Ahhh….my old Kentucky Home. As I’m writing this UK just got beat by Vanderbilt, and Lexington is in shock – but let’s face it, the cats are gonna be OK when it comes to basketball, and nobody wins them all.

Kentucky is about basketball, bourbon, Race Horses, and beautiful scenery – that’s for sure – but it’s also about a few other things – things not so shiny and pristine.

Horse Farm in Goshen KY. Could anything be more beautiful than that?

It seems when it comes to fitness – KY is at the bottom of the rung. As a lot of you probably know already – we aren’t exactly ranking high when it comes to being slim, trim and in shape…but we also have a poor ranking in a few other area’s you might not know so much about.

That’s what this weeks blog is all about – how our beautiful state stacks up against the rest of the country in a variety of areas. Physical Fitness, health, and even mental health are covered…and the results are quite frankly a little shocking.

First let’s talk about our great state objectively and my history here. First of all I was born here in KY, and I grew up here. I lived in Keavy KY, a small country area between London and Corbin. I was a country boy and was frequently hunting, fishing or hitting baseballs outside.  When I got older, I worked as a lifeguard for a number of years at quite a few pools – and two State Parks.

Me at Cumberland Falls a couple of summers ago, holding KY's Soft Drink - Ale 8 One!

I worked at Cumberland Falls State Park for a quite a few summers, and I can tell you that that is one of the prettiest places on earth. The falls are amazing and so are the surrounding hiking trails, lodge and scenic views. Not to mention it’s one of only a few places in the world that you can see a “moonbow” – created from light refracting off of the mist from the falls.

I also worked at Levi Jackson State Park, located in London KY, and it’s also a beautiful location. It’s attractions include McHargue’s Mill, and The Mountain Home Museum.

I’ve been to Mammoth Cave, which is a great wonder – and I think many take for granted that that great Cave like that is actually located in our state.

I’ve also been on My Old Kentucky Dinner Train,  to The Shaker Village, and the Kentucky Horse Park. All great attractions worth every penny.

The Kentucky Derby – the biggest horse race in the world is held here – and top notch race horses are bred throughout this great state.

And how can we forget the National Corvette Museum, home of what is arguably the greatest sports car ever created – and definitely the most popular. I say if one of the most “high performance” and

If we can get our rear ends to look this good…we’ll be doin’ alright.

beautiful vehicles ever created comes out of KY, then the least we can do is equal that with our residents…but I’m jumping ahead…

 I’ve been all the way across the United States via Interstate 40, passing right by the old Route 66 and ending up for a short stint (very short) in Hollywood…I’ve lived smack in the middle of Florida for almost a year, visited my Uncle at his ranch in New Mexico, and my dad is from Northeast Arkansas.

I’ve been around, not as much as some – more than others – but the point is that out of all of these places – if you like green, lush, beautiful trees, rolling pastures, and breathtaking mountain views – you’ll never find a place as impressive and gorgeous as our state.

People indeed come from all over the world to see our state, visit our Parks, and see the very things that we take for granted on a daily basis.

Another Picture I snapped at Cumberland Falls two summers ago...beautiful, even with a crappy camera!

So what does this have to do with fitness? Plenty – but you have to stay with me on this one, we have to come full circle.

After talking about how beautiful our state is, how it’s rich in history, home to many celebrities and political figures, home to Corvettes and the finest race horses in the world – we also have an obligation to talk about some astoundingly bad statistics that don’t match up with our rich heritage and attractions.

What are these statistics – and are they really that bad? I’d say yes, and some of them are every bit as astounding as the thundering rumble of Cumberland Falls, or a sunrise on Lake Cumberland.

So without further ado, let’s dig into some of these stats.

First of all I want to set you up with a warning – this ain’t pretty. In fact some of these statistics more resemble a Chevy Pinto left out to weather for 25 years than a new Vette’ rolling off the assembly line in Bowling Green. Regardless, let’s get started:

According to the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index KY is the sixth most obese state in the country with 29.5 percent of us being obese. We are second in the nation for highest percentage of diabetes, and fourth for high blood pressure. Ouch. West Virginia ranks Number 1 in obesity (we’ll connect that up in a minute).

Now for a little coincidence – or is it…

Honestly when I decided to write a blog on statistics in KY, I didn’t expect to unearth this “mummy” of a fact. It’s quite disturbing – and was quite a surprise when I brushed the last bit of earth off of my gruesome discovery.

I unearthed a real Mummy with these stats. Something tells me this dude's CAT Scan is not going to come back good...

It seems things run much deeper and scarier than a mere blog about some bad looking numbers. Things are actually coming together – like pieces in a puzzle, making a picture – and the picture isn’t pretty.

KY is the second “saddest” state according to a new Gallup poll which measures well-being of residents; fine – that’s shocking enough, but probably doesn’t qualify as ghastly – however it goes further. Guess who outranks it in depression? West Virginia. That almost gives you chills. The most obese state is also the most depressed…could there be a correlation?

A correlation between lack of exercise, unhealthy living, high incidence of disease – and depression? Now I’m not Sherlock Holmes – or even Watson – but I’m smart enough to know that those rankings probably aren’t  a coincidence.

We talk about how exercise makes you feel better, helps your mood, and improves your mental outlook quite often on this blog. We also often note that this not only works in theory – but exercise is also PROVEN to decrease depression and improve mood by science. That’s right, peer reviewed  scientific research shows this fact.

But when we put these two facts together – the fact that we as Kentuckians are obese, depressed, and sick – and the state above us (West Virginia) in depression is also above us in obesity…the correlation is uncanny.

Now let’s dig deeper, and boil things down to the very city that I call home as a Personal Trainer – Lexington KY.

Men’s Health magazine ranked Lexington KY as the most sedentary city in the nation. OK, that just plain sucks. As a fitness coach, mentor, and trainer here in Lexington, the fact that it’s ranked the laziest city is kind of nauseating – because this the very thing I’m trying to promote in the bluegrass – exercise and healthy nutrition.

It shows that we need to get off our butts and move a little…and it’s just another nasty skeleton in Lexington’s already overflowing closet.

That’s a lot of negative stats folks. A whole lot – and they all come together to make even more disturbing stats – stats that show just how exercise (or lack thereof) effects your mental state, happiness, and overall satisfaction with life.

I’m proof of that myself – I’ll have a major problem (or what I deem as a major problem), do a short intense workout and all of a sudden the “majorness” (I know that’s not a word) of the problem goes down considerably. The problem shrinks right before my eyes and I’m able to tackle said problem. I do this quite regularly – and I also get reports from my clients about the same thing.

The best way I can put it is this: Muscles strengthen and problems weaken with exercise. That’s a good quote – but honestly that’s exactly what happens.

Whether it’s getting the blood pumping , releasing endorphins, or relieving stress by “taking our frustrations out” on something constructive – the fact remains: exercise is the fountain of youth, it’s a natural anti-depressant (shown in many studies to be as good as prescription anti-depressants) and it makes you look and feel great.

Take the unmarked path - EXERCISE!

Then it snowballs: when you look and feel better, you get more self-esteem and self-confidence. When you get more self-esteem and self-confidence you succeed in a greater number of projects and goals, and when you attain more goals you become more successful. Success truly does breed more success…and you get the picture. It’s a cascade of power, all started by one thing. Exercise.

So why is it that we just can’t get ourselves to exercise? Well I think it’s mostly that we don’t have the impetus to get started. Once you start exercising regularly you start to feel “naked” without it – just like you would feel if you left home for work without putting on underwear (E-mail me if you go Commando and I’ll get back to you with another analogy).

Just like with most things in life – starting something new is the hardest part. Once the ball gets rolling you’ll be able to get the habit and keep it up – hopefully for life.

The fact remains that we can change. We can climb the ranks and get out of the hole – if I didn’t believe this I wouldn’t be writing this blog and drudging up these unattractive statistics. We need to fix ourselves folks – and you can do that by getting on an exercise program…

The Ultimate Personal Trainer

There is truly no better time than the present to start exercising. You’ll look better, feel better, and perform better in all aspects of your life.

I’m not the only person in Lexington who feels strongly about the power of exercise – and I hope to have projects and events that will promote and help the people of Kentucky get started and stay on an exercise program. Your body is the most important thing you own. Your car, house, business…nothing compares to your body in value and worth.

It would be better for you to go bankrupt, have your house destroyed, and your car blow up than have a serious issue with your body. Yet we take much better care of all of these material things than we do the priceless creation that houses our very soul. It’s truly sad and something has to be done!

The first step is an exercise program. I’ve seen it time and again – someone will start exercising and automatically they become more conscious about their nutrition. So I truly believe the first step is exercise when beginning a weight loss program. The next step is tuning up your nutrition, and finally getting it to the right level for optimal results – but it all starts with exercise.

Let’s turn this state around – let’s become as beautiful, healthy, and vibrant as the state we live in. If we could accomplish becoming as beautiful as the great state we live in – well, let’s just say we’d be a great lookin’ bunch of people. We’d be the “Corvettes” of the United States, and we’d be standing at the finish line with the checkered flag.

It all starts with you – with the decision you make right now. I truly hope you decide to start exercising. I truly hope you decide to get healthy. I truly hope you decide to get happy. And I truly hope you decide to bring our state off the bottom of the statistical pile, and take it straight to the top… I think we owe it to our beautiful state, but mostly I think you owe it to yourself.

Now get out there and get fit!

Jay Scott is an ISSA Certified Personal Trainer, NPC National Level Bodybuilder, Fitness Model, Author and Nutrition Coach. Jay owns CE-Fitness, a Personal Training business in Lexington, KY. Jay has been helping people lose weight and transform their bodies since 1998. Contact him at jay@cefitness.net or visit his site at www.cefitness.net for books, products, training options and more.

Tags: kentucky, ky, personal trainer, personal training

Worry. We all do it; and it isn’t productive for any of us.

I’m steering more and more toward the “mental” aspect of getting and staying in shape these days. After all, without your mind in the game, your body simply cannot change and adapt.

The mind controls the body, and without the proper mindset the body is completely and utterly lost. The body may prefer to stay at a certain weight, but if your mind decides you should be 30lbs overweight – well, face it, you’re gonna be 30lbs overweight.

In this installment of the blog we are going to talk about worry and how to avoid it.

Most Things We Worry About Never Happen...

In my recent research I have discovered that the best way to overcome worry is actually not to try and “stop worrying”. In the past that’s what I always tried, and it never seemed to work.

In the book Psycho Cybernetics (I beg you to please read this book – it is fantastic) Maxwell Maltz talks about worry and how to beat it.

Instead of trying to stop worrying, he recommends replacing the worry with a feeling of “success”.

For example, let’s say you are imagining vividly that you are going to mess up while giving a speech. You imagine getting up at the podium and stuttering, saying something completely ridiculous, or going completely blank. You imagine how the crowd is glaring at you – how you have been made a fool.

Most of us are pretty good at this type of “visualization”. Sad but true. We are used to imagining the worst possible outcome; and doing so with the utmost detail and realism.

Maxwell recommends that you “worry backwards” when this takes hold of you. For instance you would immediately think about some positive and successful event in your past – something that you succeeded at – and replace that vivid “negative” image with a vivid “positive” one.

Eventually the mind will recognize that when something negative is thought of – that that is a signal for something positive to be thought of immediately after. In essence you “rewire” the brain for success.

Now don’t think you have to have won a prestigious award or become a movie star to have experienced “success”. Everyone has success in their background, from winning a race at school to being recognized for rescuing the neighbor’s cat. Everyone has felt success in the past – and that is what you conjure up when you feel like you are doomed for failure.

Alright, now you’re probably wondering how this applies to fitness. Well, I’ve been thinking a lot about this.

I think that if you are on a weight loss plan you need to have your “fuel” sorted out. Fuel is the reason “why” you are losing weight. What is that reason? I can’t tell you yours because it’s a very individual thing. You have to figure that one out yourself.

Maybe you are going to the Bahamas’ in the spring – maybe you want to impress someone – or just get healthy and strong for your family. Whatever the reason it’s yours and yours alone. If you didn’t want to accomplish it you probably wouldn’t be on this site – so that alone should tell you it’s pretty powerful.

After you have your fuel – you need to imagine in vivid detail what it would be like to accomplish that goal. How would your life change? How would you feel? Imagine everything down to the finest detail.

Do this whenever you get a quiet moment – see yourself the way you want to be. Visualize it, smell the air, feel the ground beneath your feet.

Take the success feeling that you’ve had in the past and mold it with this image. You have done it – you have accomplished your goal. Actually feel the success and what Maxwell calls the “winning feeling”.

Ever Think The Difference Between These Two Guys Might Be 90% Mental?

I do this a lot before I go to sleep – with my business, body or whatever my current goal is.

Now you have your “replacement” feeling.

When you start to feel hungry, deprived, or weak, close your eyes and imagine this scene. You’re “winning feeling” scene. Imagine the way you’ll feel, the way you’ll look – the way your life will improve when your goal is accomplished.

Does this take away all the desire to eat bad food or skip a workout? Nope. But I do believe it helps immensely. You will be reminded of why you are working hard – why you are putting in this work and effort, and you’ll be able to stave off the temporary pleasure gained from a tasty treat or skipped workout session.

Try this the next time you have a desire to cheat on your nutrition or skip a particularly unpleasant workout session. Let me know below what you think about this post and what helps you get through those moments! I want to hear your opinions on the mental aspect of getting shape!

nil desperandum! NEVER GIVE UP

Tags: kentucky, ky, personal trainer, personal training