friends with who?

"Make friends with pain, and you will never be alone." Once said Ken Chlouber, creator of the Leadville Trail 100.

Seems that exercise and the brain (body and mind) are more closely linked than Westerners havce ever thought, or at least we've forgotten about. Remember the mice in the wheel? When they were MADE to run, their vitals didn't improve, but when they ran because they LIKED it, they were healthier and happier than ever. Go figure...
The above photo is taken from the Cooper Canyons by a fellow that ran the trails with the Tarahumara, and was featured in the book Born to Run, by Christopher McDougall.

Livestrong.

Depression, of which I've spoken of before

Below is an interview of Frank Forencich of Exuberant Animal. The interview was done by Chris at Conditioning Research.

Modern society seems to be sad! I keep hearing of friends or family members who are depressed or suffering anxiety attacks. How much of this stress and dissatisfaction do you think comes from our “modern” lifestyles?

"Depression is epidemic. The World Health Organization forecasts that, by 2020, “depression will be second only to heart disease in terms of disability or disease burden.”

To me, this is even more shocking than our epidemics of heart disease, obesity and diabetes. This is a disease state that’s psychospiritual as well as physical. There are many explanations, but I like the work of Kelly Lambert. She’s a neuroscientist who’s traced reward centers in the brain. She’s discovered a strong association between areas that coordinate movement and those that deliver a sense of satisfaction. I call this “the ancestral reward system.”

We move vigorously in search of a goal, usually food, and then we feel a sense of satisfaction for having done so. In contrast, modern society offers us only abstract striving (with computers) and even many of our rewards are non-physical and intangible. Consequently, we experience a sort of neurological black hole of non-reward. A huge percentage of our circuitry goes unused and dormant. I believe that an enormous amount of depression stems from inactivity. The human body thrives on action."

What can we do about it?

"This puts our physical training in a new light.

As trainers and educators, we are doing a lot more than building muscle, cardio or skill. We’re actually pumping up the reward circuitry in our brains and delivering a sense of satisfaction and resilience.

Movement is thus highly protective against depression. Sooner or later, people are going to figure this out. The way to counter the epidemic of depression is to get people moving again. Any movement is good, but locomotion is probably the best place to begin. Long walks, or running if people can manage it, are ideal.

Mimic the experience of travelling the grassland and you’ll get a good outcome."

Welcome to Exuberant Animal Check out Frank Forencich and his animalistic ways of moving about.

you must not quit

"When things go wrong as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all up hill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest if you must, but don't you quit.
Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don't give up though the pace seems slow--
You may succeed with another blow,
Success is failure turned inside out--
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far;
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit--
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit."

~ Unknown Author

I apologize for the delay in posts. Recently, my wife was diagnosed with Hodkin's Lymphoma. Yes it is treatable, but as one person told me, "no mistake about it, it is cancer."

So over the last few weeks, we've been finding out what it was that was making her feel so crappy and lose weight unwillingly, coming to grips with the diagnosis, and finally how to beat the hell out of it.

One thing's for sure, the next time my client says that an exercise is 'too hard' or 'I don't want to try it' or simply 'I don't want to', they'll get a healthy dose of motivation due to my wife's bout with cancer...she WISHES she had the energy to do a certain lift, or move, or bike ride, etc.

I'm back with a vengeance.