Patience

While I am trying to basically teach myself how to effectively research and put it all together in a simple yet informative way, I figure it would be wise to still post. Post what? Tonight it is basic life stuff. Thought patience was a great place to start. Patience. Waiting. Reflective. Tonight it reminds me of a person I recently met. And when we think we are feeling a connection or are smitten, we seem to forget patience. Maybe it's the human race today, as we want everything now. But it doesn't work that way with emotions and feelings. You meet, you have an amazing time, you go home. and when you reach home, your mind goes in many directions. You analyze everything; did I say the right thing, did I open the door, did I ask the right questions? We want to know what the other person is thinking, deciding, at that very moment as well at their house, in their room, laying in their bed. Was the time spent as enjoyable for them as well? Did they laugh at your humor? Did they seem comfortable? Did we make enough eye contact? It is enough to cause an enormous amount of stress, of self doubt. I have to remind myself that no one wants or needs to be forced into a quick decision. Not that I would ever do that anyway, but we need to practice that word again - patience. What we want or seek should not come to you immediately. There should be a waiting process, no matter how seemingly torturous. Time is needed to absorb and decipher, to comprehend and understand. And while we may want an answer quickly, it is illogical in this sense. One meeting can not realistically determine if two should be together. I find that letting someone know I am interested, in a subtle and quick way, should be followed by giving her space. Being a genuine and sincere gentleman on a date resonates clearly to a woman, and I find it respectful to then allow some space and time for her to decipher and comprehend. If she decides to move on, then I find comfort in knowing that I showed her exactly the real person I am. Stay true to self, always... Time will tell. Patience...

Learning to Focus

Learning to focus is a slightly ironic title, if you think about it. Here I am talking about focus, yet it is I who is unable to put out two posts within the same week. I am ok with that, as it just was not my time to focus on writings. But this will now change. And here's why. I am admittedly one of those you may refer to as scatterbrained. That means that I readily admit my inability to maintain focus that is required to totally dominate and conquer a subject. Instead I find my brain bouncing from one though to another, only to not return to the initial thought or idea for a few days or weeks. That is a huge downfall and something that needs to be addressed. You would think that at my age of 41 this would not be an issue. Lately I have been trying to figure out when this actually started. I do recall in my youth in Virginia that I was a good student but could have done better. I was a good athlete, but could have done better. I cleaned my room but it could have been better. Hmmm, a pattern. I seemingly was satisfied with average, or doing juuuust enough. Maybe I didn't know better at the time. My college career was divided into sections essentially. I went for a few years, didn't really focus and failed out. I clearly recall getting a letter saying that I had achieved senior status, then two days later another letter telling me that my GPA was too low and to hit the bricks. A few years later was a return to school, this time at the University of Montana. One year, a big student loan and a lure of a job that didn't pan out. Even when I returned, and finished, at Eastern Washington my efforts were at times average. But my GPA upon entering was a pitiful 1.9 and at graduation it was 3.3. This time I did it for myself and my mom, who had passed at Christmas 2009. At least this time I didn't totally fall into my old habits. Like most kids, I was involved in a variety of sports. Football, basketball, baseball, then later in high school it was track and cross country. Was I good? yes, but only good. It was the old 'jack-of-all-trades, a-master-of-none' scenario. Could I have played football at a small college? Yes. Baseball? Probably. Running? Yes, in fact, I had an offer from Montana State but my times were just slightly too slow for what they wanted. Looking back, it's a shame that my inability to focus resulted in, well, getting nothing. I had all the ability to actually get somewhere athletically, but did not have or was not given, the push to excel at one thing. And maybe as a kid that's ok. With all the talk of parents' who push their kids into one sport as a way to either become a future meal ticket or to make up for their own insecurities and failures in their own childhood (or maybe both), maybe my parents just decided to let me figure out what I liked. And my apparent decision was to like a little of everything but not be great at anything. Which has led me to my decision to basically make a decision! I want and need to get more into my new career with the military. I'm a fitness specialist, so that means teaching spin and TRX classes,and training officers, soldiers and dependents. It's similar yet different from a commercial gym setting, mainly in that there are lots of big guns and also that we don't have the pressure of selling training. We are there to serve and it's a cool environment. So the focus shall now be on work and development, my own training, and research and writing. Writing was my first love and something I actually knew I was good at. I now want and need to validate my existence; without validation, then what is my purpose? There is a need to prove to myself that I can be great at something. I will aim at reading my butt off, learning a ton and simplifying it in a fun way for you. Then we both win.So here goes..

For Real This Time!

This has been a long time coming! Sorry for the wait. Since the last post in July obviously life happened. I had mentioned stsrting a wellness clinic with a chiropractor. That did not happen. Seems that they did not or could not get their ideas and focus together so it never happened. While it was quite annoying there is always a silver cloud behind every storm. Following a few months of hell called unemployment I was blessed with not one but two opportunities. I began work at a physical therapy clinic and of course my Irish luck kicked in, so another opportunity arose. While that awkward time came to leave the clinic, I knew it was destined that the military would come calling. How this occurred was pure chance, as I happened to see a listing on craigslist, of all places. The reason for this was to widen the net for candidates. I absolutely still believe that my mom made this happen; sure she was looking down and put this opportunity directly in my lap. It has been almost 8 months now and it has humbled me to realize that there is so much to learn still. While we think of training as what we do, there are many more aspects that must be equally addressed, from maintenance to computer to monetary. I am thoroughly enjoying learning how each contributes to the overall success of the gym, soldiers and officers, plus dependants. Anyway, the clinic did not work out. Moving on, I had mentioned the value of chiropractic. While it may not be for everyone, we have to realize that there is nothing that suits everyone. Except water, food and air. Then it's a crapshoot. I firmly believe that the muscles react to what the skeleton is doing, or presents. An example is my right hip; after playing soccer for many years, my right hip is tighter in the iliopsoas and results in some discomfort. While the explosive repetitive muscular contractions led to the imbalance, I still think the pelvis in it's inability to return to a balanced position is causing the muscles to remain tightened. Is it the chicken or the egg; both definetly contribute. The trick is if you get regular chiropractic to then immediately stretch. I firmly believe this maximizes the benefits of the chiro work. And since it ain't cheap you might as well do it right. The foam roller is a huge too these days that seemingly everyone uses. I use mine, though not as much as needed. If you have access to one, just experiment with it. It doesn't take some sort of certification or degree to use, just roll around on the damn thing and enjoy the discomfort! I also find using a lacrosse ball or soft-core baseball useful to really dig in those hard-to-reach spots. I call this 'pin and pull'. My main trigger points are the aforementioned iliopsoas, the scapula and the feet. Yes, the bottom of the feet are an underrated area. With ankle issues, it's imperative that my arches are not loose or dropped. By that I mean that what I refer to as the 'buckles' ( the inferior extensor retinaculum) are doing their job by basically preventing your arches from falling. As a returning sprinter (more on that later) I am finding that my feet, along with the Achilles, really feel the effects of sprinting and require constant stretching and rolling. The standard procedure for rolling is about 10 passes per bodypart. The most uncomfortable area? Undoubtedly, the iliotibial band. But, is it necessary to roll this area? I will follow up...

why chiropractic?

so, why chiropractic? as with everything in life, there are believers and non-believers. i can only give my opinion...
   my thought is that chiropractic can be extremely helpful in the overall scheme of general health. i recall having a conversation with two other trainers not too long ago about which was most important, chiropractic or resistance training. while this was certainly not a high-brow debate we concluded that both were important, and the importance was determined by the individual's need. ah, the dreaded "it depends" answer. i would like to think that we are (hopefully) born with no skeletal deformities or abnormalities, remeniscent of that one teacher who said you started the term with a 100 but for every dumb thing you do in class you are deducted points. therefore, you have to rethink that wet willie or ear flick for fear of watching that perfect score go down. the same goes with your activities; for every ache and pain you begin to dwindle your health score, as i will call it. that twisted ankle you got from drunken Twister, points off. the achy hamstring from breakdancing, minus three. at some point we wonder why we cant run as fast, throw as far or why our back keeps aching. this is where i think chiropractic has a useful place for most of us. want an example? of course you do.
i was athletic like most boys, having particpated in football, basketball, baseball, track and cross country by the time i graduated high school in 1989. i basically introduced myself to weight training at 13 and have not stopped since (i am 40). like most everyone in my field, i can look back at those 'oh crap' and 'what was i thinking' moments with much humor. i will tell you more tomorrow; time to stretch and foam roll before bed...

some observations...

  sorry its been a while. i have been busy doing my intern in orthopedics and am now developing a wellness clinic with a chiropractor. while i have learned an amazing amount of information, a few things still leave me scatching my head...and pulling my shirt off for no reason...(note: this is pre-ink)

  one is how we rely on physical therapists as a post -operative source of rehabilitation. i have personally been witness to countless patients who have said their therapy was not effective or, worse, had exacerbated the issue. a great amount of the patients i have seen have suffered various shoulder or knee injuries; many of the rotator cuff repairs are bankhart or slap tears. these are identified by the locaton of the tear per the glenoid and labrum. what has been noticed is that there are different levels of ability and/or knowledge of how to treat a post-op surgical repair. i must preface that statement by saying that this applies to all aspects of life, from doctors to salesmen to prostitutes (not that i know this personally). while i have met some amazingly smart therapists who can actually carry out a continuum of care per doctors orders, others make me literally wonder wtf??? a prime example is someone who is a few months post-op yet who presents a 'frozen shoulder' upon a follow up. this is quite unbelievable to witness. upon the six-week mark in recovery the 'sleeper stretch' would be a huge benefit to recovery, yet i keep witnessing therapists who are doing a pretty lazy job. this is odd because the competition to enter PT school keeps getting crazier, yet the graduates are not really equipped with enough real-world common sense. book smart yes, but thats it. while i may be only an nsca-cpt currently and will obtain cscs status very soon, i sometimes feel much more educated than many others. i wholeheartedly support an increase in the educational requirements for all levels of personal trainers, and im sure that this is why our field has no insurance reimburesement programs. it has been said before and i will say it again: if you are not strong in your anatomy then you are pretty unqualified. am i the best i can be? of course not, but every day i keep learning more.this will help both myself and the client. never be satisified...