Four Steps To Triple Your Energy
Tired? Tired of being tired? You arent alone. There are fewhuman qualities more highly sought than energy. It determinesour ability to enjoy life, to attract mates, to finish projects,to protect our families, to shape our bodies effectively, and somuch more.
While there are endless specific suggestions about herbs,exercises, meditations, supplements, rest patterns and so forththat I could mention, the most important and over-archingcomponents are relatively simple, and available to anyone withthe willingness to begin.
Basically, your energy level will be controlled by threephysical and one psychological factor.
A) Fitness. There are a variety of different things thatcontribute to the quality called “fitness,” but a few of themare specific to energy level.
1) Cardio-vascular fitness. A dead minimum of twenty minutesthree times a week, just to stay in the game. If you want tocreate a swift, powerful change, try forty minutes four times aweek. Walking is sufficiently intense, if you stay in the”aerobic zone” which can be described as a level of exertionwhere you cant sing, but you can still talk!
2) Body-mass index. Unneeded weight is like a sack of wet cementstrapped to your back. It eats up energy like crazy. Regardlessof what anyone says or implies, there is only one basic way tolose fat: to change the ratio of calories consumed to caloriesburned. In general, this requires discipline on BOTH ends. Fatloss is a two-headed snake. If you diet but dont exercise, yourmetabolism can slow down to a crawl, denying you success. And ifyou exercise but dont eat sensibly, well, a pound of fat hasabout 3500 calories. An hour of running only burns about 350calories. Do the math.
3) Flexibility. Often overlooked in the search for energy,flexibility is a measurement of tension in the body. A stiffbody is like a car with its brakes on. Think how much gas yourcar would waste!! That gas is your energy, when you carryunnecessary tension. Most stretching activities are less amatter of “lengthening” muscles, tendons, or ligaments thanlearning how to communicate with your body, to learn how tobreathe into tension.
4) Strength. Contrary to popular belief, strength is more in themind than the body. It is a matter of leverage, concentration,and controlled excitation even more than it is the “size” of themuscles involved. On a physiological level, it is a matter ofthe percentage of your muscle fibers you can recruit at a givenmoment. Weight training, or body-weight exercises like HinduPushups and Hindu Squats, are great ways to increase strength,which makes physical tasks much easier and less fatiguing.
B) Controlling food intake. A critical factor. Note that Ididnt say “diet.” At this point, we all pretty much understandthat diets dont work–that any eating plan intended to havelong term benefits must represent
a change in lifestyle. A fewpointers:
1) 3:2:1 ratio of fresh fruits and vegetables to complexcarbohydrates to lean proteins. Note that this ratio works forpeople who are ACTIVE–they need the carbs. If you are trying tolose fat, or are relatively inactive, try reversing the ratio ofprotein and carbs.
2) Drink more water. The classic recommendation of eight glassesa day is debated, but the truth is that a lot of hunger andfatigue is actually dehydration in disguise. Note: this meanswater, not beer, soda, or even milk, all of which containvarious nutrients or chemicals which actually require water toprocess through the body. In other words, they use up as muchwater as they give you.
3) Eat six small meals a day. This helps keep your bloodsugarlevels even, which will keep your energy from crashing in theafternoon.
4) Eat today for how you want to FEEL tomorrow. Not foremotional reasons, or just for taste.
C) Rest. As a culture, we arent getting enough sleep. Thehuman body seems to need 7-9 hours of sleep a night, and ifyoure getting less or more than this, you may be having stressreactions, and compromising your health as a result.
1)Find out what your ideal sleep pattern is, and stick to it.
2)Try to get to sleep before midnight. Folk wisdom says thatevery hour of sleep before midnight is worth two hours after.
3)Take naps during the day. A quick power nap for 10-20 minutescan renew your energy like magic.
4)Make your bedroom a place of rest, healing and recreation.Keep your stress in another room of the house. Your sleepingplace should be a womb of comfort and pleasure, specificallydesigned to lull you into the depths of dreamland.
D) Focus. In some ways, the most important tool for increasingenergy. You need to know EXACTLY what you will do with theenergy when you have it. This means written goals, clearlydelineated. It means being task-oriented, believing that if youcan do A,B, and C, there will be pleasure and satisfaction onthe other end. I know people who are AFRAID to have more energy,because they think their kids, mates, or boss will just exploitthem further. You have to have PERMISSION to be energetic,alive, and sensually involved with life.
But if you will give yourself this permission, if on a dailybasis you will move your body, eat responsibly, restintelligently and write out your goals and steps to achievingthem, you will begin to take control of your body/mindsenergy-generation apparatus, and youll be shocked at the energythat will flood your life. It is your birthright. Own it!
About the author:
A NY Times bestselling author with three million words in print,two black belts, a 19-year old daughter and a 2-year old son,Steven Barnes understands energy. Learn more about his “FiveMinute Miracle” exercise system at: www.lifewrite.com
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