|
Your core keeps you standing and sitting upright, protects your back, and can even affect your breathing, circulation and digestion (you’ll find out how!). Nearly every movement you make originates from your core. Keeping it aligned, stable, balanced, and strong is integral to your health and well-being! Here are a few really interesting and unusual reasons you probably don’t know about... 1. Did you know that if you have a stronger core, it can actually make you a better runner? A study published in the Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research found that after 6 weeks of core training, runners clocked faster times when running 5,000 meters! 2. A strong core will help you breathe more deeply. When your core is strong, the muscles in your torso are more balanced – and that leads to having a stronger diaphragm and better posture. Both of those factors can help you take deeper breaths. According to the journal Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, deeper breaths help you relax and reduce stress. (win-win!) And if you haven’t tried belly breathing (taking a few minutes to breathe slowly and deeply in and out of your belly and up through your lungs), try it! You’ll be amazed at how quickly it helps you to relax. 3. You’ll notice an improvement in your balance. A strong core helps align your posture so you’re not slouching forward. An aligned posture helps keep you upright, which can improve proprioception – your body’s “awareness” of where it is in space. This is REALLY important- especially as we get older. 4. A strong core also can help keep you agile, active, and moving with fewer aches and pains as you age. We’ve all seen images of elderly people with a bent-over, “stooped” posture. If you take the time to work on your core and posture now, you can save yourself a lot of pain and discomfort later in life. Since this all is so critically important we have pulled it all together for you in a guide complete with handpicked exercises sculpt a powerful core from the inside out. Click the image below to download the guide now!  Core exercises are especially important if you’ve had an injury; sit or stand all day at work; spend much time in front of a steering wheel, computer, or phone; or if you’re a new mom. All of those factors can lead to muscular imbalances that, after a while, can contribute to pain and even injury. Training your core properly can help counteract all that, plus have you standing taller and feeling more confident! Feel free to share this guide with your friends, family or coworkers who might benefit from it! Here’s the link to download ← We hope you LOVE this guide! Let us know what you think! Wilcox Wellness & Fitness
0 Comments
In the summer of 2018 one of our clients, Jacquelyn Gill a University of Maine professor of climate science and ecology, was offered the opportunity of a lifetime: to be one of four scientists to take part in filming a documentary, “Lost Beasts of the Ice Age”. Little did she know that after spending 10 days in the Siberian wilderness filming the documentary, that she would end up fighting for her life thousands of miles away from home, alone for 6 weeks. Due to the long travel days and intense stationary nature of her job there, Jacquelyn was sitting for long periods of time which put her at risk for getting blood clots. By the time she was trying to board a plane home, she knew something was seriously wrong since she couldn’t catch her breath and she had tunnel vision. A trip to the hospital confirmed that she had deep vein thrombosis in both legs and pulmonary embolisms in both lungs. After weeks in the hospital, Jacquelyn was finally well enough to travel and made the long journey home to Bangor. Upon returning home, her doctors commented that they couldn’t believe how she was doing so well after that ordeal given the severity of her embolisms. They believed that since she started training with WILCOX in May 2018, her training and lifestyle change months before the trip likely played a role in helping her survive her pulmonary embolisms. We had a conversation with Jacquelyn to hear more about her story and how training at Wilcox Wellness & Fitness helped her survive this life-threatening ordeal. Wilcox Wellness & Fitness: Jacquelyn, we are so happy that you are here today and able to share your story and experience with us! Do you agree with your doctors that training at Wilcox Wellness & Fitness helped save your life? In what way? Jacquelyn Gill: Definitely, and in more ways than one! Firstly, before I started training, I was the least fit I'd ever been. I was in pain all the time, constantly tired, depressed and anxious. I'd had problems with my IT band for months, and rest wasn't helping. Then, just weeks after I started training, my mom passed away unexpectedly. It was a really difficult summer for me, and training was one of the bright lights during a really hard time. I found that I was looking forward to having that space where I could process my emotions in a healthy way, with a supportive community. When I walked into WILCOX, it was like I left the world behind, checked in with myself and my body, and focused on the progress I was making. I had more energy, I felt great all the time, my pain went away, and even though I was going through a tough time, my overall mood was so much better than it had been going in. After just a few months, my blood work showed a big drop in cholesterol and a huge improvement in my overall health!  Jacquelyn with her dog, Neko, at Schoodic says: "Getting fit helps me go on more adventures with her!" WILCOX: That’s amazing! Your commitment to the program and enthusiasm helped lead you to success! We love that you saw that kind of progress after only a short time! Months after starting with us, you said you were going overseas for work; can you tell us more about that? JG: Last September, I had the amazing opportunity to go to Siberia to conduct research and film a documentary on ice age ecosystems preserved in the permafrost. On the last day of shooting, we were hiking to a remote location along a river in really rough terrain -- slippery mud, tiny log bridges over big chasms -- it really felt like an obstacle course. I was beating myself up because I was having a hard time. I was getting winded, needed a lot of breaks, and I thought it would be easier since I'd been training all summer. Then the next day, when we were getting ready to fly home, I found myself getting winded just getting up to go to the bathroom. I knew something was seriously wrong when I was walking across the tarmac and I felt like my vision was closing in and I couldn't get enough air. I went straight to the hospital in Yakutsk, and I had DVT in both legs and pulmonary embolisms in both lungs. The doctors told me it was amazing I'd survived- my lungs were so obstructed! They told me that improving my condition through training all summer probably saved my life. WILCOX: That is so scary! Do you feel like your training program helped you to know your body well enough to know something was wrong? JG: Absolutely, for two reasons: First, before I started training, I just felt gross all the time -- tired, run-down, in pain. I didn't even realize how bad it was until I started going to WILCOX and I started feeling better. So the first thing training did for me was clear away all the pain and tiredness I was feeling. I stopped expecting to feel like crap, which meant I was able to notice when something was wrong. Secondly, the approach at WILCOX really emphasizes getting in touch with yourself, and paying attention to your form -- it's not about powering through the pain, or pushing yourself to unhealthy extremes. Rather, it's about listening to your body -- where can I push a little more? When should I stop? What's my heart doing? How are my lungs? This gave me the confidence to know that what I was feeling wasn't normal, and it was okay to ask for help, rather than try to muscle through and pretend like everything was going to be fine.  Jacquelyn in Siberia, 2018 WILCOX: Checking in with yourself is huge and we are so glad you were able to put those techniques you learned here to use in your daily life. What other benefits have you seen since starting your training program? JG: There have been so many benefits I wasn't expecting! I knew that training could give you increased energy, help with general pain, and be a mood booster (though to be honest, I didn't really believe it until it happened!). But I've also found that it's given me a lot of confidence in my approach to other areas of my life. Going into a scary surgery or a challenging meeting, I hear my trainers' voices in my head cheering me on. I find that I'm moving in a more mindful way, whether I'm picking up a gallon of milk or hiking my favorite trail. And most importantly, I've gained a lot of confidence in myself -- after so many false starts and bad experiences with diets and gyms, I was always beating myself up for thinking the problem was me: I didn't have enough willpower, I wasn't good enough. Now, even after having to be out for a few months after my Siberian adventure, I'm not beating myself up for "backsliding" or losing some of my conditioning; I know it's going to be fine, and I'll get back to where I was. My internal voice is a cheerleader now, and not a bully.  How Jacquelyn feels after finishing a workout at WILCOX! WILCOX: That makes us so happy to hear your internal voice is cheering you on and the trainers’ voices resonate with you throughout the day! There are so many people who have started and stopped training programs or nutrition programs in the past, just like you have, and may be at the point where they are done with trying. What would you say to those people to encourage them to keep trying? JG: Don't give up on yourself. It's never too late to make a positive shift, and that decision can change your life. Forget the scale, and focus on how you feel. If you've hated every other gym or diet, the problem isn't you-- it's that so much of the culture of fitness and weight loss is about shame, guilt, and blame. What makes a place like WILCOX stand out is the positive approach to wellness: there's a team of people who are invested in your success, as you define it. Not how you look, or your numbers. There are no mirrors, weigh-ins, or judgments; you'll see bodies of every shape, size, age, and ability. When all that other stuff is stripped away, and training becomes a matter of focusing on healthy movements (and healthy eating, if you want to follow optional food guidelines) you end up having a lot of fun. And I never, ever thought I'd say that!  Jacquelyn, after crushing a workout at WILCOX! WILCOX: That is great advice!! Anything else you want to share about your experience at Wilcox Wellness & Fitness? JG: I started training because I was fed up with being sore and out of shape, and I needed the accountability and encouragement I wasn't getting when left to my own devices. And I needed that extra attention, because of my IT band syndrome. Training with an injury was a really positive experience, because my trainers got to know me and they're paying attention, so I knew that I could trust them not to put me in a situation where I'd aggravate my injury. That let me focus on my workout, and not miss anything, because they were always ready to step in with a modification. WILCOX: Jacquelyn, thank you so much for sharing your experience with me! Your BDN article had me in tears and I know that it has already inspired so many people to commit to healthy living just like you have. We are so glad to have you back training with us and we can’t wait to see where your next adventure will take you! With Love, Paige Inspired to get started on your own journey to healthy living?
If you are ready to take the first step, we are ready to support you! We will meet you wherever you are and support you along your path with health and wellness. This isn’t our first rodeo – we have a proven path to help people achieve their very best life and form healthful habits that they can sustain for a lifetime. Click the link below to schedule a no obligation call with us to chat about your health and fitness goals. Take the first step by clicking here to schedule that call!
How I put together 10 lunches in less than 10 minutes.
A few days ago I mentioned that it takes me 10 minutes (or less) to make a week worth of Buddha Bowls (10 bowls) for lunch to feed the 2 of us during the work week. I do tend to exaggerate – but that was not an exaggeration. I literally set a timer and went for it. A lot of people have asked me how I do this so quickly. And I will say a few things – I have been doing this for a WHILE. (1) I was not this fast when I first started #mealprepping. As with anything, practice makes perfect AND speeds up the process. (2) It comes down to the prepping – preparing your work space, having the right storage containers, etc…. I outline all of that in the Meal Prep Guide that we put out recently. If you don’t have that yet, grab your copy here. Buddha Bowls can be ANYTHING – mostly plant based, with a good balance of carbs, fat, and protein. The cool thing is, you can throw anything in that you want! Use your dinner leftovers, use the freshest local produce, add lots of greens, include a grain, and top it off with something crunchy. 
Here is my step by step of how I whip together 10 Buddha bowls in less than 10 minutes: Step 1: line up all of your containers Step 2: get out all of your ingredients Step 3: add all of your greens to all of your containers Step 4: batch add all of your veggies. This week I used: bell pepper, broccoli, and cooked beats. Step 5: add your protein source. This week I had Mike grill up some extra chicken thighs for our Sunday dinner and I chopped these up and added them to our bowl. Step 6: add your whole grain. This was also a dinner leftover. This week we used faro but you can use quinoa, brown rice, etc… whatever your little heart desires. Step 7: top it off with something like sunflower seeds, chia seeds, flaxseed, sesame seeds, etc… We used sunflower seeds this week. I love the subtle salty crunchy. Step 8: the most difficult step of all – stack these up in your fridge. (I leave this job for Mike – he LOVES it – kidding) D O N E In the morning you whip one of these bad boys out of your leaning tower of pisa fridge, dress it with your fav salad dressing, and you are out the door. Having your lunch locked and loaded for the week will make all the difference in the world in terms of your success sticking to your nutrition goals. It is just one less thing you need to think about, worry about, or plan for in the week. AND – it takes next to no time to prepare. So let me know – are you going to give this a go next week? I hope so! Let me know how it goes for you and what is going to be in your bowl! E N J O Y! Paige Want more of this? Join our Healthy Living FaceBook Group! Join our free private FaceBook Group - Healthy Living with Wilcox Wellness & Fitness to connect with us live. Daily we post all things healthy living - pro tips for healthy living, recipes, and weekly workouts for you to do at home. We will answer any question you post and we encourage you get involved in the discussion. Can we support you along your health and fitness journey? If you are ready to take the first step, we are ready to support you. We will meet you wherever you are and support you along your path with health and wellness. This isn’t our first rodeo – we have a proven path to help people achieve their very best life and form healthful habits that they can sustain for a lifetime. Click the link above to schedule a no obligation call with me to chat about your health and fitness goals. Take the first step by clicking here to schedule that call. I am constantly looking for quick easy weeknight dinners that my family is going to LOVE. Bonus points if I can prep the meal ahead of time and pop it in the oven just before dinner time. (I don’t know about you but 5pm in my house is crazytown - the 3 year old is S T A R V I N G, the husband is HANGRY, the baby is needy, and I want to get the show on the road!) This dinner was certainly a winner for us! It took about 10 minutes to prep and 45 minutes to bake. I actually prepped this in the morning and refrigerated until dinner time. In the future I am going to batch prep this with my meal prep on Sunday. Awesome-sauce! Do this recipe once or twice and you won’t need to follow the recipe again: Full disclosure - this recipe came from easyfamilyrecipes.com. I found them on a Pinterest search and they are definitely worth checking out!
I hope your family loves this as much as we do! ENJOY! Paige Wilcox Would you like more weeknight meal inspiration? Check out the NOURISH section on our website: https://www.wilcoxwellnessfitness.com/nourish.html Sick of meal planning? Want us to tell you exactly what to eat? Give you the grocery lists and ensure you will have the fuel to power your busy days? Download our QuickStart Guide: https://www.wilcoxwellnessfitness.com/quickstart.html Want MORE of this? Join our private Facebook group where we share all of our tips, tricks, and hacks for healthy living. Every Wednesday we share a new healthy recipe just like this one. Join us here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/WilcoxHealthyLiving
It’s the most wonderful time of the year! The holidays are a time for friends and family and lots of celebration. They are also a time where a lot of people find themselves ‘falling off the wagon’ and this adds a lot of stress to a time that should be savored and enjoyed.
Many people deal with this stress by rationalizing ‘It doesn't matter - I will get back on track in the new year.’ The problem with that is that by slacking off during the holidays you are going to feel like C-R-U-D and come January 1 you are going to be working against a lot of resistance to get back into your healthy habits. ALSO - who wants to feel like C-R-U-D during the most wonderful time of the year? Not me - I want to feel vibrant and full of energy so that I can take in all of the wonderment of the season. PS: food even tastes better when you are feeling good! I wish that I had a magic wand that I could wave to cure the ALL OR NOTHING mentality. I believe that this is the most destructive mentality there is in terms of health and fitness. The ALL OR NOTHING mentality sets people up for a vicious cycle of deprivation and over exercise (which by the way is not sustainable) and total apathy. As the owner of a health and fitness business it is so sad for me to see people vacillate between these two extremes. When these people are our clients, we coach them through the process even when they are in the ALL IN phase encouraging them to embrace the 80 / 20 rule. 80% of the time, be on point with your nutrition and exercise so that the other 20% of the time you can really enjoy life. 
That means that people can go to the holiday party, enjoy their favorite treats, relax, enjoy themselves, enjoy the conversation without feeling guilty and get back after it the next day with a renewed sense of commitment. SO - what is the solution? Commit to healthy habits that you can sustain for a lifetime. At WILCOX, our mission is to inspire people to enhance their life by forming healthy habits they can sustain for a lifetime. We have identified 5 habits that most people struggle with that will have the most IMPACT on your life. These are habits that you can keep anywhere - traveling, at grandma’s house, with your family, on a month long backpacking trip, caring for a loved one in the hospital - ANYWHERE. Habits bring structure to our lives. 
Habits determine our future. 
So what are the habits that are going to bring structure to our life and set us up for success? 
Super simple, right? Nothing crazy here! We are not talking intermittent fasting, or Keto Dieting, or gluten free / dairy free / (natural) sugar free / fun free. We are talking wholesome habits that you can sustain for a lifetime. And - you only need to be on point with these habits 80% of the time to live a healthy lifestyle - so take the other 20% and LIVE IT UP. These habits were designed for our clients who train with us 3x per week - our sweet spot for getting great results FAST. On your own you are able to - eat breakfast, nourish yourself throughout the day, eat whole foods, and drink your water but most people don’t know what to do when it comes to exercise. Don’t worry - I’ve got you covered. I asked our team to come up with a simple bodyweight workout that you can do on your own at home. 
I hope this helps you stay on track over the holidays so that you can really enjoy that time with your friends and family, live it up at your holiday parties, feel amazing, and enter the new year feeling freaking FANTASTIC! If you are interested in really stepping it up and committing to your health and fitness in the new year, check out our KickStart Program which is designed to help you implement these healthy habits we have been talking about and sustain them for a lifetime. How is that for an amazing gift?
Most importantly - ENJOY this holiday season!
Much Love, Paige Wilcox Interested in our KickStart Program? http://www.wilcoxwellnessfitness.com/kickstart.html Click the link above to learn more. The KickStart Program is designed to help you form healthy habits that you can sustain for a lifetime. The program includes 14 group personal training sessions and a complete whole foods based meal plan. Inspired to get started now? Download this free QuickStart Guide: http://www.wilcoxwellnessfitness.com/quickstart.html This free QuickStart Guide that has been used by many of our clients and is proven to increase your energy levels and help you feel great. This free QuickStart Guide includes a full 7 day whole foods based meal plan, a simple to implement exercise plan, 18 delicious whole foods based recipes, and daily encouragement from our trainer team to help you stick with the program. Want more support? Join our free Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/WilcoxHealthyLiving/ Join our free private FaceBook Group - Healthy Living with Wilcox Wellness & Fitness to connect with us live. Daily we post all things healthy living - pro tips for healthy living, recipes, and weekly workouts for you to do at home. We will answer any question you post and we encourage you get involved in the discussion.  One of the best and easiest ways to take care of your body is by staying hydrated. Water makes up roughly 60% of your body and is essential for every one of your cells to function. If the water content in your body drops by even 2%, your mind starts to lose alertness and your body will begin to feel fatigued. A loss of 10% of the body's water can cause physical and mental deterioration, and a loss of 15% - 25% can cause death. Most people know how important staying hydrated is, yet some studies have indicated that 75% of Americans are functioning in a chronic state of dehydration. Symptoms of chronic dehydration include:
This article from foodmatters.com is worth a read if you want to learn more about the symptoms of dehydration We are so lucky to live in a country where we have fresh, clean, drinking water flowing from the tap. We just don’t know how lucky we are to have this available to us. Earlier this year, I took a trip to India to visit my brother. This trip was incredibly eye opening for me. You can not drink the water in India. You can not brush your teeth with the water out of the tap in India. India is incredibly hot and dry. It was about 100 degrees every day I was there. I drank a lot of water. In our travels I noticed women walking along the side of the road carrying huge loads.  I took this photo on the way to an organic spice farm in Goa, India. It was 108º F that day and dry. Just look at the load this woman was carrying. This was on the side of a very busy road where dirt bikes, rickshaws, cars, and livestock were zipping around. I have this photo saved in my favorites on my iPhone. Anytime I think I have it bad or I am having a hard day, I bring up this photo and get instant perspective. I learned that the task of retrieving water on a daily basis for some women living in rural India is a constant challenge. The Water Project reports that nearly 1 billion people in the developing world don’t have access to clean, safe drinking water. Water is the fountain of life and today, all around the world, people are spending the entire day searching for it. The Water Project Reports: “Indian women can take up to six trips a day to gather and transport water. These walks in rural regions can average ten miles a day, carrying up to fifteen liters every trip. The women load jars or buckets on their heads to carry water. The pressure, added with the distance to water sources, creates back, feet, and posture problems. The heat increases their exhaustion, and the chore itself takes away much needed time for other duties. It is a great loss for these women to spend their days fetching water; they are removed from being able to make an income, better care for their children, or in a younger girl's circumstance, be able to get a proper education. It is common for girls in rural India to drop out of school, so as to help carry out the burden of moving water.” How is that for perspective? What is the obstacle that is getting in your way of being properly hydrated? Is it because you are worried about the inconvenience of more frequent bathroom breaks? Don’t like the taste? Would rather drink coffee or soda? It is time to get over these obstacles and commit to getting yourself properly hydrated. Your body is about 60% water… and just a small 2% decrease can significantly impair performance and the way you feel. Our recommendation is to drink at least half of your body weight in ounces each day. This is critically important. If you are not already drinking this amount of water, make the commitment today. Example: If you weigh 200 pounds, you should be drinking a minimum of 100 ounces of water each day. Need motivation to drink more water? Download our strategies here.  Water should be the main drink you consume on a daily basis. We want you to avoid alcohol, sugary juices, and soda because those beverages do nothing to serve you. Not only that, they’re loaded with sugar that will spike your insulin. It places a heavy load on your body to detoxify from it, which is the exact opposite of what we’re trying to achieve with proper hydration. Hope this helps provide you with a little perspective and tools and resources to commit to proper hydration. Cheers! Paige Download our habits tracker here: www.wilcoxwellnessfitness.com/habitstracker Enter your contact information to receive some free tools and resources to support your habits for massive impact. Visit the link above to sign up to receive more support from us. We will send you information via email to help support your habits for massive impact including a printable habits tracker that you can use to measure your progress within the next 21 days. Join our Healthy Living FaceBook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/WilcoxHealthyLiving/ Join our free private FaceBook Group - Healthy Living with Wilcox Wellness & Fitness to connect with us live. Daily we post all things healthy living - pro tips for healthy living, recipes, and weekly workouts for you to do at home. We will answer any question you post and we encourage you get involved in the discussion. Join Wilcox Wellness & Fitness’ mailing list: http://www.wilcoxwellnessfitness.com/keep-in-touch.html Many people ask what our trainers eat in a day. Katie Norwood is our senior trainer, and is an amazing athlete and person. Since January of this year, Katie has already run over 1,300 miles! She has also completed four Ironmans and run the Boston Marathon. Besides being a great athlete, Katie also loves helping others fall in love with fitness. She is often seen munching on healthy snacks here and there between her training sessions at the gym.  This is from Katie - what she eats in a day. Being a personal trainer, I am on my feet all day and am constantly in-between clients trying to scarf some food down! At work, I know that I get one chance to show people that working out can be the best part of their day so I constantly need to be ON POINT. A lot of people have been asking lately what I eat in a day with my busy schedule. The key for me is to prepare and plan my meals and snacks so that I can nourish myself throughout the day. 4:30 am // Wake up call! 4:35 am // I drink 16 oz of water. 5:00 am // Overnight oats - this is filled with healthy carbs and protein. This keeps me going and energized until my mid-morning snack! Check out our recipe here: www.wilcoxwellnessfitness.com/overnight-oats 8:00am // Apple with peanut butter I also make small snacks that I can eat if I am busy in-between clients so I always have SOMETHING to nosh on. Grapes or some sort of nuts. 11:30 am // Berries/Watermelon  1:00 pm // Lunch is a salad loaded with veggies, avocado, and chicken or tuna. The protein gives me fuel and energy. 4:30 pm // Rx bar - very filling and satisfying - also made from whole foods with very few ingredients 7:30 pm // Steak and sweet potato with onions and peppers. 8:30 pm// Popcorn- either Boom chica pop or Skinny pop I have popcorn EVERY NIGHT. It satisfies my sweet tooth and has healthy carbs in it! Everyday: a gallon of water and 12oz of green tea or Kombucha! There you have it - what our senior trainer, Katie eats in a day. Katie eats very well so that she can perform at her best both in life and in her athletic pursuits. She follows our Habits for Massive Impact in terms of nutrition. Here they are:  It is also important to note that as long as you are on point following these guidelines 80% of the time the other 20% of the time you can really enjoy yourself and indulge in your favorite foods and activities. Enjoy! Paige & Katie Download our Overnight Oats Recipe www.wilcoxwellnessfitness.com/overnight-oats.html Get Inspired by our Favorite Recipes https://www.wilcoxwellnessfitness.com/nourish.html Join our Healthy Living FaceBook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/WilcoxHealthyLiving/ Join our free private FaceBook Group - Healthy Living with Wilcox Wellness & Fitness to connect with us live. Daily we post all things healthy living - pro tips for healthy living, recipes, and weekly workouts for you to do at home. We will answer any question you post and we encourage you get involved in the discussion.  Last month, my husband and I attended a conference in Toronto with many of other ‘heart-centered entrepreneurs’, and it was amazing. During the conference we had the privilege of watching presentations from thought leaders like Simon Sinek, Lewis Howes, and Danielle Laport to name just a few. The theme of the conference was going after your moonshot. A moonshot is defined as an ambitious, exploratory and ground-breaking project. Google defines a moonshot as a project or proposal that (1) addresses a huge problem (2) proposes a radical solution (3) uses breakthrough technology. JFK had a moonshot… “WE CHOOSE TO GO TO THE MOON. NOT BECAUSE THEY ARE EASY BUT BECAUSE THEY ARE HARD. BECAUSE THAT CHALLENGE IS THE ONE WE ARE WILLING TO ACCEPT.” - JOHN F KENNEDY We also got to hear from Naveen Jain who is an entrepreneur and philanthropist drive to solve the world's biggest challenges through innovation. Jain is the founder of a company called Moon Express - the only company to have permission from the US government to leave earth orbit and land on the moon. Jain’s company is working to develop technologies to harvest planetary resources on the moon in order to develop infrastructure to make humanity a multi-planetary society. To me this is just incredible - Jain is not an engineer, or an astronaut, or trained in anything related to leaving earth orbit. He just has big dreams and sees an opportunity to make humanity a multi-planetary society. We live in a world where we can go to the moon if we want to. The sky is no longer the limit. There are no limits.  Need help getting inspired to set that Big Hairy Audacious Goal? Take a look at our free Goals to Stir your Soul Workshop to get inspired.
So - what is your moonshot? What are you working on? Does it set your soul on fire? I would love to hear from you! Paige Last week, my family and I took a three day hiking trip to the Zealand Falls Hut in the New Hampshire White Mountains. We were doing a ‘fill in’ to bridge the gap between the summer crew leaving and the fall crew arriving.  Our responsibilities were to cook and serve breakfast and dinner to the 30-50 guests, clean the hut, and deliver the weather report. My dad was really the leader of this entire operation - he has been volunteering for the AMC for 30+ years.  It was our 3 year old son, Hazen’s first hike in the white mountains and he did incredible - hiking the 2.8 miles up and down on his own. He loved scrambling up over the rocks. It only took a little ‘trail magic’ and encouragement to keep him going on the flat spots.  While we were in the hut, we had the pleasure of meeting many amazing people, one of whom was Greybeard. This is Dale Sanders trail name. Dale is a thru-hiker on a mission to hike the entire Appalachian Trail. As if that wasn’t impressive enough - at 82 years old, Dale is working on setting the world record to be the oldest person to complete the mission.  The Appalachian Trail or the A.T is about 2,200 miles in length extending between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine. Thru-hikers carry everything they need in their pack and camp along the trail. Occasionally they are able to stay in huts like Zealand Falls and enjoy a delicious meal or two and a nice warm and more importantly, dry place to sleep. Dale anticipates his trek will take him six and a half to seven months - hiking from Georgia to Maine and he is on target to finish before the end of the year. When we first encountered Dale at the hut, he looked a little listless, he was ready for that meal and a bunk to lay his head. He had a just come from 8 days straight on some really tough terrain sleeping under the stars and on this day completed 10 miles - just a reminder, Greybeard is 82!! The neat part was, once he got a little nourishment in his system he perked right up and started sharing stories about his journey. The next morning you would have thought he was 32 as he put on a performance at breakfast with his “spirit dance” to inspire the 40 other people in the hut to live life without limitations and believe in yourself and what you can accomplish . If you ever have the opportunity to talk to a thru-hiker - I highly recommend it! Their perspective on life and what is important is absolutely incredible, Greybeard is a prime example of that. What an experience for him and everyone he comes into contact with. I asked Dale over dinner what motivated him to keep going - he told me that he is hoping to inspire others to adventure and to never put limits on yourself no matter the challenge in front of you.
Imagine that - this 82 year old man - out on a 2,200 journey - in the wilderness for months and he is driven by inspiring others. I told Dale that I wanted to share his story with you all and he was thrilled. Let’s all take a little inspiration from Dales sweat, gumption, determination, and his journey. Imagine being Dales age - 82 and deciding that you were going to do something this epic - just to inspire others. To me, that is the definition of living life without limitations. Dale is 82 years old and still living a life of epic adventure. Thank you Dale, for inspiring me and for allowing me to share your story! Happy Training! Paige To read more on Dale’s journey, check out: http://www.greybeardadventurer.com/ If this story inspired you to commit to your own health and fitness, download our free QuickStart Program here and get started today at home: http://www.wilcoxwellnessfitness.com/quickstart.html
If you normally find broccoli, summer squash, or zucchini purchased in the supermarket too bland for your taste buds, try growing them for yourself. When they’re as local as your backyard, they’ll be fresh, organic, and flavorful. Further, kale plants will keep producing all season long, even after a few hard frosts—great for several healthy side dishes. And hot pepper plants, like Jalapeños, can be brought indoors to beautify your home for the winter, and then put back out to fruit the following summer. Finally, growing your own veggies, you’ll often be pleasantly surprised by what you find. This harvest yielded conjoined summer squash—two for the growth of one! *Warning: one summer squash or zucchini plant is enough for one family. You will receive so much healthy fruit from a single plant that you’ll have to get creative with what you do with them. Try using them up in soups that you can freeze or can. (Contributed by our brand spankin new trainer, Kenny Darling) Happy Training! Wilcox Wellness & Fitness |
 Categories
All
Archives
June 2019
|
RSS Feed
