Bodybuilding Also Builds Social Skills

Every single one of us can benefit from enhancing our communication skills. Whether you are a student, entrepreneur or stay-at-home parent, you absolutely need to effectively communicate what you want and need to make your life a lot smoother.

Communication=

Have you ever walked away from a conversation totally confused? Maybe the person you were speaking with took what you were trying to say completely out of context. Or, maybe you can't seem to grasp the other person's position on a topic.

Communicating effectively can be difficult at times. Doing so involves more than just a string of sentences and the underlying meaning of what you are trying to convey.

As you have probably noticed, there is quite a bit of room for interpretation and distortion of the intended message by the receiver (listener, reader). And, as a communicator, your goal is to get your point across as effectively as possible with little room for misinterpretation.

Here are the various aspects that make up communications:

• Words/sentences

• Body language, visual cues (someone's facial expressions for instance)

• Voice, inflections

• Selective hearing or lack of hearing (including environmental noise)

• Transmission mode (email, text message, voicemail, conversation)

• Pre-conceived notions or assumptions

• Stereotyping

• Interpersonal and/or organizational relationships

• Etc.

How does bodybuilding help?

A seemingly individual sport such as bodybuilding can indeed enhance your communication skills:

• Bodybuilding Helps You Develop Confidence: Even if you are shy or introverted, bodybuilding will help you develop an all-around sense of confidence in yourself.

  When you look good, you feel good and when you feel good you stand up straight and feel better about communicating in a variety of situations. And, when you are confident, you can brush aside what some may interpret as rejection.

• Bodybuilding Requires Communication: At some point you are going to end up asking someone if they are done with a certain machine (even if that means you are motioning toward the machine with an inquisitive look) or if they can help spot you.

  By talking to complete strangers that you see everyday (versus the person you'll never see again), you are building your communication skills and developing the ability to ask for what you want. Now carry this over to other areas of your life.

• Bodybuilding Helps You Decrease Your Stress: Stress can take a physical and mental toll on your body. And, it can drastically decrease your attention span and patience - both of which are not good for effective communication. Be sure to get in the gym regularly, especially during times where you are stressed out. You will find that your daily life is easier to handle when you can blow off some steam by lifting weights.

• Bodybuilders Take Care Of Themselves: As a bodybuilder you listen to the doctor and seek help if something isn't quite right. If your physician has prescribed ADD/ADHD medicine, anti-anxiety drugs or antidepressants, you will take them as directed and ask what else you can do to focus better or feel better.

• Bodybuilders Seek Knowledge: Bodybuilders know a lot about both nutrition and training because they are always reading about the latest and greatest supplements, training techniques and nutrition research. This quest for knowledge can make you dig deeply to understand and improve other areas of your life including your communication skills.

  
  

  For more info:

  
  
  The Body Master
  
  713-773-0077
  
  
  South Braeswood @ Fondren Houston TX 77074
  
  www.thebodymaster.com
  

  
  

Chill out, stressing will make you fat

Can stress really make you fat?

Absolutely! As feeble humans we have evolved in such a way that stress causes a near immediate reaction in our bodies. Do you remember the last time you got a fright? I mean REALLY got a fright, do you remember the immediate reaction you had as you jumped as a response to the fear?

This reaction is called your fight or flight response and it is responsible for the release of a whole host of hormones into your system.

So what happens when you’re chronically stressed? If your body is constantly releasing these stress hormones into your body it can have a drastic and catastrophic effect.

When hormones such as cortisol are released into your body they force your body to decide whether to fight what has caused the reaction, or run away. If you are permanently stressed out due to work or family commitments the hormones unleashed on your system can play havoc with your metabolism, your blood sugar levels and your blood flow.

All of these changes can then cause you to gain weight, no matter how closely you’re sticking to your diet. There are even some types of weight loss products now that specifically target the market of ’stressed out dieters’.

As I already said, chronic stress can have a serious impact on your weight. Now it’s time to get down to the nitty-gritty and I’ll tell you how it can affect you.

Your metabolism - Firstly stress will have an impact on your metabolism because cortisol slows it right down; even if you are still eating the same amount of food your body won’t burn it off as quickly, leading to weight gain.

Food Cravings - Because you are stressed and feeling low your natural resistance to junk food will be at an all time low. Who doesn’t love a bar of chocolate or some ice cream when they feel down or stressed out?

This is one to watch for because everyone has their own brand of comfort food when they feel off. You really need to try to stave off the temptation though, obviously the more junk you eat the more weight you’ll put on!

Blood Sugar Levels - When you are stressed out are you prone to mood swings? Just want to crawl into a corner and cry? This is likely caused by a change in your blood sugar brought on by stress.

Prolonged stress is even linked to hyperglycemia (too much sugar in the blood) and metabolic syndrome (a combination of medical disorders that increase your risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes). None of these side effects are particularly pleasant so this is why you really need to keep an eye on your stress levels, especially while trying to lose weight.

So the moral of the story is that you should look after yourself as a whole while trying to lose weight. If you are suffering from chronic stress, try to find a way to relax.

Possibly try out some yoga classes or just something that you find always calms you. We can’t lead a stress free life all the time but for a fitter, healthier and slimmer you, try to relax as much as you can, when you can.