Welcome to The Tao Of Exercise

Hello, since this is my first time doing this I will begin by letting you know some of my background, what my goals are and a little of my philosophy.
My name is Joel Rodriguez. I am 50 years old from NYC. Now residing in Atlanta for 14 years. I am a Master and full-time instructor of Eagle Claw Kung Fu and Wu Style Tai Chi Chuan. I have been teaching Kung Fu for 20+ years. I also have been a certified personal trainer for 20 years. Prior to kung fu I was a competitive athlete (through High School) in track, football, soccer and basketball. I have always been athletic. My personal desire and motivations for my level of health and fitness are that both my Grandfather and Mother passed from diabetes. Along with that a very close friend who was an exceptional athlete gainde a lot of weight and in his early 40's had a heart attack and needed quadruple bipass! I am not going to alow either to happen to me. It is also my goal to do what I can to help others not have these happen to them.
My philosophy regarding fitness and training are very simple. To borrow the phrase JUST DO IT! Having been a martial artist for so long, my Eastern philosophy comes through here. I believe that your goal in training shouldn't be to lose weight or get stronger or any of these other 'simple' goals. My attitude is that your goal should be to make fitness and exercise a regular part of your life for the rest of your life! Just think of how deep and powerful and challenging that goal is. Your short term goal is quite simply to make each work out the best that you can do for that work out. You can use how fast you go or how much weight you lift as benchmarks but don't get so caught up in numbers. You ill have good days and bad days but if you give it your best you will always be glad that you worked out.
Most of what and how I gear myself is towards my Kung Fu (Eagle Claw Kung Fu and Wu Tai Chi Chuan) and my fitness training is geared towards 'sport specific training'. This means that when you shoul dlook at my blogs as how you can apply them to your lifestyle and workouts.
With that in mind, I hope that you enjoy and learn from what I put on here. My ideas are going to be, sometimes, controversial but I always want you to think and judge for yourself. Blind faith is not a good thing!