December Battle

I entered December 2022 with 211 total blog posts on the year.

Where I fell short of the mark:

September 2022 - I wanted to have 200 posts by this time...that didn't work

October 2022 - when earlier number efforts fell through, I wanted to have 190 posts by the end of October...that didn't work either.

November 2022 - I knew it had to be a big month, and it was a big one. At some point, I thought I could get 60 posts in November to set a monthly record. Instead, I set a record with 45 posts. A strong last day of November saw nine posts...bap, bap, bap!

Entering November, I knew that month and December would have to be record breakers with December serving as the record holder for posts in a month. The key elements: consistency and starting off strong. Very strong. 

I was not afraid to calculate the average number of posts per day for December, which reached about three per day. I knew that the more posts over the average would knock down the average per day.

I needed that goal and sight.

December has been that type of month.

What number posts is this one? Am I done? Did I reach no. 300 yet?

Happy New Year!

Much success to you | Derek | @teemptraining |derekteempt@gmail.com 

Body Image: Discipline

(See Body Image: Showtime)

The body image topic can travel in several directions, but I will reflect off the Showtime post and speak on discipline. Discipline, in general, gets attacked. A disciplined body should not be attacked. 

Why would you have disappointment over good body discipline, especially someone else's discipline?

You don't have to be a bodybuilder or model. But, it is important for you to show some sort of discipline with your body. Yes, someone else is looking at you for inspiration. So, if you have the physical discipline to look like you're winning, then you will influence others to win.

Win what? What if I am not playing a game?

Does it always have to be about you? You can have self-discipline that shines for others to see without giving off arrogance. Look, people love a healthy body. They want to know your secrets and plans to success because your path is one of influence.

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own - 1 Corinthians 6:19

How would you rate the discipline you show with your body?

Much success to you |Derek |@teemptraining | derekteempt@gmail.com 

Love to Fight Off Regret

By now, you understand that this blog talks about everything. All of the topics relate to your overall health. However, you may read a rare rogue topic...just cause.

Or, not.

It's difficult to not stray from talking about overall health.

So, what in the world is this love topic about? I wanted to dive into another aspect of love that entered my mind: We love in order to put a wall against regret.

Let me briefly explain:

You never know when a loved one, friend, co-worker, acquaintance, or stranger will leave this earth. Simple acts of love throughout life fight off regret because it leaves a memory. You don't have to tell yourself:

Oh, I was just gonna call...

I was thinking about doing an activity...

I meant to text or write a letter...

I had planned on visiting...

By the way, my inspiration for this post stirred from watching a father and son walk from a barbershop to a honey bun cake factory. I thought about their valued time together.

Love supercedes uncertainty and regret. Love fights through thin and thick barriers. Love creates space and valued time. Love cherishes experiences and good stories. 

You have heard the song lyrics...what the world needs now is love sweet love by Jackie DeShannon. It's a fact that travels further than physical touch. You need lasting good memories, and love honors them. 

You don't have to tell everyone that you love them. You can show it through little actions. 

For a stranger: holding open a heavy door for a senior citizen

For a co-worker: genuinely supporting their presentation and noting improvements.

For a friend: picking them up from the airport.

For family: Rescuing them in Fast & Furious. OK, really, all of the above.

What do you have to do with love?

Much success to you | Derek | @teemptraining | derekteempt@gmail.com 

10 Items: Best Gym Views

Not a gym view

When you buy or rent a residence, you look at the view, right? You may not think about the view from a gym; however, if you use your home as a gym or if your condo or apartment building has a gym on one of the bottom levels, then you might care about the gym view. 

Views energize you. They push you along because they stimulate. Depending on the scenery out side your gym, it may encourage you to go farther and finish out sets better. The stimuli is real, and here are the top 10:

10) Landscape - Flowers, crisp and cut grass, hedgework. You might see this in a community center.

9)  Farm - I have never seen it, but cows, goats, and farm work might entertain.

8)  Business District - plenty of action but you will probably be at your job's gym.

7) Skyline/High Rise/Skyscraper - a gym from across the river or higher up than other buildings. You get sunrise and sunset views.

6) Mountains/Canyons - the west is beautiful, so you may see this scene out west or in another country

5) Traffic/Busy - Very popular. Downtown, uptown, suburban, and with a lot of action. 

4) Woods - draw the motivation from the action of the woods.

3) Athletic Field/Open Field - other people playing may benefit your workout.

2) Water - Water is powerful and attracts many things. So, check it out.

1) Beach - Yes! You have people, boats, ships, jet skis, boardwalks, and more to see. Well, that's if you are near that type of beach.

Others to consider: parking lot, neighborhood, college quad/regular quad area.

What are your favorite views?

Much success to you | Derek | @teemptraining | derekteempt@gmail.com 

10 Items: Challenges You Can Do

See what you think of these challenges:

1) Using the bathroom without your phone. Leave it on the other side.

2) Using the bathroom with or without a book or magazine. One of the best reading places is the bathroom. So, just think.

3) Work out without music. If you do not like to listen to yourself breathe, which I think provides motivation, then this challenge will be difficult. Otherwise, get going and get done.

4) Take one winter cold shower. The summertime is easier. 

5) Call don't text. Too many individuals only text. Call because texts do not cut it. When done appropriately texts are effective. But, texting can reveal itself as lazy communication.

6) Learn the same five words in five different languages. Good, bon, bueno, bom, bun. But, you can pick any five.

7) Take a winter hike. Bundle up, pick a route, don't get lost in the cold.

8) Make a healthy meal for under $25 for a family of four. If you only have 1 to 3 in the house, then make it as if you have four.

9) Say...Thank you...10x in one day. Keep it real.

10) Say...Good morning...to 10 individuals in one day. If you have a Zoom meeting, good morning to the group counts as one greeting. 

Try some now rather than later.

Much success to you | Derek | @teemptraining | derekteempt@gmail.com 

2023 Revisited: Can You Rank Your Health Categories

  How did you do in each category, so far, in 2022? You can still make changes. From a January 28, 2022 post:

In alphabetical order:

1. Character/Personality
2. Financial
3. Intellectual
4. Nutritional 
5. Physical 
6. Social
7. Spiritual 

How do you rank these seven health aspects based on the following:

• The health aspects you would like to improve on in 2022 and overall.
• The health aspect in which you do well.
• The health aspect that you would like to share with others.

Some questions to consider for the seven above:

Characteristically/Personality. How are you perceived by others? Funny. Do you treat yourself and others well? Yes, I really try not tell myself that I cannot do something. Are you relatable? Yes. Sometimes, you have to emulate.

Financial. How good is your money-making potential? I could use more confidence, here. How secure are your finances? OK? Do you live below or above your means? I have kids.

Intellectual. How often do you exercise your mind? I read four books this year to satisfy my leisure reading, and took notes on all of them. Boom! What do you learn? A lot.

Nutritional. Is your body fed junk most of the time? Nope. Do you eat clean, some, most, or all of the time? Most. Do you feed others good food?Yes. Even when we have company. Look, my family even introduced Cava in 2022 to a friend of ours.

Physical. Working out, avoiding physical abuse. I did work and still do. Not at all. No physical abuse.

Social. Do you have healthy social relationships or do they drain you? Healthy. Though, I would say the number of people I associate with has diminshed over the years lol.

Spiritual. Everyone has some sort of faith - you believe that you will accomplish a feat. You may believe in God, and you may not. So, do you need to work on this aspect? I have done a better job in the past. However, I do pray, attend church, and do works. It has been fun finding other church services when I cannot attend regular church time service because my son may have a Sunday a.m. game. Could I do more or improve the quality of my spirituality? Yes. 

What do you think? I think 2022 did what it had to do. Have to finish it out and enter 2023!

Much success to you | Derek |@teemptraining |derekteempt@gmail.com 

Maccabee Pulls

Yes, I have another inspiration for this post.

(See Lefty, Righty, Correct?)

So, I was training my client...

Just this past week during Hannakuh and wished a happy holiday. Somehow, Maccabees came up between sets - oh, you know you can perform exercise while still having the ability to talk during breaks, right? - and just before cable pulls.

The Maccabees and Hannakuh.

By the way, if you celebrate Hannakuh, I hope you had a good eight nights!

Maccabee Pulls. 

If you know the story, what does that name mean to you? Maccabee Pulls are not a special kind of pulling exercise. The Maccabees were warriors in full revolt mode. I'm not Jewish, but when I hear the word warrior, in my opinion, I must work hard and get through the movement or exercise.

See, hopefully, over these last eight nights, you or your friends and family who celebrate Hannakuh have realized the battles you went through during the year to get to this point in your life.

This time of year is special. It's full of emotions both up and down. But, you get a chance to celebrate the past in the present and in anticipation of what the future holds.

I get it - everyone does not share the same predicament. But, that's a Maccabee...pull, the fight for the celebration. You find it. You find the urge to fight and celebrate. Stand up for the good things you want or want to keep!

Maccabee Pulls.

Get through and celebrate.

Much success to you | Derek | @teemptraining | derekteempt@gmail.com