Fitness is Joy
BLOG.FITROB.COM
Words to live by from my grandma and a drag queen
"Stay healthy, work hard, keep busy and have fun."
This is what my irrepressible 84 year old grandma said to me today, truly the fittest person I know. She's a better golfer than I am, spends more time on her feet in a day than people a quarter of her age, and can bake the best pie from scratch in the time it takes you and me to google the recipe.
I think we all should live by her words this year, but I'm going to add someone else's words too: drag legend RuPaul:
"What other people think of you is none of your business."
How many of us have wasted too much time worrying about what others think? The answer is most, if not all of us. That is the foundation of the thriving fitness business, after all, our insecurities, our self-consciousness, our desire for others to see us a certain way.
Easy to say, but a hard habit to break, not worrying what others think of us. But how much of what we think others think of us is actually what we think of ourselves? And is what we think of ourselves feeding our insecurity of what we think others think of us?
Whatever, it's ridiculous and a waste of time and our potential.
So let's vow to make what others think of us none of our business. If you're confronted by the worry of what someone is thinking about you, remember RuPaul's words and tell yourself, "What they're thinking of me is none of my business!"
And if you find yourself stagnant or uninspired to move forward, remember my grandma and do things that keep you healthy. Work hard at something, anything. Keep busy and interested in things. And have fun while doing all the above.
And live fully and ceremoniously and unapologetically you.
Have a great and prosperous 2013 everyone!
Rob
This is what my irrepressible 84 year old grandma said to me today, truly the fittest person I know. She's a better golfer than I am, spends more time on her feet in a day than people a quarter of her age, and can bake the best pie from scratch in the time it takes you and me to google the recipe.
I think we all should live by her words this year, but I'm going to add someone else's words too: drag legend RuPaul:
"What other people think of you is none of your business."
How many of us have wasted too much time worrying about what others think? The answer is most, if not all of us. That is the foundation of the thriving fitness business, after all, our insecurities, our self-consciousness, our desire for others to see us a certain way.
Easy to say, but a hard habit to break, not worrying what others think of us. But how much of what we think others think of us is actually what we think of ourselves? And is what we think of ourselves feeding our insecurity of what we think others think of us?
Whatever, it's ridiculous and a waste of time and our potential.
So let's vow to make what others think of us none of our business. If you're confronted by the worry of what someone is thinking about you, remember RuPaul's words and tell yourself, "What they're thinking of me is none of my business!"
And if you find yourself stagnant or uninspired to move forward, remember my grandma and do things that keep you healthy. Work hard at something, anything. Keep busy and interested in things. And have fun while doing all the above.
And live fully and ceremoniously and unapologetically you.
Have a great and prosperous 2013 everyone!
Rob
Shut up, Sookie
"Television is truly insidious."
I'm quoting the Men's Health bulletin that I'm referencing in this post, but I've said these words before. It's a trap, a vacuum, and the best accomplice to weight gain.
But more on that in a second.
I grew up in the golden age of television. Three's Company, Cosby, Cheers, even latenight reruns of Maude kept me laughing and thinking. Ok, I wasn't going to write it, but, yes, even crying. Man, shows had such heart back then. The scene where Jack asks Janet to dance after her teacher said she didn't have what it takes to make it as a dancer, or when Will Smith asks why his father doesn't want him. When Laura Ingalls climbs a mountain to ask God for help. Or even crying from laughing so hard, like when Jackie tells her and Roseanne's nearly deaf aunt over the phone that their dad had died.
But TV as a craft was still developing back then. It asked questions, pushed boundaries, taught lessons, brought families together. Perhaps I'm guilty of viewing it through sepia-toned, sense memories, but it actually wasn't until the late 90's, early 00's that ratings started to take precedence over a quality story. We now know that Seinfeld would be cancelled immediately today instead of being allowed to blossom as it limped through the ratings of its first two years.
So that's all TV is now, ratings. The only boundaries or questions left to be asked deal with how much nudity can be shown, what words the FCC will allow this year or how much blood can be shown at what hour of the day. It wants to hook you fast so you'll stick around and wait it out, even if it goes through a slump. It's actually kind of like the Maple Leafs. But I digress.
This brings me to the title of this blog-that-eventually-will-have-a-point. Sookie.
Sssssookie!
When I realized in the late 90s that all TV sucked, I threw out my tv and never got hooked to a tv show ever again. Funny, it was also after a time when I started to feel bad - knees hurt, back hurt. I would sit at a desk all day and then watch TV all night. I also started taking group ex classes that would ultimately change my life.
And then a friend of mine said I should watch True Blood.
I was at another friend's place who had HBO. I knew HBO had great shows that were spawning a new golden age of TV, but I wasn't going to have any of it. I can get addicted to TV, and with years of being sober, I wasn't going back on the wagon (I never know if it's on a wagon or off, and which refers to what, so sorry if that's incorrect). Armed with all that willpower we decided to turn it on and were introduced to this ludicrous mythological universe where humans and vampires coexisted. And it ... was ... awesome.
I was hooked. I was hooked in the way that at the end of an episode, I suffered withdrawal, actual pain for the need of the next episode. It was awesome and terrible. I couldn't stop thinking about it. I was Bill for Halloween.
But then the much-maligned second season happened. The 3rd came and went without a single memory of what happened. The 4th trod on like a dreary soap opera. And the current 5th... don't even get me started.
So I know that it sucks. It's a terrible show, terrible writing, and, save for Anna Paquin, the acting is nonexistent. But I keep watching because of that first season.
In a sense, I keep chasing that first high of how I felt falling for the the people and the relationships in that show.
And isn't that the basis for what keeps addicts addicted to their substance?
Television is truly insidious. It wants to sink its teeth into you and then hook you for as long as they can drain you of all your time. Worse, there's no lessons to be learned from it nowadays, no ... humanity. Just escapism for our ADD, fast food culture.
And what is your favourite thing to do while watching TV?
Eat everything and anything within arm's reach without a single conscious thought as to how much you're eating.
Which, finally, brings me to the point of this long-winded post (wow, who knew I had such feelings about this!?). According to the Harvard study that MH posted about, some of us have "obesity-promoting genes" which isn't much of a surprise.
But what may be surprising is the fact that many of our health-determining genes don't just automatically express themselves, it's our lifestyle that affects genetic expression.
"When study participants watched 40-plus hours of TV a week, fat-promoting variants of their genes were three times more potent than those in genetically similar folks who logged much less tube time."
They say "you can halve the fattening effect of these genes by walking an hour a day."
But I say, just stop watching TV. I mean, if you're hulu-ing Family Guy or Netflix-ing American Dad occasionally, fine. The fittest people I know may have a couple shows they like to watch, but if you're watching 40-plus hours a week, then you've probably got an addiction. I know, I've been there. Cancel your cable, go outside, take a group ex class. Chances are, everything will change, not just your health.
As for my relationship with Sookie, I don't know if I'll break it off just yet. I now hate the show as much as I first loved it, and admittedly there's a little joy in that as well. But there's no harm in enjoying a distraction from our lives and putting our minds on auto-pilot for a while as long as there's a balance.
Aging & Fitness: an interview
As we get older, it's important to work on balance, functional movement and core stability. For many this brings to mind aquafit classes, morning walking groups through empty malls, or chair aerobics using small soup cans for weights.
And that's just fine. I guess.
But what if you could also begin the process of getting in the best shape of your life?
Your prime is supposed to be your teenage years through to your early thirties according to the science. That's when you build the most strength, muscle mass, and aerobic capacity. After that, pretty much everything starts to decline. Muscle tissue begins to waste away - 5% per decade for men, 2.5% for women, growth hormone declines, we lose about 1% of total bone every year, flexibility decreases after age 30... science doesn't present a pretty picture of aging.
And I don't believe a word of it.
Numbers and studies and findings and "facts" should not define who you are or what you can do as you age. Just ask Thom, 57, the subject of the interview below. Over the past 6 years he has been getting fitter and healthier. That said, 6 months ago he couldn't hold himself up on the gymnastic rings without shaking like a leaf. And, well, watch the video to see what he can do now.
Redefine what is possible, no matter what your age or circumstance is. And if you have any questions or comments for Thom, please leave them below or on the video comments section.
Do you BOSU?
We all trip from time to time. On the ice, on a rock, or, if you're like me, often over your own feet. And as we get older it's even more important to prevent falls.
But perhaps it's not in the prevention of falls that we should be focusing on, but how to fall properly. That may sound silly, but I and many others can attest to the fact that the body learns instincts to catch itself when out of balance so that you don't get injured. Many times I've tripped and found myself in a strange contortion with arms flailing, one leg bent in the air to the side, and my other foot planted firmly in the ground, and I think to myself, "Wow, that could've gone a lot worse."
I attribute all of these instincts to the funny blue half-ball that most people don't know what to do with: the BOSU. It stands for both sides up or both sides utilized, depending who you talk to, because you can use the dome side or the platform side for a variety of exercises that put you in the only situation in which you can train balance, and that is out of it.
Of course, with the many benefits - balance, core stability, "smart" muscles that engage instinctively - there certainly are risks, like stepping on or off it improperly. Which is what makes the following video so great, not only for the glutes, but because it starts to train core and pelvic stability without much risk because you're on your knees, close to the ground, the whole time.
We may add more Bosu (really, the whole word is supposed to be capitalized, but then I feel like I'm screaming it) videos in the future, but for now, a safe glutes and core workout in just 5 minutes.
BOSU!
To win, you don't have to be first
There are only three winners:
The one who competes with herself,
The one who crosses the finish line first
And the one who finishes the race.
--Sri Chinmoy
The one who competes with herself,
The one who crosses the finish line first
And the one who finishes the race.
--Sri Chinmoy
I love this quote because it reminds us that winning is about accomplishing our own goal, not one determined by someone else. But we get so determined to beat everyone else, weigh less than she does, lift more weight than the guy next to us, that we forget how awesome we are just to be ourselves and to show up and to keep in motion.
So I hope you remind yourself of how awesome you are today just by going for a long walk, by getting to the gym, or even by doing a short stretch at home.
Speaking of which...
Cardio!!
A guy at the gym asked me to spot his bench press for him so I did. As we headed to the bench, he apologized for needing a spot as he was lifting a light weight, but explained he had taken 4 months off of weight lifting to focus on training for a marathon. I eyed his 4 45-lb plates (with the bar, that makes 225 lbs) and said, "THAT'S light?"
And he laughed it off and I with my trainer hat on spent the next couple minutes praising his marathon abilities and the importance of strength training while running and he asked if I run to which I replied, "Hell no, I hate cardio."
Which I do. I despise endurance sports. Maybe that means I don't consider myself good enough company to spend hours isolated with my thoughts while pushing my body to complete exhaustion. When I met Brendan Brazier, ultramarathon runner and Vega formulator, several years ago, he talked about winning Canada's ultramarathon race and running 50 km. "In a row?" I asked, dumbfounded.
Which brings me, finally, to the reason for this post, a cardio video! While I hate cardio, per se, I love these short bursts, with full body moves, moving with the music. It's just 10 minutes long and whether it's done before, after, or between sets of weight lifting, it's a great way to get the heart rate up quickly, burn calories, and, most importantly - for me, anyway - to not get bored!
100 Marathons in 100 Days
Matthew Loddy wanted to raise money in honour of his late friend who died of stomach cancer and accomplished the unbelievable goal of 100 marathons, his last being his fastest!
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Pilates videos added
Finally have some Pilates videos added to our channel, the Pilates Prep & Warm-Up and Pilates Abs Workout. More to come to have a full 1 hour class.
"120 pounds lost, but much more gained."
One of my favourite inspirational transformations.
Best Workout Songs
What's the best workout song of 2011? In a joint venture between Men's Health and Gold's Gym, readers picked Party Rock Anthem by LMFAO!
Other contenders included Pitbull’s “Give Me Everything,” Avicii’s
“Levels,” and Maroon 5′s “Moves Like Jagger."
It's almost 1/3 into the year, but what's your favourite workout song so far of 2012? Are you enjoying the resurgence of the boy band with One Direction's What Makes You Beautiful? Or maybe JLo's new one. Rihanna has something new too, featuring Chris Brown(?). Check out Nelly Furtado's new one:
Or maybe you'd like to throw it back and mix up your playlist this year with these:
