Even a weekend getaway vacation can provide helpful perspectives on fitness and healthy living.
I recently returned from Miami Beach, a destination place often referred to as "where all the beautiful people live."
It turns out there are some very beautiful people there, and the pressure to
look Hollywood-camera-ready at all times helps promote a more active lifestyle. Certainly plenty of Miami Beach dwellers take this pressure to extremes, but I came away with a few helpful lessons that are helpful to the Badass Journey:
Lessons from Miami Beach
1. Bring your gym outside: Most days of the year, the weather and scenery in Miami Beach are ideal for outdoor fitness. People there take long beach walks, they jog the boardwalk along the beach, they rollerblade or swim or cycle in the ocean-scented air. I ran along the beach boardwalk three times during my stay, and it was the type of energizing exercise that doesn't feel like work. It just feels exhilarating.
2. Eat tropical, eat in season, eat local: Even the mojitos in Miami Beach feature fresh fruit. Fish is freshly caught and topped with mango salsa. Salads are abundant. Vegetables don't seem like an obligatory "health food" because the warm tropical climate makes your body want real food that is fresh and vibrantly colored. If we ate like this more often, being lean and fit would not be a challenging chore. It would just happen naturally. Real living, real eating, real health.
3. Let fashion influence your fitness: Fashion designer Versace lived here. Actors and supermodels vacation here. Go to any Miami Beach hotel on any given day, and odds are you'll find a fashion photo shoot in progress or on the schedule. Fashion permeates Miami Beach. And we all know fashion favors more single-digit sizes than double-digits, more tight button-downs for guys than loose polos. We could give in and lament, "I'll never look good enough to wear clothes like that."
But why not the fitness gauge as our motivation gauge. I train the owner of my favorite local Tallahassee boutique, and I'm not really joking when I remind her, "We've got to keep it in shape for all of those awesome summer clothes in your store."
4. Turn any insecurities into competitiveness and motivation: People really are beautiful in this little corner of the Sunshine State. It seems like half the people on Miami Beach just tan and work out all day. Tough life, right? This can make many of us feel inferior. I had several of those moments during my stay.
But the Badass solution is to flip such insecurities on their head and use them as fuel for motivation. Don't just whine that you don't have a six pack like the Brazilian hottie - add extra crunches and clean up your eating. Odds are, she works for that figure. Maybe you'll have to work harder. So work harder. It's what Badasses do!
5. Strut the bikini, literally and figuratively: It seems like everyone in Miami Beach walks around in bathing suits. I was struck - and impressed - by how many men and women strutted with confidence down the beach and boardwalk, most of them NOT a perfectly shaped "10." I think that's totally Badass. Because guess what? We come in all shapes and sizes, and half of being a Badass is possessing the
inner confidence that - in my opinion - sets the foundation for personal strength, determination and total wellness. So strut your "inner" and actual bathing suit.
Bonus lesson: Age naturally. Do not become a human Barbie or Ken doll. I saw far too many of these. Fish lips, shiny overly facelifted faces. Gigantic plastic breasts. It is not attractive. It, in fact, looks ridiculous. My Grandma is one of the most beautiful Badasses I know. She was a model who spent plenty of time on Miami Beach back in the day. Today she is almost 80 and has never let a needle or knife near her face or body. And she is still stunning, down to every wrinkle and soft curve. THAT is beauty.
Coming this week: Summer is officially here! Time for the Summer 2011 Badass CEO Favorites unveil...And a pushup challenge for all - can you count to 2,000???
