Finding happiness in a depression…or a recession

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Despite the market’s recent upswing, we’re facing a time of great economic upset and instability. Many New Yorkers feel helpless and hopeless; buried in debt, unemployed – how could it ever change?

At times like this keeping ourselves in a positive, resourceful mental state is most important. How can we ever expect to change anything when our focus is solely on how bad it is and how much worse it will get? Believe in the Law of Attraction? Well, you better be careful what you’re focused on!

For this reason, New York area therapists are seeing growing numbers of new clients seeking treatment for depression stemming from the current economic turbulence.

But the recession needn’t become a depression.

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Jeff Halevy
Halevy Fitness
www.HalevyFitness.com

What's your map?

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New York City is not only one of the best places in the world to learn Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) -- a science focused on improving our subjective experience -- but to use it every day.

In this and several articles to come, you will learn many of NLP’s principles with fun and interesting hands-on ways to apply them in New York City.

This article will cover the philosophy behind the following phrase, central to NLP, and attributed to Alfred Korzybski: The map is not the territory.

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Jeff Halevy
Halevy Fitness
www.HalevyFitness.com

NYC and NLP

It's been a while since the last post, but for good reason: I've been busy writing...elsewhere. I am Examiner's NYC NLP Examiner (and hard at work on my new book). There are other exciting projects as many of you know, but this post is really about Examiner. All of my articles will be available here: http://www.examiner.com/x-18452-NY-NLP-Examiner

Hope you enjoy reading!

Jeff Halevy
www.HalevyFitness.com

PC or Mac? Your Happiness Depends on It!

Forget style and design; the difference between a PC and a Mac is ultimately the operating system. And try as hard as you can to run PC programs on a Mac and vice versa, you’ll ultimately fail. PC programs won’t run on a Mac, and Mac programs won’t run on a PC: if the operating system and program aren’t compatible, it just won’t work.

The human 'operating system' is our set of beliefs; our thoughts and behaviors are our programs. In other words, the way we run our lives – how we organize and interpret experience -- is our operating system: the structure of how we live and what we think to be possible and impossible for us. The potential range of thoughts we have, like programs by an operating system, is controlled only by beliefs. Thoughts and behaviors that aren’t compatible with our beliefs just won’t work.

This is why there’s actually very little power in positive thinking. Going back to the computer metaphor, you can wish and will for non-matching programs to work on the wrong computer, but it’s just not going to happen. If you believe “all men are scum,” what are the odds you’ll ever be able to have a deep trusting relationship? Or if you believe “I’m a fat loser,” do you really think you’ll ever stick to a diet and exercise regimen? Of course not! Your thoughts will always coincide with your operating system: your beliefs. If you’re ‘running’ a bad set of beliefs, the best intentions, thoughts and actions will never stick because they’re a system mismatch.

As Henry Ford said, “Whether you think can or you can't, you're right.” Our beliefs can be the most empowering or most limiting force in our lives. The key to change isn’t forcing ourselves to do or think differently, but instead changing beliefs.

So think about some of the things you tried to change but couldn’t over the past few months or years. What underlying belief was there that sabotaged you? That you’ll always fail, that people aren’t to be trusted, that life will always let you down? Maybe it’s none of these examples, but what is it?

There are three steps to changing beliefs, and they are…all in my next article!

Jeff Halevy

www.HalevyFitness.com

KILL Yourself to Get in Shape Fast: The Second Secret Pillar of Fitness

Those of you who have been following already know the first principle that 99% of us can use to transform our bodies seemingly overnight: KISS (those who don't, scroll down!). The second principle of KISS, KILL, HIIT®, detailed in my upcoming book, is one that is going to shock many of you, seem counterintuitive, and go against everything you've ever read in popular fitness magazines, even heard from your doctor -- but then again, would you like to rely on fitness magazines or actual scientific research when it comes to your body...?

KILL: Keep It Low & Large

The days of high-rep “pump sets” are coming closer and closer to an end. Whether your aim is building strength, muscle density (and bone – you’ll thank yourself in your 70’s!), or elevating metabolism and getting “caloric afterburn,” low rep sets – anywhere from 4-8 reps depending on skill level – at a relatively heavy weight should be your game plan.

In recent years, study after study has indicated the overwhelming benefits of lifting relatively heavy weights, regardless of goals; from women and the elderly to those training for hypertrophy (many bodybuilding icons like Reg Park and Bill Starr swore by low rep methods).

AP photo

Fred Glass, 72, lifts a barbell weighing 315 pounds in the basement gym of his Allentown, Pa., home.

“Large” here also refers to they type of movements you should be performing. Again, depending on goals and the amount of time you have, most people will benefit from ‘large,’ compound movements, meaning that more than one muscle is necessary to perform the movement; such as presses (chest and shoulder), squats and deadlifts. You should notice some overlap with the movements outlined in this principle and KISS – it’s not by chance!

Jeff Halevy
www.HalevyFitness.com

Are you a Calorie-Counting Monkey?

Maybe you should be! There has long been evidence about the life-extending benefits of calorie restriction, and here's the latest. Don't you almost wish it wasn't true!?

Calorie-Counting Monkeys Live Longer

Jeff Halevy
www.HalevyFitness.com

What's the ONE MOVE that has helped fighters, dancers, golfers and tennis players?

There's one move that's a time-tested winner for improving performance in just about every sport; one that I've personally watched countless fighters, dancers, golfers and tennis players -- pro's to Joe's -- improve from: the lunge with rotation.

The lunge with rotation works just about your whole body, but the reason it helps improve performance in so many sports is because it teaches the body to disassociate the hips from the shoulders. Most of us tend to move like robots; if our hips turn, so do our shoulders and vice versa. Performance in any sport that requires rotational strength -- power generated by the rotation of the torso -- will be limited by our inability to create torque between our shoulders and hips. The more we improve our ability to twist our shoulders away from our hips, the greater the potential energy we're creating...and the greater the energy we're creating, the greater the impact on the end recipient of that energy: a golf ball, tennis ball, or someone's face!

Another benefit of this move is the hip and core stability and balance it creates: in a nutshell, it means it teaches our body to move and stay balanced. How many golfers have you seen get off-balance from their swing? And increased stability allows us to direct more force: Can you throw a ball harder standing on a balance beam or the ground? Exactly.

Beginners can start the lunge with rotation using their body weight alone or a lightweight object (eg a tennis ball), while the intermediate and advanced can begin by working with a medicine ball.

To perform the movement begin standing with your hands together or around a medicine ball tucked under your chin. Take a step forward into a lunge. As soon as you're stable in the bottom position of the movement, extend your arms straight out and rotate as far as you can to the side of the lead leg. Be sure to not let your shoulders and upper back round. Rotate back, bring your arms/the ball back in and return to the standing start position. Repeat the same process with your other leg. That's one rep.



Set and rep ranges depending on skill and weight of the medicine ball can vary from 2 sets of 15-20 reps using no medicine ball, to 3-4 sets of 8-12 with an appropriately heavy medicine ball.

Try this move out twice a week for a month or two and just watch your game -- regardless of which one it is -- improve!

Jeff Halevy
www.HalevyFitness.com