Thanks for the Mentoring!

I ran into one of my high school football coaches last week.  I hadn't seen him in...oh...I don't know.  Maybe 30 years.   

  

It didn't seem like he had changed much.  He had long ago lost a lot of weight--well over a hundred pounds while I was away at college.  I had seen his new, svelte self but, like I said, it had been a while.  We were both at an Upward basketball game for our grandchildren. 

In the brief moments that we were able to chat, I tried to tell him some of the things that he had done for me.   People kept interrupting (in a nice way).

I was able to introduce him to my daughter and a couple of the grandkids and shared something with them that he told me when I was a senior in high school.

We had just lost a really tough game that likely would keep us out of playoff contention (it did).  I was broken hearted and he came up to me, put his big arm around my shoulder, and told me that he was proud of me.  That I had given it my all.

I doubt that he realized what an impact that he had on me with that.  Sure, I remember the game.  At Cleveland.  Final score 28-35.  The player that I battled most of the night was already headed to Kentucky.

But I can feel his arm on my shoulders and hear the words he spoke even now.  And this is 45+ years later.

It was a lesson in effort.  And pride.  And maybe even perspective.

I really hope that coaches and teachers and other adults in positions to influence and lead teenagers understand how much impact their words and actions have on those in the midst of what surely is their most impressionable years.

I hope that teenagers stop to listen to the wisdom and counsel that is coming their way, sometimes in rare and special moments. 

I've already told you here (several times really) about my high school coach who remarked "if he works at it, he can be a good one" when asked if I was any good.

That comment transformed me from an underachieving slacker into someone who truly believed that if I worked hard at something, anything, that I could accomplish it.  I took that initiative, that work ethic, on to several college degrees and a career that has been maybe somewhat successful.

Don't pass up any opportunity to thank those that have been a positive influence on your life.  Coaches.  School teachers. Sunday School teachers. Scout leaders.  Maybe just the nice guy next door.

You never know when, if at all, another opportunity might arise. 

Thanks, Coach Dutton.

The Exercise Manifesto

Let's talk about exercise a bit.

There are more misconceptions about exercise than there are about pretty much everything.  Except dieting.  And that's for another day.

You've got your joggers.  Life is running. 

I used to run.  It's easy and cheap.  A good pair of running shoes is all that you absolutely have to have.  What you wear is most of the time irrelevant.

I was never a "runner." I never had to get my run in.  The only runner's high I ever had may have been due to a beer after a run.

But still I ran.  Until my knees forsook me.

You've got your weight lifters. 

The worst of the kind spend hours in the gym.  They spend more time resting between sets than they do actually exercising.

You've got your cardio kings (or queens).

They have their favorite cardio equipment in their favorite gym that they do regularly in what I suppose must be their favorite time of day.  Wearing their favorite gym duds.

I've seen people on the same piece of equipment regularly for years.  Nothing ever changes.

Some people have got to play something.  If there isn't a competition to it or some kind of game, they just won't do it.  My thing used to be basketball.   I LOVED playing basketball.  I was a Basketball Jones.

For some people it is tennis.  I used to play that too but life got in the way. 

OK, so I'm going to do something that will seem really odd.  Something that will violate every code of creative writing ever written.

I'm going to offer you the conclusion in this, the middle of the piece.

Here it is:  The best exercise program is the one that you do.

You may have discovered the most perfect exercise program in the world.  You may have found exactly what works for you.

But if you don't do it, it won't help you a bit.

Everybody is different.  And every body is different. 

What works for one person may not work for you at all.  You've got to find their niche.  Your "thing."

Oh, there are certain basic principles that you've got to folllow.

You've got to do some things that get your heart rate up.  I'll not get into the argument right now about target heart rate and how high your heart rate needs to be in order to derive benefit from the exercise but do remember this--from time to time, you've got to exercise hard enough that you can't carry on a conversation. 

Not every time.  Not all the time.  Sometimes.

Of course that depends on medical clearance and all that.  If you're past 40, make sure your personal physician approves.  (Oh...you don't have a personal physician?  Well goodness gracious, get one!)

You've got to do some things that put some stress on your muscles.

I am of the strongly held opinion that you don't need to do strength training of just one muscle or muscle group. 

Your strength training needs to be multi-joint and it needs to be functional.

What does it mean to be multi-joint?   It means that you need to be doing exercises that involve more than one joint.

A good example is the power clean.  Great exercise.  It engages your legs, hips, back, shoulders...pretty much your whole body.

A bad example is the biceps curl.  Or the bench press.  And goodness knows that the machine where you just sit and kick forward is a waste of time.

Why do we lift weights?

We lift (well, most of us anyway) to make sure that our body is strong enough to do the other things that we want to do. 

Some people lift to train for a specific sport.  For some, it is important for their job (think firefighters and EMT's).   For a lot people, we lift weights because we sit at a desk in front of a computer for long periods of time every day.

Strength training is the best (and I could argue ONLY) way to combat that.

I don't know of many people any more that lift weights just to look good.  No doubt that is true for some but then you get past your teenage years and then what is the point?

Get the picture?  We lift for solid, functional reasons.  

We lift to combat aging.   We lift so we can climb the stairs.  Or carry a child out of a burning building.  Or even play with the kids (or grandkids).

There are a million reasons that we exercise.

We exercise to be healthier, happier, and live longer.  When you get down to it, that's about it.

Why do you exercise?

Or maybe I should ask...why don't you?   

Why I Ride

I ride a bike because it is good for me.

There is no doubt at all that exercise is good for you.  Good for your heart.  Good for your health. 

Exercise reduces your blood pressure (a problem for me).  It helps to control you weight (which can lead to all manner of health problems).  Exercise gives you the strength to tolerate the burdens of every day.

I lift weights and do CrossFit but for my main method of exercising, I choose the bicycle.

I ride the bike because it helps me stay young.

If you're honest with yourself, doesn't everyone really want that? 

Let me tell you about walking into my grankids' basketball game a couple of weeks ago.  It was chilly outside so all the other grandparents were bundled up with scarves, boots, and toboggans.

I arrive on my bike after spending the morning riding around south Blount County.  I had stashed shorts and a sweatshirt in my wife's van.  I slipped those on over my bike outfit.

So I walk in with all these other grandparents and I've got on shorts with leg warmers sticking out below them (looked like leggings), a hoodie, and a ragged baseball cap. 

Get the picture?  I didn't "dress my age" at all.  Or at least by most definitions.

I don't think my grandkids were embarrassed by it at all.  They're probably used to it.  My wife has learned to expect it.  But why do we have to be concerned with all that? 

I refuse to allow candles on a birthday cake define who I am or what I do.  I believe in the pursuit of happiness and if that means riding a mountain bike faster down a hill than you think a man "my age" should or climbing Buttefly Gap on my road bike, then so be it.

I ride because it helps me do my job.

Really?  Yep, really.  Regular exercise helps keep us sharp mentally.  Studies have made that clear.

I suspect that's what you expect from me.  I know that when one of your children are injured playing sports, you want me at my best.

I ride because it is fun.

Ever ride a roller coaster?  Coming down Allegheny Loop Road is a lot like that.  Mountain biking a flowy trail?  Same thing.  Ever ride a motorcycle on The Dragon?  Fun, huh.  I find riding a bicycle much like that.

I don't ride because I have a death wish.  I know the dangers out there from riding on the same roads with vehicles that would kill me if we're in a collision but I fear teenagers texting and driving far more than any of that.

I don't ride to make you late for wherever you are going.  Those 20 seconds that it costs you in waiting to pass me safely will not change your life.

I ride because I love it.

Let Your Kids Play Everything!

When I was growing up, we played everything.  Everybody could swim.  Everybody rode a bike.  Baseball, basketball, dodgeball,  kickball.  Three-legged races.  Sack races.  Not organized sports.  We just played.

The only organized youth sport available was football so we all played that.

And despite being completely out of our demographic and without a single public court, a bunch of us played tennis.

Those people that knew me between the ages of 15 and 25 would not believe it if you told them that I didn't even own a tennis racket today.

My history with tennis goes back even before that.  When I was 10, we borrowed some old tennis rackets from Fred Chaney's grandmother (who lived next door to Little Bill Miller) and got permission to play at the McPeake's house, which was actually one of only two tennis courts in my hometown.

The other belonged to the Greer family and actually had lights.  We were able to play at both of them as long as we were quiet.  We were good kids so they knew we would be OK.  We could even use the lights at the Greer's as long as they were off by 9.

Pretty soon we were playing all the time.  I can even remember one day sweeping snow off the court to be able to play. 

About the time I got to high school, the city built a park with two tennis courts.  Needless to say, we were regulars there.  Tony, Bill, Ronnie, Teddy, Joe.  If all of us were there, we just rotated one in.  Always doubles.

There was no tennis team, no instruction.  We learned the rules from the few older guys that played.  But we couldn't get them to play us because we always beat them.

It wasn't until I left for college that the city built a swimming pool and four tennis courts across the street from my house.  Go figure.

Those people that knew me between ages 25 and 55 would not believe it if you told them that I didn't own a basketball.

I used to play all the time.  Lunchtime games on Tuesday and Thursday.  Sunday evening games.  

Pickup games at Sandy Springs Park.  I was a true "Basketball Jones" (if you remember that Cheech and Chong classic).  My last game was at age 59.

I guess I gave up tennis because of family responsibilities.  My knees took away basketball. 

Football was always my sport and I played it as long as my skill levels would allow.   Oh, I played in a couple of flag football leagues once out of college but it was never the same.

My kids did lots of different things.  Snow skiing.  Rock climbing.  Whitewater canoeing. Backpacking.   In addition to the usual youth sports of baseball, softball, soccer, gymnastics, basketball, volleyball, and yes, football.

The point of all this?  Let your kids play everything.  There's a lot of good discussion right now about sports specialization--focusing on only one sport.  The consensus opinion is that it is a horrible idea.

I'd like to issue an Amen to that.  Let them have fun.  Let them try different things.  Let them develop athleticism by running, throwing, hitting. Playing tag in the back yard.  Or Red Rover. Playing Who-Can-Hit-That-Can-With-A-Rock.

Give your children the latitude to find their own sport; not the sport that you want for them.  Given the chance, their natural abilities for one sport or another will emerge.