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I wasn’t smart enough to write this, but still thought that it applied well to our Fitness Boot Campers…

Five Reasons Why Strong Women Are Sexy

By Josh Hanagarne
1. Strength implies dedication. When I see a woman who values strength, I see someone who knows the value of perseverance and commitment.

2. Strength implies a healthy sense of priorities. The current portrayal of how women’s bodies should look is pure poison. I’m hearing more about sexy “clavicles” these days, of all things! Take a look at some female kettlebellers and you’ll know what I mean.

3. Strength defies society’s portrayal of how women should be. Society does not value physical strength in women. The women in vogue are emaciated and bug-eyed, without any muscle tone. They are bony clothes hangers and I don’t know how that appeals to anyone. The physically strong woman resists the siren song of the anorexic crackhead look and makes her body do what feels good. And again, if you give your body what it needs, it’s going to look good.

4. Strength leads to confidence. When you choose to do something as difficult as real strength training with demonstrable results, it changes your body and your mind at the same time. Confidence is very attractive.

5. Strength training helps you age gracefully. Weak young women become weak old women. Strong young women become elegant, strong, confident women. In short, there’s no downside to being strong. People that are attracted to weakness are normally attracted to vulnerability and there’s not much potential upside to that.

Painless insight into the various types of headache coming to a skull near you.

Inside your head sits one of your most important body parts. Your head is also a center of potentially debilitating pain. What kind of headache are you dealing with? What is the best way to treat it? Use this chart to get a handle on your headaches.

Acute Headache

Symptoms: The most common type of headache, acute headaches cause pain the head that is usually short-lived and mild in intensity.

Causes: Causes of acute headaches are wide-ranging. A few include illness, infection, and skipping meals.

Treatment: Many acute headaches can be taken care of with over-the-counter pain medication, eating, drinking water, or waiting it out.

Prevention: Recognize triggers that cause you to suffer an acute headache and avoid them.

Cluster Headache

Symptoms: A group of extremely painful headaches that occur multiple times in a single day on a regular basis over a period of weeks or months without warning, cluster headaches typically affect only one side of the head behind the eye or near the eye. They usually last 30 to 45 minutes at a time, though the pain can stick around for a few hours and cause the sufferer to not be able to sit still.

Causes: It is unclear what causes cluster headaches, but most people who suffer from cluster headaches regularly smoke cigarettes and drink alcohol.

Treatment: Treating cluster headaches requires prescription pain medication

Prevention: Since it is unclear what causes cluster headaches, it is impossible to create a foolproof prevention plan. However, not smoking or drinking alcohol excessively will reduce your chance of a cluster headache.

Migraine Headache

Symptoms: Occasionally moderate, often severe, migraine pain can last a few hours or a few days. In some instances, the sufferer also experiences abdominal pain; loss of appetite; nausea or vomiting; blurred vision; dizziness; and extreme sensitivity to light, noise, or odors. They can come a few times a month or only one or two times a year.

Causes: It’s unclear exactly what causes migraines. What is known is that they have to do with changes in the brain, inherited brain abnormalities, and the contraction of blood vessels in the brain.

Treatment: Typical treatment for migraines includes a strong prescription medication and lifestyle changes to reduce your likelihood of future migraines

Prevention: Though you cannot always keep migraines at bay, you can reduce your likelihood of a migraine by reducing the stresses in your life, getting an appropriate amount of sleep (not too much or too little), avoiding caffeine and alcohol, and not missing meals.

Sinus Headache

Symptoms: Causing a deep, constant pain in the cheekbones, bridge of the nose, or forehead, sinus headaches usually grow worse when you move your head quickly and are usually experienced with other symptoms of a sinus infection, such as facial swelling, nasal discharge, fever, and feelings that your ears are full of fluid.

Causes: One of the sinus cavities (located in the cheekbones, bridge of the nose, and forehead) becomes infected, causing inflammation that prevents mucous from flowing past the sinuses.

Treatment: In order to overcome a sinus headache, you will need to beat your sinus infection using antibiotics. You may also find symptomatic relief by using over-the-counter antihistamines and pain medication.

Prevention: Avoiding sinus headaches requires you to avoid sinus infections. To do that, wash your hands regularly, stay away from people with cold symptoms, drink plenty of water, eat a healthy diet full of fruits and vegetables, and don’t smoke.

Tension Headache

Symptoms: The muscles located between your head and neck seem to contract for hours or even days at a time, causing a continuous, pulling pain that is focused in the temples, forehead, or back of the head or neck.

Causes: Stress; fatigue; psychological problems; arthritis; bad posture; abnormalities in the neck muscles, bones, or discs; grief; or depression can all bring on tension headaches.

Treatment: Beat tension headaches by taking medications to reduce inflammation and pain or relax the neck muscles. You should also work with your physician to determine the underlying cause of the headache and receive appropriate care for that condition.

Prevention: Regular use of pain or other medication can help prevent tension headaches, as can stress reduction techniques and improved posture.

Please help me remember those who have served and have given the ultimate sacrifice.

CPT Korn

SSG Lloyd

SSG Zeigler

SSG Montalvo

SPC Hildreth

PFC Thorne

These particular Soldiers were killed in action while serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom. With the exception of CPT Korn whom I knew as a friend; these men were my Soldiers, brothers all.

Rest in peace my friends…

Something isn’t quite right about your exercise routine. You’re about to find out what it is.

You don’t go to the gym to hang out. You’re there to get fit, to feel better, and to gain more energy to get through your stressful day. So why is it not working? Here are a few common reasons your body may not be responding how you want it to after a good hour or two at the gym.

Your Body Has Peaked

If you’ve been working out for a while and have stopped seeing the results you saw during the first few weeks, your body may have hit its peak. This happens most often when you perform the same exercises over and over, day after day, without any change in your routine. But don’t worry – you can get past this problem with relative ease. All you have to do is add some variety and spice into your routine.

An easy way to do this is by changing the type of weights you use. If you usually workout exclusively with plate weights, grab some dumbbells – or better yet, kettlebells. If that isn’t enough to get your body to start responding to gym time, talk with a personal trainer about new exercises to sprinkle into your regimen for continual improvement.

You’re Not Committed

Many people get frustrated with their gym routines only to realize they aren’t spending enough time in the gym to see any noticeable difference. And while you may spend hours each day thinking about how you need to get in the gym, thinking isn’t doing. Yes, the right mindset will improve your physical fitness and help you push your body in the gym, but you’ve got to be in the gym to actually push your body.

If you’re spending two hours in the gym every day but leave without any results, you may be committed to visiting the gym, but not using the gym. When working out, make sure you’re giving 100 percent the entire time. That doesn’t mean you have to lift hundreds of pounds with each repetition, but you should be focused, using proper posture and moving from one exercise to the next without a 20-minute water break between each set.

Your Diet Doesn’t Mesh

Working out regularly is a must if you’re going to obtain optimal fitness. But if you think you can eat whatever you want on your way to good health, think again. Your exercise routine is only as good as your diet. Therefore, eating a healthy diet is essential to making the most of your gym time.

In fact, if you don’t eat healthily, you probably won’t feel up to pushing yourself in the gym, making it even harder to reap the rewards you so desperately want. To make sure your gym time is well spent, you may need to modify your diet to include more fresh fruits and vegetables, fewer late-night snacks, and more lean protein sources, such as lean meat and peanut butter.

You Can’t See

If you’re like many people, you may be your worst critic. While everyone around you is gawking at how good you look, you wish you could lose three more pounds and another inch or two from your waist. How do you get over this problem? With a diary.

When you begin working out, keep track of your routine, noting repetitions, weight lifted, and time spent on the treadmill. Over time, you will certainly notice an improvement in your endurance, strength, and overall fitness – even if your waistline isn’t the tiny circle you think it ought to be. Keeping track of fitness in this way helps you keep a healthy tab on your improvements over time and will keep you committed to the gym and a healthy diet!

Need help? Call me at 254-247-3668 to set a free fitness consultation!

No matter who you are or what you’re interested in, there are some books that everyone should be familiar with.

When I was on deployment(s) to Iraq, books kept me sane and let me disappear into a different place. I love to read.

Since elementary school, people have been telling you to read certain books. You’ve enjoyed some of them and others you suffered through to make a good grade in English class. But now that you’re an adult, there are a few books you really should read. By reading these books, you’ll have a better understanding of the literature that has shaped our society and be more interesting to talk with.

When you’re ready to be more cultured, pick up these books, have a seat, and enjoy.

Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger – Few books have garnered as much attention over the years as Salinger’s blistering portrayal of adolescence. Loved by many, hated by others, and banned by various organizations, Catcher in the Rye is a cultural touch point for every age and stage.

1984 by George Orwell – When it was written, fears of Big Brother loomed large and looked a bit unrealistic. Since then, Orwell’s classic seems to be turning into reality, as it is brought up in the midst of countless debate concerning the size and role of government.

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes – A touching story about a mentally challenged man named Charlie who undergoes experiments to increase his intelligence and awareness, Flowers for Algernon brings up many hard questions that must be wrestled with by every person fortunate enough to read the book.

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez – Though it doesn’t have a coherent plot or take place in the U.S.A, One Hundred Years of Solitude offers something every American can appreciate: a call to remember your history.

The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin – With so many backing Darwin’s evolutionary theories brought forth in The Origin of Species, it only makes sense to have a fuller understanding of those theories, whether or not you agree with them.

Lord of the Flies by William Golding – The story is violent, the language is foul, and the kids are horrendous. Yet somehow Lord of the Flies has made its way into the center of culture, for better or worse.

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky – A magnificent tale of a poverty-stricken young man who suffers immense psychological terror from a crime he planned to perfection, Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment reminds readers why some books are deemed classics, while others dwindle into obscurity.

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck – Forced to cross the country in search of work, the central family in The Grapes of Wrath goes through mind-boggling hardships during one of the most dramatic events in recent history – the Great Depression. Once you finish this one, pick up any other Steinbeck novel for even more culture.

Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison – Everyone feels invisible on occasion. For the main character of Ellison’s book, being invisible isn’t an occasional problem. It never seems to end. But this isn’t a sci-fi epic. It’s a book all about race and the inner man.

Ulysses by James Joyce – As difficult to read as it is thick, Ulysses has handled more banning bullets than nearly any other book on the shelf. Before picking it up, take note: it is the antithesis of a fast read. But it is top book on many “best book” lists, so it must have something to offer.

The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara – A sad, heroic tale of the Civil War, The Killer Angels is just as brutal as it sounds. Want to follow Márquez’s advice of remembering your history? This is a good place to start.

Anything by William Shakespeare – Picking one of Shakespeare’s pieces to highlight would be like figuring out which of your children is your favorite. Shakespeare’s works are pure genius that have forced students and graduates to grapple with the finer and unrefined parts of life.

Lord of the Rings by J.R. Tolkien – You know the book is always better than the movie, so why haven’t you read this marvelous trilogy of hobbit life? The books are long, the details sometimes overkill, but the story is simply delightful.

The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner – Because it is written in various perspectives, The Sound and the Fury throws many readers off track early on. Once you gain your footing in this novel, you’ll want to sprint to the finish line and start again.

Welcome the following folks to our athletic family!

Kristi Everett

Primrose Ferere

Welcome Christopher Delwisch!

Welcome Christopher Martinez!