Strength for Life

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!

The Time for Strength

It’s Coming… like it or NOT!

This morning I saw the future and it’s… exactly what you make it.

This morning I got to take my son, Nathaniel, to join his Monday morning play-group which was at a local Rec-center. Now, call me out of touch if the shoe fits but I don’t know much about Rec-centers. It’s just not a place I spend a lot of time.

When we walked in, the main room is a pretty large gym – and I had to walk back out and check the sign again for proceeding – for I thought surely that I’d walked into a senior center.

The strength training area was busier than a Gold’s gym at peak hours! And nearly every person training looked to have fond memories of their “care free” 60’s.

It’s a good site to see these seniors hard at it – for these are the fighters, the survivors. Still, as I watched them train (and you know I did) it was easy to see those who have not only accepted this as a ticket to living but have embraced strength – who are actually enjoying themselves and the way they feel.

And then there where the others – those who struck me as the people who developed a certain disdain for exercise and gyms… some who likely even spoke boastfully about “I never exercise…”

Yet here they were – doing "hard time." And trust me, it looked every bit like hard time.

Begrudgingly they would do a set and then frown – and another. Sure, they’ll do it to live but by god, they don’t have to like it.

Life is cruel… like it or not, there willl come a time when you will have the choice: Get strong or die!

I'm not trying to be funny - I mean, literally.

Why wait?

The time for strength is NOW.

Don’t wait until strengthening your body is a prescription from your doctor… fall in love with it now. Live stronger and live longer!

Oh yes, and prosper, of course...

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!

Build a Strong, Fit Body @ Home

I believe in gyms. No, not all gyms of course but many are excellent environments for making the most of your valuable time. Gyms can provide a vibrant energy, help your stay motivated and get the most out of your valuable time.

That said, being the father of a two year old and a busy, working man as well, I fully understand the demands that lead some people to seek convenience – which is often in the form of some way in which they can craft a strong, lean and healthy body in their own homes.

If you are one of the millions who are being drawn in by the hope of fitness with freedom, I’ve got a simple, strong suggestion for you…

Don’t be a dumbbell – get some!

Yea, cute I know…but I’m also quite serious. I am urging you to think twice or three times before you get sucked into a $2,500 fitness contraption by the flashy commercials with the pounding, rhythmic music.

I fully expect that we’ll all be overrun with ads promising us the moon if we only buy the new Bowflex Revolution. I’m have to say, I’m a little shocked that the marketing geniuses at Bowflex failed to get a picture of Lenin with the good ol’ hammer and sickle plastered on this revolution!

Honestly, I’ve never tried the Revolution and I don’t know if it’s a well built piece of equipment or not. What I do know is that it’s expensive and a contraption – and that barely 1 in 50 who buy one will use it for more than a month. Like all the others it’s most likely probable future is as a clothing rack.

My strong advice is this...sit down, take a deep breath and brace yourself for the difficult process of accepting that there is no machine out there that is going to change your body or you.

Please, take a moment to cultivate an intimate relationship with the painful reality that your strength, your saving grace, your motivation can not be purchased, it’s not “out there.” No one has built it for you. You have it, right there, inside you. It’s your body… and your choice to move it or lose it.

Your body is the only piece of machinery known to man that falls apart when it’s not used!

Okay… are you good with that? Got it? Great! I know you do or you’d have clicked this shut some moments ago.

Now that we’re over the idea that any machine is going to change us or save us or even make it easier – I’ll tell you what I would strongly suggest you do install in your home if your ready to live a strong, healthy life and you can not make it to the gym regularly.

Yes, you guessed it…dumbbells.

Simple? Absolutely but they are also elegant, effective, efficient and capable of supporting infinitely more exercises than even a $20,000 machine!

And the kind of dumbbells I’m talking about are a hell of lot more attractive and compact than the albatross revolution, we talked about above. I’m talking about the smartest piece of strength training (and exercise in general) equipment ever engineered – the Power Block. It’s been on my A-List of favorite, all time home gym equipment for many years – an absolute must own my eyes.

PowerBlocks have been around for years… and tomorrow (or a day or two) I will tell you more about how they work, why they rock and how to get an entire, full body workout with one super compact set of dumbbells – one that actually look really cool and are a great conversation piece.

Oh yes, and I will make it clear why PowerBlocks are the choice – not the imitation version from the fine folks at BowFlex… they’ve tried to copy the masters. Not a good idea…

Stay Strong!