Whenever you change any part of your life, all the other parts of your life change as well. Start out with a mental vision and goals. Write them down and read them everyday. Lifestyle Fitness combines mental clarity and positive thought, nutrition and focused exercise — aerobic and resistance (weight) training. If we are stronger and healthier, we're happier — or at least able to deal with the less agreeable stresses of life.
I've often get asked what I do to stay fit. Usually people want a magic pill, but there isn't one. Fitness is complex and simple at the same time, it takes work and intention — but hey, so do the other important things in our lives; and as with everything else we manifest, it starts from the inside out. Create a vision, make a plan and bingo! You've got a roadmap to a healthier life.
Photo: Cliff Baker
"Rick guided me through his cutting diet while I was preparing for a film, and the
results were amazing. He created a very specific plan for my body type and
personal goals and it worked...fast! His emotional support and encouragement
throughout the program was invaluable, and I can't wait to work with him again."
— Marcus Chait Actor (Million Dollar Baby, North Country)
You Thought Exercise Was Just To Look Good? There's nothing wrong with the vanity factor, though you might remember that fitness models and actors don't look like they do on the magazine pages every day. The way I see it, the more reasons I have to exercise and keep a fitness lifestyle, the greater my motivation will be. One of those reasons will always kick in and get me out the door to work-out.
A Tufts University study has shown that exercise can reverse ten measurable biomarkers of aging. That's called youthing... it's worth the work! Here's what you can expect with a fitness lifestyle... and what you can expect without one:
1. Exercise increases lean body (muscle) mass: The average American adult gets little exercise and loses 6.6 pounds of muscle each decade. . 2. Increased strength: Without focused training bundles of muscles and motor nerves deteriorate between the ages of 30 and 70, with the average person losing 20% of their motor nerves in the thighs, with similar losses in all the large and small muscle groups elsewhere in the body.
3. A higher basal metabolic rate: The unexercised body’s metabolic rate declines by 2% every decade after the age of 20.
4.Aerobics and strength training lowers body fat: Between the age of 20 and 65 the average person doubles his or her ratio of fat to muscle, with even higher ratios in very sedentary lifestyles.
5. Increased aerobic capacity: Without fitness training, by the age of 65, the body’s ability to use oxygen declines by 30 to 40 %.
6. Lower blood pressure: The average person experiences an increase in blood pressure with aging.
7. Better Blood-sugar tolerance: Type II diabetes risk increases with age because of the body’s reduced ability to use glucose in the bloodstream.
8. A happy Cholesterol/HDL ratio: Overall cholesterol increases with age, and “bad” LDL cholesterol gains ground over “good” HDL cholesterol.
9. Strong Bones and Bone Density: Bones loose calcium with age, if this goes too far, it becomes the disease osteoporosis.
10. Body temperature regulation: The body’s ability to regulate a steady internal temperature of 98.6 degrees declines with age.
"Rick is a great trainer, with very specific and beautiful form. He is tremendously
supportive and kind, and works me according to where I am that day--mentally,
physically and emotionally. I always leave him feeling inspired and full of energy.
He is a beautiful soul." — Rosanne Cash Singer-songwriter
