The Victim

Posted on June 5, 2010 by Josh

King among the roles we may play in our lives is the role of the Victim.

The Victim says that everything is everyone else’s fault. That we are helpless.

We may learn this role through any number of ways – role models, peers, media, teachers…

Once we’ve learned this role, though, it becomes easier and easier to use.

The role of the Victim is an effort in energy conservation. If everything is out of our hands, we don’t have to do anything. We can get by just complaining…and suffering.

Music is another source to learn about Victim approaches.

Listen to your favorite love song, or breakup song. Most of them blame the other person for the feelings the singer is experiencing.

My father said that most “serious” classical music is written in a minor key. Why is that? His guess is that the composers were too busy to write music if they were having fun and feeling good…most of the time, they wrote when they’d broken up with their significant other, had a fight, were depressed, etc.

Look for the Victim in yourself. Track it, and when it comes up, make friends with it. It’s part of you, not to be cut out.

However, there are ways to make the Victim into something more productive.

The next time you hear your Victim speaking up, ask yourself, “Is that really true? Is there nothing I can do?”

It’s almost never the case (especially in our country) that there is nothing to be done about a situation. Options are endless.

The next step is to create. Begin to brainstorm ways to deal with the situation. Pick the first best one and try it. If it doesn’t work, do the next…and so on down the list.

Take your time to feel it out, and to learn whatever lesson the Victim, and your attempts at creative solutions, are telling you.

If you have apprehension about this, try to find a supportive friend who can help you in the process (one, preferably, who won’t try to rescue you themselves, but will allow you to go through the process and learn from it).

Have fun!

One way to figure out and apply the 80/20 rule.

Posted on April 5, 2010 by Josh

Pareto’s Principle, also known as the 80/20 rule, says that 80% of the effects of something come from only 20% of the causes.

This rule has been applied to all sorts of things, and generally holds true, statistically speaking!

The “bell curve” is the graph of a set of averages in a statistical normal distribution. It has a characteristic shape, like this:

The reason behind the rule

The graph above shows “standard deviations” from the average. One standard deviation accounts for about 68% of all of the individual averages represented in the graph. Two standard deviations make up about 95%, and three 99%.

Pareto’s Principle covers, then, something between one and two standard deviations from the mean – from the average effect of whatever it is.

This 80 percent isn’t typically represented in statistical normal distributions, or bell curves. Mostly because it doesn’t follow the rules of averaging.

But Pareto’s principle does seem to follow the rule of life…that is, it seems to describe a phenomenon of how things actually happen pretty well.

But what is the 20%, where the big effect comes from? I’d like to suggest that the 80% comes from the 10% on either end of the bell curve. That the most abundant effect comes from the presence of the two least greatest effects on either end.

What do I mean by that? Well, take a workout program, for instance. Let’s say you do a leg workout that looks like this:
Squats – 3 sets of 10 reps
Leg Extension (please don’t do these) – 3 sets of 10 reps
Leg Curls – 3 sets of 10 reps
Calf Raises – 3 sets of 10 reps

80% of the benefit you get from that workout is going to come from the squats. Period. So, you could probably cut out the leg extensions and curls entirely and not really notice the difference in the effect that workout has on you (performance and/or appearance).*

I think we often pile on more work than is necessary, or than we actually benefit from. We might do it because we’ve always been told that we have to work hard to get results, and confuse “working hard” with “working a lot.” Or we might never have not worked a lot, so we have no reference point for what is giving us that 80% benefit.

Here’s my suggestion for a way to start to figure that out for yourself:
Within any one sphere of your life – fitness, diet, work…whatever – and list the things you love the most about it, and the things you hate the most. Try to make it an equal number of most-loved and most-hated qualities.

It seems likely (to me, anyway) that these are the things that are generating the greatest amount of the effect of that activity for you. The things you love, you love because they feel good, or because they give you the response you want. The things you hate, don’t make you feel good, or you aren’t good at.

Now, take those two lists – the 10 percent on either side of your bell curve – and only do those things for three weeks.

Cut out that 80% in the middle – the wasted effort, the largest amount of your effort, that is only giving you 20% of the benefits you get.

See what happens. Let me know!

*Note – this is only true 80% of the time! It never hurts to do accessory work, but how much, and how often, are the point of this blog post. That is, different strokes for different folks. Use your head (and gut) when applying this or any “rule” in your life.

The Best Exercise Includes a Dose of Nature

Posted on March 31, 2010 by Josh

The British Ecological Society’s blog posted about a recent research article titled “What Is The Best Dose of Nature and Green Exercise For Improving Mental Health?”

The article is a meta-analysis (that is, it synthesizes research from many previous research studies about the topic), and sums up its results with the following statement:

“This study confirms that the environment provides an important health service.”

And I have only two questions…

1. REALLY?!!! and,

2. AND?!!!

First, this information is anything but new. Anyone who has every gone hiking, who has ever taken a vacation in the mountains, or in the woods, or who has ever played in a creek behind their house, knows firsthand the difference between “exercising” (moving) outdoors in a natural environment versus doing the same or similar activity indoors or in a “built” (human-made) environment.

I’m talking here, not only your own first-hand experience, but also about the incredible amount of scientific research that shows the benefits of moving in a natural environment. The paper quoted above used a lot of that research to make its own (redundant) point!

I’ve pointed out at least one piece of this literature in previous posts (here, here, and here). So…it’s not even new to this blog!!!

However, even with that knowledge, and even with the rapidly mounting evidence, and my (and others’) incessant blog postings on the subject, it continues to be an “issue.” That is, people continue to choose Wii, and to choose justifying their Wii time, to actually going out into the woods and taking a hike.

I want to say one thing before I finish this post up with a final point, and that is this -People seem to have a tendency to feel better once they talk about something. That is, they feel little compulsion to do anything about a problem once it’s been aired, once it’s out in the open. In fact, on a few occasions I’ve seen this behavior up close and in person. Let me give one example:

There was a family that I spent a lot of time with. Everyone was overweight in that family, and they were aware of it. In fact, they would almost always say things like “We’re all fat in this family.” Or “We need to lose weight.” Or “We need to throw out all of that junk food in the pantry, and just have a bowl of fruit out for snacks.”

One time, I actually offered to help with the clearing of the pantry. I said “Ok, that’s a good idea! Let’s do that now!” Well, the younger children of the household weren’t home, and the adults decided that it would be too traumatic to just throw everything out all of a sudden. So we didn’t clear out the pantry.

There is a reason we are not connecting to nature. That we are not making this connection. That we don’t go out into the woods and take a hike. There is a reason you don’t do it. What is that reason?

My final point is this – The above question seems a good question for science to ask. Why isn’t science asking that question?

Here’s my answer(s) to that question:

1. It’s not the job of science to do anything about it. It’s the job of science to ask questions and get answers. But science is not a field of activisim. It is a field of questioning and answering. That’s all. Expecting action based on gathered knowledge is a bad habit (one which I’m trying to get rid of).

2. Science doesn’t want to ask a question that invalidates itself. I think part of the answer, of why we are not connecting to nature, in spite of overwhelming evidence that we should, has to do with the fact that our culture is largely based in a scientific approach to things. That is, nature and science (at least, the way we’re accustomed to doing science) are largely contradictory. So, science might find its own relativism, and find its own value being questioned, were it to ask “Why aren’t we connecting to nature.”

A couple of possible answers…what do you think?!

Focus on your weaknesses – or – excuses abound

Posted on December 10, 2009 by Josh

I was shocked this semester, when I realized that I’d been caught up in an excuse-making volcano by one of the faculty in my department.

The question posed to the class was – what can be done to make the kinesiology program more effective, while still saving resources?

An especially timely question, for two reasons:
1. The California State University system is undergoing horrendous budget cuts because of the state’s financial crisis, and
2. The legitimacy of the field of kinesiology itself is being questioned by internal and external alike.

The students went wild. Many had something to say about specific classes they’d taken, or specific likes and dislikes of the current program. A few had more broad questions about what the faculty wanted to do, or where the field should go.

But for each of those statements, the professor had the same answer. Really, two answers. It was either:
1. Students don’t work hard enough and aren’t self-sufficient anymore, so we can’t do things the way you’ve described, or
2. The faculty are already overworked/understaffed, so we can’t do things the way you’ve described.

Now, whether or not either of those statements are true isn’t really important. What is important is the general demeanor they belie. One of defeat. One of submission. One of created “necessity,” instead of creativity.

I don’t think the professor in question has given up. Nor do I find this professor unimaginative. I think of them as one of the most creative of the professors in the program. I think what may have been happening was the repetition of a cultural expression from the department at large.

You know how words spread. In the 80′s it was “Dude.” Everyone was “Hey Dude, what’s up?” In the 90′s it was “Man.” “Hey Man, what’s happening?” In 00′s it was “Homey.” “What up homey?” etc.

Or the way people are suddenly using the word “epic” to describe anything. In the 80′s it was “rad” (radical). In the 90′s it was “awesome.” In 00′s it was “sweet.”

Or it was different depending on where you lived. I knew some people in the 90′s who weren’t from the east coast, and they always said “bitchin.” That was crazy-talk to me! Outside of my paradigm.

Regardless, the use of catch-phrases, or even recurring thoughts (memes, if you will) is cultural. That being the case, there are macro- and micro-level cultures that we all inhabit.

I inhabit the macro-culture of the United States. I’m exposed to that culture in many ways – TV, internet, movies, other people – any source that touches the US culture-at-large. I also inhabit the sub-culture of San Francisco. It’s significantly different from that larger US culture. As far as micro-cultures go, I’m a personal trainer. I spend a lot of time at a gym. I’m also a student. The language and customs of those places informs my own language and actions.

Teaching must be no different. And the type of school you teach within (and the nature of that school within its larger culture) will determine cultural expressions too.

So that explains that…

But I don’t want to leave it there. Because then you just go off thinking about all of the cultures flowing in and through you. I want you to do something else too.

I want you to focus on your weaknesses.

Strength and conditioning (and boxing) coach Ross Enamait recently posted a quote on his Facebook page. It was this: “What a player does best, he should practice least. Practice is for problems.” – Duke Snider

What you’re already good at, you can maintain. In fact, depending on how good you are at it, you may be wasting your time practicing it more and more. Instead, focus on your weaknesses. Practice what you’re not good at. Do the things that are really holding you back. Tackle those issues on a daily basis. Make a list and check it off if you have to. It will make what you’re good at improve too.

How does these two themes apply to one another?

I think we’re all pretty good at asking questions. But when the answers come back, we tend to fall back on our habitual ways of doing things. I think we can all work on that one. Be aware of yourself. Your actions and reactions…and work on your weaknesses.

Take it easy…

Posted on December 3, 2009 by Josh

Not sure if I’ve said this before, but it’s a good idea to take it easy when doing new things.

Kids will “go for broke” a lot of times, but because they’re so small, and still so resilient, the injuries that result from that exuberance are usually relatively minor (scratched knees), and heal relatively quickly.

The bigger and older you get, the harder it is.

I want to relate this to the barefooting experience, but first, a personal anecdote:

Back in 2001, when I was just starting out as a trainer, I decided it was a great time to try skateboarding. That was when I was 28, and weighed a good 200-210 pounds.

I bought all the gear, and started going to the skate park regularly. I also started to appreciate ice.

When a little kid falls, they fall from a distance of one, or maybe two feet. When I was falling, it was from a distance of three or so feet (as the skateboard shot out from under my feet).

What’s the difference? Well, a 90k (roughly 200lbs) mass falling from a height of 1 meter (roughly three feet), will have an impact force of 17640 Newtons. A 23k (roughly 50 pound) kid, falling from a height of .6m (roughly 2 feet), will have an impact force of 1352 Newtons.

I’m hitting the ground with a magnitude greater force than that kid is!

And that hurts.

Probably could’ve spent some more time getting familiar with the board. Acquainting myself with standing on it on a carpet for a couple of weeks. Progressing to using it in a parking lot or someplace very flat, but not very fast. I maybe could’ve spent a few weeks or months in that environment, before moving into the very fast environment of the skate park.

But that’s not what I did!

Barefooters (or anyone doing something new) will experience similar problems in this regard, and it will pay huge dividends to think about this before you start your new exercise program or routine, rather than contemplating it from the recovery room later.

I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating. If you’ve been predominantly shoe-bound most of your life, your foot and leg musculature are most likely not ready for a full-on barefoot (or Vibram FiveFinger) onslaught.

Keep your shoes!

Cycle the new activity in to your normal routine. Do it in small doses at first. Gradually build up your activity in that new pattern. And by gradually, I mean, consider how long you’ve not been doing that activity. Give yourself at least an equal number of years to be perfectly comfortable in the new activity.

This relates to weight-loss as well. I have people ask me how long it will take them to lose a certain amount of weight. My immediate response always is – How long did it take you to put that weight on, and how long have you been maintaining that weight? Once they answer, they’ve answered their own question.

Plan on it taking you just as long to take off weight as you’ve been carrying it around with you.

While it’s possible to lose weight very quickly, such fast change is rarely permanent. Your body adjusts its levels of (internal or external) activity to the ongoing demand it experiences.

This is like habit. You have to form a new pattern of activity for your body to adjust to. And then you have to maintain that pattern…

Anyway, the point is this – Take it easy. Take it slow. Take your time. Pay attention to the process. Feel the things happening in the moment. Don’t rush by them. Then you’ll be able to appreciate the end-result that much more.

Break It Down Again

Posted on October 31, 2009 by Josh

Go out there, break yourself down, and then recover.

Then break it down again.

Then recover.

Do it again.

Recover.

Yes, this is a poem.

Make it your mantra.

Break yourself down. Keep breaking yourself down. Keep going. Keep tearing away what you think of yourself. Keep stripping off those layers of expectation, belief, disbelief, fear.

Change. Push. That’s all you have to do. That’s all you can do. You can do that or stay in your stasis. Stay stuck where you are now…where you’ve been for the past umpteen years.

Choose one or the other. It doesn’t matter how big or small the change is. It doesn’t matter how much or how little you break it down. Just break it down.

You never go for a walk? Go for a walk right now. It doesn’t matter where, or for how long. Go. Fight the tendency to do the same damn thing you always do.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZA1rWLsl-Dg&hl=en&fs=1&]

Change – Your thumb and a hammer

Posted on September 16, 2009 by Josh

My mother had a great analogy for me today.

She compared the process (or attempted process) of changing habitual actions in life to a scenario where you’re continually getting hit on the thumb with a hammer.

Sounds painful, right? Well it is.

But how many times in life do we continue to do painful things, in spite of seemingly obvious (and painless) solutions? More importantly, why do we continue down our habitual paths?

A lot of it has to do with our individual “structural” histories – our internal structures, our personalities (which are manifest in our flesh, by the way) – and what those structures allow or do not allow us to think, feel, or do. This is speaking from a “systems” perspective. The rules that apply to systems apply to this scenario. Systems are resistant to change. More on systems in a later post.

When your personal history (which is your “structure”) has no context showing you that it’s possible to move your thumb out of the way of the repetitively descending hammer, there it sits, getting smashed every time the hammer comes down.

It seems strange to me, but the truth is that something has to intervene at this point. Something has to show you that it’s possible to move your thumb.

Not only that, but frequently, something (and it could be the same something, or a different something) often has also to show you how to move it!

What happens next is odd to me, as well. Because at this point, you have to muster up the determination actually to try the new thing. It doesn’t happen just because something showed you it was possible, and then something (else) showed you how to do it. You have to make an effort and actually try it.

And that effort is not small. Even for the tiniest action (like moving your thumb), and even in a situation where all you can do is gain from the action (you aren’t going to get the thumb chopped off if you move it out of the path of the hammer in this scenario, you’ll just risk not feeling pain), the effort to do something different, with unknown consequences, is ENORMOUS.

This fact of nature is the mother of the phrase – “Better the devil you know, than the devil you don’t.”

It’s easier to stick with bad, destructive habits, than it is to change.

But why would nature do this to us?

Change Starts with the Body

Posted on September 10, 2009 by Josh

If you think about it, change really starts by doing things. Rarely, if ever, do we change by thinking about something first, and then doing it.

Usually, we’ll start doing things, and realize that our minds have changed.

Or, we’ll start doing something we’ve done before, and someone will show us a different way, and our mind will change.

Seek to change your actions first, and your mind will change with them.

You are going to die

Posted on June 24, 2009 by Josh

This isn’t a joke! You are going to die…someday.

I hope that it isn’t soon, and that it isn’t painful. But nevertheless, it will happen someday. That’s how life works.

What strikes me as strange is the obsessiveness with which we often approach our prejudices toward certain things. Specifically, for this blog, I’ll discuss this with relation to fitness – but it’s true of anything.

People in the fitness world have all sorts of “rules” that you’re supposed to follow. Eat this, don’t eat that. Exercise this much, but no more, and no less. Do this ten times a day. Do that once a month. Eat these pills once after every other meal on Wednesdays.

You’re supposed to “activate your core” and build [insert bodypart here] “of steel.” You should only drink non-flouridated water from a holy stream that trickles from the top of Everest for one month every Spring.

You need to “challenge your proprioception and balance.” You need to do “multiplanar exercise” and get into your “heart rate zone.”

And you do! You race around, doing all this stuff. You eat organic, you drink the Yogic water, you practice your Asana’s, you give your Pilates instructor a cash gift every Christmas.

Then you die.

And not only do you die, but you probably die roughly around the same age as everyone else in your generation. Maybe you live ten year longer than your fast-food-abusing classmates. And maybe not.

Maybe you live a couple of years less than the person who ate moderately well, and exercised moderately, all those years. And maybe not.

My point is this – there’s little credence to most of the bullshit we try to sell ourselves and each other every day.

Will fast food kill you? Yes, in excess. In excess anything will kill you. Unhappiness is a killer if sustained for too long. Too much sunlight (plus other environmental stressors…like sunscreen) will give you cancer. Too little, also, can kill you.

You are going to die. The most important thing is that, while you’re alive, you get the most out of it, and help others to do the same (so that they, in turn, will help you, etc.). Do things you love to do. Do things that make you really effing happy. I mean – EXUBERANT. DO THEM NOW! And help others to do the same.

And forget about all those bullshit “rules.” You know what’s good for you. Do it.

Do something new…

Posted on June 6, 2009 by Josh

Most of us fall into ruts. It’s natural. We get into habitual patterns. We find cycles that are comfortable for us. They provide us with a sense of security.

Then something jolts us out of it unexpectedly. Or not. Sometimes, we’ll go our whole lives living out a certain pattern/habit.

Knowing the diversity of life and experience that is out in the world, though, and the huge rewards to be reaped from challenging oneself, I think it’s a good idea to try something new from time to time.

Do it now. Try something brand new. Go bowling. Turn off the TV or computer and read a book about waterfalls. Roll in the dirt. Go ahead. Whatever pops into your mind, right now. Try it out.