The View from Sports Center

Survey Response - WHOOPS

The response to my survey request was so great it hit the maximum responses allowed by the server in just a few hours ! As a result, if you recently tried to participate in the survey, you may have received a message that it was closed.

Sorry about that...it's open again and will remain open though the weekend. So, click here - it's working now.

Doug Kelsey

Why Do You Exercise? I Would Love to Know.

I need your help.

I want to better understand the reasons people exercise. I'm working on a new concept for the fitness market and while I know some people exercise for health reasons or to look better or to get stronger, I suspect that there's a blend of reasons. In other words, people exercise not JUST to feel better or look better but also perhaps for the social aspect or maybe it's the time to just think. Could you take about five minutes to complete this online survey? I ask for no personal identifying information. Your answers are completely anonymous. All I ask is that you be honest with your answers.

To participate, just click here. It will take you to the online survey.

Thank you very much for your help.

Make today count.
Doug Kelsey

How to Pull the Plug on the Pity Pool

There are days when I find myself wading in the pity pool.

It's never pretty in the pity pool. The sun never shines. The water is never clear. There's never an easy, warm breeze.

When I find myself in the pity pool, it's usually because I'm suffering from a bad case of the shoulds: "I should know how to do this or, I should have thought of that or, I should feel a lot better than this by now or, I should be sleeping 7 hours a night every night or, I should be smarter, or I should have more fun or, I should be happier, or........."  Fill in the blank. Take your pick.

The pity pool is shallow but can drown you if you're not careful. It's easy to get in; hard to get out.

If you ever find yourself in the pity pool (and we all are in it from time to time); feeling sorry for your place in life, muttering under your breath how you should have this or that, shouldn't have to do this or that, watch this video - and if it stops short of finishing, like it did with me, it won't matter. Watch it anyway.

It will drain your pity pool in about 30 seconds.

Make today count.

Doug Kelsey

Things You Shouldn't Do in a Gym

Laughing hard enough that your face hurts is one of the things I love - once it's over. It happened to me today.

I was listening to a story that one of my friends was telling me about a recent experience in a yoga class. As she was checking into the studio, a guy, mid 30's, stops at the registration desk and asks if the class is a good workout because that's what he's wants. He's ready for something tough; something challenging.  The class was Ashtanga and it's not for the novice yoga student (see the video below for an example). Hearing that the class was indeed a good workout, he pays for the class and goes off to change his clothes.

He returns and finds a spot in the class near my friend. Yoga is a mind-body kind of exercise. You need to tune into your body, your breathing, and you need to be able to handle the various poses and movements. Ashtanga is a physically demanding class conducted in the collective energy of group solitude and apparently was a little too demanding for Yoga Guy.

Just a few minutes into the class, my friend could hear Yoga Guy groaning and grunting in a loud, visceral sort of voice as he moved from one position to another. More of a Shrek giving birth kind of voice is what I imagined. One or two groans, sure, maybe that's ok in the meditative quiet of yoga. But, one after another after another? No. That's a clear violation of workout etiquette.

So, Yoga Guy groaned his way through the entire class and upon assuming the final pose of rest stretched out on his back, he exclaimed, "Finally!"

This reminded me that there are just certain things you shouldn't do in exercise settings:

1. Do not grunt, groan, or allow other Neanderthal sounds to slip past your lips unless you dropped a weight on your foot.
2. Do not wear short shorts - ever.
3. Do not sing along with your iPod. You never sound as good as you think you do.
4. Carry a towel and use it. No one wants to sit, touch, or in any way come into contact with your perspiration.
5. Leave your cell phone in your locker. Walking on a treadmill and talking on a phone is a sure way to have a George Jetson moment.
6. Don't prance, preen, or otherwise  assume postures that belong in a dance club. You're in a gym.
7. Keep your advice to yourself. You may appreciate your insight and wisdom; others will not.

Joy Ride - Again

I wrote this in 2003 and it's one of my favorites. And, since we're getting started on a New Year, I thought re-visiting this View might be helpful to you. At the end of it, I have some new information for you about how to deal with frustration, anger, or other emotional pains. I hope you enjoy it.

***********

Standing in the long check out line at Best Buy, I noticed a young woman with her two children, an older man by himself, and a family of five. They didn't know each other but shared the same look. They all looked unhappy. Then I glanced around the store and there were more. More people everywhere with that same gaze.

I see people chasing things they can never catch; running from things that will never catch them. And there are no smiles. Frowns. Worried and furrowed brows. Down turned lips with eyes that no longer see. They stare. They miss so much. They miss themselves.

Sometimes injuries can rob you of your joy. Snatch it out of your soul silently and with such deftness you don't even know it's gone. You have a hole in your heart the size of a truck and desperately fill it with whatever you can.

And so, the quest goes on to find something, anything to fill the void. To mend the heart. To find the joy again.

When is enough enough?

Enough money.

Enough control.

Enough space.

Enough time.

Enough anger.

Enough vengeance.

Enough bitterness.

Enough power.

Enough speed.

Enough strength.

Enough fame.

Enough stuff.

Enough food.

Enough drink.

Enough love.

When is it enough?

When will you be fulfilled? Satisfied? When will you be happy?

What keeps you from being you? When is being you enough?

Joy comes from an open heart. Sometimes the pain is so great, we close our heart to avoid feeling it. We substitute bitterness for pain. But, joy cannot dwell in a closed heart. To find your joy again, start by acknowledging your loss. Let yourself feel it. Talk about it. Then, let it go. Pursue something new. Help someone other than yourself. And suddenly, the hole in your heart is filled.

Go find your joy again.

***********

Since I wrote this in 2003, I discovered something unexpected about how to deal with a closed heart. At the time, everything I read strongly recommended talking about your pain; venting, getting things off your chest. And, while this still can be helpful, it turns out writing about it is even more helpful. Taking time to jot down your thoughts and feelings in a journal is an effective way of purging yourself of the emotional struggles. Researchers aren't sure why or how this works. It might be that when you write, you can be completely honest; transparent. You don't have to worry about what the other person might feel or say. Or, it might also be that the act of writing forces you to view the situation in a more neutral or objective way.

Whatever the reason, if you find your self frustrated by a situation and can't seem to get past it, try writing it down.

Make today count.

Doug Kelsey

Pennebaker, J.W., & Chung, C.K. (in press). Expressive writing, emotional upheavals, and health. In H. Friedman and R. Silver (Eds.), Handbook of health psychology. New York: Oxford University Press.

Pennebaker, J.W. (2001). Disclosing and Sharing Emotion: Psychological, Social and Health Consequences. In: M.S. Stroebe, W. Stroebe, R.O. Hansson, & H. Schut (Eds.) Handbook of bereavement research: Consequences, coping, and care (pp. 517-539). Washington DC: American Psychological Association.

Can You Really Strengthen Cartilage?

Improving the health of your joints by strengthening cartilage is one of the 12 Things I Believe. The reason I believe this is the mountain of experimental research on the topic dating back nearly 35 years, my 25 years of clinical experience, and now, I am very happy to say, a study that showed physiologic improvements in human cartilage from moderate exercise. In other words, the cartilage changed from the exercise in a similar way that muscle, bone, tendon, and other biologic tissues change in response to activity.

This is a very big deal. Prior to this study, these types of changes had only been seen in animal studies and this has made it difficult to apply to humans. But, thanks to changes in technology, we now have evidence that the changes seen in animals also occur in humans.

Maybe now, people won't look at me like I'm an alien who just beemed in from planet Goofalon when I talk about improving the health of your joints. I admit, it's nice to be validated once in a while.

The article was reported on one of my favorite web sites, Science Daily.

How To Relax Without Thinking About It

Have you ever tried to relax or had someone tell you to? Well meaning people utter the phrase and it seems to show up around the holidays - that glorious time of year when you have way too much to do, too many parties, spend too much , eat too much, drink too much. Your neck is tighter than twisted rope, your back hurts, your head feels thick, and you can't wait for the happiest time of the year to just pass. And then, someone looks at you, in all of your knottedness, and says with a sweet grin, "Just relax! Chill out!"

Try it sometime. Try relaxing. The more you think about relaxing the less relaxing actually occurs. It's like saying, "Don't think about a white bear," and all you can do, no matter how hard you try is think about a white bear.

So, how do you relax?

Here's what I do and, I admit, sometimes I get wound up over nothing too (someday I might tell you about the now famous Thanksgiving microwave incident).

Relaxing is the absence of thought and the presence of feeling. Pay attention to what is happening in your body and not in your mind. Focus on letting go of the things you feel in your body. These will be mostly areas of tension. Dale Goldstein, the Founder of the Heartwork Institute, gave me a great audio file that guides you through an "awareness meditation" and it really works. I use this on my iPod. It takes about 15 minutes. Then, I might choose some favorite music and just really focus on the mood it creates. When I'm done, I feel lighter, better, happier.

I've found though that achieving relaxation is a lot like increasing your physical strength. It takes practice and repeated efforts. The more you do it, the "stronger" you become. When I stop practicing relaxation, those "muscles" atrophy and I lose the feeling of being relaxed and try to be relaxed.

So, try practicing feeling relaxed more and thinking about it less and you will be relaxed.

Doug Kelsey

Dear Santa: I Forgot

Dear Santa,

I realized I left off something really important from my list for 2008 so I hope it's OK if I send in a short addendum. It's just one thing, well, it's one thing with four parts.

All I want is for clinicians to be better clinicians in 2008 and I think if you could get them to do these four things, that would be great (and, I think just a few simple reminders will do the trick).

1. Get clinicians, especially doctors, to review all those forms and papers and other stuff I fill out, BEFORE he or she walks into the room. That way, he (or she) can look at me while I'm talking.
2. I would really like to be able to talk longer than 18 seconds before someone interrupts me (and, I'm not making that up. It's what the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons claims).
3. A summary of what I said would be nice. That way, I would know if the clinician actually heard me.
4. See if you can sprinkle a little honesty dust on them (well, I guess that might be Tinkerbell or someone else, not Santa but just do your best). You know, so, I get an answer that's as realistic as possible instead of, "Oh, you'll be fine. Stop worrying."

Sorry for the oversight Santa. I think that's it. I hope.

Cheers,

Doug Kelsey

What Does it Mean to Be Fit?

Does fitness matter? I know some people who think the whole notion of fitness is just a waste of time. Their attitude is, "Well, I'm going to die anyway, so I might as well enjoy myself." This, in their mind, gives them license to just do whatever they want. What they don't know, until I mention it, and I'm careful about dropping such a bomb especially at a party, is that the average person will spend the last ten years of his or her life in ill health and most of the diseases, injuries, and surgeries are preventable. And, adults who are physically active in their 50s and early 60s are 35 percent less likely to die in the next eight years than those who are sedentary.

But, the question is still on the table. What does it mean to be fit?

Being fit is not the same thing as being healthy. You can be healthy with low fitness. For example, you may have well controlled blood pressure, cholesterol, body fat, be free from any known diseases but not be able to jog five miles. The ability to jog requires a greater degree of physical adaptation than day to day activity. Fitness is the state of being suitably adapted to the demands of an environment. The more demanding the environment, the greater degree of fitness required.

I think of fitness existing across a spectrum from Sedentary to Sport level physical demands. Where people run into trouble, and usually around this time of year, is trying to perform in a more demanding environment with insufficient fitness. There's a mismatch between the person's physical ability and the task. If you look at the graphic, an example of this mismatch is a person with Sedentary level fitness trying to exercise at a Recreational level (e.g. starting a jogging and exercise routine, Recreational Fitness,  when you haven't jogged or exercised in many years, Sedentary Fitness). This is how people get hurt and why many people quit their exercise routines.

There are a number of factors which effect your fitness or state of being suitably adapted to an environment: nutrition, strength, flexibility, cardiovascular capability, coordination, balance, mental and emotional capacity. To raise your fitness level, you need proper nutritional support, physically train slightly above your current ability and live below it, and work just as hard on expanding your mental and emotional capacity.  If your training is too far above or below, your body is unable to adapt and the result is you will actually become weaker over time (this phenomenon is also known as "over-training").

To really get the most out of life, to really engage with the world, you need a certain amount of fitness. Your challenge is to figure out what you need. How fit do you need to be? How fit do you want to be?

Doug Kelsey

How to Lose More Fat Faster

OK, so just about everyone I run into has the same thing on their minds: losing weight. Let's be honest though. You want to lose fat and you would have rather lost it  yesterday.

I've written about this before : one the best ways to increase lean body mass (body mass - fat mass) is to use interval training (here's more info on interval training).

Interval training is not for sissies. It's very hard. Here's how it works:

• Plan on a 25 minute session.
• Use a stationary bike, elliptical machine (you can try a treadmill but it's a little complicated).
• Set the resistance at a moderate level.
• Move your legs at a moderate pace for five minutes to gradually increase your body temperature.
• At the end of five minutes, move your legs as fast, as hard, as you can for 15 seconds (you may have to increase the resistance to avoid out-running the machine).
• Now, move easily, lightly for 45 seconds.
• Repeat for twenty minutes.

If you have not exercised or have not exercised intensely, get a medical clearance before you try this drill. Your heart rate will be higher than the recommended heart rate for your age; you will have difficulty breathing. Sweat will run off you like rain on a tin roof. And, when you finish, you will wonder why you ever chose to do it. But, you get more bang for your buck with interval training than with traditional long slow distance training.

The catch? You're joint strength (think of joints as having really stiff cushions in them and the sturdier the cushion, the healthier the joint) has to be sufficient to withstand the loads produced by cycling (remember, cycling can produce up to twice your bodyweight in force on your knee) or the elliptical.

Cheers,
Doug Kelsey