5 Excellent Reasons to Drink Green Tea

Okay… I'll admit it. I'm a coffee-holic (or java junkie, if you prefer). I love my daily cup o' joe! Actually, it's usually several cups, but you get the point. Now in my own defense, I don't add sugar or creamer, so it ends up being an extremely low calorie indulgence. However, I keep coming face-to-face with the fact that green tea provides a huge dose of disease-fighting antioxidants -- something with which my daily coffee just can't compete.

In an effort to determine if I should go back to drinking green tea regularly (yes, I was on the bandwagon a few years ago), I did a little more research, and I think it's important enough to share it with you. So, without further ado, here are five good reasons you should consider becoming a regular green tea drinker:

1. Green Tea Prevents Memory Loss

Studies have shown that older adults who consume two cups (or more) of green tea per day are 50% less likely to experience cognitive difficulties. Apparently the antioxidants that I mentioned above are excellent at preventing damage to brain nerves (commonly seen in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's patients).

2. Green Tea Protects Your Skin

Soaking a cotton ball in green tea and applying it to cuts, abrasions and bug bites will alleviate itching and help stop any swelling. As it turns out, green tea is a natural antiseptic and works great on skin from the outside and from the inside. Assuming that you're not in a position to be dabbing tea on your body regularly, let me assure you that drinking it can also help your skin by blocking skin cancer caused by over-exposure to the sun. In fact, if you're observant, you've noticed that "green tea extract" is showing up on the labels of all sorts of skin care products recently!

3. Green Tea Promotes Arterial Health

Consuming only 10 ounces of green tea a day will help keep your arteries healthy by helping prevent plaque from building up in blood vessels, thus reducing your risk of heart disease and stroke. And while it's keeping your arteries young and flexible, the green tea is also slowing the absorption of fat and cholesterol into the bloodstream.

4. Green Tea Provides Blood Pressure Stability

Your doctor will tell you that a healthy blood pressure is 120/80 (or lower). Achieving that level is half the battle, but maintaining it is the other half! Keep with the "half" theme, people who drink just half a cup of green tea each day are about half as likely to end up with hypertension, thanks to the internal benefits of certain antioxidants known as polyphenols. These little helpers keep your blood vessels from contracting, which keeps your blood pressure down.

5. Green Tea Pummels Cancer Cells

Studies continue to show that drinking green tea reduces the risk of multiple types of cancer, including breast, stomach, colon, and prostate cancers. Apparently a number of those wonderful little polyphenols also keep cancer cells at bay, first by discouraging growth of the cancerous cells, and then by stifling the creation of fresh blood vessels that tumors require.

And there you have it: five excellent reasons for all of us to start drinking green tea on a daily basis. I won't give up my coffee completely, but I'm sure I can find a way to fit a cup or two of green tea into my daily routine!

Train hard and pray harder,
Brandon

Printable Workout Page

Sometimes it's easy to read something online, but difficult to translate it into something you can use offline. For example, in my last post I gave you a solid, full-body workout with links to YouTube videos and exercise explanations on BodyBuilding.com... but you may be wondering how to "write it out" in a format that's easy to use. Obviously you can't take your computer to the gym or weight room with you, so you need something that you can print, fold up, and carry in your pocket.

With that in mind, I took the workout I created for you and put it into the format that I use for my own workouts. Workout 1 should be used for 4 weeks, at which time I'll design another workout for you to use for the next 4 weeks. Yes... you read that right. I'm going to go ahead and create another workout for you for free! (But as before, if you really want to send me $39, then I certainly won't complain!)

Again, here's the link to a PDF file of Workout 1. All you'll need to do is fill in the dumbbell weight you're using and you should be good to go (I've inserted "body" wherever the exercises are simply bodyweight exercise).

Oh, and I've also included an Ab Circuit that you can do on your "off" days. I combine this Circuit with 20 minutes of high intensity interval training on the stationary bike, which is an excellent way to burn excess fat. You may have to look-up some of the exercises on your own, but that'll be good practice for you!

Hopefully this printable workout will remove any last excuses you may have been entertaining. It's time to get up, get moving, and make sure our temples are healthy and fit!

Train hard and pray harder,
Brandon Jubar

Your Beach Body for FREE!

Okay... before we dive in and design our own workout, let me clarify three things. First of all, I'm not a doctor. I don't even play one on TV. So before you start any new exercise program, including the one in this post, you should consult with your doctor. Second, I'm not a certified personal trainer, certified nutritionist, or certified anything for that matter. However, I've managed to learn a lot about health and fitness over the years -- through reading, from conversations with trainers, and through trial-and-error -- so what I'm sharing today is based on experience. And third, this isn't for everyone. There is no such thing as "one-size-fits-all" when it comes to exercise. If this workout isn't for you, don't give up. Tweak it, twist it, add and subtract exercises... just focus on coming up with something that meets your needs.

Enough disclaimers! On to the workout...

In creating this workout, I wanted to accomplish 4 things:

1. Create a basic full-body workout;
2. Make it easy to do at home with minimal equipment;
3. Keep the time required to less than 45 minutes (if you hustle); and
4. Use free online resources to illustrate exercises.

The basic workout structure is to do a warm-up circuit to get your heart pumping, followed by a warm-up set that leads into the first "superset". A "superset" consists of 2 or 3 exercises where the sets are performed one after the other with little or no rest in between. The specific exercises in a superset will work opposing muscle groups (e.g. biceps and triceps) or non-related muscle groups (e.g. thighs and chest).

This is a full-body workout and should be performed 3 times per week (M-W-F).
A "rep" is one full repetition of the specific exercise.
Links are provided for exercises you may not know (and some that you probably do).

Warm-Up Circuit
Complete circuit 2 times
No rest between exercises
60 seconds rest between circuits
Increase or decrease reps based upon your individual fitness level

Freehand Jump Squat -- 8 reps
Push Ups -- 8 reps
Jumping Jacks -- 20 reps
Mountain Climbers -- 10 reps per leg

Warm-Up Superset
Complete superset 2 times
Use 75% of normal weight (e.g. 30# instead of 40# dumbbells)
No rest between exercises
30 seconds rest between supersets

Dumbbell Squats -- 8 reps
Dumbbell Bench Press -- 8 reps

Superset #1
Complete superset 3 times
No rest between exercises
60 seconds rest between supersets

Dumbbell Squats -- 8 reps
Dumbbell Bench Press -- 8 reps

Superset #2
Complete superset 3 times
No rest between exercises
60 seconds rest between supersets

One-Arm Dumbbell Row -- 8 reps each arm
Offset Push Up -- 6 reps each way (12 reps total)

Superset #3
Complete superset 3 times
No rest between exercises
No rest between supersets

Plank -- 30 seconds
Wall Sit -- 20 seconds

To complete your workout, you can do some basic stretches, and I suggest walking around until your heart rate returns to normal. Also make sure you drink plenty of water throughout your workout, and STOP if you feel dizzy, light-headed or weak. You'll have to determine what amount of weight to use for each dumbbell exercise, based upon your own strength and fitness level. And finally, if you need to increase or decrease the intensity of the workout, use one or more of these methods: change the weight used, change the number of reps performed, and/or change the amount of rest between supersets. (I don't suggest changing the number of supersets performed.)

If you cannot do an exercise with correct form, then use less weight. If you are unable to do the push ups with correct form, then start by doing them from your knees and then work your way up to regular push ups (the plank exercise will also help with this).

So there you have it. A full body workout that you can do at home, with minimal equipment, and all of the exercise explanations, descriptions, and videos can be found online for free.

Of course, if you want to send me $39 for this info, I won't complain. But I'd rather you put that money towards some additional exercise equipment that you can use at home as you continue to train the temple!

Train hard and pray harder,
Brandon

Your Beach Body for $39!

Much to my chagrin, I end up spending an inordinate amount of time checking out different exercise programs online. Have you noticed how many "experts" are out there? Everyone has the greatest new thing, with hundreds of dollars worth of "bonuses", all for just $39!

Wow! Achieve the ultimate beach body for less than 40 bucks?! Count me in!

Unfortunately, a $40 ebook isn't going to transform your physique. Only proper nutrition and exercise will do that. Of course, there is a lot of information that you need to know to achieve "proper nutrition". There are also a bajillion exercise programs to choose from, and they are not all created equal. But do you really need to plunk down 40 simoleons to get an effective exercise program?

The answer, my friends, is "no". With a little work, you can put together excellent workouts all on your own. And with the help of exercise videos on YouTube and a searchable encyclopedia of exercises on BodyBuilding.com, the task becomes much easier. (In fact, you can find full workouts on YouTube but, again, they are not all created equal.)

Regardless of how you come up with your workout, there three things you should keep in mind:

1. Use proper form when doing exercises, even if it means using lighter weights.
2. Set a weekly workout schedule and stick to it for 4 weeks, then change up your workout and stick to that for 4 weeks, etc...
3. Focus on body measurements and body fat percentages, not weight!

Obviously there are many more things that you should know in order to physically train your temple properly. If there weren't, then I'd be done blogging very soon! For now, spend some time checking out the sites I mentioned above. And in my next post, to prove to you that I'm not just full of hot air, I'll actually create a 4-week workout using only free online resources.

Train hard and pray harder,
Brandon

Evolution or Revolution?

It's easy to look at my life and come up with all sorts of things that I should change. Because I'm not perfect (really... just ask my wife), there are always new skills I want to learn, and old skills I want to improve; new knowledge I want to gain, and old knowledge I should brush up on; new habits I should develop, and old habits I need to change.

Is it just me, or do you see a pattern there too?

It seems that my life is a constant battle between the old and the new, and I'm not always sure which one should win. For instance, old habits aren't necessarily bad, but are they helping me as much as they should? Would I better off tweaking the old habit or trying to drop it altogether and replace it with a new habit? The same is true for skills and knowledge. Do I work towards an evolution of my abilities, or should I be striving for a revolution? Steady change or upheaval?

When I read about people who have become very successful, I find myself longing for revolutionary change. I want to be like that person! The skills, knowledge, and habits that they've developed could propel me to success too! I should scrap the things I've been working on and make massive change! Re-engineer my life! Woo-hoo!

Luckily, the initial euphoria wears off and my common sense and better judgment prevail.

The skills, knowledge, and habits we need are the ones that support what's important to us. They are the tools we need to move us towards our goals and answer our calling, whatever it may be. If we come across a new skill, some excellent new knowledge, or a great new habit, and it would be useful on our journey, then we should embrace it.

That doesn't mean we need to scrap everything else... or anything else, for that matter. If it makes sense to exchange the new thing for an old thing, that's fine. If it ends up being a revolutionary change for us, then that's fine too -- as long as it improves our ability to answer our calling.

Train hard and pray harder,
Brandon

Feelings Should Trump Emotions

I spent many years working with teens and had countless informal counseling sessions during that time. One of the things I often tried to help teens do was draw a distinction between feelings and emotions. Emotions are fleeting, flashes in the pan that come and go, changing with the wind. Feelings, on the other hand, run much deeper and are intricately tied to our experiences, our knowledge, and our basic beliefs and understandings of creation and the creator.

Remember the first time you held the hand of that special someone? Your heart raced and the butterflies in your stomach went crazy! You would have given anything to spend the rest of your life together!

That's an emotion... and it's fleeting. A month later, holding hands doesn't do anything except get your hand all sweaty. What you felt before wasn't love; it was some form of excitement, but nothing deeper than that.

After you've been married for 13 years, you argue once in a while (but quickly forgive), you hold hands without thinking when you're walking into the grocery store, you really enjoy just being in the same room watching TV or reading a magazine, and you can't even imagine what life would be like with anyone else... that's a feeling. It's love that runs deep, is based upon experience, knowledge of the other person, and an understanding of one's own beliefs. At some level, it is also based upon a conscious decision -- a choice -- and we continue to make the choice every day.

As I look at successful people around me, it seems that passion is an emotion, but it stems from a choice that people have made. And the more deep-seated the feelings behind that choice, the more likely it is that passion will erupt.

It is very rare to find someone who is passionate all the time, regardless of their "cause". But when they've chosen their cause in line with their fundamental beliefs, they will continue to succeed even during those times when the passion isn't there. They will keep moving forward, even when most people would lose energy and fizzle out. They will push, and push, and eventually something will change and the passion will return, for at least a while.

Passion is an emotion and is usually fleeting. But if you make your choices based upon what truly matters to you, then you'll have the drive to make it through during times when passion fails. And that is a critical key to success, because feelings should trump emotions every time.

Train hard and pray harder,
Brandon

Passion!

Passion. It's something you read about all the time. The small business owner who continues to thrive in this down economy. The athlete who does amazing things without the use of performance enhancing drugs. The missionary who braves jungles and armed militia to bring medicine to small villages. All of these people are passionate about what they're doing. They feel so strongly about their chosen endeavor that it gives them strength and energizes them every day when they arise, ready to take on the world all over again!

Passion! That's what we need in order to succeed at following our dreams!

Sounds awesome, doesn't it? Don't you wish you felt that way about something? If you do, that's wonderful, and I'm extremely happy for you. Unfortunately, most people don't have that sort of fire in their souls. And when they do find something to be passionate about, those feelings are often far too fleeting.

Want some concrete examples? Start randomly checking out the blogs available on Blogger.com or other blogging platforms. Go back to their earliest archives, and you'll almost always see a flurry of activity, with tons of posts, links and trackbacks. But as you continue through the archives, witnessing the evolution of the blog, you'll almost certainly see the posts become fewer and farther between... until the posts end altogether. Obviously the blogger started out with passion, but fizzled out in the end.

Is passion sustainable? Are there things we can do to stay passionate about something? Or is there something else that drives people, and passion is merely an outward expression of it?

A few things to think about until next time.

Train hard and pray harder,
Brandon

Through to Completion

One problem I have is that I can't seem to stay focused on a single thing for too long. It's not because I have Adult ADD. It's because I have RCIS -- Rampant Creative Idea Syndrome. Coming up with a single creative idea is never enough. I'll no sooner get working on implementing an idea when a couple more pop into my head. And then those ideas force my thinking onto different tangents, which generates even more ideas!

Of course, having a lot of creative ideas isn't bad in and of itself. The problem is that researching those ideas is just so darned easy when the Internet is at my fingertips. An idea will pop into my head and I'll think, "Let me just take one minute, while I'm thinking about it, and 'google' it." An hour later I realize I've gone 59 minutes past my original allotted time, and haven't actually worked on the project I was supposed to be focusing on!

After having experienced the same thing many, many times, I've learned to avoid the temptation of "just checking" on something immediately (unless I really don't have anything else to do). What I do now is always have a couple 6"x9" notepads on hand: one for my "day job" and one for my "entrepreneurial" stuff. When I'm working on something and find myself experiencing a bout of RCIS, I quickly pull out the appropriate notepad, jot down the idea in three sentences or less, and then get back to the task at hand.

Mary Kay Ash said, "Ideas are a dime a dozen. People who implement them are priceless." Knowing how easy it is for me to fall victim to RCIS, I couldn't agree more! I can crank out creative ideas all day long... but what good are any of them if I don't drive them through to completion?

Train hard and pray harder,
Brandon

Dog Daze...

I had planned on dragging my butt out of bed around 4:45 this morning so that I could get in a good workout before heading to the office. I had my workout clothes ready to go, my new weekly workout sheet printed and on the clipboard, and the alarm set when I went to bed. It was going to be an excellent, healthy start to what promised to be a long week!

Unfortunately, our dog had different plans for me.

Murphy is getting very old, and his stomach isn't quite what it used to be. After dinner last night, my wife gave him some table scraps... and we paid for it all night. Our poor dog was up at least once an hour needing to go outside and relieve himself. Needless to say, by the time 5am rolled around, I was in no shape to workout.

Life is like that sometimes. We can have everything planned -- have everything all laid out -- and life throws us a curve ball and our plans seem to fall apart. When it comes to health and fitness, we need to be a bit flexible. I prefer to workout in the morning, but I'll compromise today and squeeze in my workout after the kids go to bed tonight. Not an optimal time for me to be sure, but it's far better than skipping the workout altogether (or bumping it a day, which throws off my entire week).

Planning is generally good, but don't rely so much on a plan that you become paralyzed or demoralized when it doesn't go the way you expected. Just shake it off, refocus on your goal, and make do with the situation at hand... even when an old pooch with a stomach ache keeps you up all night and leaves you in a 'dog daze'!

Train hard and pray harder,
Brandon