Monday, April 26, 2010

final

Introduction
It is important for all of us to be of sound health mentally, physically, and spiritually. We are all aware of the diseases associated with inactivity and obesity. What many do not know is that stress can increase our chances for getting the same diseases. Some of the stress-related illnesses are high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, and cardiac problems. By addressing both the mind and body we can have a higher level of wellness and an improved quality of life.
Assessment
The first task that we must do is assessing our health in each category. This will help us to identify our strengths and weaknesses and can better allow us develop a wellness program best suited for us. In my assessment I scored my physical health 9 out of 10. I exercise daily and I am a competitive boxer. I am of good physical health as well. The reason I did not give myself a perfect score is because I have a tendency to overtrain. If I am tired or exceptionally sore I will work out regardless. This can be detrimental to my health. Nutritionally I give myself 6 out of 10. I get enough carbohydrates, proteins, and fats in my diet. Some of my food choices are not wise. I tend to eat fast food a couple times a week and I have a sweet tooth. I am not overweight so the diet does not affect me there, but eventually these poor eating habits can lead to high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, or even cancer. Lastly, spiritually I give myself 2 out of 10. Before this class I would have given myself a 0. I totally ignored this aspect of my life. Lately I have been trying some of the practices on a regular basis. I use visualization before every boxing match. I visualize the outcome I want as well as my gameplan. This has led me to be more relaxed before fights and actually has increased my performance. I also try to use some relaxation techniques like meditation. My mind tends to wander and I need to get a handle on that to get the best out of the exercises. Even though I have not mastered the technique I can feel the positive influence they have on me.
Goals
A goal I have for my physical health is to understand it is ok to take a day off if I do not feel up to training. I also want to continue making strides in my athleticism. I want to be faster, more agile, and more powerful. Nutritionally I would like to get a healthier grasp on my diet. Cutting out the fast food and the sweets would be a good start to getting better quality foods. Spiritually I would like to be able to not let the random thoughts that enter my brain control me and stress me out. I want to get a grasp on them and control them.
Practices for Growth in Personal Health
The practices I will implement to assist my goals in physical health are I will have set workout schedule and maybe make a boxing day more relaxed and just work on certain skills. This can help stop me from overtraining and still allow me to be a better athlete. Feeling fresh might also yield immediate results to my sport. Nutritionally I will go to mypyramid.gov and set up an account. In this account I will keep track of all physical activity and my entire food intake. I will make changes to each as needed to help boost my overall health in this area. Spiritually I will continue to implement visualization. I have seen immediate results with this in boxing. I can try applying it to everyday life when I get overwhelmed or stressed out. I can use the visualization technique to take me to a calmer place. I am also going to try to get better at the loving-kindness exercise. Forgiving people is really hard for me and it leads to a lot of stress in my relationships. If I can master this exercise I can reduce stress levels in two ways. The exercise will help me relax and it will also allow me to forgive more easily and decrease stress levels in my relationships.
Commitment
Committing to something new can always be difficult. I will set up scheduled fitness testing to test my progress in each fitness category. Nutritionally I will monitor my weight and body fat as well as focus on the charts that are available on mypyramid.gov. These charts will make sure I am getting foods from all food groups. Spiritually I will monitor my success at the exercises. I will also keep a stress journal. I will attempt to write down an entry every time I get stressed out and I will rate the incident on a scale of 1 to 10. In time these entries should be less and less and with lower scores. Monitoring the program’s success should help me maintain long term success with this program. I can also set up a support group of close friends and family for when times start to get difficult with it.

3 comments:

  1. Commitment to a new way is change and change is difficult, especially in the hustle and bustle of daily life and honestly it is easier to just resist the change instead of fight for it. Habits die hard! I wish you luck in your fight to health and wellness and may it be a peaceful journey in total chaos!
    Andrea

    ReplyDelete
  2. Kevin,

    Excellent idea with a stress journal. I think you are right about your support group of family and friends. In the past, I have found myself shutting off from family and friends because I have too much to do. After this class, I thought what the heck one or two hours are not going to make or break me.I started going out for dinner with about five people every other week for a couple of hours. The group has grown to about twenty now. My husband will make the comment "you need this night". We sit and laugh. I had to remember it is important to take time for myself and reconnect with the people in my life.

    Kevin, you are an inspiration to many of us. Good luck in all that you do.

    Thanks
    Ginger

    ReplyDelete
  3. Kevin you have been a great encouragement. I am sure you are on task with your physical. I hope to get mine where I can rate myself a ten. Best of luck in all your endeavors. I enjoyed reading your post
    Brenda

    ReplyDelete