Tola Talks with Reena De Asis, Director of the nonprofit organization Dress for Success, dedicated to empowering disadvantaged women with the attire and the tools to help them thrive in work and in life. On Whatever Wednesdays, Rich also talks about North Korea leader Kim Jung Un & his ankle cyst, NASA rocket explosions & International Space Station, Ferrari& it’s split from parent Fiat Chrysler, new suicide apps & Twitter, Walmart & Fat Girl Costumes, plus the GYST Award to Monday’s disappearing Dad who resurfaced 110 miles away.
By the time you reach 48 there’s not much hoopla about your birthday, right? The true celebration is in the continued evolution of your soul. Which also applies to your body. And with that evolution of your body brings new challenges each year. Challenges that include dealing with a slower metabolism rate, a weakening of muscles and bones, and an increasing waistline. Go figure, right? So what can be done to counter these challenges? This: what I’ve been doing everyday for the past 32 years – working out. I hate to blow my own horn here, but maintaining a daily fitness program really works. Yesterday I met a 20 year old gal who thought I was 33. That’s 15 years younger folks. Plus, I’m not a fanatic about what I eat – just smart – so I must attribute my success to working out. Everyday. Trust me, it works. Here’s a few of my favorite abdominal exercises in today’s 5 minute fat burning workout #34 – Birthday Abs. Enjoy – Rich
I was just thinking about TGIF. That is to say, how Time Goes IncrediblyFast. We’re 10 weeks into the New Year – which feels like yesterday – yet it seems like everything we strive for takes so much time. Like fat burning. On a day-to-day basis it seems like not much is happening. But in reality, something good is happening. That is, if you apply yourself. Apply yourself to a lifestyle that includes thinking and feeling positive, making the right food choices, and sticking with a fat burning mindset and daily fitness routine. Because time goes incredibly fast. So TGIF & enjoy your 5 minutes of fat burning #16 – R
What if you couldn’t tie your shoelaces or put your daughter’s hair in a braid? This past weekend a 26 year old woman was given a hand transplant during a successful 14 hour operation at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center – the first such transplant in the state of California. To be whole again. And to enjoy the simple things like braiding her daughter’s hair were the young woman’s wishes. Good news followed the operation – she’s already moving her fingers as the donor’s hand “matched beyond expectation”. Although a hand transplant comes with lifelong risks, lead surgeon Dr. Azari said, “The reasonable expectation is she will get sensation back and she will use her hand. So far it looks spot on”. Let’s radiate positive energy for our young woman, and let’s all enjoy the simple things in life. Including our daily 5 minute fat burning workout. Here’s #13. R
You may already know that my charity, The Boulevard Zen Foundation, teaches yoga to kids and moms living in domestic violence shelters (www.BoulevardZen.com). I was inspired to start the nonprofit after visiting a shelter upon completion of my film, Boulevard Zen. My experience with domestic violence comes via the domino affect abuse has on families as my father was a victim of child abuse until the age of 12 when his father left for good. I have also befriended women in my lifetime that have experienced some of the most heinous crimes imaginable. Domestic violence and child abuse unjustly robs its victims of self-confidence and oftentimes prevents kids from experiencing what we at the foundation call excellent teaching moments. So when our yoga teachers find a unique opportunity during class to go beyond an actual yoga pose and teach meaningful life lessons, we all succeed. And the kids remember those lessons and bring that knowledge into their lives while impacting the lives of everyone around them. Which is why I get excited every time one of our teachers writes to me about an excellent teaching moment. Like today from Carolyn in our San Diego shelter. It’s what we strive for and are committed to doing: to be more than just yoga teachers and to impact lives forever. Because those lives are the future of our Nation and of our World. Namaste – R
I spoke with my sister yesterday after I received her beautiful pictures of my nieces and nephews, including my brother’s children. This holiday season my family is 3,000 miles away, but for sure I’m there in spirit. And keeping with that holiday spirit, my sister told me she just started my fat burning workouts and intends to lose 12 pounds. The key word here – intends – as opposed to hopes. Because with anything you do that requires action, it’s better to set your intentions and make it happen than to hope for something good to happen. She also told me the first two days her legs were so tired she couldn’t go for her 2 mile walk – which she also just started. I told her after a week or so that muscle fatigue will get better and she’ll be jogging those miles in no time. This Ode’s for you sis…
Burn Fat Burn
Sometimes the path seems filled with pain,
but the only thing that hurts is your ego in vain.
Who says you’ll find success by pushing yourself daily,
when the results seem as far as the comet Halley.
But wait, you say, there’s a simple solution,
because reasons and excuses are just an illusion.
So keep on trucking with that positive attitude,
with fat burning workouts there’s no room for platitude.
Always set your intentions and just let’em fly,
no judgment, no worries, to your old ways goodbye!
After my workout this morning I ran into a friend who just started doing my 15 Minute Fat Burning Workouts. I would describe this twenty-something gal as rather solid, with about 25 pounds excess weight. She told me she started with Tuesday’s Workout – which happens to be one of the more challenging ones – and that she was “sore in a good way”. For someone who doesn’t workout much – or at all – being sore was certainly a good thing. It means the workouts are affecting her muscles in a fatiguingly positive way, opening them up to receive new energy and nutrients, thus making them stronger and firmer. It’s the sore in a good way feeling that burns fat and conditions the muscles for future workouts, allowing that soreness to diminish over time. Because that soreness does go away folks. Although it may return from time to time based on where your body is on any given day – a topic for a future blog – your muscles become accustomed to the workouts and respond more amicably, i.e., no soreness. So don’t get worried or discouraged, and certainly don’t stop working out just because of a little discomfort. Always remember: pain is bad, soreness is good. Enjoy the good with the bad and get your workout in today. And I’ll see you tomorrow. R
Everybody knows what comes next, right? I mean, how many times have you heard your best friend or someone you just met say, “Look, you don’t understand”, immediately followed by some reason or another why they’re in that predicament or why they can’t do something. More importantly, when was the last time you said this? Because whatever reason that follows, and I’m sure it’s a good one, is totally irrelevant. If you just change your mindset and start thinking of solutions and not reasons for the problems, you’ll be much better off. And soon you’ll be in a much better place. Case in point: Last night I met this thirty-something gal who said she lived with her boyfriend for the past 3 years and was not going to marry him because he was the wrong guy. I asked, why don’t you just be honest with yourself – and with him – and separate amicably so you can both move on? Because with relationships, I said, 3 years becomes 5, then 5 becomes 7, then 7 becomes 10. And who wants to spend TEN years with the wrong guy. Pretty stupid if you ask me. So what does she say, look, you don’t understand. We have a house and two cats together”. And I said, well, why not have him buy you out of the house, or you buy him out with an investment partner, let’s say, and you each get a cat. She just looked at me with a blank stare. Then I smiled and left thinking, it takes courage to make what anyone might consider as bold and risky moves, but they’re really not. Keep it simple and honest and stay in the present. And don’t forget to get your workout in. Because who doesn’t have 15 minutes a day to respect themselves? R
