Making Our Way Down Route 66!!

“I’m getting my kicks on Route 66! For bringing my message of fitness & nutrition to community’s along the way.”

This morning I reflected on the progress the tour has made and I came to realize some important issues.

I’m trying to aspire to promote proper fitness and nutrition habits for Americans of all ages especially our nation’s youth so it becomes a way of life.  As a society, we are used to starting something, finishing it, and then moving on with our lives and forget about it. For example, during K-12 grades, we get our diplomas and move on.  Some of us get a job, others start careers, and others get even more schooling before moving on.  Once we have jobs most of us put our time in and forget about work when we are off.

In my case since I was working towards a cause that I’m very passionate about, you don’t have very many opportunities to leave your job at the office. One reason is, at least for me and many other small business owners; you are trying to improve what you are doing all the time.

I’m pushing across America with a plan to help ensure that health and fitness becomes a permanent way of life for all of us. We all need daily maintenance to keep our mind and bodies healthy and fit, so we can do all the things that a well-rounded life can offer.  It’s important we understand the importance of lifelong health and proper fitness for our own sake, that of our families and loved ones, and for the betterment of our communities and our country.

My mission is to help communities across America, and all individuals, establish a daily maintenance program, because we can’t all do it alone. That is why I’m working with schools, cities, states, local and state officials and community leaders to provide them with resources and tools to create lasting health and fitness initiatives for all citizens. Our goal is to provide a common message and a way for all communities and citizens to obtain clear, concise, and easy to understand information about health and fitness. It is hard enough to exercise and eat right without sorting through all the mixed messages and marketing hype.

So we want to make things simple and easy for young kids, students, teachers and other Americans. Just like my long time friend, Dr. Kenneth Cooper has done. With his team comprised of Dr. Cooper’s son Tyler,  Dr. Charles Sterling EeD and many other intelligent people at the Cooper Institute in Dallas where they created the NUTRIGRAM^® and FITNESSGRAM^®. I am honored to have them as a partner of our “Fitness 4 All State Tour”.

As I know their state of the art programs will help this country become healthier and reach their fitness goals faster and more effectively. The Cooper Institute along with other top fitness  and nutrition leaders will help us to one day soon make fitness activities and choosing balanced nutritional meals or snacks a way of life.

Just like we choose an umbrella or a rain coat when it is raining outside or put on sunglasses and SPF when it is sunny outside, our fitness partners can help provide that  protection through information that will allow us to adjust the amount of food we eat or fluids we drink according to our fitness activity level. I like to say that fitness activities and nutrition are joined at the hip like Siamese twins. They depend on each other to make the best choices because what effects one will in some way affect the other.

KEVIN’S PERSONAL JOURNAL

5:00 a.m. CST – I woke up and got things ready to go so I could get on the road. As I have mentioned before, one of my favorite country legends of all time Willie Nelson says it best, “On the road again. Just can’t wait to get on the road again”. We received a donation from Ron Sanderson, a guest at the hotel, that morning during breakfast. It was so very nice of him. It’s seeing contributions like the one Mr. Sanderson gave shows the power of people working together, to change your life and the lives of people around you in a way no one could ever know.  Dedicated to the ‘Big Push’ tour that is promoting healthier eating habits and daily exercise.

Again, I just want to thank everyone who has contributed to this tour.  With their support and enthusiasm, I know the Tour will be a success and that together, we will be able to win the war against obesity. Like Nike says “Just Do It.”

7:00 p.m. CST – We went back to the Baymont Inn and Suites, one of our sponsors, in Litchfield and loaded all of our gear to get ready for our trek to St. Louis, “The gateway to the west”, this weekend.

9:00 a.m. CST –   After breakfast, we drove to a meeting with Litchfield’s mayor, Jon Dunkirk Jr.  We presented the mayor with a plaque on behalf of the Kevin Saunders for “Big Push Health and Fitness tour across  America”  to help make their community more fit. I also did an interview with the media that was at the presentation with Mayor Dunkirk at city hall. I told them about the mission of the ‘Big Push’ and how we are planning to do the “Fitness 4 All 50 State Tour” in the upcoming years to promote fitness and proper nutrition to our youth and the American people.  Everyone was very nice and we received a warm welcome.  Unfortunately, right after the presentation we had to leave immediately to catch up on the miles from where we left of the day before. I know what you are thinking….on the road again and away we go!

1:00 p.m. CST – From Blue Mound, IL  to just outside of Taylorsville, IL, I pushed the hand cycle.  For those of you who do not know what a hand cycle is it is a type of human powered vehicle powered by the arms rather than the legs, as on a bicycle. Only the gears are upside down compared to a regular bicycle. It has 3 wheels with a seat and back. It looks just like a bicycle turned upside down with arm cranks in place of the pedals. Here is a picture to see for yourself. This is a 24 speed hand cycle. Most hand cycles are tricycle in form, with two coasting rear wheels and one steerable powered front wheel. Despite usually having three wheels, they are also known as hand bikes.

The total distance I cranked in the hand cycle was 10 miles.  Outside of Taylorsville, we met Jane Long, a reported from the Taylorsville Daily newspaper, the local newspaper.  She came out and took a picture right before a short down pour of a rainstorm came through.

3:00 p.m. CST – Due to some mechanical problems, I had to move from my hand cycle to my racer for the remaining four miles into Taylorsville.  The hand bike is usually a little easier than the racer, but today it was two or three times more difficult. I was unable to keep up my speed the way I wanted to because of the steep hills and gearing down that must be done. Encountering this type of difficulty made me reflect on how hard it is for some people to get in shape who will not put in the appropriate effort for countless reasons. Some people just make them up because it is easier to them than the alternative.  Because I was tired the night before and I didn’t want to check my bike, I paid the price the next day. So that is a lesson for anyone who takes things for granted.

As a motivational coach and inspirational speaker, I try to instill the need for discipline and never giving up on my audiences, it is so important as a speaker to build a synergy with your audience so that before you know it they are self-motivated and seeing themselves as they would like to be if they were full of energy. While training to be a paralympian, I knew I had to be prepared for anything, overcoming any adversity that might appear. Sometimes we get a little lax and get caught unprepared so you’re doomed from the start. That’s when we need to learn from the experience and make the effort to improve every day and “Never Give Up! Because There Is Always A Way”. 

As we continued through Taylorsville on towards Litchfield, I noticed that some of the drivers were a little more careless.  I guess it was because it was a holiday weekend. Regardless, we had to be much more cautious and be defensive drivers! Got to get to get to writing on the blog, editing pictures and videos so I’ll catch up with your all tomorrow—Bright and Early!