Photo by Slav Romanov on Unsplash

In order to create change, having a long-term and sustainable source of motivation is essential.

That’s where purpose steps in.

It’s the big-picture idea or concept that helps you set goals and provides that fire you need for consistent action.

Examples of purpose

Your purpose is usually larger in scope and has an overarching effect on other areas of your life.

Where goals tend to focus on a specific detail.

As an example, my purpose may be to help 100, 000 people live healthier lives. A goal may be to start a business that provides a service that guides people to live in a way that supports health and longevity.

Or your purpose may be to enjoy retirement by traveling the world. Your goal may then be to rehab your knee injury so it doesn’t limit your movement or experience.

Your purpose is so important that it often supersedes your goals, given the reason why you have goals in the first place.

Why is it helpful?

Guide post

Your purpose helps you navigate your choices and challenges so you can stay on course.

It’s like a guide post. Helping you make decisions by asking “does this bring me closer to or further from my purpose.”

Think of all the choices you make each day on how you move, sleep, eat, and relate each day.

Did your choices move you closer or further to where you want to be in the future?

Alignment with your Goals

Use your purpose as a guide to help you set and create your goals.

This way each goal not only brings you to your purpose you are also aligned and in coherence with your purpose.

If your purpose and goals are not aligned then you’ll have extra friction when it comes to achieving your goals.

Fuel and motivation

Your purpose is what wakes you up in the morning, ready to go and work on your goals.

Yet anyone who has been on a journey of fitness, health, and personal transformation knows there will be days when you struggle.

Times when it seems impossible to work out or cook another meal.

When you’re in one of these moments, think about your purpose.

It can help you take one small action that moves you forward toward your goals.

Wrapping it up

Your purpose doesn’t have to be something big or extravagant.

It can be as simple as wanting to be healthy and independent as you get older.

As long as it’s important to you, it will powerful.

Use it to help you achieve your goals and to live and move on purpose.

Move Well, Live Better

Ed Scaduto

WHAT IS GOOD NUTRITION?

Everyone has different needs and requirements when it comes to nutrition. Instead of covering what a person needs specifically I want to go over which principles and concepts that are usually found in good nutritional programs. That way you can use it as a guide when you’re creating your own program or deciding on which one to follow.

Here’s some of the characteristics of a good nutrition program:

IT IS SUSTAINABLE – It must be something your willing and capable of doing for the rest of your life. Avoid following extreme diets that you can only do for short time. That includes diets that exclude entire food groups like carbs, or diets that focus on only one or a few foods, like the egg diet. Instead look for something you can incorporate into your lifestyle. Otherwise, it easy to fall in the yo-yo cycle of on a diet to lose weight until you stop the diet and gain it back. Look for habits and behaviors that you can modify or add to your current program so that you benefit from healthy eating for a lifetime.

IT GETS YOU RESULTS – An effective nutrition plan is not only sustainable but it also gives you the results you’re looking for. Whether that is weight loss, muscle gain, performance or any combination. If what your eating is not giving you the results you want then it’s time to make some changes. You’ll have to take an honest look at what you’re consuming and be open to trying some other strategies that may give you more results for the all the work you’re doing.

IT MUST FORTIFY HEALTH – Perhaps the most important thing we can do in terms of health and fitness is being aware of what we eat. In order to have health and vitality, we need to consume a variety of nutrients, plenty fiber, healthy fats and appropriate amount of carbs and proteins. These nutrients are found in abundance in whole natural foods like fruit, vegetables, whole grains and lean protein sources. Making sure that you’re eating all these foods daily is a great way to ensure that your body has what it needs to function and maintain health.

IT SUPPORTS ENERGY LEVELS AND PERFORMANCE – If you are walking around like a zombie with barely enough energy to get up off the couch then it’s time to adjust your calorie intake or your diet all together. A good nutrition program provides your body the nutrients it needs to create energy for all of it’s function, maintenance and performance. You need to be able to work out, do a training session, walk around the neighborhood, meet with family and friends, etc. If you’re exhausted then your exercise and other areas will suffer. And you’re not any healthier even if you’re losing weight. Health and fitness comes from the body adapting to the challenges of exercise, movement and participation. We can’t do that on an empty tank.

WHAT CHANGES DO YOU NEED TO MAKE?

Take a good inventory of your current nutritional intake. How are your energy levels, is your nutritional program supporting your activities? Your training?

Is it something you want to do for long term and most importantly is it making you healthy? How can you improve and make your nutrition plan better?

Keep Moving and Keep Improving,

Ed Scaduto
Precision Fitness

I’m sure you‘re aware of just how important our mindset is.

It can either expand or limit our beliefs and actions.

As an example, If you have a fixed mindset (the belief that if you’re not good at something you never will be) then you’re likely to pass up a on something that may be challenging to you at first.

On the contrary, if you have a growth mindset you’re more likely to struggle with the challenge until you get better. This mindset will have you expanding and enriching your life experience over time.

One of the biggest mindsets that I find myself struggling with recently and I know it can limit my actions is “I’m getting too old for this”.

Thinking this and even saying this once and a while kind of makes sense.

As I get older it’s easier to get sore, takes a little longer to recover, injuries (both major and minor) creep up and sometimes I’m just flat out of energy and need to rest.

That’s all part of the territory and it’s expected to a certain degree. But that doesn’t mean I have to give up on the things I enjoy or want to pursue.

I just have to be more tactical. Use shorter training sessions, pay more attention to recovery and listen to my body. This way I’ll continue my journey, I just take little detours here and there depending on how I’m feeling.

If I buy into the “I’m too old” mindset I’ll start to limit my experiences. I’ll avoid trying new things and I’ll likely give up on the things I can still do.

I’ll basically make it worse than it really is.

So I’ve worked on shifting my mindset from “I’m too old” to “I welcome the challenge.”

I know things will be more difficult as I get older. It’s going to take longer to prepare and recover and I may not be my best all the time. 

But I won’t give up, I’ll show up and face the challenge.

That is best done by letting go of the comparison of how I was when I was younger or the expectations I have for the future. I’ll be open to what is happening in that moment and have no expectation of myself other than to try my best.

It’s this small but important shift that helps me continue doing what I love.

Do you have any mindsets that limit your fitness or health?

Anything that you may need to shift?

Keep Moving,

Ed Scaduto

Photo by kylie De Guia on Unsplash

I had this belief that “more is better.” I approached my fitness and physical activity with this mindset. Every time I worked out, I wasn’t satisfied with the number of reps I completed or the number of exercises I finished. For me, I wanted to do more. I raced against the clock to do finish in less time or lift more weights than the time before.

With this mindset, I quickly became frustrated and burnout soon followed. I even struggled to find the motivation or willpower to work out. The aches, pains, and injuries piled up and after suffering for so long, I finally made a change.

I searched for a better approach and found that it was my mindset that was my biggest challenge. I had to let go of my ego (Bye – Bye “More is Better” belief) and embarked on a journey towards a mindset that supported my fitness goals and, more importantly, my health.

Changing my mindset may seem simple but it proved to be quite difficult. My process can be your gain. By bringing awareness to what is holding you back, you can take the necessary steps to move forward – physically and mentally.

Three Mindsets to Avoid:

1. No Pain, No Gain

This is where you exercise to failure to force your body to get quicker results.

The danger when applied for long periods of time is that it’s too much for your body. Going all out, all the time, depletes your energy and motivation. This makes being consistent more and more of a challenge. with out consistency you’re not going to get the results you want.

Did you know that when you’re ignoring your body’s cues during exercise, you’re conditioning your body to associate pain with exercise? If exercise is not enjoyable, fulfilling and positive, your motivation or consistency in the long run will suffer and you’re not likely to meet your fitness goals.

2. More is Better

There is a saying that “more isn’t always better, more is often just more.”

What this means is there is a sweet spot of training where the time you spend provides you the greatest amount of benefit in return. On the other hand, you can double your time and effort in training but only get a fraction of the benefit since your body can only tolerate so much work. If you continue to do more, this can lead to degrading the body and eventually injury.

3 – All or Nothing

Rarely does the “all in” effort match your expectations. When this happens, you quit. You may give 100% for 8 weeks with the goal to lose 15 pounds only to lose much less. As a result, you lose motivation and stop training all together.

When you don’t meet your goals in your time-frame, it’s a big blow. You may bounce between different programs in an effort to find the one that works because of this “all or nothing” mindset. Being at the two extremes of “all or nothing” instead of the middle ground will only lead to failure. You need to recognize that meeting your goals is a process that you need to trust.

How do you address these problematic mindsets?

Though these mindsets start with good intention, they inherently fail. Fitness doesn’t have to be binary, where it’s “all or nothing” and an “on again and off again” approach. It doesn’t have to be about working out to the point failure or ignoring pain. It also doesn’t have to be about doing more and more, until you’ve exhausted yourself mentally and physically.

Training is great for your mind, body and spirit. With correct planning and the right mindset, it can be sustainable and enrich your life while transforming your body. If you can see fitness through the lens of the long term benefits in health, body and mind, you will be on the right path to change.

My approach to fitness looks at all these aspects for optimal well-being. The “MOVEMENT” FIRST mindset is a unique and different approach to fitness that I can’t wait to share in following blog posts.

Stay tuned and keep moving,

Ed Scaduto

FRUITS AND VEGETABLES THE LINK TO A LONG HEALTHY LIFE

If there was one thing you could do to improve your health, increase your energy, prevent chronic disease and help you lose weight, would you be interested?

Of course you would!

What if I told you all you have to do is eat more fruits and vegetables?

Still interested?

WHY FRUITS AND VEGETABLES ARE SO IMPORTANT

“a diet rich in fruits and vegetables may reduce risk for heart disease, including heart attack and stroke, protect against certain types of cancer, lower blood pressure.” – www.choosemyplate.gov

Fruits and vegetables provide us with a whole host of disease fighting nutrients. They also help us with energy production and weight loss.

1. Provides us with essential vitamins and mineral –

Fruits and Vegetables provide us with all the vital nutrients our bodies need to be healthy. Each one specializes in its own set of nutrients that’s why it’s important to eat a variety of different fruits and veggies.

For instance, cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower and kale have certain nutrients that help you lower your risk of getting cancer.

Green leafy vegetables are a good source of many vitamins and minerals like iron and calcium. They prevent certain types of cancer as well as improve heart health.

Citrus fruit will not only help you fight against colds and flus but also provide fiber, hydration and are packed with potassium which may lower stroke risk. These fruits are also good for our skin.

2. Increase your chance to live a longer life –

Did you know that eating a lot of vegetables is also linked to longer life span?

A new study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, based on data collected from more than 71,000 Swedes, aged 45 to 83, and who were followed for 13 years found some interesting data.

They found that people who had reported eating no fruit or vegetables at the start of the study were 53 percent more likely to die during the follow-up period than those who got their daily servings.

Participants who ate at least one serving of fruit daily lived 19 months longer than those who never ate fruit, on average.

And those who ate at least three servings of vegetables per day lived 32 months longer than people who reported not eating vegetables.

3. Helps with Weight loss and energy production –

Fruits and vegetables help with weight loss in two different ways.

The first is the fiber content of fruits and veggies makes you feel full. Due to their lower sugar content, you won’t experience the ups and downs of energy that you get from high sugar foods and that helps you with your craving. The combination will assist you to naturally control calorie intake and lose weight.

The second way deals with the Energy systems of your body. These vital nutrients act as the enzymes (catalyst) for the break down of our proteins, carbs and fats into smaller units of energy.

It’s this process that allows your body to use carbs and fat for fuel and provides you with more energy.

HOW MANY SERVINGS SHOULD YOU HAVE EACH DAY

The USDA recommends between 5-9 servings of fruit and vegetables per day. That seems to be the range that most organizations agree on and it is a good number to aim for.

Try eating a ratio of 4 vegetables to 1 fruit if weight loss is your goal. Fruit in general has more calories than vegetables. (Still healthy for you though!)

Use a ratio of 3 vegetables to 2 fruit if your close to ideal body weight and are trying to maintain.

So how many servings of fruits and vegetables do you typically eat per day?

Be honest. Not up to 5, that’s ok!

My hope is that I’ve given you a few good reasons to make fruits and vegetables a priority in your nutrition plan.

HOW TO EAT MORE FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

Getting your daily recommendations of fruits and vegetables could be the most important part of living a healthy lifestyle.

If you’re not getting the 5 servings you need every day, start by adding one extra serving.

Maybe you can add a fruit with breakfast or a serving of vegetables with dinner.

Once you’ve decided, work on consistently adding this serving until it becomes a habit.

Here are a few strategies that I use or have used in the past. Maybe they’ll help you out too.

1. Breakfast smoothie – Fruits, veggies and a blender and you’ve got a quick and healthy breakfast.

2. Veggie Omellette – Great way to start the morning – packed with protein and veggies.

3. Prep and cut into small baggies for snacks – Save time and do this all at once and you’ll have a quick snack you can grab at any time.

4. Include veggies with lunch – A healthy side to go with any dish

5. Have a salad for dinner – There are so many different types to choose from, pick the ones you enjoy the most.

6. Haves fruit with yogurt and/or cottage cheese – A healthy fruit and protein filled snack.

7. Fruit after workout or light snack before – A great way to provide energy or start your recovery.

8. Eat small frequent meals through out the day. This will provide the many opportunities you need to get vegetables into your diet. Add a serving of a fruit or vegetable with every meal.

CONCLUSION

By adding more fruits and vegetables into your diet you’ll make a positive impact on how you look and feel. You’ll naturally increase your energy and create less cravings.

At the same time, you’ll also be boosting your health and immune system.

So aim to get 5 servings per day.

It will be worth it!

Move Well ~ Live Better

Edward Scaduto

PS – If you didn’t catch the first part of this Nutrition 101 series you can read it here. It sets the foundation for a good solid nutrition plan.

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/is-personality-and-heart-rate-variability-predictors-of-well-being.html

Why you need to know your Heart Rate Variability

There is one fitness metric that you should track. It’s called Heart rate variability (HRV). HRV provides accurate, up to the minute feedback on how you’re body is doing from a systemic standpoint. It will take the guess work out your training program.

Are you fully recovered from your training sessions or are you continuously over training, sacrificing results and possibly setting yourself up for injury?

Knowing the answer to these questions, can guide you to successful long term fitness development. If you can minimize the down time and avoid over-training, you’ll have less chance of injury and more results.

However if you unknowingly skip on the needed recovery you’ll find yourself constantly over training. It can take days, even weeks to fully recover depending on how far you’ve stressed your system and dug into your reserves.

In some cases, it can take an athlete a whole season to fully recover. I’ve seen shin splints linger through out an entire sports season. Never letting up until activity is decreased or stopped completely.

So how do you know when your over-training? How do you know when you’re ready to push and go for it? Do you need thousands of dollars of equipment? Or do you have to wait until you get an injury, feel exhausted, or you’re totally unmotivated.

You can get an answer to all these questions and stay ahead of the game if you take this one fitness metric.

Enter Heart Rate Variability

You simply use a heart rate monitor and smart phone to track your heart rate variability first thing in the morning. The data you receive tells you whether you’ve recovered from your previous training session and how to progress from there.

If you’ve seen what an EKG read out looks like (the above graph), then you’ve seen HRV. HRV is the time between each heart beat, represented by the distance between each high peak in the graph above.

The more variation in between beats the better. It means your body is sensitive enough to respond to the constant push and pulls of the autonomic nervous system, our fight or flight response system.

Less variability means your body isn’t responding well. In fact, in some cases like diabetes, there is very little change in heart rate variability signifying your body is not adjusting to the increased level of sugar in the blood.

So when it comes to Heart Rate Variability the more variation you have, the more fitness, the more resilience and the more rested you are.

How do you use HRV

All you need is a Bluetooth Heart Rate Monitor (like this one here), your smartphone and HRV app that you can download from the App Store. When you first wake in the morning, put on your heart rate monitor and start the app. There are several good apps out there and some are even free.

It usually only takes a minute or two to get your HRV reading for the day.

After you’ve taken your HRV you can compare that number to an already established baseline.

If your number is lower than the base line it’s usually recommended to do a lighter workout. Drop two days in a row, then it will suggest that you skip exercise all together and rest.

Once your HRV has recovered then you can go back and resume your training as planned.

This is personalized training at its best. You simply take your HRV and then appropriately plan for the days activity.

Long Term Implications

This simple measurement gives you the reliable information you need to adjust your training program on a day to day basis. It puts the end to all the guess work.

It also keeps you ahead of the game. You’ll see a decrease in your HRV days before you’ll feel the physical manifestation of over training.

So instead of waiting until you feel unmotivated, exhausted or suffer an injury you’ll know ahead of time to back off from your training until you have fully recovered.

This provides you long term sustainability (training with out injury) and better results.

You’ll know when to push for high intensity training sessions and when to back off and do more recovery work. Then when you’re fully recovered you can safely push the intensity of your training.

Something we all need

If you’re training to lose weight, to hit a personal record, or just to participate in the game of life you’ll need this information.

It’s an accurate snapshot of how your body is responding to all the stresses in your life. Adding more exercise when your body is already at its limit is enough to send it into a chronic state of over-training.

But if you have the information and data to know that your body is ready for intense training, you can capatalize on that knowledge and push yourself to better results.

Ed Scaduto
Precision Fitness
“Move Well, Live Better”

What is the power of habit creation?

I use habit creation to make the changes I want to see in my life.

With the help of Leo Babauta’s work on his website Zen Habits. (You can learn more about his work here.)

Habits are now running my life.

They tell me when and what to eat. They tell me when and how to exercise. I have no say. I try and fight them but I can’t, I am powerless.

Hard to believe?

I don’t set an alarm clock. I’m always up before 4:30 am, sometimes earlier, much earlier.

First thing I do is drag myself to the coffee maker. I do it first thing EVERY morning. No thinking, no objections.

I then catch up on emails and plan for the day.

I’ve recently added writing for 30 minutes.

When I’m done using my brain, I’ll start my movement practice and then take the dogs out for a walk. All before having breakfast.

I do this every morning, weekday or weekend, it doesn’t matter.

It’s what my habits tell me to do so I do it and I don’t mind, not at all.

Creating Habits

Habit creation is a powerful technique that has forged my morning routine into one that starts my day off on the right track.

This can help you too.

They can help you put everything on automatic.

I head to work every morning knowing that I’ve already accomplished a big part of my daily goals.

I also know that in the long run, I’ll make significant progress in both my writing and movement skills.

And if I can do it, I know you can too.

Three Reasons to Start Creating Habits

1. Your brain loves habits.

Habits run the mundane everyday tasks for us.

They can take over the menial tasks that we repeatedly do (like brushing our teeth) so our brains can focus on more important tasks or problems.

This allows you to dedicate your time and energy into creatively solving the BIGGER problems in your life.

2. Motivation not required. 

As you know, fitness isn’t a one time thing. Like any pursuit, it has to be practiced every day and it only works when you’re consistent.

There’s no other way around it.

Your habits allow you to keep moving forward with or with out motivation.

Just think of the results you would if you can create a healthy habit of exercise even when you’re not feeling up to it.

This can work wonders for your consistency, and consistency will work wonders for your goals.

3. Long term results.

When you create a habit you reap the rewards forever.

What a deal, right?

Just put in the hard work upfront and you’ll see a lifetime of benefit.

I know it’s not easy; building habits or even replacing bad ones takes time and being patient enough to see it thru can a be a big challenge.

It is however worth it.

Because the other option is to get rapid results using extreme measures.

But what happens in the long run?

You can’t keep up with the unrealistic demands so you drop out and go back to your old habits.

And now you’re back to square one.

You can avoid all of this.

Instead, work on the process of building healthy habits so the results you do get, you get to enjoy and keep forever.

(I wrote a post on how to create habits, you can read it here.)

The Power of Habit Creation

This is why I let healthy habits run my life. It frees my mind to focus on more complex tasks, it keeps me consistent and that consistency pays off big time.

It may take time and a lot of effort up front but once you create a habit, you get results for the long term.

Isn’t that what you really want anyway?

Ed Scaduto