Full Strength LIFE

The Evolution of Fitness in the Context of Life

I used to think that fitness was it-ness, that abs were fab and that anyone who didn't “get it” was missing it.

I used to believe that working out an hour a day was a passing grade and a moderate attempt made.

I used to believe that there were only the fit strivers and the confused, suffering people who didn’t get that they were not on the “right” side of the road.

I used to think that even the busiest person, mother or father must recognize that being soft made for soft kids and sent the wrong message to them about self-care and wellness.

And then I used to be single and the son of my mother and father.

Then I became a parent.

While I am every bit as committed to sharing the message of vibrant health and fitness I now know that there's something infinitely more important than chiseled abs, more powerful that being “show room fit,” more rewarding than a 405 pound bench...

Children.

It’s absolutely true that your health matters, that being here is all important and that your attention to your health and wellness is one of the most important gifts you will ever give your child but there will be times—many—in which the most important gift you can give is the message that they are more important than 1000 kettle-bell swings or 50 miles on the bike.

Sacrifice your presence in the name of the six pack and you may lose something in your connection—for a child might not always get it. They may cognitively understand you care about your abs but the message they’re really getting, on a deeper level, is you don’t care enough about them.

Fitness matters, Life happens.

The true art of living is revealed in how you embrace and integrate your wants, desires, responsibilities and opportunities.

May you hit on the balance and intention that works out for all involved.
 

 

Gravity: Friend and Foe

I know a lot of people who fancy themselves powerful forces in fitness but even the influence of the great Jack LaLanne pales in comparison to the most powerful force in all of fitness: Gravity.

Think about it. It's gravity that gives force and resistance to every otherwise inert dumbbell and barbell. Even the vast majority of machine rely on this prolific, mysterious force.

Without gravity running would be as leisurely as laying on the sofa, and we'll all be "the next Lance Armstrong" on a bike. And climbing Everest would be as heroic an achievement as chewing gum and almost walking.

Yes, when it comes to getting in shape, getting leaner, fitter and stronger gravity is your best friend.

Then, just when you're certain Gravity is your bestest bud, your vital training partner keeping you strong and fit, you step on the scale! And gravity turns on you.

For it is truly the force of Gravity that a scale reads.

My advice is simple: Make friends with this powerful force, learn to work with it, even master it in all aspects of manipulation--much the way a lion training befriends the ferocious beast.

Do this and you will find that Gravity is not really so ferocious, that it's not and never has been against you. Do this and you will find gravity content to be on your side, even when you're on a scale. 

Extraordinary: The New Gold Standard

Thanks to our over-the-top, everything in excess culture dripping wet with marketing you've likely become as immune to the word "Extraordinary" as you are to cursing, nudity, violence and the sound of car tires pounding the asphalt.

It's a damn shame the deafness the comes with extended loudness means we lose a huge part of our senses--we become less attune, less aware, less in touch and less present to. 

Sensory deafness means we don't perceive brilliance when we step on it for we're our systems became exhausted by the shallow likes of a Britney Spears.

Well, in the event you too like so many have forgotten, misplaced, dislodged of just plain forgotten what is meant by the word:

                                       "Extraordinary"....

I give you this video clip as a new standard.

Should you ever have occasion to use the word in print, pantomime or passing, may I suggest you take a brief moment and watch this performance and ask yourself again, "Is what I'm about to say truly extraordinary? or is it simply 'good?'"

Extraordinary: Definition according to Webster's:  1) a : going beyond what is usual, regular, or customary  b : exceptional to a very marked extent...

In my book, what you will see in this video is nothing less than EXTRA-ORDINARY... beyond that which we are accustomed to... dare I even suggest this performance is reaches beyond the confines of the human realm.

Yes, Bettye LaVette (in her performance tribute to the Who at Kennedy Center Awards) shows once and for all that you don't have to invent the wheel to make it roll in an entirely new and inspiring way.

Here's to a new standard for extraordinary!

How to Restore, Revive, Renew and Reboot Your Energy

If you’re couch gets ripped or torn, you repair it. When you’re lawn or garden wilt, you revive it.

Do you treat your most precious resource—yourself—with anywhere near equal respect?

Congratulations if you do for most people don’t even come close to offering their body-minds the sort of attention they’d give their car.

I just ran across this ad from a local marketing expert (I found him reading his review of The Last Lecture… but that’s a story for another day).

This ad got me thinking about the importance of self-care and the single most overlooked aspect living a vibrant, healthy, fit life: Renewal.

Renewal, or rejuvenation, is the Yin to exercise and training’s Yang. It’s no less vital to your life energy and fitness than the exhale is to the inhale. In the absence of one, there other is not. 

This is why in Strength for Life the first move towards a life @ Full Strength is not one of action but inaction. It’s not to “do” but to “undo.” This reset is achieved through a simple, yet stunningly effective, 12-day Reboot for Body and Mind.

As I suspected, and the feedback has affirmed, this Reboot is the best, most vital first move towards any effective fitness pursuit, be it Transformation or a season of racing.

The black-hole where recovery would normally go is where the energy is escaping from our lives. It’s a hole you can’t plug with more coffee and sound you can not quiet without rest.

It’s the elephant in the room, the not-so-secret secret no one wants to talk about. Perhaps to mention it is to reconnect people with the limits of being human. Yet, choosing to pretend it’s not there, to continue to walk around it, makes all life many times more difficult.

As a result of ignoring your nature, cutting of your half that rests, we end up climbing harder and seeing fewer tangible results. It’s what’s making you crazy, driving you harder and killing your progress.

Ready to elevate your results—in fitness, relationships and life?

Revive your Strength and Energy with the the 12-Day Reboot from Strength for Life. In less than 2 short works you’ll feel more energy, more alive and better, stronger and clearer than you have in years—and be asking, “Shawn, why didn’t you tell me this a year ago?”

Strength with a BIG-"S"...

Today Americans decide who will lead US out of this dark time and bring our country back to full Strength.

If you've been tuned in, you most likely noticed that Strength has been a favorite theme throughout this election, for both candidates, and for good reason: Strength is what we must have to transform.

And when I say Strength I mean Strength  with a BIG "S". Strength that includes the physical and transcends it, that is strength of, body, mind, and spirit.

That's the sort of true Strength that has the power to changes lives—and the world.

As you may have noticed, I talk a lot about Strength too. Why? Because it's our way out--up, over and through this mess we're in physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually.

We've settled for "good enough" for long enough--now it is time to aim higher, to aim for the abundance, awareness and responsibility that is Strength.

Here's a short video clip where I talk more about the meaning of Strength. Check it out:

See the Story of Strength on FullStrength.TV.

Are You Seeking Fitness Backwards?

If you’re not 100% overjoyed with the body you’re wearing right now, what’s holding you back?

Why are you not enjoying the lean, strong body that screams fitness from 100 yards? Is it the wrong diet, the wrong equipment, a less than perfect exercise plan or something deeper?

While there are some people who are quite content with their fitness level (or lack there of), most of us want "this thing" below my neck to change—to be more of this or less of that. We’d like to push, pull or twist it into a more pleasing shape.

Unfortunately, most go about it backwards. We struggle mightily working “on it” and rarely even consider that we could be working “in it.”

Because our bodies appear to be relatively solid objects, it seems as if we can and should act “on it.” Thus, we’re ever looking for the right pill, tool, technique or trick that will shape it in line with our desire.

Further reinforcing this belief are the masterful marketers seeking to benefit from this erroneous belief by convincing you that you’re just one perfect sequence, special machine, magic potion or powder away from total bliss and a stunning body. Hey, we’ve all been there, hoping, "this is the thing that’s finally going to make me fit."

What's missing from the vast array of strategies and technical solutions is any reference to your interior—to that which you most often refer to as "you."

A Strong Mind in a Strong Body

Love the Greeks!

Not only is it the birthplace of western civilization, medicine, mathematics, written language as we know it, the Olympic games... it's also the birth place of my wife's father.

Yes, my wife Angie is Greek and that makes my son part Greek too. Nice to have a connection to that amazing civilization -- there ample reason to have loads of pride for all Greeks.

But that leads me to share today's mystery... have you seen the following quote or reference?

“mens sana in corpore sano”

You probably know it's translation as "A sound mind in a sound body" or perhaps the other popular version, "A healthy mind in a healthy body."

Well, I know the quote is in Latin but everything I'd ever read attributed the origin as Greek. So, I've been living for years with the belief that it was the Greeks, at times even believing it was Socrates who said it...

Now I come to see that perhaps it's not from the Greeks! Hummm... Wikipedia is attributing it to a first century Roman poet, Juvenal.

Well, I liked it better when it was of Greek origin... and who knows, one can hope this is inaccurate but likely not. And heck, isn't it all pretty much of Greek origin any way... Either way, there's no doubt that the Greeks lived to this philosophy - they knew that a strong mind could only be found in a strong body.

Yes, that's my version of this still ancient quote, A Strong Mind in a Strong Body.

The time when health was enough has passed... if you want to excel, to achieve, to contribute in this world today you need more than passing grade of health -- it is a time for strength!

A Little Greek History

The word gymnasium is derived from gumnazo, meaning exercise, and gumnos, meaning naked or loin-clothed. The gymnasia were the ancient Greek equivalent of a sports centre, and several were located just outside Athens' city walls. The ancient Greeks regarded a healthy body almost as highly as a good education, and young men of wealthy background would spend a good portion of each day exercising there. Favourite sports included wrestling, javelin and discus throwing, and boxing.
For more Greek History from PBS, click here

Until next time... carpe diem!

How to Be Strong NOW!

This morning as I was “crawling” up the mountain behind my house on my mountain bike (right tool for the job) I had this thought… well, not exactly a thought. It’s more like an insight – complete with images.

When I’m on my bike early like this and I take to climbing there’s a point where the resistance of the hill, the effort to push the pedals over rises to a level where my body would like not to respond. It’s the moment of engagement, a test of willpower challenging my intention. My body’s not warm yet, it’s still in a place of "efforting" - not yet in the engaged, higher intensity state of flow.

In the big-picture I’m no where yet...barely 10 minutes into my ride and just moving into an effective training zone. And yet I watch my mind looking for all sorts of outs…there’s always a time crunch. Maybe I could really do better later today?  You know, I’m just not feeling “strong” today. And then, dare I look up and see the top of the hill – way, high up there! That’s enough to stop a person in their tracks.

So here I am, my mind racing my heart pounding as I continue to pump out the pedal strokes and capture enough oxygen to keep moving. Right then, in an instant I just pulled myself in and took a piece of my own advice, borrowing from my “Focus Intensity Training” (F.I.T.) practice I got fully present in the moment.

Rather than trying to fight my mind, ignore the racing thoughts...rather than trying to psyche myself up to keep moving... I pulled everything in, placing 100% of my attention on the one simple act of pushing the pedal down. Not on moving the bike ten feet, not on a full rotation of the pedals but on the single stroke – left...then right...then left.

I didn’t forget my goal of reaching the top in 35 minutes but I let it float out there, not investing mental energy into it at the moment. I simply focused all my mental and physical effort on the one single act; one small stroke and only then, another. I can’t emphasize this enough – I completely isolated each down stroke of the pedal. At that moment there was no last stroke nor a next stroke – there was only this one, now.

And then a funny thing happened... I started moving, faster and faster. I felt stronger... my energy lifted and yet I remained very centered. The feeling of effort which had been overcoming me had been replaced by a sense of power...a feeling of strength.

"As a reached the top and took a few moments to reflect I could see the direct correlation between how I was climbing before focusing the energy of my mind and body and how most people strength train."

For many people each workout is a necessary means to the end – be that “a 12-week” or what have you. Each workout is for the most part a single “effort” – a start to finish expression of effort. It’s sort of a “have workout - get‘er done,” approach.

Then there are some people, usually those who’ve been training for some time, who see a little deeper. In addition to getting the workout done (the goal), they may focus on the specific exercises. For example they may focus on a strong bench press before they move on to the next exercise.

What I teach (and preach) in my F.I.T. practice (Focus Intensity Training) is the type of absolute, in the moment, focus that I experienced with each stroke of the pedal as I climbed the mountain. I’m talking about the type of concentrating presence that can instantly put you in a deep flow state – where you’re mind is silent and time seems to stop.

As I experienced on my bike ride, when you engage each moment with your full body and mind you discover reserves of strength you rarely tap into. Fully engaging your mind and body in the present moment awareness like this is truly transformative – taking your intensity to a level you’ve never before imagined and releasing a sense of joy where once there was pain.

In the weeks ahead I’ll be sharing more on F.I.T. in my blogs and will also share a brief How To Train with Absolute Focus and Intensity  guide. In the meantime you can begin a moment to moment strength practice by breaking your strength training workouts down to the smallest single element – and placing yourself 100% in the moment.

Like I said, we want to break it down beyond the workout, beyond the exercise and even beyond the set. That leaves you at the rep level – you know, where you’re counting, “1…2…3…” Are you with me? Now, let’s take it one level further… to the contraction and the eccentric phase of the rep. On the curl that’s the “up” and the “down.”

Breaking it down, seeing inside, seeing and being in the moment.

A) The workout
B) The Exercise
C) The Set
    D) The Rep
        1. The contraction < -- focus here
       2. The negative, eccentric  < -- then here
E) The Rest between the sets (as important as the set)

For the next few workouts, practice to see how single mindedly focused you can become on each, individual (and totally separate) contraction and eccentric – the lifting and lowering of the weight. You can maintain your count, but do each lift and each lowering as the one and only single thing you are doing – and give it your fullest attention and absolute peak of focused energy or intensity.

With a little coaching, time and intention you can learn to engage your training with this kind of full presence. Only when you’ve been there, to the furthest edge of your intensity, will you truly know how different it is.

Be strong now!