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News and Notes
I have been having a hard time trying to figure out what to write about this week. While thinking about it I remembered a piece of advice that I heard a few years ago that really helped me out today: When you have trouble coming up with things to write about, write about the things that make you angry! So with this opening message, I will discuss something that I saw on Instagram that drives me a little crazy... I saw a local strength coach perform an exercise and it was sent to me with the question "what is going on here?". I said I couldn't say with 100% certainty what the motivation was behind it but the short clip had a description that read something like "trying to keep up with the athletes". I then thought that the exercise being done might be great for high level performers. The D1 athletes, the pros, the international level athletes might get a boost but not the novice weight lifter. But guess what the novice weight lifter is going to see on Instagram? The high level lift being performed by their coach hyping it up on the interwebs with no real explanation to the why. I love the basics. They are what is most important. They are especially what is most important when you deal with young athletes. I don't care about new progressions or modalities that aren't going to survive the test of time. I care about mastering the basics. There are a few lifts that matter and they are the ones that have mattered for decades and in some cases, centuries. Get great at them first before you bring out the bands, chains, and split jerks! Fitness Tip of the Week The more I think about keys to fitness the more I come to understand how valuable everything outside the gym matters. I had a talk with a few former athletes this week who are trying to figure out a way to juggle work and fitness after college. One mentioned how their current strength training program doesn't seem to be doing much for their conditioning or getting ripped. I totally agreed with them. Two days a week of strength training by itself doesn't get it done. The idea of getting healthy or "ripped" doesn't happen if you do not look at how you handle all of your days. So what do we do? After years of study and trial and error, I found a few pieces of advice that seem to help just about anyone who is trying to improve their fitness. Here is how I apply these principles to my life...
So in summation, here is what I would recommend for anyone looking to improve their fitness: Strength train 3 days a week, walk every day if possible, fast for a few hours each morning, eat two meals a day (try to keep them as healthy as possible), and improve your conditioning on the days you do not lift. This could be longer walks, biking, rowing, jogging, jumping rope, kettlebell swings, etc. This, as you can see, is much more than two 60 minute sessions in the gym! What I've Been Reading New Functional Training for Sport by Mike Boyle When I first began coaching I came across a book from strength coach Mike Boyle. Here is a man who has worked at universities, has a World Series ring with the Red Sox, and quite possibly a Gold Medal for his work with the US Women's Ice Hockey team. Those credentials alone brought me in to read his work, the way he coaches and lives his life is what kept me coming back! As I lay out a plan for how I want my life to look, I see coaches like Mike in their sixties still getting it done. He is doing it because he wants to, not because he has to. He does it because he loves coaching and seeing improvement in others. He does it because he wants to build a network of coaches who get out and try to change the landscape of training for sport. He is a mentor to many and also a great mind who is not afraid to challenge conventional thought. The book is not only great for strength coaches but for anyone who wants to add more "functional training" exercises to their routine! What I've Been Listening To Olympic Champ Jordan Burroughs on Joe Rogan's podcast (click here to listen) There is a very small percentage of people in athletics who can place the title Olympic Champ next to their name. This man just so happens to be one of them. So, for someone who enjoys athletic success, this episode was a must listen. To put the icing on the cake is that this man is an Olympic champ in one of my favorite sports: WRESTLING! Burroughs appears to be an awesome guy. He has a great mentality and his personality has helped grow the sport. Like he discusses in the episode, wrestling is such a niche sport. The only people who really enjoy it are those who competed in the sport itself or have a loved one compete in the sport. Don't get me wrong, there is the occasional person who never competed who catches the bug and comes to love the sport but it is not too common. The reason I love the sport of wrestling is that it demands such discipline from their athletes. There are no teammates. There are no shortcuts. And like Burroughs and Rogan discussed, there is no flopping wrestling! When it comes down to it, it is all pride. His best wrestling may be behind him now but if you want to see his athleticism, just google Jordan Burroughs Blast Double to see the power and speed that this man has! Quote of the Week "Approach the game with no preset agendas and you'll probably come away surprised at your overall efforts." -- Phil Jackson I hope you all have an awesome week! Chris Fluck
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News and Notes
"Nobody will remember you." These wise words came from the author Lawrence Wright who wrote some incredible books, one of which turned into a great series called The Looming Tower about 9/11. Now at first glance these words seem a little depressing but he went on to describe how he uses those four words to motivate him to pursue anything that interests him. As he looked back on his days in college, he is now in his sixties, he thought about all the great writers that he studied. As his kids went through school, he realized that many of these writers are no longer part of the curriculum. Disappointed by this, he realized one day nobody is going to care about his work. Nihilistic, I know, but stay with me here for a second.. This led to another thought about what motivates people. It basically comes down to two things: pain and pleasure. The pain of this thought, that nobody is going to remember his work led him to pursue topics that don't necessarily fit the mold. He figured that if nobody is going to remember him he might as well write about the things that he wants to write about and do it his way. In the end, it is basically who cares what anyone thinks, I am going to do what I want, and best of all, have fun while doing it! What I've Been Watching The Last Dance on Netflix This series is awesome! The timeline of this basketball team lines up pretty well with when I watched massive amounts of sports growing up. I remember many of these stories and collected many of these guys basketball cards. In fact, they are probable collected dust in an attic somewhere as we speak. Getting back to the show, I absolutely love how coach Phil Jackson managed the different personalities on this team. For one, his handling of three unique personalities like Dennis Rodman, Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen was beyond impressive. These three men had three different routes to NBA success. They all had their needs. They were all high maintenance at times but they always had each others back. They needed each other and understood that when the ball dropped, they would show up and play at a high level. In addition to all that, they knew Phil was there to fight for them and fight with him. Phil as a person is unique. Phil as a basketball innovator, not so much. His ability to coach talent was the star of the system. The organization found players to fit into the style of basketball he wanted to play and everything seemed to work like magic! Others tried to replicate his style, often times his proteges, and they all were unsuccessful. Phil Jackson as a man and coach is not something to be replicated. I still have a few more episodes but look forward to finishing it up soon! What I've Been Thinking About... Creating more content! I slipped up in this regard over the course of the pandemic. I guess we can say I was trying to formulate a plan but after about 9 months of inactivity it is time for some action! So I have decided to fire up the old podcast once again. As I have been thinking about the best way to do this, I decided it may be best to blend three interests of mine (books, coaching, and coffee) into one great show that the viewer will enjoy. If I had to sum it up in one sentence it will basically be this newsletter but on steroids! At some point in the near future I would love to have some guests visit the farm to discuss things but right now, I am going to be riding solo. The first book I will be discussing is Lean Made Simple by Slade Jones. This book provides some great principles for a short term fat loss program as well as what to do when that program ends. Be on the lookout for this over the next couple of days! Fitness Tip of the Week The economics of training. I had a talk this week with a former athlete and we were discussing conditioning. He felt that he could use a little more conditioning work and I began telling him what I did. To sum it up simply, I row for 30 seconds and then rest for 30. I then row for 1 minute, rest for 1, row for 2 minutes and then rest for 2, and finally I row for 4 minutes and go home. He said, you know what would be good? I said what? He said if you repeat what you did except now count back down to 30 seconds. I said "Nah, brotha. Just because some of something is good doesn't mean more is better" . The conditioning I do doesn't sound like much but it is sustainable. I see slow and steady improvements that will continue over the long haul (I feel like that is what people want their retirement portfolio to look like). I don't always enjoy it but I do it. If I doubled up on it I may be able to do it for a few weeks and get big results but eventually I would grow sick of it or have an achy elbow or knee and pack it in. The improvements will level off and eventually start to decrease. I think this happens to a lot of us at the New Year. We embark on a new journey but the journey we take is one that is not sustainable. We start out motivated but soon grow discouraged. It becomes too much too soon. So here is what I recommend: Start slow, stay patient, slowly progress, and be in it for the long haul. Long term adherence trumps short term intensity! Quote of the Week "If you spend too much time learning the 'tricks' of the trade, you may not learn the trade. There are no shortcuts. If you're working on finding a short cut, the easy way, you're not working hard enough on the fundamentals. You may get away with it for a spell, but there is no substitute for the basics. And the first basic is good, old fashioned hard work." -- John Wooden I hope you all have an awesome week! Chris Fluck News and Notes
First off, Happy New Year! I cannot seem to get accustomed to how fast time moves as we pass through the years. This week I was reminded of this as I have been listening to one of my favorite books, Jurassic Park on audio. The quote is from the great character Ian Malcolm: “And that's how things are. A day is like a whole life. You start out doing one thing, but end up doing something else, plan to run an errand, but never get there. . . . And at the end of your life, your whole existence has the same haphazard quality, too. Your whole life has the same shape as a single day.” Thinking about this quote, I think about the hope and excitement that surrounds every new year. It is amazing to see the motivation and the drive that people have to make a better life for themselves. Unfortunately, more often than not, this desire sputters out. Do not let that happen to you. Every day that you have is a small sample of your entire life. If you stay on the desired path, your life will be what you want it to be. If you deviate from said path, you will live a life with regret. What I've Been Reading Apollo's Arrow: The Profound and Enduring Impact of Coronavirus on the Way We Live by Nicholas Christakis The author of this book is a physician, sociologist, and professor at Yale University. He is an interesting man who understands human behavior very well. If you want to get an introduction to him, his work, and this book, check out his interview on Joe Rogan's podcast. Anyhow, Apollo’s Arrow provides an account of the origins and the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. He does an amazing job discussing pandemics and plagues of yesteryear with tons of quotations and examples from as far back as the 1400's. The handling of pandemics is nothing new to humans and this book outlines the many ways that people throughout history tried to slow down the spread of viruses. They shutdown schools, stayed home, avoided going to businesses, evacuated cities, and so on. Many of the things we are doing today have a long history not only in this country but in our world! If you are somehow who can ignore the politicization of COVID-19 and read a book to gain some insight on the current issue at hand, this one is perfect! Lessons From The Forefathers... Clergymen were telling congregations that if Jefferson became president, they would need to hide their bibles... As I wrapped up reading Hamilton this week I am again, shaking my head in awe over the parallels to life in the late-1700's/early-1800's to our present day. The election of 1800 saw incumbent John Adams square off against vice President Thomas Jefferson for the right to be our next president. During this time, rumors persisted that Jefferson was an atheist and if elected, "clergymen would need to hide their bibles...". The thought of a presumed atheist president struck concern into the God fearing Christians spread throughout the country. As it turns out, none of the sort would happen. Jefferson beat Adams for the seat in the White House and no bibles needed to be hidden. Turns out, it was only political posturing from the competition for office! This got me thinking... As our election just wrapped up, I thought about all the fear mongering that occurs during these pivotal moments in history. If Trump wins, then _____________ is going to happen. If Biden wins, the first thing he is going to do is __________________. Fill in those blanks with whatever story you wish. In the end, most of these things never happen. We spend more time thinking about things and spreading concern over issues that never occur. In my view, that is not a very productive way to live. Lets leave this behavior behind us with 2020 and move on to creating a positive environment for ourselves and those around us! Fitness Tip of the Week I just wrapped up reading Lean Made Simple by Slade Jones. This book seems to be a tremendous way to start off the New Year as many Americans are looking to improve on their physical fitness in 2021. This book outlines a four week program. This book is not recommending you do these things for the rest of your life. It is recommending you follow the program for the set amount of time, accomplish some weight loss, and move on to a more sustainable way of living. That being said, here is what Slade Jones recommends with his 4 week program...
Quote of the Week "One hour per day of study in your chosen field was all it takes. One hour per day of study will put you at the top of your field within three years. Within five years you'll be a national authority. In seven years, you can be one of the best people in the world at what you do" -- Earl Nightingale I hope you all have an awesome week! Chris Fluck  This year I decided for my resolution, I will read or listen to 1 book every week for 52 weeks! That being said, I got a little jump start on the year and finished a book titled Lean Made Simple by Slade Jones a few days ago.
The title of this book is right in my wheelhouse. Anytime the words "made simple" follow something I am all ears! The reason for this is not that I don't want to work hard towards something, I just want to do the least amount of work possible to reach the desired goal. By focusing on this approach, it frees up time for me to explore the other things that I want to do in life. I don't want to spend hours in the gym when I can be outside, hanging out with my family, reading, building "horsie barns" with my daughter or doing whatever else interests me in the moment. Before we get started with the details, you have to understand one thing: SIMPLE DOES NOT MEAN EASY. The program outlined by Slade Jones is specific. You must follow the rules for 28 days. There is no deviation. If you do deviate then that means you are no longer on the program. This is one month of disciplined action. Are you up for it? Just as your boss at work requires you to show up and do the work they ask of you, so too does this program. There are six components to this program. Each of which are outlined below... RULE ONE: You must lift weights. Over the course of 28 days, this program wants you to strength train 12 times. I don't mean to show off here with my impressive math skills but that comes out to strength training three times per week for four weeks. Progressive resistance is the key here. The 12 workouts are the same four exercises every time: Hip Thrust, Single Arm Press, Pullup, Ab Wheel. You start by performing three sets of everything. If completed, use same weights and do four sets. If completed, use the same weights and do five sets. If completed, add weight or reps and start the process over at three sets. RULE TWO: You must walk daily. The rules for walking are quite simple: Set a timer for 10 minutes, walk as far as you can in 10 minutes, then turn around and walk home. Each day you walk you will try to go a little further. 10-15 days in you will be struggling to add distance. No jogging or running allowed! This concept comes from legendary track coach Barry Ross and he uses it with his athletes to develop a baseline for conditioning. RULE THREE: You must perform Intervals. On days you do not strength train, you will perform intervals. Pick a training modality (options are bike, rower, running, swimming, jumping rope, etc.) and perform two minutes of hard work. Rest for 2 minutes and repeat for 20-30 minutes. If you reach 30 minutes and are not tired then you are not working hard enough during the interval. RULE FOUR: You must get adequate recovery. Sleep is our focus here and you will aim to get between 7-9 hours of sleep. You will do this by setting a consistent sleep schedule. Try to get to bed and wake around the same time each day. Remove all clocks and devices from your room and try to avoid napping longer than 30 minutes. RULE FIVE: You must follow the diet principles recommended. For 28 days Slade Jones wants you to count your calories. Your daily calorie total should be your bodyweight multipled by 12 (A 190 pound male x 12 = 2, 280 calories). You then multiply that number by 7 and get your weekly total (same male would eat 15, 960 calories). The weekly total is the big one to hit. The recommendation is to eat as healthy as possible but you know how that goes sometimes. He wants you to fast for the first five hours upon waking and eat two meals per day. Strategically plan these meals and follow the plan! RULE SIX: You must test/assess your progress weekly. Every Monday morning you should check your weight and measure your waist in centimeters at the belly button. If you do not lose weight or centimeters, deduct an additional 200 calories from the diet. After four weeks of closely monitoring calories, taking daily walks, performing intervals, building strength, and sleeping well, I will assume you all lost some weight and/or centimeters on the belly. Once this is complete, we now have the "Now What?" question. The now what is what you will do for the rest of your life. The rules listed above provide a nice framework to build a good healthy life. You don't have to count calories every day beyond this month but we hope you are mindful of what you are consuming. It is recommended by the author to continue to eat two meals a day, enjoy them with friends and/or family, and try to eat as many vegetables as possible. Continue to build strength, sleep well, walk and try to be as active as possible. As you noticed, there are no fancy adjectives to describe the way to get results and be happy. It is doing the simple things really well that will lead to sustainable improvements over the course of your life. Simple, not easy. A mantra for life I can really get behind! Chris Fluck News and Notes
This week started a little crazy! The beginning of the week found us scrambling a bit to get the gym set up in a way that would allow us to comply with Governor Wolf's recommendations to the best of our ability. This involved getting a few loads of stone spread, laying some turf on top of that, and lastly, getting some equipment outside to create a small outdoor training area. Fast forward a few days and 10+ inches of snow led us to clean up almost all everything we previously set up but that is life living on the east coast in December. Our version of muscle beach doesn't have sand and sun, it has snow and ice! Speaking of snow, it has been a long time since I last chucked snow balls at people and wrestling around in the snow but having a daughter has reignited that fire. I never thought that rolling around in the snow would become a part of my adult life but it has. On another note, being outside, no matter what the weather, is a game changer in more ways than one. More on this later... Lastly, the heat is FINALLY scheduled to get installed this Tuesday. I have been hyping this heat up for a few weeks now so here is hoping it works as well as I have been telling everyone! What I've Been Thinking About... Weird viruses. On Tuesday night around 11:30 pm our daughter woke up with that awful barking cough that comes with croup. This is not our first experience with this so we were somewhat prepared this time around. After spending a few minutes outside we decided to call the family doctor and get in the car for a drive. As we waited for them to call us back with a plan we started to realize that Emilia's breathing was sounding a little better and we became comfortable heading home for the night. We cracked the windows in our bedroom and other than bundling up with multiple layers everyone was able to get some sleep. Croup is one tricky virus. It typically strikes at night and leads to some panic for both parent and child. As we waited for the doctor to call us back we ended up driving around or sitting in a cold car for about an hour. This seemed to greatly ease the inflammation in her airway and for that night, was a great treatment for our daughter. There were no trips to the emergency room or the use of a steroid to reduce the inflammation. All she needed was some fresh air on a cold night. Chalk up a win for the natural remedies! Lessons From The Forefathers... "Afterall, if the patriots could pounce Tory estates, might not their own freedoms be next?" When the Revolutionary War ended, the victors had a choice to make: Do we rob and pillage everything owned by British loyalists or do we show mercy and try to create a just society? There were arguments for both sides but in the end, the leaders opted for mercy and encouraged all to do the same. At a time when offence is easily taken, I think this lesson from our past is incredibly important to remember. The leaders of yesteryear knew that how they responded to their current situation could provide precedent for future interactions. At some point in all of our lives we will make a mistake and/or have an unpopular or wrong opinion. When this time comes, do you want the masses to put you on blast and try to destroy you or your reputation? Or would you prefer they show you mercy? I think we would all be wise to choose mercy. Be careful how you treat others because one day those others will have to decide on how they want to treat you! Fitness Tip of the Week Find something that will humble you! A few weeks ago I decided to implement morning walks into my routine. It offered some low level cardiovascular training and also found it to be great for my mood and mental state. Again, the power of being outside is ever present. Don't get me wrong, my morning walks have been pretty pleasant but the snow and ice may put a hamper on them for parts of the winter. So after some deliberation, I decided to partake in a brand new challenge... The rules for this challenge are quite simple: Row 2000 meters in 7 minutes or less (click here to read the article: The Conditioning Test Lifters Need to Pass). Lets just say, with my current level of conditioning, a little work needs to be done before achieving this challenge. The morning walks unfortunately don't translate well to being a powerful rower. According to the article, my current status is "You've probably done some cardio, but not enough to be good at it. Get fitter." Note taken! Quote of the Week "Humanity has but three great enemies: fever, famine, and war; of these by far the greatest, by far the most terrible, is fever" --Sir William Osler (1896) I hope you all have an awesome week! Chris Fluck News & Notes
We checked a pretty cool school this week for my daughter. It is called United Friends School located in Quakertown, PA. This school is located in an appropriate town as it uses Quaker principles as the framework for their teaching. These principles are "integrity, equality, simplicity, community, stewardship of the Earth, and peace. They arise from an inner conviction and challenge our normal ways of living." We are looking for a unique learning experience for our daughter and this school seems to fulfill that. For pre-school aged kids, they grow vegetables and flowers, have butterfly gardens, outdoor kitchens, and more. For my daughter who loves life on the farm, all of these things were wins! Needless to say, I picked up a book titled Quaker Writings: An Anthology, 1650-1920. If you see me wearing one of those Quaker Hats in the near future then you'll know I am drinking the kool-aid! In addition to that, we made some progress on setting up an additional outdoor training area with turf this week. After putting in some work on the tractor trying to create a stone pad, we will lay some turf on top of that. The turf will be about 15 yards long and 5 yards wide giving us some good space to train outdoors, and more importantly, push sleds! What I've Been Thinking About... Band-aid solutions cannot fix gaping wounds. Over the past couple years I have been reading the statistics on the health of our country in regard to those overweight and obese. From this viewpoint we are not a healthy country. This lack of physical fitness can lead to things like high blood pressure, type II diabetes, heart disease, and more. When you look at what the CDC lists as who is high risk for COVID complications, all of these are risk factors. Over the years the solution for some of these metabolic conditions came in a bottle. The emphasis on physical fitness was vague and to defend the medical community, the short term fix may best come from a bottle but if we want to cure some of these issues over the long haul, I believe physical fitness must be emphasized. So, after the past few decades over emphasizing medication and under emphasizing physical fitness, we now have a population not equipped to handle a pandemic. I hope in the future that we hear more about taking care of body but at this moment, it does not seem to be the case. Fitness Tip of the Week... The value of using timed sets. As I approach week three of a new program I have been starting to realize the value of performing timed density sets. The focus of these sessions is to increase the total workload per session. So lets say you are going to perform a timed workout that lasts 20 minutes. You choose two exercises, for this example we will use a Squat + Press (aka Thruster) for 10 reps and 5 Chinups. Over the course of 20 minutes, you perform as many rounds as possible of the two exercises with the prescribed reps. If you complete less than 5 rounds I would say the weight is too challenging. If you perform more than 10 rounds of each then I would say the weight is light. This exact workout totally wiped me out yesterday. So much so that after coming into the house 10 minutes later Marisa asked "Are you ok?". Other than a little muscle soreness today the answer to that is yes, I am okay What I've Been Reading... I hope you all get used to this because I will be citing examples from the Alexander Hamilton biography on the regular as I try to make my way through this 700+ page book. At one point in this book it discussed Hamilton's greatest paradox which was his optimistic view of America's potential that coexisted alongside an essentially pessimistic view of human nature. Let me start by saying that I know that every individual can be swayed or swindled into believing something that may not align with who they are. History has taught us this and at times, led to catastrophic events. World War II being the prime example. On the flip side, I also have an optimistic view of America because I live here and believe in the end, things will be okay. I have this view because I don't believe being pessimistic is going to get us anywhere good. Feeling down about our current state of affairs may lead us down a path that we do not want to follow like mentioned above. It may leave us vulnerable to things we don't stand for. There has been ebbs and flows throughout our entire history in this country but in the end, things have turned out to be okay. We are a country of individuals and just like every individual, we are a work in progress. So to is our country. Quote of the Week "As the general marches at the head of his troops, so ought wise politicians, if I dare use the expression, to march at the head of affairs; insomuch that they ought not to wait the event, to know what measures to take; but the measures which they have taken ought to produce the event." -- Demosthenes I hope you all have an awesome week! Chris Fluck 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:
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. This past week I have been struggling on what to write. My energy was low, the motivation wasn’t there and I busied myself with other things to the point that I didn’t find time to write something. I know, I know, shame on me for making excuses! But things are about to change. This morning as I was thinking about what to write, I remembered a piece of advice I heard a few years in an interview. The interviewer asked the individual what they did when they had a writing block and the man answered: I write about things that aggravate me. I thought this was a great idea, so today, I will write about something that annoys me!
A few days ago I was listening to an interview with Peter Hotez, an infectious disease specialist who is working very hard to find answers regarding the coronavirus and in the creation of a safe and effective vaccine. Throughout the course of the interview he constantly emphasized one important factor when discussing COVID-19: the host body! We all have our own unique make-up and this results in varied symptoms, varied reactions, and ultimately, the potential for a varied treatment plan. We can follow the protocols that were used in other countries like China or Italy, but at the end of the day, the individuals that comprise those countries either have a different genome or live a totally different lifestyle than we do here in America. So you may be asking yourself, how are we going to tie this into physical fitness. I will tell you right now that when you choose a workout plan or a routine, remember one thing: THE HOST BODY MATTERS! Everywhere you look there are training programs and ideas. One person claims to have the best fat burning routine, another trainer talks about their success with a celebrity client, or better yet, the snake oil salesman type who can sell water to a well but really has no clue about training principles. These programs use words like toned, lean, jacked, bulging, and any other fitness adjectives that’ll grab your attention. And these opinions, just like those on the nightly news, can become quite polarizing. One “experts” view opposes the other “experts” and after taking it all in you are left to wonder, “How can all these people have the best training program around?” I know the answer to that, they can’t! We have to keep something in mind when embarking on a new idea. One program might work incredibly well for one person and it might not work at all for others. One diet can give someone tremendous results and in another give them high blood pressure. We are all unique individuals who live in our own unique way. I am sometimes reminded of a conversation I had a few years ago at the local swimming pool. I am not a great swimmer but that summer I was trying to become a little more efficient and make some improvements. Swimming in the lane next to me was a former classmate of mine and after making small talk he asked what I was training for. After a few seconds of thought I jokingly said life. I told him I was training for life! He smiled and said he liked that idea and we continued on with our laps and on with our lives. As I look back, I begin to think that what was once a joke has now become the best piece of advice I can give. So you may be wondering, what is the best training program out there? The answer to that question is the training program you can adhere to. I would start with getting somewhere between 7-9 hours of sleep. This will allow your brain and body to recover and regenerate to its full capacity. After that, I would be mindful of where you are getting your calories from and really limit those so-called “empty calories” from foods that offer little to no nutritional value. If you want to experiment with something else regarding diet, I am a fan of time restricted eating which is explained below... “People who practice time-restricted eating typically eat during an 8- to 12-hour daytime window and fast during the remaining 12 to 16 hours. Unlike intermittent fasting, which involves caloric restriction, time-restricted eating permits a person to eat as much as they want during the eating window. Time-restricted eating aligns the eating and fasting cycles to the body’s innate 24-hour circadian system” -- Rhonda Patrick The third thing I would do is try to move your body as much as possible throughout the day. Americans spend way too much time sitting and the World Health Organization ranks inactivity as the fourth biggest preventable killer globally, causing an estimated 3.2 million deaths annually. The more you sit the more likely you are to have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, an increased risk of diabetes, bodyfat accumulation and all these factors may put you in an early grave. Lastly, in terms of importance, is the type of exercise program you partake in. Most individuals put too much stock into what they do in the gym and they forget the other 23 hours in a day. Sleeping well, eating well, and moving your body are three things that require no weights, treadmills, ellipticals or kettlebells. These three things can be done by a 5 year old and also a 105 year old. The fourth component will vary as you move through life. There will be phases of barbell work, or running work, or maybe you want to learn how to do parkour, but remember, it is not about how much you can deadlift or how many half marathons you ran last year. It is about finding a routine and creating habits that you can adhere to for a lifetime. So to me, that is what the best program around is! Chris Fluck Not to be totally redundant here but last week I mentioned that I have begun listening to audiobooks in the evening to help me wind down and get to sleep. I recently listened to The Godfather written by the great Mario Puzo. In this story, the man known as The Godfather, Vito Corleone, is the patriarch of not only his own family but the entire mafia underworld. Throughout the story there was a recurring theme that came up regarding many of the characters in the book. That theme also happens to be the title of this article: “Every man has but one destiny.”
This theme has got me thinking... If every man has but one destiny, what would mine be? I guess we have to look at whether or not an individual having a destiny is something that occurs in this world. Now, I am not going to get into whether or not the events that occur in our life are mapped out by a higher power because that, my friends, has been debated for centuries and I don't know if a definitive answer has ever been found. BUT, I will say this, every action and every decision that I have ever made in my life has led me to where I am today. The good decisions, the bad decisions, the people you come into contact with, all of it. It is like pieces moving on a chess board, where one move leads to another. During this time at home under quarantine, I have been falling in love with my mornings. I have been able to get up early, read and write before everyone wakes, and get a little quiet time. Some days I get more time than others as my daughters wake schedule isn't always consistent. There are those days where I hear her talking to Marisa or the animals and other days I hear her yelling “Daaa-Daaa” from upstairs almost immediately after I wake. On these days, work becomes an afterthought. I then go upstairs to look at her smiling face and our morning begins! As I watch her grow up, I think back to my childhood. Athletics and physical fitness were, and probably always will be something that interests me. The influence of having an older brother and going off to practice with him when I was 3 or 4 years old plays a role. In addition to that, my father was a bodybuilder as a young adult so we always had a weight room in the basement. In that weight room were pictures of guys that he admired. Men like Frank Zane and Franco Columbo who were not only great bodybuilders but also impressive athletes. Moving on through my life, I became a fan of pro wrestling. I watched guys like The Ultimate Warrior dominate the competition and thought to myself that building muscle like Warrior was something that I HAD TO DO. Unfortunately, I did not know at that time the amount of steroids he was taking but my innocent mind believed anything was possible! Like Hulk Hogan used to say, "say your prayers and take your vitamins". I thought, if I did that, I had a shot to be as jacked as these guys. Most of my childhood "heroes" from wrestling are now dead due to the effects of the drugs they took during their wrestling careers. As I grew up, athletics began to take over. I was obsessed with all sports and an avid card collector. Thousands of cards sit in my attic collecting dust waiting for the day that I go through them or give them to someone! I watched sports, played sports, read about sports, and studied sports. One of my favorite weekends was when the NFL Draft aired. I would sit for hours listening to men discuss the potential of future NFL players. Topics like the importance of the bench press, the forty yard dash, the broad jump, and so on. I did this for two days without any sign of boredom. If only school offered a class on this topic I would have been an 'A' student! Upon finishing high school, I went off to college and decided not participate in a college sport. This, it turns out, was a mistake. Athletics provided structure to my day and without it, I was a bit lost. I struggled in college physically and mentally and decided to make a change. After a few years of not being involved in athletics, I had the opportunity to coach wrestling and I accepted. That, and the decision to work as a personal trainer while I finished school, were game changers in my life! After a few seasons of coaching wrestling, I inquired about coaching football. At this time, I was watching 7-10 games per week. I was somewhat obsessed with studying football. I took notes during games, read articles, books, attended clinics, and anything else you could think of! My mind for the game was strong when compared to the average fan but when I started coaching and speaking with other high school coaches, I realized I wasn't as prepared as I thought I was. Watching games in the comfort of your own living room is a little different than dissecting a playbook and then understanding it in a way that you can teach the kids. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter what you know as a coach. All that matters is what the kids know and are able to execute under the stressful conditions of a football game. After coaching for 7-8 years, I decided to step away and move on. Then, after one whole season off, I was asked by a friend if I had interest to coach full-time again. I turned that down but offered to help him setting up a training program. I was back in the weight room working with the kids and this led the head coach to occasionally ask if I changed my mind regarding coaching. My answer stayed the same. But then one day an assistant coach notified him that he would not be able to coach the upcoming season. This happened in late summer which makes it very difficult to find a coach as the season is fast approaching. This coach also happened to coach the positions that I previously did. To say I was an ideal candidate for the position would be an understatement! I agreed to join the coaching staff and shortly after, the season began. So I coached a few seasons and had fun working with the kids but I was missing something. I was working morning and night at the gym and coaching football which, at the time, was a 30+ hour weekly commitment. In addition to that, Marisa and I decided that we wanted to have a child and during that final season, little Emilia was in utero. I stepped away from coaching that year and thought that was the end of the road for me. I spent two years away from the game and haven't watched much of it. In the rare moments that I would watch a game, baby Emilia loved it! Before she could put sentences together she would say "baawwll" and we knew she meant football. I couldn't believe it. She would go get her little chair, plop it down, and watch football on our television. I just shook my head. I guess attending a few games while in the womb led her down a path to fandom! I recently got a call from an old friend and he asked me something that I did not expect. He asked me if I ever thought about coaching again? Truthfully speaking, the answer to that question was no. The last season that I coached football left me with a bad taste in my mouth and I was ready to move on. I didn’t even entertain the thought. I literally spent no time thinking about coaching and when asked if I missed it my response was always "No". Now as I reflect, I don't know how true that statement had been. So, I had to make a decision. To coach again or not. I thought about this for 5-6 days but kind of knew in the back of my mind what the answer would be. It was a new challenge, a new opportunity, and something that got me excited to think about. In addition to that, there are a confluence of factors going on in my personal life that make this seem like the perfect time to get involved once again. You can call it destiny (or the inability to say no) but I am looking forward to the fall and getting an opportunity to work with some of the guys once again! Plus, I know my daughter is going to love the practices and the games. As this pandemic settles down and practice is resumed, which is no guarantee, don't be surprised to see me back on the sideline once again! Chris Fluck A few days ago I finished listening to The Godfather on audiobook. Lately I have been listening to books at night to help me wind down. It has been very enjoyable and has given me the opportunity to listen to some of my favorite fiction books. I typically choose books that I have already read for two reasons: the first is that if I fall asleep and "miss" a section of the book, it doesn't matter too much because I already read it and hopefully remember it. The second is that it gives me the opportunity to listen to some of my favorite fiction books that I haven't found the time to re-read. After a few days of this I realized that having someone tell you a story is quite calming. It takes your mind off of any problem that might keep you up and allows you to escape into the book. I now understand how my daughter feels when we read her a book before bed and she falls asleep before we finish!
Moving on to The Godfather... This book is one of my favorite stories ever written. This book has everything in it. Family, betrayal, love stories (if you’re into that kind of thing), and lastly, redemption. The great thing about it is that you can read, watch, or listen to this book multiple times and still pick up a few new things that leave you in awe. It has been great to revisit it after a few years. So great in fact that I found myself sitting on the edge of my seat as this book came to an end. I will not ruin it for those who haven’t read it but Michael Corleone makes a few bold moves after his father's death and in doing so, becomes a legend! Some of you that know the adult version of myself may also know that I am an avid reader. But as a youth, that was not the case. Back in the day, I did not read. It was something that I was not interested in at all. Sports and riding bicycles were more my speed! As I look back, I assume the lack of interest in reading was heavily influenced by what we had to read in school. The required reading that was given wasn’t interesting to a young boy and I often skipped it. Or, better yet, I would visit the website sparknotes.com to get all the information that they had available. {Sidenote: After doing a quick google search I noticed sparknotes is still an active website which led me to silently nod my head in approval. This site has probably helped more kids understand Hamlet than any other site known to man! Kudos to them!} But I digress.. The point is, reading wasn’t interesting to me because the stories were not exciting. They were hard to understand and written in a way that you practically had to look up every other word. Because of this, reading left a bad taste in my mouth. If every book the school asked me to read was lame than I assumed all books were lame and put off reading. Moving on to the present day, I have come to understand that not much has changed. I couldn’t tell you how many times I have asked a kid about the book they were reading and the response is typically a negative one. Their sentiment was not much different than the middle school version of Chris. After listening to their complaints and giving them time to share their opinions I often say, “Reading doesn’t stink. The books you choose to read for school might but reading in general is not a bad thing. Why don’t you read stuff that interests you?” They then look at me like I have four heads and say nothing. As I got a little bit older, probably towards the end of high school, I decided to give this thing called reading another opportunity. This time, the books I read will be on my terms! Some of the first books that I chose involved sport stories or were books that were made into movies that I liked (cue The Godfather theme song). During this period of my life I was a big fan of mafia movies so reading The Godfather was a good place to start. This led me down a path of reading other Mario Puzo books like The Sicilian and The Last Don and to be frank, I believe it may have lit the reading torch for me and since then, there has been no looking back! Since having a child, I really became interested in reading about education and more specifically, early education. That being said, I recently finished a book titled Giants in the Nursery by child psychologist David Elkind. The goal of this book is to examine the evolution of developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) in the history of early childhood education. For the record, I had no clue what DAP was prior to reading this. To explain DAP in short, it is exactly what it says it is: developmentally appropriate practice for each child. In order to make a style of teaching developmentally appropriate, the instructor must take in consideration the child's social, physical, and cognitive development. There is not a “one size fits all” approach to teaching. It needs to be malleable. Most of the concepts in Elkind's book, some of which date back to the 1600’s, makes absolutely perfect sense in theory. It is putting the child first and at the end of the day, isn’t that what it is supposed to be about? Implementing these theories seems to be where we run into problems. Stories from parents, teachers, and coaches lay things out in a very different way. On the side of education, it is the insistence on doing well on standardized tests that defines success in their eyes. This happened in the 1800’s when schools forced their students to learn Latin and study the classic Greek and Roman writing. Eventually, someone asked, “How is this going to help them become high functioning adults?” This type of questioning led to changes, one of which was the beginning of DAP. After a few centuries, it seems we may have forgotten this lesson. I recently spoke with a local school administrator and one of the topics brought up was how to connect with kids. I immediately thought of DAP. As a coach, you need to understand who you are working with. You need to get to know the kids and treat them all the same. You need to learn their names, say hello when you see them, ask about their families, friends, what they did over the weekend, and so on. You need to treat the first string player the same as the fourth string player. Lastly, you need to show them that you care. It is building a connection that will lead to a positive relationship with whoever you work with. No connection equals no change. Chris Fluck |