I’m Not Dead…I’m Getting Better

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“I’m not dead…I’m getting better” are the famous words uttered in Monty Python’s Search for the Holy Grail.  I have found that having a son be introduced to new germs in a new state leads to lots of sickness in the house.  The two of us spent about a month and a half sharing germs (Gratefully, my very pregnant wife has escaped a majority of the sick bugs…not all, but most).  2012 has started without a bang, but coughing, sneezing, and occasional vom…ugh, never mind, you don’t need those details.

One good thing is all those sick days made me slow down and consider many things…one is that “I’m not dead yet” so I still have time to make decisions.  One of the things I’ve been pondering is what exactly do I want 3in1fit to look like?  It isn’t going to be my “main gig” but it does have a place and a purpose.  I’m still fleshing it out, so once I have clarified it, I will share it here and hopefully be a more consistent presence.

Note added 3/12/12:  We are within 2 days of having boy #2, so we are a bit preoccupied.  I have put some of the newer focus up at http://3in1fit.com/about/ under “Three areas of focus in one place.”  As things stabilize, I will share more of what that looks like.

Online Training/Coaching is Coming

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I just put information on Training “To Go” options, which is best for “locals” here in the Kalamazoo area.  The great thing about the internet is that we don’t have to be in the same physical location anymore to help one another.  So, this is just a heads up that I am putting together some packages for online training/coaching.

Eventually, I will have my page established on www.Sharecare.com.  My name is on there, but I have yet to get things established there.  Sharecare is in the middle of consolidating a couple different training resources into their platform there.  When that occurs, I’ll make sure I am up and fully running over there.

Training “To Go”

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Not everyone feels comfortable with committing to longer-term training packages.  Life may not cooperate with your good intentions and there needs to be more flexibility.  Maybe there is a need for a personalized routine that you can take “to go.”  Starbucks offers coffee to go.  You don’t have to stay, but you still get the benefit of your morning coffee (or afternoon, or evening for the “addicted”).  The same can work with training.  What if you can have a training program that addresses your personal needs and you can have it “to go”?  Sound good?  I thought so (not as tasty as an iced coffee with something sweet, but a lot better for you).

>>>>>> Training “To Go” Pricing PDF File…”Click on me, your friendly neighborhood hyperlink!”<<<<<

What could that look like?

  • You could meet with me for the initial FREE (always capitalize FREE right!) conversation and an OH Squat Assessment.  It is your friend, I promise.  We would also assess whether this would be for a gym or home workout, and what your short and long-term goals are.
  • A personalized routine would then be prepared for you.  We would meet once to demonstrate the routine, give instruction, answer questions, and send you on your way for the next 4-6 weeks.  We would then reassess goals, measure progress, and move into the next phase of training.
  • You can pay for 1, 3, or 6 “to go” programs.  If you change your routine every 4 weeks, you could have up to a half-year of personalized routines.

Self-contempt, Having Fun, and Fitness Goals

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What voices do you hear?  OK, maybe you are not hearing literal voices, but what messages do you hear?  You’ve committed to “caring for yourself” this year by undertaking a fitness program of some kind.  What message starts playing when things veer off-track a bit?

Do you follow the “beat yourself up before anyone else does” mentality?  What’s that look like?  Here’s a few examples…

“You are so stupid…you knew you couldn’t do this…who are you kidding?

“Well, aren’t you lazy and pathetic.  Two weeks into the New Year, and there is nothing new about you at all is there?”

That doesn’t sound too enjoyable does it?  How successful do you think this form of self-contempt will be in entirely derailing you?  If not 100%, I’m betting it is awfully close!

Recently, I asked a question on my Facebook page about having fun and being childlike when it comes to fitness.  There were a few responses.  While I wasn’t looking for a specific response, it made me wonder what having fun with fitness actually looks like.  You are certainly free to mimic Wyatt and use the “run away from the T-Rex” mentality as a motivator.  If you plan on holding your pants and dancing around in diapers, you may want to do this only at home…most gyms will frown on this.

My son usually gives me the best pictures.  He’s still at an age where movement itself is fun.  Unless he is sick, he is often fascinated and intrigued by his movements.  He is constantly seeking some new way to move.  So, what would your life look like if you view movement with a sense of wonder – to suspend the perpetual pounding of our attitudes by the adult world and to put on a child-like gaze and think “Look what I can do!”?  I wonder how much self-contempt could be kicked to the curb with this attitude?

This may seem a little too vague and doesn’t seem to mesh with goal-setting, but what if one of your goals was learning to be childlike and enjoy moving…maybe like Stuart from MadTV…hopefully, a bit less annoying of course, with an awareness of social settings, huh?

A Little Something for My Guitar Playing Friends

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One of the most frustrating things for guitar players is trying to figure out scales and chords and how they relate to one another.  If you look at a guitar there are six strings (usually) and a bunch of frets (more or less depending on whether acoustic or electric).  It is easy for things to seem entirely unrelated, but there is an amazing relationship between all the notes.  THIS IS THE HANDOUT FOR YOU RIGHT HERE >>>  5 Major Scale Shapes with Major Pent and Arpeggios <<<< YEP, OVER HERE TO THE LEFT!!

You may be familiar with scale shapes, but not know why they are put together the way they are.  The handout I’m linking to this page shows five patterns of the major scale.  These patterns look the way they do because of the relationship of the notes of the major scale.

Visually, there are whole steps between tones 1 & 2, 2 & 3, 4 & 5, 5 & 6, and 6 & 7 (on the fret board, you will see a gap of one fret between these #’s).  There are half-steps between tones 7 & 1 and tone 3 & 4 (no gap on the fretboard between these notes).

The Major Scale (regardless of key) numerically has 7 tones (1 through 7).

Inside the Major Scale, you can find the Major Pentatonic Scale (five notes), which drops out tones 4 & 7, and therefore is numbered 1, 2, 3, 5, 6.

Also, inside the Major Scale, you can find various arpeggios…I won’t discuss all those here.

On the handout, here is what you will find:

Page 1:  5 basic Major Scale shapes (there can be more, but 5 covers the bases).  Read the note on the first page on the use color codes and what they mean.

Page 2-6:  1 Major Scale Shape, the Major Pentatonic found inside that shape, and all variations of arpeggios also inside that particular shape.

If this all seems like gibberish to you, don’t worry…it did for me too.  If you have questions, I don’t mind answering the questions.  Also, I’m not a technical wiz when it comes to creating a proper fretboard graphic so I just used tables in Microsoft Word to get as close as I could.  If you are a tech genius, let me know and I would definitely like to talk to you!

What’s Been Lost?

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In the aftermath of losing my phone in Lake Michigan, I am left to ponder the loss; not so much of the phone, but what was in the phone. 200-300 pics and videos of my son are gone.  Some were saved elsewhere, but most were on the SD card.   Occasionally a sick feeling strikes me; realizing I will never get them back.  Losing something often brings sadness.  In the realm of fitness, “what’s been lost” is a great question to ask.  So, what have you lost?

Have you lost the ability to remember what it was like to play as a kid – to be playful and enjoy moving?

Have you lost your perspective on how important your body really is?

Have you lost the freedom to move quickly, without fear?

Have you lost the ability to squat without falling over backward?

Are you lost in a maze of information that keeps you perpetually wondering if you should try another type of training?

Do you remember when you lost “it” – that desire to keep going?

Have you lost physical abilities from a busy life, injury, surgeries, etc.?

What else have you lost?  Sleep, time, perspective…what else?

So, are these things that have been lost, are they like the pictures in my phone; something that will never return?  What if you can regain what has been lost?  What if your body can regain the ability to play like a kid?

If it has been a while, it may be really hard to remember what was even lost.  So, maybe a good workout today includes trying to remember what you want back.  Me…I just want to act like my son…not when he’s having a fit, but when he’s being fit like a kid…jumping off couches, climbing, sitting in a full squat position easily.

Short-term contact information

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If you have tried to contact me via phone over the last two days, probably the only potential answer you would get would be from the fish in Lake Michigan (where the phone now resides) or my voice mail (which I was not having luck connecting with until today).   If you have left a message, I apologize that it was accidentally erased.  If you want to follow-up with an email to 3in1fit@gmail.com over the next day or two, that is an easy place to guarantee I will get a message.  Back-up is my old cell at 210.787.0072.

My regular line of 269.262.9982 should be accessible by late tomorrow when my replacement arrives.  Sorry for the inconvenience.