Forest for the trees

Been there done that?

Ever notice that when you have a sore tooth your tongue won't leave the spot alone. Keeps returning to it even though you already know it's there and sore?

Then throughout the day it becomes the background of everything you do and think. You perceive good news is a little less good. Bad news a little worse, etc etc. The day takes a little more out of you. You know what I mean, we have all been there.

So what does this mean to me?

Think about that and think about what that means insofar as counting calories. In you are constantly thinking about calories and food values, where will you mind be? Where will you attention be turned. What will be the color of you mood as a result of this?

Working with clients over the years I have coined a new term and a new way to think about calories.  Rather than counting them we can Mind them.  There are plenty of internet tools out there to help you do this and believe it or not once you get into the groove it's kinda fun.  It winds up being a tools in your toolbox rather than a yoke on your mind.

Something to think about as we move about in the real world

Stay tuned true believers.  There's always something around the corner.

Bullet Points

If you have been reading about how to improve your health and fitness for any length of time some of the quickies I am writing out today are somewhere along the "duh" end of the knowledge continuum. Move on quickly.

There is a lot of good useful information out there, however unless you get it before it gets tossed into the commerce grist you will not get very much out of it. Good information, like Tabata style training, gets dumbed down or altered for the purposes of convenience and salability diminishing it's value, substantially.

So here is a quick list of basic things to have in your mental editor when you read about the next new product or training style, or as you start to put your own programs together.

* You lose FAT by creating a caloric deficit- Caloric deficit simply means using more calories than you take in. Burning more than you eat. For better or worse it's largely about the math. Don't get TOO caught up in the math.

* Train the way you are going to play - If you want to train for a sport, define the movement needs and design around that. If you are trying to get healthier define what your issues are and train to mitigate them. If you are trying to get fitter, define what fit means to you and look at the building blocks that will get you there. This is sometimes called Reverse Engineering.

* Big moves do more than small moves. The more muscles you move the more calories you burn. Multi joint big moves more reflect real life.

* Something is always better than nothing.

* Warm up and cool down ARE AS IMPORTANT as the workout.

* Warm up and cool down ARE AS IMPORTANT as the workout.

* Treat your training like a Dr. appointment. It's that important.

* Treat your training as a chance to play again. Find opportunities to nurture the playful.

That should do for now. Read, Think, Digest. Get back to me on it's usefulness

All the best,
Steve

The How And The What

We didn't use to have to exercise.  Life was exercise enough.  One might say exercise was unconscious.


That world is in our rear view mirror now.  Some might say for the better, some for the worse.


I say opportunity lurks


When life was hard enough to test the body on a daily basis there was no time for what the body and mind COULD do.  Only what it HAD to do.


With movement now "optional" in our lives we can make the choice, the conscious choice, to make it more than survival.


The word Yoga derives from the same root word as yoke - which connects animal to plow.  In terms of movement it denotes connecting mind/intention to movement.  This option, to move with awareness and to be aware of what we are about as we move, is a watershed concept in our health and fitness.  It allows us to take our bodies beyond the merely functional tool of movement and survival to a learning tool.


Whatever you choose to do for your exercise and fitness, choose it in relation to who you are, and as you perform your actions turn your awareness to them, not to outcome and certainly not to distractions.


All the best,
Steve

Tools, Toys and Biofeedback

I am not a gadget person.  My cell phone is actually just a phone. My watch has an alarm and a stop watch; it can cover two times zones.  I have them both for Pacific. 

However, I like “stuff” for training.  I may have more stuff than any trainer I know.  TRX, Bodyblade, kettlebells, clubbells, bands, fitballs, medicine balls, tennis balls, airdiscs, etc.

Why?

As people start down the fitness path and learn by doing what their definitions and needs are they need new goals and challenges.

For example as a strength trainer works on heavier weights they realize that a weak link in the chain of a given movement, say a squat, is holding them back.  Activating a sleeping assistor muscle will take them farther, more quickly and with less injury than just digging in.  Perhaps side squats with band resistance will help with hip involvement, or a twisting motion with either the TRX or Bodyblade will help them engage their core more.

We are constantly discovering and rediscovering our movements.  We clean up, refine and explore. The various tools we have available to us dictate how efficiency we can explore these other roads.

Tools give us options, options give us the opportunity to explore, and what is exploration with movement but play?