Month: April 2020

I grew up in the ‘70s and remember the 1976 TV movie, The Boy in the Plastic Bubble, starring John Travolta. Amidst the frequent (seemingly constant) discussion of the COVID-19 virus, the movie has come to mind. Many of us may feel like we are living in the bubble, but the reality is that we are the ones outside the plastic bubble. We are limiting our freedoms not necessarily to protect ourselves, but to protect others—particularly those who are most vulnerable to infection. Personally, I wash my hands not because I am afraid of germs (I actually prefer a minor exposure to naturally strengthen my immune system), but because I respect the health of others. We must live—now and going forward—like the person outside the plastic bubble. We have to establish habits and practices—privately and commercially—that will protect the vulnerable.

I was surprised (though not shocked) by an article shared by a friend about airlines starting to cold fog disinfect transatlantic airplanes. Starting? It would seem that this would be standard practice on all flights. Buses, classrooms, restrooms, and other very public spaces should be subject to the same on a weekly, if not daily, basis.

Social distancing is a necessary part of slowing the spread of this virus. It is a challenge, but it is an essential courtesy to protect others, as well as ourselves. It is not my hope that we will cross the street when we  see someone walking toward us in the future, but, for now, it is a necessity.

I stress the need for exercise (virus or no virus), but it calls for greater courtesy. Public gyms are closed, but, when they reopen, let’s be mindful and remember to wipe down machines and exercise equipment. Gym owners must sure up their sanitation practices. When exercising outdoors, be mindful that your expired air travels with and around you. Pass others at a safe distance. Avoid exposure and being exposed. Running/walking with friends is great, but may not be the smartest thing. Unless you are absolutely certain that neither of you is contagious, there is a risk of exposure—to bringing the virus home to your family.

We may not be able to avoid contact entirely, but we can be smart about how and with whom we have contact. If there is any possibility that you may have been exposed to this virus, avoid contact with anyone who might be vulnerable.

We are presented with a great opportunity to practice selflessness and to be innovative—to improve our health practices for the benefit of others. Don’t live in fear. Live in gratitude and outgoing concern for others. Most of us have no worries in this pandemic, but let’s not forget those who do.

Be your best today; be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!

Image source: The Boy in the Plastic Bubble (1976)

Call it a “quarantine challenge.” What will your before and after photos look like. I keep seeing the memes that we will all be fat and out of shape after all the restrictions are lifted and we return to some level of normalcy. I hope not. Let’s work on being better people after all of this. Let’s work on self-improvement. Let’s look for ways to make society better; to make the economy better.

We have a choice—technically, choices. A friend shared the following quote, the other day:

“Historically, pandemics have forced humans to break with the past and imagine their world anew. This one is no different. It is a portal, a gateway between one world and the next.

“We can choose to walk through it, dragging the carcasses of our prejudice and hatred, our avarice, our data banks and dead ideas, our dead rivers and smoky skies behind us. Or we can walk through lightly, with little luggage, ready to imagine another world. And ready to fight for it.”–Arundhati Roy

This speaks to the opportunities before us—the opportunity to “imagine another world” and to fight to create it. Undoubtedly, many will choose to walk through the current pandemic “dragging the carcasses of our prejudice and hatred, our avarice, our data banks and dead ideas, our dead rivers and smoky skies behind” them. They are the one’s who are already complaining, judging, and blaming. They are the one’s who will quickly forget the lessons of today and return to the standard practices of yesterday. Those, however, who are “ready to imagine another world” are already adapting. They are the innovators—the solution finders. They are the ones who will devise better ways to protect the vulnerable and to improve their health and the health of other. They are optimistic and opportunistic. They have the right grattitude.

The gyms are closed. We are on varied levels of lockdown. It is easy to be lazy and get fat. It is not so hard, however, to act on even the smallest scale toward self-improvement. If we do not come out of this pandemic in better shape, Spiritually, Physically, Intellectually, Emotionally, and Socially, then we have no one to blame but ourselves.

Imagine the better you. Image the better health care system, the better grocery, the better school/university, etc. Imagine the better community—the better world. Image and act.

Be your best today; be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!

I see a lot of before/after quarantine memes that suggest we are all going to get fat and out of shape during the stay-at-home orders. This should not be the case. Indeed, it should be the opposite. Sure, the gyms are closed, but we can still exercise. Yes, it will be exceptionally hard on athletes and, especially, bodybuilders, but we just need to be creative. Many of my friends have taken the opportunity to beef up the home gym by buying  more serious weight equipment. If a home gym is not in the budget, there are body-weight exercise options and a host of at-home workout opportunities. For most of us, we are no longer commuting, so, that “time” excuse is even more silly. Time is what we make of it.

Weight management is largely a matter of caloric balance. If we are getting less physical activity—as most of are, now working from home—then, we need to eat less. Eating less should be easier because restaurants are closed and eating out in more difficult (though we should still do takeout a couple of time a week to support the local restaurants we love). Grocery visits should be more limited—don’t restock the junk food! Moreover, we should have more time for meal planning. Don’t eat impulsively. Instead, increase the number of meals and plan your macros (carbohydrates, proteins, and fats) more carefully. Sit down for meals (seriously, where are you rushing to??) and eat slowly. Drink more water. Avoid unnecessary snacking.

Many of the memes are about alcohol consumption. Again, this is a choice. You can only drink what you have on hand. Don’t stock up on alcohol like toilet paper (also, don’t hoard TP!). Drink only in moderation. Be smart about alcohol calories. Indulge, if you wish, but don’t over-indulge.

Be smart and intentional, and you might even come out of quarantine with a beach body to shock everyone you are not seeing while you are staying home. (Or you can do the opposite and shock everyone by how out of shape you get—your choice!) Quarantine (and time) are poor excuses for bad decisions and lack of discipline.

Be your best today; be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!

Crisis is another word for “opportunity”. As we are prone to complain about how bad things are with the current COVID-19 pandemic, we miss the opportunity to see the potential in our circumstances. Crisis reveals weakness, but it can also reveal strength—as well as develop strength.

From a Spiritual perspective, we can—and must—become other-centered. We have opportunity to look beyond our own selfish needs—beyond the hoarding of toilet paper. We have the opportunity to help small businesses in our neighborhoods. We have the opportunity to check in on the elderly and those with weakened health. We have the opportunity to be aware of our potential to spread disease. We have opportunity to spend time at home with our loved ones—to engage in our children’s education. We have the opportunity to recognize the importance of the unsung heroes in our communities—the nurses, the waiters/waitresses, the stock clerks, the grocers, the mail carriers and delivery drivers, the custodians, the factory workers, etc., as well as public safety workers, and, yes, doctors. We have the opportunity to express our grattitude.

From a Physical perspective, there is no better time to focus on personal health—to develop the practices that we should be doing even when a health concern is not dominating the news. Habits like washing hands and cleaning frequently touched surfaces. Even more importantly, understanding the role of physical activity/exercise, rest, and proper nutrition on one’s health and immune system. Now is the time to stop smoking! Now is the time, not to allow self-quarantine to be an excuse for gaining body fat, but to create habits that will help us get to a healthy body fat and develop our physical fitness. So, the gym is closed? Finding ways to be physically active in the present circumstances will minimize the excuses going forward.

Intellectually, this is a great time for reading and learning new things. Helping your kids with their school work is an opportunity to refresh one’s own recall of subjects we have long since forgotten. We can learn new thing—take the time to read about new and interesting topics. We can take the time to study proper sources of information and not rely on social media and the news for our knowledge!

Emotionally, we are certainly going to be challenged in these times of isolation and (potential) panic. We have the opportunity to breathe and learn to calm ourselves. We have the opportunity to choose to be positive amidst all the negativity. We have the opportunity to laugh and to see the good in our circumstances. We have the opportunity to hope.

From a social perspective, it is easy to feel alone and isolated in times of social distancing. On the other hand, it is an opportunity to draw closer to the ones nearest to us and to connect distantly in more meaningful ways. Spend time with your children and not complain that they are making it more difficult to get work done. Take the opportunity to schedule time with your children and significant other. There are no youth sports or music lessons or other activities to be rushing to and from. Yes, we are confined together—what a blessed opportunity! We have time to communicate in more than 280 character and with words rather than emojis. Call. Facetime. Skype. E-mail. Etc. Take time to reach out and connect. Check in on family members. Check in on the elderly and those at risk of contacting the virus. Be other-centered!

This is an opportunity to complain and to live in fear, or it is an opportunity to be grateful and live in hope. It is a choice.

Be your best today; be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!

“If you are not stronger after this quarantine. You don’t lack the time. You lack the discipline.”—Anonymous

I have to credit my son’s high school wrestling coach, Doug Samarron. It is one of the many positive and inspiring statements he has shared and continues (even in the off-season) to share with the wrestlers.

We are in challenging and confusing times. It is April 4^th, and, already, people seem ready for the year to be over. Sadly, we are laser-focused on the negatives and are failing to see the many positives—the many opportunities. Yes, things are bad, but there is so much good that is coming from all of this. We should be able to look back on 2020 as stronger, more confident, and more other-centered. Whether this will be the case, is our choice.

The year 2020 should be the year that we go from “have” to “get” (to borrow, again, from Andy Lausier). We should be focused on our grattitude and our Purpose. There is some foreshadowing in the fact that the year is 2020—the year of perfect vision, perhaps?

These are times of great opportunity. Opportunity, however, has to be taken. The choices we make today will not only affect who we are tomorrow but those around us. As we seek to flatten the curve of a pandemic virus, let us not flatten the curve of our capacity to do good and to see good. We submit to the circumstances of 2020 or we can conquer them. We can be defeated or we can grow.

Be your best today; be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!

Amidst all the support for persons who are self-quarantined, I am seeing an increasing number of home fitness recommendations and daily workouts. For general fitness (i.e., maintain health and not see any appreciable gains), this is probably fine. After all, most people need some motivation and guidance. Personally, I prefer gains—and I prefer to keep it simple (follow the K.I.S.S. Principle).

Home strength training need not be complicated. First, know your why. Second, determine you how. Third, be consistent.

For most of us, we are strength training to get stronger and to gain/maintain muscle mass. As older adults, we may think we don’t need to get stronger (really?? we are already strong enough??) and/or muscle mass is not important (again, really??). Of course, most of us don’t have bodybuilding or powerlifting aspirations. Nonetheless, maintaining (ideally, gaining) strength and muscle mass are important as we age.

So, begin with repetition ranges. For strength, five or fewer is most ideal. For hypertrophy, perhaps, 8-15 repetitions is most ideal. Of course, there are a lot of good arguments for various repetition ranges, and the best results will be individualized. The key is to pick your target and be consistent. Be systematic, i.e., purposeful, with varying the repetitions.

Keep the exercise selection consistent for consistent progression and overload. Start and stick with a “basic 5” (squat, deadlift, bench, row, press) format—including variations in a purposeful and progressive plan. Add accessory work, e.g., arm exercises and ab work, as time and energy permit. Keep it simple. Keep it consistent. Focus on improving technique and building strength (adding weight/resistance) over time. Remember, without progressive overload there are no gains. Frequent variation seems hard because the neuromuscular system is struggling to keep up with the constant change, but the actual gains will be far less than possible in the same time frame.

Be your best today; be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!

Sometimes we are forced out of our comfort zone. At such times, it is an opportunity to grow. Being forced to teach classes “online” has not something of which I was very welcoming. I am not a fan of online learning (for my discipline—exercise science is a very hands-on field). I had no aspirations of exploring distance learning. But, here I am—taking a crash course in Zoom Meetings. (Thank you Zoom, by the way, for stepping up and being so accommodating of us teachers!) It has been a steep learning curve—and will continue to be.

I prefer the experience of teaching my students in person. I don’t consider myself a mere purveyor of information. Instead, I like to think of education as empowering my students to be consumers of information. The longer I teach, the less scripted my teaching becomes. Heck, some days the outcome has little resemblance to my lesson plan—but significant knowledge was gained (by professor, as well as students) in the process.

Needless to say, I am terrified going forward this term as we are required to teach remotely. My confidence is not high. Nevertheless, it will be what it will be. I prefer to trust the role that circumstances play in shaping us and in affecting our Purpose. I don’t know what is going to become of the next 10 weeks, but I know it will be important to whom I am becoming.

I am not alone in being challenged in this present crisis. Everyone’s life is being disrupted in some way and to some extent—more for some than for others. We are confronted with one choice: fight-or-flight—or, perhaps better stated: fear-or-opportunity. We can, in any situation, choose to be fearful, or we can choose to grow.

Growth is never comfortable. Among the topics I will be discussing, this term, is the “overload principle”. The overload principle states that, in order for a body system to adapt, it must be stressed to a level greater than that to which it is accustomed. In other words, growth can only come from being challenged beyond our comfort zone. The phrase, “no pain, no gain”, is often frowned upon in exercise science, but I still favor it. There is the pain of physical injury (which, of course, we want to avoid), and there is the pain of discomfort. Discomfort is the body’s (physiological and psychological) protective mechanism. We want to avoid injury to the point of being overly protective of ourselves and others. As a result, we fail to push our limits—we fail to grow.

Fear must by overcome by grattitude (our attitude of gratitude). We must be grateful for “that which does not kill us” (that which Nietzsche taught us makes us stronger). We must focus on the opportunities before us (on moving from “have” to “get”, per Andy Lausier) and live without (unnecessary) fear.

We have to live with the perspective that we were put on this earth to…

be your best today; be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!