Over the past few months, I've become more and more intrigued with the concept of success, what it means to me, and how to effectively go about achieving it. The more I research and interact with people, I realize that most of us seem to go through life somewhat passively or tend to be motivated by something other than the pursuit of our dreams. It seems that most of us go through life trying to stay "afloat" rather than working towards something that is meaningful to us. I guess this is somewhat understandable since most of us are in a position where we must fulfill numerous obligations before we can even begin to allocate time or energy to our own personal development. Going to work, paying the bills, and taking care of our families are just some of the duties most of us are familiar with. What I've come to realize though is that most of us, myself included, let our emotions control how live our lives. It seems that there is one emotion in particular that tends to dictate the path we take - FEAR! Fear - an emotional response to a perceived threat. An uneasy feeling that something may happen contrary to one's desires.
All you have to do is turn on the TV and you'll be bombarded with messages that invoke fear. The "lethal" H1N1 virus will spread to epidemic proportions unless we get our vaccinations. The war in the middle east is necessary for our own protection. Tax increases are better for the community and country at large. What am I- a politician or a strength coach? What does all of this have to do with fitness? I guess this blog is about more than just burning fat and building muscle but how to live life to the fullest and not be prisoners in our own minds. Fear cripples the human spirit. Fear destroys ambition. Fear keeps us in debt. Fear keeps us fat. Fear keeps us on the path to mediocrity. Lululemon founder, Chip Wilson said it best with his opinion about mediocrity. "Mediocrity can be defined by: if someone was to ask you “how are you?” you would reply “fine”. Mediocrity is doing an “ok job”, having a relationship that “works”, being just a “little” overweight, having a job that “pays the bills” etc.. Mediocrity is putting up with things the way they are with no firm plan to change the situation by a specific date. Mediocrity is following a predetermined and unfulfilling path. Most people live in a state of mediocrity. Mediocrity is as close to the bottom as it is the top."
This may sound cynical but it's true. Most of us go through life with no real passion or vision and those of us that do, only a small percentage are actually on the path to realizing our dreams. At the end of the day, we have to take a look in the mirror and ask ourselves if we are on pace to achieve what we want out of live and if not, why? The Biggest Loser is a perfect example of a group of people that made the decision to change the way they live their lives. Despite some questionable exercise selection, they have put themselves in a position to live healthier and more fulfilling lives. The reality is, there are no losers. Every contestant has achieved a moral victory simply by taking that first step. Have you taken your step? Where do you want to be 1 year from now? 5 years? 10 years? Are you on the right path or are you living in the shackles of fear? I've made a conscious effort from this point on to get out of prison by doing at least one thing each day that will help me to achieve the life that I truly want. Are you ready to make a prison break?
Monday, November 30, 2009
Monday, November 16, 2009
Death to "Sport Specific"
After listening to Mike Boyle's State of the Industry interview and his abolishment of back squats and aerobic conditioning, I started feeling a little trigger happy myself. So to keep the momentum going, I decided to pull out my double barrel fitness shotgun and empty the chamber on "sport specific" training. That's right, just like disco music it's dead and gone.
Training athletes and anyone in general for that matter, has evolved to a point where we now have either EFFECTIVE or NON EFFECTIVE TRAINING. For example, what's more effective for developing lower body strength, core and joint stability - squats or leg presses? What's more effective for improving conditioning and burning fat- high intensity interval training or a 3 mile jog? What's more effective for posterior chain development - glute/ham raises and deadlifts or seated leg curls? Do you see a pattern developing? The point is a good program addresses all of the weaknesses an athlete may have through appropriate exercise selection in combination with appropriate volumes and intensities REGARDLESS OF THE SPORT THEY PLAY! All you have to do is walk into a university weight room and you'll see a bunch of varsity athletes doing squats and hang cleans and three hours later you'll see a different group of athletes doing the exact same thing. You would never be able to tell what sport they play based on the exercises they are doing. All you could assume is that they are trying to get bigger, faster and stronger by using the most EFFECTIVE exercises to achieve their goals.
As trainers, there's no doubt that we definitely have to account for hectic practise and game schedules as our first priority is keeping our athletes off the injured list and not overtraining them. Simultaneously, strength, power, speed, agility, flexibility/mobility, and conditioning are all attributes that must be addressed. "Specificity" then becomes highly dependent on the attributes that need to be developed most. For example, if the athletes needs more explosive power then perhaps some olympic lifting variations or plyometrics may be in order; how that power is applied in a game situation is dependent on the athlete. When it's all said and done, if an athlete wants sport specific training, they simply need to go play their sport.
With the exception of Olympic Weightlifting and Powerlifting, nothing in the weight room can ever truly replicate the intensity and unpredictability of anything an athlete will encounter on the playing field. Having said that, one cannot deny the physical prowess of today's athlete which is a testament to the advancement of strength and conditioning and sports nutrition. Fortunately, these more effective methods are slowly trickling down into the mainstream allowing the general public to reap the benefits of what has proven to work with some of sport's greatest physical specimens. The main thing is to not fool ourselves anymore by designing training programs that we think can only be useful to one type of sport or athlete and adopt a mindset that is only concerned with effectiveness. At the end of the day, that's all I care about. That concludes my eulogy. Rest in peace "sport specific".
Training athletes and anyone in general for that matter, has evolved to a point where we now have either EFFECTIVE or NON EFFECTIVE TRAINING. For example, what's more effective for developing lower body strength, core and joint stability - squats or leg presses? What's more effective for improving conditioning and burning fat- high intensity interval training or a 3 mile jog? What's more effective for posterior chain development - glute/ham raises and deadlifts or seated leg curls? Do you see a pattern developing? The point is a good program addresses all of the weaknesses an athlete may have through appropriate exercise selection in combination with appropriate volumes and intensities REGARDLESS OF THE SPORT THEY PLAY! All you have to do is walk into a university weight room and you'll see a bunch of varsity athletes doing squats and hang cleans and three hours later you'll see a different group of athletes doing the exact same thing. You would never be able to tell what sport they play based on the exercises they are doing. All you could assume is that they are trying to get bigger, faster and stronger by using the most EFFECTIVE exercises to achieve their goals.
As trainers, there's no doubt that we definitely have to account for hectic practise and game schedules as our first priority is keeping our athletes off the injured list and not overtraining them. Simultaneously, strength, power, speed, agility, flexibility/mobility, and conditioning are all attributes that must be addressed. "Specificity" then becomes highly dependent on the attributes that need to be developed most. For example, if the athletes needs more explosive power then perhaps some olympic lifting variations or plyometrics may be in order; how that power is applied in a game situation is dependent on the athlete. When it's all said and done, if an athlete wants sport specific training, they simply need to go play their sport.
With the exception of Olympic Weightlifting and Powerlifting, nothing in the weight room can ever truly replicate the intensity and unpredictability of anything an athlete will encounter on the playing field. Having said that, one cannot deny the physical prowess of today's athlete which is a testament to the advancement of strength and conditioning and sports nutrition. Fortunately, these more effective methods are slowly trickling down into the mainstream allowing the general public to reap the benefits of what has proven to work with some of sport's greatest physical specimens. The main thing is to not fool ourselves anymore by designing training programs that we think can only be useful to one type of sport or athlete and adopt a mindset that is only concerned with effectiveness. At the end of the day, that's all I care about. That concludes my eulogy. Rest in peace "sport specific".
Saturday, November 7, 2009
10 Habits of Highly Healthy People
I'm a big fan of "laws" and "principles" as they apply to health, fitness, and life in general. I know there isn't a "one size fits all" formula for the way people should live their lives but I do believe if we conduct ourselves according to a certain set of guidelines, we will reduce the probability of running into the many pitfalls that life may bring us. Not only that, but we will be more equipped to cope with these pitfalls as a result of our strengthened character. I'm currently reading a book called The Law of Success by Napolean Hill, which may serve as my personal bible from this point on. It outlines 15 laws that are highly correlated with people who live the happiest and most fulfilling lives. I figure if I can apply at least a couple of these laws into my life I will be on my way to a higher level of functioning.
Below is an article by Dr. Johnny Bowden, certified nutritionist and health enthusiast, who lays out "The Nine Habits of Highly Healthy People". Inspired by Stephen Covey's Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, which by the way is another great read for those interested in personal development, provides a great foundation to living a longer and healthier life.
10. Do what you love for a living. That's right, most of us are in an unfortunate situation where we have jobs that serve simply as a means to and end but provide little to no satisfaction. We spend at least one third of our adult lives working to survive. With that much time devoted to work, we should ensure that our chosen career paths are rewarding not only financially but also emotionally and intellectually. The Law of Success states the we should live life in the pursuit and fulfillment of our "definite chief aim" or simply our purpose in life. Our time on this planet is short and before you know it, it's time to get in that box. Overcome stress by living life with an eagerness to succeed rather than a fear of failure.
Below is an article by Dr. Johnny Bowden, certified nutritionist and health enthusiast, who lays out "The Nine Habits of Highly Healthy People". Inspired by Stephen Covey's Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, which by the way is another great read for those interested in personal development, provides a great foundation to living a longer and healthier life.
- Eat your vegetables. No kidding. And I’m talking at least 9 servings a day.. Unless you’re following the most stringent first stage of the Atkins Diet, you should be able to consume 60-120 grams of carbs a day (depending on your weight and exercise level), and you’d have to eat a stockyard full of spinach to get to that amount. Every major study of long-lived, healthy people shows that they eat a ton of plant foods. Nothing delivers antioxidants, fiber, flavonoids, indoles, and the entire pharmacopia of disease fighting phytochemicals like stuff that grows.
- Eat fish and/or take fish oil. The Omega-3’s found in cold-water fish like salmon deserve the title of “wellness molecule of the century”. They lower the risk of heart disease, they lower blood pressure, they improve mood and they’re good for the brain. And if you’re pregnant, they may make your kid smarter!
- Connect. And I’m not talking about the internet. In virtually every study of people who are healthy and happy into their 9th and 10th decade, social connections are one of the “prime movers” in their life. Whether church, family, volunteer work or community, finding something you care about that’s bigger than you that you can connect with and that involves other people (or animals) will extend your life, increase your energy, and make you happier. Only always.
- Get some sun. At least 10-15 minutes three times a week. Interestingly, a recent study of four places in the globe where people lived the longest and were the healthiest noted that all four places were in sunny climates. Sun improves your mood and boosts levels of cancer-fighting, performance-enhancing, bone-strengthening vitamin D, a vitamin most people don’t get nearly enough of.
- Sleep Well. If you’re low in energy, gaining weight, grumpy and looking haggard, guess what?- chances are you’re not sleeping nearly long enough nor well enough. By sleeping “well”, I mean uninterrupted sleep, in the dark, without the television on, in a relaxing environment. Nothing nourishes, replenishes and restarts the system like 7-9 hours sleep. Hint: start by going to bed an hour early. And if you’ve got a computer in the bedroom, banish it.
- Exercise every day. Forget this 20 minutes three times a week stuff. Long lived people are doing things like farm chores at 4:30 in the morning! Our Paleolithic ancestors traveled an average of 20 miles per day. Our bodies were designed to move on a regular basis. New studies show that merely 30 minutes a day of walking not only reduces the risk of most serious diseases, but can even grow new brain cells!
- Practice Gratitude. By making a list of things you’re grateful for, you focus the brain on positive energy. Gratitude is incompatable with anger and stress. Practice using your under-utilized “right brain” and spread some love. Focusing on what you’re grateful for- even for five minutes a day- has the added benefit of being one of the best stress-reduction techniques on the planet.
- Drink red wine or eat grapes. The resveratrol in dark grapes is being studied for its effect on extending life, which it seems to do for almost every species studied. (So does eating about 1/3 less food, by the way.) If you’ve got a problem with alcohol, you can get resveratrol from grapes, peanuts or supplements. (And if you’re a woman, and you choose the alcohol option, make sure you’re getting folic acid every day.)
- Get the sugar out. The number one enemy of vitality, health and longevity is not fat, it’s sugar. Sugar’s effect on hormones, moods, immunity, weight and possibly even cancer cells is enormous, and it’s all negative. To the extent that you can remove it from your diet, you will be adding years to your life and life to your years.
10. Do what you love for a living. That's right, most of us are in an unfortunate situation where we have jobs that serve simply as a means to and end but provide little to no satisfaction. We spend at least one third of our adult lives working to survive. With that much time devoted to work, we should ensure that our chosen career paths are rewarding not only financially but also emotionally and intellectually. The Law of Success states the we should live life in the pursuit and fulfillment of our "definite chief aim" or simply our purpose in life. Our time on this planet is short and before you know it, it's time to get in that box. Overcome stress by living life with an eagerness to succeed rather than a fear of failure.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Technology - The 21st Century Plague
Nutrition has always been a subject of debate and most likely always will be. However, we seem to be rocket scientists when it comes to manipulating our diets enough to achieve some sort of short lived success. The Atkin's and South Beach diets are prime examples. It has always seemed odd to me that with our advanced knowledge of human physiology and the fact that our genes are basically the same as they were 10,000 years ago that we still can't come to some sort of conclusion as to what we should and should not be eating for long term health and wellness. Or maybe we do know but that knowledge is overshadowed by the economic engine of the food industry. Has politics and capitalism diverted our attention away from what's good and wholesome to what's tasty and profitable? The food industry and the government's motives to prescribe what is "best" for us have very little, if anything, to do with our health and well-being. In fact, it seems that what is "best" for us is highly correlated with what products have the highest profit margin. Breakfast cereal, potato chips, pop, hot dogs - the list is too long for the sake of this blog but you get the point.
As a result of consuming what's most readily available to us as opposed to what is best for our health, we are now living in a world where there exists more overweight people than starving people. Think about that for a moment. The next time you are walking down the street and you see that guy who looks like he hasn't seen a day of exercise since 8th grade P.E. walk out of Starbucks with his mocha frapp, just know that he puts more strain on the global economy than a starving child in Africa. It seems that the rising epidemic of chronic diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke and cancer can be more accurately defined as SYMPTOMS of a much bigger disease - TECHNOLOGY. That's right, the very thing that is responsible for all of the advancements we've made to make life more efficient and enjoyable is also creating a modern day plague in epidemic proportions.
With the United States leading the charge with the development of fast foods, refined carbohydrates, and cheap vegetable oils, the technology of food production is wreaking havoc on a global scale. It has been estimated that the cost of refined carbohydrates and vegetable oils is about 400 times cheaper than fresh fruits and vegetables(1)! With those numbers, it's pretty hard to pick a veggie platter over a bag of Doritos. In any other industry this would be viewed as perfectly acceptable business practise - lower production costs+higher production volume= increased revenue. The problem is, when it comes to food, we can only manipulate it (process it) so much before it has adverse affects. It's not like using cheaper materials to make furniture or clothing with the benefits being a well furnished home or a nice wardrobe. Like I said before, our genes haven't changed in over 10,000 years so what was considered nutritious for us back then is still nutritious for now. Our capacity as human beings to adapt to a dynamic and constantly evolving world is tremendous, however a day never will exist when a Big Mac or Duncan Heinz Deep'N' Delicious will enhance health or human performance.
So where does this leave us? Is this simply a case of survival of the fittest with the fittest being those who are more informed and have the resources to make better lifestyle choices while the rest simply walk the green mile? Or are we simply paying the price for exploiting our resources for the sake of the mighty dollar? I don't know the answer but what I do know is that I don't want to be that guy with the mocha frapp who's destined for a life filled with prescription drugs and intensive care. The plague is here, and it's not going away anytime soon. What are you going to do?
1. Toxic Fat, Dr. Barry Sears.
As a result of consuming what's most readily available to us as opposed to what is best for our health, we are now living in a world where there exists more overweight people than starving people. Think about that for a moment. The next time you are walking down the street and you see that guy who looks like he hasn't seen a day of exercise since 8th grade P.E. walk out of Starbucks with his mocha frapp, just know that he puts more strain on the global economy than a starving child in Africa. It seems that the rising epidemic of chronic diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke and cancer can be more accurately defined as SYMPTOMS of a much bigger disease - TECHNOLOGY. That's right, the very thing that is responsible for all of the advancements we've made to make life more efficient and enjoyable is also creating a modern day plague in epidemic proportions.
With the United States leading the charge with the development of fast foods, refined carbohydrates, and cheap vegetable oils, the technology of food production is wreaking havoc on a global scale. It has been estimated that the cost of refined carbohydrates and vegetable oils is about 400 times cheaper than fresh fruits and vegetables(1)! With those numbers, it's pretty hard to pick a veggie platter over a bag of Doritos. In any other industry this would be viewed as perfectly acceptable business practise - lower production costs+higher production volume= increased revenue. The problem is, when it comes to food, we can only manipulate it (process it) so much before it has adverse affects. It's not like using cheaper materials to make furniture or clothing with the benefits being a well furnished home or a nice wardrobe. Like I said before, our genes haven't changed in over 10,000 years so what was considered nutritious for us back then is still nutritious for now. Our capacity as human beings to adapt to a dynamic and constantly evolving world is tremendous, however a day never will exist when a Big Mac or Duncan Heinz Deep'N' Delicious will enhance health or human performance.
So where does this leave us? Is this simply a case of survival of the fittest with the fittest being those who are more informed and have the resources to make better lifestyle choices while the rest simply walk the green mile? Or are we simply paying the price for exploiting our resources for the sake of the mighty dollar? I don't know the answer but what I do know is that I don't want to be that guy with the mocha frapp who's destined for a life filled with prescription drugs and intensive care. The plague is here, and it's not going away anytime soon. What are you going to do?
1. Toxic Fat, Dr. Barry Sears.
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