Frank Forencich, a human biologist and physical culturalist who studied at Stanford, has written two fantastic books titled The Exuberant Animal and Play as if your life depends on it. He talks about the notion that with all of these physique building workouts that focus on aesthetics and performance, we often forget to get lost in the enjoyment of movement. We have forgotten how to move, why we should move, and seemed to have forgotten the notion that movement should be fun.

In his book, Play as if your life depends on it, Frank states: “Giving ourself permission to play and enjoy life is a good place to start, but we can do even better. We can say not only that play is permissible, but that it is vital, not only for the health of our individual bodies, but also for our communities and our culture as a whole. Play is essential and it’s about time that we remembered how to do it. It’s time to grow down.”

When was the last time you played like a kid? When was the last time you skipped, jumped, hopped on one leg, crawled like a bear?

Perhaps it’s time to put a little FUN back into Fitness, eh?

Here’s Forencich’s website to check out: www.exuberantanimal.com

CR

Charlie Reid Uncategorized

Why did the deadlift get a bad rap? Believe it or not, it used to be called the health lift…

This video still makes me cringe every time i see it, however it embodies why this lift needs to be taught correctly. Horrible form here:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0ySblouCKs&hl=en&fs=1]

Nobody said the deadlift has to be done with weight, however it is one of the most fundamental movements that we do in every day life (others include squatting, twisting, pushing and pulling). When you bend over to pick something off the ground, you might have done a deadlift and not even have known it. The problems usually arise when one does not carry the understanding of the series of events that need to take place for a successful deadlift, or they have a movement or range of motion issue that prevents them from executing it properly. Most people get into trouble with low back pain from flexion (rounding of the lumbar and likely thoracic spine too) and rotation (Van Dillen, Sahrmann and Wagner, 2005).

The way to do a deadlift properly is by:

1) maintaining a neutral spine

2) fill the belly full of air to stabilize the trunk

3) keep the weight in the heels and visualize pushing the floor away

4) never look down, always look straight ahead (find a point straight ahead and stay fixed until the lift is complete)

5) Initiate the movement by squeezing the glutes hard as you keep your butt down and chest proud. Hips should not be level or higher than the chest (EVER!)

One should practice the movement with light weight, making sure to keep these things in mind. If any excesive rounding takes place, drop the weight and keep practicing. And as a disclaimer, if you’re not sure how to perform the deadlift or any exercise properly, always ask a fitness professional, and as always, listen to your body. If it doesn’t feel right, don’t do it. Trust your instincts first!

Charlie Reid Uncategorized

I know i’ve espoused the benefits of community support agriculture to many of my friends, family, colleagues, and clients, however, i still feel just as strongly about it. I think it is important in our day and age to support local farmers, since our food supply is so diminished and full or processed junk compared to what it was in decades past. Most of the foods we eat are “dead” foods, devoid of fragile vitamins, minerals and enzymes that can be sensitive to the rigors of picking, packaging and traveling. And much of the produce in stores is picked before it is ripe, and then treated with gas to ripen quicker.

Here are some websites to check out:

http://www.localharvest.org/

http://www.slowfood.com/

Charlie Reid Uncategorized

Ever wonder the consequences of wearing shoes? As a fitness professional, it’s easy to overlook the feet, however this crucial piece of the body is the keystone to how we interact with the world. If the feet are in a bad shoe or are weak because of bad shoes, then everything above it will react accordingly.

Here’s a great article on looking at the differences between civilized human feet and the more functional feet of tribesmen in remote parts of the world:

“Inflexible shoes substantially weaken the muscles of the toes and feet, single-handedly turning Nature’s million-year effort into a pair of stumps.” -shoebusters.com

http://www.shoebusters.com/thesis.html

Charlie Reid Uncategorized