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Browse published articles attributed to Darren Stehle, with full-archive search.
Have you found yourself at the gym suddenly wondering, ‘Why the heck am I doing this?’ For whatever reason you question your motivations and reasons for working out. It’s important and valuable to ask yourself this type of question, not just for working out, but for all things in life. This is ...
For the purpose of this article I will not be going into a lot of detail. There are more than enough resources in book form and online to further your knowledge. My tips are based on years of reading, learning, doing and experimenting. So let’s get right to the point. The Basics Eliminate all processed foods, fast foods, chips, junk food, candy bars, white flour, most pasta, processed white rice, deep-fried foods and all soft drinks.
Fibre is useful in controlling insulin — your fat storage hormone. Since fibre slows digestion it also slows glucose absorption (the rate at which the metabolized sugars from food are absorbed into the blood). An absence of fibre can result in less control of insulin response, referred to as insulin spiking, and failure to benefit from the thermogenic cost of digesting food (digestion burns calories!). Fibre is classified as both insoluble and soluble and both have important health benefits for your body.
In our world of hyper communication, it would appear that the written and spoken word is the dominant form of communication. In fact, far more is communicated on the physical level of body language than any other form of communication. For example, most research breaks down the relative power of ...
December 18th, 2011, was the playoffs for my gay volleyball team. We were 8th place in B-pool. We were playing against very good teams and the team's energy was something between excitement, fun, and nervousness. I wanted to play well and have fun, but yes I was feeling competitive and wanted to do my best. Leaving the change room to go warmup, one of my teammates was just arriving. “Ready to lose?” he said. ‘No’, I said. “I’m ready to win Gold!”
On Sunday, January 8th, 2012 I drove out to Fergus, Ontario, to get inked.
What are your values for life? Just to get things started, here are my current top values and passions: 1. In a Loving Partnershipn2. Joyful and at peace 3. Financially free and secure 4. Deep and meaningful friendships 5. World travel 6. A published write 7. In excellent fitness and health 8. ...
What are your fitness goals? If your goal is to loose body fat, tone up or gain lean muscle, have you ever found yourself looking in the mirror and wondering, “Why haven’t I got the body I want?” You swear you’ve been doing everything your trainer told you to do. ...
With spring around the corner, the anticipation of summer is close at hand. I know my thoughts keep wandering to walking barefoot on the sand and sun tanning at Hanlan's Point on Toronto Island. Summer is a great time for vacations, going to the cottage, enjoying a meal on a patio and hitting the beach on the weekend. But for many people this is not a happy time if they are conce ed about the shape of their body or the extra body fat they want to lose. I know some people who wouldn't be caught dead taking their shirt off in public.
Most people do not drink enough water. Since 60% of healthy bodyweight is water, we need to consume a lot of it every day for optimal health. In fact, water is the second most import element to remaining alive. The first is air and the third is food. We can only live for a couple of minutes at most without air, a few days without water, and a few weeks without food.
In my last article I introduced you to the "Proud Body Program". I discussed some general concepts and suggested some homework to help you get started. In this next installment I’m going to discuss another aspect of physical health, your Body Mechanics or how well your body moves. Your body is a kinetic chain. An injury of the foot could result in neck pain. Tightness in one muscle could be the result of shortness in another. Your body needs to be in healthy working order for the sum of all the parts to work together with ease and in harmony.
I strongly recommend cooking your own meals versus take-out and pre-packaged meals. This may not always be possible given various lifestyle issues. However, when you cook your own food you know what is in your food. If you can’t cook, check out your local bookstore and browse the cookbooks for something with pictures that are geared to the ‘new’ cook and offer simple, easy-to-follow recipes. You can also enrol in a cooking class at your local college. When to Eat
The root of procrastination is ultimately based upon fear. Procrastination may manifest in many types of fear, for example: a need for perfection, which is the fear of not being good enough or not being worthy. We may seek perfection in the sense of always getting ready to get ready, the need to ...
You need fats! But more importantly you need the good fats that are essential to your health and longevity. How much you need is dependant on your lifestyle and health, but the ‘low-fat’ craze has potentially caused more people to become obese and unwell than any other diet craze I am aware of!
Have you ever been to a garbage dump? What does it look like? What does it smell like? A garbage dump is where all the trash goes that we don’t want, or in the case of food, what we did not eat — parts of food, rotten food, packaging, etc. While this might not be the most pleasant image, it is useful to make a point: many of us make poor food choices. It’s as if we were using our bodies like a garbage dump. Are we are eating quality, nourishing food or something that belongs somewhere else, like in the garbage?
You’ve seen them in the gym, you’ve seen them at stores that sell fitness equipment. I’m referring to balance boards, Bosu balls, wobble boards, stability balls, rotating discs, and the multitude of variations on the theme of ‘balance’. Are these gadgets simply gimmicks; a trend offering great ...
When you hit the gym, what’s your routine? Do you have one? Is it written down and do you track what you do so you can measure your progress? And here’s the big one: when do you do you abs; before or after your ‘workout’? And what do you do for your abs? If you watch TV, ...
There are at least two ways of understanding ‘losing’: 1. From a competitive viewpoint 2. From a creative viewpoint When losing is viewed in the world of competition, only the winner benefits; the winner gets the scholarship, the cash, the medals, the corporate sponsorship, and the ...