Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Sunday, February 13, 2011
A little flashback to my youth: WRESTLING
I just saw this preview for a new movie with the sport of wrestiling as a plot theme.
Paul Giamatti is a great actor, and I'm sure he would make a great wrestling coach. Not because you have to coach wins in wrestling, but it is important for adolescents to learn the value of Participation. (Thank you Mr. Schafer!) In my 7th and 8th grade years I won a total of...wait for it...one match.
Then I went out for High School wrestling. I learned a different lesson here, which was Hard Work. (Thanks, Wags. RIP.) I have never been as sore in my life as after the first week of wrestling practice as a 9th grader. I was a little wierd at that age. While other kids were going to parties and goofing off, I was jogging and reading biographies of great athletes.
Vision Quest was a movie that my friends and I liked to watch to get fired up for meets.
Pre-match warm-up.
The Climax of the Movie.
I was only marginally better at wrestling as a high schooler than in junior high. But I soon realized that while I wasn't the best wrestler, I was the best runner on the wrestling team. I went out for track the spring of my freshman year, beginning a running career that is now 22 years long and counting.
Paul Giamatti is a great actor, and I'm sure he would make a great wrestling coach. Not because you have to coach wins in wrestling, but it is important for adolescents to learn the value of Participation. (Thank you Mr. Schafer!) In my 7th and 8th grade years I won a total of...wait for it...one match.
Then I went out for High School wrestling. I learned a different lesson here, which was Hard Work. (Thanks, Wags. RIP.) I have never been as sore in my life as after the first week of wrestling practice as a 9th grader. I was a little wierd at that age. While other kids were going to parties and goofing off, I was jogging and reading biographies of great athletes.
Vision Quest was a movie that my friends and I liked to watch to get fired up for meets.
Pre-match warm-up.
The Climax of the Movie.
I was only marginally better at wrestling as a high schooler than in junior high. But I soon realized that while I wasn't the best wrestler, I was the best runner on the wrestling team. I went out for track the spring of my freshman year, beginning a running career that is now 22 years long and counting.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Friday, January 28, 2011
Reversing diabetes
A great article on CNN.com, which is one of my favorite on-line news sites these days.
I have some personal experience with this because my mother has had Type II diabetes her entire life, and my father (The Fergus) has just recently been diagnosed. Whereas my mother's situation has been long term and chronic, my father has been able to make a significant change in his health.
"The side effects of the medication are really unpleasant," he tells me. I actually see better results if I watch what I eat and exercise. This comes from a man who did not exercise during his adult life, until the last 5 years. Since then he has began began exercising, made moderate dietary changes, and has participated in running races ranging from 5K to marathon.
Articles like the one linked above, and my dad's experience are really encouraging. But it makes me wonder. What is the message that is being communicated to people who are diagnosed with this disease? Do physicians make the effort to really convey the importance of lifestyle change? Or is it easier (and more profitable) to prescribe the medication? And are clients being referred to resources that can help them make the changes, such as a wellness center or personal trainer.
I have some personal experience with this because my mother has had Type II diabetes her entire life, and my father (The Fergus) has just recently been diagnosed. Whereas my mother's situation has been long term and chronic, my father has been able to make a significant change in his health.
"The side effects of the medication are really unpleasant," he tells me. I actually see better results if I watch what I eat and exercise. This comes from a man who did not exercise during his adult life, until the last 5 years. Since then he has began began exercising, made moderate dietary changes, and has participated in running races ranging from 5K to marathon.
Articles like the one linked above, and my dad's experience are really encouraging. But it makes me wonder. What is the message that is being communicated to people who are diagnosed with this disease? Do physicians make the effort to really convey the importance of lifestyle change? Or is it easier (and more profitable) to prescribe the medication? And are clients being referred to resources that can help them make the changes, such as a wellness center or personal trainer.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Exercise gives you more than health and fitness
This afternoon it was snowing like crazy here in DC. So I got some warm running clothes on, put the leash on Kokolulu (my dog,) and headed out into the snow for a run.
At first there were cars everywhere. It was a total rush hour, commuter traffic jam, cluster out there. People were angry, honking. Even the snow plows were stuck in the traffic jam. But soon I was down a trail running in the woods, away from it all.
Immediately I felt my head clear and my stress dissipate. With the fresh snow and muted twilight, the trees were a beautiful black-and-white photograph. When you exercise outside, you get to see things that people who spend all their time indoors miss out. Sunsets (and rises,) wildlife, fresh air, pretty vistas, and remote locations. My mind can wander and my body feels alive.
Exercise gives you so much more than health and fitness. You see things, feel things, experience life in ways that you would otherwise completely miss.
I am in a job search right now for a Wellness Coordinator or Corporate Fitness position. The reason why I strongly believe this can happen is that EVERY time I meet someone here and tell them that I am a fitness coach, they say "I could sure use your help." People want this benefit. They need this benefit.
Helping people improve their health is not complicated: they need information, motivation, and inspiration. But the benefits go FAR beyond the individual and the physical. When the transformation occurs, a person comes alive. They feel a new energy and vitality that quickly becomes infectious to others.
An organization certainly wants healthy people: it helps from the insurance and benefits side. But if we think more broadly, an organization that embraces wellness/fitness is one that ENERGIZES employees. Corporate culture becomes a strategic advantage when individuals feel valued, and they are encouraged to be physically, mentally, spiritually their very best.
This company realizes a strategic benefit far beyond health and fitness.
At first there were cars everywhere. It was a total rush hour, commuter traffic jam, cluster out there. People were angry, honking. Even the snow plows were stuck in the traffic jam. But soon I was down a trail running in the woods, away from it all.
Immediately I felt my head clear and my stress dissipate. With the fresh snow and muted twilight, the trees were a beautiful black-and-white photograph. When you exercise outside, you get to see things that people who spend all their time indoors miss out. Sunsets (and rises,) wildlife, fresh air, pretty vistas, and remote locations. My mind can wander and my body feels alive.
Exercise gives you so much more than health and fitness. You see things, feel things, experience life in ways that you would otherwise completely miss.
I am in a job search right now for a Wellness Coordinator or Corporate Fitness position. The reason why I strongly believe this can happen is that EVERY time I meet someone here and tell them that I am a fitness coach, they say "I could sure use your help." People want this benefit. They need this benefit.
Helping people improve their health is not complicated: they need information, motivation, and inspiration. But the benefits go FAR beyond the individual and the physical. When the transformation occurs, a person comes alive. They feel a new energy and vitality that quickly becomes infectious to others.
An organization certainly wants healthy people: it helps from the insurance and benefits side. But if we think more broadly, an organization that embraces wellness/fitness is one that ENERGIZES employees. Corporate culture becomes a strategic advantage when individuals feel valued, and they are encouraged to be physically, mentally, spiritually their very best.
This company realizes a strategic benefit far beyond health and fitness.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Boot Camp Mayhem; Instructor Personalities
I had a good friend from church recently approach me about teaching a boot camp. She gets together with about 20 friends 2 x per week to do a boot camp workout. She described her disappointment when the boot camp instructor called one of the women a "F-up" for showing up late. It seemed this was part of a small but persistent pattern of disrespectful and negative leadership style.
Perhaps it is due to the biggest looser, Boot Camp DVD's, or a distorted perception on behalf of consumers of what should happen at a boot camp. Perhaps some instructors were subjected to abusive or negative leadership themselves, or they get off on a power trip.
There is no excuse for calling someone a F-up. There is no excuse for being mean spirited or belittling someone no matter what their performance or effort.
I suspect I have been misconstrued in the past and her someones feelings. But I am certain of one thing: I respect and dignify every client I work with. I want to be positive, supportive, and appropriately challenging. If your boot camp instructor makes you feel bad, fire him or her.
Perhaps it is due to the biggest looser, Boot Camp DVD's, or a distorted perception on behalf of consumers of what should happen at a boot camp. Perhaps some instructors were subjected to abusive or negative leadership themselves, or they get off on a power trip.
There is no excuse for calling someone a F-up. There is no excuse for being mean spirited or belittling someone no matter what their performance or effort.
I suspect I have been misconstrued in the past and her someones feelings. But I am certain of one thing: I respect and dignify every client I work with. I want to be positive, supportive, and appropriately challenging. If your boot camp instructor makes you feel bad, fire him or her.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
RIP Jack Lalanne
Jack Lalanne showed that fitness and wellness can help you defy the effects of aging. Here is a list of his accomplishments. My personal favorite was his 70th birthday, when he swam 1.5 miles while towing 70 boats behind him...while handcuffed!
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