Health And Fitness

Health and Fitness Building A Sustainable Lifestyle – Part 3

by Nick Thomas, owner of Prime Performance Training, and Certified Sports Nutritionist

My hope is, at this point, that I have been extremely clear about what role nutrition can and will play in your life -- which means now it is time to approach the activity level needed to sustain a healthy life. Let’s be real, there is no way that your activity level will be a constant over the years. You will go through phases of life, and time or physical limitations will be a factor, which of course makes the nutrition I’ve been preaching about even more important. But don’t worry, I’m not going down that path again. The activity side of fitness is not everyone’s favorite topic, mainly because you don’t want to hear the actual reality of what it takes to be effective. There are multiple components to fitness which have to be met for your daily activity to be truly beneficial. There are also other factors which vary based on the in dividual as well. Of course, age and physical ability and/ or injury is a consideration, but more than that are your goals. Things such as weight loss or gain, or even mainte nance, call for different approach, along with muscle growth. Finally, what makes this all sustainable is not just success in achieving your goals, but the enjoy ment of the activities getting you there. Simply put, you will never stick with some thing you hate. A weekly and monthly plan has to be made with sound training knowl edge of exercise that challenges you and provides a total body approach giving you balance, strength, and more, depending on your goals. For most people, walking/ jogging on a treadmill or spending 30 minutes in the gym doing a basic split rou tine a few days a week is not going to develop change ei ther way, at least not past a certain point…not to mention how bored you will become, which will ultimately lead to quitting. This is where the “sound training knowledge” comes in to play. The key is having an educated trainer who truly understands the body and how to create chal lenging, personalized workout plans, which progress continually as you reach new levels so there are always new achievements to be ex cited about. Working out should provide a release, it should be a tough but stress-relieving portion of your day. Yes, trainers cost money, BUT they pro vide you so many benefits. First, a trainer is going to give you their expertise mak ing sure to keep you from injury and/or exhaustion with the process in general. Next, it doesn’t matter what time

of day you work out; there is just something about show ing up dressed and ready and not having to think at all. Just do what you’re told to achieve a good burn and sweat. Finally, by having someone to keep routines fresh and new, you stay en gaged physically and mentally achieving goals. Having someone to encourage you and keep you focused and pushing forward is priceless. The accountabil ity factor you gain by paying for and scheduling workouts regularly with a motivating, educated trainer will expo nentially increase your sustainability in living a healthy life mentally, nutritionally, and physically. Building a sustainable life style is not about one key thing. It is about a personally specific combination of things, and it's most definitely about being able to adjust when needed. Never lose sight of the goal; this is to create ease and energy and happiness. The moment the stress of some portion of life becomes too much means it’s time to make a change. Seek out what best fits you and make positive choices, even tough ones at times, to protect your lifestyle and create a sustainable and healthy future.

Cover Story A Beloved Barn With A Past And Now A Future

by Ali Elizabeth Turner

continued from page 1

of the time it is practical to do so, but there was something about this particular barn that pulled on Ryan Schueler, who married into the Knight fami ly. His wife, Whitney, and he would go visit her parents at their cabin located on some adjacent property. And every time he would drive by the homestead, the old house and barn just seemed to be calling out to him with the need to be kept in the family. Ryan and Whitney dreamed of the day that they could buy the ten-acre place, and they were finally able to purchase it in 2017. “But it was the barn that sold me,” said Ryan with a smile. Whitney had always loved the barn, and as the family genealogist, she had heard heartwarming stories that span well over a century of life lived there. She lon ged for the chance to “write” stories of their own, and now they could. The history of the house and barn is pure Alabama Ameri cana—it belonged to Erasmus and Dicie Knight, and they raised a passel of kids there -- ten to be exact. In 1960, their children disassembled the farm house and used all of the elements to build one right next door, and the next gene ration of Knights grew up there. The paneling and floors are from the original house, and Ryan and Whitney began to look for old farm implements, furniture, and rustic signs to decorate and make it their own. The result is a charming weekend retreat place that has been used for family reunions, an engagement party, and a wonderful wide-open place to ride out COVID while still “working from home.” Whitney Schueler gave birth to their daughter, Reagan, a bit over a year ago, and as is the case in the 21st century, these days dads get to take pa ternity leave to be home with their newborns. Ryan deci ded to take his paternity leave this past May, and it was then that Ryan and his cousin Chad Lindsay set to work to restore the barn. “It was covered with Virgi nia creeper,” Ryan told me, and later showed me just how destructive climbing vegetati on can be. There were places where the vines were the only thing holding up portions of the barn. Both Ryan and Chad, who owns a Deckmas ters Construction in Athens, were dogmatic that the old flavor of the barn needed to be preserved. There were also places where the barn had li terally sunk; so great care had to be given to shoring it up, and keeping the “flavor” of the original structure. Where the creeper had done its worst, they took off the weathered ex terior, built a whole new wall behind it, and put the original back on. The foundation cor ner posts were built on stacked shale, and as Ryan said, “It’s a miracle after all these years that someone didn’t clip this as they were going by on a tractor and pull down the whole cor ner.” Speaking of tractors, Ryan’s has been an integral part of one of the other features of the property, and that is the beau tiful crop of sunflowers that

Chad Lindsay building the new barn under the old one before the original siding is re-installed

have been widely shared via social media. Ryan explain ed, “We planted the first crop in 2018, and just finished our third season. Cousin Reid sent some photos of the sunflowers and the barn to meteorologist James Spann, who then post ed them on Facebook. All of a sudden, people were asking, ‘Where is that place?’” That gave birth to the idea of ha ving a place each year to provide what Ryan calls “a private experience for photographers.” So, it takes about a day to break up the soil, plant, and fertilize it, and as Ryan says, “We leave the rest to Mother Nature.” The results can be seen in the pic tures you see here. They have added lighting and seating, and family BBQs are most com fortable, with room for everyone to spread out. Ryan and Whitney have a list of possibilities for what could happen with the property in the future.Barns have become the rage for “destination weddings,” a trend that is only expected to continue. “We had a family engagement party here for Whitney’s sister, and it really turned out well,” said Ryan. Other ideas include making a museum with farm tools and other reminders of yesteryear to teach Reagan and her friends about their heritage. They are grateful for Chad’s hard work, and for sharing the vision of restoring a beautiful barn and leaving a legacy.