Fitness, Business, Fitness Business, & Achieving Life Goals

I attended the Maine Harvard Prevention Research Center workshop on Nov. 12th titled “Your Brain on Exercise! Change The Way You Think About Exercise and For That Matter The Way You Think”. While Dr. John Ratey (author of Spark) did present on brain fitness, the majority of the day was spent on the importance of youth fitness and strategies to increase physical education in schools. After hearing how “there is no money” as an excuse not to proceed with initiatives, I’m reminded of our current economic recession. It takes investing money (even if it drives the country further into debt, temporarily) into economic stimulus programs to produce an environment in which old businesses can be saved, new businesses can be started, and new jobs will be created. That’s what will pull us out of this recession sooner and better than if we sat back “until we have the money”. (Now I know some will want to debate what I just said. Please, let it go. I don’t want to debate that here and now. Let’s just go on to the real point I want to make.)

As for physical education and, frankly, fitness in general, we are losing the battle. A recent study at Temple University showed that 20% of 4-Year-Olds In Ohio State are obese. That is just unbelievable and absurd and, especially at that age, is the parents’ fault. It’s child abuse even if the parents don’t believe it is.

So that’s where it can begin. What does it lead to? According to the CDC “In 2005-2006, 34% of U.S. adults and 16% of U.S. children and adolescents were obese. In 2000, obesity-related health care costs totaled an estimated $117 billion.  Between 1987 and 2001, diseases associated with obesity accounted for 27% of the increases in medical costs. Medical expenditures for obese workers, depending on severity of obesity and sex, are between 29%–117% greater than expenditures for workers with normal weight.”

In this time of fitness recession, levels so low that overweight and obesity related health care costs account for 9.1% of total U.S. medical expenditures in 1998 and $78.5 billion. Can we afford to notspend money on programs to change the direction of this country’s health? Spend on additional physical education? ABSOLUTELY!But not just that. We have to change adults as well. Teach the importance and the how to’s. Businesses have to step forward to incorporate fitness programs as part of employee benefits, which, incidentally, will save them money in the long run. The CDC also has a resource for work sites called LEAN Works.

Talk to you legislature, your school boards, your local businesses… everyone about the need to change to become a healthier, more physically fit society and the economic and life benefits that come with it.

It has been in the mythology of exercise for what seems like an eternity. This or that exercise will make help me lose the fat around my … whatever. The fact is no exercise will help you lose fat in around that body part. Exercise makes muscles work. That work burns calories. If you burn more calories than you take in*, your body will go to your “fat bank” and make a withdrawal. That withdrawal doesn’t come from any one area. It comes from all over the body.
 
Men and women carry fat differently and the fat stores aren’t evenly distributed. Men carry more fat around the waist and women carry more around the hips/thighs and shoulders/arms. If you believe that spot reducing works, this explains why men always want to do abdominal work and women want to do inner/outer thigh and triceps. But, it just doesn’t work that way. You can’t change the fat distribution. We don’t lose the fat cells. They simply decrease in size as we lose weight. Your “trouble” areas, because you have more fat cells there, will always be the last area to appear lean.
 
So what’s a person to do? Focus on full body workouts, keep the intensity high, minimize rest between exercises, and follow a well thought out eating plan. As you continue to lose fat, even your “trouble” areas will become lean.

*There are other factors, such as meal timing, adequate recovery, etc. that come into play.

Someone was talking about “paying it forward” this week and I started thinking about how much I enjoy mentoring others to become better, more successful Personal Trainers and/or business people.

A mentor, according to Merriam-Webster, is “a trusted counselor, tutor, or coach.” For me it means a sensei or teacher that seeks to share his/her wisdom, knowledge, and experience with someone eager to learn. 

My career has now spanned 30 years. I have had many mentors over the years from Dr. Joseph Pechinski, when I worked in the human performance center at the University of Maine, to Rich Brooks, Lynnelle Wilson, Carl Natale, and Mike Freeman(the gang at mainebusiness.com) who helped me to understand social media marketing for your business. Thank you all. You have enriched both my professional and my personal life.

As has been the case for most of my life, I try to pay forward the lessons/gifts that I have received. It is one of the most gratifying things I have done and will continue to do.

What about you? Are mentoring someone? Do you have a mentor?(you should. I’m looking to see who I can learn from next) I’ll be creating a structured mentorship program for Personal Trainers soon, but in the meantime, if I can be of any help to you, please ask. 

Best wishes all and do the mentor BOGO.

(A little School House Rock flashback.)

Functional training has been a buzz phrase for over a decade now. For many, it has meant using stability balls, medicine balls, balance devices, tubing, etc. And, while using them can aid us in our efforts to increase functional abilities, they are not functional in and of themselves.

What is function? Function is your ability to do a particular task or activity. If you haven’t thought out precisely what activity you want to improve, than all of the bells and whistles exercises are meaningless. What is functional for one person may not be for someone else.

First, define what activities need to be improved. Determine what is limiting it. Is it a lack in stability, mobility, strength, balance, or something else?

In example, say someone has difficulty climbing stairs without pulling themselves by the railing using the upper body. The issue may be strength. The most functional exercise might be, well… climbing stairs. As is often the case, people tend to do less of those things that are difficult. That only makes it more difficult. Depending on how difficult climbing stairs is, you may want to start stepping up on something that only half the height of the normal stair, or a quarter. Step up and try to maintain balance on that one leg for a moment. As you get stronger, raise the height of the step until it is full, normal step height. Then practice doing your staircase.

Another example is if you want to get better at carrying your suitcase through the airport, you may want to hold a weight in one hand and walk for a set distance (1 handed farmers walk).

So, as you think about doing functional training, remember that it’s not just about the tool you’re using, in order for it to be functional, it has to relate directly a particular activity that you want to get better at.