StayFitAnywhere’s Blog

We are one day away from the May long weekend and the gift every long weekend gives us is an extra 24hours! I know most of the readers of this blog will be using this time to bike the seawall, hike a mountain, throw a Frisbee in the sand, play in the park, or like me get your last day of riding in Whistler. Here in Vancouver the weather is supposed to be fantastic and when the sun shines it invites outdoor physical activity with friends, in case you haven’t noticed there are people everywhere when the sun is out.

The increase in physical activity is great but we also need to balance this out with rest. Rest is the yin to the activity yang. If you are fortunate enough to have this coming Monday off then you have a great opportunity to make big deposits into your sleep account and if you are like most people this account is running low on funds. Do you wake up most mornings wishing you had a few more hours to sleep? Are you wondering why your training progress is stalling? Or why you can’t kick the last few pounds? It very well could be that you aren’t getting enough sleep to repair your body and the long weekend is your chance.

If you are like me you have a smart phone that you text, email, facebook, tweet, and even make phone calls with several times during the day. At the end of a busy day running your life through your smart phone you plug it in to charge the battery so you can start all over again the next day. If you forget to plug your smart phone in at the end of the day you will have a limited amount of juice to do all the things your smart phone is capable of the next day. The same is true for your body if you spend most of your day(s) training, playing, working, and stressing in other words draining your battery you need to recharge with sleep. If your sleep is constantly interrupted or not long enough you will never get your battery fully charged and all the things you want to do in the future will suffer.

Take a lesson from my dog Max and make a plan to catch some serious ZZzzZZzz’s this weekend.

Max doesn’t care where he is when he is tired he will just plop down and have a nap. I love sleeping under a tree in a park or on the sand near the water.

And when he is sleeping he gets ridiculously comfortable, he doesn’t care who is looking. Make your bedroom as comfortable as possible: dark, quiet and free of electronics.

Finally when Max is out with friends at night and he is ready to shut it down he does like the guy from weekend at Bernie’s and hides his eyes while he counts sheep. Know when to call it a night and get some shut eye.

Balance out all your fun in the sun with some sleep, you will thank me and Max Tuesday morning when your battery is charged for the week ahead.
Josh Neumann, BHK
josh.neumann@stayfitanywhere.com
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Notes
*Check this post out first: Exercise of the Week: Freestyle Getup
*Change from last week: NO use of your hands to help on the way up and down
*Start position: Lay down besdie something that is kind of awkward to hold and has some weight to it, grab it and rollover to yous back with the object on your chest
*Finish position: Stand tall holding your object
*Middle position: Go from lying to standing while holding the awkward object without using your hand
*There is no right or wrong answer, this is your opportunity to figure out how to get up and down from the floor
*Major rule: If it hurts stop

This exercise is your opportunity to explore a very important movement skill – the ability to get up and down off the floor. Have fun with this exercise it is something you will be doing for the rest of your life.
Josh Neumann, BHK
josh.neumann@stayfitanywhere.com
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Notes
*Start position: Lay down besdie something that is kind of awkward to hold and has some weight to it, grab it and rollover to yous back with the object on your chest
*Finish position: Stand tall holding your object
*Middle position: Go from lying to standing while holding the awkward object
*There is no right or wrong answer, this is your opportunity to figure out how to get up and down from the floor
*Two rules: If it hurts stop and you can touch one hand to the floor to help you on the way up and down

Have fun with this exercise and see how many different ways you can come up with for getting up from the floor. I will be posting some tips, different rules and videos of the freestyle getup for the next month or so, lots of time to practice!
Josh Neumann, BHK
josh.neumann@stayfitanywhere.com
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Do you suffer from Exercise ADD? Not sure what I mean by this? Although this isn’t a technical or medically accepted term I think this definition works:

exercise attention deficit disorder – noun: a condition characterized by loss of focus during a physical activity program. Exercise ADD can be seen when a participant jumps from physical activity program to physical activity program, when a participant stops a physical activity program before completion, or when a participant is not ‘present’ when performing their physical activity of choice. Phrases associated with Exercise ADD are: I am doing (insert latest fitness craze here) instead, my friend has been doing (insert latest fitness craze here) for 2 weeks and getting great results, my first (insert latest fitness craze here) workout was the hardest thing I have ever done, and I do x Monday, y Tuesday, z Thursday, a combination of xyz Friday and (insert latest fitness craze here) on the weekends. Exercise ADD may also be forced on a participant in these situations: when the physical activity program is too hard or too easy, when the participant doesn’t enjoy the physical activity program, when the participant can’t connect with the physical activity program, or when the participant is in pain during the physical activity program.

THIS IS A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF EXERCISE ADD

There is nothing wrong with having exercise ADD, variety and trying new things is fantastic. And really who can blame someone for having exercise ADD we live in a world where we are bombarded by health and fitness information (good and bad), and promises of instantaneous results. However if you are having trouble getting the results you desire and you find yourself uttering the phrases above then you may suffer from exercise ADD. I was talking to my friend Aly McFarland of Prevail Fitness about this subject and she told me about all the different things she does from day to day: yoga, running, kettlebells, dancing and hiking. It made me think maybe I am way off on this exercise ADD thing, after all I am active in a number of different physical activities but then I realized both Aly and I are happy with the way our bodies perform and look because we always fall back on this hierarchy.

1. Get pain free. Exercising in pain isn’t fun. When you are hurting you avoid certain movements and change the way you execute other movements. This seriously hinders your ability to take part in a variety of physical activities. If you are in pain go find a qualified professional that knows how to manage and treat pain. There are a number of different clinicians that can help: physiotherapists, registered massage therapists, medical doctors, naturopaths, osteopaths, and chiropractors amongst others. Just be sure to get pain removed not covered up.

2. Be great at the basics of human movement. Every able bodied human being needs to be able to do these things before experiencing a wide variety of movement skills: walk/run, squat, lunge, bend, push, pull, and twist. These are called primal movements and they are named so because these were the movements necessary for survival before the industrial revolution.

3. Master one physical skill. Any skill will do here: yoga, martial arts, kettlebelling, Olympic lifting, rock climbing, juggling, break dancing, discus throwing, free throw shooting, skateboarding, etc. By having one skill that you dedicate your time to mastering you will learn a lot about your body and your mind. The lessons you learn here will shine through when you move on to the next step.

4. Explore a variety of physical activities. When you get to this stage and start exploring different physical activities you will be in a position to achieve success quickly as you will have built the movement foundation necessary to branch out and experience the thrill of a new movement skill!

I didn’t write this post to poke fun at anyone with exercise ADD, more just to bring awareness to this condition many people possess. Follow these steps to get passed exercise ADD and you will no doubt enjoy the benefits of variety in movement!
Josh Neumann, BHK
josh.neumann@stayfitanywhere.com
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Notes
*Get Pain Free… training in pain isn’t fun and in the long run it will do more harm than good
*Get good at the basics: Walking, Running, Squating, Lunging, Bending, Pushing, Pulling, Rotating
*Become great at one physical skill – the skill could be anything (yoga, powerlifting, kettlebelling, pilates, throwing a frisbee, playing tennis, etc)
*Explore a variety of movement opportunities with the goal of learning how to do them
***Trainers/Coaches: Don’t bombard your client’s with too many instructions/cues, show them the start and the finish of a movement and let them figure it out on their own

These are simple tips but they will take time and conscious effort, go forth and be great.
Josh Neumann, BHK
josh.neumann@stayfitanywhere.com
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A number of things have been rolling around in my head this week; so many that I couldn’t just narrow things down to one so I am going to share with you a few mini stories.

• My Kiwi friend Cliff Harvey posted his third in a series of articles, this one titled Life Lessons Learned Lifting. The other two are titled Life Lessons Learned Fighting and Life Lessons Learned Surfing and there is something that everyone can relate to. These articles made me think about what I learned playing team sports at the same time tying together one of the hottest topics here in Vancouver, the Canucks. It isn’t always the team with the best players it is the players who make up the best team that wins a championship. Championship teams are built through their successes and mistakes. It isn’t a straight road, it is a bumpy one with twists and turns, ups and downs and it is during this journey a team learns to adapt to the situation presented to them and ultimately overcome. There is something special about a championship team; it is hard to put my finger on it because no two championship teams are exactly the same.
• Cliff Harvey is coming to Vancouver in less than a month and is offering some very exciting workshops, you can read about them here: http://www.katoahealth.com/workshops–courses.html and register for them here: http://www.eventbrite.co.nz/org/2144794195?s=7951665. Cliff has been kind enough to offer this coupon code for a 20% discount: whanua (it means family in Maori). I hope to see you there.
• Dr. Mark Cheng is a senior RKC, Chiropractor and Martial Arts expert and he had this to say on his facebook page:

Everything in life is a cost-benefit analysis, especially in health & fitness. If you engage in a sport that you love, but it damages your body’s overall functionality in daily life, you need to take adequate actions to offset that damage. This is why ancient martial arts practitioners became skilled in the healing & restorative arts. It’s no secret that martial arts practitioners get injured in their practice of combatives, but without the fundamental movement skills developed by the “basics”, no skill, no ability, and no achievement will rest on solid ground.

This statement sums me up almost perfectly. I train so I can compete; the actual training isn’t the competition. For me training is the opportunity to restore my body and make it better for when I step onto the field/rink/court. Everyone trains for different reasons, set your intentions for your training program and you won’t be disappointed.
• On Tuesday I had a parent info meeting for Delta Secondary Lacrosse Academy which I will be the head coach of starting September 2012 and one student showed up to the meeting with his mom. He currently can’t get transportation to travel to the academy and he talked about taking a cab, public transit, biking (while wearing his goalie gear) and even changing schools. This grade 9 student wants nothing more than to be a part of this program and is ready to make sacrifices. Do you remember wanting something this bad?
• Finally Jon Goodman of the Personal Trainer Development Centre released his new book Ignite the Fire and created a great promo video. It is filmed through the eyes of an aspiring personal trainer as he takes steps to become successful… check it out.

Have a great weekend!
Josh Neumann, BHK
josh.neumann@stayfitanywhere.com
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Notes
*Get in a half kneel position: tall as you can be, front knee over heel
*Rotate towards the knee that is up, you will likely feel a stretch on the front of the hip and possibly through your midsection
*Only rotate as far as you can maintain a normal breathing pattern
*Check to see which side you can rotate better towards: figure out which side is harder to go towards and then practice going that way
*Use this exercise as part of your warmup to improve tspine mobility and give the front of your hip a stretch from a different angle

Josh Neumann, BHK
josh.neumann@stayfitanywhere.com
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This is a pretty special video for a few reasons:
1. He is 80 years old and still training – if you learn a movement right at the beginning it will last you a lifetime
2. He is laughing and having a good time while training!!
3. He is surrounded by a team
4. He is one of the greatest Olympic Lifting coaches in the world and he still misses a rep, he laughs and gets the next one

Go find the movement skill that gives you the most joy!
Josh Neumann, BHK
josh.neumann@stayfitanywhere.com
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Big congratulations to all those who ran in the Vancouver Sun Run yesterday! Here is a little tip for recovery today, watch below.

Notes
*Stand tall with a ball or broomstick under your heel
*Make 10 passes on each of these 3 spots: Heel to big toe, heel to middle toes, heel to pinky toes
*Make 10 circles in each direction around the arch
*The pressure should be somewhere between pleasure and pain
*Each person will be different and this is a great time for self exploration to figure out the routine that works best for you

For more information on recovery for runners check out the notes from talk last year, Recovery for Runners.
Josh Neumann, BHK
josh.neumann@stayfitanywhere.com
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I’m a big Jack Black fan and this weekend I watched Kung Fu Panda, again. It is a feel good movie and you can’t help but laugh at Jack Black’s character, Po the Panda. Po is a perfect representation of Jack Black, a little rotund and always having a good time… especially when he is doing something he loves. Amongst all the laughs I pulled out 3 great lessons we can all learn from this cartoon, spoiler alert – you’ve been warned.

1. When the student is ready the teacher will appear.

The movie begins with Po having a dream about Kung Fu and shortly after it seems that Po is accidently chosen as the Dragon Warrior. The Kung Fu master, Shifu, doesn’t believe him to be the true Dragon Warrior and he makes little effort to teach Po Kung Fu. It all changes for Shifu when he sees Po sitting in a perfect split position as he munches down a cookie in the rafters. When Shifu sees the potential of his new student his mindset changes and he is ready to guide his student to Kung Fu mastery. The student teacher relationship must be strong in order for both parties to see success.

2. Individuals require different teaching methods.

After putting Po through difficult training sessions Master Shifu quickly realizes that his normal teaching methods will not reach Po so he has to alter his strategy. Po is motivated by food and Shifu uses noodles and dumplings to teach the skills of Kung Fu, and before Po knows it he possess the skills necessary to become a Kung Fu master. Every student learns differently and teachers must be able to alter their methods according to the individual.

3. The secret ingredient is YOU!

Throughout the movie a sacred dragon scroll is believed to have the secret to becoming the ultimate Kung Fu master and when Po is finally deemed ready to read the scroll he finds that it is a blank reflective piece of paper. At first Po is upset and feels like he has been lied to and all his hard work was for not until he realizes that the secret ingredient is him. In the pursuit of achieving greatness we often look for that secret ingredient or the slight edge that is going to push us to the top, when all we need to do is look in the mirror and find it within ourselves.

Josh Neumann, BHK
josh.neumann@stayfitanywhere.com
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