Thanks to our friend, Jim Hancock, for producing these videos.

Links

Then consider that 80% of the illnesses and disease in the U.S. are preventable.

The costs to individuals and companies are staggering. One of my clients decided to move from “sick-care” to wellness in their corporate culture. Now after several years, they've begun to measure the results. Team members who continued with high-risk behaviors to their health cost 150% more than those at low risk. This unhealthy high-risk behavior drives worker's compensation costs up almost 30%. Absenteeism goes up 30%. Disability costs is over 40% higher and productivity loss doubled.

Healthier workers have better morale, improved work performance, less absenteeism, and increased loyalty

The flip side is that healthier workers have better morale, improved work performance, less absenteeism, and increased loyalty to the company. The financial benefits to workers and companies are also dramatic. Many companies report $200-$500 of savings per employee. Some reported returns of over $5.00 for every dollar spent.

My conclusion? The health and fitness of employees is a business issue. And it's also a spiritual issue as we have a responsibility personally and toward others to promote fitness and health holistically.

To promote some thinking and discussion around this topic, InsideWork interviewed Coach Don Nava, author of Fit After 40, and founder of The Prevail Team. Coach Nava is a fitness coach who has worked with renowned professional athletes and major corporations. If you or your company need inspiration, instruction, and the practical accountability and action that a coach can bring, contact Coach Nava.

In this first video, Coach Don Nava explains the concept of Total Fitness.

Thanks to our friend, Jim Hancock, for producing these videos.

Links

Don has been a wellness and fitness expert for twenty – eight years. He has conducted fitness programs for organizations in US, Europe and Australia.

He has coached professional athletes, executives, homemakers and children in ways to set and achieve personal fitness goals.

As the founder of The Totally Fit Life, he manages the development of innovative vitality and performance improvement programs for organizations such as Cisco Systems, NIKE, Silicon Graphics, and AT&T.

Don’s mission is to help people from all walks of life look better, feel better and gain more energy. Years of experience led him to his breakthrough concept of The Totally Fit Life, which integrates six essential fitness elements to transform people’s lives. They are physical, nutritional, mental, directional, emotional and spiritual. He details his discoveries in his new book, FIT AFTER 40, published by Thomas Nelson.

Don believes that “fitness as usual” just doesn’t work for most people. He has spent a career helping people shift their thinking from “what you do” to “how you do it” – from individual willpower to team encouragement.

Combining these elements with accountability to a team of two other people who share similar fitness goals became a successful formula for enabling most people to achieve sustainable vitality.

Coach Don Nava is passionate about helping people achieve total fitness in all dimensions of life, and happens to be a friend of InsideWork®. For over 25 years Coach Nava has trained individuals and work teams toward high performance through wellness and fitness programs. He’s trained notable players such as Joe Montana, Ronnie Lott, and Jerry Rice and has designed programs for companies such as Nike, Cisco Systems, and ATT.

Does he practice what he preaches? On his 40th birthday he worked out for 40 consecutive hours to demonstrate the importance of fitness and healthy living. On his 50th birthday, he ran up and down 5000 bleachers at the Stanford University football stadium. He’s also the author of Fit After 40, which we recommend.

All this to say, when we received Coach Nava’s email this afternoon, we immediately asked him for permission to reprint it. (Thanks, Coach.) Take to heart what he says.

Hey Champion,

Across the country, Dr. Jerry Falwell was one of the most highly visible figures in both evangelical and political circles. He was a man with followers and foes alike. There is a wide spectrum of opinions about his work and legacy. But as a fitness coach, something in his death burdened me and gives us all cause to pause.

Dr. Falwell did not take very good care of his body. He had a history of heart problems and likely had died from cardiac arrhythmia, a heart rhythm abnormality that occurs without warning.

I believe his lack of self-care was the main reason why he passed away at 73 of heart failure. I feel he may have had many more years on Earth.

In light of his passing, Christians should stop and evaluate their personal health and lifestyle and make necessary behavior modifications so that they can live on earth as long as the Lord has intended. (Psalms 90:12 Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom)

We subtract from the days the Lord has given us if we make negative lifestyle choices.
— Coach Don Nava

We are unable to add to the days the Lord has for us on earth. However, we can surely subtract from them if we make negative lifestyle choices.

My motivation and intent in writing this is to encourage and not condemn. I pray that we would rely on God's grace and stop leaning on our willpower to create lasting change.

May you prayerfully consider necessary changes you need to make so that you can be an effective member of God's team on Earth — for all the days He has given you.
Psalms 39:4

Show me, O LORD, my life's end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life.

You Are A Champion.
Coach

So true. I can't add any more days to my life than what God has apportioned, but I can surely subtract from them. Sobering. Challenging.

Achieving fitness after age 40 is tough. Nava outlines a total program — physical, directional, nutritional, emotional, mental, and spiritual. His success? People who follow his program stay with it 10 times longer than traditional programs.

See interview of Don Nava on this book.

I guess I’m feeling my age. Gone are the bulletproof days of my youth when I could run as hard as I wanted, sleeping little, and eating anything I wanted. Middle age is catching up.

But beyond the extra weight and the aches and pains, I’ve noticed a curious phenomenon around me — people who don’t look their age. My wife,for example, looks years younger than her age. On the other hand, some people look and act much older than their age. (I was hoping to avoid the greeting a gentleman gave upon seeing an old friend, "I'll never live to be as old as you look!")

So I was very curious when I came across RealAge. The site has a free and very comprehensive RealAge Test that determines your “real age” versus your chronological age. It assesses a wide array of things — hereditary, situational, and behavioral — that affect how your body ages. The report also delivers a range of personally-tailored recommendations.

Remember what we’ve been told that our bodies are God’s temple, and that we need to take good care of it for His sake, our sake, and the sake of the people who depend on us. (Not to mention the cost to our economy due to preventable poor health.)

It turns out that I’m a year younger than my age…not especially good in my mind. Now I’m off for a session on the treadmill, a healthy meal, a glass of red wine, and quality time with my loved ones.

Take the RealAge Test: www.realage.com