Home Gyms with Free Weights
December 31, 2006
Having your own home gym with free weights is not only convenient but gives you the freedom to work out anytime you want. You save time and money, have no costly gym fees, no driving time, and no child care is needed.
Having a home gym with free weights and a machine for aerobic activity is the perfect combination for your home gym workout routine. Exercise and cardiovascular fitness are essential in a balanced fitness program.
It’s important to include stretching and resistance to help build and tone muscles, burn fat and help prevent injury. Variety is the key to enjoying and keeping you motivated for a successful exercise workout program.
Setting goals that are realistic can be a huge motivating factor in sticking to your home gym workout routine. These goals keep your mind focused on the rewards you will see and feel.
Once you start your exercise workout program and experience good results, you will become even more dedicated to achieving your goals. When beginning an exercise program here are a few important things to consider:
1. Decide how many times a week you are willing to dedicate yourself to this exercise workout program. For any real benefits to occur, your home gym workout routine should be done at least 3 to 4 times a week. It is also important to set aside a couple of days each week for complete rest.
2. How much time do you plan on dedicating to your exercise program each exercise day? It’s best to start slow and gradually work up as you get more fit. Aim for 30 to 60 minutes a day on the days you exercise depending on your fitness level.
3. Remember to change your exercise and cardiovascular fitness program every few weeks. That’s because your body will adjust to the same routine and your workout won’t be as effective without the change. Variety is a key element for keeping your motivation going and the boredom at a minimum.
Exercise and good aerobic workouts can provide you with a lifetime of good health. According to a study in 2004, more Americans are now participating in fitness activities to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
If your goal is having a toned body with more strength and flexibility, aerobic activity combined with a home gym with free weights is a great way to achieve it.
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A New Strategy
December 31, 2006
Direct Answers - Column for the week of November 3, 2003
My mother-in-law drives me crazy! She is an antisocial, critical, know-it-all who can’t find anything decent to say about anyone but herself. Every time she comes to visit it puts such a damper on my relationship with my wife, it takes us days to recover.
We have never really gotten along, but lately it has gotten much worse. She left yesterday after a week’s visit, and my wife and I didn’t talk the rest of the day.
My mother-in-law barely gets along with her own sisters who live next door to her, and she is estranged from her own mother. She has only two friends in the whole world and no social life. She spends hours each day watching television and doing genealogy research.
When we got married 11 years ago, she said, “Don’t call me mom, and don’t expect me to love you more than my own children.”
She divorced her husband after eight years and four children. She then devoted her life to her kids, to the exclusion of the rest of the world. She constantly talks about what we can and should do with our house, our property, and our money. Every time she comes over she points out things she thinks are wrong in our house.
The final straw came during her second to last visit. She blamed me for telling her to park at a train station where she got a parking ticket. I wasn’t with her at the time, and I didn’t tell her where to park. But she told my wife, “If I hadn’t listened to your blankety-blank husband?”
This last visit we borrowed a suitcase. The handle was damaged during baggage handling, so she had it repaired and we paid to get it fixed. In the meantime she damaged the interior of our car, which she borrowed, and never mentioned it. Then my wife wonders why I resent my mother-in-law.
This woman constantly criticizes her nieces for bad lifestyles, yet she never talks about her two kids, the crack addict son who steals from his dad, and the living-on-the-fringe daughter who was imprisoned twice for credit card theft and fraud.
I try to be polite, but her constant bad behavior puts a damper on my best intentions. It doesn’t help that I don’t have a sparkling personality myself. I have a reprieve until Christmas. Help me get this under control before then!
Kirk
Kirk, we don’t believe in rewarding bad behavior with good treatment. Not only will that not discourage bad behavior, it worsens it. You have seen that for yourself. You have been polite, and your mother-in-law’s behavior is getting worse.
It is as if you have been thrust into a boxing ring against your will. An honorable boxer wouldn’t hit an unwilling person, but your mother-in-law hits below the belt, throws kidney punches, and bites in the clinches. You have had enough provocation to at least defend yourself.
You can’t change her, but you can change how you deal with her, and that may mean fighting fire with fire. It may sound harsh, but when your mother-in-law criticizes you, inquire if her daughter is turning her life around. When she accuses you of things you haven’t done, ask about her son’s rehab.
Or on a more subtle level, you could give her books about how to be a good guest, a good friend, and a good person. She could also use a good book on manners. Your mother-in-law needs to understand that negative comments about your life will be met with negative comments about her life. By the same token meet any positives from her with positives from you.
Self-centered people view politeness and good manners in others as a weakness they can exploit. There is only one strategy which is likely to work for you. Make this a Christmas your mother-in-law will remember.
Wayne & Tamara
About The Author
Authors and columnists Wayne and Tamara Mitchell can be reached at www.WayneAndTamara.com.
Send letters to: Direct Answers, PO Box 964, Springfield, MO 65801 or email: DirectAnswers@WayneAndTamara.com.
15 Ways to Help Kids Like Themselves
December 31, 2006
1. Tell me something you like about yourself? Help your child to focus on her many strengths.
2. Reinforce the positives. Give praise, recognition, a special privilege or increased responsibility for a job well done.
3. Define limits and rules clearly. A family council is an excellent place to discuss, explain and get a sense of ownership to the rules. Discuss what consequences will follow if the rules are not followed. Don’t have a lot of rules, maybe four or five, but be consistent at following them.
4. Give your children responsibility to make the house a home. Everyone in the family should be responsible for some household chores daily. Responsibility makes them feel valued and part of the team.
5. Don’t re-do their jobs. If you expect perfection, it is too easy for them to quit trying or else hope that you will step in and "save them" when it gets difficult.
6. Laugh at their jokes and listen attentively when they are talking to you. Being fully present when you are with your child is the only quality time there is.
7. If they don’t fit in, teach them basic social skills. There are a number of behaviors that can be learned to help the "left out" child to fit into the group more easily.
8. Show them that what they do is important to you. Talk to them about activities and interests. Help them to find a hobby or interest that they excel at. Go to their games, presentations and activities.
9. Help them to set goals. Teach them to break each long-range goal into manageable bites. It is important to succeed at something ever day. Acknowledge your own successes so they can be more aware of progress they are making.
10. Don’t punish them for telling the truth. Discuss problems without placing blame or attacking the child’s character. Worry less about "who did this?" and more about "Let’s get this mess cleaned up." If a child knows he has made a bad choice but doesn’t feel attacked, he will feel more secure in trying to find solutions.
11. Create opportunities to give service and to develop tolerance for others with different values and backgrounds. These experiences can help a child to see himself in reference to the rest of the world and to be more understanding of the needs of others.
12. Give them opportunities to make decisions. Help them to see that each decision has pros and cons and may have consequences for themselves and others. If they want to do something that is clearly harmful, explain why you cannot allow them to act on it.
13. Teach them to deal with money and time wisely. When children are organized and responsible for their homework and allowance, it breeds self-assurance and personal responsibility.
14. Be a good role model. Let your children know that you feel good about yourself, but also teach them by example that mistakes aren’t final but learning experiences.
15. Start and end each day on a positive and loving note. Give lots of hugs, kisses and high fives. Let them know on a consistent basis that your love is unconditional and that you are proud of them as a member of the family. You may occasionally be disappointed in their actions or choices, but will always be available for support.
© Judy H. Wright, Author, Speaker and Life Educator www.ArtichokePress.com
This article was written by Judy Wright, parent educator and author. Feel free to use it in your newsletter or publication, but please give full credit to the author and mention the contact information of JudyWright@ArtichokePress.com, 406-549-9813.
You will find a full listing of books, tapes, newsletters and workshops available on finding the heart of the story in the journey of life by going to www.ArtichokePress.com
Make Soundproofing A Part Of Today’s Home Improvement
December 31, 2006
Make Soundproofing A Part Of Today’s Home Improvement
by: Ken Morris
Want a simple behind the scenes way to increase the comfort and value of your home? Soundproofing may sound like something only professional recording artists need, but you will be surprised at how much you will enjoy the added quiet that soundproofing supplies to your home environment.
There are many areas where soundproofing can be added in order to make for a quieter space. Sometimes it the outside disturbances of traffic or barking dogs that you would like to block out. Other times, you may want to keep noises from one room inside your home from seeping into other areas. Depending on the way you want to manage and control sound, there is a soundproofing technique that will meet your needs.
Keeping Noise Out
One of the most effective ways to keep street noise from entering your home is to soundproof your windows. Normal windows are given a sound blocking rating on a numerical scale. The percentage of noise that soundproof windows can block out increases substantially with these special windows.
The best part of the whole process is that it is easy. When you add soundproof windows to your home it will look just the same as the old windows. In fact, the old windows remain in place and the extra glass barrier is added to them. Windows will still open and close in the same manner too, but the panel of glass and the air pocket created by the double pane greatly reduces noise.
Sound proof windows differ from just plain double pane storm windows. The greatest effect is in the amount of space between the two panels of glass. It is just the right amount to trap unwanted noise, and it has the added benefit of staying clean inside because of the air block seal.
Keeping Sound In
Another area where soundproofing may be wanted is in a home theatre. If you want to keep the sound from the stereo system from getting distorted or disturbing others around the house, then there are sound proof panels that can be added to the room. These panels are usually made of foam, resembling an egg crate, but other materials are being made and tested every day. These look more like decorative panelling, yet offer the same noise control.
Ceilings and floors can help prevent the escape of noise between rooms. By adding insulation, similar to that which keeps the cold out in the winter and the heat in, you can reduce noise in and out of the room.
Soundproofing - Doing It Yourself
If you are good the DYI projects, then soundproof is one you can tackle. It is best to leave the windows to the professional installers, but during any renovation of your house, you should consider sound proofing as important a decoration as the carpet or wallpaper. When you need to repair drywall for example, consider adding the insulation that will reduce noise. After all, no one wants to be enjoying lunch in the kitchen or on the patio and have to listen to a teen’s stereo from the bedroom! Soundproofing may not be something you would have missed until you have it once. Then you will be thinking about it anytime a noise gets in the way of your peace and quiet.
