your Workout Shorter

Image from Flickr by Louish Pixel

You love working out because you know it’s good for you — whether your motivation is to be healthier, have more energy, or simply to look good with or without clothes — working out in the gym can make your life a lot better.

If you’re like me, you’ll spend an hour or so in the gym most of the time. There are days, though, when we have less time to spare — during those times you may tempted to just skip your workout session.

I have good news for you… By applying some, if not all, of the following tips, you can make your workouts shorter.

1. Reduce your resting time between sets.This is what most people would naturally do when short on time. A possible drawback is that you won’t be able to do more reps on your succeeding sets. Don’t let that stop you from making your rest time shorter though.

   Remember: Your muscles will grow and become stronger when it is stressed — your body doesn’t actually count how many sets/reps you have done. As long as you challenged your muscles while performing an exercise, then it will grow.

2. Make use of supersets.
   A superset means that you perform two exercises one after the other, only resting after the second exercise is done.Example 1:
   [3 sets]
   Dumbbell Bench Press [10 reps]
   Two-arm Dumbell Rows [10 reps]
   [Rest for 1 minute]

   Example 2:
   [2 sets]
   Leg Press [10 reps]
   Leg Curls [10 reps]
   [Rest for 30 seconds]

   You can pair any exercise in a superset, however, unless you’re focusing on pre-exhausting a certain body part, you would like to avoid pairing exercises that targets the same body part (e.g., dumbbell curls and barbell curls).

   Since applying supersets allow you work on a body part while the other one rests, you can make the rest period shorter or just totally skip it after you’ve done both exercises in your superset. It can be challenging, but I assure you it really saves time.

3. Perform fewer exercises and/or sets.
   Fewer exercises means less time in the gym. This one really needs no explanation, but some people might get worried that they are somewhat compromising the results that they can get by doing fewer exercises.As in most things in life, there is always a workaround — you make the most of the exercises you’re doing by making them more intense. How? You might ask. By performing an exercise more slowly, thus, making them more intense.

   More slowly? But by doing that, aren’t we making our workouts longer in the process? Yes… But since you’re performing less exercises (and probably less sets), the amount of time used will still be less compared to when you perform more exercises in a given workout.

Those are some of the ways in which you can save time in your workouts in the gym. Regardless of the methods that you might use, remember that even a short workout is a lot better than no workout at all. (I remember workouts where I’ve done 9 sets only, it’s still get the job done.)

It’s your turn… Can you think of some more ways to make your workouts shorter?