Physical: 10 Fitness Beliefs

According to the principles of shugyo, any one area of improvement necessarily affects all the others.  My fitness beliefs are evident of these for when diet changed, so did my goals and understanding of training.  Rather than burn myself down to the ground every workout, I started to enjoy the cycles of progress and began to realize that small accumulative exercise gave way to greater gains long-term.

I am still coming to understand this idea, but below area few principles that have really made a difference in terms of progress, enjoyment, confidence, and actual clarity of what I'm actually working towards.

Here are the 10 Fitness Beliefs

• Training in each of the 5 heart zones is crucial for total fitness.  Neglecting any one of these five leads to a deficiency in health and performance.
• Kettelbells are the best exercise tool I've found thus far, period.  I do employ other methods from time to time, but these contrive the consistent base of exercise and exercise benefits.
• I get to exercise, one way or another, every day.
• Always train within limits.  This is important for long-term, sustainable growth.
• Similar to the one above, always train for success, never to failure.
• Workouts should be charged emotionally with thoughts and feelings of what I want to achieve in other areas of my life, not just the physical.
• See exercise as a fun way to challenge myself, one way or another, and to use that mindset in other areas of my life where I am tested in other way.
• Stretching is as important as any workout I do for improving strength, speed, and mobility.
• The benefits of all my activities are a chance to assess my goals in life, spend quality time with either myself or my loved ones, and heighten the intensity and appreciation of life.
• Toys I think are important for anyone really committed to making long-term gains are:  a log book where you can record trends, goals & progress; a heart-rate monitor, a cadence counter (like Gymboss), Nike+ for ipod, and yes, kettlebells, and finally, for all of these, the knowledge to go along with using them properly.