As usual, a long time has passed between posts. Oh well, that just means there is more to tell you about. Most importantly, I am now working with Nattana at Monument Graphics in Grand Junction, Colorado to develop a SKYPE based personal training program. I am really excited about this because I will be able to see my clients--hopefully all over the world--while they can see and train directly with me. This means I can accurately demonstrate all of the body weight resistance exercises and their progressions and I can closely observe each client to immediately correct their form and better determine how quickly (or slowly as the case may be) they should be progressing.
This will definitely provide an extra layer of safety and confidence for all my internet clients by knowing that they are performing all the exercises with good form and tempo so as to minimize any chance of injury and to acclerate progress.
I have designed this program to be used with the TRX (see earlier postings). So, there is no need to leave home, join a gym or buy a lot of expensive equipment. All that is needed is a free SKYPE account, a web cam and a TRX and even the TRX is optional in the beginning! Then we can get started on getting really healthy and creating that body most of us have only dreamed about---in the total privacy of your home!
I should be up and running within a couple of months with a much more extensive site and with Pay Pal. I only have a limited number of time slots for individual training, so if you would like to reserve a time, you can contact me through the comment section on this blog and leave me your email and/or phone number and we can get started sooner. The initial slots will be sold for $40.00 per half hour (recommended for beginners) and $70.00 per hour for individual single sessions. A prepaid package of 10 sessions is discounted to $30.00 per half hour and $60.00 per hour. The good news is 10 sessions should be more than enough to develop the base you need to continue on you own if you wish.
Doesn't this sound like fun? I think it is going to be a blast!
Yours in health,
Walt
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
It is May 25th and I have just completed my 68th Convict Conditioning workout. I told you I would keep you posted. I sure am glad I am better at keeping up with my workouts than I am at blogging or I would be the most unfit fitness coach on the planet!
I am very pleased with the results achieved to date, but there are a few modifications I suggest for folks approaching or firmly established in the senior category---as I am.
First of all, I have found that the incorporation of a TRX apparatus (see my earlier posting) has been invaluable in allowing me to progress many of the exercises more gradually and gently than is recommended in the book. For instance, even though I completed Step 7 of the Pushup Series with relative ease and with good form, I found that Step 8 (1/2 one-arm pushups) was very challenging and created undue soreness in my already damaged shoulders. But I found that when I used the TRX to position me at a steep angle but less that horizontal, I was able to complete the series with no damage to the shoulders and then make a further(nearly horizontal) progression without further injury. I am still moving toward the completely horizontal position but I am in absolutely no hurry---"safety first" goes the old Boy Scout motto.
I also found that the TRX was very helpful in allowing me to progress the Squat Series and the Pullup series more incrementally than is suggested for the younger crowd, for which the book is clearly intended.
My goal is still to complete all the progressions in each of the six exercise series, but I plan to take a few more steps to get there to make sure that these old joints are very gradually introduced to the greater stresses involved in each of the progressive exercises.
Before starting Convict Conditioning I was working out 6 days a week and my fitness level, as rated by my Polar FT60 heartrate monitor, was at the elite level. When I began the current program, I have been only working out 3 days per week although they were intense bouts. Last night, I took the Polar Fitness Test again and I had fallen into the "Very Good" category. Clearly, if I want to regain the elite rating I need to add something. So, I am now supplementing Convict Conditioning with interval workouts on my bike on the days I am not doing resistance work. I am also throwing in a few sessions each week of resistance stretching---I will explain that in another posting, but let me say for now and for me, I find it superior to yoga (which I practiced for years).
I now have several more older clients enjoying Convict Conditioning with the modifications I have mentioned and they are enthusiastic, one and all. Why shouldn't they be? They are getting great results in a short time and most importantly, they have been injury free.
Yours in health,
Walt
I am very pleased with the results achieved to date, but there are a few modifications I suggest for folks approaching or firmly established in the senior category---as I am.
First of all, I have found that the incorporation of a TRX apparatus (see my earlier posting) has been invaluable in allowing me to progress many of the exercises more gradually and gently than is recommended in the book. For instance, even though I completed Step 7 of the Pushup Series with relative ease and with good form, I found that Step 8 (1/2 one-arm pushups) was very challenging and created undue soreness in my already damaged shoulders. But I found that when I used the TRX to position me at a steep angle but less that horizontal, I was able to complete the series with no damage to the shoulders and then make a further(nearly horizontal) progression without further injury. I am still moving toward the completely horizontal position but I am in absolutely no hurry---"safety first" goes the old Boy Scout motto.
I also found that the TRX was very helpful in allowing me to progress the Squat Series and the Pullup series more incrementally than is suggested for the younger crowd, for which the book is clearly intended.
My goal is still to complete all the progressions in each of the six exercise series, but I plan to take a few more steps to get there to make sure that these old joints are very gradually introduced to the greater stresses involved in each of the progressive exercises.
Before starting Convict Conditioning I was working out 6 days a week and my fitness level, as rated by my Polar FT60 heartrate monitor, was at the elite level. When I began the current program, I have been only working out 3 days per week although they were intense bouts. Last night, I took the Polar Fitness Test again and I had fallen into the "Very Good" category. Clearly, if I want to regain the elite rating I need to add something. So, I am now supplementing Convict Conditioning with interval workouts on my bike on the days I am not doing resistance work. I am also throwing in a few sessions each week of resistance stretching---I will explain that in another posting, but let me say for now and for me, I find it superior to yoga (which I practiced for years).
I now have several more older clients enjoying Convict Conditioning with the modifications I have mentioned and they are enthusiastic, one and all. Why shouldn't they be? They are getting great results in a short time and most importantly, they have been injury free.
Yours in health,
Walt
Friday, January 22, 2010
CONVICT CONDITIONING
A while back, I ordered a copy of Convict Conditioning by Paul Wade. I have purchased many books and DVD's from Dragon Door Publishing and have never been disappointed. I am especially high on Pavel Tsatsouline's work around kettle bells and stretching.
After receiving my copy and devouring the 300 pages in one sitting, I knew that, not only was I not disappointed, I was in for what could well be a two year affair with the most comprehensive book on body weight conditioning that I have ever read.
There is much talk of the author's time in prison, where he painstakingly developed, refined and taught this program. The references to prison life, while not to the point and not applicable to his larger audience, is nevertheless entertaining.
The gist of the book is that nearly anyone can develop incredible strength and flexibility without ever touching a weight. If you read my earlier posting on the TRX system of training, you know that this is right up my alley. This is accomplished by performing 6 basic exercises through 10 progressions per exercise. In fact, I found that I could use the TRX to more effectively execute some of the prescribed movements in Convict Conditioning.
The first progressions are incredibly easy. So easy I think my mother could do them and she has been dead for 45 years. I recently got my wife to do the beginner levels for the 6 exercises and her comment was, "Is that it?!". Regarless, everyone no matter what level of fitness they enjoy, is admonished to start at the beginning. Absolutely resist the temptation to skip ahead. This has the effect of conditioning the ligaments and tendons and preparing the joints for the more challenging excercises to follow. Don't worry, you are in for some really tough workouts down the road. Tough, but, in my opinion far safer, because you have properly prepared the body through the time you have invested in the easier work. These gentle progressions have other benefits, you leave each exercise bout feeling refreshed, not totally drained from over (s)training, and when you have finished the progressions at one level, you are confident that you are prepared to take on the beginning repetitions of the next exercise.
I reluctantly did this and about two weeks into the program I was despairing my loss of definition. When I got to the third level of progressions in push-ups, pull-ups and squats, I suddenly noticed that my definition was back and I had lost an inch or so off my waist. The most important thing though was that my poor shoulders, shredded from years of too much weight too fast, had not felt so good in a very long time and I am thinking, maybe I don't need surgery after all!
I do not know if, at 65, I will ever achieve the elite levels of (1.) 1 set of 100 one arm push-ups (2.) 2 sets of 50 one legged squats, (3.) 2 sets of 6 one armed pull-ups (4.) 2 sets of 30 hanging straight leg raises (5.) 2 sets of 30 stand to stand bridges (6.) 2 sets of 5 one arm hand stand pushups. I know that I am going to just happily follow the progressions in no particular hurry and see where it takes me. As they say, I will keep you "posted".
I do not know a single soul connected with this book or Dragon Door Publishing. I am not receiving one red cent for writing this article, but I just wanted tell you about a really good thing when I heard about it and after I had a chance to try it out on myself as well as on two of my clients who are also happy with the results they are achieving.
Yours in health,
Walt
After receiving my copy and devouring the 300 pages in one sitting, I knew that, not only was I not disappointed, I was in for what could well be a two year affair with the most comprehensive book on body weight conditioning that I have ever read.
There is much talk of the author's time in prison, where he painstakingly developed, refined and taught this program. The references to prison life, while not to the point and not applicable to his larger audience, is nevertheless entertaining.
The gist of the book is that nearly anyone can develop incredible strength and flexibility without ever touching a weight. If you read my earlier posting on the TRX system of training, you know that this is right up my alley. This is accomplished by performing 6 basic exercises through 10 progressions per exercise. In fact, I found that I could use the TRX to more effectively execute some of the prescribed movements in Convict Conditioning.
The first progressions are incredibly easy. So easy I think my mother could do them and she has been dead for 45 years. I recently got my wife to do the beginner levels for the 6 exercises and her comment was, "Is that it?!". Regarless, everyone no matter what level of fitness they enjoy, is admonished to start at the beginning. Absolutely resist the temptation to skip ahead. This has the effect of conditioning the ligaments and tendons and preparing the joints for the more challenging excercises to follow. Don't worry, you are in for some really tough workouts down the road. Tough, but, in my opinion far safer, because you have properly prepared the body through the time you have invested in the easier work. These gentle progressions have other benefits, you leave each exercise bout feeling refreshed, not totally drained from over (s)training, and when you have finished the progressions at one level, you are confident that you are prepared to take on the beginning repetitions of the next exercise.
I reluctantly did this and about two weeks into the program I was despairing my loss of definition. When I got to the third level of progressions in push-ups, pull-ups and squats, I suddenly noticed that my definition was back and I had lost an inch or so off my waist. The most important thing though was that my poor shoulders, shredded from years of too much weight too fast, had not felt so good in a very long time and I am thinking, maybe I don't need surgery after all!
I do not know if, at 65, I will ever achieve the elite levels of (1.) 1 set of 100 one arm push-ups (2.) 2 sets of 50 one legged squats, (3.) 2 sets of 6 one armed pull-ups (4.) 2 sets of 30 hanging straight leg raises (5.) 2 sets of 30 stand to stand bridges (6.) 2 sets of 5 one arm hand stand pushups. I know that I am going to just happily follow the progressions in no particular hurry and see where it takes me. As they say, I will keep you "posted".
I do not know a single soul connected with this book or Dragon Door Publishing. I am not receiving one red cent for writing this article, but I just wanted tell you about a really good thing when I heard about it and after I had a chance to try it out on myself as well as on two of my clients who are also happy with the results they are achieving.
Yours in health,
Walt
Friday, January 15, 2010
FITNESS IS NO MATCH FOR MOTHER NATURE
I just returned (very thankfully) from a very cold but great trip to Seeley Lake, Montana. I say "very thankfully" because my buddy and I managed to get into a bit more sledding ( the cool way to say snowmobiling) than we had bargained for.
First off, we are complete novices to the sport. Secondly we set off into the high country the day after a -31 degree night, but we felt encouraged on that front since the little red line was pushing a balmy 0 or maybe even 5, I can't remember exactly.
Looking like a couple of guys that might be out to shoot an ad for Michelin, we set out on his two brand new, "green" friendly sleds around noon. We struck off over frozen Lake Seeley at as fast a clip as allowed in the break in guide. What a gas! Flying by ice fishing huts, stopping to take the obligatory pics to send to my wife, and laughing and whooping it up. Amazing how fast things can turn around.
About 20 miles farther up, and farther into the wilderness, we suddenly found ourselves on a trail that definitely was not groomed and surely not for the likes of us. When Robert tried to turn around, he quickly mired his sled in some pretty deep snow. I jumped off my sled and after digging some snow away from the sled's drive belt with my heavily mittened hands, I squatted behind the sled and heaved upward in dead-lift fashion. Thanks to all the heavy training, I was able to wrestle the end of the 650 lb. sled up and on to fresh snow. From there, Robert was able to motor it down the ungroomed trail in search of a turn around.
Very pleased with myself and thinking that I could blog about how my training regimen had saved the day, I tried unskillfully to back my sled 200 hundred yards to the nearest turn around. I suddenly became aware that Robert was no where to be seen or heard. After some minutes I saw this dark form staggering toward me from the direction I had just left. Robert had done a much more thorough job of burying his sled about 100 yards from the original sight.
He was exhausted from trying to pull the sled off its side and from trudging through the thigh deep snow and he just sat down huffing.
Neither of us had to look at our watches to know that it was getting late and it was definitely getting colder! We had no choice but to abandon his sled and tandem it down the mountain on my machine lickety-split. Since the second seat is higher and Robert being extremely tall, I gallantly took the rear seat thinking he could block more wind that I.
The difference those few inches made was exponentially bad. I have gone snowshoeing in -30 weather. That was nothing compared to this. In short order, my toes, face and hands were uncommonly uncomfortable, but my knees were in excruciating pain (they were pointed directly into the merciless wind), and we still had many miles to go.
Thanks to Robert's excellent sense of direction, we made it back to the lake in about 1 hour. If it had been left to me, we would have been hopelessly lost since I simply followed him up, having long since consigned my frozen eye glasses to a pocket. On top of that, it was now dark.
As we again passed the ice fishing huts, I remembered our jocular mood on the journey out. All humor was now totally frozen out of me. We stopped at a sporting goods/auto supply company where Dan, the owner said he could take us up then or we could wait till tomorrow to get the sled out. Guess what we opted for!
The trouble was, we still had another grim 10 miles to go on the vehicle which had safely delivered us, but made us pay dearly for our transgressions. When we finally arrived home, looking all the world like those two idiots on the motor scooter in Dumb and Dumber, I could barely hobble on frozen knees into the warmth of the house. Robert turned and gave me a big hug and we both exclaimed, "we're home!" He then said, "How about a scotch?"
"You bet" I said, "no ice!'
By the way, I don't care what kind of shape you are in, if Mother Nature wants you, she can have you---anyway she wants you.
Stay tuned, in the next posting I will show you how "savvy" and skill trumps brawn in a tight spot.
Yours in health,
Walt
First off, we are complete novices to the sport. Secondly we set off into the high country the day after a -31 degree night, but we felt encouraged on that front since the little red line was pushing a balmy 0 or maybe even 5, I can't remember exactly.
Looking like a couple of guys that might be out to shoot an ad for Michelin, we set out on his two brand new, "green" friendly sleds around noon. We struck off over frozen Lake Seeley at as fast a clip as allowed in the break in guide. What a gas! Flying by ice fishing huts, stopping to take the obligatory pics to send to my wife, and laughing and whooping it up. Amazing how fast things can turn around.
About 20 miles farther up, and farther into the wilderness, we suddenly found ourselves on a trail that definitely was not groomed and surely not for the likes of us. When Robert tried to turn around, he quickly mired his sled in some pretty deep snow. I jumped off my sled and after digging some snow away from the sled's drive belt with my heavily mittened hands, I squatted behind the sled and heaved upward in dead-lift fashion. Thanks to all the heavy training, I was able to wrestle the end of the 650 lb. sled up and on to fresh snow. From there, Robert was able to motor it down the ungroomed trail in search of a turn around.
Very pleased with myself and thinking that I could blog about how my training regimen had saved the day, I tried unskillfully to back my sled 200 hundred yards to the nearest turn around. I suddenly became aware that Robert was no where to be seen or heard. After some minutes I saw this dark form staggering toward me from the direction I had just left. Robert had done a much more thorough job of burying his sled about 100 yards from the original sight.
He was exhausted from trying to pull the sled off its side and from trudging through the thigh deep snow and he just sat down huffing.
Neither of us had to look at our watches to know that it was getting late and it was definitely getting colder! We had no choice but to abandon his sled and tandem it down the mountain on my machine lickety-split. Since the second seat is higher and Robert being extremely tall, I gallantly took the rear seat thinking he could block more wind that I.
The difference those few inches made was exponentially bad. I have gone snowshoeing in -30 weather. That was nothing compared to this. In short order, my toes, face and hands were uncommonly uncomfortable, but my knees were in excruciating pain (they were pointed directly into the merciless wind), and we still had many miles to go.
Thanks to Robert's excellent sense of direction, we made it back to the lake in about 1 hour. If it had been left to me, we would have been hopelessly lost since I simply followed him up, having long since consigned my frozen eye glasses to a pocket. On top of that, it was now dark.
As we again passed the ice fishing huts, I remembered our jocular mood on the journey out. All humor was now totally frozen out of me. We stopped at a sporting goods/auto supply company where Dan, the owner said he could take us up then or we could wait till tomorrow to get the sled out. Guess what we opted for!
The trouble was, we still had another grim 10 miles to go on the vehicle which had safely delivered us, but made us pay dearly for our transgressions. When we finally arrived home, looking all the world like those two idiots on the motor scooter in Dumb and Dumber, I could barely hobble on frozen knees into the warmth of the house. Robert turned and gave me a big hug and we both exclaimed, "we're home!" He then said, "How about a scotch?"
"You bet" I said, "no ice!'
By the way, I don't care what kind of shape you are in, if Mother Nature wants you, she can have you---anyway she wants you.
Stay tuned, in the next posting I will show you how "savvy" and skill trumps brawn in a tight spot.
Yours in health,
Walt
Friday, November 13, 2009
Travelin' Man
Wow! Time sure flies! I have been traveling for what seems like an eternity and let my blog slip into the foggy past.
Speaking of fog, I was in San Francisco recently and rode a bike over the Golden Gate Bridge, through Sausalito and Tiburon, up toward the huge Sequoias of the Muir Woods, and back to San Francisco. What a fantastic ride! Going out in the morning, the bridge was shrouded in fog. The towers were just emerging out of this Sherlock Holmes like mist and the fog horn was blasting a haunting and curiously lonely sound every 15 seconds. Looking over the railing, I could barely see the gray water crashing against the pilings. It is truly weird how such a scenario can make you feel like you are about to fall into a murky abyss---even with a shoulder height rail to hold on to.
I was stopped and fumbling through my jacket for my phone to call Jim (my life long friend and workout partner who had phoned me when he was running across the same bridge months earlier). I had on gloves and felt like I was going to drop the phone in the bay just trying to get it out of my pocket. I looked down at the water one more time and decided I needed to move as far from the railing as I could just to keep from being drawn over the side. It was eerie. Eerie, but cool too. I felt fine when I started moving again.
Much later, coming back over the bridge, the sky was robin egg blue and there must have been 1,000 sail boats on the bay, sails fully billowed against a stiff breeze as they all seemed to race for a common prize---joy.
Who needs a gym? I don't need no stinkin' gym!
Yours in health,
Walt
Speaking of fog, I was in San Francisco recently and rode a bike over the Golden Gate Bridge, through Sausalito and Tiburon, up toward the huge Sequoias of the Muir Woods, and back to San Francisco. What a fantastic ride! Going out in the morning, the bridge was shrouded in fog. The towers were just emerging out of this Sherlock Holmes like mist and the fog horn was blasting a haunting and curiously lonely sound every 15 seconds. Looking over the railing, I could barely see the gray water crashing against the pilings. It is truly weird how such a scenario can make you feel like you are about to fall into a murky abyss---even with a shoulder height rail to hold on to.
I was stopped and fumbling through my jacket for my phone to call Jim (my life long friend and workout partner who had phoned me when he was running across the same bridge months earlier). I had on gloves and felt like I was going to drop the phone in the bay just trying to get it out of my pocket. I looked down at the water one more time and decided I needed to move as far from the railing as I could just to keep from being drawn over the side. It was eerie. Eerie, but cool too. I felt fine when I started moving again.
Much later, coming back over the bridge, the sky was robin egg blue and there must have been 1,000 sail boats on the bay, sails fully billowed against a stiff breeze as they all seemed to race for a common prize---joy.
Who needs a gym? I don't need no stinkin' gym!
Yours in health,
Walt
Thursday, October 8, 2009
STALENESS STIFLES RESULTS & KILLS MOTIVATION
If you have ever gone to a gym on a regular basis, you must have noticed the hapless folks endlessly plodding along on the treadmill, clomping up the stair climber, or mindlessly gliding along on the elliptical machine. Most of these folks will be reading or watching TV---anything to stave off the boring numbness of sameness. Many of the people who have incorporated resistance (weights) into their schedule to maintain strength are also locked into a routine that does not vary. Day after day, they do the same thing over and over.
While you might admire their discipline, the truth is they are making pitiful use of their time. Now, I am not saying that it is a waste of time, anything is certainly better than nothing. However, they would be much better served by putting away the book, turning off the TV, and paying attention to what they are doing and above all, varying their workouts.
For instance, research shows the programs that incorporate "Intervals" are far more effective for cardiovascular endurance than those that advocate long, slow, dreary, joint destroying workouts. Plus, they are much more fun, invigorating and require much less time. Truly far greater bang for the buck.
Lets assume that you are one of those guys that pokes along on a treadmill at about 3 or 4 miles an hour for 45 minutes, frequently looking from your TV to the clock on the wall to see how much more you have to endure. If you have seen a doctor and know that you do not have any physical issues that would rule against it, and after a 5 minute warm up at a slow speed, why don't you try cranking up the speed to somewhere between say 4.5 & 7---gradually--- until you are jogging at a rate that leaves you moderately breathless after 20 to 30 seconds. (If jogging hurts your knees, fine, either race walk or change to the elliptical or stationary bike that will eliminate the jarring effect of running.) When you have reached the allotted time for that interval or you feel very breathless, reduce your speed until your heart rate has diminished to the point you are breathing comfortably and then increase your speed again for 20 t0 30 seconds. Do this for 8 t0 10 rounds and then do a cool down comparable to your warm up.
You should be finished in about 30 minutes and feel far more invigorated than if you had just plodded along at a slow, steady pace for 45 minutes.
There are many ways to put spice and greater effectiveness in your workouts. Be patient and hang with me, we will get to lots of them.
While you might admire their discipline, the truth is they are making pitiful use of their time. Now, I am not saying that it is a waste of time, anything is certainly better than nothing. However, they would be much better served by putting away the book, turning off the TV, and paying attention to what they are doing and above all, varying their workouts.
For instance, research shows the programs that incorporate "Intervals" are far more effective for cardiovascular endurance than those that advocate long, slow, dreary, joint destroying workouts. Plus, they are much more fun, invigorating and require much less time. Truly far greater bang for the buck.
Lets assume that you are one of those guys that pokes along on a treadmill at about 3 or 4 miles an hour for 45 minutes, frequently looking from your TV to the clock on the wall to see how much more you have to endure. If you have seen a doctor and know that you do not have any physical issues that would rule against it, and after a 5 minute warm up at a slow speed, why don't you try cranking up the speed to somewhere between say 4.5 & 7---gradually--- until you are jogging at a rate that leaves you moderately breathless after 20 to 30 seconds. (If jogging hurts your knees, fine, either race walk or change to the elliptical or stationary bike that will eliminate the jarring effect of running.) When you have reached the allotted time for that interval or you feel very breathless, reduce your speed until your heart rate has diminished to the point you are breathing comfortably and then increase your speed again for 20 t0 30 seconds. Do this for 8 t0 10 rounds and then do a cool down comparable to your warm up.
You should be finished in about 30 minutes and feel far more invigorated than if you had just plodded along at a slow, steady pace for 45 minutes.
There are many ways to put spice and greater effectiveness in your workouts. Be patient and hang with me, we will get to lots of them.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
RUNNIN' LIKE A DOG
When I completed my regular stretching routine this morning, I walked out into our beautiful garden to take in what was turning out to be one of those glorious high desert fall days. I thought, What a day to go to the track! I immediately called my life long bud, Jim, he instantly changed his plans, and we were on.
We met at the Santa Fe High School track an hour later for a bout of interval training. Jim had to be at a wedding in less than two hours, so we decided on sprinting repeat short distances at a fast rate. Well, fast for two dudes in their mid sixties.
As usual, my other best friend was tagging and wagging along---my Labradoodle, Howdy (Howdy Doodle). To say the least, he is exuberant about life. I was watching the joy on his face as he ran circles around us. I was thinking, why can't I be that happy with such a simple pleasure?
And then it occured to me that I absolutely was that happy, that joyful. I was outside in the warm New Mexico sun, with my two best friends, running and laughing and getting ecstatically breathless. I was adding so much to my well-being on so many levels, and it didn't cost a dime.
That was what I was talking about in an earlier posting when I said exercise routines need to be fun, not really routine at all. Now, I know that every trip to the gym or every time you push "Play" on your remote to fire up your current exercise video is not going to bring this level of satisfaction. However, if you are not at least approaching this cheerful state at least 25% of the time, I suggest you give some serious thought to what types of recreation (read re-creation) you can do for yourself that will provide the exercise you need for the body, while tickling those powerful intangibles that make you really, really happy. Even it is just for a few minutes each week, it is just flat out good for the whole being. And, it is so motivational to keeping up the good work. Kinda like when I scratch Howdy behind the ears and say "good boy!"
We met at the Santa Fe High School track an hour later for a bout of interval training. Jim had to be at a wedding in less than two hours, so we decided on sprinting repeat short distances at a fast rate. Well, fast for two dudes in their mid sixties.
As usual, my other best friend was tagging and wagging along---my Labradoodle, Howdy (Howdy Doodle). To say the least, he is exuberant about life. I was watching the joy on his face as he ran circles around us. I was thinking, why can't I be that happy with such a simple pleasure?
And then it occured to me that I absolutely was that happy, that joyful. I was outside in the warm New Mexico sun, with my two best friends, running and laughing and getting ecstatically breathless. I was adding so much to my well-being on so many levels, and it didn't cost a dime.
That was what I was talking about in an earlier posting when I said exercise routines need to be fun, not really routine at all. Now, I know that every trip to the gym or every time you push "Play" on your remote to fire up your current exercise video is not going to bring this level of satisfaction. However, if you are not at least approaching this cheerful state at least 25% of the time, I suggest you give some serious thought to what types of recreation (read re-creation) you can do for yourself that will provide the exercise you need for the body, while tickling those powerful intangibles that make you really, really happy. Even it is just for a few minutes each week, it is just flat out good for the whole being. And, it is so motivational to keeping up the good work. Kinda like when I scratch Howdy behind the ears and say "good boy!"
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