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Happy Thanksgiving!
I forgot I was a parent for a second this past week. As I was sorting out my work schedule, I realized I may have to work on Black Friday. This is nothing out of the ordinary for those that work in gyms but this year we planned on heading to Long Island to spend time with family. This side of that family is quite large and prior to being a parent, we would sometimes make a day trip to the Island if we had to get back home to tend to the animals or work. So this year I thought, we've done it before, lets do it again. I soon learned this would not be a great idea! Our daughter loves her cousins. She has a bunch of them that she doesn't get to see often so this holiday is one of those rare moments during the year that she can see all five of her college aged cousins, and two others who she absolutely adores that are 6 and 8 years old. As I watched her joy spending time with them, I decided I would be doing her an injustice to rob her of those moments and memories that leaving would create. So we stayed an additional night and Friday was packed with activities and fun. She got to hang with her grandparents, play with her cousins, do crafts with them, go out to eat, go bowling, and all around just have a great time. She was so happy! Lesson learned on my end. Don't schedule appointments on Friday (unless you want to break your daughters heart)... or at least get someone to cover the gym while you are away. And to those I cancelled on, thank you for understanding! I hope you all had some time off and had some good moments among the stressors commonly associated with holidays. Speaking of stress... Fitness Tip of the Week Holidays can be a very stressful time. It is during these moments that we often forget about ourselves. We put others ahead of our own well-being and the result is usually never pretty. So this year, here is what I am proposing for us all: 30 Days of Fitmas to get in great shape before Santa comes down the chimney! What we are going to do here is not wait for the New Year to make some sort of resolution that, statistically speaking, doesn't usually pan out. We are going to detach from our current situation and take inventory. Take a look at your health as if you are a doctor meeting with a patient. Don't judge yourself, just state the facts. If you are struggling with how to take control of your health, here are a few things I propose that you can start today that won't be a total overhaul to your schedule:
Last week I sat down and read what appeared to be a letter written from Albert Einstein to his daughter. In it, he discussed a universal force that could change the world for the better. He told his daughter that this force is inside all of us. This force that he wrote of was love. I thought the letter was beautiful and wanted to share it. I read the entire thing for a podcast and prior to posting the video, I decided to double check the accuracy of it to see if, indeed, Einstein wrote it. As it turns out, it was a complete fabrication! I was duped by the internet. Who would have thought that you had to fact check what you read on the internet? (sarcasm) That being said, there were still some great lessons in it so I decided to share some of the takeaways from the letter Fake Einstein wrote to someone. The big one for me was to not put activity or work ahead of your loved ones. Don't wait until it is too late to spend time with them, to them that you love them, and support them. For more on the topic, check out episode 166 of my podcast: I've Been Duped! We Went to the Movies! Last weekend Marisa and I went to go watch a lighthearted movie but ended up having a change of plans at the last minute. We watched the trailer for She Said and decided this would be our movie for the day. This movie is about the creep Harvey Weinstein and his decades long reign of terror as a sexual predator in the movie industry. It tells the tale of two investigative reporters who set out on a journey to highlight the dark side of Hollywood in the hopes of shattering decades of silence around sexual assault, harassment and the power struggles that occur in the workplace. This reporting led to the Me Too movement which changed the landscape for women in not only that industry but in all walks of life. This power dynamic is concerning. A lot of these women who were victims felt that they had no voice. When they spoke out, either nobody cared or nobody cared to listen. This behavior went on for decades and it was as if their experiences didn't matter. Their lives were greatly effected by one decision to work for an evil man who used his position to manipulate. Quote of the Week “Most of us have two lives. The life we live, and the unlived life within us. Between the two stands Resistance.” -- Steven Pressfield
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What I've Been Thinking About...
I hear stories weekly of how cruel kids can be to one another. A local newspaper just wrote that 10% of teens studied attempted suicide, and on top of that, an emergency room physician once told me that the pediatric ER is filled with suicidal teens. It is sad and it is scary. These past few weeks I have been thinking, maybe our approach to things like bullying has been flawed. Maybe instead of casting blame on the other child's parents or the schools lack of intervention, we can look at improving our own child's resiliency. But first, a story about siblings... I think at some point in our lives, we have all witnessed siblings not being kind to one another. It usually comes in the form of big brother or sister finding something that really annoys their younger sibling. If the afflicted one shows signs of annoyance or frustration, big sibling continues to poke and prod. If the younger sibling shows no change in demeanor, even if their blood is boiling, often times the harassing ends and the older child moves on to something else. In school, if a bully finds something that irks you, and you physically show them how angry, annoyed or upset it makes you, they will not relent. They will continue to aggravate you with whatever nonsense they are spewing until they no longer get the desired result. What I am proposing is that if we can give each child the tools to diffuse hostility, they will learn to rise above whatever is thrown their way. This is done by remaining calm in the face of danger. This is done by breathing through those anxiety riddled moments. This is done when we can teach kids that they aren't helpless, vulnerable and most importantly, that they are not a victim. In the face of Nazi guards and life in concentration camps, Viktor Frankl came to the conclusion that “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms — to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way.” Every one of us has the ability to choose their response to situations. This takes practice, maybe years of it, but if we can teach kids that they are in control of their emotions, this skill can go a very long way in life. Lets be real, nastiness and verbal insults aren't going anywhere. They will always be present. How we respond to them matters. Fitness Tip of the Week I talk to people occasionally who make the claim that walking is lame. I am not of this mindset and think that if you intend on maintaining or improving your fitness and/or body composition, then a short (or long) walk each and every day makes a huge impact. Now, if you find yourself getting bored with these walks, there is a way we can spice it up. The 10 minute walk test is a great challenge that gameifys the walking process. Here is how you do it: Find a good trail or route and mark a starting point. You will begin your walk every day at this exact spot. Set your timer for 10 minutes and see how far you can go. As the timer ends, take note of how far you went and each day, you try and beat that distance. There is no complex training plan needed for this. All you have to do is go a little bit further every day. After a few attempts, this will get pretty challenging. Around days 8-10, you will be hustling for about 10 minutes straight. When you get to this point, there is one very important rule that you must follow: NO RUNNING! When you feel you may have reached your limit, start all over again but this time breathe only through your nose while walking. Sorry mouth breathers but it is time to get a little nasal breathing in to challenge your cardiovascular system in a unique way! Building Physically Resilient Children While training some kids last week, I realized we were missing something. It seemed that performing exercises like jumping rope and hitting somersaults appear to be a lost art in our youth. With that in mind, I decided to break down how I would build a strong, resilient, injury proof child through the use of physical fitness. There are four areas I would address and would focus on them in this order...
What I've Been Reading Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell This book is shaping up to be one of my favorites of his. In the 1930's, as Fascism is starting to grow worldwide and thrive in places like Italy and Germany, a not-so-well known author (real name Eric Blair) decides to go to Spain during their Civil War to write about what is going on in that countries fight against the Fascists. As he gets there, he decides, well, lets put off the reporting for a second and let me get in on this action. He signs up to join the militia and eventually makes his way to the front lines. This book gives a great account of this war and the craziness that surrounds it. To say Orwell walks the walk would be a huge understatement. During one firefight, he gets shot through his neck, nearly puncturing his windpipe. Instead of heading home to finish his writing he went back to the front lines to continue to fight the good fight against the opposition. Everyone seems to be familiar with his books Animal Farm and 1984 but it is his non-fiction books that I am really starting to enjoy. It is in these books that you come to learn how he came to develop the ideas that are in those great works of fiction. His experiences, working in the coal mines, being homeless, fighting fascism in a civil war, all show up one way or another in his writing. Quote of the Week “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” -- Nelson Mandela I hope you all have an awesome week! Chris Fluck What I've Been Thinking About...
Last weekend we had a fundraiser for our daughters school. The day began with a 5K Run and a 2.5K walk. As we were getting prepared to start, I took a look around and saw some pretty special things. There were mothers lacing up their shoes alongside their daughters, fathers were warming up with their sons, and entire families were out there getting ready to create a memory with one another. At one point in the race, Emi and one of her buddies were running alongside the head of their school and I thought this is a very interesting commingling of families and staff across a diverse population. As we were walking/running, I thought an event like this has the power to change a kids life and encourage them to live a physically active lifestyle. When you see your parents, teachers, or other role models taking part in physically challenging things, it could be the spark that lights the fire inside youl to do the same. If you surround yourself with positive influences they can, and will, wear off on you. (Side note: I am super proud of Emi and her friend for deciding they wanted to run/walk the loop. It made me happy watching them go, not because they were exercising but because they chose to try something hard and kept at it all the way to the finish line. These tough little girls weren't afraid of a little challenge and that put a smile on my face). Fitness Tip of the Week I had a moment this week where a few mothers who pump iron at the gym mentioned their newfound interest in pickle ball. I haven't seen this sport since high school P.E. and was surprised to hear about its rise in popularity. As I thought about what skills the sport requires, I decided it may be time to switch up our training a bit. Pickleball demands a lot of starting and stopping, quick change of directions and tons of rotating as they make contact with the ball. In addition, the cardiovascular system is stressed with quick bursts of energy, done repeatedly over the course of a game. It is not like going out for a simple jog. Its short bursts of effort over and over again! So what did we do? Well, since these ladies plan on doing athletic things, we must begin training like athletes. We did some box jumps, got the agility ladder out to work on some change of direction skills, built some strength in the lower body to help injury proof the legs and pushed the sled like there was no tomorrow. As we were doing this, I came to realize that this was fun for everyone involved. Training with purpose and intent and having fun while doing so are not mutually exclusive things. They can exist together and if you can find some joy in your training, you will be much better off! Are there "Rules" for Coaching? The world of youth sports is crazy. You can go to a sport field on any given weekend and see great examples of coaching and you will also see poor examples of coaching. If I had to break down three areas of improvement that come up often with coaches and parents it would be the following...
What I've Been Reading Keep the Aspidistra Flying by George Orwell This year I went on a quest to tackle all of George Orwell's books. At the moment, I believe this is book number five or six of his and I have to tell you, George Orwell is the man! His writing is creative, comical, and interesting. I often sit back and wonder how people can do such incredible things with their writing! This book was first published in 1936 and it is critical of society at the time. In it, the main character George Comstock is a spiteful and bitter man. The cause of his bitterness is money, or better yet, the lack thereof. As Gordon moves through life, he ruins friendships, quits jobs, never gets the girl and doesn't finish any of his writing. He tells everyone it is because of a lack of money and if he had some, his life would be completely different. If you are wondering what an aspidistra is, you are not alone! I had to look this up prior to reading the book. It is a hard to kill house plant commonly associated with the upper middle class during this period. Gordon Comstock despised this class of people! Quote of the Week "A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way" -- John Maxwell I hope you all have an awesome week! Chris Fluck What I've Been Thinking About...
This week I spoke with a few nurses and these conversations shed lights on the state of our countries health, the hospitals ability to handle a never ending supply of patients, and a profession that is seeing people leave in droves. One hospital, for example, was short staffed 8 nurses for a shift. The job by itself is a tough one. Nurses have to deal with lack of sleep, stress, death, illness, conflict and a bunch of other things associated with that kind of work. When work is fully staffed, it is a very demanding job. When short staffed, the demands grow exponentially and eventually you get to the point where nurses are burnt out. I remember seeing a headline at the height of the pandemic that read "90% of nurses contemplated leaving their jobs". This workforce is the backbone of every hospital, one in which we should be mindful to take care of! As fitness professionals, it is our job to get people healthy. It is our job to keep people out of the hospital and do everything in our power to help aid whoever we work with live a long, disease free life. But, to put this simply, we are failing big time! We are living in a country where 88% of the population is either diabetic, pre-diabetic, or has high blood pressure. This same country has a population of people where over 70% of adults are overweight or obese. 4 out of 5 adults, and 3 out of 5 kids, don't get enough daily physical activity, and even when people get excited about their health, it often doesn't last. Take in note what you see every January in gyms where over 80% of new enrollees quit within five months of signing up. If we can decrease the burden that hospitals are facing, quality of care will increase and an important workforce (nurses, family doctors, etc.) will not be feeling overburdened, day in and day out. Fitness Tip of the Week After decades of research and hundreds of years of human evolution, sleep scientists have discovered that between 7-9 hours of sleep for adults is the mandatory minimum for optimal development. When you don't get the required amount, and end up fighting biology, disease and/or sickness tend to be not far behind. This hits close to home once or twice a year for me. During these times of impaired sleep, my brain doesn't seem to function properly, I catch a cold or virus, and often times lose motivation to get things done. I also find myself eating a lot more junk food. All of these things are no good! When I am having trouble sleeping, I try to remember how important it is to have a consistent routine and maintain a somewhat rigid sleep and wake time. Whatever time your alarm is set for, start preparing for sleep 9-10 hours before that. During this time preparing the body, I try to take a hot shower, drink some sleepy tea, avoid exercise and eating, and generally like to read a bit before passing out. All of these things help me wind down but it was through experimentation that I found what worked and what didn't. Try out a variety of things to develop what works for you! Sleep is vital to our health and should be placed high on our priority list. Without it, we aren't being the person we are capable of being. In addition, we might die sooner as one study points out that those who sleep less than 7 hours have a 12% increase in all-cause mortality. Don't be the person who claims they only need 4 or 5 hours of sleep. This is 1-3% of the population and if you are one of them, kudos to you. If you are not, which is highly likely, then shift your mindset and sleep more. This line of thought appears to be more of an example of hubris than self awareness! Are there "Rules" for Parenting? I am reading a book that outlines 12 rules for life and this led me to think: Are there rules for parenting? I started writing some ideas down and after jotting down an entire page worth, I thought I would share some things that I have learned along the way...
What I've Been Reading 3 More Reps: The Golden Age of Bodybuilding by George Snyder & Rick Wayne I grew up in a house where my father was a former bodybuilder and we always had a gym in the basement (I didn't always use it growing up but it was there!). Names like Arnold, Frank Zane, and Franco Columbo were on my radar at a very young age and I always wondered how these guys can train themselves to those incredible physiques. That wonderment is still there which led me down the path of reading this book to get an idea on their training programs. This book is a compilation of seminars given by some of the best bodybuilders of the 70's and 80's at the authors gym which happened to be located in Pennsylvania. One interesting note, at the time of some of these seminars, anabolic steroids were not illegal. Some the guys were very candid about what they took. During the era that they competed, their bodies are noticeably smaller than today's competitors. It makes me wonder what the heck the current guys are doing to get so damn huge. Unfortunately for them, I do not believe that much mass leads to a long, healthy life which seems to be apparent with the rash of young deaths in that field. Quote of the Week "The great tragedy of science - the slaying of a beautiful hypothesis by an ugly fact." -- Thomas Huxley I hope you all have an awesome week! Chris Fluck I was talking to a Lehigh student recently and she mentioned a project that she was working on. Intrigued, I asked what the topic was and she said she was researching why college students (aka her friends) are stressed, have anxiety, and can't seem to handle life as an adult. It seems that they do not have the confidence or ability to make a decision without a grown up interjecting. Intrigued, I decided to look into this topic and was slightly surprised at what I found.
Over a decade ago, The Atlantic published an article titled: All Work and No Play: Why Your Kids are More Anxious and Depressed. In it, they discussed the role of play and how it has been on the decline going all the way back to 1955. Think back to your childhood for a moment and then compare that to your own child's. Where are the differences? In my estimation, it is in the area of structured activities versus unstructured activities. I remember games of football at the park, basketball anywhere there was a hoop, or street hockey outside of my parents house. What I do not remember is year-round training for sport, club/AAU tournaments, standardized test prep, "college showcases" or anything of the like. As achievement becomes the primary focus for youth endeavors, low stress activities like free play get ignored. This has some long term detrimental effects. The unstructured environment associated with play offers children the opportunity to have a little say in their life. It gives them the power to control their own actions without a parent, coach or teacher telling them what they can and can't do. They pick the rules, they pick the teams, they keep score and they play. If a problem arises, they work through it and find a resolution. If a kid isn't playing fair, they handle it. If someone decides to not treat others well, they won't be asked back to play. If they lose or fail, they learn from it. They don't dwell, they move on. These are the lessons that cannot be taught in a classroom or in a textbook. They must be lived and they must be felt. Play provides a child endless opportunities to learn. Allowing kids a little autonomy to handle stressful situations as a youth provides an opportunity for a perfect stress-free dress rehearsal. The result of all this will be a strong, resilient child prepared to handle what the world has thrown their way! Chris P.S. If you want more information on this, check out the article linked about from The Atlantic or read the full report from The American Journal of Play: The Decline of Play and the Rise of Psychopathology in Children and Adolescents by Peter Gray, Psychology Researcher and Scholar I Did Something I Never Thought I'd Do...
In Cape Cod last week we found this restaurant with great reviews called Hangar B Eatery so we check it out. As we pull up, we arrive at a small airport and wonder where the heck the restaurant is (Side note: I now understand how people feel when they come to my gym and see nothing but an old barn and horses!). As it turns out, the restaurant was located inside the chained link fence and the seats were available in Hangar B. On my way walking back to the car to get everyone I noticed a sign that said you can take a tour of the area in one of their planes. For some reason I mention this out loud to everyone and my daughters eyes lit up! As I am making my way through 12 Rules for Life by Jordan Peterson he brought up an idea that came full circle on this day. He writes, "Our anxiety systems are very practical. They assume that anything you run away from is dangerous." Growing up, I never flew. I don't think I consciously ran away from the idea of getting on a plane but I also wasn't that interested. I was fine staying on the ground and didn't end up flying until my late twenties. The idea of flying in an object through the air at such great heights baffles my mind every time I am on a plane. Often times I cannot shake that thought and even when I do, it usually revisits a few times each trip. It is safe to say I am not the most comfortable person on a plane. Now back to the story... After dodging Emilia's question of, "Can we go on one of those planes?" multiple times, I finally consented and said yes (For the record, Marisa was much more willing to do this than I). So we board a four seat airplane with a pilot that is barely out of flight school and begin the process. I am riding shotgun and can't believe we are actually doing this. He starts going through his checklist and there is no turning back. While in the air, my anxiety system was in full swing. After a few minutes in air I began feeling a twinge in my hamstring. I thought, this is a terrible time for a hamstring cramp but quickly realized this cramp is coming on because my body was TENSE! I tried to breathe and relax but it didn't work too well. I decided to look behind me and this is when I was able to breathe a short sigh of relief. Emilia was gazing out the window and when we made eye contact, I gave her a thumbs up and a huge smile broke out over her face as she returned the gesture. I thought, if she is good, I should be good. What doesn't kill you makes your stronger, right? Fitness Tip of the Week There is an idea out there that eradicates soreness that is a little counter-intuitive that I would like to share. But first, lets set the scene... Imagine you just performed a bunch of squats in the gym and you hit those legs and glutes very hard. You feel good about yourself but then, when you wake up the next day your legs feel absolutely destroyed. Getting out of bed is a struggle, walking down the stairs is unpleasant, and getting up and down from a chair (or toilet) is a chore. This soreness is going to stick around for a few days so you have a choice to make: do I sit idle and wait for it to disappear or do I get my body moving and try to work some of this feeling out? The rational mind may be telling you to take some time off so the legs and glutes can recover but as it turns out, that advice will prolong the issue. If your legs are sore from squats, the best way you can eradicate some of that discomfort is by performing squats the following day. This is known as the repeated bout effect. Science tells us that "a single bout of exercise confers protective effect against muscle damage from a subsequent bout of similar activity". Soreness is muscle damage. If you have muscle damage from a specific exercise, the quickest way to reduce that damage and address the soreness would be to perform that same exercise with little to no weight. As the body begins to repair damaged muscles, getting blood flow to the sore areas through exercise can help speed up the recovery process. Physical Activity & Play... Earlier in the week I came across a post from The Global Matrix 4.0 which represents the largest compilation of information related to physical activity in children in adolescents. Their report states that there is "a global pandemic of youth physical activity" as only 27%-33% of youth meet physical activity guidelines. This is an alarming trend and what makes this even potentially more dangerous is that those who do participate in physical activity, usually do so in a structured setting lacking variety. Last week I spoke on why play is important for socio-emotional reasons. If you need a reminder, here is a summary of why physical play is important: The unstructured environment associated with play offers children the opportunity to control their own actions, to solve problems, to work with others, to laugh, to deal with emotions and ultimately, the feeling that they have control of their own lives and fate. When kids don't feel like they can control their environment and how they respond to it, anxiety and depression are soon to follow. On the physical side of things, some of my favorite memories growing up are playing sports or doing physical activities with friends. We picked the teams, made the rules, handled disputes, and in the end, everyone had fun. We played so often that we got tons of practice running, jumping, cutting, defending, and passing in all types of different environments. Because of this, we developed basic athletic skills that carried over into any sport that we decided to play. This concept gets lost when most activity is highly structured and in a single sport setting. Also, incidence of injury and burnout increase when kids focus solely on one sport or activity. They may be better at that given sport in the short term but will suffer in the long term. Variety is the spice of life for all ages! On the Road Again On our way home from Cape Cod, which is roughly a 6 hour trip, we listened to an episode of Malcolm Gladwell's Revisionist History. I am a huge fan of this guy and this episode in particular was incredibly entertaining (Malcolm Gladwell's 12 Rules for Life). In it, he discusses when a hockey team should pull their goalie, how similar logic can be used when deciding what to do if someone broke into your home (you will never guess what he and his guest recommend) and lastly, the personality trait agreeableness is discussed and its role in decision making. The closing sentence of this episode description reads, "We think the unthinkable, so you don’t have to" which fits this episode perfectly. If you have a 45 minute drive coming up, I would recommend giving it a listen! Quote of the Week "Change happens by listening and then starting a dialogue with the people who are doing something you don’t believe is right." -- Jane Goodall I hope you all have an awesome week! Chris Fluck On the Road Again
Greetings from Cape Cod! This year, the family has been pretty fortunate as weddings have taken us on some wonderful trips. From Florida, to New York City, to the beauty of Chatham, Massachusetts. These mini-vacations have given us an opportunity to spend time as a family, have a little fun, and hopefully create some lifelong memories for Emilia. In Florida, it was safari's and the beach, in New York it was taxi's and tourism, and in Cape Cod, it is flying in a Cessna Skyhawk and the natural beauty of fall. Coming into this wedding Marisa and I were prepared to not really know anyone. After getting our seating arrangement, we went to our table. The bride and groom came over and told us we were sitting at the "Baxter Table". This is referring to her horse who spent years at our house while the bride was attending Lehigh. We then started chatting with others and the realization of how small the world is hit us. One of our tablemates is a teacher at Saucon Valley, where I previously coached and also attended, and others grew up 30 minutes from where Marisa grew up. It was nice meeting everyone at our table so kudos to Baxter (and the bride and groom of course) for bringing us together! What I've Been Thinking About... A day after what would have been my brothers 39th birthday, Emilia and myself drove by a cemetery. She mentioned that people go to that church when they die and I told her that families can visit the graves there to help remember those no longer with us. I mentioned that Uncle Ryan has a place in a cemetery and that I went there the other day to visit. She then said, "I didn't want Uncle Ryan to die". "I said me either sweetie". Then, later in the week, a member shared a story about getting the news that someone they knew for years took their own life. They were struggling with it and wished they would have reached out. In hindsight, they realized that some of that individuals behaviors were warning signs or examples of them calling out for help. In their mind, they should have done something. Regret is a terrible emotion to live with. Psychologist Carl Rogers once said that, "it was impossible to convince someone to change for the better. The desire to improve was the precondition for progress." In sum, it means that the individual will never improve unless they want to improve themselves. Two thoughts came to mind after this conversation. The first is that we should always act. We should always help shoulder whatever burden someone is carrying and try to ease their discomfort. You do this not by enabling their negative behavior but by showing them that life is worth living. The second is to not think that your action will save anyone. Thinking you can save someone who doesn't want to be saved leads to a life of guilt and regret. For more on the topic, check out episode 155 of my podcast: Today, we remember. Today, we shoulder the burden and act! Fitness Tip of the Week As I write this, our friend is at our house with their four year old. I am laying down and feeling a bit fatigued but trying to motivate myself to get moving. So I did what any normal adult would do and asked her for some advice. I say to her, "I have to exercise today. Should I run or swim?" She responded neither and I said that is not an option. I have to do something so I can get a little healthier and she laid this gem of a quote on me: "Healthy things are gross". Not helpful little one! Lets get back to the problem at hand. On this day, I am feeling a little fatigued but have to get something done physically. Finding "work" to do rather than exercising is just a form of procrastination at this point. I am putting off what I should do now for another time but on this day, another time is no longer an option. It is now or never. The point of all this rambling is that everyone has days where they feel like garbage. They don't want to think, they don't want to move, they don't want to do anything! It is on these days that having a plan and sticking to that plan is vital. Call it motivation, call it discipline, call it whatever you want. All I ask is that you follow through. Every Sunday, look at your schedule and designate what days you are going to do what. You block out the time, you let everyone know about your schedule, and then you follow through. If today calls for you to strength train, you hit the gym and give it all you got. If you plan on doing cardiovascular work, get your shoes on and get to work. I can promise you one thing, 9 times out 10, you will feel much better when you are done with the session then prior to the session. Remember that feeling. One last thing, don't listen to that little voice, whether internal or external, telling you that healthy things are gross. What I've Been Reading... All Work and No Play: Why Your Kids are more Anxious, Depressed I was talking to a Lehigh student recently and she mentioned a project that she was working on. I asked what the topic was and it was basically how college students are stressed, have anxiety, and can't seem to handle life as an adult without mommy or daddy stepping in and helping. This led me to dig into the topic a bit and came across this article. Since 1955, free play has been declining for kids. There is a multitude of reasons for this but the main cause is that parents are taking an increased role over their child's activities. They replace free play with more emotionally stressful, structured events. From 1981 to 1997, kids have spent 18% more time in school, 145% more time doing school work, 168% more time shopping with parents. Combine that with the rise of social media, video games, decreased numbers in sport participation and the rise in childhood obesity and we are setting these kids up for a tough life. So, why is play important? The unstructured environment associated with play offers children the opportunity to control their own actions, to solve problems, to work with others, to laugh, to deal with emotions and ultimately, the feeling that they have control of their own lives and fate. When kids don't feel like they can control their environment and how they respond to it, anxiety and depression are soon to follow. Exposure to play and other similar behaviors at young ages will help build strong, resilient adults. Quote of the Week "Without ambition one starts nothing. Without work one finishes nothing. The prize will not be sent to you. You have to win it" -- Ralph Waldo Emerson I hope you all have an awesome week! Chris Fluck What I've Been Thinking About...
I have a great group of parents that come into the gym to train and we discuss all kinds of topics. At one point during the week, they were explaining to me the registration fees for youth sports and shared a few stories about some parents struggling to pay their dues. Imagine this for a moment... You are a single parent (roughly 15% of households, or 1 out of 7) and you have three kids that all love sports. Football in the fall, basketball in the winter, and baseball in the spring. Registration for each sport has fees associated with them along with snack stand responsibilities and fundraising. You also have to factor in getting everyone to and from practice which, most likely, occurs on different days at different times. A $75-$150 fee to play a sport may not be much on the surface, but when you combine that with the other commitments it gets costly. Add in the fees for the other sport seasons and that family is paying well over $1000 each year for athletics. Keep in mind that this is at a time where, according to the Federal Reserve, 32% of Americans could not afford a $400 emergency if faced with one. That is one out of three families. In previous emails I wrote about the decrease in youth sport participation and how those numbers are dropping fast. The oft-cited reasons are things like obesity rates, the role of social media, and sedentary behavior (TV and video games) becoming more entertaining/addicting. This week took me down a different path as I began looking into income levels and the role it plays. It is here that I found something interesting: Youth sport participation is rising among richer families and among the poorest households, it’s trending down. Wealth disparity seems to be a factor in who participates in sport and who does not. Call me naive but I did not expect that this would be a factor especially at the local level. I guess it is pay to play at all levels afterall! The Gym Earlier in the week Marisa and I were discussing work and what brings us joy. I spoke to her about having a sense of purpose when there is a good turnout for a program or when the gym is busy. The hustle and bustle adds a little pep into my step and I believe it takes my coaching up another level. I think, and this is speculation, that this was why I always enjoyed coaching sports. You would have anywhere between 20-40 kids showing up and we were all, coaches and kids alike, working on self improvement in one way or another. It was fun, it was energetic, and it is something I am working to replicate at the farm. I am slowly, but surely adding more gym offerings for the adult population and wanted to give all you faithful readers an opportunity to stop out for a workout or atleast to say hello. If interested in the offer, click the following link: Weekly Word Special Offer: One Week Free Trial. In addition, if you have a child that may be interested, that free trial is valid for them as well. Here is a list of our upcoming programs your child can use it for...
Fitness Tip of the Week For years I have been listening to the benefits of sauna use but always talked myself out of buying one or finding a gym that has one. All of that has changed as the YMCA in Quakertown has a great facility with a sauna and it is right down the road from our daughters pre-school. So, a few times per week, I get in there and get a good sweat rolling. The research on sauna use is quite impressive. It makes me think that regular sauna use can help mediate many of the problems most individuals face over the course of their life with minimal physical effort. If you sauna 2-3 times per week, you are 27% less likely to die from cardiovascular disease (CVD) then men who don't sauna. Men who used it twice as often, 4-7 times per week, were 50% less likely to die from CVD and 40% less likely to die from all causes of premature death. I really like the sound of this! So here is what I recommend: 175 degrees or more for atleast 20 minutes seems to do the trick. It might take some time to get to this but it is important that you do so. The research indicates that if you do not exceed 11 minutes, you get little to no result. Once you exceed that 19 minute mark, change begins to occur. For me, 30 minutes seems to be the sweet spot. I end up getting a great sweat in, my muscles feel good afterwards and my mood is always improved. I am really enjoying it so far. Side note: I am looking forward to see how I feel in the winter time. Like others, the cold days and early sunsets puts a damper on the mood and I am hoping sauna use can combat this. I don't classify myself as one who has seasonal depression but still intrigued at the potential benefit not only for myself, but for all! What I've Been Reading... 12 Rules for Life by Jordan Peterson Earlier in the week I had a member of the gym ask, "Do you ever listen to Jordan Peterson?" If Marisa heard that question she would have rolled her eyes because for the last 4+ years, I have been sharing his stories and thoughts on the regular. Agree with him or not, this guy makes me think and I have learned more on things like religion and the nature of humanity from him than I ever did in school or church. So, with all that being said, I am going to finish reading his books this year. Months ago I read his first book Maps of Meaning and now, I am diving into 12 Rules for Life. Once complete, I will read his third and then wait in anticipation for the next one. Marisa, if you are reading this, you have been warned! Quote of the Week “The pleasures arising from thinking and learning will make us think and learn all the more" -- Aristotle I hope you all have an awesome week! Chris Fluck What I've Been Thinking About...
I can't believe I am saying this but baseball actually caught my attention this week. As one Yankee slugger (Aaron Judge) passes another (Roger Maris), talk of who the real single season home run king has made its rounds on social media. Is it the juiced up players of the 90's or the non-juiced players? This is, of course, assuming those who never tested positive for a banned substance would never take anything to enhance performance. Wink wink ;) Because of this story, I was reminded of an interesting book I read back in the day titled Cooperstown Confidential by Zev Chafets. In it, he brought up baseballs checkered past and details some of the shady conduct associated with the league. Eventually, he shares that Major League Baseball has a clause that reads: The Hall of Fame asks voters to decide based on a player's record, ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character and team contributions. This is referred to as the character clause and is often cited as the reason for keeping legendary players like Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens (known steroid users) out of the Hall of Fame. If character is cited as the reason for keeping some players out of the Hall, that is fine with me but lets take a look at some of the current Hall of Famers... Assault somebody so bad they may have died (Ty Cobb), no problem. Members of the Ku Klux Klan (Tris Speaker and others), come on in! Doctor the baseball (Gaylord Perry) to ensure success, aka cheating, fine by me! Dabble with some cocaine (Paul Molitor) or smuggle some drugs (Orlando Cepeda) no problem there. Decades of Amphetamine use in every teams locker room, we will keep the door open for you. Take some performance enhancers or bet on a few games, NEVER! Am I being cyncical or is there some hypocrisy here? Fitness Tip of the Week Mike Mentzer, a legendary figure in the bodybuilding community, once said that "Anything you can do to make your training harder is a step in the right direction". Sounds like some solid advice. If you aren't getting results or making progress, it may be time to look at the intensity levels at which you are training. The body will not respond to ordinary behaviors. If there is no change in the stimulus (effort/energy exerted) then there will be no change in the response or adaptation (how you look, feel or improve). So here is what I propose... Pick one thing for the month of October to improve upon. Work hard at this one thing and make it your top priority. It could be sleeping more, lifting heavier weights, doing more cardiovascular work, eating better, or anything else you can come up with. Track your progress each day and see what helps and what does not. Continue this procress for the entire month. For me, I am trying to accomplish a feat and I am counting how many workouts it takes for me to do so. The goal at the moment is to reach it in 10 workouts or less. If I am able to accomplish that, the next time I try it, I will try to do it in 9 workouts or less. This idea is something I revisit a few times a year and providing this type of challenge makes training a little more interesting! Brain Disease and Diabetes: What is the Link? Often times I feel like I forget more things than I remember (I hope this is not a sign of what I plan on writing about) and this topic is one of them. Around a decade ago I began realizing the effect that food has on our overall well-being after reading a book titled Grain Brain by David Perlmutter. This book outlines how sugar, carbs, and wheat can wreak havoc on your brain function. Fast forward to earlier this week and I heard another best-selling author, Max Lugavere, state that 80% of people with Alzeimer's disease have insulin resistance and it has become so prevalent that in some instances, Alzheimer's is refferred to as Type 3 Diabetes. This led me to conclude that if insulin resistance is the driving force behind most cases of Alzheimer's, then I should start thinking about avoiding foods that may lead to me becoming insulin resistant. I understand that brain disease is multifactorial but one of the biggest modifiable things under your control is what you put in your mouth. If I can hedge my bets a little and choose to eat a little more "brain healthy", I can (hopefully) stave off some brain deterioration. Finger crossed! What I've Been Reading... Why, as a Muslim, I Defend Liberty by Mustafa Akyol This book will be my third and final in the attempt (for now) to understand some of the more recent wars America has embarked on. How the Weak Win Wars discussed how smaller countries can use strategic maneuvering to succeed against a larger foe. Then, the Afghanistan Papers discussed the 20+ year conflict that occurred in that country and the messiness associated with it. This final book was chosen to try and understand the mindset of those who have been on the other end of the conflict. This book was released in 2021 after the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan. The author, who is Muslim, acknowledges that human freedoms are being violated in the name of religious tradition. While reading this book I was reminded of a story Malcom X shared in his autobiography. As Malcolm wrote, "I have eaten from the same plate, drunk from the same glass, and slept on the same rug - while praying to the same God - with fellow Muslims, whose eyes were the bluest of blue, whose hair was the blondest of blond, and whose skin was the whitest of white...We were truly all the same (brothers)". Malcolm X found a moment of clarity with his beliefs and realized judgment shouldn't be based upon what someone looks like, where they are from or even what they believe. Akyol agrees and warns his fellow Muslims that what they are doing now is not being true to their religious principles. I finished this book a few days ago and it opened my eyes to the importance of freedom of thought that I recorded a podcast on the matter. You can find that episode here: Malicious Reflections Quote of the Week "Hypocrisy is a tribute that vice pays to virtue" -- Francois Duc De La Rochefoucauld I hope you all have an awesome week! Chris Fluck What I've Been Thinking About...
Last weekend, we were at a family party and while there, we had a great time catching up with everyone. At this point in our lives, everyone seems to have a child of their own and are feeling a bit stressed. We all needed some kid free time or even a few moments talking with other parents or adults. A simple conversation without having a kid hanging on your back or calling your name every 3 seconds is all we were looking for. That is not too much to ask for, is it? Unfortunately, those moments are few and far between! During the party, when we did have a free moment or two, the chatter typically involved the struggles we are all facing raising a child. For some, it could be mood disturbances, for others it was their child's lack of sleep and having to get a sleep test conducted, or even the ever so common food allergy that afflicts more people than you would think. These conversations oftentimes resemble a therapy session or an Alcoholic Anonymous meeting. Instead of stating, "My name is Chris, I am an Alcoholic" it becomes "My name is Chris, I am a struggling parent". You share your trials and tribulations, they share theirs, and in the end, you all feel a little bit better. The tricky part is actually finding the time to have these conversations! Fitness Tip of the Week I ran into a guy this week who experienced a huge weight gain during the lockdowns. This man had a slight frame and went from 130-something to over 180 pounds. Packing on 50 pounds (roughly 40% of his initial bodyweight) during a 1-2 year period is quite alarming. He described his body as "looking like the letter D" and decided it was time for a change. During this time, he visited Europe (I forget where to be exact) and came to the realization that food tastes better over there and as a result, he felt better. He decided he was going to come home and change his diet. The first thing he did was he went vegan. He saw a decrease in weight but didn't feel quite right. He introduced meat back into his diet and although it tasted great, it made his stomach feel awful. He came to realize that the vegan diet wasn't sustainable long term for him and the traditional diet he was eating was not going to improve his weight issue. So he thought about it and decided he would go vegan for a month, and then switch back to a more traditional diet and continue alternating back and forth each month. For him, this style of eating was something he could adhere to and his body responded well by dropping 20+ pounds. The point of sharing this story is not to encourage a vegan diet, a meat diet, or any specific diet for that matter. The point is that when you embark on making a big lifestyle change, it is important to keep a few things in mind. The first is the experimentation process. You have to do a little research, test drive a few things, see how you respond, and continue gathering information in this manner. This takes time so patience is required. The second part is that just because something works, doesn't mean it will be sustainable. Most diets work if you adhere to the guidelines. Adherence rate will either make you or break you. If something is not sustainable long term, then I would advise you to look elsewhere and continue the experimentation process. Social Media & A Childs Well-Being As I was researching and preparing to write an article (Is Social Media Killing Youth Sports), I came across some interesting, albeit unfortunate, statistics conducted by The American Journal of Public Health. In 2015, they reported that screen based media is associated with low self-esteem, poor academic performance, obesity and a decrease in fitness. Heavy users of screen based media were less likely to be happy and more likely to have socioemotional difficulties. Young people who chatted on social web sites between 1-3 hours per day were half as likely to be happy than those who chatted for less than an hour per day. This was seven years ago. Since that report, social media sites have become more addicting, "binge watching" Netflix or Amazon shows has become a thing, and Youtube is upgrading their user experience to grab your attention and never let go. This type of stimulation has some serious side effects. The more a child uses, the more a child craves. In addition to the mental effect, these services encourage sedentary behavior which is probably the last thing kids need in their lives. What I've Been Reading... The Afghanistan Papers by Craig Whitlock During the occupation of Afghanistan, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction conducted interviews with soldiers and high ranking officials to compile a "Lessons Learned" information gathering project. The interviewees were very candid as they shared their thoughts and opinion on the conflict. They did not think that these interviews would get leaked in any way or released to the public. As it turns out, they were wrong. After a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request was made and a three year battle in the courts, the details of these interviews were released. This book is a breakdown of what was discovered. Winston Churchill once said that, "In wartime, truth is so precious that she should always be attended by a bodyguard of lies". It seems the Bush and Obama administration (and eventually Trump & Biden) took that advice to heart in regards to the conflict in Afghanistan. Everything about this 20+ year conflict seems messy and I am having a hard time understanding the rationale behind some of the things that were done, especially after reading these interviews. Either way, it is something I didn't know much about and it is worth the read! Quote of the Week "Only the dead have seen the end of war" -- George Santayana, 1922 I hope you all have an awesome week! Chris Fluck |
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