When I was a youngster many of our family vacations were spent in the Adirondack Mountains in upstate New York.  When you do a lot of camping you learn pretty quickly how to make a campfire.  The smoke helps keep the bugs away, the heat keeps the chill of the night air away and most importantly, it provides something to poke at in the solitude of the evening.

Getting the campfire started is oftentimes the most challenging part.  You first have to find some dry tinder.  Than you have to find some small pieces of wood to add to the fire once the tinder ignites.  Eventually you have to have some nice hardwood night logs around to keep the fire burning at an even pace... slow, steady and hot.  If the tinder or small sticks are wet, it can be a formidable challenge to get the fire started.  But once it's going it's just a matter of stirring up the bed of coals before placing new wood on top.

In many ways our metabolisms mimic the characteristics of a camp fire.  In order to keep our metabolisms running and efficiently burning fuel we must provide it with good quality fuel on regular periodic intervals.  If we add fuel too soon the excess energy is wasted.  If we wait too long our fires tend to die out, leaving us with that tired feeling.

Just like the camp fire, the most challenging part is getting to a hot metabolism in the first place.  Sometimes it will take several false starts before we get it right.  This is where perseverance comes in... Just because it didn't work the last time doesn't mean you can't get it right the next time.

Just like the smart camper doesn't wait until night time to start looking for good firewood, the smart fitness enthusiast doesn't wait until AFTER the Holidays to start working on their healthy lifestyle.  Wouldn't the Holidays be more fun if you started eating and exercising smart NOW so that when the inevitable holiday splurges do come along you can enjoy them guilt free? 

Don't wait till the first of the year to embrace healthy re-solutions.  Get started now so that in January your metabolism is burning hot from today's solutions.

In Health and Happiness,
Dave

PS:  It's only been three months since we officially opened the doors to our studio.  Business is already starting to pick up.  If you need support getting your metabolism fired up give us a call.  Sometimes all it takes is a little extra motivation and accountability to get the fires burning.

For many of our clients, basic breathing patterns are one of our first points of interest.  We have found that most people are "chest breathers" and do not know how to breath diagphramatically.  What does this mean?  As chest breathers they are using the accessory respirator muscles (scalenes aka strap muscles, sternocleidomastoid, and intercostals) instead of their primary respiratory muscles (the diaphragm).

Anytime secondary muscles are used in the absence of the prime mover pain and discomfort will follow. In this article Paul describes a simple technique to help you learn to breath like Mother Nature engineered us to breathl

Essential oils have been used for thousands of years by health care practitioners to naturally treat ailments of the mind, body and soul.  Massage therapists use essential oils in the craft all of the time.  It turns out that anyone can use essential oils in a variety of ways. This month Jill Turpin introduces the application of the peppermint essential oil and how it can be used to improve your overall health and vitality.

Desk Jockey Fitness Gift Cards are now available.  Tell someone you care by giving them a Desk Jockey Fitness Gift Card.  Available in any dollar amount...  Redeem your card for a Duraball Pro, personal training services, massage therapy services, aqua detox services, access to our exclusive cardio theatre, or any number of fitness information products and in-home exercise equipment.  Complete with an attractive gift card holder.  Order your Gift Card by calling 704-541-0041.  How easy can fitness be?