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What I've Been Working On...
Strength School. I am slowly but surely creating a curriculum that will enable kids and adults to assess, teach and progress to certain levels of strength, fitness and overall well-being. The premise is quite simple, the implementation is where the challenge lies! I have been running some people through the initial assessment and have to admit, so far so good! Our very first Strength School session will begin on September 13th for kids. As we hopefully all know, the business name I chose is Cornerstone Fitness. This concept of laying the cornerstone is an important one as it is the first stone laid for any structure that is built. The cornerstone is the rock in which the weight of the entire structure rests. From there, all other stones are laid in reference to where this cornerstone is. This stone is vital for building a strong, symmetrical foundation. If laid improperly, or not laid at all, the foundation from which we stand upon may crumble. So, part one of our curriculum is setting the cornerstone, part two is going to be building the foundation! Fitness Tip of the Week Find your gaps and improve them. I just finished working with a high school student as he prepared for the Candidate Fitness Assessment test that is required upon entering some of the service academies. The plan for him was a concept that we can all follow as we embark on improving certain aspects of fitness. Point B is our goal. This reference point is well defined. It is where we want to be at. Point A, on the other hand is our current fitness level. This had to be identified and we did this through assessment. After looking at the numbers, we found where his strengths are and where his weaknesses lie. We then created a plan that lifted his weaknesses to an acceptable level by making them our primary focus. Most of our attention went towards this one thing before we moved on to improving another area. If you want to improve something, it needs concentrated focus and effort. For us, we can use this concept to improve our well-being. If you can deadlift 700 pounds but get tired walking up a flight of stairs, maybe you should shift your focus to improving your cardiovascular system rather than trying to go from 700 to 705. Or, if you can run a half marathon but can't do a chinup, it might be a good time to build a little strength. The goal is to find an area of weakness, prioritize that area of weakness, fix it, and then move on to the next area of weakness and repeat the process for the rest of your life! The Power of No, Thank You (link) A few months ago we were visiting family and a relative was trying to give our daughter a hard time. It was past Emi's bedtime and she wasn't feeling his shenanigans in the moment. Marisa told Em, "If you want him to stop, tell him no thank you". She did and he stopped. We stumbled upon that lesson and it made us realize that we need to encourage her to say "no, thank you" in situations where she is not comfortable, even if it is to an adult. Fast forward a few months and I was a part of a situation where, to be quite honest, I didn't know what to do. We were at a friends house for a party and there were a bunch of families in attendance. I didn't know who knew who and made some assumptions that may have been incorrect. To make a long story short, there was a five year old who clearly did not want to continue playing in the pool with a 20-something year old male who had been drinking all day. I heard her whispering to herself, "I don't want to play anymore" as if she was practicing what to say. I went over and sat next to her and asked if she was okay. Then the guy came over and was trying to make peace and to be honest, it was weird and awkward. I didn't know if they knew each other, if they usually play together, or if it was their first time meeting. All I knew was that she was not feeling it on this day. I hung around a bit as Emi was still in the pool and shortly after the awkward moment the playing stopped and all was good. As we drove home Marisa brought up some stuff that was going on that she found to be inappropriate. It was a learning moment for all of us. Lessons From the Sideline You never know when your time is up. Last Saturday we had our first scrimmage and a player on the opposing team experienced a devastating lower leg injury. This kid was a senior and was having a nice game and then it was all over for him. A bad break in his leg, an ambulance ride, and most likely surgery. When he woke up that morning, he did not know that today may be the last day he ever gets to play football with his friends. It was a good reminder to all of us involved in an activity that nothing is guaranteed. Nothing is promised. Take each play, game, day, week, month, year and life one moment at a time because it can be taken from you at a blink of an eye! Quote of the Week "As a well spent day brings a happy sleep, so a life well spent brings happy death" -- Leonardo da Vinci I hope you all have an awesome week! Chris Fluck
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Schedule Update
Summer is slowly coming to an end and this year's edition was a whirlwind! The school schedule brings back a little bit of structure and consistency back into the gym schedule and hope it does the same for you! Starting on August 30th, our gym hours for youth/athletes sessions will be the following:
The first five week program will begin on September 13th and end October 14th. These sessions will run from 5:15 to 6:15. The next session begins October 18th and ends November 18th and these sessions also will run from 5:15 to 6:15. Training groups will be small and we will be limiting the group size to six children. Be on the lookout for more information and registration will be open this week! What I've Been Listening To... You Can't Make This Up: Miracles, Memories, and the Perfect Marriage of Sports and Television by Al Michaels (audiobook) This is a solid sports book that I received as a gift 5+ years ago from a member but like many books that I own, I never dove into it. Then one night I came across it as I was looking for a mindless book to listen to on Scribd, so I decided to give it a listen. This book has decades of sports stories ranging from the World Series game that had an Earthquake, the Miracle on Ice, to Monday Night Football, and much more. As I write this newsletter, Michaels is discussing his friendship with OJ Simpson, Robert Kardashian and others involved in the murder of Nicole Brown. Michaels regularly played tennis with OJ's getaway driver Al Cowlings and was in total shock, like the rest of America, when he learned that Al and OJ were evading police in their white Bronco! Fitness Tip for the College Bound Life after high school and sports begins for many kids this week. For them, there are no more practices, no more games, and no more training for sport. I have watched many kids continue to apply the concepts they learned as an athlete to their adult life as they continue to workout and strive to remain fit. I have also seen the opposite of this where kids no longer train because "they don't have to". I think that is a poor line of thinking that will ultimately lead to poor health. This period of their life, their twenties, is crucial to long term health. The more strength and fitness you can develop now, the more strength and fitness you will have later into life. Just think, when you turn 60, you may have 80% of the strength you had in your twenties. So why not try to develop that strength to the best of your ability? So what is my advice to these kids getting ready for life on their own:
About 6-7 years ago I was coaching junior high wrestling and I was talking to a fellow coach about their team. He had few guys new to the sport and he said he wanted to encourage the new kids to stay out for the sport and in doing so, realized he may need to modify his rules. In his words, "different strokes for different folks". What he meant was that his two-time district champ was expected to be at every practice, on time and ready to compete. The new kid who never played a sport might have more wiggle room when it came to the rules. At the time, I was a little hard headed and thought the approach was a bit flawed. Rules are rules and everyone must follow them. In hindsight, I realize that I was wrong. Concrete rules for 20+ kids, all with different family dynamics, may not be the best approach. Just to be clear, I am not saying don't hold true to your principles. Some policies and rules are non-negotiable. What I am saying is that understand each kids situation on a personal level and do what is going to serve them best over the long term. Quote of the Week "One mark of a great mind is the willingness to change it" -- Walter Isaacson I hope you all have an awesome week! Chris Fluck What I've Been Thinking About
Trivial matters. This summer brought on some crazy times and I got caught up in some negativity. The schedule was packed, I said yes to too many work obligations, we had a zoning hearing and my bank account was hacked by some scammers who did some serious damage. Because of this, I found myself whining and/or complaining a little too much for my liking. Then, I came across a women named Yeonmi Park and my perspective changed. This women escaped North Korea and after hearing about what she experienced in her life, I realized that it ain't so bad over here in America. In addition, I heard a few stories this week about people that I know or who are friends of friends that are experiencing some hard times. I spoke with a high school kid who had a tumor when he was four and during surgery suffered a stroke. Currently, half of his body doesn't really work. Or how about the person who is battling a deadly disease or struggling with other life threatening behaviors and I realized that some of the trivial matters that I found myself complaining about pale in comparison. Perspective is key and something I hope to not lose track of again! What I've Been Listening To An interview with Jason Wilson on the Joe Rogan Experience. A few years ago a video of Jason Wilson instructing one of his 9 year old students went viral. In it, a young boy started crying because he was struggling with his test. Wilson knelt next to him and told him it is ok to cry, it is ok to feel these emotions, tests are hard, challenges are hard, life is hard, but you can get through this. (I am paraphrasing, click here to watch it for yourself: It's Okay to Cry) His messaging is beautiful and it was one of my favorite interviews in recent memory. He also authored two books which I look forward to reading in the near future. He is transparent about his own struggles personally as well as being a coach, father, and friend. His teachings through the use of martial arts has led to great success as his facility currently has a wait list of over 500! To listen to the full interview, click here: JRE episode with Jason Wilson Fitness Tip As you take a look at your calendar for the year, understand there will be periods of time where you can crank it up and really get after it and other times when your training time will be limited and your options are minimal. For accountants, it will be during tax season. For teachers, it will be when school starts or during finals and for a high school football coach like myself, it will be during double sessions. In years past, I would follow the principles outlined in the 40 Day Program to build strength with minimal time commitment but this year I decided to do something different. We can call this program the 3 x 3 x 3 program. Twice a week, I will be performing three exercises for three sets of three. To warmup, I follow Knees Over Toes guy on Instagram and hit a few of his exercises to get the blood pumping and work on some problem areas. Then, I perform three highly demanding lifts (Snatch, Clean, and Front Squat) for 3 sets of 3. It may not sound like much but this workout wipes me out and tends to leave me a little sore the following day! In between sets I do a few mobility exercises for the upper body to maximize time and at the end of the session, I hang from the pullup bar for 30 seconds and then perform a pullup and perform some isometric rows (called Bat Wings by some). Depending on time, I will do a few sets of these and then head to work or practice. On the five other days that I do not lift, I try to walk or sneak in a short and quick kettlebell workout to get the heart rate elevated. The Perks of Being a Bastard... according to da Vinci Leonardo da Vinci was born to parents who were unwed. This, by definition, led him to be referred to as a bastard. His mother was the mistress of a somewhat prominent figure in the local community. This was not uncommon as cultural historian Jacob Burckhardt once dubbed Renaissance Italy, "a golden age for bastards". During this time, the first born son would follow in his fathers footsteps. For Leonardo, if he was a legitimate child, he would have taken over his fathers notary business. Because of his illegitimacy, he was free to explore. He didn't have to follow the cultural norms and he was able to carve out a career exploring and experimenting with more than just creating beautiful art. His relentless curiosity led him to become someone that is spoken of centuries after his death. That is quite an accomplishment, one in which I do not believe would have been achieved at the family notary! Quote of the Week "It is better to be a warrior in a garden, than a gardener in war" -- Chinese Proverb Chris News & Notes
The summer came, and the summer went. It amazes me that we are in the midst of August and fall sports are about to begin. With that being said, I have some tough news to share as we are losing my aide-de camp Steven Rose as he heads back to Ursinus College to play his final football season. I threw a lot of work at Steven this summer and oftentimes it was chaotic. He kept coming back, asked tons of questions, and thought deeply on how to refine what he is doing to be better. Knowing Steven for almost a decade, I am confident he will keep this mindset for the rest of his life and in doing so, accomplish anything that he sets out to do. He was the hardest working athlete that I ever coached and now he is taking that work ethic and becoming an incredible coach that wants the best for everyone that he works with. We are going to miss him these next couple months on the farm but good luck this season and see you during Winter break! Random Thoughts on Parenting I was listening to a lecture this week and heard something that really made me think. One responsibility that you have as a parent is to basically offer your child up to the world to experience a variety of things. Some of these things will be challenging. Some of these things may not work out great but the thing you should remember is that you cannot keep them sheltered from everything. Eventually, they have to get out the in the world. The challenge for us as parents is to teach our children things like truth, courage, and love and this will hopefully prepare them to tackle anything that they may encounter. Fast forward a few hours after listening to this lecture and I saw an example of this play out at my daughters soon-to-be pre-school. Some of the mothers there were talking about the tears they anticipate shedding on day one drop-off. They were laughing about it but also very serious. Sending your little one off is tough but necessary. I think one thing to keep in mind is that everything that you have done with them from ages 0 to right now matters. Everything that you have done with them and for them lays the groundwork for future situations that you, or they, may face. There will always be challenging but remember that you have shared the values that you deem important and trust that you have done enough. Fitness Tip I recently finished reading a book titled Physiology of Strength written by Theodor Hettinger in 1961. This book gives a great scientific look at the some of the strength building concepts that survived the test of time and still practiced today. One important concept that is brought up over and over again is the value in practicing a move or exercise on a daily basis. Lets use the chinup for example. If you have a goal to do a chinup ,the first thing I would recommend is getting yourself a pullup bar. Once you have it set up, it is then time to go to work. Each day you will spend time on the bar trying to improve your strength. In as little as 20-60 seconds a day, you could see great improvements. How can one make such great improvement with so little time? The answer is isometric muscle contractions. Hettinger realized decades ago that the most efficient way to improve strength is with isometrics. In our pullup example, it would be using a stool or jumping up so your chin is above the bar. Then, you will squeeze and hold your chin above the bar for about 40-50% of your maximum hang time. So, if you can hang for 20 seconds, you will practice hanging for 8-10 seconds. Do this everyday and you will get better. Like the great wrestling coach Dan Gable said, if something is important to you, do it everyday. If it is not important then don't do it at all. What I've Been Reading... Leonardo da Vinci by Walter Isaacson At the beginning of this year I decided I was going to start dabbling with biographies. I am really enjoying them so far. After getting a few Ron Chernow and Walter Isaacson books as Christmas gifts (all there bios are 500+ pages), I am going to make it a goal to finish them by the end of year. I have Hamilton, Washington, da Vinci, Einstein, Franklin, and a few more! If I read one a month, I will get to my goal. Now on to da Vinci... Leonardo da Vinci was an interesting man who was interested in everything! He spent most of his days learning and thinking and at times, it appeared as if he may have been a bit unmotivated to create art. That wasn't always the case as he was continually refining his technique. In his mind, none of this work was ever finished and he often held on to projects for 20+ years before adding a revision here or an edit there. I am amazed at the amount of research Isaacson did for this project and also that things like da Vinci's original journals are still in existence and readable today. Quote of the Week "Movements of the soul are made known by movements of the body" -- Leon Battista Alberti I hope you all have an awesome week! Chris Fluck Zoning Update
APPROVED! On Wednesday of this week, we had our long awaited zoning hearing with the Williams Township Zoning Board. To give a little back story, we received a call from the zoning office in late May after they received a complaint in regards to our youth camps. Apparently someone called in and asked, "How is this allowed?" After an initial panic, a little worry and a few weeks of stress, we are happy to report that everything went according to plan at the hearing and we are able to continue doing what we are doing here at the farm. That being said, I want to thank everyone in the community who came out to support us, wrote letters, and had our back these past couple of week. It was much needed and we are grateful! Women Empowering Women We have some things going down in a few hours. Today at 5 pm we will be hosting (by we I mean Marisa) a pretty cool event here on the farm. This gathering is called Women Empowering Women: Your Health is Your Wealth and it will be the first of its kind. We have a pretty impressive group of women coming out to the farm from all over the northeast. They are coming to share lessons they have learned over the years, how they create an abundant life, building a strong network, business opportunities, Q & A and more! If that doesn't sound good enough then maybe this will... the event is FREE and not only will you be feeding your mind with knowledge but you can also feed your belly with some great Marisa cooking! It should be a fun event and we are really looking forward to it! For more information and to register, click the following link: Your Health is Your Wealth What I've Been Thinking About... Recently we were out to eat at the Trolley Barn Public Market in Quakertown and I noticed something: The places that sold booze were jam packed! It wasn't the smoothie bar, the cafe, or the flatbread shop. If you sold something that had some alcohol in it, business was booming! This got me thinking, the human race loves their vices! Whether it be booze, sweets, gambling, or whatever else you may get into, these types of businesses appear to be booming. I guess there are some things that we just can't resist. Which brings me to my point... I read a post on Instagram this week that went, "Even IF we find the perfect diet, we will still have the issue of getting people to stick to it". The human psyche is a tough nut to crack. We can tell people what to do and how great it will make their life but at the end of the day, those underlying habits or routines are still present. Not only do they exist, but they coincide alongside our vices of choice. Like the great Smokey Robinson once said, these things "really got a hold on me". And once they get a hold of you, it is not an easy thing to break. I think the best way to avoid these types of trappings is to never step foot deep in the trap to begin with. Easier said then done, I know but isn't everything like that in life? What I've Been Watching... Great Greek Myths I was straightening up the house this week and decided to put something on the television for some background noise. I have an elementary understanding of Greek mythology so I thought this series would be a good way to get familiar with some of the ancient stories. What I wasn't expecting were tales of infanticide, incest, total destruction, and a hell of a lot of confusion. All of this occurred in the first episode! If you want your mind to be blown, try to understand the family tree of Zeus and see how that works out for you. While I was watching it, I wondered, "people really believed in this story?" Quote of the Week "The journey... the journey is what brings us happiness... not the destination" -- Dan Millman Founding Lessons
This week I heard something attributed to Benjamin Franklin regarding human nature. It boiled down to these two points: If there is too much decadence in your world and of those around you, then you may get a soft society. On the flip side of that, if there is too much pain imposed upon you, then the result could be tyranny and oppression. Let me explain... In regards to decadence, I think back to a story I heard about Kenyan marathon runners. When an Olympic champ was asked if his children will follow in his footsteps he said no way, these kids get driven to school everyday. I had to run! No matter what this man tried, there would be no way for him to replicate the lessons that he learned growing up in a tough environment. When his kids have a nice place to sleep every night and a few good meals a day, they may not be as willing to work as hard towards becoming one of the next great runners for their country. Now, moving to pain, I think we see a current event happening in Cuba that best defines what I mean by this. For decades, the Cuban people have been treated poorly by their "leaders". The people are poor. The people are hungry. The people are looking to make a change. Too much pain in their life led to rebellion. When working with people, there needs to be a certain balancing act if you want to keep things working in a positive in a productive manner. I remember hearing Tom Brady's high school coach say something like this: If a kid is dealt a bunch of crap at home, we give him a little ice cream. If the kid is given nothing but ice cream at home, we give him a little crap to balance it out. I am paraphrasing here but I think you get the idea! Fitness Tip of the Week I had a guy a reach out to me this week in need of help. He is working long days out in the heat and his fitness totally dropped off. Physical labor is a workout in and of itself but he needs that time in the gym for his mental state. My advice to him will be that if you want to get back on track, ignore the complexities of following the perfect training program and just do something. The perfect program in this scenario is to get up and get out of the door. It doesn't really matter what you do, you just have to do something. Go for a walk, swing some kettlebells, hit the gym, whatever it may be. The focus should be placed on creating a new positive habit that will negate his current habit of not working out. What I've Been Reading... Queens Gambit by Walter Tevis I first learned of this book from the Netflix series under the same name. If you haven't watched this, I would highly recommend it. It was one of my personal favorites and Marisa enjoyed it as well! There is something about the main character Beth Harmon that I really liked. If you don't know this story, a young girl is orphaned after her mother died in an accident. While in the home, she noticed the janitor playing chess. She watched. She learned. She became one of the best to ever play. The Queen's Gambit is a coming-of-age story that covers themes like adoption, feminism, chess, drug addiction, alcoholism, and more. What I'm Listening To... White Trash by Nancy Isenberg I got this book as a gift a few years ago (I hope the gift giver wasn't trying to tell me something) and read it while on vacation in Florida. Fast forward five years and a lot has changed in our country. The author is a historian who does not take that title lightly. She dives deep into the history of our country and gives a great historical account of the class systems that have existed on this land since it was first settled. Quote of the Week "I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think" -- Socrates I hope you all have an awesome week! Chris Fluck What I've Been Thinking About
I think nature sometimes has a cruel way of putting us all in check. The past few weeks have been pretty chaotic. I have been running around in circles with work, trying to keep up with a 3 year old, taking care of paperwork for expanding the business, recurring bank fraud on my business account, and all the other day to day stuff that seems to show up here on the farm. What did all this activity get me? A nasty cold! Early this week I was talking to my co-worker about taking a day off. He said, "I don't blame you". Well, I never scheduled the day off but this germ did it for me. Whenever an illness passes, I always feel that there is some value in it. When you are sick, you only focus on what is going to help you recover. You don't care about what work you have to do or how much stuff is on the to-do list. You don't eat to excess and you prioritize sleep. The only thing that matters is trying to feel a little bit better each and every moment. Youth Fitness Camps After taking a week off, our Youth Fitness Camps are back in action! This week, from July 12-15, we will be hosting our Speed & Agility sessions here on the farm. As of now, this group size is a small one. If you have some interest and think your kid may respond a little better to a smaller group, then this week will be great for them! If you cannot make it this week, upcoming camps are July 19-22: Functional Strength & Conditioning and July 26-29: Speed & Agility. The main focus of these camps is to create a positive training environment and teach these kids that great things can be accomplished with a little bit work. It is amazing some of the progress we have seen over the course of the 4 day camp. There is a change in almost every kid whether it be mentally or physically. It is quite special and I hope that everyone that comes through our program this summer continues to build off of what was gained during these camps. I love seeing the progress and the excitement that these kids bring when they accomplish something new. It is the best part of the job! New Podcast Alert! This week we recorded one my favorite podcasts of all-time: An Interview with the Incomparable Steven Rose! To give a quick back story, Steven is one of my favorite athletes that I ever coached. He was always the hardest working kid in the room, a great teammate, and incredibly respectful. To give you some insight on the type of kid that he is, I will share this with you. A few years ago he was doing some work here on the farm and I gave him some extra money for all the work he did. He started driving home and 5-10 minutes later he pulled back in our driveway and told Marisa that I paid him too much and he wanted to give some of the money back. I don't know too many people who would do that and it speaks to his character. He has a great outlook and does an incredible job working with kids. In this episode, Steven and I discuss strength & conditioning, the mental approach to life, training NCAA athletes, working with the youth, and much more! We had a few topics that we wanted to get to but work called and we had to call the podcast short of addressing them. We will be recording a part two this week! What I've Been Reading Tides of War by Steven Pressfield Steven Pressfield is the man! He is one of my favorite writers and two of his books, The War of Art & Gates of Fire are so wonderful that I revisit every few years. Here is how the book is described from the inside flap... Brilliant at war, a master of politics, and a charismatic lover, Alcibiades was Athens favorite son and the city's greatest general. A prodigal follower of Socrates, he embodied both the best and the worst of the Golden Age of Greece. A commander on both land and sea, he led his armies to victory after victory. But like the heroes in a great Greek tragedy, he was a victim of his own pride, arrogance, excess, and ambition. Accused of crimes against the state, he was banished from his beloved Athens, only to take up arms in the service of his former enemies. For nearly three decades, Greece burned with war and Alcibiades helped bring victories to both sides and ended up trusted by neither. Narrated from death row by Alcibiades bodyguard and assassin, a man whose own love and loathing for his former commander mirrors the mixed emotions felt by all Athens, Tides of War tells an epic saga of an extraordinary century, a war that changed history, and a complex leader who seduced a nation. 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
I was recently thinking about something I heard in an interview between Jordan Peterson and Catholic bishop Robert Barron. During this conversation they were discussing some issues that they have noticed as of late, primarily that there is too much mercy in the world and not enough justice. There is too much acceptance of ideas and/or behaviors even if they may be irrational. There is nobody there that puts those ideas or behaviors in check. Let me explain what I mean by the word justice. The word just can be defined as "based on or behaving according to what is morally right and fair." Justice is not ruling with an iron fist. Justice is acting appropriately and fair in response to an action that occurred. For example, when our concern as parents, coaches, educators, etc. is with not hurting a child's feelings rather than teaching them right from wrong, we could be planting the seed for some serious behavioral issues down the road. This idea of justice is having boundaries and sticking to them. It is about teaching and correcting. Fitness Tip I was talking with a kid this week about the best way to improve for his candidate fitness test for the armed forces. During this test, he needs to perform a bunch of endurance related events one after the other with little to no rest. This assessment is going to require a lot of physically. One way we discussed improving for this test was to perform these exercises over the course of a day. For example, lets say you can perform 20 pushups. Set a goal to hit 100 reps in a day. How do you do that? Perform 10 sets of 10 reps at random intervals spaced out over the course of the day. By doing this, you can build your capacity to perform the pushup by performing massive amounts of reps and your endurance is going to improve greatly. In addition, your quality of rep will be high because you are performing 10 reps, which is half the amount that you can actually perform. For a test like this, and in everything you do in life, quality of repetition is more important than quantity. Practice good stuff on a regular basis and good things will begin to happen! What I've Been Listening To... Redemption Song by Bob Marley For decades I loved this song. Teenager Chris had no clue what it was about but thirty-five year old Chris loves what it stands for. When I hear the line, "Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our minds" I think about how powerful that mentality can be. Often times we feel stuck. We feel like there is nothing we can do. We accept our lives where they are at and are not willing to change how we view things. We need to set our minds free from the restrictions that we, and others, place on it. I love this stuff and Bob Marley wrote music that mattered and music that will last. He was one of a kind! What I've Been Watching Holy Hell on IMDbTV You want to talk about mental slavery, this documentary is a perfect, and sad, example of it. Like most cults or belief systems, this group known as Buddhafield started out in a somewhat safe, idealistic manner. It was a community of like minded people who wanted to enrich their lives. As the group grew, things started to get a little weird. The story is typical of most cults: a leader who believes he is a higher power, then paranoia sets in which leads to depriving members of necessities, and of course questionable sexual behavior. The list continue but I will cut it off there. Quote of the Week "Men hate nothing worse than that mirror held before them whose reflection displays their own failure to prove worthy of themselves" -- Excerpt from Steven Pressfield's book Tides of War. I hope you all have an awesome week! Chris Fluck What I've Been Thinking About
Adversity. Over the course of the last 10 years coaching I have probably worked with hundreds of kids and dozens of different coaches. In every year the word adversity has been brought up. In sports, as well as life, difficult situations will arise. The great coaches try to simulate this by creating adverse situations in practice so that when they appear in games, the kids are more aptly able to handle what is thrown their way. Based off of my experience, I have concerns that kids don't experience enough adversity in life. They do not experience hardship so when it happens, they do not know how to handle themselves accordingly. I have seen way too many kids cry uncontrollably over losing a race, freaking out over a dropped pass, and storming off the field when things don't go their way. It makes me think, if they don't learn how to handle themselves in difficult situations, how will they respond when life throws something bigger or more harsh their way? News & Notes On Thursday we wrapped up our very first week of our Youth Fitness Camps and it was awesome! We had a bunch of kids come out to the farm to learn a few skills, work on speed & agility, try out some of the gym props (sleds, rope climb, medicine balls, etc.), and have a little fun in the process! The kids attitudes were great and it made me smile to hear the amount of fun that was occurring during these sessions. Hard work + fun is winning formula for long term success in the world of fitness and we hope to continue following that formula in the weeks to come. Tomorrow we have a new 4 day camp starting up titled Functional Strength & Conditioning. Over the course of these four days the kids will learn basic strength train movements as well learning how to condition the body for athletics. Once this camp completes, we will then take a week off before firing up three straight weeks of more sessions. To view to the schedule and to register, visit chrisfluck.net and click Summer Camps! Lesson Learned...for the 100th time A few weeks ago I decided to start running once again. I enjoy running and in the past, would get to the point where I would be able to train myself to put in some serious miles. This summer, I thought this might be something to try out once again. But then, out of nowhere, some pain came back near my pelvis. Every so often I get this crippling pain that I believe occurs near or at the psoas muscle. This issue gets to the point that when I walk I get this sharp pain that almost drops me to my knees. I never know when it is coming which makes it pretty frustrating. That being said, I put the long distance running on hold and will change up my conditioning plan. There is a man David Sinclair who works on longevity in human beings. He wants to increase the quality of years that we all have and he recommended conditioning for as little as 15 minutes a few times per week. That sounded good to me so I decided to implement it while running the hilly portion of our trail. Hill running adds a ton of bang for your buck. Not only are they challenging to the muscles and lungs but they also force you to run properly and prevent heel striking. This should encourage good posture and allow you to have some natural intervals as you exchange between hard periods and recovery periods. Here is how I format this workout:
There is a saying that goes if you can't argue both sides of the problem then you do not understand it well enough. When I choose to read or listen to things, I hope to try to understand both sides and try to keep an open mind. Key word there is TRY. This week I listened to a podcast interview that led me to scratch my head and wonder. Maybe it was because I was reading George Orwell but Animal Farm and this interview had some eery similarities. To sum it up, there is a group of doctors in this country and worldwide who have been using a few existing medications, primarily Ivermectin, to treat COVID-19. They say it is a wonder drug that is incredibly cheap and has tremendous success with patients. They say it isn't being used more widespread because there is no money to be made off of this treatment. Their voices are also being suppressed by companies like Youtube as their content is being pulled and viewed to be dangerous. The naysayers call nonsense and they want more trials. If you look up Ivermectin on wikipedia it states, "During the COVID-19 pandemic, misinformation was widely spread claiming that ivermectin was beneficial for treating and preventing COVID-19. Such claims are not backed by sound evidence." There is SO much more going on in this interview and I don't know what to make of it all. I would recommend listening to it yourself and you can do so here: Joe Rogan EP1671: Bret Weinstein & Dr. Pierre Kory Poem of the Week "First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out- Because I was not a communist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out- Because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out- Because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me- and there was no one left to speak for me" --Poem Written by Martin Niemoller, a German theologian who opposed the Nazi regime I hope you all have an awesome week! Chris Fluck Schedule Update
My name is Chris and I have a confession: My planning sucks! Here is how things typically go... Someone offers me something, I say yes. Another person offers me something that may conflict, I say yes. I keep saying yes until I get myself into a bind. This is exactly what happened to me last week. It got to the point where I had to be in three places at once and even though human beings could do remarkable things, this is one thing that I was not able to pull off. I had to scramble to make things work at a somewhat acceptable level. They say the first step in making a change is acknowledging it. This is exactly what I am doing! Starting this week, I will be running gym sessions at 7 am, 11 am and 4 pm. My side kick Steven will be running the 8 am session and he will be playing a huge role coaching our camps which are set to kick off this week between 9-11 am. The first week of camp sold out but if you are interested in signing your child up, you can do so here: Youth Fitness Camps Fitness Tip of the Week This week I had a talk with a strength coach and he mentioned that a local hospital is buying some new technology for his weight room. This technology will record what you are doing and it will be able to give you tons of data based off of how fast you move the barbell. For example, if you move 200 pounds with X amount of force, it will tell you that if you apply that same amount of force to 215 pounds, you should be able to complete that lift. This is just one example and I think the technology is awesome but I think there is a place for this and it is not in a high school weight room where kids are first learning how to train. In my humble opinion, kids need experience with the barbell in their hands. They need less input from external sources and more focus on performing the exercise appropriately. Our mind should be 100% focused on the task at hand. The feedback their bodies receive while performing the exercise is all they need. This is where learning occurs. There is a time and place for everything and when it comes to learning how to train, which could take years, more technology may not be the most appropriate answer! What I've Been Thinking About While out for a run this week a thought crossed my mind regarding parenting. At some point in your life your child is going to express some fear and/or anxiety about a situation. The answer to this dilemma would be to slowly expose your child to the thing that causes them fear in the hopes that they will eventually overcome it in time. This is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). The tricky part about parenting is being able to differentiate between the child having some mild anxiety over a situation or if they are just testing you to see how you will respond to their behavior. We ran into this situation a few weeks ago regarding school. Emi didn't want to go and acted as if the world was about to end. The teacher said I know what to do. We said, what's that? She said, I grab Emi and you walk away. This goes against CBT and this solution would not work if Emi was expressing serious fear or anxiety. But she wasn't. That little stinker was just testing us! I imagine scenarios like this will play out hundreds of times as a parent but here is hoping each time gets a little bit easier! What I've Been Reading... Animal Farm by George Orwell Busy times equal short, quick reads and this one absolutely fits the bill. Animal Farm was written in 1945 by the incomparable George Orwell. It tells the story of a Revolution... an animal revolution. Fed up with how they've been treated by the Man, the animals at Manor Farm decide it is time to take matters into their own hands. What starts out as equality for all animals slowly morphs into something else. This book is a satire of the Russian Revolutions of yesteryear and how on paper, socialist style government looks wonderful, but in the end, human nature (or animal nature in the case of this book) takes over and abuses of power begin. Quote of the Week "I suppose it is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail" -- Abraham Maslow I hope you all have an awesome week! Chris Fluck |
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