Kids

I often hear people tell me how great they feel after a workout, how it leaves a smile their face and brings the stress level down to tolerable levels. I have been told by many of my gym members that working out is like therapy for them, how great it feels to move...well people if you think you feel great as an adult after a bout of vigorous movement how the hell do you think children feel? Children who are chock full of boundless energy, with developing brains and bodies and an emotional system that can change from high to low and back again in a matter of minutes. I can tell you that children need movement much more than any adult ever could. Kids get stressed out too, while their worries may seem trivial to our super important adult worries, to them they are very important. The problem is that not all children see the big picture or have the experiences yet to know everything is going to be ok. Its because of this that children need movement and lots of it. It makes them feel better, improves their focus, burns off that nervous energy and allows them to gain a sense of self and learn their surroundings. But what do we with children, just the opposite: we shorten recess, increase class time,take away physical education, music and art, take one minute tests, 20 minute tests, standardized tests, mid-terms and on and on. we fence them in, lock them down, sit them in front of a box with pictures... People if you have children, have relatives or friends with children, or have the pleasure to work with children understand that movement/exercise/play goes way beyond just having fun, it is literally the life blood of childhood. No amount of learning ever takes place without some form of movement that has laid down the connections in the brain. Also The more happy experiences children have the better chance they will be happy adults. If you have access to kids get them moving, move in the classroom, move at home, move outside, just move. Chase each other, give high fives, jump, spin, roll, hop, yell, wrestle and have fun...

The Disease

The Disease By Jeremy Frisch SFG Level 1 Instructor The Sultan once consulted his physician in regard to a troublesome malady. Believing that only fresh air and exercise were needed, and knowing how little the world values plain, simple things, the doctor said : "Here is a ball which I have stuffed with rare and precious herbs. Your Highness must beat this ball with a bat and toss it in every conceivable way each day till you perspire freely." The Sultan followed these directions, and was cured of his disease without realizing that he was only taking exercise. Probably the "Medicine Ball" would be more used if we, like the Sultan, were deceived; but of a certainty our diseases in the main will, like his, be eradicated from our system if we indulge in daily exercise. (Exercises with a medicine ball by Williiam James Cromie 1922) Fast forward to 2013. Our society is suffering from the same troublesome malady... Our ever growing mechanized and affluent society has taken away our ability to move and with it our health. All one has to do is look at the growing list of unhealthy Americans both young and old to make the connection between sedentarism and poor health. Sedentarism which by definition refers to many of the activities of being sedentary, sitting, lying down, sleeping and the actions that are performed in these low energy states...watching television, playing video games, texting, tweeting, facebooking etc...100 years ago sedentarism was non existent as children had to walk to school, people worked on farms or in factories and life in general was much more physical. Fast forward to today for example, Children are bussed to school, drilled in classrooms on test taking and provided little or no outlets of physical education or recess. Many adults fare no better as they will spend the majority of their day driving to and from work or sitting at their computer terminal. The little exercise or movement they do get consists of a treadmill run or a spin on a stationary bike but hardly vigorous enough to create a positive change toward health in the human body. In short our lives have been taken over by technology and people have become addicted to comfort and passive recreation. Even in many modern health clubs and fitness centers the majority of exercise equipment is made to make exercise easier rather harder. Many machines require one to be sitting down while being guided through very easy and passive ranges of motions. As one might guess, this is no way prepares the body for rigors of life. So lets do this: Lets call this disease that affected the Sultan sedentarism. Lets substitute the Sultan for the the modern day buisinessman, the student sitting in class or the trucker driving all day. Lets substitute the doctor for the modern day coach who is equipped with the knowledge of better health through developing strength and mobility. Lets substitute the medicine ball with the kettlebell. Lets substitute throwing the medicine ball with Kettlebell squats, swings, presses and get-ups. And let the modern day coach teach these movements and exercises to those individuals in need of a cure of this disease. Let the modern day coach convince his students that perspiration from “effort” is the toxins of sedentary living leaving the body. Let the modern day coach begin to eradicate the world of this troublesome malady known as Sedentarism. To my fellow SFG instructors, the time is now. We have been given a gift. That gift is knowledge and the ability to coach that knowledge into others through the practice of movement. One perfect rep at a time, one breath at a time we can begin to change the world. Long live StrongFirst.

Warning

Ever notice every piece of exercise equipment (like a kettlebell for example) comes with a warning to consult your physician before beginning an exercise program...Drives me crazy... What it should say is this: "Warning using a kettlebell to squat, swing and press may cause you to improve total body strength, increase flexibility and enhance overall cardiovascular conditioning. This will not only improve quality of life but also prevent injuries and fight the effects of sedentary living and aging. It should also go on to say that the kettlebell should be used daily, until the user is perspiring freely. This perspiration (sweating for those of you that don't know perspiring means) is a good indicator that the user is putting forth the required effort and is simply a positive sign that the toxic elements of chronic sitting and inactivity are leaving the body. The user should note that some side effects are possible such as: increase in lean body mass decrease in bodyfat, the improved ability to safely pick things and put them down better posture the ability run faster and longer better quality of sleep a firmer handshake bigger smile on your face Finally it is encouraged that the kettlebell be used in conjuction with other exercise elements such as gymnastic, calisthenic and sprinting movements. This will create a more dynamic overall training program and allow the user to further develop into an unstoppable athletic machine that is prepared for anything and everything that life throws at them." Train to live, train to compete, train to thrive, train to survive! ACHIEVE!

Achieve Performance Training: Train to live, Training to compete, Train to thrive, Train to survive!

Train to live: Life has so many great things to offer. Training to live is about developing a body that possesses the freedom of movement and resiliency to enjoy the many leisure activities that life has to offer. We run, bike, hike, play with our children, work, build...no matter what it is we do, we look to be able to do it to the best of our ability. Training to live is a long term sustainable strategy to develop all the necessary physical qualities that allow us to move without restriction for a lifetime. Train to compete: Its the college bound athlete, the weekend warrior and the 5k mom...we train to compete. We push, we pull, sprint, jump and throw all in the pursuit of athleticism and improved movement ability that will carry over to any and all athletic arenas. The all around development of the S factors of fitness: Strength, speed, stamina, suppleness, skill, and lets not forget spirit...sound mind, sound body to be prepared for anything and everything. Train to Thrive: Thriving is being prepared and ready for any and all environments. To be calm under fire, to know your surroundings. Thriving is being presented with a task and saying “i got this”...”i can do this”...”I own this”. Thriving is about doing that extra rep, that extra sprint or that extra mile. Its about knowing deep down you have given everything you have, not to gain something in return, but just because that is how you know its done. Train to survive: We live in time where our wealthy mechanized society has the potential to take away our god given ability “to move” and with that take away our health. Training to survive is about building resilient bodies to withstand the daily barrage of sedentarism...sitting at work, sitting in the car, sitting at home, texting tweeting, net surfing etc etc. Training to survive is about moving, moving often and moving as often as possible in as many directions as possible: in short doing the exact opposite of sitting. We fight not moving with lots of moving...we fight tightness and inflexibility with range of motion...we fight weakness by developing total body strength...we fight stress and disease with PMA( positive mental attitude) and community of like minded individuals working together, pushing each other to be better. Train to Live....Train to compete...Train to thrive...Train to survive: Achieve!

Train to survive

A friend of mine works at a local ski resort told me that there has been a rising number of ski injuries in the older adult population the past few years. What's ironic is that these individuals were not beginners but had plenty of skill as they have been skiing for a number of years. I told him that I wasn't surprised as our society becomes more and more automated and our lives become more and more sedentary our bodies tend become weaker, bio-mechanically inefficient and structurally unsound leaving the potential for injury much higher. Skiing like many other leisure activities are fun and healthy way to be active but also require some level of "fitness" to be able to enjoy. "Training to survive" is not about surviving a zombie apocalypse, its about having a body that is strong and resilient to allow us to enjoy all the many amazing things life has to offer and stay away from injury, sickness and immobility. As we probably all find ourselves spending too much time doing things like texting, tweeting, facebooking or just plain sitting around for longer and longer periods, it becomes imperative to engage in some type of activity or training program that counteracts all of our sedentary ways. Paul Uram wrote in 1974 that 'training programs must refine human movement, improve skills, reduce injuries and more importantly promote lifelong freedom of movement thereby restoring the one natural attribute mans mechanized, affluent society has stolen from him." Strength training in all its many forms, done correctly is a fantastic activity to enhance a number of physiological functions. Provided that effort is given so there is some level of fatigue induced and that movements are taken through a complete and full range of motion, muscle, bone, tendon and ligament strength can all be enhanced. Strength training can also stimulate the nervous system to improve coordination as well as keep hormone balances in check. Also the total body movements used in strength training allow for massive amounts of blood to flow through the body effecting both the cardiovascular system and improved lymphatic flow. There are many forms of strength training and it often comes down to personal preference, level of fitness and accessibility to equipment but for the most part nobody ever got weaker working with good old barbells and dumbbells, using time tested total movements movement where the majority of the time a person is standing on their two feet. Exercises like squats, deadlifts, standing press, rows, bench press are all great movements to use with barbells and dumbbells. Olympic style weight lifting using the variations of cleans and snatches, provided one is taught correctly and has the right structure are fantastic total body exercises. Kettlebells provide yet another option of training and has a long history in physical culture. They are very accessible, can be taken almost anywhere and come in a number of different weights. Most exercises can be used with one or two arms, allowing for a multitude of variations, positions and directions. Often overlooked is body-weight training and for many who may just be beginning or coming back from injury or layoff is a great place to start. All the basics of push-ups, pull-ups, lunges, step-ups, squats, crawls, rolls, hangs, holds and calisthenics can all be used for fantastic results by varying speeds, tempos, reps, sets and rest periods etc. The bottom line is this: We have a whole new world out there that is constantly taking away our god given ability to move. The less we challenge our infrastructure to stay upright and strong the more it will begin crumble and fail. Train to survive and thrive in any environment. Work to build a body of resilience, find a training system that is sustainable and allows you to build that resilience across a lifetime. Look to move and challenge the body everyday and try to find enjoyment in the miracle of each and every movement. ACHIEVE