The Weekly Word

What I Have Been Thinking About...
These past few years I have stumbled into working in schools and I have to say, I have been enjoying it. It all started when our daughter was in pre-school and they were in need of a Phys Ed teacher. They asked, I said yes, and from there it has expanded into something I never envisioned I would be doing. Two days each week I teach 7 different classes with kids aging from 3-13 years of age. It is a wild day filled with many ups and downs but it has been such a great experience so far. 

Then, on the other days of the week, I began working at the school where I coach Track and it is like a whole another world. This week I had a first: preparing for an ALICE drill. ALICE is a school safety protocol acronym that stands for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate. It is interesting and I go back and forth on what I think of it. In one breath, I think it is important to be prepared for everything and have an evacuation plan. In another breath I think it is a bit too detailed for some age groups and I feel like you can still prepare without going into great depth on the circumstances surrounding the evacuation or lockdown. I am glad I got to learn and see what one of these drills is like and I feel better prepared to handle a situation in any place if it were to arise. 

Fitness Tip of the Week
The Framingham Study is a 70-year longitudinal research program and what they discovered about longevity was pretty surprising. After gathering two decades worth of data for 5,200 subjects they discovered that the greatest indicator of life span wasn’t genetics, diet, or the amount of daily exercise, as many had suspected. It was lung capacity. Large lungs equaled longer lives.

So how does one improve lung capacity? 

• Breathing exercises like diaphragmatic breathing, pursed lip breathing (in through the nose, out through pursed lips), and alternate nostril breathing (in through one side, out through the other).
• Aerobic Exercise. Long, low level sustained cardiovascular activities do the trick as do shorter, interval style training. I think there is a place for both methods in every training program. 
• Postural Strengthening exercises that will allow for proper lung expansion. Chest up, shoulders back and no slouching!
• Avoid environmental toxins like air pollution and smoking, maintain good indoor air quality, and spend some time outdoors taking in some fresh air!

On Parenting...
I had a nice conversation with a fellow dad this week about being a parent that can be involved in their kids life. This man had children late in his life and as the opportunity to retire presented itself, he jumped at it! In his mind, it was a no brainer to be at home, present, and involved so he can enjoy the years with his kids before they are too grown and out of the house. 

At some point during this talk we began chatting about health and fitness and how we both felt it was important to try and improve yourself so you can be as useful as possible in as many situations as possible. For example, if your kid wants to go for a hike and you need to carry a bunch of gear, you can be useful and be loaded up like a pack mule. Or what about in those instances where a buddy of yours needs help moving something heavy? Can you be useful and offer a hand or do you have to call up some young guys to show you how it is done? To me, being useful and feeling useful is important for ones psyche. After all, who wants to be called useless? 

What I've Been Reading...
Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

My daughter loves watching the kid show Xavier's Riddles. This show shares information about historical figures and one of the episodes featured Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the author of the classic series Sherlock Holmes. After I learned a bit about Doyle, I dove in to his novels and really enjoy them. They are quick and simple (which I am really appreciating at this moment in my life), thought provoking, and engaging as you try to crack the case alongside Holmes and his sidekick Watson. Thumbs up for these classics!

Quote of the Week
"Tolerance will reach such a level that intelligent people will be banned from thinking so as not to offend the imbeciles" -- Fyodor Dostoevsky

I hope you all have an awesome week!Chris Fluck