I'm All Natural Baby

Do you race through a grocery store, snatch up everything labelled 'natural' and go home feeling good about yourself? Well, hold your natural horses. You may have been hoodwinked. Actually, there's no 'may' about it, you've been taken. The FDA is having a difficult time defining exactly what 'natural' means so ah, they don't. They stay out of it. Meaning they have guidelines where the word organic can be used but natural, not so much. There are natural cookies, natural fake juices and even natural cheetos. I'm not suggesting that you shouldn't feel good about yourself in general, go ahead. Just not about buying foods labeled 'natural'.
It's truly sad in that where companies have no right to claim that their product is organic, they attempt the next best 'title', natural. As if we're not going to know the difference. Well, sadly many of us are falling for it. In fact when the FDA claimed that they didn't consider High Fructose Corn Syrup to be natural some heavyweight food manufactures blasted the FDA, claiming that 'hey, it comes from corn!' Natural or not High Fructose Corn Syrup is no friend to any of us. (See archive of this blog "That Friggin' Fructose").
So what do we do? What we've always been able to do; read the label! It's as simple as that. Now get up and take your natural butts to the gym or wherever else you get your fitness on!

Work Breaks...Ya better Take 'Em!

Are you one of those employees who works non-stop without taking a break? If you are, tsk tsk! More and more studies show that this is neither healthy nor smart. Ever ask yourself why you work this way? I'm going to say it's fear based. Fear of not getting things done. Which would lead to what? Getting in trouble, or not getting a raise (and certainly not getting praise) and worst case; getting fired, the boot, s-canned, walking papers and so on. But it may not be as drastic as all of that. Maybe you want to rush home to family or beat traffic. Or better yet (maybe) you want to hit the gym on the way home, yeah!

I can almost hear you saying, “why should I take breaks? I can power through. I rock”. These studies show that we as human machines are far more productive when we take breaks. We can clear our minds during the break. Or if we need to focus on a problem often being away from the desk is more efficient. Now we're on to something. If we take breaks and are thus more efficient we won't get into trouble, we'll get that raise (and the praise we've been missing since childhood) and voila—promotion. Ha! We won't hear the old, “hit the bricks,” line. We have just conquered that fear thing and we're more rested for it. Hmm, more relaxed and a raise? What a concept.

It may be difficult in the beginning. You may feel like you're missing out on productivity or that the other guy is getting more done. Don't get sucked into those feelings. They are fear based as well. Remember, you are now a leaner, more energized, clear headed fighting machine. And don't worry, the breaks don't need to be lengthy.

Dig this, you're at the gym lifting weights. It's your back and bicep day. The plan is to do 6 different exercises, 3 back and 3 bicep. And you plan on doing 3 sets of each. In between each set you rest for one minute. You rest so your fatigued muscles can catch a breather before firing up the next set and subsequent exercises. After 35-40 minutes you're done and feeling good. Somebody you think is cute checked you out from the treadmill and an instructor clocked you up and down with an approving eye. Muscles worked, ego boosted; mission accomplished.

Now let's go back to the beginning of the workout but in a parallel universe where you do the exact same workout with no breaks in between sets/exercises. You finish your workout a few minutes earlier but that is where the upside ends. You found you got progressively weaker as the workout moved on. You had to lighten up some of your weights. You dragged your butt from station to station. Treadmill admirer admired someone else. Instructor gives you nothing but a pitiful shake of the head. See where I'm going here folks? You performed inefficiently because the muscles could not regroup. The same goes for your brain during the work day. But give the mind two 15 minute coffee breaks and a 30 minute lunch and baby you can't lose.

Let's look at the whole week. Eight hour day, 5 days a week without breaks that's 40 hours. With breaks we're talking 1 hour break per day multiply this by 5 days, we get 5 hours of chill and recovery time per week. You might think, 'forget it I want to be home or to the gym an hour earlier'. But the payoff for the person who takes the 5 hour per week break is that by the weekend he/she has more energy through the weekend; they've been more productive at work; and had better workouts during the week. The 'break taker' doesn't have back and neck soreness because they stretch, (even briefly), during their breaks and they possess a more calm mind. One that isn't racing constantly and still 'talking' to you when you're trying to fall asleep at night. One must also keep in mind that the loved ones that you are racing home to see will no doubt love you more if you take those breaks...even if you arrive an hour later! Breaks are good for the body and good for the soul, so take em' while you still can!

Defense Against The Headlock

Here's a quick defense tip. Be you male or female at some point, no doubt through no fault of your own, you may find yourself in a headlock. Here is what it is: The basic headlock applier (if right handed) will wrap their right hand around your neck and bend you forward. Their right fist will be under your chin and their left hand will grab their right wrist to secure the 'lock'. Now then, before long they will notice that this hold won't choke you out (cause you to fall asleep and snore on the pavement).

In frustration or anger they will then attempt to punch you in the face with their left fist...much like any self respecting hockey player might do. They may also tilt your head up hoping to feed the fist to your pretty face. First of all; DON'T PANIC. Okay, now then, take your right hand and attempt to block two of his punches. It doesn't matter if you actually block the punches it's more about the 'head-locker' focusing on your blocks. Keep that chin of yours tucked as well. After two blocks make your right hand into a fist and give the attacker two quick and very firm punches to his groin. If either one connects you shall be free to run away, taunt or shout, "shame on you, you side-winding head-locking assailant!" Mission accomplished!

Remember, good people don't start trouble but they do defend for good, not evil!

Goals...think outside of the box

How many of you out there have say, set a New Year's resolution to lose 20lbs? You join a gym, work out for six weeks and 'dang it' the scale tells you you're a quiet 17 lbs. shy of your mark. Or you're a bridesmaid 10 weeks out from the big day and you just found out that not even Gabrielle Reece could rock the hideous form fitting taffeta on a low carb day. So, you plan on running three days a week and doing 100 crunches a day until that extra 25 lbs is gone...only to find that the night before the bridal shower, (that you didn't want to attend) you've only lost 7 lbs.

How about we go bigger. How about we set a goal outside of the usual weight loss box. One that's outside of our comfort zone. For example, why not choose a specific activity such as 'I'm going to do a marathon' or 'I'm going to do a biathlon in six months'. Or 'I'm going to get my yellow belt in tai kwon do.' Sound ominous, daunting and not to mention scary? Wait, don't go anywhere. Bear with me. Ninety per cent of us want to lose weight, firm up and look good. That is the end result- goal, let's say. If you take on an 'outside the box' goal as mentioned above there is a greater benefit. These goals take extreme focus.They take dedication and commitment. So, right there you are using mind power (as opposed to six months on a treadmill to nowhere which takes limited cerebral activity). Mind and body working together; how Eastern of you!

Next, this goal will take research. What sort of diet do marathon runners eat? How much protein per day? How many carbs? Do I run 3 days per week or every day? This research falls under the aforementioned commitment and focus. During this training period you will undergo a mini lifestyle change. Do ya see where I'm headin' here folks?

Lifestyle change is perhaps the hugest key of all. (Hugest sounds like a word Donald Trump would use). You've trained for 8 months, changed your eating habits, run until you're blue in the face (not literally I hope) gone through two pairs of shoes, driven everyone crazy with your talk of runner's high and finally...completed the race. Voila! You've achieved the BIG goal! You did it! Oh and look, your body looks great. You not only feel great but you're also full of pride. And now the new disciplined you can train for another marathon or take your new true grit and knock down the next goal; climbing mount Everest...or whatever.

The 'out of the box' goal calls for motivation and keeps one motivated. Challenge yourself. Do the tangible thing that pushes you and gets you that rockin' physique in the process. Some of you readers I've met and some I haven't but I believe in all of you. So set the BIG goal and go get it like a big dog!

Push Up Challenge

Many people struggle with push ups. Many of my young athletic clients have trouble with the push up because it's new to them. All thanks to schools cutting back on proper phys ed. classes. At the same time many adults struggle with the push up because they either haven't done them in a while or they're carrying a little more body weight than they would like. Ladies, don't for one second think that its an easy exercise for all men either. I've seen many a dude huffin' and a puffin' by their eighth rep.

So what is it about this simple woman vs. gravity exercise. First of all it's a great exercise that requires no equipment. It also works the chest, triceps, shoulders, core and back. You're probably thinking 'Wow! Do you mean I don't need to climb into a machine that looks like a space ship which requires two spotters and medical insurance?' You got it Pontiac! You may also be thinking 'ah shucks, a push up is for those guys in the military circa early 1980's'...Officer and a gentleman type stuff' No way, the push up is back so you might as well get down (literally) with it.

But where was the illustrious push up? Why did it nearly go the way of the dodo bird? Well, let's see. In the 1980's Jane Fonda and the aerobic video crowd took the world by storm. Along with it came Richard Simmons, who certainly deserves his props, but these folk were more about cardio, step aerobics, then jazzercise and spandex. Soon came the nautilus machine which endorsers claimed was better than free weights and everything else before it...including the man made push up. But thanks to trainers like Tony Horton (p90x creator), Bill Phillips, Cathe Friedrich and many others the basic push up is back. Naturally when a new flavor is in town a gimmick must accompany. I'm referring to the 'perfect push up'-an apparatus that causes the wrists to rotate during the push up. Gimmick or no, I'm just happy that the basic push up is back!

I have a client, whom I shall call Miriam. One afternoon at work she uttered to a co-worker that she could do ten real push ups, not the ones from her knees. Another co-worker, a former marine (although they're never really former) challenged her to a contest. They decided that in a month's time he would do 100 push ups and she would do 25. When she asked me if I thought she could do it I said, "tell him it's on!!!" In conjunction with her regular work outs we worked on bench press, push ups from knees, slow push ups, isolated push ups and more. It was a blast. Well, for me it was at least.

The fateful day arrived. I waited impatiently by my iphone all day. Finally a call came in. The screen said Miriam. "Hello," I said with pounding heart.

"I won! I did 30. I did 30 f-ing push ups and he only did 60!" I was over the moon with pride. I put the phone down, did a cartwheel and came back to the phone. "That's awesome!" I yelled. Miriam ended up winning a very nice bottle of wine...which she insisted on sharing with my wife and me. And who was I to disappoint.

The Front Kick...it's not just for breakfast anymore

Ah yes, the illustrious front kick. You don't need to be a martial artist to use this kick. Just ask 90% of t.v. and movie action actors who've played cops kicking in doors or busting out car windows. The front kick would be the kick they apply. Granted, Hollywood doors are made of balsa wood and toothpicks while the windows are breakaway glass made of sugar but it sure looks cool doesn't it? Yeehaw!

No doubt you have applied this kick to your fender when your car wouldn't start or to a vending machine when it would'nt cough up the M&M's. Wait! Why are you eating anything out of a vending machine in the first place? But I digress. Let's kick shall we.

Start with your strong leg back (rear leg) and weaker leg forward (foreleg). Keep the elbows in tight and hands up to protect your face. Great! This is your fighting stance. Now, raise your rear leg and bring the knee up in front of you. Imagine this is the first stage of moving into the classic Karate Kid stance. Lift up to the ball of the foot of the leg you're standing on (formerly foreleg). Okay, fire that strong leg straight out and aim it at your opponent's knee, groin or stomach. Strike with the ball of your foot not the toes. If you do use the toes you'll hear the sound of 4-5 candy canes snapping in winter...and those will be your toes. You can also use your flat foot, especially the heel as in the case of kicking open the aforementioned solid oak door.

There are essentially two versions of this kick. One is the quick kick that darts out like a snake's tongue and recoils just as quickly. This can disrupt an opponent's attack, it can give you time to take on attacker #2 and even fall a man if you catch him squarely in his family jewels. Version two has more power and is often referred to as a 'shove kick'. As an action hero we (okay they) often use this one to kick a villain through the window of a high rise building, or into a giant spinning buzz saw. (I don't advise kicking someone into a buzz saw while wearing a nice tux (fellas) or fave Vera Wang number (ladies)...what with spatter and all). With the shove kick you slightly move your hips forward and lean back upon impact. If timed correctly you can send your opponent a great distance, and thus feel really good about yourself.

Please note that while this is one of the easier kicks to learn, like all strikes in martial arts it takes a great deal of time and practice to perfect. Repetition is the key. And please use this kick and other forms of attack for good, not evil. Now go kick some ass! (for good)

DIET is a four letter word

balance...


As of late many of my clients (and not just the ladies) are subscribing to what I believe is a crazy subconscious notion. And that is, "if I don't eat too much during the day I'll lose weight. Yah!" I say subconscious because who in their conscious mind would believe that after eight hours of sleep a rice cake with a half teaspoon of peanut butter will get them through their work day? Children know this is insanity. Try putting a toddler on this diet and ten minutes past lunch time she'll cry, scream, pout, hold her stomach and more. But we as educated grown ups actually choose this nonsensical behavior. Believe me I've heard it all: "I don't know where the time went?...I'm too busy at work to stop and eat...My fridge is empty, I need to shop...I'm just not hungry during the day..." Poppycock, hooey and balderdash!

This kooky life choice be it conscious or not comes under the diet umbrella and it is pure madness. Let's be clear, your diet is all that you put in YOU. Experts all over the world agree on this one fact: To be the best you, you can be one needs to have a balanced and healthy diet. As with most things on this lovely planet, balance is the key.

Dieting or semi-starvation can lead to lethargy,depression, decreased attention span, weakness, and the big ones; anorexia and bulimia. But hold the iphone, there's more. Let us not leave out hair loss, anxiety, high blood pressure and more...than I care to list here.

Come on folks use your universe-given intelligence. Your body is a machine and gosh dang it, it needs fuel. When a car runs out of fuel it chokes and sputters until it finally stops moving. Our bodies being more complex than a car are more resilient. The down side is that when we withhold proper sustenance our bodies while fighting for our survival buy us time...to build up all of these symptoms and THEN we pay the ultimate price.

The solution is simple. Eat properly, exercise frequently, get rest and drink lots of water. Follow these fundamentals and you've got the best fighting chance at happiness, strength, energy and longevity.