If you have to weigh in, it must not be the Winter Olympics!

I love the Olympics. It doesn't matter if it is the Winter or Summer games, it all has to do with competition and the sacrifices individuals and family members make in order for the athletes to participate on this world stage.

As I started watching the first events, Snow Boarding and team Figure Skating (what the heck is up with Team?) the difference between the Winter and Summer games hit me.  No, it's not that one has snow and the other doesn't! 

The difference between the two is that in the Winter games there isn't one event where the participants are weighed in, not one!  In the Summer games there are all kinds of sports that have weight classes; wrestling, weightlifting, boxing and martial arts.

This brought back some fond and funny memories of my Olympic weightlifting days when trying to make weight for competition.

For starters, there is a science to this madness, especially in strength sports.  You just can't go on a crash diet or starvation to make weight. It was a fine balance between losing weight and maintaining strength.  So it had to be done in a gradual and methodical way.

I was taught that you wanted to weigh no more than 5% of your target weight class two weeks out before a contest. So for instance, if I was competing in the 198 pound class, I had to be no more than 9.5 pounds above that or 207-208 pounds.

You didn't do cardio because that would interfere with your strength so you basically started eating a cleaner diet

On the night before the contest, you always weighed yourself on the scale that was used for the competition so you would have an exact reference point of where you were at.

Now you DID NOT want to be in at the desired bodyweight the night before, this meant you lost the weight too fast.  It was actually ok to be 3 maybe 4 pounds over the day before. This meant you could have a good meal that night then start shedding water the next day.  One quick way was to take a diuretic the morning of. That was always good for a couple of pounds of weight loss. 

Where we would get in trouble is when we were still 5-6 pounds away from desired weight the night before. This is what brought back memories!

One of those was when I was a teenager.  There were three of us competing in the Teenage Nationals that year. It was somewhere in Kansas City or St. Louis, I forget.  All three of us still needed a few pounds to shed that morning before weigh-in.  So we did something that was very popular back then,  sweat and spit off your weight.

So we got into baggy sweat pants, long sleeved sweat shirt with a coat over that. Got a couple of packs of gum, then we crammed ourselves into the tub shower and closed the door.  Placing towels underneath the door so no air could escape, we turned the tub faucet on full blast in the hottest position.

It quickly became a steam room where we could not see each other.  There we were, heavily clothed sitting on the tub, holding a cup and chewing gum and spitting into the cup every chance we got. Not a pretty picture.

What we didn't know was that the maid had entered the room to clean it up since no one answered the door when she knocked.  The maid heard the water running in the tub.  Whether she knocked or asked if anyone was in there, we do not know because we never heard anything.  But when she entered the bathroom, a wall of hot steam came rushing out and almost knocked her on the floor.

A split second later, three teenagers came spilling out of the steam, in full sweat gear and holding cups.  She let out a scream as if she was being attacked by vampires!  She went running out of the room, never to be seen again!

Now shedding weight was one way to make the bodyweight class you wanted to compete in. But there was also the opposite, gaining weight to avoid competing in a weight class so you move up to the one above it!

The reason for that could be that the competition in the next higher weight class was weaker and you stood a better chance competing in that one than the one you originally intended. Or that that weight class you were entered was extremely tough and you would not even place so you moved up one. Either way, you never really knew until the night before where you saw who was entered in the contest.

So this brings me to another funny weigh-in story that happened to a friend of mine.  We were now grown-ups and we were competing in a big state meet. I was competing in the 198 pound class and he was in the 220 class. He was right at or below 220 so he was going to make weight easy.

When we got to the competition site he saw that there were two weightlifters competing that were nationally ranked in his weight class. The best he could do was place 3rd.  However in the class above that there was nobody entered that could beat him. So he decided to move up to the 242 pound class. Now that doesn't mean you have to weigh 242, it just means you have to weigh more than 220.

I have no idea why he thought this would work and even stranger, why no one in his inner circles didn't advise him against it, but he decided the best way to get above 220 was to eat and drink something heavy, really heavy. So he chose egg nog and bananas!

He bought a gallon of egg nog and a bunch of bananas the night before. After a big dinner he started drinking that stuff while downing banana's.  As if that wasn't enough he continued the feast that morning since weigh-in was not until noon.

About an hour after finishing off his feast, the trouble began! His stomach was starting to revolt. In fact his whole body was revolting!  Not to gross out everyone but he spent the rest of the morning visiting the throne as he was giving back everything he had eaten in the past 24 hours from both directions!

At weigh-in he actually had LOST five pounds. So now he was a very weak and sick 220 pound class lifter!  Needless to say he did not fare well against his competition!

Yes, it's funny how the Winter Olympics can make your mind wander and bring back memories of how not to be....Fit Forlife!

The power of naps....

If you exercise on a regular basis and try to juggle work and life as well, chances are you do not get all the sleep that you need.

Did you know that when it comes to sleep patterns, mammals fall into two distinct categories. More than 85% of mammals are known to be polyphasic sleepers meaning they sleep for short periods of time throughout the day.

Humans fall into the other 15% called monophasic sleepers meaning that the day is divided into two distinct parts, one called the wake period and the other the sleep period.

However, it is still not clear whether this is what our natural sleep pattern should be given the fact that the way our lives have been structured for hundreds of years requires one to work and perform chores throughout the day. How would one naturally behave if you didn't have that requirement?

Well guess what? I will not going into the why or why not here but rather approach the subject of the power of naps.

Let's face it, in todays world, who can really get 8 hours of sleep a day?  There are some studies to suggest that 8 hours is just an arbitrary number that it may be more or less depending on the individual.  But one thing is for sure, being deprived in the amount of sleep your body is asking for can have negative effects on your health.

Sleep Deprivation...

There are two types of sleep deprivation.  One is Total Sleep Deprivation where you go for long periods, days even, without sleep.  This type creates havoc in your mind and body where your brain will eventually shut down all functions of your body and fall asleep in order to stay alive.  Total Sleep Deprivation is even used with interrogation techniques to break down the individual.

The other type is the one most people suffer, Partial Sleep Deprivation.  This is where the body suffers loss of sleep in increments of time, day by day, until the person starts experiencing detrimental side affects.

If you are the early morning athlete getting up at 5AM to run or go to the gym, you may run out of gas by mid afternoon. By the same token, getting up at 6:30AM to get to work then train after work also creates a toll on your body if you do not get enough sleep.  Individuals that exercise and train hard need extra recuperation for their bodies to repair and replenish themselves, so bad sleep patterns are magnified even more than the sedentary person!

Types of naps...

So how can one combat partial sleep deprivation?  Studies have found that short naps can have amazing recuperative effects on the mind and body.  Normally there are three kinds of naps:

Planned Naps is taking a nap before you actually get sleepy. A good example is if you are planning a late night out like New Years and you want to make sure that you are awake to enjoy the festivities. You may take a planned nap late afternoon or early evening.

Emergency Naps happened when you are very tired and cannot continue with what you are currently doing. One common type of emergency napping is when you have been driving for a long period of time and you can no longer focus.  You pull off the side of the road, exit or rest stop to take a nap and refresh yourself.

Habitual Naps is when a person takes a nap around the same time each day.  Children are quite often taught to do this as they are growing yet for some reason are weaned off of it as they become adults.

The Five Stages of Sleep...

Before going into how long one should nap and when, one should know about the different stages of sleep and what each stage does to the body.  Sleep has been broken down into stages of which not every may go through each stage every time they go to sleep...

Stage 1, this is the beginning of the sleep cycle also known as light sleeping. It is the transition of being awake to being asleep and usually lasts 5-10 minutes.

Stage 2, you body temperature starts to decrease and your heart rate slows down. You brain is producing fast brain wave activity. This stage lasts about 20 minutes.

Stage 3, the transition between light sleep and deep sleep and your brain is now producing slow waves. 

Stage 4, this is now deep sleep and also where sleepwalking is most likely to occur. This stage lasts about 30 minutes.

Stage 5, increased respiration rate and brain activity occurs in this stage along with rapid eye movement. This is the stage where dreams occur and you may go through several of these cycles
 

 So how long should I nap for and when?

Studies have shown that a 20 to maybe 30 minute nap is ideal for restoring the body's energy reserves. In fact, you have more energy and alertness napping for 20 minutes in the middle of the day than if you would have slept in an additional 20 minutes that morning!

Why is 20 minutes so important? Because this will put you in the middle of stage 2 sleep thus creating a boost of energy and stamina. If you napped into stage 3 sleep, you start getting into the slow brain wave portion of your sleep and if you were to wake up you would feel groggy and lethargic.

So it is very important that if you do take a nap, to take the proper duration nap otherwise you may be defeating the purpose of why you took a nap to begin with!

Nap time is based on many variables, mostly life and work related. Whether it is during a break in the day, lunch time, or what have you, make sure it is a place where you are comfortable, can make the room or area as dark as reasonably possible, and quiet as well.

Taking these 20 minute sleep breaks will make you understand why they call it the Power Nap.  It is like a shot of adrenaline that restores your body's energy level, fills up your sleep bank account, and allows you to perform at a higher level than if you deprived yourself of such.

Happy napping as you strive to be Fit Forlife!

Happy New Year, have you broken your resolution already?

Happy New Year to everyone and hopefully you have woken up without a hangover or not much of one anyways.  For those that controlled themselves but still had fun, congratulations! You have proven that you can drink and party in moderation and have more fun than getting wasted.  Hopefully this type of discipline will carry over to keeping your New Years resolution if you made one.

Some people scoff at the idea of making a resolution because they say that most are never kept so why make them anyways.  I look at it another way.  You cannot grow as an individual without pushing yourself.  Life is all about adapting to change because it is coming whether we like it or not. To shy away from setting goals destroys your ability to tackle change and make change work for your benefit.

The reason most goals are not met is because no one ever sets a course of action or plan on how to accomplish it.  It is very easy to just say, I will quit smoking, it is quite another thing to actually do it.

So I am going to describe how I set goals and how I plan for them.  They do not have to come once a year or New Years eve. They can come at any time throughout the year. There can be more than one.

They can be short term or long term. They can be life or career changing. The fact is, goals are what you do when you want to better yourself, challenge yourself, change yourself.  They can be liberating, they can inspire others, they can lead to more challenging goals.

So how do I set a goal?

First you have to look at the scope of what you want to do.  Then look at the timeline of when you want to achieve it.  You also have to be somewhat realistic. Remember this, you can always revise your goal at any point along the way so don't try to bite off more than you can chew!

For example, someone that has been sedentary their whole life shouldn't just wake up one day and say, I am going to run a marathon in three months.  That is a perfect formula for disaster.

First you should read up on what it takes to run a marathon.  Read articles from trainers and experts on the subject. You start to get an idea of what it is going to take and can you commit to that.

You may want to start off your training slow and participate in a 5K run first. Then gradually work your way up.  Who knows, you may be a natural born runner and you never knew it. Use that to your advantage by revising your goals timeline.

Planning your goal...

The best plan for failure is to have no plan! Write down what your goals are. Set them up in mini stages whether it be weekly, monthly, quarterly.  They must be broken down otherwise you become frustrated.  The more details you have, the better.  You can always go back to revise or add more detail. Make it real, make it be your script of what you are going to do when you wake up every day.

There was an artist that many years prior was not very good at painting.  He set himself out one year to just do at least one painting a day no matter how bad they were. During this time he also studied the art of painting.

In the beginning, he was really, really bad. After the first year he had produced over 400 paintings. Although still not great, they were much better than when he first started. He had perseverance and continued his daily task. By now it was as routine as brushing your teeth. 

By the second year he was already becoming a pretty good artist having done over 1000 paintings and drawings.  Six years later, and still keeping to his daily practice, he was selling his painting, was considered a very good artist and they were being exhibited in art galleries.

The moral of that story is that this person had a goal with a very detailed plan. Note how he didn't set a goal of being a great artist by the end of the year. Otherwise he probably would have become frustrated and quit. His goal had detail and frequency, one drawing/painting a day no matter what.

Your goals plan needs to be written, have timelines, frequency and DETAILS noted and most importantly, it should be posted everywhere so no matter where you are, it is hitting you square in the face and you need to ask yourself the question 'Am I committing to it?'.

 Visualizing your goals...

Having been a competitive weightlifter, I learned 'self hypnosis'. This was a practice used a lot by the Russians and Bulgarians who were the best at the time.

Self hypnosis is a short term trance that you put yourself through. You visualize what you are about to attempt. Whether it was the entire workout or just a particular set in an exercise.

The key to it's success was to make it as realistic as possible. Like viewing a movie of yourself before you even do the lift.  Keys to making it realistic was that you concentrated on even the most trivial detail like a 'chalk mark' on the weight lifting plate loaded on to the bar, or a tear on your clothing that you were wearing. You imagined doing the exercise in exactly how you were dressed and in your surroundings.

In this trance YOU DID NOT VISUALIZE FAILURE, never! You envisioned success, the perfect lift. Practicing this hypnosis in every work out, you become very good and convincing yourself that what you are about to attempt will succeed.

So no matter what your goals are, wake up every morning and to bed every night visualizing yourself accomplishing this. So if it is achieving a certain level of success at work, for example, visualize yourself getting that commendation in front of your workers, or winning whatever prize they have at your company for performance excellence, or getting that nice big fat bonus that comes with achievement at work.

How do goals fail?

For starters, here are some quick failure traps when setting goals:

1. No plan was written or had some of the missing ingredients such as details.
2. Unrealistic goal, i.e. 'climb Mount Everest' in a year when you have never even hiked before.
3. Never taking the time to revise the plan, thus becoming frustrated and quitting.

How else can I make goals succeed?

Other than planning and visualizing, you should not let other factors creep in that destroys goal accomplishment.  For example:

1. Resist Temptation, so if you are trying to have a cleaner diet, you need to accept that there will be temptations around you at all times and mentally prepare yourself on how you are going to resist it.

The same is true for reducing alcohol intake, or increasing exercise activity. There will always be a 'buddy' tempting you to have that one more drink or lets skip the workout and go do something else.

If you don't prepare yourself on how you are going to resist those temptations and have plans on how you are going to resist them, you have dramatically increased your change of failure.

2. Concentrate on Progress, just as it is important to set goals and mini goals, it is also important to be able to look back and see all the progress you have made.  It is sort of like driving a car from point A to point B, a mountain let's say. It is very far away. It can become frustrating that you have driven for hours and you are not there yet. But it is invigorating looking at your GPS and see that you have already driven more than half the distance to your destination.

Progress breeds positive energy to keep moving forward.  It creates a sense of immediate accomplishment. It confirms that you are headed in the right direction.

3. Focus on the NOW, do not procrastinate. Nothing better than starting whatever your goals are right NOW, not an hour later or maybe tomorrow or maybe next week. Successful people always practice in the NOW, they do not wait for later when NOW is the perfect time to do it.

4. Refrain from Failure, as soon as you see yourself starting to fail at any point towards your goal or mini goal, STOP, REVIEW, REVISE! Do not FAIL, this is a negative that can take a toll on your mindset in setting out what you are trying to accomplish. Remember it is ALWAYS ok to revise your goals, NEVER ok to quit your goals.

Summary...

In order to succeed in your resolutions just remember this:

1. You can make resolutions (goals) at any time they don't just happen once a year.
2. Have a plan.
3. Visualize that plan.
4. Revise if necessary.
5. Avoid Temptation.
6. Review progress for positive energy.
7. Focus on NOW not LATER.
8. Do not let failure set in, there are always setbacks but learn to STOP, REVIEW, REVISE.

Have a Happy 2014 and make this the year that you change your life!

Fit Forlife

Happy New Year and another resolution!

Well, another year and time to make more New Year resolutions. For most, it's like ground hog day, you dust off the previous years resolutions and this time really, really promise to stick to them! Unfortunately, studies have shown that about 25% of the people making resolutions are already breaking them after the first week and less than half are still on target after six months. 

In terms of health, what kind of resolutions should you make, how do you stick to it and what are the reasons for losing interest?

What health resolutions should I make?

1. Losing weight, probably the most popular resolution and it should come as no surprise since a growing number of Americans are becoming obese or morbidly obese.  Add to that the fact that you have probably spent the last six weeks of the year totally blowing your diet, there is enough guilt there to make this the number one winner.

How do I stick to this?  One of the biggest reasons for failure is that most people manage their lives like a 30 or 60 minute TV show. This is where the problem is identified, a plan of attack is developed, and successful results happen within an hour or less of the show.

In real life this is not the case.  Everyone wants immediate results and when they don't see it, they just quit!  One has to face the reality that you didn't pack on the pounds over night. In many cases it came from years of abuse, so why would you think that getting back to your 'fighting weight' will happen over night?

Set mini goals.  If you want to lose x amount of pounds by the end of the year, divide that by 12 and have monthly goals.  Be prepared to adjust if necessary too since losing weight isn't really a measure of success; reducing body fat and increasing muscle mass is.  Have your mirror serve as your best indicator once you have started your weight reduction.

Expect setbacks. Your body will start fighting you back once you start losing weight. It is its own natural defense mechanism from the days of the cave man where your metabolism would slow down when it notices you are not consuming food on a regular interval or quantity.

Have your family or friends be your support group. Find those that are making the same resolution (this shouldn't be hard to do!). 

Keep a journal of what you eat so you can look back and see what you were eating when you were making the most progress.

Join a gym or a boot camp. There  is no question that there is no silver bullet to losing weight. It is a combination of healthy eating and regular exercise.  If you do not do the two together, your chance for failure has increased tremendously.

2. Cut back on alcohol, although you hear and read about the health benefits of small amounts of alcohol, just like anything in life, too much is not good.  Not only can it be a detriment to your personal safety and that of others, alcohol abuse can bring on many life threatening diseases not to mention weight gain since we tend to eat junk when consuming alcohol and most drinks are extremely high in junk carbs including sugar.

 

 



How do I accomplish this?  Like anything else, make wise choices when cutting back. Instead of full flavored beer, become accustomed to lite beers, they usually have 1/3 the calories of a regular beer. That is a HUGE difference over the course of a week, month, year.

Stay away from fruity drinks, they are nothing but pure sugar which means high calorie counts. A regular drink of this type would be like having a chocolate shake. Now who in the world goes out and has 5-6 chocolate shakes in the course of a night? No one right? Well that is exactly what you are doing when you have these types of drinks.

Wine, especially the reds, are known to be high in anti-oxidants, but this doesn't mean you should go out and drink a bottles worth! A glass with your meal is fine, just be cautious in amount consumed.

3. Get more sleep, everyone knows this but many do not follow it.  The picture below demonstrates what happens when you do not get enough sleep. It impacts your mood, safety, productivity, body weight and health!

Any tips on getting more sleep?  Yes, but it requires discipline. The best way to get the hours required in a 24 hour period is to have a pretty set and predictable schedule. Commit that by a certain time you will be in bed.  Family life can get in the way just like in dieting, so try to have a support group where everyone respects that and hopefully they too will have a set sleep schedule.

Remember the days when you were raising young kids and they always had a bed time? You did this because you knew the importance of a good nights sleep for their development. Well the same is true when you are an adult, nothing has changed.

Take power naps.  That's right, you can replenish your sleep 'bank account' by taking a short 30-45 minute nap some time during the day such as your lunch hour.  At first it will be difficult to do, but once you have mastered this, you will be amazed at what a difference this can make!

4. Reduce your stress, stress is part of life especially as you start a family and move on in your career.  But it is how you handle stress that can make a difference in how your health will respond. At it's worse, stress can disturb sleep patterns and diet while also leading to depression and heart disease.

How do I de-stress?  For starters, don't let the small stuff upset you. Stress is built like a wall. Everything you do has stress associated with it.  Look at these as 'stress blocks' and as you go throughout the day, week, etc, you are building a wall of stress. The difference between how individuals handle stress however, is based on how big their stress blocks are.  So if you are the type of person that every little thing 'gets to you' your stress blocks are huge compared to someone who doesn't see it the same way.

A way to keep your stress blocks small and thus, minimizing how quickly or how large your stress wall becomes, is to analyze the situation and ask yourself if that is really that important when compared to the bigger picture at work and/or life.  In other words, don't let the little things get to you.

Now this doesn't mean that you don't care or that you are not giving it importance. It just means that you are not going to let it interfere with coming up with a solution or a plan to address the situation.  This takes training but if you concentrate on it, you can become a master of your own stress level.

I heard a line many years ago in a TV show that has stuck with me forever. It goes like this 'Never let anyone rent space in your head'.  Good advice, don't let anyone or anything consume you!

Getting more sleep, exercising, eating right, taking time for yourself are also factors that play a role in how much you can de-stress your life.

5. Quit smoking, I will not go into the health hazards of smoking since they are very well documented.  It is pretty obvious why someone should stop smoking but nicotine addiction can make this one of the hardest habits to break since it is not only a physical addiction but also a psychological habit.

 

So how do you quit?  This is way too complicated to answer in a short blog post but here are some helpful tips.

 

First, identify what triggers you to smoke.  Create a smoking journal which analyzes why you lit up. For example:

 

Time of day?

How Intense was the craving (scale of 1 to 10)

What were you doing?

Who were you with?

How were you feeling?

How did you feel after smoking?

 

If you do not know why you are lighting up, it becomes that much more difficult to start a plan to quit.

 

Other popular smoking triggers are alcohol (see above), other smokers and end of a meal.

 

One popular method that is used is called START.  It goes as follows:

 

S = Set a quit date.
Choose a date within the next 2 weeks, so you have enough time to prepare without losing your motivation to quit. If you mainly smoke at work, quit on the weekend, so you have a few days to adjust to the change.

T = Tell family, friends, and co-workers that you plan to quit.
Let your friends and family in on your plan to quit smoking and tell them you need their support and encouragement to stop. Look for a quit buddy who wants to stop smoking as well. You can help each other get through the rough times.

A = Anticipate and plan for the challenges you'll face while quitting.
Most people who begin smoking again do so within the first 3 months. You can help yourself make it through by preparing ahead for common challenges, such as nicotine withdrawal and cigarette cravings.

R = Remove cigarettes and other tobacco products from your home, car, and work.

Throw away all of your cigarettes (no emergency pack!), lighters, ashtrays, and matches. Wash your clothes and freshen up anything that smells like smoke. Shampoo your car, clean your drapes and carpet, and steam your furniture.

T = Talk to your doctor about getting help to quit.
Your doctor can prescribe medication to help with withdrawal and suggest other alternatives. If you can't see a doctor, you can get many products over the counter at your local pharmacy or grocery store, including the nicotine patch, nicotine lozenges, and nicotine gum.

Expect withdrawal symptoms. I found this chart on the internet which is very handy to use based on these symptoms:

Coping with Nicotine Withdrawal Symptoms
Symptom	Duration	Relief
Craving for cigarette	Most intense during first week but can linger for months	Wait out the urge; distract yourself; take a brisk walk.
Irritability, impatience	Two to four weeks	Exercise; take hot baths; use relaxation techniques; avoid caffeine.
Insomnia	Two to four weeks	Avoid caffeine after 6 p.m.; use relaxation techniques; exercise; plan activities (such as reading) when sleep is difficult.
Fatigue	Two to four weeks	Take naps; do not push yourself.
Lack of concentration	A few weeks	Reduce workload; avoid stress.
Hunger	Several weeks or longer	Drink water or low-calorie drinks; eat low-calorie snacks.
Coughing, dry throat, nasal drip	Several weeks	Drink plenty of fluids; use cough drops.
Constipation, gas	One to two weeks	Drink plenty of fluids; add fiber to diet; exercise.
This came from a health report in the Harvard Health Publication,  Overcoming Addiction: Paths Toward Recovery.   In summary, you can try to make 2014 different than in past years regarding your New Years resolution if you use a methodical approach, understand the scope of what you are committing to, have a plan, expect setbacks, and understand the reasons for failure.   It is also interesting to note how many of the more popular New Year resolutions are inter related.   Would love to hear from any of you with comments or questions.   Have a Happy and Safe New Year and make 2014 the difference maker in your life! Fit Forlife

 

 



 

 

Dedication or Obsession?

For those that like to keep fit, exercise and eat right, there will come points in their life where one will say you are obsessed.

That used to bug me when I was younger because obsession is usually meant in a derogatory way and how can being healthy be considered a bad thing?  I considered myself as being dedicated instead of obsessed but is that true, is there a difference between the two or does it just depend on where you come from?

My usual reply to anyone that said that was that they were obsessed with ruining their health. After all if obsession for fitness was bad wouldn't the opposite also be obsession? And which one would you prefer?

Meanings...

The dictionary defines obsession as follows:

ob·ses·sion  (b-sshn, b-)

n.

1. Compulsive preoccupation with a fixed idea or an unwanted feeling or emotion, often accompanied by symptoms of anxiety.

2. A compulsive, often unreasonable idea or emotion.

 

Whereas dedication is defined as:

 

ded·i·ca·tion  (dd-kshn)

n.

1. The act of dedicating or the state of being dedicated.

2. A note prefixed to a literary, artistic, or musical composition dedicating it to someone in token of affection or esteem.

3.  Complete and wholehearted devotion, esp to a career, ideal, etc.

4. Selfless devotion: served the public with dedication and integrity.

 

Ok, so how do I interpret that?

One can easily say that someone that exercises on a regular basis is compulsive to the extent that you are fixed on your training and rarely miss. At the same time however, this is also being dedicated based on the definitions above.

 

I think what it comes down to is when does dedication cross the line and becomes obsession and is that such a bad thing?

 

Anything becomes compulsive behavior when it starts to impact your family and work obligations.  There are some exceptions such as if the family is not into being healthy and you carve out time to train. One must never let the 'bad' habits of others even if it is family, interfere with your health.

 

Family members that give you a hard time for working out are not looking out for your own good.  Would they complain if you liked to drink soda and eat cheeseburgers for lunch every day. Probably not, so why should they interfere with your exercise routine?

 

However, if they support your habits and even participate yet you go beyond that where family time is severely impacted, one may be starting to cross the line.  You need to find a balance and with 24 hours in a day, there is plenty of time to find that balance although many people make up excuses to say otherwise.

 

But there are exceptions even to the above. For instance, you can have short bursts of compulsive behavior if you are training for an athletic event. Whether it be a race, triathlon, etc, you have to have tunnel vision in your training. Never miss a workout, become obsessed with the end goal and have it consume you 24/7. 

 

 

I personally don't consider these short bursts of obsession a bad thing. In fact, it helps in every day life setting and reaching goals. It teaches friends and family that they can do the same. They can serve as motivation to others, especially if you are overcoming some form of handicap or have made drastic improvements to your health.

 

So as long as there is balance between work, family, friends and health, one must never be embarrassed or ashamed of habits that are beneficial to you.

 

 As time goes on and friends and family age, and you meet at social gatherings and events, and you see the noticeable difference in appearance, alertness, and youthfulness, you will affirm that the direction and path you chose was the correct one.

Stay focused, fit and healthy............... Fit Forlife

 

Think outside the box but what about the circle?

Limits and boundaries...

Everyone always tosses the term 'think outside the box' to define creative thinking and risk taking, but do we really do that?

Whether its the corporate world or our personal life, one is always pushed to attempt challenges we normally wouldn't take.

However, when we do think outside the box are we really reaching or is there something like gravity involved that keeps us from going further?

Like the immovable object meeting the irresistible force, there are limits and boundaries that are either placed by corporate culture or societal norms that interfere with how far we can really go. 

Boxes and Circles...

The Box...

The picture below illustrates what I am trying to convey.
 

Everything inside the box is our personal beliefs or departmental rules that we normally live under. They usually evolve to a comfort level that makes personal or departmental controls easy to manage. From a personal level it's 'being a follower', from a corporate level it's being like a 'flock of sheep' where everyone does the same thing just because everyone does the same thing! Very little risk taking and decision making, after all, one can always blame the leader or the flock!
But like a warm blanket on a winter morning, it creates a comfort level we are unwilling to shed.

The Circle...

The circle is like gravity. It's the constraint we all face when thinking outside the box. It is the force that keeps us from soaring through the skies. 

From a corporate standpoint we have departmental rules but also within a corporation we have the culture. This culture is created over time and becomes the foundation of what every company tries to mold their employees to. 

My observation is that the older the company, the more that this culture becomes constrictive. This causes the circle to start tightening up around the box where eventually there are just small areas of outside the box thinking that one is allowed to reach otherwise you are going against corporate culture! 

Since cultures take time to develop, young start ups like Google and Facebook have a huge circle allowing plenty of freedom to think outside the box. In many cases there may not even be a box! This allows for complete freedom to innovate and take risks. 

As companies mature, and get 'burned' for some of the risks they took, the circle starts to be defined more clearly and starts surrounding the box closer and closer. This is the pitfall of many companies.

Look at every industry and you see examples of companies that strangled themselves to death. A prime example right now is Microsoft who at one time was an innovator but over time has turned into a dinosaur as they let their culture of PC based services be eclipsed by cloud computing. They are starting to reinvent themselves now but it may be too little too late. 

How does the circle apply to personal constraints? Well just like companies, people grow too. They also evolve within a society or culture. Additional influences on this circle is religion and family. When you are young and 'inexperienced' you take risks and question a lot of those influences. You are indestructible and  somewhat a rebel to the culture or society you live under. Your circle is HUGE because you are still developing it.  You have very little constraints.
Some of the biggest innovators of our time created their success at a very early age such as Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Michael Dell, Mark Zuckerberg, etc.  They obviously not only thought outside the box but outside the circle too. They were doing things that people, society, culture was saying couldn't be done or never been done however, they achieved it!
But as time went on they stopped being innovators.  Again, the constraints that the circle places on the box.  Zuckerberg is starting to experience some of those constraints as Facebook becomes more formal like all other large corporations. The key to staying an innovator is to not let the circle constrict the box!
World class athletes fall into this category too.  They ignore the norm, what is expected, and go beyond that. They don't see world records as something that can't be attained but rather something to shoot for and exceed. Their circles, just like business startups, are HUGE.
The beautiful thing about this is that EVERYONE can learn to think like startups, innovators and world class athletes in their personal lives.  It's not a matter of being the best of the best in whatever you are doing but rather to be better than what you have become comfortable with.
This requires taking risks, going beyond the comfort zone and reaching for the outer boundary of the circle.

Another wonderful thing is that whether you are a mature company or an adult, you can change your boxes and circles through reinventing yourself. It isn't easy but it can be done and has been done plenty of times.
A great example of a company reinventing itself is Apple.  In the 70's and early 80's it was the Google of that era. Then restrictions and corporate rules stifled the company almost to the brink of extinction. Enter Steve Jobs to the rescue again, and Apple is now considered an innovative and forward thinking corporation.
People also reinvent themselves every day. Many factors can trigger going outside your comfort zone, the box, such as job loss or promotion, death in the family, marriage or divorce, or a major illness.
The bottom line is this, it can be done, as long as you recognize the boundaries that are constricting you and are willing to go beyond that!

The Forbidden Territory...

So what's beyond the circle? I don't know it all depends on many factors such as how large is your circle or basically, how much of a risk taker are you?

The forbidden territory can be good or bad.  It is good if your circle of risk taking is small and you need to push it further into this territory.
It is bad if you are already taking high levels of risk within the circle.  This territory can include chaos, total anarchy, recklessness, life threatening risks.  For example, rock climbing with ropes (within the box) to rock climbing without ropes (into the circle) to rock climbing without ropes and going for speed records (forbidden territory, one mistake and you die).

Limits and Boundaries conclusion...

Once someone realizes the concept of boxes and circles, and is willing to change, feel discomfort, and go through growing pains, this is when they will experience their full potential and capabilities.
Many people never get to that point, the fact that this post has made you think about it, puts you ahead of the crowd already.

Good luck, be brave and soar!

Fit Forlife

 

50 Shades of Natural...

I decided to write about what constitutes a 'natural' bodybuilder since there has been so much recent discussion on the subject. As the sport increases in popularity there is debate as to what is 'natural'.
This post is not meant to define 'natural' but rather provoke thought and commentary.
From a personal standpoint, I am ecstatic to see this form of bodybuilding since it leads to a prolonged and healthier lifestyle which is why most people get into fitness in the first place!

Why Natural Bodybuilding?

Fortunately there is a growing number of people that enjoy the bodybuilding lifestyle but do not want to get into the Performance Enhancing Drugs (PED's) that accompanies this when competing. This is especially true in certain bodybuilding governing bodies where to even place in a local event, your only chance is to 'juice'.

Just taking a look at the top competitions in the world like the Olympia or Arnold Classic, the competitors are becoming more and more like cartoon characters.  Now don't get me wrong, if that is your cup of tea, have at it. In fact I can say I've been there, done that, until I got smarter.
What annoys me though are people that try to deny that these contests are nothing more than who can take the most PED's without dying first.  What is even more annoying are those that say they have no long term negative effect on the body and will even defend the sudden deaths of so many past bodybuilding champions at an early age as nothing more than pure coincidence! 

Can you really tell the difference between cartoon and reality in these two pics?

 

The working out part is probably the easiest since you do it because you love it. From past personal experience, PED's make your workouts easier, not harder. Pushing yourself to do more is really not that big of a deal (pardon the pun!).

So back to the beginning; as a result of such PED abuse, unhealthy lifestyle and deaths, a grassroots group of bodybuilders calling themselves 'natural' has been taking hold.

What is a little amusing though, is that even amongst the natural competitors, there is debate as to what is cheating or not.  I see on FB posts and other forums some calling out others because they took a supplement that 'in their mind' was cheating and so on and so forth.

The definition of Natural...

Ok, if you are not going to allow PED's you have to define 'natural' right? More Natural Bodybuilding organizations have sprung up than Republican/Democratic debates on the economy!  You have the ABA, PNBA, INBA, NANBF and NPA just to name a few. Some of these are intermingled with each other in terms of sponsorships and promoting each other.

Most of the organizations follow the IOC banned substance list and all or some form of IOC testing.

So can you still cheat being Natural?

When you go to bodybuilding blogs and forums, there is heated debate on whether taking a natural substance that can stimulate your body is considered some form of cheating.

I find this amusing because where do you draw the line? Is it considered cheating if you took a natural supplement that helps your body produce xyz in your body in a natural way?

How far do you go in defining what cheating is? Is it cheating eating foods that have been pumped with artificial drugs and hormones? Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) is applied on most of our produce, is that considered cheating?  Should 'all natural' mean eating grass fed beef as an example,  and being 100% organic?  Should everything else that has been treated with some form of chemicals to enhance something be on some sort of banned list?! 

If that is the case, I guess everyone would be excluded from competing except the great Eugene Sandow, famous strongman from the 1800's?!

 

Why can the average Joe get on steroid therapy for an injury but a natural bodybuilder potentially lose their ability to compete if they do the same?

There are hormone replacement therapy clinics sprouting everywhere for those with low T counts as they age. The average person can take low T therapy with no problems but a natural bodybuilder can't?  Go to any gym in the country and you find men AND women that are juicing via hormone replacement therapy (wink wink).

 

Maybe testing in these natural events should involve what levels of T one can have in their body regardless of how they got to that level???  Maybe there should be 'T level' categories based on where you fall in your T count? Would that be a more fair way to compete since everyone is on the same level playing field?

In conclusion...

Regardless of what defines 'natural' amongst the governing bodies and participants, I am glad to see that they all strive to get away from the PED's that are prevalent in every sport today. It isn't just bodybuilding, it is everywhere. High school kids on baseball teams are even juicing just to gain a competitive advantage.

The tunnel vision of 'success' for many of our athletes today is to win at all costs and ignoring the fact they are role models for youths that will emulate what their heroes' are doing.

It is a sad state of affairs so I am glad that natural bodybuilding is out promoting their sport and serving to be true role models for those that are seeking a healthy lifestyle.

Although there is a definite difference in physique size between a juiced up bodybuilder and a natural one, in my opinion it is much harder and takes a lot more dedication to do it the natural way than it does via the drug induced method.

I tip my hat to those men and women doing it the right way...

 

Fit Forlife

 

 

 

 

 



Newton's Law or "Gravity never has a bad day"

It is safe to say that Sir Isaac Newton was not a gym rat otherwise the Law of Gravity would have taken on a whole new meaning!

Technically, Newton's law of universal gravitation states that every mass in the universe attracts every other mass with a force that is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.

In laymen's terms this means if an apple breaks away from a branch it will drop to the ground.

In gym terms this means if you drop a weight, it will fall towards the ground AND land on you!

Now that we got the science (and pain) out of the way, lets talk more about gravity.

Gravity is always easy in the beginning...

Just like in a relationship where things are going great in the beginning, gravity plays the same role. 
When you first start working out, your body is quickly adapting to the exercises by building muscle size and strength.  Gains are seen almost workout by workout, or at least week to week. 
You begin to extrapolate your progress and boldly and confidently predict you will be a world champion weightlifter by the end of the year!
Gravity is an afterhthought since you smash its barriers every time you train. How much easier can this get? There is absolutely no stopping me.
Then like in a relationship, things can start to get sour. Your progress slows down, you start feeling down and you start not to like or appreciate gravity as much!

Dad drops reality on me...

My dad must have been really amused with my predictions.  He would just smile as if he knew something I didn't!
My 5lb per week progress in lifting soon slowed down to 5lbs per month. It was then that he let me in on a secret that although Newton put it in mathematical terms, he could not understand in practical terms...

Gravity never has a bad day!

It just doesn't! Ever! My dad would tell me that what separates weightlifting from other sports is that you are fighting against a foe that is always consistent...gravity. It never comes in tired from staying out all night, it doesn't come in depressed because it just broke up with it's partner. It is always there, a constant force to be reckoned with.
Thus the term he burned into my head........... GRAVITY NEVER HAS A BAD DAY!

Over the years...

I have come to respect gravity.  Like in a relationship that has developed over time you gain a respect and understanding for each other.  On a good day where everything feels light I always tell everyone to 'go for it' and hit it as hard as you can because those days become fewer and farther apart.  Not because gravity is having a bad day, it's because you are having a great day so why not take advantage of it and enjoy it!
The consistency of gravity now serves as a checkpoint of when I am doing great. How everything feels light. This in turns sets the mood for me the rest of the day and week. If I am kicking gravity's ass, how hard can it be to kick everything else I encounter at work or life as well?!
So gravity now has become a friend I have learned to accept.  In good times and in bad, we have learned to work around and with each other!

Fit

My first power rack, a father and son story

It seemed like a great idea...

as I got stronger and stronger under the tutelage of my Dad, it was decided that we needed a power rack in order to have more variety in training.  There are many types of power racks, the one we opted for looked something like this:

They are used to do squats, push jerks, heavy pulls and a bunch of other muscle busting exercises to improve your Olympic lifts. Personally I think they are remnants of medieval times where people were tortured, thus the name 'rack'....
The one we bought did not have the upper cross bar support, they were two separate free standing frames.
Since I worked out in my backyard patio, we had to figure out how to properly secure it to the floor and the overhead ceiling which was made out of a weak aluminum.



My Dad was a Civil Engineer and had his P.E.  He was meticulous to detail.  He came up with a design where we drilled holes into the concrete floor in order to place rebars, then we would build a wooden frame around it where concrete would be poured, 300 pounds worth for each block.
Then the frames would be bolted into the concrete blocks then secured overhead to the patio I beams.  This was genius! The monstrous, pyramid like cement blocks would take all the weight and pounding that the power rack would endure and the overhead patio roof would just serve the purpose of keeping them upright.
How hard can this really be?

The drilling begins...

Men love power tools especially BIG power tools. This was going to be a bonding experience between Dad and I.  We had to drill big holes, I mean BIG holes into four inches of concrete.  So we rented a power drill that weighed as much as I did. I was 14 and weighed about 130 pounds soaking wet (yes, I was the weakling you always read about in school). With the bit inserted, that thing had to be almost three feet long.
My Dad marked the floor where the holes had to be drilled. He was going to do the drilling, since according to him, I was too small to handle such a drill. You guessed it, those were fighting words and somehow I was going to prove him wrong!
After about an hour of drilling, Dad had finished four holes. We were half way done but he was going to take a break and get something to eat. His parting words were 'Do not touch that drill' which translated into teenage logic meant 'as long as I don't see you, do what you want'!
I could barely hold the drill upright.
Thank God I was able to stick the drill bit into the next hole he had already started. Imitating my Dad, I held on to each handle of the drill and wedged the motor against my stomach. The only difference is that there is not much to wedge when you weigh 130 pounds compared to my Dad's 200 pound frame and a nicely developed beer belly which took years to evolve!
Initially all was going well. The bit was spinning although no noticeable progress could be seen,

then it happened...

I inadvertently tilted the drill too much to one side and the drill bit 'caught' the hole and froze. Like a cowboy riding a bull, the drill itself continued spinning, picking me up and twirling me like a baton. It kept spinning until the electrical cord wrapped itself around the drill to the point that the plug came out of the wall. This was immediately preceded by throwing me a good three feet into the cement floor. At that moment I knew that Rodeo Bull Rider was not going to be a good career choice!
When my Dad came back, needless to say, he was not impressed but my black and blue marks was enough punishment.....for the time being!

How hard can building blocks be?

With the holes now drilled it was time to build the frames that would hold the concrete we would pour to create the blocks.  There were two frames to be built, one for each block so my Dad showed me how to build them. He emphasized to pre-drill the holes before using wood screws to hold the frame together. So he built the first one and left me to do the second one.

Who needs to pre-drill anyways?

Teenage logic, still in full gear, takes over and looks for short cuts. Why in the world would you want to pre-drill holes for the wood screws when screwing them in right from the get go works just fine? So on I went making the second frame breaking carpentry speed records if they ever measure such a thing. I could hear the wood cracking as I drilled but heck that's normal right?

The pouring begins...

With both frames complete, and rebars inserted in the holes, it was time to mix the concrete and start pouring.  First was my Dad's frame.  As we poured I could hear the pressure of the weight that the concrete was exerting on the frame, but it was holding. Once done we stepped back and it looked marvelous. I knew at that point that my Dad in a previous life had obviously been involved in the building of the pyramids in Egypt. It was majestic!
Now it was time to pour the concrete into my frame, you know, the one I took some liberties on in building. As the pouring began, I could hear the wood frame strain under the weight and pressure of the concrete. A quarter of the way done, all is good...half way done, still good to go....three quarters of the way THEN IT HAPPENED!

WTF did you do???

With the pouring almost complete, the frame could no longer take the pressure....the wooden frame broke open as the screws I had used without the pre-drilling had created cracks in the wood and it could no longer hold. One side had breached and the concrete slowly started slumping out from that side.
The first words out of my Dad was 'you didn't pre-drill did you?'.  Actually the language he used was a bit more colorful than that but this is a PG rated blog....
Quickly we got some rope to wrap around the frame to salvage the block. There we were, my Dad and I laying on the ground pulling on the rope as hard as we could to stop the frame from busting wide open and letting the rest of the concrete pour out....somehow, miraculously, we salvaged the frame but not without some consequences...
There stood the two blocks. My Dad's, a symbol of a Civil Engineering degree and PE license. Perfection, rectangular, without one noticeable defect.  Then there was mine, lopsided, deformed, also a symbol, but of how a teenager could be smarter than Dad.
I think this was one of the few moments I had seen my Dad lose his temper...he was fit to be tied.  After salvaging the frame, he held a large steel rod used in the power rack in his hand. I still remember him holding that rod tightly in one hand and slamming it into the palm of his other hand repeating 'I can't believe you didn't pre-drill after I told you...'.
Later on in years, we always had a good laugh about this.  When friends and relatives would come over he would always take them into the patio to show off the power rack.
The show and tell always started with the same question, 'Can you tell which block was built by me and which one was built by my son?'.....the differences were so noticeable that everyone would just start laughing uncontrollably!
Although at the time this was something that I wanted to forget immediately, it is now one of those cherished moments between father and son that will stay with me forever.
I miss my Dad tremendously but those memories keeps him alive in my heart forever...

Fit

Why Old Fart???

Just in case I offend anyone, let me explain the name of my blog, Old Fart Training...
First and foremost, I inherited my Dad's sense of humor. In good times and especially in bad times, he always applied humor to everything.  I loved how he could put a smile on my face in a bad situation.
My Mom on the other hand, hated that sense of humor! She would always say he just didn't take things seriously enough.
The reality is that Dad always took care of business. He just did it in a positive way. There was never an 'oh poor me' attitude. He solved problems but added comedy while he was at it.  Throughout this blog I will sprinkle some of his humor since I will carry those memories with me until it is my time to join him in that big gym in the sky!
But I have digressed....back to the Old Fart explanation...
As a kid starting to train and compete we used to work out in 'hole in the wall' gyms. You know, the ones that would take your money one day then close the next day. We were vagabond weightlifters never knowing where our next workout would be. It was the 1970's and my partners and I were in our teens...
Every week while training for a contest we would always have some old guy (in his 40's and up, gasp!) come up to us and give us 'hints' on how to lift. We would laugh at them behind their backs.  After all, what can a 40 year old guy who has been lifting for 20 years teach teenagers like us that had an entire 18 months of training under their belts!?
So we started calling them Old Farts and their Old Farts Training methods!
As I got older and older, and had injuries upon injuries, I started realizing that I was becoming an Old Fart myself.  Taking my Dad's humor where he always made as much fun of himself as he did of others, I started calling my tips to 'teenagers' my 'Old Fart Training Tip'.  The kids now get a good laugh out of it and seem to listen although I am quite intrigued as to what they call me behind my back!
One thing is for sure though, just as the Old Farts that gave me advice as a teen knew, I too would eventually see their way.  So I am quite satisfied to know that the kids I give advice to will eventually be enlightened with Father Time and think of that Old Fart (me) that tried to give them advice!
Thus is the reason for Old Fart Training. I poke fun at myself but also realize there is something I can give back from over 40 years of abusing my body...

Fit

In the beginning...

Well, I guess this is as good a way to start any blog correct?
I have been training for most of my life, first as a competitive Olympic lifter then after a series of injuries, training to stay in shape and enjoy life.
Don't get me wrong, I still train as hard as ever but in a softer, gentler way!
I have found that as you get older, while your muscles maintain most of their strength, your tendons and ligaments are like rubber bands that eventually get old after too many stretches and eventually just snap.
In this blog I hope to transfer some of my knowledge to those that have been training awhile or for those that started later in life and are wondering if they are going down the correct path.
I see so many things done and taught wrong in major gyms by 'certified' personal trainers, it makes me cringe!
By the way, yes I am certified but I don't believe in the paper I have just like I don't believe in the 'paper' most personal trainers have.
No certification can replace over 40 years of living the life, training balls to the wall 5-6 days a week, competing, and reading anything I can get my hands on regarding health and fitness.
I am just starting out with this blog so please be patient as I learn this blogging business.
Leave me comments, I love to answer questions and give opinions and advice.
Some of the posts may seem boring and mundane but it's the little things that you do that lets you accomplish what you are trying to achieve.
Enjoy and get out there and get active. You only live once. You only have one body. You need to take care of it if you want to get the most out of this one chance!

Fit