healthy bodybuilding

Now retired, I was involved in fitness, sports, and athletic club management for an entire 40 year career. I was never the “no pain, no gain” type of body Nazi, but I believed that if you weren’t maxing out, you weren’t gaining in your fitness level. I thought that I could eat anything and everything that I wanted. It seemed true because even if I ate 6,000 calories, there was no doubt that I’d stay trim and burn it off. How could over eating be harmful if I stayed thin and felt good? Well, read on because that’s the moral of my story here.

During my years as a fitness expert, I learned how to practice yoga and meditation, but I was far too jacked up to practice such laid-back methods. I would find my knee bouncing and the clock moving too slow.

Once I retired, I found the benefits of slower, more meditative techniques for fitness because frankly, my body was too stiff and sore to go all out any more. In addition to this, my husband was still working and I worried about him and how we would pay all of the bills on one paycheck. I WORRIED in capital letters!

During these first few years of retirement my annual medical exams were showing raised cholesterol readings, high blood pressure, and weight gain which falls into the unhealthy category that I had escaped for so many years. Of course, the medical readings were causing me to pile up on medications. I was taking what I would call high doses of two different blood pressure medications and still showing high readings.

Two years ago when my husband was preparing to retire, in my panic of how we would survive, I started looking for a place to retire with an affordable future. I found a condo in the desert that would accommodate our income and a quiet future. In my usual highly energized fashion, I packed up, sold our house and anything that would support the future.

Up until our retirement move, I had been reading about and trying to practice Qi Gong. It was so quiet and relaxing, but in my high energy caffeinated style, I couldn’t practice very well, but once we settled in with a regular routine, miracles began to happen.

Living in a smaller place with no reason to rush out the door in the morning, I started playing very relaxing music in my space all day. I started practicing Qi Gong, specifically a practice called The Eight Brocades. It was so named because the moves were written down on silk and handed down. There were only eight moves. I could learn by practicing one of each of the moves a day, or several of each move. It really depends on how strong I was feeling.

In addition to practicing Qi Gong, we started sitting in the sun for a half an hour each morning while enjoying our breakfast, tea, or coffee. What a lovely turn our lives had taken. I was getting tanned, energized, and motivated to further my daily practice that was so relaxing, spiritual, and strengthening.

At this time, I noticed that in the evenings I felt really strange, almost faint. When I saw the doctor, she recommended that I split my blood pressure medicine and take one half in the morning and one half at night. There was no change. At that time, she suggested that I cut one of the medications in half and that should help, but it did not. Since the doctor hadn’t recommended to cut it any more, I assumed that she was right. After all, when the doctor tells you to take something, you do it. The doctor had prescribed the meds, so it might be too dangerous to take less.

Another thought that was bothering me was that the people I saw on YouTube that practiced Qi Gong appeared spiritual, in fact, way more spiritual than me. I uttered the F word often, I wasn’t necessarily spiritual or reverent in any way, so how could Qi Gong be responsible for my healing?

By now, I was only taking one of the BP medications, but my blood pressure was getting lower and lower, and I still felt like I must be dying because my morning Qi Gong routine was hardly strenuous. If years of hard-core aerobics hadn’t prevented me from getting high cholesterol and high blood pressure in my later years, how could this easy relaxing practice be lowering my BP by so much? I researched low blood pressure, and most Qi Gong websites and reputable medical sites claimed that one of the benefits of Qi Gong is that it can lower blood pressure. I felt like I wasn’t reverent enough, or that this practice would only work on those old Chinese Centenarians that were experienced practitioners and teachers, but not me.

I contacted another doctor. She is from Colorado. When I explained my worries about my blood pressure getting lower and lower, she inquired about my lifestyle and any changes that I had recently made. I had made a few changes over the past couple of years. I no longer had a teenager in the house, I no longer managed two businesses, I had a lot of time to enjoy nature, and I had become a regular practitioner of Qi Gong and meditation. My recent labs had shown nothing notable about my health to be alarming which was not surprising to her. My cholesterol was even normal!

Formic acid causes a tingly severe burning sensation when it touches our skin. This chemical is found in the venom of most ant species. In plants, you will find it in the sap released by certain species of stinging nettles. In higher concentrations, this acid is hazardous, but in a mild form, you can even use it as a food preservative due to its anti-bacterial quality. It is present in pesticides, insecticides, cosmetics and is also used in other forms for various industrial processes.

In Humans

Did you know that our bodies also make this chemical? But in smaller quantities, though. It is produced from the methanol that our bodies inhale, ingest or produce. Our bodies make methanol from a chemical called aspartame. Our system converts aspartame into aspartic acid, methanol, and phenylalanine. Eventually the methanol gets transformed into formic acid. Inside our bodies it is in a very dilute form so it is not dangerous.

In Ants

The name is derived from the Latin word “formica” which translates to ant in English. John Ray, an English naturalist, was the first person to discover the presence of this chemical in ants. He made this discovery in 1671 by distilling the crushed bodies of ants and extracting the acid, which he later named as formic acid. Ants use this substance as a defence against attacks from other creatures. They grab the perpetrator with their jaws (mandibles) and inject the pain-inducing compound into them. The stringer that injects the toxin is located at the end of their abdomens.

Is this a Dangerous Substance?

The toxicity of this substance depends on its concentration. At higher concentrations, it is extremely corrosive, has an intense odour and produces toxic fumes. It can cause blisters and burns on the skin, damage the mucous membranes in the mouth, injure the eyes and affect our respiratory system. You will experience difficulty in breathing if you inhale the fumes released by this chemical. It has been shown that prolonged exposure to this element can lead to kidney and liver damage. It creates the same effects as another widely used industrial agent, Nitric acid.

Uses

There are several uses of this compound in our everyday life, such as:

• Due to its anti-bacterial nature, it is often used in the manufacture of cattle feed to prevent it from getting spoiled.
• This ingredient is also added to canned food products as preservatives.
• To create artificial flavour it is also added to certain foods and drinks.
• In cosmetics, this compound is included to create artificial scents.
• It also finds use in the leather tanning industry, in the processing and manufacture of paper and textiles and in converting rubber tree latex into rubber.

In all the above mentioned industries, it is used in a diluted form, making it less dangerous to humans and animals.

Did you know your own self-esteem may be a contributing factor to some of your problems?

Let’s look at weight loss for example.

We all know that the weight loss industry is a multi billion dollar per annum business and who do the advertisers target?

Women!

In order to encourage women to join their weight loss plan they highlight their insecurities in their advertising copy.

“What insecurities are these,” you may be asking.

You may have heard of the term “fat shaming.”

Women are shamed into feeling guilty even if they are just a few kilos heavier than last year.

Is it any wonder that so many of them suffer from insecurities.

My advice to women is this:

1 Stop comparing yourself with others

It is silly to try to be somebody you are not. Instead of trying to be someone other than yourself you must ask the question, “What makes me tick,?” and set your goals accordingly.

2 Do it for you and not for others.

If you are taking on a new diet do it for yourself and not for others. Don’t be a people pleaser and try to impress others for the sake of it.

3 Your value is not measured by your dress size.

What makes you unique is what values you. It is what you do with what talents you have been gifted that gives you value. It is important to use your talents for the benefit of others. That is real value!

4 Ditch the “If only,” mindset.

Many women and men for that matter think, “If I lost xx amount of weight, got, a new car, a better house, had a new husband/wife, or whatever then I will be happy.”

Life does not work that way. Joy comes from within and has nothing to do with outward appearances or the opinion of others. Many people after they have acquired what they thought would make them happy are still not content with their life. The novelty soon wears off then they have their eye on something else.

5 Work on your self-esteem.

EM sculptor is a type of non-invasive procedure that helps remove fat and boosts the development of muscle in your buttocks and abdomen. Primarily, people go for this procedure to heal their diastasis recti. It’s very common in women after pregnancy as they experience the separation of muscles of their abdomen. Let’s find out more about this treatment.

How Does the Machine Work?

This machine fires high-intensity concentrated electromagnetic energy that causes a lot of contractions in your muscles. As a result, your muscles get toned and strengthened.

How Effective Is this Procedure?

Many studies have been done to test EM Sculptor. After four sessions involving 200 volunteers, 96% of the individual was satisfied, 19% experienced subcutaneous fat and 16% put on muscle mass.

Some Features of EM Sculptor

EM Sculptor is a procedure that helps tone and develops your muscles at the same time. This device contracts your muscles up to 20,000 times in less than 30 minutes. So, it works better than exercise.

The procedure helps burn fat stored in your body and feeds muscles. As a result, the patient may experience a 16% higher force and a 19% reduction in fat.

You need to exercise your hip and abdominal muscles. The function of the EM Sculptor is to tone your V lines abs and give more strength to your belly oblique muscles.

This procedure works great for women looking to lose their love handles, especially after pregnancy.

If you want to get firmer abs, you may want to give a go to EM Sculptor and you won’t regret your decision.

People with incontinence and urine infiltration may feel better post this procedure. Basically, the procedure helps boost collagen production in your pelvic floor muscle.

What is Downtime?

The good news is that EM Sculptor is a non-surgical, non-invasive procedure. Therefore, it causes no pain at all. During the treatment session, you will feel the contractions just like the ones you feel when you exercise your buttocks or abs. During this procedure, it’s the machine that does the hard work for you.

Another great thing about this procedure is that you don’t need to go through any recovery time. Therefore, you can get back to your routine activities, such as exercise. There is no need to get bed rest before you can resume your routine work.