Strong Self vs. Weak Self Argument

Do you have a Weak Self and a Strong Self?  Here's a FACT... we all have an argument that
takes place on a daily basis and it's with our weak self and our strong self!

For adults, the argument may sound like this-

Strong Self: C'mon, let's get to the gym.
Weak Self: But, you're already home, you're comfy, dinner needs to be prepared.  Besides, you can go tomorrow.

Who is going to win this argument?

Here's what a kids argument sounds like-

Strong Self: I've got to do my math assignment so I don't get a bad grade.

Weak Self: Ugh math! I wonder how my Clash of Clans colony is going? Do you think my buddy is
on Minecraft right now? Is The Voice on? My math isn't due until Thursday, we can do it later?

I listed a bunch of arguments that we have in our minds between our Strong Self and Weak Self.
The kids were eating it up.  In fact, in our adult class, the adults were eating it up as well.  I could tell, they were relating.

Everyone was surprised when I told them, "It's okay if the Weak Self wins the argument."  They were like, "Huh?  Did Mr. Richardson just say that?"  I continued to say, "...Just as long as the Strong Self wins more often."

The lesson is, we need to realize we have these internal arguments and it's okay.  EVERYBODY has
them.  Is it possible for the Strong Self to win every time?  Yes!  It's called burn out!  Kids get burned out, adults get burned out.

I continued to teach my students that when you are in class, you are probably having an argument.  The  Strong Self wants to punch hard, kick high, and train until your muscles become fatigue.  The Strong Self also says, "C'mon, class is only 60 minutes!  Let's bust it to the end!"

The Weak Self says, "Ah man!  Let's save our energy. Besides, this burning in my quads from kicking and squatting stinks."

The Strong Self says, "We want to get a Black Belt, right?  We want to be fit, be strong, and be able to defend ourselves!"

The Weak Self says, "Let's explain to Mr. Richardson that we have this knee thing and that's why we're resting so much."

The things I was saying was completely resonating with students.  I could tell they knew exactly what I was talking about.  The conversation happens every night eating dinner.  The Strong Self knows that vegetables are king.  The Weak Self just wants to gobble down the yummy stuff.

The moral of the story is to bring awareness to this internal argument.  When it's happening, we can say, "I know what's going on here, and I'm going to make sure the Strong Self wins."

Then, we're going to make sure the Weak Self gets its way every now and then.  Occasionally, the Weak Self makes a good suggestion.  It's typically called a vacation, a rest day, or a cheat meal.

Strong Totz

Can you imagine your toddler sailing through the air in a Michael Jordan fashion, knees bent, one hand palming a basketball, then smashing it through the basket just before the buzzer?

Yeah, we can't either.

That's why we have Strong Totz, to teach our kiddos social interaction skills, balance, agility, and coordination using a wide variety of sports themes and props to get your child a full ride scholarship to a top NCAA university.  Okay, okay, maybe we can't guarantee placement in a top university, but we can guarantee a positive, worthwhile experience.

See our age breakdown for Strong Totz


Explorers – 18 to 26 months. This parent participation class uses a variety of props, songs, and games to engage toddlers in participation activities. Simple motor skills are stressed. (9:15 am Tuesday)

Pioneers – 24 to 36 months.  More advanced motor skills are stressed. Similar to an Explorers class with parent participation. (9:15 am Thursday)

Pathfinders – 3 to 4 years.  A variety of fun games to develop balance, movement, and motor skills as well as listening to instructions. Very active and fun. (9:45 am Tuesday)

Trailblazers – 4 to 5 year olds. Development of kicking, running control, and dribbling as well as listening and following instructions. The class uses a variety of fun games with lots of physical activity. (9:45 am Thursday)

Send me an email to karate@clearwire.net, and we'll reserve you a special spot in the class to try it out.

Cheers!

Duncan Richardson
Vice President of Motioneering
Bodies in Motion
Ph: 208.381.0587
Web: www.BodiesInMotionIdaho.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/bodiesinmotion

The Ultimate Body- Stick a Fork in it!

Last night, Rachel and I were watching a movie called Forks over Knives. Perhaps,
you've seen it. It's a documentary based on the idea that if you focus on your
nutrition (the fork), you can avoid the knife (medical treatment).

It was a pretty infromative documentary, even though Rachel and I fell asleep.
Seriously, it's how we watch movies these days. The kids FINALLY get to bed,
we sit down to watch 30 minutes, then wake up at 2 or 3 am.

Aside from the documentary, it's important to realize that our culture of food is
very bad in the United States. Even eating food that you think contributes to a
healthy lifestyle most likely isn't what you think, unless you've already been vigilant
and have done your homework.

Until this upcoming UBC program, we've focused on eating foods that promoted
weight loss and muscle mass development. It wasn't until my father-in-law was
diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforma (brain tumor), then my mother with
adenocarcinoma (lung cancer) that we realized something is seriously screwed up.

Both my father-in-law and mother are healthy, active, fit, and non-smokers. So
what gives?? Well, that's what our quest has been to discover. As it turns out,
many people before us have already figured a lot of stuff out. Consequently,
nothing is going to change unless we take matters into our own hands.

We can no longer trust that just because it's sold in the grocery store it's going to
be good for us. This email is not the place to explain how most of our beef, chicken,
salmon that we buy in the store contributes to ALL sorts of health issues. Just
think about it... should there be any surprise that eating meat from an animal that
is sick because it's being fed corn, or being pumped with antibiotics is making us
sick too.

Or shouldn't there be a concern that the company that manufactures the most
powerful weed killer known as Round Up, which has been banned in several
countries, is also one of the biggest seed producers for soy, sugar beets, corn, and
cotton.

This company, called Monsanto, genetically modified THEIR seeds to resist THEIR
Round Up. Farmers simply plant the seed, then spray the crops with Round Up.
Everything, but the crop, dies. Nevermind the herbicide that is on the consumable
crop, or the "super weeds" now created, or the ground water that becomes
contaminated.

Nevermind the fact that Americans consume, on average, 147 pounds of sugar a
year, and largely not even realizing it.

Nevermind the fact that 43% of Americans will get cancer, and 1 and 4 Americans
will die from it.

Nevermind the fact that 1500 Americans died today from cancer.

Nevermind the fact that 43 children in America, today, will learn that they have cancer.

Grocery stores, government agencies, or the FDA are not going to look out for us.
For, Rachel and I, and all the instructors of our fitness programs, we have a new vigor
for creating momentum in the United States.

Our mission isn't to push for a cure for anything. It's to remove Americans from the
horrid statistics above. We feel we've already done that with several hundred people
that have already done the UBC through an intense fitness curriculum and nutritional
program.

Part of our new goal is help our UBC students take their health to a whole new level.
Not only do we want our students to one day look all hot and sexy again, but we want
them to live free of disease. In addition to that, we want them to pass this onto their kids,
and so on.

Our next Ultimate Body Challenge begins Monday, Sept. 12th at 6 pm. For more
details- http://www.bodiesinmotionidaho.com/body_challenge.html

Cheers!

Duncan Richardson
Vice President of Motioneering
Bodies in Motion
Ph: 208.381.0587
Web: www.BodiesInMotionIdaho.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/bodiesinmotion

What's an Ultimate Body Challenge workout really like?

This is the question we've been getting from folks who haven't done the program yet.

Half of your classes are going to be Thai-Robics (aerobic kickboxing). This
program is going to result in you burning gobbs of calories. The best part is that you'll
wear boxing gloves and get to knock the snot out of the punching bags.

The other half of the classes are going to be centered around resistance training. We'll
explain the purpose of having it half & half once you're in the program. The name of
this training is Sport Fusion.

Essentially, you'll spend each and every week training like a pretend athlete. You may
not have ever become the Olympic downhill skier you dreamed about, but you can
at least train like one.

In order to keep the workouts super fresh and exciting, we will train you like a soccer
player next. Then, a basketball player, track & field athlete, boxer, and so on. Each
week will be a surprise. Your body never adapts to the same rigmarole (see def. below)
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rigmarole

I had to look it up.

Tomorrow, I will share with everyone another part of the UBC that allows you to
reap tremendous results!

In the meanwhile, if you have any questions, please feel free to call me at 381-0587 x 2.
Just remember, the program begins Sept. 12th.

Respectfully,

Duncan Richardson
Vice President of Bodies in Motion
Chief Master Instructor of The Academy of World Taekwondo
Ph: 208.381.0587
http://www.BodiesInMotionIdaho.com
http://www.facebook.com/bodiesinmotion
http://www.facebook.com/academyofworldtaekwondo

Not a Good Message about the Ultimate Body Challenge

I was having a conversation with a mom who was at Bodies in Motion the other dayfor Open Play with her child. She started asking all sorts of questions about our upcoming Ultimate Body Challenge. Quite oddly, she didn't want to know the benefits of the program. She wanted to know the knitty gritty details of the classes.

The funny thing was, she was tired of talking to all sorts of trainers and reading marketing material, which she called "fluff", about how great the program is going to make you feel. She said, "I don't want to feel great after a workout! I want to feel like I need to lay down on your cold leather couches for 20 minutes while I regain my energy!"

So, with the upcoming Ultimate Body Challenge that starts Sept. 12th, I thought I would put a new spin on how I share this Painfully Awesome program with you.

Will the UBC workouts make me vomit?

Although we've only had about 5 people confess to vomiting since 1998 (one didn't need to confess since she barely made it out the front door), it's our goal to make the workouts as awesome as we can. Here are 3 reasons why you might vomit in the UBC:

1. You were a former athlete 20 years ago. You're naturally athletic, but haven't worked out in years. These folks know how to push themselves as if they were 18 years old again. The vomit reminds them that they're 39.

2. You had grilled salmon for lunch, then a caramel machiatto from Starbucks right before the workout. Now you have Salmon Machiatto puree.

3. You're dehydrated at the beginning of the workout, and perhaps ate poorly prior. Water consumption is important in the Ultimate Body Challenge. We use a simple method- Your Weight [divided] by 2, then call it ounces. In other words, a 150 lb person needs 75 ounces of water a day.

What if the workout times don't work with my schedule?

They won't! I could tell you that we have all these classes throughout the day, but still... it's not going to work with your schedule. The reason it's not going to work with your schedule is because you're stuck. Stuck in a groove, rut, or whatever you want to call it.

Making a change takes a leap of faith and some confidence. We offer classes at 6 am, 9:15 am, 12:15 pm, and 6 pm. Believe it or not, we have the same amount of people who tell us, "the times don't work" as when we did when we had only a 6 pm class.

Is it expensive?

Yes. No matter how you look at it, it's expensive. We've tried breaking it down per class, which comes to $4.98 a class. This includes boxing gloves, nutrition manual, body compositions, strength & flexibility testing. Still, you might think it's a good deal, but it's not.

Here's why it's not a good deal. When you have to replace your designer pants with smaller ones then we're not talking $4.98 a class anymore. Let's say you replace 3 pairs of pants, now it's $12.53 per class. That's not including a couple new pairs of shoes too. See where I'm going?

Is this program still for you?

As you can see, the Ultimate Body Challenge will disrupt your daily regiment. But, then again so does anything with real meaning. Remember the day you brought home your first born? I bet it was the most amazing, life altering, schedule disruption you had ever experienced, but yet you don't regret it one bit.

If after all this, you're still up for the Challenge, we begin Sept. 12th. Follow these steps to get enrollled-

1. Read more here- http://www.bodiesinmotionidaho.com/body_challenge.html

2. Call to get enrolled by phone- 381.0587 x2. We're taking lots of calls, so if it's busy, keep trying or leave a message.

3. Skip step #1 and register online (be sure to create an account first)-
http://bodiesinmotionidaho.perfectmind.com/OurSite/Object/Records/Services

If you've read up to this point, you either found this message entertaining or perhaps it was like a bad movie that you sat through hoping it would get better. Either way, we'd be ecstatic if you passed it onto a friend. A good opener is always, "Let me know if you want to do this with me?"

Cheers!

Duncan Richardson
Vice President of Motioneering
Bodies in Motion
Ph: 208.381.0587
Web: www.BodiesInMotionIdaho.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/bodiesinmotion

Does eating organic reduce your risk of cancer?

Somebody asked me the other day, "Duncan... I haven't seen a blog post from you lately. Is everything okay?" Well, not exactly, but I'll be okay. When two loved ones are fighting cancer simultaneously it can take a major emotional toll on the body.

Within 3 months I've learned more about glioblastoma multiforma & adenocarcinoma than anyone should ever have to know. My feeling is, if you're learning about it, you've either got it or know someone who does.

I am going to apologize in advance for oversimplifying a topic that is highly complex. In fact, I'm going to challenge everyone to educate themselves on one of the biggest things you can do to protect yourself against cancer. That "thing" is what you eat and what you drink.

Too long have we accepted the ideology that, "If it is sold in a store, it must be okay to eat." We trust that someone is watching after us. Hmmm... doesn't it seem odd that the United States now has the highest cancer rate. Does it seem odd that 1 in 4 people, in the United States, will die from cancer. DIE from cancer! Do you understand what that statistic means? It doesn't mean 1 and 4 will get cancer. It means that within the 3 that live, it's because they either won't get cancer or they will get cancer, but will win the battle and die from something else.

Do you ever wonder why or how a seed that was genetically modified to resist Round Up was deemed safe. It's an ingenious invention, actually. Simply plant your corn or soybeans, don't do any traditional tilling or weeding, then douse the crops with Round Up and everything dies except the plant. In the meanwhile, you've got crops that have been soaked in Round Up. Corn in the cob anyone? Must be safe right?

Do enough research for yourself, and you'll discover that many of the things we put into our mouth have multi-billion dollar companies standing behind them. But, the government looks out for us, right? I am not a conspiracy theorist, but I do enjoy listening to them on Facebook while they rally their like minded enthusiasts. The truth is, the government consists of everyday individuals. Some of them have integrity, and some lack it like the Sahara does rain. What I'm saying is, a multi-billion dollar company can find many ways, using the right channels, to get their product to the end consumer.

There are literally hundreds of things that we do, blindly, that have been proven to cause cancer. The defense that most companies use is that there is not enough of this substance to cause cancer. In other words, the results are negligible. At what point does something no longer become negligible? And, what if we add up all the things we consume in a day that are "negligible", now we definitely have something that is no longer negligible, but now circumstantial.

Here are a dozen everyday items that you may expose to your body without ever considering the long term effects due to the ingredients that would be considered "negligible":

Chlorine in water

Mercury in teeth

Charred barbequed burgers

Raspberries

Soymilk

Salad

Eggs

Chicken

"Moderate" air quality

Refined sugar

Deodorant

Lotion

These items either contain carcinogens, pesticides, harmful chemicals, or the animal in which you are consuming was loaded with antibiotics, growth hormones, and put on a diet that actually gives the animal health problems.

Again, I encourage everyone to do their own research so that you can become equally disgusted and invoke change for yourself, your loved ones, and everyone around you.

The change does not come from trying to regulate companies, and what they put in products. That's about as effective as printing out, and marking up a "Terms and Conditions" agreement from Google and sending it back for them to consider revising it. The most powerful way to make a difference is simply to support companies that use "Natural Farming" techniques or are labeled "Organic."

What sucks right now is that naturally grown or organic product is expensive. To switch over, you will spend 1.5 to 2x more on grocery shopping. This is why we're in this mess. Foods have been created to sit on store shelves for a long time. Farming techniques have been modified to pay less workers. Pastures are too small for the number of cows in the field, which leads to infection (thus leading to more antibiotics). Forget having any grass for the cows to graze on when their standing in 6 inches of their own fecal matter and mud, therefore they are fed a genetically engineered product. The same goes for the chickens!

The more people buy natural and organic products, the more these companies will become competitive and will be able to offer a better price. For the sake of our lives, our children's lives, and our grandchildren's lives, make the decision to support the right companies. Once these companies become more supported, they too will become competitive and their prices will go down.

In fact, it's already starting to happen. Mega giants like Wal-Mart and Costco are selling tons of organic products. Products you had to pay out the nose for at organic grocery stores. Believe me, these companies didn't decide on their own that selling natural and organic product that was more expensive was a brilliant idea. They did it because they are listening, and responding to the momentum that is being started by people like you and me!

Respectfully,

Duncan Richardson

Vice President of Bodies in Motion

Chief Master Instructor of The Academy of World Taekwondo

Ph: 208.381.0587

http://www.BodiesInMotionIdaho.com

http://www.facebook.com/bodiesinmotion

http://www.facebook.com/academyofworldtaekwondo

Work Expands Time

Occasionally, I am responsible for a profound thought. It may not be profound to anyone else, but at least it's profound to me. I was reading an article in the latest Entrepreneur magazine on Burnout. Not the type of burnout I'm usually yelling about in the Ultimate Body Challenge.

This burnout is in regards to work. It's very similar to an exercise burnout. For instance, this morning at our 6 am Thai-Robics class, we burned out with pushups... "3 minute max." This is 100 pushups, in your own count, within 3 minutes. For some, it's a 2 minute max. And, then there is the 100 pushups in 1 minute. Well... let me tell you, no matter which max you're shooting for, your muscles burnout to "Total Muscle Fatigue." A term known in the fitness industry as TMF, or as many of our students will say... "Too Many Freakin'" pushups.

Anyhow, the same burnout can hit the body, not in the way of exercise, but in the way of work. Duh... It's something we've known for years. It's something I've known for years, but may have chosen to ignore it. The profound statement that really hit home with me in the article I read was, "Work expands time."

My heart and soul is in The Academy of World Taekwondo and Bodies in Motion. Not a minute goes by where I am not thinking about students, instructors, curriculum, marketing, finances, customer service, and on and on and on. If I allow it, it will literally consume my day, my night, and even my sleep.

If this work expands to enough walls, there is no longer room for the things that mean even more than the success of a business and that is 1) My health. 2) My family. Work expands time. Give work time, and it will expand in it. In fact, the statement is so true it should be a law in modern physics or something.

From my past blogs, you may have noticed that I like to leave you with something that is helpful. If you can relate to this statement of Work Expands Time, try this:

1. Define your workday. Whether you work an 8 hour, 10 hour, or 12 hour day... you must define it. For instance, once that final hour is up, you're done. Laptop stays at work, and Blackberry, iPhone, or Droid gets shut off. I promise, the feeling will be amazing!

2. Write on a sheet of paper your biggest roles in life. I use a Franklin Covey planner, so my roles were easily defined in the page separator. For me, I wrote:

- Husband: Share workload in the house. Define workday so that I can take the kids to give Rachel some down time. Schedule weekly date nights.

- Father: Define workday so that I can be home at a reasonable time to play games and do activities with my kids.

- Leader: Continue to organize our new operation to define rolls and to develop a general manager.

And, for your information, my roles will shift from week to week. Although, 2 are always on there (Husband and Father), the description changes according to how I feel my focus needs to change. I will usually have more roles, but this week, I only want 3 while I work on defining my work day.

Cheers!

Duncan Richardson
www.BodiesInMotionIdaho.com