The concept comes from the research and writings of American psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, who described Flow as an elusive mental state, a kind preconscious harmony of mind and body that comes with intense psychic focus, physical mastery, and the ideal balance between skill and challenge. It can be found at work. It can be felt in sex. It can be experienced through art. The human activities most associated with Flow tend to be sports and games. Csikszentmihalyi’s earliest research studied rock climbers, and his theory of Flow, which has been embraced by dozens of researchers, echoed the concept of “peak experiences” articulated by psychologist Abraham Maslow. A competitive outdoor event such as an adventure race seems purpose-built to manifest moments of Flow. “When a normal physical function, like running, is performed in a socially designed, goal directed setting with rules that offer challenges and require skills, it turns into a flow activity,’ Csikszentmihalyi argued in Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, his 1990 popularization of the theory. “Whether jogging alone, racing the clock, running against competition, or-like the Tarahumara Indians of Mexico, who race hundreds of miles in the mountains during certain festivals- adding an elaborate ritual dimension to the activity, the simple act of moving the body across space becomes a source of complex feedback that provides optimal experience and adds strength to the self.” Flow, he emphasized, is not some drug-like stopper or escape from reality. Rather, it is that state of joy that arrives when body and mind work as one to control the chaos of our environment. Flow isn’t a means to an end, to a future reward. It is, like children’s playing, its own reward.

What activities do you associate with this description of flow? Can you remember the last time you experienced flow? If you are perplexed by these questions you probably haven’t found an activity that you truly enjoy or you haven’t been able to connect your mind to your body during movement. StayFitAnywhere’s Building Blocks Program is designed to teach individuals the essential movement patterns necessary to achieve any goal imaginable. By learning primal movement patterns you will connect your mind to your body and have the opportunity to experience the joy and pleasure of flow.

A perfect example of this is the Kettlebell Swing. Kettlebell swinging requires mobility and stability throughout the body especially at the hips and shoulders, the two areas of the human body that are “asleep” due to excessive amounts of sitting. When performing this movement you must consciously be aware of exactly what your body is doing, and due to the ballistic nature of swinging a Kettlebell every rep must be executed with perfect technique, there is no taking a rep off. Take a look at the following video and watch as the entire body is used to move the Kettlebell around the hips in an arc shape, with each rep flowing one after another.

Kettlebell swinging is one of many ways to experience flow, take part in our Building Blocks Program and start reaping the rewards of enjoying movement as if you were a child again!
Josh Neumann, BHK, PTS, TSCC-1
jneumann@stayfitanywhere.com
Monday and Thursday #FitTip at http://twitter.com/stayfitanywhere

We are firm believers in teaching our clients mobility and stability first and foremost, and as our clients succeed at these two aspects of our program they begin to see gains in strength they have never seen before. If you have trained with us in the past you already know this and we would like to give you the opportunity to share this experience with your family and friends so we are offering a fantastic referral bonus. Refer a family member or friend to enrol in our Building Blocks Program and you will be entitled to 20minutes of Train the Trainer! This is your chance to make us train as hard as we make you train, we know you have wanted a shot at us, go ahead and take it!

For those looking for Group Training to kick start their fall fitness programs we have a special offer running through http://www.swarmjam.com, visit their website and sign up to find out about the daily deal. I will keep you posted for the exact date SwarmJam will be running a special StayFitAnywhere Group Training discounted package. The more people that sign up the more you save, be sure to tell all your family and friends and get a great deal on fall fitness!

There are lots of ways to keep up to date on everything StayFitAnywhere!
SFA Blog – http://blog.stayfitanywhere.com to read articles on health, fitness, nutrition, sports and other related topics.
SFA Press Monthly Newsletter – Go to http://www.stayfitanywhere.com to sign up.
Tweets – http://twitter.com/stayfitanywhere for weekly #FitTips.
Facebook -  http://www.facebook.com/pages/StayFitAnywhere/50493916136 to view pictures and videos from SFA events.
Live to Move, Move to Live!
Josh Neumann, BHK, PTS, TSCC-1
jneumann@stayfitanywhere.com
Monday and Thursday #FitTip at http://twitter.com/stayfitanywhere

I find it unbelievably sad that we don’t truly value physical movement.  Having to move has become a ‘chore’ rather than something we enjoy and give ourselves permission to do.  And I see more and more evidence every day that supports the fact that many people are living in uncertain bodies.  Sometimes, I prescribe an exercise that is ‘different’ or  out of the frame of reference for some participants.  And I often hear things like ‘that’s weird” or “I’m not coordinated enough to do this”, or “I feel stupid doing this” in response.  Instead of being excited by the possibility of exploring a new possiblity of movement, it seems there are strong reactions of fear to performing a new movement.  In my experience, many people that have these types of reactions towards movement and exercise are living in a physical body that they don’t trust.

This is why we have created the StayFitAnywhere Building Blocks Program (Strength, Stability, Mobility).  We want people to begin to wake up from their coma that their physical bodies are living in.  If you have a ‘quick-fix’ mind-set, then this program is not for you.  Developing a quality of body that displays high levels of strength, stability, and mobility is something that must be hard-earned, and it will only work if you truly value your body for the amazing tool that it is. You must also cultivate patience and understand that your body requires much physical management for it to function at an optimum level of performance and health.  If you value the possibility of living in a body that serves you better than it currently is, then I will bend over backwards to help you get there.  But if you’re not interested, then I’m not interested either…

Happy Building

Andrew Burchell

Advanced Health & Fitness Specialist

aburchell@stayfitanywhere.com

Challenge #1: PARTNER PUSHUP CHALLENGE
Complete 150 pushups between you and a partner (each person needs to complete a minimum of 50pushups). Only one partner can perform pushups at a time. Example – Partner A starts doing pushups and Partner B can only start to do pushups when partner A has stopped. Pushups can be done from the toes or knees, but elbows must create 90 degree angles.

Challenge #2: OBSTACLE COURSE
1. Run through 2 ladders that are 50meters apart.
2. Run 50 meters to the Kettlebells, Partner A picks up ONE Kettlebell and carries it 50meters to the cone and back. Partner B holds a plank until Partner A returns and then you switch. Partner B carries the Kettlebell to the cone and back and Partner A takes Partner B’s position.
3. Run 50 meters to the ZIG ZAG agility course and run through touching each cone with your hand.
4. At the end complete 5 Burprees each and you are finished!
We had a great variety of participants through our ChasePoint and they all did a fantastic job. Even though our ChasePoint provided a great physical challenge everyone who came through completed their chosen challenge with a smile on their face, eventually! Big thanks to the organizing committee and Urban Rec and to all the other volunteers that made this incredible event happen.
Which challenge would you chose? Leave your comments below!
Josh Neumann, BHK, PTS, TSCC-1
jneumann@stayfitanywhere.com
Monday and Thursday #FitTip at http://twitter.com/stayfitanywhere

The Cholesterol Myth that is Harming Your Health.  Dr. Mercola tells you exactly what cholesterol is and why it is needed in the body while providing you with solutions to help control your cholesterol levels without pharmaceuticals.  http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/08/10/making-sense-of-your-cholesterol-numbers.aspx?aid=CD945

Eat an Apple (Doctor’s Orders).  With the growing obesity epidemic amongst children and adults in North America physicians are teaming up with farmer’s markets and writing prescriptions (coupons) for fruits and vegetables… this is certainly a prescription I can get on board with.  http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/13/business/13veggies.html?_r=3&hp

The Dark Side of Vitaminwater.  Most people assume that if a product has the word vitamin in it and is endorsed by professional athletes that the product is good (healthy) for them, well that isn’t always the case (if ever).  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-robbins/the-dark-side-of-vitaminw_b_669716.html

Only an Ignorant Fool Would Drink Bottled Water.  There are plenty of reasons to chose a sustainable reusable water bottle over bottled water, here is another one!  http://www.pajiba.com/film_reviews/tapped-review-only-an-ignorant-fool-would-drink-bottled-water.php

Don’t take my word for it with these articles, read them for yourself and take a stance whether you agree with what they are saying or not.

Josh Neumann, BHK, PTS, TSCC-1

jneumann@stayfitanywhere.com

Monday and Thursday #FitTip at http://twitter.com/stayfitanywhere

I will be hanging out at Healthee during Kerrisdale days Aug 27-28, stop in for some lunch and say “hi” in between checking out all the other activities going on in the area. 

Live to Move, Move to Live,

Josh Neumann, BHK, PTS, TSCC-1

jneumann@stayfitanywhere.com

Monday and Thursday #FitTIp at www.twitter.com/stayfitanywhere

I spent most of Friday slothing around with little motivation to do anything, I was still devastated.  As the day passed and the sun shone brightly I knew I couldn’t resist the call of the beach, so I met with some great friends to celebrate a birthday.  It was nothing fancy just spending a few hours at the beach with a BBQ, a stereo, and a cooler.  Not a bad way to spend a Friday evening in Vancouver and at the end of the evening lacrosse was the farthest thing from my mind.  Whenever you are attempting to reach a goal having a support network (friends, family, coworkers, teammates, etc) is absolutely essential to helping you reach your goals and just as important when you fall short.  No matter what your goal is (fat release, correct posture, pain reduction) you need to find at least one person to keep you on track and to get you back on track when you lose sight of the final destination.

I woke up Saturday morning not wanting to do anything but sleep.  Might have overindulged a little Friday or it might have been the toll a lacrosse season takes on your body or it might have been a bit of both, either way Robyn made me get up and head out for the day.  So we went for breakfast, hung out at the beach, had dinner at a friend’s and walked to the English Bay to watch the fireworks.  I kept busy throughout the day, and only had a few free moments to think about what I could have done different.  By the time the last firework had exploded I felt like I had come around full circle and was ready to start preparing for my next goal, without the help of my support network and some time to reflect on what could have been done different I might have been stuck in a rut for a while.  This reminds me of one of my favourite sayings “If nothing changes, nothing changes.”  Obviously something has to change during the next lacrosse season or I will be back in the same predicament next summer, so if this sounds familiar to you remember the above quote and figure out what needs to change if you actually want to change!

When Sunday arrived I was ready to move and be active again.  After lunch myself and 3 friends went to a park to throw a Frisbee around.  We spent 30minutes whipping the Frisbee around and getting warmed up, this warmup culminated with a game of “500”.  Do you remember this game?  Do you remember the last time you played?  I played this game tons as a kid and have actually played it quite a few times as an adult.  It is very simple to play you gather a group of participants at one end and have a thrower at the other end, the single thrower throws an object (Frisbee, football, baseball) and calls out a number between 1 and 500.  The participant that catches the object gets the points and the first participant to reach 500 points becomes the new thrower.  After a few matches we were ready to play a modified version of Ultimate (luckily Robyn showed up to give us another body) so we played 3 on 2 ultimate with 1 person always being on offense.  We switched teams around often to keep the games interesting and after an hour of running, changing pace/direction, jumping and throwing we were all spent.  The spent feeling didn’t last long as a couple hours after that we went down to the beach and played some pepper with a volleyball.  The running commentary of the day was that we were all “staying fit anywhere” with the amount of activity we were getting done (Robyn did the Grouse Grind in the AM and another friend played squash earlier) and it just goes to show that a gym is not necessary to stay fit, all you need is some friends, some space, and some imagination!

The weekend was full of ups and downs but being surrounded by good friends, sunshine, and fun gave me the opportunity to battle through a momentary setback to one of my lifelong goals.  I will always have the goal of winning a National Box Lacrosse Championship but for now I am looking for a new goal for the next 3-6months, got any ideas?  Share them with me, I am always up for something new.

Live to Move, Move to Live,

Josh Neumann, BHK, PTS, TSCC-1

jneumann@stayfitanywhere.com

Monday and Thursday #FitTip at www.twitter.com/stayfitanywhere

~joe -jcheng@stayfitanywhere.com

As I said both sports require strong hand eye coordination, and the ability to rotate so when I got my first lacrosse stick from Canadian Tire, a Brine Shotgun, I spent countless hours throwing the ball against the garage.  Even though I had played hockey my whole life and was used to having a stick in my hands things didn’t start very well.  I spent a majority of my time chasing the ball and learning to pick it up, as it turns out this was and is still one of the strongest aspects of my game.  After a couple of weeks spending hours banging the ball against the wall I figured out how to throw properly which brought the next challenge, learning how to catch!  This wasn’t too bad because I learned how the ball would bounce during my countless hours chasing the ball around my yard, but by this time I was starting to practice with my team and we didn’t spend much time standing still catching balls, we had to catch them on the run (the way the game is meant to be played).  My first season of box lacrosse was fun and challenging and by the time the season was over I had a pretty good grasp on all the basic skills needed to play the game.

I only played one season of lacrosse in Alberta and luckily moved to one of the hot beds of lacrosse in the world, British Columbia, and from there my love for the game grew.  I quit playing soccer right away, and 4 years later I quit playing hockey to play box lacrosse and field lacrosse.  Moving to BC give me the opportunity to play in a more competitive league and gave me access to fantastic coaches that really helped develop my skills and knowledge of both box lacrosse and field lacrosse (I will write a separate post regarding field lacrosse which is a totally separate game).  When I was 17 I was the captain of the Surrey Stickmen Intermediate A team that was coached by Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame members the Tasker brothers and we won a provincial championship!  It was one of the greatest moments of my lacrosse career and I was fortunate to be a member of such a fantastic team, and I still play with many of those teammates today.  The bond you create with your teammates when you come together to win a championship is something that can’t be broken over time and is probably the reason why I love this sport so much… well that and the mental and physical challenges that come from trying to beat your opponents!

Josh Neumann, BHK, PTS, TSCC-1

jneumann@stayfitanywhere.com

Monday and Thursday #FitTip at www.twitter.com/stayfitanywhere

·         In order to reach Robyn’s cottage we had to take a 45minute boat ride (this wasn’t primitive but I couldn’t help but imagine the effort it would have taken to get to where we were going if we didn’t have a motor boat, Robyn’s parents have cross country skied the distance in during the winter), which was just spectacular.  When we arrived at the dock we hopped out of the boat and basically said good bye to our shoes and sandals… we spent the majority of our time in bare feet which is right up my alley as you are all aware!  As I moved around the property my feet has to grip rock, moss, and sticks and compensate for the ground not being level in order to keep myself upright while walking.  The reason this is so great for your body is that you can’t simply step one foot in front of the other, you need to consciously plan your route a few steps ahead… meaning you have to be aware of every step you take and to adjust your body for any change in footing.  This is how primitive caveman had to move, they didn’t have perfectly flat surfaces to walk/run on so they had to train their body to be aware of what kind of surface they were travelling on and adjust accordingly.

·         As I said earlier we arrived at the cottage using a motor boat but from then on when we left the cottage we usually hopped in a canoe or a kayak.  I had only been in a canoe or a kayak a handful of times so it took a little bit of getting used to but once I got moving it was great.  I am not exactly sure why I preferred the canoe to the kayak, maybe because I felt my legs were grounded in the canoe and I could be more powerful when paddling.  These two methods of water travel are great workouts and I definitely worked up a sweat as we paddled around the bay looking at different islands, cottages, and birds.  When we were paddling all I could think was no wonder every picture of a coastal Native American in a canoe was so ripped… you would have to be strong in order to battle the currents and waves of the water to collect food necessary for living.

·         According to Paul Chek there are 7 primal movement patterns that were necessary for survival and they are: squat, lunge, bend (Deadlift), push, pull, twist, and gait (walk/run).  There were some chores to do around the cottage and in order to get these chores done all of these 7 movements took place.  The big chore that required all of these movements was the cleaning of wooden stove pipes… wow it must have sucked to be a chimney sweep back in the day.  Three of us took the pipes down cleaned the ash and soot out of them, washed them in the water and then reassembled them.  These are the kind of jobs that used to make up the workforce and now that desk jobs are more prominent we are seeing a large number of the population becoming overweight with poor posture and movement mechanics.

·         Although swimming isn’t directly included as one of the primal movement patterns you wouldn’t be able to swim without combining the primal movement patterns of push, pull, and twist.  I was told that a majority of French Canadians that used to inhabit the area couldn’t swim, which completely shocked me as I couldn’t imagine living that close to the water and not swimming.  We swam daily… we would jump into the water to cool off, to play, to exercise and to bathe!  If you couldn’t tread water, you would be in some serious trouble… so I am going to concede that the original habitants of the land could tread water and that is definitely a workout! 

This trip really opened my eyes to the way humans had to live 50 years ago, 100 years ago, and thousands of years ago… as much as I love modern living and technology it is important to know what it took to survive in the past in order to influence the way we live our present lives!

Josh Neumann, BHK, PTS, TSCC-1

jneumann@stayfitanywhere.com

Monday and Thursday #FitTip at www.twitter.com/stayfitanywhere