I’m going for Wolverine's work-out

This is sort of what I have been doing, that is:

  • More exercise
  • More protein
  • Less carbs
  • More regular eating and smaller portions (I have been slack on that these couple of cold weeks)

It’s working for me so far – see me at Gyminee

I like the reference to low HI diet. The less processed the better

Off to the gym this arvo I think :)

ninemsn talks to the hairy man's trainer Michael Ryan about how he got that body.

Fancy a superhero's body? The Hulk is a mean, green muscle machine, Superman's a six-pack wielding cliché and Spider-Man is too lycra-clad to envy. But Hugh Jackman's Wolverine is quite a different story. A well-conditioned torso, chest and arms are something your everyday man could aspire too.

Building up a new burly physique isn't something that only the likes of a celebrity preparing for the part of the animalistic superhero can achieve, of course. According to his personal trainer and good friend, Michael Ryan, it's within all of our reach with a little dedication.

So, is Hugh naturally muscular and therefore not a good representation of your average man?

Not at all! I've worked with him for over 20 years and when we first met he was skinny. In fact, he had chicken legs! He has built his body gradually over the years. He's 39 now and looking better than ever.

Hugh's very well-stacked for his title role in Wolverine. Did you put him through hours of gruelling training a day?

The routine was intense but it was for 1.5 hours for six days a week. It wasn't a complicated regime at all and something anyone can do. It was based on four or five lifting sessions and a cardiovascular session.

The key to our success with his body was variation. A lot of guys head for the gym day-in day-out and do the same thing every time and then wonder why their body stays the same. Make a point of working different muscles, building on the weight you can lift and getting your heart beating with a mix of running, swimming or cross-training.

No tight-clad yoga sessions then?

Not for this role! But we have used yoga in the past to condition his body. It's a fantastic way of toning and elongating muscles.

Ah, but once you've got all that muscle, a few days off and it turns to flab?

Not the case. I think if you ask anyone who has successfully improved their body with a regular workout, going back to old ways is not an option. It's not hard to maintain muscle if you are dedicated to keeping up a routine. Hugh's finished filming now but rang from New York to let me know he's keeping up the good work!

How big a part does diet play in achieving a body like Wolverine's?

It plays a huge part. If you think about the fact that only 1.5 hours is spent training, it's the 22.5 hours after that are the worry. We put Hugh on a six-meals-a-day plan that consisted of high-protein foods. Think fish, meat and pulses.

What we put a big focus on was basing the diet on as low an HI [human interference] diet as possible. Basically as untouched, unmodified by human hands as possible. It's how the body functions at its optimum level.

Does it get harder to achieve a Wolverine-esque body as you get older?

Well Hugh's almost 40 and we didn't face any issues. Men can peak in their mid-40 so age isn't as big a factor as you'd think. Getting the body you want is about balance and dedication.

Tagged exercise lifestyle weightloss wellbeing

6 Things Money Cannot Help you Achieve

Written on 6/06/2008 by Shilpan Patel of Success Soul

Imagine you are Mr. Bill Gates, czar of the wealth. Life is great; you're the richest man on the earth. You can buy anything in life, right? Wrong. Before you ride on the jet of euphoria and focus your entire life on earning money, know there are simply things that a roll of hundred dollar bills cannot get for you, not even if you are Mr. Gates.

If you are perplexed, let me explain my theory. It may sound like an oxymoron but money has its Achilles’ heel. All of our false perceptions about money have one common flaw - they identify money as something external to us, they identify money as the tool to accumulate abundance to please others by accumulating possessions.

What money can't buy mostly lies within us. Nonetheless, trading our life energy for money can deprive us from inner nourishment that can eventually lead our lives into a downward spiral.

1. Time: Money is a tool for trade. With that said, we spend a good chunk of our allotted time on this earth getting, spending, worrying and fantasizing about money. You can't buy the time and save it in your storeroom even if you are Mr. Gates. On the contrary, money takes away your time that could have been spent playing with your children or having a long walk with your alter ego. When the sun sets, a day goes away from our life forever. No money has power to bring that back to life.

2. Self Awareness: Ignorance is bliss, right? It's a curse. Not having self-awareness and self-consciousness lead to decisions that can cost you dearly. Well, the cost may be life itself. As a result, many people live a mediocre life without living for a true purpose. Their ignorance can't be transmuted into awareness with money. They believe that their ignorance is their awareness.

3. Self esteem: I have a plethora of examples to prove that no money can purchase self-esteem. Self-esteem is earned from within. If you are your worst enemy, gods of money can't rescue you from the self-destruction you inflict on yourself. King of rock Elvis Presley had the best life one can imagine with no dearth of cash. He took his own life with the deprivation of self-esteem.

4. Health: As I write this, I found out that Senator Kennedy has brain cancer, and it is terminal. Of course money can get him the best health care possible but no money can buy insurance for a life. We buy insurance for just about everything including our life but money can never bring life back.

5. Respect: Try this. Slap someone on his face and then hand him $100 to get his respect. Will you get it? I doubt it. We all live our life in pursuit of self-respect from peers, from family members, from our alter ego and even from strangers. No money can buy respect from others if our actions speak volumes about our negativity - insult, rudeness and lack of respect for others.

6. Happiness: This is controversial. Money can buy happiness if it is spent on to bring grater financial security for the family. However, money can't buy happiness if the purpose is to make money to make other people happy. The chase of possession of possessions can never find its destination with incessant desire to accumulate more possessions. Happiness comes from within. When we trade so much time and energy to get money, we deprive our inner self from the food of happiness.

I'm sure that you either are nodding you head in disbelief by now, or you've been enlightened by the revelation that, after all, money can't buy some of what matters most in our life. I'll be glad to get a zap or a hug from you.

Tagged lifestyle personal development wellbeing

Get happy!

Some of this is a bit  'New Age' but I thought some of this advice was interesting. I find sometimes when I am zoned out and vague I am actually breathing very shallow. A few deep breaths and I perk up a bit. I would also like to be more alert to my posture as this can save you from the slumped shoulders and aches and pains of sitting too long.

What do we need to become more alert, calm and happy? The practice of happiness is a continual one, so get smiling with these ten top steps.

#1 Get your mind in gear to go

Enjoy a relaxing stretch in bed, filling your lungs with fresh air, breathing out any heaviness from the

night. Read an excerpt from something that uplifts your spirit and reminds you of the purpose of your own existence. This will help set your intention for the day before the busyness begins. Your intention might be to practice kindness, compassion or respect for all people – including yourself.

# 2 Come to your senses

Wherever you are, be there! Your body is always in the present yet your mind is forever projecting into the future or rehashing the past. Practice awareness of the present moment by coming to your senses. Be aware of your posture, the shape of your body and the touch of your clothing; notice its texture, the temperature that your clothing helps create. Feel the air moving against the skin of your hands and face. Listen to all of the sounds around you. Let your listening run right out until you hear the clouds passing. Then focus on your breath as it flows in and out of your body. Let any thoughts or feelings come to pass without holding onto any of them.

# 3 Stress detector

Practice increasing your awareness of what happens in your body when you encounter stressful situations. Does your pulse increase, do you feel tight in your chest or your throat. Do you sweat or get butterflies in your stomach? Does your jaw tighten or does your head feel like it’s going to burst? It is better not to speak or act from a state of reaction.

# 4 Be present to the breath

Awareness of the breath allows you to more easily respond rather than react to life’s challenges. We can't always control what happens to us in life but we can control how we respond to the things that happen. We may not be able to avoid becoming emotionally upset, but we can control the intensity and duration of that upset and how we express it.

# 5 Don’t take your life so personally

Learn to not take yourself quite so seriously. If you can laugh at yourself you will be endlessly amused. Your body secretes endorphins when you laugh. These natural hormones give you a natural high and empower your immune system. Where possible, escalate a smile into a chuckle, a chuckle into a laugh and a laugh into a belly-shaking one. A light-hearted approach to life allows us to be spontaneous and available to people in the present moment.

# 6 Know yourself

Become aware of your attitudes, beliefs and reactions. Be willing to be a work in progress. This gives you the chance to change your judgments of yourself and others. Know what replenishes you and make sure that those things happen in your life. If music, nature, singing, dancing, reading, gardening or other activities replenish you, then make sure those things are present in your life on a regular basis.

# 7 Lace them up

Exercising for 40 minutes can reduce stress levels for up to three hours. Find regular and enjoyable

exercise which can be realistically incorporated into your life. Walking and swimming are two of the most beneficial forms of exercise and improve your circulation, breathing and the functioning of all your internal organs.

# 8 Letting go of the past

The past cannot be undone. Forgiving is not the same as condoning. True forgiveness is an internal act and doesn’t need the involvement of the person or situation in which we felt wounded. The essence of forgiveness is that we liberate ourselves from reacting from feelings of being hurt or wounded.

# 9 Learn relaxation techniques

Familiarity with progressive relaxation techniques helps us to recognise when we are becoming stressed. Having the ability to physically unwind is the first step to letting go of mental tension. Regular use of a good relaxation practice will take the stress out of learning the technique!

# 10 Learn to meditate

Learning to meditate can be the next simple step in relaxing the mind so that it becomes quieter. With a quiet and focused mind our intuition, inspiration and imagination become more readily accessible. Meditation is one of the greatest tools for improving clarity, concentration and memory.

Petrea King is the author of Your Life Matters – The Power of Living Now and directs the Quest for Life Centre, Bundanoon, NSW www.questforlife.com.au

Get happy! - Blackmores

Tagged howto lifestyle wellbeing

6 Simple Strategies to Stay Happy

I thought this was pretty interesting. Be satisfied and grateful for what you have will make you appreciate it more. Any other boon that comes along will be a bonus and make you even happier but you won't be sad without it. Cheers MATT

      It is a fact that if you want something too badly, it is likely to evade you. And this is truer for happiness than anything else. The reason why happiness seems to evade the millions of people searching for it is because they are looking in the wrong place.

      Most people look for happiness "outside" themselves and not "inside". Some feel that they would be happy if they could afford a house of their own. Others feel that they just have to own all the latest gizmos to finally find happiness.

      There are some who may not seek happiness in material things but they are still not looking in the right place. They feel that they would be happy if they found the right life partner or if their children loved them more. Even in such cases, these people are searching for happiness "outside" themselves.

      Have you ever wondered how most infants are extremely happy almost all the time? Physical discomfort can make them cry for a while but such aspects are transient and last for only a few minutes. The reason why infants are almost always in a state of natural happiness is because they are in constant awe of nature and the world around them. Unfortunately, it is the society, parents, friends, teachers and relatives that influence them with regards to what happiness should mean.

      It may be difficult to undo all the layers of perception that have formed on the mind over time. However, it is never too late to try and address the issue and train your mind to be happy. There are some tips that can help you in shedding your inhibitions and breaking away from the shackles of predefined definitions of happiness.

        • Accept yourself – One of the key reasons why people are unhappy is that they do not really like or love themselves enough. It is essential that you accept yourself as what you are without any caveats and conditions to attain happiness. Don't get too critical about yourself – your looks, your brains, your capabilities or your financial condition. Just learn how to love yourself as you are. You will realize that once you are comfortable with what you are, others will accept you more willingly.
        • Happiness is a state of mind – It is important that you understand and appreciate that your happiness lies within. Consider this – no one can make you unhappy if you have decided for sure that you will be happy in every situation. If you have made up your mind to be happy, you can always seek out the positive aspects of a situation and remain happy. Life may throw challenges at you but solutions will come faster and to you if you face them with a smile on your face.
        • Prioritise your life – As we grow older, the demands that various people and circumstances they lay on us increase. While on the one hand your job pressures increase, you may also feel the need to spend time with your family and children. At the same time, you may also want to enjoy life personally by doing the things that you have always wanted like going to the gym or taking off on a mountaineering trek.
          It is important that you learn how to balance the various responsibilities that you may have. If any one of these tasks becomes paramount, you are likely to ignore the others. For example, if you get extremely preoccupied with your work, you family life are likely to miss you. On the other hand, if you are too consumed with your plans for your various hobbies, your job and family are likely to suffer. You may achieve momentary happiness but neither of these situations can result in happiness in the long run.
        • Take care of your health – an unhealthy body cannot be the home of a happy mind. It is important that you understand the strong link between physical health and mental happiness. If you are fit and healthy, you are likely to exude positive energy.
        • Stay in the company of happy people – Ensure that you seek out people who are happy and cheerful all the time. Being in the company of people who have a habit of cribbing and criticizing is likely to divert your mind towards negative thoughts. Avoid getting into the sulk mode by choosing the company of happy people.
        • Be grateful – Saying a small "thank you" for what you have can make a lot of difference. When you make it a habit to be grateful, you seek out the things that you do have. This helps you divert your mind from negative thoughts of what you do not have. This does not mean that you give up trying. On the other hand it encourages you to think of future goals and achievements in a positive manner.

        Take time off to enjoy nature, life and the small things that we take for granted on a daily basis. A beautiful sunset can bring you joy, if only you would take a few minutes out of your daily schedule and look at it.

        FROM: 6 Simple Strategies to Stay Happy - Dumb Little Man

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        Tagged lifestyle personal development wellbeing