What I've Been Thinking About...
I was a party recently and while snacking on some food, a life long friend came over and said, "Still doing the health thing I see". I responded with, "yes, I believe I am". Then they said, "it's practically your lifestyle at this point, right?" I said, "yes, I believe it is". They then went on to criticize the food choices they were making and moved on to converse with someone else.

Some of these people were friends with me for most of my life. They remember post-high school Chris as being a bit of a mess in regards to his health. He ate whatever, drank whatever and exercised in a way that wasn't always conducive to being fit. This was a path to slow destruction of my over well-being. The question of "how much do you bench?" was more important than "how big is your waist?" It took years to even get to the point of deciding to get healthier and the combination of a life altering experience (the death of my brother) and meeting the right person (that is you Marisa if you are reading this) finally got me on the right path. 

So what am I getting at with all this? Life is a journey and each year, if you can make it a little more enjoyable, you are doing something right. Old School Chris had a lot to learn and over the years, he started experimenting with different habits. He threw out what didn't work for his lifestyle and kept what did. Over the years, this slow and steady approach has led to some drastic changes in mind and body. Small, incremental change can be a very powerful tool. So powerful that people who haven't seen you in 10 years don't recognize the person you have become...hopefully for the better!

Fitness Tip of the Week
A great way to maximize time and work on all areas of training is to create a mini-circuit or tri-set that includes the following three things: Mobility, Carries and Strength. Lets discuss how to build this program. Lets say you are going to do a pushup. What is involved in performing this act? Chest and shoulders. So, before doing your set of pushups, you perform a stretch that will help loosed those muscles to ensure proper form. Then you pick up a weight and carry it overhead to wake up the shoulder stabilizers and get your trunk warm and ready for action. Then, you perform the pushup. Lets say you are doing 3 sets of 8. Prior to each set, you perform the mobility and the carry. Same concepts for the lower body. Mobility to get loose, sled to get the muscles firing, strength move to get jacked! 

These three tenants support every day life. We want to get up off the floor or out of bed with no discomfort. How do we do that? By staying supple. We want to be able to carry our kid or move a couch with friends without injuring ourselves. How do we do that? By carrying or pushing/dragging sleds for distance. Lastly, we want to fight father time by building and maintaining lean muscle. How do we do that? By performing strength exercises.   

David & Goliath and Parenting
One of my favorite books ever written is Malcolm Gladwell's David & Goliath. I realize I must reference this book often as I ran into an old friend in Easton a few weeks ago and he said, "I read one of the books you mentioned in your newsletter". I asked which one and his response was "David and Goliath". The premise of this book is about how perceived advantages are not really advantages at all. In Goliath's case, he was a huge individual weighed down by armor and heavy weaponry. David was able to strike him at a distance because he was a skilled marksmen and was able to be fleet of foot. The size and armor meant nothing in this battle and actually was a hindrance for Goliath (RIP). 

I was talking with a friend recently who was sharing a story about their child's school experience. While there, the kid gets wrapped up in certain tasks and when it is time to switch and transition to something else, they are in such a zone that they block everything else out, including the teacher talking the them. This leads to child being described as "doesn't listen" (perceived disadvantage) which to me is a bit harsh, unfair and short sighted. As I think about the big picture, a child who has the ability to focus on something with such intensity may actually be a gift. As the child grows in a world filled with endless distractions, this ability will serve them very well so long as what they find interest in serves humanity.   

What I've Been Listening...
I have been listening to interviews with Gabor Mate, a physician and author that specializes in trauma, addiction, stress and childhood development, and each time my mind is blown. In conversations with both Tim Ferriss and Joe Rogan, the role of early childhood treatment and development is greatly emphasized. He even goes so far to say that the stress in a pregnant mothers life will greatly effect how that child perceives the world. Imagine a pregnant mother in an abusive relationship, or in his case, trying to evade the Nazi's, and the amount of stress hormones being released to the body and to the womb. That fight or flight response being constantly activated will impact how that child manages their feelings and their response to stressors as they go through their life.

Hearing it from him will do more justice than me writing about it but I will say this: if you are a parent, everything you do matters. How you talk to your spouse matters. How you handle a crying child matters. Where your child sleeps in the early stages of life matters. How you respond to conflict matters. It all matters. This parenting thing is no joke!

Quote of the Week
"If we learn nothing else from this tragedy, we learn that life is short and there is no time for hate" -Sandy Dahl, wife of Flight 93 pilot Jason Dahl who lost his life on September 11th
I hope you all have an awesome week!
Chris Fluck

Summer is Officially Over...
Tuesday marked the end of summer for us as our daughter made her big return to pre-school. All summer long she was pumped to return and then about two weeks ago, she changed her tune. We saw a few glimmers of this throughout the summer as she was hesitant to go to places she loves like Pony Camp. We didn't know what to expect on day one but when she saw a few familiar faces at the door greeting her, she was all smiles!

As I prepared her lunch one day this morning, I realized I was a little bit down in the dumps. I think our entire family has been a little spoiled in the fact that our businesses are at home which allows us to spend a lot of time together and we all took that for granted. Last week I spoke about telling yourself, or your child, a little mantra to get through some tough emotions. I am going to stay with that theme as I try to tell myself over and over that the goal of a parent is to prepare the child for the road and not the road for the child. At some point, we have to let them get on that road of uncertainty and intrigue to explore what the world has to offer... good and bad. 

Fitness Tip of the Week
Now, with that being said, back to school means a little more free time on my end which I am going to try to make the most of. If you are a parent who finds some extra time in their schedule, even if it isn't much, I have a little challenge for you. Over the next 30 days, I want you to improve your physicall fitness and overall well-being. How will you do that? By challenging yourself to complete 20 workouts over the next 30 days. 

What constitutes a workout? Strength training, yoga, a 30+ minute brisk walk, a 20+ minute run, or breaking a sweat on any other cardiovsacular device or training modality you may be comfortable using. This is intentional exercise where you take some time for yourself to better yourself.

What I've Been Thinking About...
For probably close to a decade I have been thinking about the dwindling numbers of kids who participate in athletics. This goes back to my time coaching athletics which began around 2010. Over the years I have seen small football teams, wrestling programs with 2-3 kids on the team, and more recently, sports teams like soccer and baseball not having enough athletes to field a Junior Varsity team. Initially, my thoughts were that there must be some sort of disconnect between youth and high school sports but there is more going on here. 

The Aspen Institute releases their State of Play report every year and while looking at the 2021 trends in youth athletics, I came across some numbers that I have not been able to comprehend. From 2012 to 2019 (this is pre-COVID lockdowns), sport participation decreased in males aged 6-12 from 49.1% to 39.1%. A whopping 10% decrease! In girls of the same age, the numbers went from 33.5% to 32.7%. A small decrease but this makes me wonder, only 33% of young girls play sports? (This is a problem that will be addressed in a future newsletter) Now, for kids aged 13-17 in the same time frame, male participation went from 51.1% to 43.5% and in females from 39.0% to 34.8%. 

Are you ready for a potential new theory/thought experiment: These years align almost perfectly with the rise of social media. This is mere speculation at this point as I am not able to show a cause and effect but it does show a correlation: social media trends upward, sport participation trends downward. 

What I've Been Reading...
The Clergyman's Daughter by George Orwell

George Orwell is one of my favorite writers. His book Animal Farm will forever be a favorite and his other work is equally impressive. What turned me on to his writing happened a few years ago when I read "All Art is Propaganda" which is a collection of critical essays that he penned over the years. Anyway, this book is Orwell's least favorite, one in which he requested to never be printed again. 

At the moment, the pastor's daughter has a spell of amnesia and finds herself in the midst of moving around with various homeless groups. She finally comes to realize who she is but can't seem to figure out a way to get back home. She has written to her father on numerous occasions but has not heard back. She is aware of what the newspapers have been saying about her mysterious disappearance and fears her father may believe the scandalous stories and is ashamed of her. Plus, she comes from a small town and knows that there must be tons of gossip going on there and worries that even know the story isn't true, nobody is going to believe her. 

Quote of the Week
"What really frightens and dismays us is not external events themselves, but the way in which we think about them. It is not things that disturb us, but our interpretation of their significance" -- Epictetus
I hope you all have an awesome week!
Chris Fluck

​What I've Been Thinking About...
For as long as Marisa and I have been together, we have been frequent visitors of the Easton Farmers Market on Saturday mornings. Over the years we have gotten to know some of the vendors and have become quite friendly with a handful of them. This year we have met the owners of De Novo Creamery who sell great tasting non-dairy ice cream. I highly recommend! 

During a conversation yesterday one of the owners was sharing a story of how she realized her interest in the culinary world. While in high school, she signed up for Home Ec but only three kids were registered. The school decided not to offer the class but instead offered a Culinary program. On Mondays they made the menu, on Wednesdays the students placed an order, and on Fridays the food was prepared and delivered. In was during this class that she realized what she wanted to do for the rest of her life. How awesome is that?

When you hear stories about different programs getting cut from high schools or not being a requirement to graduate, it leads me to think about all the kids who may have missed out on an opportunity to be exposed to something that may have been their calling. I think about the kids who never learn how to play an instrument, the kids who never complete an art project or learn the importance of health & fitness in physical education. These missed opportunities carry over into the rest of their life. This culinary class lit a fire in a young girl that led her down the path that she is on now. 

Fitness Tip of the Week
Do hard things. As I write this, my hands hurt from the new program I started. My grip is depleted. I am tired. I also have an inkling that there may be some sore muscles coming in a day or two, but yet, I feel accomplished. Before I move on, let me make something clear: I am no masochist. I don't enjoy discomfort and I don't enjoy sore muscles. I actually whine about it but whining doesn't get you anywhere. Neither does being comfortable. If progress is the name of the game, we have to get a little uncomfortable. As we age and move through life, you either build or decay. Father Time is a cruel master.  

In addition to the health benefits, facing challenges in the physical domain, and overcoming them will prepare you for challenges in the non-physical world. If we do hard things in the gym, in the pool or on the trail, we can use that success to carry us through obstacles outside of the gym. If you fight through a workout when it gets tough, or continue running when you have nothing left in the tank, you can push through some paperword or get up early on a Sunday to finish a newsletter that gets sent in less than an hour.

What I've Been Reading
How the Weak Win Wars by Ivan Arreguin-Toft

This book was referenced in Malcolm Gladwell's David and Goliath where he discusses how percevied advantages may not actually be advantages. I bought this book at a time where there was no major conflict going on in the world. I remember talking to a Marine in February about how I just don't see how two countries can fight a conventional war. We talked about the style of fighting that went on in places like Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan and how that style of fighting has taken over in recent decades. Since that conversation, Russia invades Ukraine and I now realize how wrong I was!

My expectation for reading this book is to understand how David's beat Goliath on the world stage and if any of these lessons apply to everday challenges. MLK once said that "there is a war going on" inside of all of us. Everyone's battle looks a little different and sometimes, you are going to be outmatched. In these instances, are we going to be able to channel our inner "David" and find a way to conquer our inner "Goliath"? 

Lessons from Pre-school
Our daughters pre-school teacher uses the phrase, "calm your body" when the youngsters get worked up. Marisa and I both liked this phrase and began using it at times with our daughter and for the most part, it has been very useful. Early in the week, Emilia and I were leaving the gym and she took a tumble. After scraping her knee on some rocks, she was ready to have a moment. I could see the tears were on their way so I tried to center her attention on something else. I got down on her level and told her to take a deep breathe, that I understood the pain she might be feeling and the sooner she can calm her body, the sooner it will heal up and feel better. I told her to calm her body and then we can talk. She listened, took a few breaths and was able to avoid getting really worked up. I thought to myself, "wow, that worked surprisingly well!"

Having the ability to self regulate and go from a moment of panic to a moment of calmness is an incredible tool to have in your toolbox. I try to remember this myself when frustration sets in. In moments of high stress or anxiety, saying a phrase like "calm your body", or any other mantra, to yourself over and over again may allow you to pause for a moment, to breathe, gain your composure, recenter your attention and perform whatever task it may be that needs to be done. If a four year old could do it, a grown man should be able to as well! 

Quote of the Week
"Do not press a desperate enemy" -- Sun Tzu
I hope you all have an awesome week!
Chris Fluck