Travel Is Wonderful But Family Trumps All

I love Hawaii. For the past two weeks I have soaked in the sights and sounds from a place many people only dream about coming to, paradise if you will. I appreciate swimming at Waikiki Beach while looking at Diamondhead. I love the drive up… the coastline with the ocean on one side with mountains on the other. I have loved the variations of food here. The different beaches and towns offer much to the senses. [cost of living is another story]

But all of that takes a back seat and is a distant second to what has been most special about being here. It’s about being with family. Crystal has been out here for almost three years, and over that time we get a week or two a couple of times a year to visit with her when she’s on leave, which is not nearly enough. When she’s come home to MA on leave, she stays with us but also visits other family members. But with us coming to her house here in HI, it’s been two weeks with us three being together. Crystal was kind enough to let us sleep in her bed while she sleeps on a decent air mattress (not nearly as comfortable as her own bed). We all sleep in the same room. And we all are 100% at ease, as this is the way it should be.

Being with a 28 year old grown woman with her own life, yet her wanting nothing more than to just be together with us, her parents, cannot be explained with words. The deep bond Denise and I have with our daughter (the same bond we have with our son Joshua and daughter-in-law Irina) is what it’s all about. It’s awesome being in Hawaii, but as Denise tells me (and I agree), that’s just a bonus but not important. If this was anywhere else not as “special” as Hawaii is, the feeling would be the same. It’s sad this trip is coming to a close, but we will be seeing Crystal again soon.

I love my family with all of my heart, and will cherish this trip forever.

jdc

Family – Integral To The Healthy Lifestyle

I love talking about fitness and nutrition. I truly want to help people find their own personal path to living a healthier life. It’s a good feeling to hear people talk about how their own body and/or inner feelings no longer make them feel down, and knowing that I in some way big or small have helped them along the way.

But sometimes, life gets in the way of me talking about fitness and nutrition. And this weekend, that “life” has been quite special thanks to family. I’ve said it many times, but the healthy lifestyle isn’t all about nutrition and exercise. It’s about living. It’s about grabbing a moment and cherishing it. It’s about knowing what is most important.

This weekend I spent some quality time with my son and daughter-in-law, my nephew and niece (by marriage) local to me, and my nephew (by marriage) and niece that came up from Florida to visit. I love them all dearly, and they each brought something that made the weekend so much more special, and something to always remember. I have a grandson who is nearly 4 years old now, but each of the aforementioned couples just recently had babies, and they all converged on my house. Words cannot describe how precious the grandsons and grand nephews are, and how I feel right now having this weekends memories with me for life.

Thank you SO much Joshua/Ira, J.C./Julianne, and John/Meagan for making my (and Denise’s) weekend something never to forget. DSC03402

Plyometrics – One Form Of Exercise, But What Is It?

Plyometrics, as defined in Wikipedia: Plyometrics, also known as “jump training” or “plyos”, are exercises based around having muscles exert maximum force in as short a time as possible, with the goal of increasing both speed and power. This training focuses on learning to move from a muscle extension to a contraction in a rapid or “explosive” way, for example with specialized repeated jumping. Plyometrics are primarily used by athletes, especially martial artists, high jumpers, to improve performance,and are used in the fitness field to a much lesser degree.

Personally I had never heard of Plyometrics until I did the P90X fitness program, one of the signature fitness programs put out by a company called Beachbody. I personally never enjoyed going to the gym, nor do I run much. At home fitness is something I’ve always enjoyed, and after more than two decades of building a home gym, I now find myself enjoying exercises that are performed in front of the TV with my body weight and some dumbbells (my Nordic Track, Elliptical, Treadmill, and Single Stack Weight Machine get very little use now). There is no equipment used in the P90X Plyometrics routine. It’s a series of various moves repeated in two rounds of each set. It works pretty much every muscle in some form.

I made this video showing clips of each of the moves from the P90X Plyometrics program to give you a better idea of what Plyometrics is:


As you can see, Plyometrics can be pretty intense. It really works the lower body while burning off quite a few calories (according to my Polar watch, that 57 minute workout which includes 7 minutes of warm-up burned around 600 calories, although I never trust the readings to be all that accurate). This is just one example of a variety of exercises you can do to keep yourself active and fit. Personally, I have found that the fitness programs in the Beachbody library provide me routines to work my entire body with a mixture of resistance and cardio training.

Working out at home isn’t for everybody. The key is to find an exercise routine that you will enjoy doing each day to keep you active, whether it be the gym, running, cycling, etc.. If you happen to be interested in an at home based workout, check out the useful links section to get an idea of the programs Beachbody has.

Little Things To Do During The Day To Help Stay Fit

During the course of a day, you may or may not realize there are opportunities abound to grab a few reps of exercise to work your body. There are a variety of choices you can make to burn an extra calorie and activate your muscles for better long-term benefits. Of course it’s all about seizing the moment. I wouldn’t suggest to drop and do 10 push-ups in the middle of a meeting, or to jog around the parking lot in 95 degree weather in your suit (sweat, sticky clothes the rest of the day, and maybe even smell).

Here are some suggestions based on the various things I may do during the course of any given day to “add-on” to my regular healthy lifestyle routine. Some I may need to be in a more casual dress just in case I do sweat a bit. Any many of these I may repeat, and the number of reps isn’t fixed. These probably seem obvious to some, but it’s a matter of actually doing them instead of thinking about it. Just keep in mind that if you do exercise regularly, you don’t want to overwork a particular muscle group. For instance, if today was “ab day”, I may not do any extra ab work today or tomorrow (rest is vital for muscle recovery).

  • Don’t look for that parking space close to the entrance at the mall/store – just park and walk.
  • Drop and do those 10 push-ups in your office. Vary the type – narrow, wide, sphinx, etc.
  • You can squeeze in a few ab routines during the day – crunches, plank for a minute, leg raises, oblique raises, etc.
  • Do 30 squats and 30 lunges (each leg) – make it more interesting and grab something around you that weighs a few pounds (or is just plain heavy).
  • Do a wall squat for 60 seconds.
  • Take the stairs instead of the elevator/escalator. If I’m going up several floors, I might jog up skipping a step.
          • Another stair routine – I’ll walk up stairs squatting down with each step to better engage the leg muscles.
  • Take a 10 minute walk during a break or at lunch. Walk at a faster pace to increase your heart rate.
  • I have a mini cycle under my desk – I may “bike” for 5 minutes while on the computer. I even saw a fitness band exerciser that attaches to an office chair.
  • Press your hands together and apply pressure to engage the chest muscles – hold for 30 seconds. Vary the position – in front of you, over your head, etc.

You can find many other examples of things you can do during the day. Here’s an article in the Washington Post:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/health/workout-at-work/. The Mayo Clinic has suggestions: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/office-exercise/SM00115

The above does not replace or act as a regular exercise routine, it augments it. But it’s these little movements and “extras” you can incorporate into your daily routine to help stay fit, have some fun, all which continually make you think of being active.