The Weekly Word: November 29th Edition

News & Notes
Have any of you had one of those nights where you woke up 2:30 am and can't figure out a way to get back to sleep? I had one of those nights on Friday. In the past I have read that the best approach if this were to happen to you was to get out of bed and do something. I have never tried it before but thought I would give it a go. So I got out of bed, sat myself on the floor and opened up Alexander Hamilton's biography at 3:30 am. Fast forward a few hours and a failed attempt at getting back to sleep, I decided to go for a walk. I waited for the sun to come up but didn't take into account that it was the first day of rifle season. As I was walking through the country roads I heard four loud gunshots go off what felt like a hundred yards away. The first shot took me by surprise, the second one had me thinking maybe I should take cover, and the third and forth had me walking at a very brisk pace to get out of the way. As I looked back I saw the hunter maybe one hundred yards away. I have to be honest with you, for a second I thought I was Alexander Hamilton dodging bullets during the Revolutionary War! 

What I've Been Thinking About...
The circumstances surrounding this years holiday season are unique to say the least. I hope that you all were able to have a nice Thanksgiving and were able to make the most of your time off! As the time passes and this COVID-19 issue doesn't seem to be going anywhere, I have wondered about my role in all this. It seems to be every other day that I get a message from someone saying they are not feeling well, they have a sore throat, been exposed to someone, or worse, were told they were positive or someone close to them was. 

The more I thought, the more I was reminded of something a mentor of mine uses as a tenet of his coaching philosophy. This tenet is understanding asymmetrical risks. Things like brushing your teeth and wearing your seat belt are considered to be asymmetrical risks. You may be asking why and here is the answer: there is basically no harm, or reward in doing these things. I believe wearing a mask also fits into this category. For me as a coach/trainer, I have to ask myself , what's the worst that can happen? 

I see 30-40 people every week. I want to keep it that way. I want no more quarantines. I want everyone to have an opportunity to train and stay as healthy as possible!

Fitness Tip of the Week...
I had a talk with someone this week about having a lifelong commitment to fitness. As I think back to my own experiences, I realized that I have been involved in doing some sort of organized physical activity since I was about 5 years old. Throw in the fact that I had an older brother to run, jump, and play with and this means I was probably involved in doing things prior to that age. As I am soon to be 35, this is 30+ years of developing movements, strength, diet,  flexibility, muscle, neuromuscular connections, and more. So, at the age of 35, my physical literacy is large. 

Our talk then shifted to individuals we would run into while we worked at a commercial gym and they would see us train and ask why we don't train them in that way? The answer to that is simple and may sound blunt but it is because they don't have the foundational skills and experience to do that. It is why I struggle with seeing gyms have untrained individuals performing complex exercises. They aren't ready for it and it is dangerous. It is like teaching a child to run before they crawl. 

So lets say you are 40, you never worked out or played a sport and you want to start training. What do you do? Here is my advice: 

1. Find a coach or trainer whose goal is not to induce muscle soreness and/or vomit.
2. Perform basic moves like bodyweight squats, pushup position planks, and some sort of pulling move like a row. Once mastered then progress it. Be patient! 
3. Eat grown up things and maybe experiment with eating windows. An eating window is a hard rule that says "I will only consume calories between 7 am and 7 pm". The window can be anywhere from 8-12 hours. Eventually work yourself to a 10 hour or less window. Do not deprive yourself of calories during the eating window. This is not a starvation diet. 
4. Lastly, take a walk outside. Start small, a 10 minute stroll around the block is better than nothing. The big challenge will be getting motivated to gear up and get out the door. Once you are moving you should be good to go. It is the starting process that is the toughest. The more you succeed in overcoming the starting challenge the better you will be in the long run. 
5. Lastly, like the old saying goes, the best time to start anything was yesterday. The second best time to do it is today! 

What I've Been Watching...
The Social Dilemma on Netflix
"If you aren't paying for the product, then you are the product".
That quote right there is how I would sum up this documentary and how we, as humans have been duped in regards to social media. At a time where people think we are more connected than ever, we are experiencing increased levels of loneliness, teenage depression, suicide, cutting, plastic surgery, and much, much more. It appears that Keeping up with the Joneses (or Kardashian's) has left us feeling inept...even if others success is only on the surface!  

Quote of the Week
"Those who stand for nothing fall for anything." -- Alexander Hamilton.