The Stress Effect and Exercise

By Don Otis –

Who doesn’t feel some stress in life today? We struggle with unemployment, fear of terrorism, how to pay our mortgage, a bad relationship, or just the day-to-day pressure to get it all done. If we add ill health or fatigue to this list, any of us would be overwhelmed. Read more

How to Overcome Your Workout Excuses

By Don Otis –

I frantically dug through my workout bag in the locker room. Where was my workout shirt? (Have you ever kept looking for something in the same place even after you knew it wasn’t there?) Now, I had a decision to make that took some internal debate. Should I risk the humiliation of wearing a button-down shirt in the gym or use my shirt as an excuse to give up on my workout?

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Failure is Inevitable in the Quest for Fitness

By Don Otis –

How are you doing with your New Year goals? By February of each year, the average American (fifty percent of us) has already fallen off the wagon. By April, even more have given up on their goals.

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Increasing Your Workout Intensity

By Don Otis –

There is a row of fifty running machines and as many elliptical trainers upstairs at the local L.A. Fitness Club. Below, one can see the dabblers, yawners, flirters, talkers and serious fitness junkies. It can be an entertaining glimpse into human nature seeing a handful of the 20 and 30-somethings talking on their cell phones or texting. Others come in for their five-minute fix on a machine and then quickly disappear, presumably content they have done their “workout.” Still others look like they are in a slow motion movie or in one of those dreams where you just can’t run fast when you need to.
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How To Avoid Becoming A Resoluter

 By Don Otis

We are wired to want to change those habits we know are bad for us. Perhaps it is in our DNA. We establish New Year’s resolutions and then become discouraged when we break a diet plan, miss workouts, or simply give up. A few months ago in this column, we talked about “bucket lists.” These are life goals. They are things we say we want to do but never seem to get around to doing them. Many of us do the same with our first-of-the-year resolutions.

It is a foolproof axiom that health clubs get busy in January but clear out by April. The pattern is hard to miss for those who workout all year. Special offers bring new people into a facility but the hard work or broken resolutions kick in and people give up. We used to call these people the “resoluters.” They start the New Year with all the best intentions. Don’t we all? Then, when the going gets tough, or boring, or the challenges of life prevail, they give up.

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