The New York Times is absolutely killing it lately with their health and fitness articles. My dad forwarded an article today about Kathy Martin, a woman in her 60's who found her passion and insane talent as a distance runner in her 30's. She now owns MANY world records and races distances from 800m to >30 miles. Originally I was like woohoo, another athletic phenomenon, nothing I haven't read about before. But as I read further into the article, page 3 section 'Overcoming Age', there were some really good assertions that I wanted to share:
#1 - "Distance running is more popular than ever." I think this is pretty awesome. Running, especially jogging for several miles, is basically the only activity you can do with zero gear in any location and any weather, as long as you bring along a pair of running shoes and appropriate gear. The minimalist nature of this sport makes it very accesible, inexpensive and flexible. With the incredible popularity and success of barefoot running footwear [Nike Frees, vibrams, etc...] more and more people are getting into distance running. What a WONDERFUL thing.
#2 - "...many of the ravages of aging are not so much inevitable as voluntary. Muscles do not have to shrivel, joints do not have to stiffen." The most important message here is that you have a CHOICE to age. Becoming old, senile and inactive is not a fatalistic curse, it is a choice. I think the best possible thing you can do for yourself is get into a healthy active lifestyle in your 20's. If you are well past your 20's, there is no reason not to start now. As my dad has always told me 'age is a mentality.' He has proven his statement year after year by conquering athletic feats that most people in their 20's wouldn't survive. Remaining ACTIVE is the key to staying young.
#3 - "People who continue to exercise intensively have a much slower rate of decline." I believe that this absolutely holds on a physical level. I also believe that 'intensively' is the key word here. Many people cease their intense workouts, long runs and heavy lifts as they age. They take up long walks and gentle yoga, assuming their bodies are unwilling or unable to continue the physical intensity. I think that is the moment that you give up on your body and physical strength. I resolve to maintain my physical intensity for, well, as long as I can use both of my legs. Another sidenote on this assertion is the effect on mental state. There has been loads of research linking intense physical activity to better mental health and memory. The more the better, for body AND mind.
#4 - "We're not destined to go from lean flank steak to rump roast, not if we invest in chronic, high-level exercise four to five times a week." I wish America was forced to read this sentence on a daily basis. WE ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO GET FAT. There is no biological disposition to getting fat as you age. Being lazy, sedentary and lacking motivation and discipline as you age make you fat. Not the simple fact of aging. Wrinkles happen, grey hair happens, but obesity doesn't just happen. Now this doesn't mean that you don't have to work to make sure you aren't among the majority of obese Americans. But I would put money on the fact that if you put in 4 to 5 intense workouts a week, in combination with a clean and healthy diet, obesity will not 'happen' to you as part of the aging process.
This entire article is full of great information and details a motivational athletic story. If you want to check it out, the full title is "After Late Start, Runner is Speeding Through Records." Main takeaway according to Shannon: Aging is a choice. Choose activity!
Monday, April 2, 2012
Thursday, March 29, 2012
"I feel like the heat removes the priss factor.”
I am currently really inspired by an article out of the New York Times published yesterday. Title: Some Like It Hotter. Which obviously is such an attention grabber I was psyched to read an article by this title in the Health section [my first stop upon opening nytimes.com...who reads business or tech...really].
My first heated workout experience [excluding normal outdoor workouts in the summer]: I first attended Bikram yoga one summer during college, along with my dad who was rehabing from pulling his entire back and hamstring area going too heavy in deadlifts. We were quite a sight. My dad is a former 2 sport college athlete, 6'2, muscular, little to zero flexibility, engineer, red head. Wearing running spandex. And only running spandex. Here I am as my college self, 5'9, platinum blonde, thick legs/butt [hello track physique], wearing running spandex and a sports bra [as advised by father]. We looked like two bodybuilders who confused directions and ended up at yoga instead of Crossfit. It took me a good 30 minutes to even learn how to BREATH in that type of heat. It was a Bikram studio exclusively, so the heat was well over 100. I didn't understand how people could choose to do this. Like, voluntarily. I had never seen sweat drip off my body like it did that day. I was SO impressed. I seriously thought I had hit my max sweating potential way before this experience...and boy was I wrong.
Fastforward to spring 2012. Primarily as a resource to manage my grief with Derrik's death, I joined Prana Power Yoga in December, a heated power yoga studio in Cambridge. The first thing I do when I scroll through the class schedule for the day is automatically eliminate any classes with (unheated) listed after the name. I get to the studio 20 minutes prior to start time to position my mat 1. as far as possible from the door [because NOTHING is worse than people leaving it open and letting the heat escape] and 2. as close to a heat vent as possible. Sometimes I walk in and the temp reads <90 and I consider leaving. This hour and 15 minutes of pain [that only I seem to experience while everyone else is focusing on deep breathing] isn't worth it if the studio isn't really hot. The sweating that occurs in these classes is absolutely insane. Bikram is definitely sweaty, but imagine doing vinyasa flow in a heated room, it is like 2x the sweaty goodness. I have yet to find a proper towel solution that will prohibit me from slipping and sliding in every pose during the last 30 minutes. I just consider it an additional core challenge.
The most fascinating aspect of this article is how the 'heated workout' has found its way past yoga and well into other exercise disciplines. I wholeheartedly applaud this effort. The best quote in the article accurately summarizes how I feel every time I hit the gym: "You don't waste three songs sitting around warming up - you can hit it hard from the start." I don't actually believe you should skip your warm up, but it annoys me that it takes appx 3 songs to even start sweating during the average spin class. WHYYYY do they keep the spin class room at 66? That is freezing. If you come to the gym and hope not to sweat, just stay home. The best benefit of spin class is leaving a pool of sweat under your bike. It isn't like you are riding more than a couple miles in 45 minutes...no serious training is to be done in there. I sneakily up the temp to 70 every time I enter the spin room. People stare at me like 'what are you doing?' and I simply look back at them like 'don't worry about it.' I also place myself as far away from the fan as possible. I seriously didn't come to spin to not sweat, quite the opposite.
I would be totally thrilled if all exercise classes were held in heated rooms. Beyond the obvious benefit of a complete cleansing sweat, your muscles are much more supple and ready to work in heated environments. I learned this very well my first season of track, when we were forced to warm up in full body sweats when it was 90 degrees outside.
While I personally love heated workouts, I also know how my body reacts and I know that my body can handle them. Test it out for yourself. I drink liters and liters of water a day, which certainly helps, and don't go in starving or you will be THAT girl/guy that passes out because they don't know how to properly feed themselves [quite a shame...]. I hope that the heated exercise fad continues growing because, as the title of this post implies, it will help rid the gym of the priss factor...
My first heated workout experience [excluding normal outdoor workouts in the summer]: I first attended Bikram yoga one summer during college, along with my dad who was rehabing from pulling his entire back and hamstring area going too heavy in deadlifts. We were quite a sight. My dad is a former 2 sport college athlete, 6'2, muscular, little to zero flexibility, engineer, red head. Wearing running spandex. And only running spandex. Here I am as my college self, 5'9, platinum blonde, thick legs/butt [hello track physique], wearing running spandex and a sports bra [as advised by father]. We looked like two bodybuilders who confused directions and ended up at yoga instead of Crossfit. It took me a good 30 minutes to even learn how to BREATH in that type of heat. It was a Bikram studio exclusively, so the heat was well over 100. I didn't understand how people could choose to do this. Like, voluntarily. I had never seen sweat drip off my body like it did that day. I was SO impressed. I seriously thought I had hit my max sweating potential way before this experience...and boy was I wrong.
Fastforward to spring 2012. Primarily as a resource to manage my grief with Derrik's death, I joined Prana Power Yoga in December, a heated power yoga studio in Cambridge. The first thing I do when I scroll through the class schedule for the day is automatically eliminate any classes with (unheated) listed after the name. I get to the studio 20 minutes prior to start time to position my mat 1. as far as possible from the door [because NOTHING is worse than people leaving it open and letting the heat escape] and 2. as close to a heat vent as possible. Sometimes I walk in and the temp reads <90 and I consider leaving. This hour and 15 minutes of pain [that only I seem to experience while everyone else is focusing on deep breathing] isn't worth it if the studio isn't really hot. The sweating that occurs in these classes is absolutely insane. Bikram is definitely sweaty, but imagine doing vinyasa flow in a heated room, it is like 2x the sweaty goodness. I have yet to find a proper towel solution that will prohibit me from slipping and sliding in every pose during the last 30 minutes. I just consider it an additional core challenge.
The most fascinating aspect of this article is how the 'heated workout' has found its way past yoga and well into other exercise disciplines. I wholeheartedly applaud this effort. The best quote in the article accurately summarizes how I feel every time I hit the gym: "You don't waste three songs sitting around warming up - you can hit it hard from the start." I don't actually believe you should skip your warm up, but it annoys me that it takes appx 3 songs to even start sweating during the average spin class. WHYYYY do they keep the spin class room at 66? That is freezing. If you come to the gym and hope not to sweat, just stay home. The best benefit of spin class is leaving a pool of sweat under your bike. It isn't like you are riding more than a couple miles in 45 minutes...no serious training is to be done in there. I sneakily up the temp to 70 every time I enter the spin room. People stare at me like 'what are you doing?' and I simply look back at them like 'don't worry about it.' I also place myself as far away from the fan as possible. I seriously didn't come to spin to not sweat, quite the opposite.
I would be totally thrilled if all exercise classes were held in heated rooms. Beyond the obvious benefit of a complete cleansing sweat, your muscles are much more supple and ready to work in heated environments. I learned this very well my first season of track, when we were forced to warm up in full body sweats when it was 90 degrees outside.
While I personally love heated workouts, I also know how my body reacts and I know that my body can handle them. Test it out for yourself. I drink liters and liters of water a day, which certainly helps, and don't go in starving or you will be THAT girl/guy that passes out because they don't know how to properly feed themselves [quite a shame...]. I hope that the heated exercise fad continues growing because, as the title of this post implies, it will help rid the gym of the priss factor...
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
A very new year
Welcome to 2012. Whether you are ready for it or not, it is here! I think it has been a solid five months since my last blog. Much has happened since August of 2011. My family lost a son and a brother on November 15, 2011. My brother, Derrik Michael, was 20 years old and lost his life while studying abroad in Santiago, Chile. In his third month of grand adventures in South America, he was on a hike with his friend Samuel and after much discussion, they decided to jump into a beautiful waterfall to go for a dip. Unfortunately, they were not able to see the strong undercurrent beneath the seemingly peaceful water. Luckily, his friend Samuel was rescued by a nearby boat. Derrik was unable to make it to shore. It took divers over four hours to extract my brother's body from the water.
What do you do when your worst fear is realized? What do you do when you see and feel the grief in the hearts and souls of your parents? What do you do when you wake up in the morning only to feel the sorrow deepen?
You realize that you are still alive.
To 'be alive' is something different to everyone. To my brother Derrik, living was all about challenging yourself. Challenging yourself with relationships, studies, literature, music, spirituality, and athletics. To Derrik, athletics went FAR beyond team sports. He was a very very talented team sport athlete, most recently as an important contributing member of the Colby College varsity lacrosse team. But team sports were the obvious form of athletic challenges. He looked to the mountains, the rivers, the plains, to nature for real life challenges. Climbing, rafting, hunting, hiking, skiing. That is truly living.
In the past 8 weeks, my family's lives have changed completely. As a family, and as individuals, we have tried to piece together our new lives without Derrik as we have known him for the past 20 years. We find sorrow and loss in experiences that used to bring us joy.
Yesterday, January 10th, was Derrik's 21st birthday. Although Derrik has acted 21 for many years [he would show a fake ID at family dinners...there would be 4 Flahive's and then...another surname. pretty hilarious], this was a very special day. Yes, we ate, we drank, we toasted. But most importantly, we CHALLENGED ourselves. I met up with my Dad at Red Rocks Amphitheater, arguably one of Derrik's favorite places on earth. Being able to experience live music and the great outdoors at the same time combined two of Derrik's greatest passions in life. What did Dad and I do? Kicked our asses as hard as possible, climbing the stairs over and over again until we couldn't breathe.
Blood. Sweat. Tears. Exhaustion. Fatigue. Lactic acid. That is what makes you alive. Adrenaline rushing through your body. The ability to push yourself past your limits. Derrik's life in his body is over. It is up to me, my family, my friends, his friends, to embrace life. We are still able to feel what it means to be alive each and every day. So do yourselves, and my brother Derrik Michael, a favor. Kick some f***ing ass.
What do you do when your worst fear is realized? What do you do when you see and feel the grief in the hearts and souls of your parents? What do you do when you wake up in the morning only to feel the sorrow deepen?
You realize that you are still alive.
To 'be alive' is something different to everyone. To my brother Derrik, living was all about challenging yourself. Challenging yourself with relationships, studies, literature, music, spirituality, and athletics. To Derrik, athletics went FAR beyond team sports. He was a very very talented team sport athlete, most recently as an important contributing member of the Colby College varsity lacrosse team. But team sports were the obvious form of athletic challenges. He looked to the mountains, the rivers, the plains, to nature for real life challenges. Climbing, rafting, hunting, hiking, skiing. That is truly living.
In the past 8 weeks, my family's lives have changed completely. As a family, and as individuals, we have tried to piece together our new lives without Derrik as we have known him for the past 20 years. We find sorrow and loss in experiences that used to bring us joy.
Yesterday, January 10th, was Derrik's 21st birthday. Although Derrik has acted 21 for many years [he would show a fake ID at family dinners...there would be 4 Flahive's and then...another surname. pretty hilarious], this was a very special day. Yes, we ate, we drank, we toasted. But most importantly, we CHALLENGED ourselves. I met up with my Dad at Red Rocks Amphitheater, arguably one of Derrik's favorite places on earth. Being able to experience live music and the great outdoors at the same time combined two of Derrik's greatest passions in life. What did Dad and I do? Kicked our asses as hard as possible, climbing the stairs over and over again until we couldn't breathe.
Blood. Sweat. Tears. Exhaustion. Fatigue. Lactic acid. That is what makes you alive. Adrenaline rushing through your body. The ability to push yourself past your limits. Derrik's life in his body is over. It is up to me, my family, my friends, his friends, to embrace life. We are still able to feel what it means to be alive each and every day. So do yourselves, and my brother Derrik Michael, a favor. Kick some f***ing ass.
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