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.

Physical: 10 Eating Beliefs

As mentioned in my previous blog on Mental & Emotional precepts, the changes I've made thus far are largely due to changes in what I put into my mouth.  And as someone who used to love his meat, this demanded a real chance to challenge a lot of beliefs held about food, nutrition, and fitness.  Once I had the courage to do so, however, everything clicked into place.  Point on is an excellent example of this.

1. Without greens like mixed salads, broccoli, peas, and freshly soaked almonds, and other nuts and seeds, gaining muscle is not possible.  The introduction of green smoothies became a great way to make this happen.
2. I get nourishment from food and energy from movement.  This is especially important, because, if I find I'm tired, rather than eating or drinking for some energy quick-fix, moving my body gets me there sooner, with more of a sustained effected.  If I pay special attention to training in lower fat-burning zones, or ripping out a few reps on one exercise or another throughout the day, drops in energy don't hit me as often as siting around hoping for things to get better.  Food nourishes; exercise energizes.
3. I don't need to compensate for lack of animal protein with an excess of grains.  Eating wild and brown rice are fine, as well as quinoa and whole-grain barely.  Otherwise, I find fruits with a low glycemic index are a better choice, for example avocados, berries (blueberries in particular do well for me).
4. My diet must contain, in every meal, at least 80% raw foods that have their natural water content inside them--rice and pasta don't cut it.
5. The dietary choices  Imake must hold true to the belief of a sustainable food industry.
6. Juicing and having smoothies are great meals in themselves, and a great way to cleanse while providing the body with nutrients during the day--especially in the morning.
7. I am able to be more creative with meals and enjoy more of what nature has to offer by adapting to this lifestyle and adapting to seasons chances in climate and food availability.  Depending on the season, it's important to have the right tool for the job.
8. What I learn and put into practice reduces my risk of preventable diseases, increases my longevity, and allow me to play hard now and in the future.  It also lowers my recovery time between exercise, making it possible for me to enjoy more activity more often.
9. If possible, alkaline water is a must.
10. Now that I'm becoming more sensitive to what my body needs, I must be flexible to give it what it wants when it wants it.  I must also keep in mind that each meal is structured with the idea that it is part of a daily meal plan, and that nothing is missing from my diet if I keep in mind the big picture.  If I have time for a snack, I know what kind of snacks I need because I am prepared.  This keeps me from cramming everything into one meal, while taking the stress away from eating and allowing me to concentrate on other, more important aspects of my day, so that I can accomplish more with confidence.

N.B.  Although it's not listed as one of the 10, I strongly believe that we should have organic foods whenever possible.

Getting Things Started

The Idea

Shugyo, as explained by Richard Strozzi-Heckler in his book, 'The Leadership Dojo,' can be understood as 'self-cultivation, carry[ing] the meaning of developing the human spirit through physical practices' (26-27).  As a martial artist, shugyo is a central part of my practice, one that aims to bring the virtues of budo into the 'world of the self.'  The world of the self, for me, includes physical, emotional, financial, professional, spiritual areas of life that all deserve attention in order to cultivate a full life.  This blog will, I hope, serve as an reflection of how I best aim to go about these areas of life for the benefit of myself and those I care about.

The Setup:

Depending on what seems pertinent to the demands of life, I will try and focus how shugyo affects the choices I make in the 5 areas of life described above:

• Physical
• emotional
• professional
• financial
• spiritual

Things might change down the line, but for now, these are the areas I have chosen.  These are not meant to be so cut-and-dry that there is no room for maneuver.  The whole premise of shugyo is that all come to reflect the quality of life as measured through through activity.  Hopefully my blogs will reflect how these will work.

The Purpose:

The purpose should be self-evident, but just in case it's not, I'll state it here.  I want to continue to improve the quality and effectiveness of my life, for myself, and for those who I care about.  Not so jazzy, but true.  As time goes by, I'll probably modify this, but for now, it's down and I can move on.

Where to begin:

This is always a challenge, but for now, I'll just start with a quotation by Thich Nhat Hanh: 'Our own life is the instrument with which we experiment with the truth.'  Here is where I lean to play.