Fit Takes Sense, Not Dollars

I'm as obsessive about my workouts as I am about just about everything else in my life so that means I am almost always looking to challenge myself in new ways. Now, I have to admit, I'm all about being frugal these days so if I can't do it in the comfort of my own home, I'm not likely to do it at all.
(True story: massive debts built in college lead to massive accumulated debt once you become a married couple with kids to raise. I freely admit that I have a lot of work to do to get as financially fit as I am physically. That said, I have always been a sucker for being creative and using this rather expensively built brain my mama paid for to get the job done minus a gym membership).

So, back to my obsessiveness.

For those of you who might not know it, I am a football fan....wait, let me rewind that statement, I am more than a football fan, I am a GEORGIA BULLDOG fan! I love the Bulldogs and I love talking Bulldog football on college football Saturdays in the fall. And, one of my favorite all-time players is former Georgia Bulldog running back Herschel Walker.

Walker grew up in the rural south, and he didn't have access to great equipment or fitness programs. However, he never let that stand in the way of his success. And though many have questioned the truthfulness of his claims over the years, I believe it when he says he never used a weight or supplement to look like the physically chiseled specimen he did whilst playing running back for the University of Georgia because my personal experience planning and executing my own fitness plan has proven to many around me that much is possible if you're truly motivated.

That said, if you don't have a structured environment to walk into everyday, you have to be diligent in finding new techniques and avenues by which you can better assist your body in reaching it's potential.

At present, my home gym consists of several sets of dumbbells, a 20-lb barbell, a pilates ball, and an exercise bike. Those are my staples. However, using just those items, I am able to create a diverse workout routine that helps me build muscle, increase physical stamina, and tone and lift the parts that I most wish to emphasize when the weather is warm.

For example:

(using 20 lb dumbbells)

shrugs: 1 set/15 reps 
100 jumping jacks
shrugs: 1 set/15 reps
rest :20
curls: 1 set/12 reps
100 high knee runs in place
curls: 1 set/12 reps
rest :20
overhead tricep extension: 1 set/12 reps
Mountain Climbers for 30 seconds
overhead tricep extension: 1 set/12 reps
rest 1:00

The above is the upper body portion of my workout from last week.

I always do full body workouts because that works well for me and each workout typically includes 6-8 exercises per muscle group. So on that particular day I also did arms, legs, glutes, back, and abs. It was a 70 minute workout with a total rest time of 5:00 minutes.

Some days I increase the sets and decrease the repetitions just so I'm not overtaxing my muscles—leaving them susceptible to injury.

This is an approach that has worked well for me and I'm fairly satisfied with the results I've attained over the last year or so.

My point in sharing this with you is only to say that if you're honest about your fitness goals and you truly want to make a positive change to your body, you have to be willing to think outside the box.

My dedication to getting my family financially fit and debt free means that I am less inclined to spend money on luxuries like going to the gym. That's the plain and simple of it.  But by no means am I willing to let that be an excuse for me to not feel or look how I want.

Source: healthy-is-the-way-to-go.tumblr.com via Kimberley on Pinterest

Nuff' said.

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• My first body weight/dumbbell workout (Version One) (pmckibbins.wordpress.com)

Why I Stopped Shopping At Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart used to be my one-stop shop for everything—baby items, food, cleaning supplies, toys, prescriptions—but it's been more than a year since I've even graced the store's threshold. And, while I don't judge the millions of others who still make Wal-Mart their first, and most times only, option, I no longer feel comfortable spending my family's money there.

Why? Well, I can tell you the switch began shortly after seeing a documentary on the big box giant. The documentary entitled, "WalMart: The High Cost of Low Price" was released in November of 2005 and detailed some of the more questionable company practices employed by the company.

Some of the points that jumped out at me during that time were,

• First, the low-wages paid by the store contributes to many of their workers enrolling in state assistance programs. In 2002, in the state of Georgia alone, more than 10,000 dependents of Wal-Mart employees were enrolled in the PeachCare for Kids program. Wal-Mart is one of the wealthiest companies in the country, yet they have no problem passing the buck of their labor costs to the taxpayer.

• Second, their desire to keep as many of their employees part-time as possible. They don't want full-time workers on the payroll because then they would be forced to enroll them in the company-offered health plan—something they like to avoid.

• Third, they dislike unions, discourage their creation, and take steps, sometimes illegally, to ensure none form at their store.

The above points were enough for me, in 2005 to decide I would curtail my visits to Wal-Mart, but the birth of my first child made that difficult as watching the budget took precedence over taking a principled stance—particularly when Wal-Mart was still the only real game in town for low-priced, decent quality, goods and services.

That outlook lasted until 2009 when I learned about the infamous "dead peasant" policy:




After learning of this, the deal was sealed for me as far as Wal-Mart was concerned, and I haven't set foot in one of their stores since.

Of course they aren't the only company using shady practices to protect and bolster their bottom line (dead peasant policies are actually quite common—unfortunately), but they make so much money doing so that it makes them an easy target for those who simply don't like the way they do business.

It seems important to add here that, as a consumer, I had issues with them long before 2005, but there were few alternatives to them at the time so I sucked it up.

I found that I was frequently frustrated by standing in long lines at checkout (Wal-Mart was infamous for having only a handful of cashiers working at peak times), returning food items because they were not of good quality (on more than one occasion, I came home with spoiled or expired goods because the shelves weren't frequently checked or stocked), and I was never a fan of their sub-par customer service (I don't know who those people on the commercials are, but I've never met such a character at a real store—at least not where I live).

Overall, I just feel a sense of relief because I know I'm not supporting a company that seems more interesting in taking from the community than giving back to it. This isn't Sam Walton's Wal-Mart anymore, it's just a big store, with a bad agenda, and a whole lot of question marks as to just how much value they actually provide.

For my money, there are better options...even if they won't always come cheap.

Related articles

• Wal-Mart, humbled king of retail, plots rebound (sfgate.com)
• Wal-Mart At-a-Glance (sfgate.com)
• City Council To Address Wal-Mart Concerns Thursday (newyork.cbslocal.com)