Dr. Lena Hosein - my Mom.

My mother is a perfect storm. Dr. Hosein came from humble and poor conditions and from a place where life was hard. It was with hard work and firm conviction that she built a life for herself, and her family.

Hard work and devotion are what sustains the effect she had on those around her and those that had the privilege to know her. She was a doctor and a mother, but at her core she was a fighter. She was always strong enough to endure and contribute to others in the world.

On this Mother’s Day I would like to tell her the things that I never did, or was unable to because of my own failings.

During the roughest periods of my life, my mother always supported me and always made sure I did not go without or that I was left out in the cold. Her financial and emotional supports were key factors in me winning my own battles and defeating my own demons.

I would not be where I am now if she was not there, nor would I have as bright of a future as I do. I owe her my life and can contribute who I am now, to the lessons she taught me – I owe  her in financial and ‘debts can not be repaid’ terms and ways.

She was a doctor who made an impact on the medical community here in BC. There are so many times and stories that I remember, that explain how dedicated she was to her patients and the industry. One that comes to mind is how she delivered a baby on route to the airport. The patient, the mother, went into delivery around 3am and my mom’s plane was due to leave at 8am. We dropped her at the hospital and returned home to finish packing and loading the car, then we waited for her outside the hospital until around 6 before driving them (my mother and father) to the airport. She would have missed her vacation if she had to.

She was honored at a dinner at that same hospital when she retired and was one of the nursing staff’s favorite doctors during her residency.

I was always taught to see the world through her eyes, and that has made me a better person and a better human.

I was adopted and was not meant to be her son; it was fate and destiny that brought us together. Something choose me to be hers and if I can do even a fraction of what she did, for the people in my life and the community I live and work in, as she did, I will be proud. To match her accomplishments or even come close, would be impossible.

Doctor Lena Hosein is, and always will be, some who’s example I try to live up to and I will always look up to her. Her life and the example she set is what brings me to tears and humbles me completely. I was unable to express my love at times, nor was I always there for her. But I always loved her, do now, and always will.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms.

Love Bri.

Redirection, Not Recovery.

Speech Topic: Redirecting your life’s focus from drugs and alcohol to a more productive and worthwhile agenda is not accomplished in a treatment center.

Action: How do you get from there, to here? [Pointing to the drugs on one side of the table and then to books, work clothes and workout equipment on the other side of the table]

Thesis: In order to recover from drugs and alcohol addiction people require a redirection from the environment, back to their life, one free from drugs and alcohol, one that includes education and healthy activities with support from others, because the war on drugs is won on a street level.

Support One: Using drugs and alcohol is a state of mind and changing that state of mind requires a new environment.

Support Two: Reintroducing the body and mind to education and physical health is the most important – accepting your actions will allow your soul to heal.

Support Three: The war on drugs is fought on the streets and in homes and on a person-to-person basis, which is why policies and laws will never have any real effect, and cloud the issue.

Credibility: I have researched and I know quite a bit about drug recovery; I know that they are big business now and I know even more about the drugs themselves and the environment they exist in.

Credibility Question – Based on what you know about me, from this class and other classes I am also in with you, would you believe that ten years ago, I had a gram and half to an eight-ball a day cocaine with a eight to a quarter ounce a day marijuana habit – and that I drank a varied amount of alcohol every day (based on what I was drinking), mostly to come down from the drugs I used.

I did not attend any treatment center or support group meetings, I did not talk about drugs and the things I did while high, and I definitely did not spend years reflecting on mistakes and difficult times. I rebuilt my life, on my own, with financial assistance from my family and by taking one day at a time.

Talking Points:

A. The process of recovering from an addiction does not require rehashing and remembering the things you did, the roads you took, or past events. Recovering from drugs and alcohol is not a crime, nor is it something that anyone should hold anyone in the present, or make them feel less than anyone else.

B. Addictions have claimed and been part of many people’s life: celebrities, politicians, athletes and people of all races, stature and position, and many people we will all encounter in our lives.

Addictions do not discriminate, nor do they care if you are healthy, popular, pretty, big, small or rich or poor. Addictions do not care if you’re smart, or if you’re able to design rocket ships or perform heart surgery.

C. I have researched and I know quite a bit about drug recovery; I know that they are big business now and as any business, the model of drug and alcohol rehabilitation depends on repeat business. I am not implying that these organizations and businesses are not effective, but the statistics are not on their side, when it comes to success rates.

D. There are many high-profile examples and many cases that represent the failures of these programs and their inability to reverse addictions and to accomplish their mandates, and their stated objectives.

The theory of many of these programs represents a stalled process, one that dwells in the past and rehashes the mistakes that cannot be undone. Dwelling in things that repeatedly remind someone of the times that they did drugs or drank, is not progress and this does nothing to reeducate the mind or repair the physical damage that has been done.

Repairing the physical damage that drugs and alcohol do to the mind and body is the most important part of recovering from an addiction to dugs and/or alcohol. Recovery from the physical addiction involves recovering from the mental state and psychological influences that will hold a person back, if they are not resolved first. Dwelling in and restating, over and over again, the mistakes that once held you in that addiction, hinder this recovery.

Being able to accept the mistakes and the actions of the past is more important and will accomplish more in the long run, than a group meeting or isolation and medication. Accepting means moving past those things and getting back to an active lifestyle, which involves work, education and health.

Mistakes are made and everyone learns from them. I can guarantee that it takes a very poor situation and a really bad place for someone to want to do drugs, or drink in excess. More than often drug use and alcohol issues are a result of other things in life – drugs and alcohol are an escape from feelings, memories and environments.

Treatment centers and group meetings are just another form of this kind of poor environment and situation. What people may benefit more from, is a redirection process instead of a recovery process.

Question – How many people in this room, by a show of hands, knows someone who has a drug or alcohol problem? Have you given up on them? Can you help them, and if so, have you tried?

Personal Note: When I used drugs and drank, which I did for years, I was still the person I was before I ever smoked my first joint of weed or did my first line of cocaine. I still remember what it was like to live like that, and that is enough of a motivator for me to never go back to that lifestyle or that really bad place.

One of the most important things we learn as we grow up, get older and experience life is that every moment of our lives contributes to the person we are at that moment. I do not regret who I am now, and I owe some of whom I am now to those times spent on the dark side.

Conclusion: Recovery is difficult, recovery is hard and it takes time, but it is not accomplished by looking backward, it is accomplished by looking forward. Don’t give up on people, they may surprise you.

Are we teaching sex?

Main topic: Canada needs to implement a ‘Comprehensive Sexual Health Curriculum or Program” in schools across the country.

Background

Problem: Young people are unprepared for the sexual world; being unprepared is leading to a rise in harmful health related situations and a decrease in maturity and emotional stability of adults.

Thesis: Canada is neglecting young peoples’ rights and endangering them by not giving them the necessary information and guidance to enter adulthood and have a healthy sexual life, because the landscape of sexuality has changed so much over the lest few decades, both the UN (United Nations) and WHO (the World Health Organization) have declared sexual health information to be a right we need to provide young people, and because current sex education programs leave too much out of the discussion.

Supporting Points:

A. The landscape of sexuality has changed so much over the last few decades, we have to adapt and change he programs we implement in the process of educating young people. When the current sex education program was developed, the landscape of sexuality was different and now it is just outdated and out-of-touch.

B. Young people have the right to information, declared through UN and WHO declarations and documentation. Because these organizations have determined that young people have this right, we are in violation if we do not make drastic changes to the sex education program currently in place in schools across Canada.

C. The current sex education program being used is leaving too much information out, and does not provide young people with enough education and information. By not providing them with the information they require in order to be prepared for sexual activity, we are forcing them to either experiment by participating in high-risk activities, or assume and speculate about sex.

ONE

I believe that if we do not educate our young people about sex in a more in-depth and informative way, the health of Canadians will be impaired, both physical and emotional.

The problem of STIs and unwanted pregnancies are not enough to hold off on implementing a comprehensive Sexual Health Program in school to safe guard young people from high-risk activities.

The sexual landscape of today is much different from the one that existed when the current sex education programs were developed and the kids of today are in much more danger from an atmosphere that does nothing to educate them about the sexual landscape of today.

TWO

A new and complete Comprehensive Sexual Health Program (CSHP), that informs and educates young people about sex will empower then and allow them to make more informed and wise decisions.

The Un, and the WHO have made declarations and formed advisory documents that state a child/young person has the right to information and that there is a global need to for a more in-depth and informative sex education program worldwide.

If you have children, know young people or know others who do, you have a voice and even if you do not yet have any children, you have a responsibility to the to them, to ensure that there is a CSHP in effect for them when they reach that age.

Speech:

Attention Grabber:

Distribute Condoms to the class.

Opening Line.

“This is a condom. Boys have penises and Girls have vaginas. The penis goes into the vagina, there is movement and you could catch and STI, STD or get pregnant. It is best to wait until you get married before you have sex.

+++ Pause +++

Is what I just did, sex education? Is it enough to prepare anyone, for a healthy sex life and provide them with enough information, for them to have sex safely and to know what to do in certain situations?

Fear and mistrust have been holding this issue back for a long time. Even with experts and the medical industry as well as young people, saying the same things, the rights of young people are put aside and the opinions of parents and other adults are used to make policy and design or maintain the current sex education programs.

The current program being used today, strives to delay the initiation of sex among young people, and to move them to more abstinence only, unless in marriage, while encouraging simple protective measures like condoms and other contraceptives.

This approach has been around for a long time, and because there has never been a widely used alternative, there are few statistics to support that a change in the curriculum would be beneficial. However, a need for a new more in-depth program has been recognized and recommended by almost all-major worldwide organizations – organizations that are not effected by local politics and elections.

These programs are effective in achieving one goal overall, but often are ineffective in achieving more than one per young person.

The current programs teach:

• Abstinence
• Condom and contraceptive use
• STIs and STDs
• Basic anatomy and function

The Goals of the current program are:

• Delay the initiation of sexual activity
• Reduce the number of sexual partners
• Increase the use of condoms and other contraceptives

The argument for the current program is that it has visual and usable results, seen to be beneficial lately and expected to increase over the long term. The fear of teaching young people about sex is that in dong so, it will encourage them to engage in sexual acts sooner, and that would lead to an increase in disease and teen pregnancy. The supporters of the current program see premarital sex as bad and that sex outside of marriage is the right choice for everyone.

That argument may have held merit in my teen years, 22 years ago, but it no longer holds any truth nor does it have any real foundation in research. Just in fear, and maybe religion.

Research has shown that by giving young people as much information as possible, through a Comprehensive Sexual Health Program, we increase their ability to make good choices and we empower them to act responsibly. Empowerment is the key, and by recognizing and treating them like they have a choice, they have a better chance of making the right one. 

Comprehensive Sexual Health Programs (CSHP) are also more able to achieve more than one goal per young person. The idea that more education will lead to more empowerment is at the core of the comprehensive approach. This approach also takes into account what is best for the young person – safeguards their right to information.

The CSHP also have another benefit; they are designed to be taught by a qualified person and someone who has extensive knowledge about sexuality, sexual actions and the emotional situations that accompany sex, especially in the early years. This is especially important because when a person who has preconceived opinions and attitudes towards sex, teaches sex education those attitudes and opinions come out. They are unable to refrain from injecting them into the curriculum.

A Comprehensive Sexual Heath Educational Programs teach:

• Abstinence
• Condom and contraceptive use
• STIs and STDs
• Medications
• Action in specific situations
• Protective measures in relation to a sexual act
• Emotional and spiritual supportive strategies
• Masturbation and fantasy elements
• Dysfunction
• Homosexuality – gay and lesbian issues
• Gender roles and gender identity
• Sexuality and the media
• Abortion and the morning after pill
• Body image issues
• Sexual assault and harassment strategies
• Reduce number of partners
• Values and attitudes towards sex
• Communication skills
• And many other related subjects.

In Canada heterosexuality is the only part of sexuality that is discussed and often it is the immaturity and personal opinions of the teachers that implement these aspects. Often these teachers are barely qualified to teach sex education and have only basic training on the subject. In many cases, teachers themselves have personal feelings and attitudes, often unfavorable ones, towards gays and lesbians and trans gender or gender confused young people. The level of expertise that it takes to be objective while teaching sex is an absolute necessity and one of the Comprehensive Program’s most unique components.

Now I am not saying that having multiple partners is god or bad, but I do know that if you do not know what you enjoy or how you want 'it', something will be missing from your life. That something can eat away at you, and have disastrous effects on you, and those close to you.

Take a hypothetical situation. An adult of 45 years old. Realizes that they are gay or a lesbian, or bisexual or have trans gender or gender identity questions. They have three kids, a spouse and all the commitments that come with the age and those responsibilities. They realize they are attracted to the same sex or both, and looking back on their life, they realize they always were.

Lets look at another hypothetical situation. An adult of any age enters into a long-term commitment, maybe marriage and does not enjoy their sex life. Years go by, and they begin to seek what is missing, or what they think is missing and cheats on their significant other. Or they are too immature sexually to ask their significant other to try new things.

Divorce rates have never been higher in N.A. than they are right now and there have never been as many single people around the planet as there are at this moment. An argument could be made that because the sexual landscape has changed, that attitudes towards sex now require experience and experimentation, before marriage, that it is better to understand yourself and your sexual desires, turn ons and turn offs. Before entering into a long-term commitment like marriage – this could save a lot of grief and pain.

I am not suggesting that we teach young people how to have sex, or what position is fun, nor am I saying we teach proper etiquette about threesomes or group encounters. I am not saying we teach young people how to put a condom on someone with their mouth, or how to role play and what sex clubs they should try.

I am saying that we teach young people about sex, the feelings that come with it and teach young people to have the confidence so that they will be able to deal with the situations they may find themselves in.

It is a fact that many rapes, assaults and other sexual harassment situations go unreported. These can have long lasting and terrible effects on the person, because they were not prepared to deal with them or how to avoid them. This is our fault and our responsibility.

We can wear all the purple and pink we want, but if we are not teaching young people enough, we are neglecting their rights and we are in violation of the United Nations Charter on the Rights of the Child and the World Health Organization recommendations on teaching about sex to young people. Both of these worldwide organizations have declared and documented the need for a more comprehensive sex educations programs, to be taught to young people.

But this is what the idea of CSHP is being made out to be. People think more information will lead to more sex among young people; however, it is young people who are telling us that they want more information so that they do not have to have experiment to learn about sex.

Closing

Thank you very much, and if you have young people in your lives, talk to them; because, our politicians are too fucking old and politically impotent to do the right thing.

ALINE Trainer's Behaviour Change Process

The Behaviour Change Process takes place in four stages:

1. Realization

2. Acceptance

3. Action

4. Commitment

These stages do not happen one after another, and not all people start in the realization phase. Each person is different and they may begin the Process of Change in any of the four stages, but at some point, the other three will come into play.

For example, a person who starts in the action stage may come to a realization and then experience acceptance followed by commitment. Another person may begin with acceptance and then go straight to commitment but not take any action until they begin the realization stage.

The order of the stages is less important than the person’s ability to remain in the Process and continually progress until they are maintaining a Healthy Active Routine (HAR).

These four stages are sometimes negative and sometimes they are positive. The client’s perception of these stages and the results they feel and see will differ from client to client; however, an ALINE trainer must present the situation as honestly and as positively as possible while keeping what is best for the client at the forefront.

This process can begin with a sudden life-altering event or be the result of an ongoing slow progressing one. The circumstances of these events are crucial to the client’s profile and the manner in which a HAR is developed and implemented.

Taking into account why the clients has begun the process should be the basis of how an ALINE Trainer establishes and maintains the client’s motivation and efforts throughout the Behaviour Change Process and the Healthy Active Routine.

Realization:

The realization stage is the stage of the process where the client becomes aware of their physical state and their abilities to perform activities and movements. This stage can produce positive and negative results and feelings, in the client and the trainer. Reassurance and reinforcement is key to ensuring that the client will move forward in the process – even if they enter this stage after one of the other three.

Acceptance:

The acceptance stage is the stage where the client will begin to accept their situation and want to change it or in some cases they will retreat from the process and return to the situation that lead them where they are. The trainer’s job is to be honest and positive while making the client aware that they have the ability to change and they will not be doing it alone – the trainer will be there from beginning to end.

If a client moves into this stage after another one, the effects of this stage may be less or more of an issue; however, the manner in which the trainer acts towards the client should remain the same, honest and positive.

Action:

The action stage is where the client takes an active approach and begins to live the Healthy Active Routine and trains on a regular schedule, in and out of the gym. The action stage is where the trainer will be able to direct and guide the client and where the trainer plays a much more important role, compared to the other three stages.

In the realization and acceptance stages where the trainer is more of a support structure and can do little but act in accordance with the scope of practice and remain as involved, as an outsider can – this is of course assuming that the trainer is not personally associated with the client.

Commitment:

The commitment stage is where the client has made more than a verbal commitment and taken steps to invest in the process. This can be in the form of a gym membership or a personal training package or some equipment for their home or business location.

This stage is also where the client shows that they are emotionally and financially invested in the process. The reason the investment is required is, in doing so the client takes a step towards accountability and now has something real to lose in the process and has accepted responsibility.

The four stages of the Behaviour Change Process are useful in developing and implementing a Healthy Active Routine. A trainer that can recognise the influences that have brought a client into the gym can better determine how to motivate the client and maintain that client’s interest in the process and in their own health.

Although trainers are confined an restricted by scope of practices and a level of professionalism which may at times force a trainer to remain neutral or uninvolved personally, it is ALINE Trainer’s policy to actively engage in and participate as a part of the client’s life – acting as a friend. 

PT Exam Day - OMG.

OK so lets run through the day’s events: woke up early (stayed at my folks in order to reduce driving time and to ensure that I was able to get to my test early), was at the testing center super early, started the Personal Trainer exam on time. From there everything that could go wrong, went wrong.

The Internet connection went down at the mid point of the exam and there were more questions about medical terms and medical conditions than there were about Personal Training. I flagged, for review, almost 1/3 of the questions and had to come back after finishing the exam and review them, and I used up every second of the 2.5 hours allotted. No one is to blame for the bumps in the road today and it is funny to look back and examine the course of the exam. I was cool headed and focused throughout the entire time, so that too is a good thing and a sign of things to come.

However, it has been about an hour since I finished the exam and I am just now starting to believe that I passed it and I am now a Certified Personal Trainer with one of the highest caliber credentials in North America, ACSM (certification based on a provisional condition until I receive the official certificate).

Seriously, the test was so, so hard that it has overwhelmed all feelings of passing it. I cannot wait until tomorrow, when the reality of my passing will take full hold and I put on some ALINE Trainer gear – The ALINE Trainer era has now began.

I am at school and have class tonight and the rest of the week is even more involved and busy than the beginning.

Thanks for the good energy; it was a saving grace. Cheers!!!

Wear Pink Tomorrow/Today - Feb 29.

Part of me wants to say that bullies deserve a good kick in the balls; part of knows better. The part that knows better knows that bullies are cowards and that they do not require us to stoop to their level or act as ignorant as they are, nor do they deserve to take from us, what they cannot, do not and will never have: courage, respect, honor, and/or conviction. 

Bullying is overcome by succeeding in life and being better for all the obstacles you had to face. 

These are empty words to the kid who is being bullied, they require and they deserve our support and our acknowledgement. Wear Pink in support of those who need some help standing up, when standing up is so hard. Show your understanding and our solidarity, so those that come after us, can see there are better ways to get through life, and so we do not lose any more of our most precious assets and resources.

Fused to Ignite.

I am a fuse: I start debates and I will force Change of I have to, in order to ‘effect change’ in my surroundings. 

Some may, no, many will get pissed and they can act out and think less of me; however, if I am paying to be a part of or to go to somewhere or something, I will push that organization and the people who run it to be better and/or the best that there is.

Whether it is a school, or a school program, an association, or a place I attend or belong to, I will always push and critique it in order to ensure that I make my presence known and to ensure that the organization grows and accomplishes everything it is capable of – to make sure its potential and the people there are the best -- as I have done in political atmospheres and an election.

This is my promise and my decree – I will not be quiet, nor will I allow the status quo and fear of reprisal or condemnation stop me.

I Continue Because:

The year 2011 was an amazing learning experience for me. I took a step in a different direction and my actions were a representation of my circumstances and my situation.

As I look back on the year, I can see that I adapted well and I maintained my ethics and my principles as best as anyone in my place could have.

There were times when I had to do what I had to do, and times when I had to do what was best for me and me alone. I realized a few things about myself and about the world last year. In 2011 I was forced to restrain and restrict my financial practices and I lost many conveniences that most people cannot live without. I can see now how those lessons have influenced my way of thinking and the way I view my surroundings.

Many real world ‘influences’ are now in poor shape: credit score, credit ability and payment history, future buying and credit options, and even my graduation has been delayed, not to mention personal things and the lack there of. 

I have had to adjust my course and my focus as obstacles were introduced; however, I have never been more proud of myself and more aware of how unimportant perception and people’s opinions are.

There were stumbles and there were times when I had to lower standards and act in ways that many people cannot see themselves acting, but they have all added to my strength and my position in life. I am stronger for the year I just went through and I am glad that I had to live that way for a while.

I am also glad that I am in the place I am; I do better when I am underestimated and my back is against the wall.

People can look down on others – it may even make them feel better about themselves. The true test if a person’s worth is if they can survive in circumstances that they are not use to, can they take a hit, get back up, and keep going.

I know now, that I can survive and that I can be down and come back, again and again, and again. Like many of the greatest and most influential people of the past, present and future, “I will succeed because I know what it is like to fail, and what it is like to be thought of as down and out.” Over the last eleven years I have been up and down many times. 

No matter how a few events or times are being blown out of proportion and portrayed, nothing I did last year or in the ten years before, are even close to what people around me continue to do, every day. I cannot imagine what it must be like to act the way people around me do; can you imagine doing what those people, the ones who attack me, do? Can you imagine being like that day in and day out, knowing that you are a coward and that your actions can never be taken back. 

I am alone, I am a 38-year-old (39 in a one month) virgin and I have no real friends. I have been broke for a long time and I cannot find work right now. People everywhere I go listen in on the things I say and watch the things I do and report them in an effort to destroy me and my efforts to just live life. Everyone I know knows what is going on and no one has ever been honest with me about what they know and for how long they have known. Everywhere I have lived over the last eleven years, there are those who take up the quest to destroy my life and in doing so alter their lives forever -- alterations that can never be undone and will never go away. I trust no one and every woman I have cared for and loved have rejected me because of this thing and the people who oppose me.

I know that these people will never stop, because the only thing that will allow them to feel good about their actions will be me with nothing and no one. 

Even with all this as my reality, I would rather be me than anyone else right now. And I would rather be living on the streets, broke and alone, than be living like anyone who has attacked me does.

That is how I know I will succeed and how I know I have learned from the past eleven years.  

Motivation Recall

There are a few ways to stay motivated with your resolutions and goals. I know that around this time of the year, many of them fall by the wayside and are soon forgotten, soon left unaccomplished and to be added to next years list.

The number one rule about resolutions and goals is “screw the start and end points, just keep on trying and being active about the pursuit.”

The time you have spent on that pursuit may have waned; however, when taken on the whole you are still ahead and still on track with the goal and success. Consider the time you may have been too busy or less than motivated as recovery and recuperation time. Consider it time needed to refocus and redirect your attention.

If your schedule and your routine have become busy, trust me when I say I understand and that I too am having a hard time maintaining my focus on my goals and the things I wanted to accomplish as resolutions.

I have missed more than half of the days I missed in the gym last year, already and I am just getting started with my business and becoming a personal trainer. I know that it is difficult to get past the February hump and to get off course from our goals. I also know that once you get past this hump, you have a much better chance to accomplish and move forward with your goals.

One of the most important strategies in maintaining a resolution is taking hits and setbacks but still keep moving forward.

One method of maintaining your pursuit is to ‘try again.’

You can also do what you have been doing, you can commit to the process for a month, then take tow weeks off, and recommit and continue to try.

You can also look at it from another angle; you can simply redesign your goals and your resolutions to fit your situation and your new routine – just never stop trying and never give up.

ALINE Trainer's: Healthy Active Routines.

I want to share an idea for an Experienced Based – Approach to Developing Healthy Active Routines, which is based on Experimentation, Education, and Integration.

For the last ten years I have been a fitness addict; I have read, tried and learned as much about fitness, working out and diet that I could and I am continuing to learn every day – I am now pursuing my Personal Trainers Certification and trying new activities and classes and methods that I learn about.

My idea for an Experienced Based – Approach to Developing Healthy Active Routines is developed through experimentation and education. This means that people need to try new things to find ones that work for them. The Healthy Active Routines I am suggesting include an integration of fitness and weights programs (Physical Activity – PA), and diet and eating plans (Energy Sources – ES).

The ALINE TRAINER Equation:

HAR = PA + ES

Healthy Active Routines = Physical Activity + Energy Sources

Support 1:

Everyone will respond differently to physical activity and changes to diet.

This is where experimentation comes into play.

Support 2:

Every Healthy Active Routine must be constantly adapted and be unique to the individual.

This is where education comes into play.

Support 3:

A Healthy Active Routine must be incorporated into an individual’s lifestyle.

This is where integration comes into play.

In order to be successful and in order for a Healthy Active Routine (HAR) to be maintained, it requires constant changes, depending on the results the individual gets from the Routine. These results, good and bad, will be used to guide the Routine in the direction that will best serve the individual.

Support 1 Evidence: [Everyone will respond differently to physical activity and changes to diet.]

How many of you have tried or started a diet or fitness or weight training program that did not produce the results it was supposed to?

This is because many diets are to general and do not take into account an individual’s specific features, lifestyle influences or their mindset.

This is why we need the experiment component and to try different things.

By experimenting and trying new things, an individual can find the things that will motivate them to continue in their efforts and bring on the results that will improve their life, their mind, their body and their spirit, their whole being.

The failure to meet goals or even make progress can have a devastating effect on people and have long lasting emotional consequences. These consequences can keep an individual from continuing on a more active and healthy path and reaffirm them to the same path they were on before, because they now believe they cannot accomplish those goals.

Support 2 Evidence: [Every Healthy Active Routine must be constantly adapted and be unique to the individual.]

Building on the last point is the concept of changing a Routine as results are seen. This brings me to the how each Routine must be adapted and unique to the individual.

This requires research and a complete picture of where the individual is starting from and what their goals are, including a history and their current situation – including features, lifestyle influence and mindset.

Most of the changes will happen during the process but in order to start our effectively, the individual’s state of mind, body and soul (Holistic Learning Process) should be used to design the first part of the Routine. The changes are determined by the results the individual sees in themselves and the change in their mindset and ambition, motivation and how their goals change. This is how the motivation to continue a Healthy Active Routine develops and grows.

This is where the education component comes into play because we require education to determine why something did, or did not, work and how to overcome or build on those outcomes.

Making each Routine unique to the individual will also have a positive emotional effect. If they are doing something they enjoy or something that is producing results, they will be more inclined to continue with the Routine, and in many cases commit more to the process and reset their goals accordingly.

Support 3 Evidence: [A Healthy Active Routine must be incorporated into an individual’s lifestyle.]

Finding time to train and be more active is one of the most difficult things for an individual to do. The time to go to and spend the necessary amount of time at the gym, fitness center or other form of exercising place – which differs from person to person – is often difficult for a person to incorporate into their busy schedule.

This is why I call it an Integrated Approach.

Everyone is busy with school, work, friends family and just having a life in general; many people would probably rather get more sleep than sweat for an hour or more. This is where motivation becomes an absolute necessity and a vital component of the process.

Motivation comes in time and it is strengthened by the experimentation and education parts of the Routine.

My Integrated – Experienced Based – Approach to Developing Healthy Active Routines is developed through experimentation and education. It requires that the Routine an individual uses to be changed and adapted as results are seen and that the Routine be unique to the individual. The incorporation of the Routine into the Individual’s lifestyle and schedule, and the motivation to continue comes from the process and the results will last a life-time.