Arin Lindauer

Wow, 99th out of 100, really…I guess this is why we have some of the best heart hospitals? (Just kidding)

It does not shock me that we are low on the list but almost dead last is frustrating. Now when I caught this on the news they highlighted our low ranking because of our lack of parks and access to bike trails.

The American College of Sports Medicine puts out this annual list and they take into consideration several factors. See the complete list: http://www.americanfitnessindex.org/

Some of the things Indianapolis struggles with is:

Access to parks, biking trails, availability to fresh fruit/veggies and smoking.

Seeing all this makes us want even more to get out there and help our fellow Hoosiers. We can’t just snap our fingers and have parks, bike trails and fresh fruit, but we can take personal responsibility to be “fit”.

Being fit comes in all different shapes and sizes. Just like this study took into account everything from dog parks to mental health we have to make the decision for ourselves to be fit. Also, define what “fit” means to you.

Not everyone wants a six pack, meaning abs. 😉

We choose what we do and do not do each day. We all get 24 hours.

Some find working out in the a.m. to be the best for them, while others need to sneak it in over lunch or others need to do an evening work out.

The main point is finding that time for you.

We need to be active most days of the week, but I would encourage you if you are just starting out to set aside two days per week. This could mean going for a walk, parking further away at the store, using the stairs for example. Other days it means 20-45 minutes of dedicated movement at a gym, home, garage, wherever.

We can always hit snooze, be 99th or say I’ll start Monday. It is in your best interest to start today.

Don’t fall into the statistics. I am always amazed when I get my blood pressure taken, they are always surprised. I am normally 108/60, but if I let my genetics play a role I would already be taking blood pressure medicine. I decided in my 20s that I did not want to be on a million medicines if at all possible and take care of my body.

Then I made it my life passion to help others do the same. I did not want to die early, let alone from a preventable disease.

Let’s not be 99th, take a stand to be fit, whatever that looks like for you. We don’t have to be defined by our label and it’s not your fault we don’t have more dog parks! But we need to take an active role in our bodies.

If you need help with where to start or what to do next shoot me a message!

On the bright side we were not last!

Take care,

Arin

We talk about adding up the wins, but what do you do when you feel like you keep striking out?

You know, when you have one of those weeks where nothing seems to being going right.

Do you just give up, throw in the towel?

I was midway into training for my 3rd Marathon. I went out for a 10-mile run. During that run, I felt good, pace was good, everything seemed pretty normal.

Then I woke up the next day and had no knee. Meaning my left knee was so swollen I could not even see any indentions around it.

I went to two different Ortho docs trying to figure out what was going on.

The weirdest part is I never really had any pain, just a ton of swelling/fluid and a clicking.

An MRI confirmed I had pretty much worn all the cartilage behind my patella (knee cap) away from all the years of running. Long story short the way my pelvis is angled, through my IT band to my knee it is amazing I have been able to run this long.

To be told in your thirties you have arthritis in your knees and you really should not run was pretty tough.

I could have just said that’s it, but I asked more questions.

What can I do?

I learned I could strengthen all the muscles around my knee. It was a long rehab process. It took about four months before I could do a body weight squat.

The reason I go through all this is to tell you we all struggle through injuries and setbacks.

I also want to encourage you when you feel like nothing is going right keep pushing forward.

Do the small insignificant things you know you need to do to get better.

I had to do something as simple as sitting against the wall lifting my leg 1,000 times! It was awful. But I will tell you I am where I am today because of those leg lifts.

It would have been easy to brush them off, thinking they wouldn’t help.

Instead I chose to do them to keep moving forward.

When you have that week, month or even a year that feels like nothing has gone right be encouraged that it can and will.

Keep getting up each day ready to win, you will get knocked down, that’s part of it. Rub some dirt in the wound and find that grit to go after it again.

It will be worth it!

Have an awesome day today,

Arin

Focusing on health and wellness goals is not as easy as it should be.

It can involve a lot of moving parts.

One thing for sure is at TFW we get it. We’ve been there too. Heck we are there right now!

With the birth of our daughter it has thrown off any schedule we have had and I can tell you I am itching to get back in the gym. (gotta get released to work out, but you know what I mean)

I know Tony has struggled with how much time to spend at work, with his family and on himself.

Its important that we are on the same page and we encourage each other to take that time for ourselves.

Time is almost always a limiting factor for most people.

They can get in a good groove for a few weeks, then travel, work schedule, etc. will throw us off.

First of all, know this happens to all of us.

Second, sit down and map out a plan. Life tends to go smoother when we have at least looked at the week, evaluated where I time needs to be spent, then take action.

Otherwise the time vampires come out and it can get ugly!

I am a big fan of everyone knowing what needs to happen each week, communication is key.

Especially if you are juggling kids or aging parents.

If you are always giving all your time to work, kids, spouse, and not carving time for you, you will see a decline in your health.

If you don’t put the oxygen mask on first before assisting someone else, you will both be passed out. Now I know that was pretty blunt but it is true.

Taking care of yourself is just as important as taking care of others.

If you don’t have your health it makes it pretty hard to help others.

Take it from me, time spent on you and your health is worth it and if you need help all you have to do is reach out.

We do 45 min workouts that get you in and out so that you don’t spend hours in the gym. The best part is our workouts are effective and get results!

Shoot me a message and we will talk about your goals and how to make it all happen!

Take time for you this week!

Arin

The big Mo is such a valuable thing in anything we do in life.

Nothing is more frustrating than feeling like you keep taking 2 steps forward and 3 steps back.  Yes, it does happen to the best of us and it can be overwhelming, but when you start adding up the small things success is right around the corner.

Tony and I have been working on a big project personally and it has been super frustrating.  Just when we think we have all the cards lined up something halts production and kills momentum.

To be completely frank we have thought multiple times about throwing in the towel.

But we know that this project will be worth it in the end and similar to a weight loss or health goal.

We start working on our health, things don’t go exactly perfect and it is super frustrating.

For a lot of us we throw our hands up and say forget it.

But I want to encourage you to keep pushing forward.  No matter how small the step, it’s a step forward.

We all want the hail Mary pass to grant us the touch down but moving the ball a few yards at a time down the field, still get us the touch down.

No matter what you are working on: health, weight loss, career, savings, etc. move the ball a few yards at a time day after day and you will be successful.

Sometimes things do relatively come easy.

We have had a lot of clients get into our program, start working out, eating better consistently and the weight simply falls off.

But this doesn’t happen for everyone.

For others it is a slow process.

When you focus on each yard at a time you will gain momentum, it sometimes is so slow that we don’t even realize it and that’s where having a coach show you the changes does help.  We do this in an assessment process.

So, keep pushing forward no matter what you are working on.  It will be worth it.  Even when you feel like you have gone backwards, you can always start going forward again at any time.

As always, we are here to help.

Let me know if you want to jump on the phone and talk more about you!

Arin