's motd Friday July 9, 2010

[Guest guest]

NO WAY!

Friday, 09 July 2010

When I was growing up, Jack LaLanne had his famous morning exercise show on television. He would look right into that camera, point to everyone watching at home and say to them..."You'd better exercise!"

With that, the music started playing and Jack would begin his warm-up. He'd start with some cardio and later in the program, he'd get into those sit-ups. He told us what an important exercise sit-ups were, that they would help tone our abs, flatten our stomachs and help us get those six-pack tummies everybody wanted. "Now get down there on the floor with me and let's do 200 of them," he'd demand!As I sat there watching, listening to his demands between bites of a beignet and sips of chocolate milk, I'd just about choke as I shouted back at the TV..."No way!"

And I have to tell you, I didn't attempt doing sit-ups for many, many years. In fact, I was in my 20s before I ever tried doing my first real sit-up. And you know what? They were so hard! But I did keep trying because I was so determined to finally get my body into better shape.I even went to the library and checked out a book written by a fitness expert who'd participated in the Olympic Games. There were photos in the book that showed you the proper way to do sit-ups. And every morning, I'd get up, get down on that floor, put my hands behind my head and sit-up as many times as I could. I was able to do only about 10 of them on my first try. But the next morning, I got right back down on that floor and did 10 more. My knees were bent correctly, my feet were flat on the floor and my hands were clasped behind my head. I then began bending my body up from the floor, repeating one sit-up after another. I kept my eyes focused on the ceiling, exhaling as I came up and inhaling as I went back down.

After a few weeks of sticking to my routine, I was up to doing 25 sit-ups a day...but I wasn't done yet. I kept going and worked my way up to 50 and eventually, I had reached 200 a day, just like Jack told us to do way back when! (Hey, if Jack could do 200...I could do 200 of those sit-ups, too!)

It only takes me about six minutes to do my 200 daily sit-ups and boy, does my body ever thank me for it! I've been doing my sit-ups or "crunches", (whatever you prefer to call them), for over 30 years now! Even on those days where I don't feel like doing them, I get in my 200 sit-ups. I've made doing them one of my good habits. And because I do...I am so very happy! I now have a four-pack tummy and I'm very proud of it. I know that many of you can't get down on the floor to do sit-ups. But you can do the same movements, to start, from a sitting position in a chair. Try it, you'll really feel the workout in your abs. Doing my crunches for all of these years has left my tummy very flat and has really improved my posture.Many years ago, I had a workout on VHS called Stomach Formula. It sold millions of copies but I never re-released it in DVD format. Maybe you can find it on Ebay or at Amazon.com. In the meantime, many of my current workouts, still available, do include abs exercises.

So tomorrow, when you get out of bed, start the day by doing your sit-ups from the floor or from a chair. Just do 'em! If you do them faithfully, you'll begin feeling and seeing results in about four weeks.

And oh yeah, when you start out, you may find yourself saying...no way. But if you keep it up, in time, you'll replace that negative thought with a much more positive...Yes, way!Love,