Fitness Adventures for EveryBODY

Opposite Day

What would happen if everything were opposite? What would you choose to reverse? If someone asked you to describe them in one word, what would that word be? How often do you think about the words you are using? And what response you want to receive from that word?

Hurtful words have different effects. The difference is in the psyche of the person who hears the word. What if that person hears the word “stupid” and earlier that morning they had learned of the death of a favorite uncle. Would the casual drop of those two syllables have the same impact on them if, instead of bad news, they had learned their lottery ticket was the $100 million winner. How about the word 'fat?'

If a word has the potential of hurt, just don’t use it. Period. Life is not a dress rehearsal.

Consequences

The word “instant” is not synonymous with value. In order to make something good and lasting, you need to admit that when you start out, the habit that you are trying to create or change or break will tell you that your efforts are tedious, boring, and unwanted.

 This scenario occurs between your ears. In your head.

Consider this: If someone (not you) – your friend, relative, spouse, children, or someone sitting next to you on the train – voiced identical concerns and doubt, in the same words you hear inside, how would you react?

Acceptance? I doubt it. Some fiber of your being would step up to declare how wrong or misinformed or idiotic the idea was that you couldn’t change something about yourself.

So, the next time you decide to start eliminating the negative elements of your life – be it too much sugar, a weakness for doughnuts, an unwillingness to exercise, being too stubborn to consider both sides of a question – be strong. Mute the voice of doubt inside your head.

Know that anything worth doing will not be instant. Consider, as put forth by Seth Godin, the concept of “Hard Work vs. Long Work”

Go forth. Know that you are not denying or subtracting sugar, or lack of exercise, or hatred from your existence. You are ADDING something good, lasting and beautiful to your very being.

The Power of Growing Older

I am now three months into my personal ‘get-back-into-those-overpriced-white-wool-slacks’ program with Taylor Catrett. I started right before Halloween, not merely for the back-into-my-pants goal, but so that I could eat as many pieces of candy corn as I could without not being able to face myself in the mirror just before Thanksgiving. Better yet, eat two pieces of mince and three pieces of homemade apple pie, to demonstrate Pilgrims’s Progress.

The other holidays, Christmas, New Years’ and various January birthdays, will come to a mental end on Super Bowl Sunday, coming the first week of February. But wait, here comes Valentine’s Day and all those heart-shaped chocolate mind patties. Dare I stop, especially as I can now wear those white wool slacks? Actually, I don’t wear them that much, as every time I do, I have to take them to the dry cleaners. And that hurts my budget, so I am looking for ways to ease the attacks on my bank account.

Just for fun, I started looking for free stuff on the Internet so that I can keep my fingers busy, out of the bowl of candy, and away from the dry cleaners.

Thank goodness I am old. Advantages to this start with FREE STUFF.

You don’t even have to belong to AARP to start your own program. Click here for today’s offering, a full list of stuff, beginning with the story of a woman who got a free house.

Other free stuff can start with the library, where you can find information about just about anything. And, here’s my shameless plug for my workplace: Almaden Valley Athletic Club, where we have a free lecture on Money Management on Tuesday, February 1. Click here to find out more.

And, keep on moving.

Peace on Girth

Who’s on your list?

If you want to give someone a head-start on health, the gift of feeling good enough to face each new day with joy, join a club where the members are on the same path in good company, why not place a membership in their hands? It’s the best way to say “Hey, I love everything about you and want to keep you around as long as possible!”

If you live in San Jose, Almaden Valley Athletic Club is the place.

Now, throughout the world, others you might not be able to reach need your help. If education is the way you think a child can get out of stinging poverty, visit along with a link to The Last Word’s Lawrence O’Donnell and UNICEF’s fundraising efforts to build desks for the children of Malawi. $50 gets a child off a dirt floor and seated at a desk.

On the home front, AVAC’s own Afy Dibazar coordinated a warm coat drive that collected 265 coats and jackets, plus 10 blankets for Sacred Heart Community Service.

Wishing everyone some peace on girth . . . earth, in 2011. Start on January 8 at AVAC's Open House Health Fair! The Stanford Bloodmobile will be in our back parking lot from 10:30 am to 2:30 pm. Give the gift of life! Clck here to make your appointment.

We are truly lucky to be here. Spread the word!

Becoming the Best You Can Be

“Man is the only creature who refuses to be what he is.”   Albert Camus

So, what are we? Can we make ourselves better? Smarter? Thinner? Can we overcome our shortcomings with one of the only factors that separate us from the animals with whom we share the earth?

Technology.

Or, will we continue to be blinded by our ‘natural’ inclination to consider ourselves superior, therefore immune to what is so substantiated by fact that it’s silly to think we ‘think’ any other way?

We are caught in our own denial system. A refusal to admit that perhaps the top of the food chain might merely be the top of a small mound of bias.

Cooking Up the Evolutionary Ladder

Heribert Watzke is a scientist at Nestle corporation in Switzerland who shares that the fact that we ‘cook’ moves us up a notch. He is working on foods that could overcome our natural inclination to obesity. Or anorexia. His work is based on research into the anatomy of our stomachs. The most amazing fact it that this organ contains millions of nerve cells, cells not unlike the neurons found in our brains. Hence, a dilemma or opportunity.  Learn about this at TED’s October release.

How do you overcome your shortcomings?

First, I think, is the action of admitting that they exist. Whether it’s cleaning out the closet, changing the way you approach money, deciding to smile more or getting rid of the ‘gut,’ it’s up to you.

Uncommon courtesy.

Wikipedia: Courtesy is gentle politeness and courtly manners. In the Middle Ages in Europe, the behavior expected of the gentry was compiled in courtesy books. The greatest of these was Il Cortegiano (The Courtier) which not only covered basic etiquette and decorum but also provided models of sophisticated conversation and intellectual skill.[

So, there it is. You know what it is. I know what it is. But, do you use it when it’s needed. “When,” you ask. “When do I need to use it?”

Every day. Every time you meet with a little glitch in life’s path. Often, that glitch is simply another human being. A person who is taking up space in your world. Interfering with your lane (the fast one). Disagreeing with you.

Fail to use courtesy and you rend yourself from any solution to whatever problem you face. Fail to use courtesy and you automatically enter the realm of always having to say you’re sorry.

Here at the Club, there are some members who think certain machines belong to them. That certain spots on the floor of the GroupFit Room during a Zumba class are their ‘space.’ Another turns off the flatscreen TV on the Fitness Floor, simply because he doesn’t want to see the Club’s information loop.

More and more lately, it seems rudeness rules. We are a reflection of the bad manners seen all too often from the top, on the floor of Congress, on the road, in lines at concession stands. At Town Hall meetings.

Bad manners seem to be rampant, along with deceit and ignorance. It’s time to review the meaning of the word ‘courtesy.” No. Not review. USE IT. Or, we risk losing more than our space or place in line.

I hope our members can be 'courteous' to our guests at our Open House on Saturday, June 19. A little common sense and compassion goes a long, long way.

Talk about sibling rivalry!

Here's one for the books!

Abby Sunderland is attempting to sail around the world in a little more than five months (I know, you need a boat to sail, but this is my nod to displaced modifiers). Talk about goals for the year!

So what? Well, her brother Zack did it in 13 months and two days. Abbey set out last Saturday. Check out her progress, notes, adventures by viewing her Web page. Talk about sibling rivalry!

Then, take a look at your own goals. Part of defying age is coming up with something new to do. I just started yoga and only went back to the first few classes so that I could move my muscles again. Now, I'm hooked. We have a new class at AVAC at 6 am on Friday mornings. Check it out.

The most important valentine in your life is your own heart. The beat goes on! What's in your heart? Zing me back. Good luck, Abbey!

You are what you think.

Your state of mind – whether you are an optimist or pessimist – is not hard-wired into your psyche. Rather, much like learning to play a musical instrument, improving your golf game or how to knit a sweater or construct furniture, it is a matter of habit.

Yes. It’s a habit. And, habits are formed over a period of time. Good habits take no longer to form than harmful ones.

Great harm comes from pessimism. Pessimism comes from thoughts of loss, unfulfilled expectation and, most powerful of all, fear.

Think of the process like this: Would you allow a stranger (or friend, for that matter) to tell you the things you tell yourself? I don’t think so.

So, start today by allowing some sunshine into your life. And stop worrying. Some people even worry about the noises coming from their stomach!

Optimist. Start to believe, really believe, that you have the ability to influence events in your life. Believe. I did not say actually do, or perform, simply believe.

Focus on the now. The moment. Not what’s going to happen tomorrow or if or when you get to heaven. This is self-defeating, gives rise to mad thoughts and perilous action, and does not do anyone any good.

So, Now. Check out what’s happening at Almaden Valley Athletic Club.

Have we lost our memory? Here's a test.

Is it true that the older you get the more you lose your memory? Take this simple test to find out how you stand (or sit). Clue: I got eight. This is also my opinion. Do you have one??

Remembering. This country seems to have forgotten important facts. Like how Medicare was fought for – and opposed – by some of the most outspoken Americans in history. “Rationale” like ‘rationing,’ ‘shortage of doctors,’ taking care of elder people is the responsibility of their families,’ and other short-sighted opinions were proved wrong in so many ways. Now, we need to remember how valuable the system is. How it only registers 3% administrative costs. And how 147,000 people each year die because they did not have access to health care without going bankrupt.

This country seems to have forgotten how we obtained the most significant portion of our land in 1803. The Louisiana Purchase added diversity, enormous natural resources and potential to the new nation. How did it happen? If you have about 15 minutes, read the entire history by clicking here. In short, the slave revolt in Haiti had one result – Napoleon Bonaparte abandoning his plans to re-establish a French empire in the west. So, we owe our might to this little brave land. When you take a closer look, the last two presidents suspended aid, and dumped toxic agricultural ‘deals’ on the country and literally robbed Haitians of their birthright and wealth. Now, it's time to help them. To undo what has been done. You know how to do it. One way, is the American Red Cross.

This country seems to have forgotten how important it is to stand up for beliefs, beliefs based on fact. Until Martin Luther King, Jr. put into words the need for realizing the American dream for all Americans, not just white men, we were a third-world country. We run the risk of remaining so, unless the American dream can be realized by all. What's more, women have come a long way after equal voting rights were obtained by the hard work of Dr. King, Lyndon Johnson, and other visionaries whose ideas have become blurred by those who re-write history, instead of heeding it.

This country needs to remember, today and every day, that our might depends on the health and wealth of all its people. It depends on knowing the facts – facts that are overlooked by a media that is owned by large corporate entities. The country needs to truth. And it’s become harder and harder to find it. 

I urge you not to believe what you hear or read, unless you experience it personally. And research, research, research. It will help you remember, as each new fact or thought you learn, activates a neuron in your brain. And keeps you strong. Exercise your mind as well as your body. Join a club. If it's AVAC, so much the better.

Thinking about calories is as bad as eating them.

Welcome to the Unresolutions Anonymous Meeting. My name is "What Didn't I Eat During the Holidays?" and I am unresolved. Again.

I was going to speak of where I would be in 365 days. 2011. Will I be sitting on a plane, flying to a remote island where winter is only something read about in books? Who will be sitting next to me? Why am I going? What size pants am I wearing.

That reamed the dream. So many statistics. So much hype about resolving to lose the fat generated from the mince pie I ate – not in 2009, but in 2005. Enough. No resolutions on me. No way. I call it “unrealistic foxhaulin”  – my phrase for unmitigated fantasy.

Let’s deal with today. And the fact that, according to the New York Times blogger Tara Parker-Pope, it’s time to stop worrying about your health. Counting your calories or wondering whether you’ve eaten the perfect combination of protein and carbs, is a waste of brain cells.

Of course, we should be worrying about the state of healthy care in America. Yes. I said “Healthy Care” because that’s the only type of service we receive from insurance companies. If you get sick, look out. The fact that you are reading this, and perhaps a member of an athletic club (we call them health clubs for a reason), you might want to give yourself a pat on the back – a good yoga move! Just moving through the day can be beneficial. I heard Dr. Nancy Snyderman this morning extolling the benefits of a little device worn around a person’a neck that monitors everything . . . calories, metabolism and movement. And, if you don’t move enough through the day, you get an email message.

The benefits of exercise are immediately apparent, but the Wall Street Journal has found ones that are not so visible, except in the realm of how long you can go without getting sick. Or exiting in a hail of disease.

So, get up and walk. Join a club. If you find one of those monitors that jabs you when you are still too long, simply turn your worrying over to technology. Then, I suppose, send the thing to the shrink when you become bigger than your airplane seat. A shrink to help you shrink. Any ideas? If you want to see what people look like while they are not thinking about health, but having fun, come to the AVAC Open House on Saturday, January 16. We've even got Laughing Yoga!