Arkansas is the land of opportunity: Perfect to spread the word of proper fitness and nutrition!!
President, Grover Cleveland, 1885–1889
By the time I reached into Arkansas around Stuttgart, Arkansas my trip had gone from gleeful to grueling. My shoulders ached constantly, my skin was burned from the sun and wind, and my hands became a home to permanent calluses and blisters. In short, things were becoming difficult. I wondered whether I’d be able to go on to finish, and I found that the fear of failure made the burden even worse. When relief finally came, it wasn’t because I changed my route or did anything special. Instead, I simply made the decision to stop worrying about things. I knew that if I kept my wheels spinning, the rest would take care of itself. And strangely enough, it did.
In this blog, I take that revelation and apply it to what I learned about why education for nutrition and fitness is so important. Mainly, that stress and fatigue, over time, take the same kind of toll as bad nutrition does. Worse yet, the two usually go hand in hand. The more stress we carry, the worse we feel, and that makes us more likely to seek out junk food and television instead of healthy alternatives. I conclude this section with some practical tips and advice for breaking that cycle.
To read the rest of this fantastic article of from the “World’s Greatest all-around Wheelchair Athlete” Exciting BIG PUSH across America to help America beat the Fitness Crisis one push at a time! Kevin Saunders gives his insight along with the top nutritionists, dieticians, Fitness trainers and the Cooper Institute who developed the NutriGram® and FitnessGram®.
Please follow the steps to read on, to see how this today’s and the blogs to follow of this exciting adventure to help America get fit takes you another step closer to your own goals and dreams for your personal fitness activities and choices you make for your nutritionally balanced meals and healthy snacks.
Kevin closing in on Chatfield AR in the BIG PUSH he's cranking hard!
Quick Nutrition Tip of The Day!
I always make sure that I am eating healthy during my tour. Protein is a key nutrient to help build muscle and keep healthy. Just a quick hint, a correct portion of protein should be about the size of our fist.
Feed Your Muscles
Satisfy your sugar cravings immediately after your workout. Eat at least 20 grams along with some protein. The sugar will help carry protein to the muscles you’ve just worked. So have a soda with your tuna sandwich, but limit your sugar intake the rest of the day.
KEVIN’S PERSONAL JOURNAL
8:45 a.m. CST – We drove back to Marianna, AR, where we stopped yesterday, to continue the push towards Stuttgart, AR.
9:00 a.m. CST – Averaging 12 mph, I was able to make it to Monroe, AR in about two hours. The pushing was hard. The temperature stayed near one hundred degrees and the asphalt was soaking in ever degree and giving it back.
11:00 a.m. CST – I took about a 5 minute break to rehydrate my body by drinking water and to replenish my electrolytes by drinking a sports drink. It’s very important to stay hydrated when you work out. Always have water or sports drink and be sure to drink before you feel thirsty. Even just a little dehydration can affect your performance. Like I have said in previous posts, I usually drink a mixture of half water and half Gatorade to ensure proper hydration and allow myself to be at peak performance during the ‘Big Push Across America’.
Kevin drenched in sweat with humidity high Kevin Saunders pushing HARD to Roe, Ark city limits
12:15 p.m. CST – We arrived in Clarendon, AR after pushing for approximately 10 more miles after my break. In Clarendon, we took an hour to eat, drink, and rest. It was hard to eat healthy here but we managed. Remember when you eat out; ask them to prepare the food with no butter. Just a quick tip to save you some calories.
1:15 p.m. CST – The next 45 minutes was spent pushing the 10 miles to Roe. There was a considerable amount of traffic on the highway, so I had to be careful and go extra slow. Unfortunately, there was swampland on each side of the highway with hardly any shoulder to wheel on.
Kevin pushes down the long strech of Hwy through Arkansas hot summer days towards Brickeye_AR
2:00 p.m. CST – After taking a 5 minute break to get some liquids in my system, I pushed on towards Ulm, AR; approximately 7 miles away.
2:45 p.m. CST – We arrived in Ulm and took another five minute water and Gatorade break. It was so hot and humid; I had to be careful not to dehydrate myself. After the break, we started the last six miles into Stuttgart, AR.
3:15 p.m. CST – After an exhausting day, we arrived in Stuttgart, AR. We loaded up our equipment and drove back to the hotel.
Kevin pushing on highway 79 toward Mirianna Arkansas
4:30 p.m. CST – After working hard all day, all I wanted to do was rest and get some food. So we took about an hour and ate some dinner.
6:00 p.m. CST – We tried to do some work after dinner, but unfortunately, we kept having technical difficulties. The Internet still was not working, so Andy was unable to upload the today’s pictures. In addition to the Internet not working, we could not get our new scanner to work. We wanted to scan a newspaper article about the Tour. There has been so much publicity about the tour. Its great that the media has embraced this Revolutions tour. The media attention really helps spread the word about getting fit and living healthy.
11:30 p.m. CST – We went to bed.
Kevin Saunders is an in demand motivational speaker, wheelchair athlete and noted author.
