Left Coast Fitness: Living Fully

bathtubs, teaspoons and treadmills...

During a visit to the mental asylum, I asked the Director how they determine whether or not a patient should be institutionalized.

'Well,' said the Director, 'we fill a bathtub with water.  Then we offer the patient a teaspoon, a teacup and a bucket and ask him or her to empty the bathtub.'

'Oh, I understand,' I said. 'A normal person would use the bucket because it's bigger than the spoon or the teacup.'
 
'No.' said the Director, 'A normal person would pull the plug.’

‘So, would you like a bed near the window?'

Sometimes when I listen to people arguing about whether the treadmill or the elliptical is superior I think of that story.

Do you really want one hell of a great cardio session? Get outside, first of all, if the weather meets your tolerances – the same time spent on a bicycle or fast-walking or running out of doors will burn more calories and be more stimulating in so many ways.

Better yet, do a long set of walking lunges, a short set of burpees, a short set of walking lunges and a long set of burpees (repeat as necessary) and I guarantee you’ll be burning more calories and strengthening your core. Or a few series of swings and snatches will produce an incredible demand on your cardiovascular system.

So, are ya gonna pull the plug on those electric hamster wheels or should I ready your elliptical, I mean bed, by the window?

Too little time to work out? Chunk it, don't chuck it

This morning I was hitting my emails and found my daily inspiration from Zach Even-Esh, the Underground Strength Coach. He was talking about a topic that hits hard both as a personal trainer and as someone who wants/needs to stay in shape myself - too little time to work out.

He made an important distinction: he spoke of having little time, as opposed to NO time and that makes all the difference in the world.

"I don't have an hour to devote to working out; I'm just too busy" OK, how about 30 minutes? How about 10 minutes? How about 5 minutes? C'mon...you've got 5 minutes every now and then throughout your day.

What can you do in 5 minutes? Well, let's see...a whole LOT of pushups or body-weight squats or tricep dips or a combination of those three. How about some ab/core work? 5 minutes can be a long time if you're doing good solid ab/core exercises.

Zach used a great term - chunking - taking small chunks of time and doing one or more movements. Over the course of a day you'll probably get in more than a half hour and you'll beat the cycle of having those "too busy to train" days.

Give it a shot and be sure to head over to Zach's website

While you're there, sign up for his underground strength ejournal. Time spent with Zach is always time well-spent

Just in time for Turkey Day...

I wanted to take this time to wish all of you a Happy and Healthy Thanksgiving. To help make that wish a reality, take a look at this: http://www.power-systems.com/n-384-healthy-holiday-food-choices.aspx?utm_source=PowerPress112409&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Promo

If you won't get fit for yourself get fit for your kids (or grandkids)

I just came back from a great trip to Arizona to visit my daughter and her family and passed time in the airports as I often do - people watching.
The number of seriously overweight children accompanying seriously overweight parents was eye-opening.
Throughout my career I've heard parents talk about how strapped they are for time and how they can't work out "now that the kids demand so much of our time".
As a former single Dad I can truly appreciate the sentiment but Folks, if you don't show your kids that you value fitness why should they?
There are many ways to be active and I wanted to point you in the direction of a great resource that's absolutely free - a publication written in 2008 entitled "Be Active Your Way - a guide for Adults" This is based on the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans and addresses how much activity you need each week, where to begin if you want to get physically active, and tips for those who already are active and want to ramp things up a notch or perhaps avoid injury.
I think it's a great collection of valuable information and I encourage you to take a look and see how it might help get you on the right path to being active, healthy and happy!

 

The philosophy that drives Left Coast Fitness

I gave a presentation today to an audience who know me more as a person and less as a trainer. To help them understand what Left Coast Fitness is all about (and therefore how I work), I wrote a "statement of philosophy" which I've expanded a bit here.

True fitness is as simple (though not necessarily as easy) as A,B,C

•          Awareness of how one's body moves, how it goes through the day. I work with my clients to understand the ways their bodies have adapted to their life's physical needs and challenges, ingrained body dynamics, sports-specific patterns, and the accommodations made to address injuries, muscular imbalances, etc. 

•         Balance in diet, exercise, rest and relaxation is crucial to fitness and well-being. You can't out-train a bad diet; you can't build significant muscle without the right amount and type of nutritious food; you can't repair and therefore build your body without sufficient rest; you can't be complete without time to live beyond the gym or workout room.

•          Commitment to doing those things for oneself which promote a full and capable life. Too often people define goals for themselves which are fear based: working out to avoid an image in the mirror they find distasteful, trying to deny the days and years that the calendar shows them have gone by. Working towards a goal is sustainable; working towards something that provides capability or comfort is sustainable; ensuring that you are - to the best of your abilities - growing and thriving in whatever form that may take - that is sustainable.  I know many seniors well into their 70s and 80s who might not necessarily be training for the Olympics but they're living as fully as they can to enjoy life and all it offers. In fact, they love life and accept all its challenges. I have had clients with severe physical challenges who were far more capable than others who were barely, shall we call it "cosmetically challenged".  Don't get me wrong, I love working with athletes and pushing them hard but I also love it when a client tells me she managed to walk up and down the many flights of stairs required to go to a show with her friends instead of sitting dejectedly at home and bemoaning "physical limitations".

 

     So, in what became a very large nutshell, that's what Left Coast Fitness is about: Awareness, Balance, and Commitment.

 

     Have a great day and be well.

False Alarms and Wake Up Calls

The results are in and all is well...how cool is that?
I celebrated a clean report on my biopsies by feeding my spirit and feeding my soul - I spent time today speaking with a talented young artist and jewelry maker and hiking in the hills above my home with a friend.
A beautiful day to be alive.
Every day is a beautiful day to be alive.
Having obsessed over the ways in which my life would change if I did have cancer I find myself determined to change in decidedly positive ways - back on track with my training, back on track with my nutrition, back on track with a zeal and a thankfulness I hope I can sustain for many years to come.
For those of you who have found reasons to backslide in taking responsibility for your well-being, take it from me, you need not wait for that wake up call.
Maybe you did hit the snooze button on some aspect of your life but it's time to get up, smile at the day and live...fully.
Damn fine name for a blog if I do say so myself.

Mortality, Vitality, and Reality, oh my...

This has been a fascinating few days in a way that would be great to study in someone else, in me...in myself...not so much.
I struggle with what is important to add as I wait for Tuesday's results...how do I say what I feel without being melodramatic or what I've thought without being simply clinical because I seem to swing back and forth between those two extremes.

I find myself calculating odds: if I have a 1 in 2 chance because of this factor and a 2 in 3 chance because of that factor and again a 1 in 2 chance because of yet another factor...
well, it's a foolish exercise. There's a 1 in 2 chance that a flipped coin will be heads and yet you can flip 15 tails in a row without invalidating statistical accuracy.

I find myself asking people questions like this one: "if you knew with absolute certainty you'd die within 5 years what would you be sure you got to do?" The answers I received were so vastly different, ranging from the purely emotional to the most straight-laced financially-sound suggestions this side of E.F. Hutton (hey, they weren't indicted for anything unseemly, we're they?). My own response included this response - I wanted to create a piece of art that would be a lasting artistic legacy; create something that would be uniquely expressive of who I am and what I stand for, what and whom I love.

As I plan the upcoming week, preparing for my clients, I take comfort in the routine and in the idea of preparing for future events, close as they may be (see, melodrama keeps seeping in; even a positive for cancer biopsy is unlikely to dictate my demise anytime soon at all).

I have found no answers as I've researched my possible paths for positive or negative biopsy results, only more questions.

I suspect that I'll look back on these entries with more than a modicum of embarrassment someday, possibly very soon for that matter but I do know that they still honestly represent where I find myself right now as I ponder what it means to face death, what it means to face life and what it means to recognize that each day we live with them both.

I'm going to go hug my wife and cats now. Catch you later.

Well...how did I get here?

Of all the entries I've placed in this blog, this is the most personal and the only one I've ever hesitated writing. But this is part of wellness, of well-being: dealing with all the things that life hands to us and working with each one in some way.

Last December I attended a workshop entitled "Personal Training Cancer Patients & Survivors". I went because so many people in my life had dealt with or were dealing with cancer in one form or another. I wanted to expand my practice to address the specific needs of this ever-growing population and I was glad to have had the opportunity to learn from a great group of folks like Regan Frederick, Jane Clark and Betty Smoot.

I had the opportunity, truly, the honor, to hear from some folks who are dealing with cancer and working hard to maintain the highest level of fitness they could; to promote a stronger body and a stronger autoimmune system. The word inspiring doesn't even come close!

Now here I sit in my fitness studio in Oakland on this warm, sunny March afternoon, and  I'm waiting for the results of a prostate biopsy; waiting to find out if I have cancer.

My test, my "procedure" (isn't that a great word? A wonderful client of mine said it discourages anyone asking any additional questions) was just a couple of days ago and I still have about 4 more days before I'll get my results. 

So, how did I get to the biopsy point (ooh, bad word to use)? I'd had problems with BPH (Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia aka an enlarged prostate) for a few years now and dealt with with just as I have my arthritis - an irritant but nothing that would keep me down or keep me from being active and enjoying life, but my PSA count had rapidly and consistently risen 4 times over the past 4 years, furthermore, my father had prostate cancer at just about the same age I am now (58) and none of the other tests showed anything to be the cause, so there I was - sonogram-ed and biopsied...and waiting.

Waiting is not particularly one of my strong suits; I mean, I'm great with my clients, displaying the highest degree of patience, after all, they came to me not only for my knowledge and experience but for understanding and to be taught, not dictated to. But for myself? Not quite the same standards apply at times and boy is this one of those times.  I think it was Mark Twain who commented that (and I paraphrase) 'Most of the things I've feared never came true' and I know that I'm giving too much energy to fear in this wait-and-see time. Ralph Waldo Emerson said - and this time I can quote - "Fear always springs from ignorance"...how spot-on is that?

If the test results come back positive, my life will be changed...I'll have some interesting decisions to make...lots of questions to ask and lots to research to do.

If the results come back negative, my life will be changed...because this is still a reality check for me: ensuring that I am doing all I can to promote my own well-being - after all, that is my profession. Ensuring that I'm doing what I can to nurture my whole being - after all, that's what I wish for all my friends, family and clients.

So that's how I got here and here I sit.

I'll write again on this soon. Go out and hug someone; eat something nutritious; make the most of your waking hours and be well.

I can't stop the rain from fallin'

Nor should I particularly want to (at least not here in California where we've had 3 years with insufficient rainfall) but I do hear you cardio hounds out there moaning as the pelting rain drives you indoors.
What to do?
How do I get that heart rate up and sustain it?
Well...let's see...got kettlebells?
Anyone who has ever used kettlebells will undoubtedly be able to relate how winded a great set of swings or double cleans or snatches can be.
Not into the iron? No worries - how about the most simple of exercises from the old P.E. days of school: Jumping Jacks, Knee-Ups, Butt Kicks?
Too easy? How about standing jumps to a stable surface say 18 to 24" high?
Not into that level of impact? No problem - dance...yup, dance!
15 minutes of pretty much any (solo) Latin dance will have your heart rate up there unless you pick the Tango I suppose or the Lambada which besides being the Forbidden Dance (by whom???) is REALLY going to be difficult done alone. Not doing it alone then I guess your heart rate should be elevated quite nicely.
The point is, there are many, many alternatives to outdoors running and I am NOT offering indoor ellipticals or treadmills and such as an alternative - get off the hamster wheel Folks and watch how body fat melts!
One last thing - don't try swinging that sledge indoors unless you're doing demo work.

Ok, so I think I love my sledgehammer

As some of you know I enjoy using less traditional equipment and I'd say a sledgehammer fits that designation pretty well.
When I first saw a sledge used for fitness I couldn't imagine that swinging a long-handled hammer could be much of a challenge...oh yeah, I was sooooo wrong about that.
Any of you who have had to use a sledge know that it gets pretty heavy pretty quickly and learn how to use its momentum correctly to get the most out of each strike. Have you ever tried to swing that sledge from the "wrong" side? Far harder, isn't it? Hmmm, why make things harder? Well, exercise (as opposed to working at demolition) is about getting the body to work as hard as possible to produce a desired effect - in this case, rotational and diagonal trunk strength, increased forearm and wrist strength, increased cardiovascular endurance. Hey, that's not a bad list of benefits.
If the "wrong" side swing doesn't get you, try this one: bring the sledge over head and behind your back in a two-handed triceps extension style hand grip. Now bring that sucker back overhead and straight down. BTW, I hit an old truck tire I keep in the backyard (the wife balked at a tractor tire since it would fill about half our patio area....go figure).
Even a  light sledge (10 pounds) is challenging but a 16 pounder would surely kick my butt after a relatively short time. Check with me in a couple of months or so and see if I've "graduated".
Hate traditional cardio (running, rowing and the like) but want a workout that builds strength and stamina? Bypass the sporting goods store, do not go to the gym, head directly to the hardware store and choose your sledge. Swing away, my friend; swing away.