Tag Archives: health

January 2, 2012 · 1:46 PM

Fitness New Year Proposal

Happy New Year!
But, please people, hold off for now on the gargantuan fitness resolutions for January 1, 2012. Please. It is January, folks. It’s mid-winter Kansas here;  dark, cold, and there’s more than likely snow on ground. January is not, I repeat, IS NOT, the best time to make fitness resolutions if you want to give yourself the best chance at success with those resolutions.
Instead,  try to accomplish some baby steps forward at this time. Eat a little better and move your body a little more often. Maybe try to learn something new your body can do or perhaps do something it hasn’t done in a while. Take the baby steps, then make a new target date for the big fitness resolutions. A new date when the weather is a little better, when the sun shines a little more and life in general makes the big fitness changes easier. I propose we designate a new date, perhaps April 1 (April Fool’s Day), to be the official date of the Fitness New Year.
So, take those baby steps, build some confidence in your body and what you can do. Lay the groundwork for significant lifestyle fitness changes come April 1, 2012.
Coach Hays
P.S. I am going to try something new in 2012. I will  attempt to post daily  the FamFit and Human Weapon workouts on Twitter under the hashtag #FamFit .  Follow me @coachhays64, if interested. 

Leave a comment

Filed under Rants, Training, Writes

Tagged as , , ,

October 6, 2010 · 8:48 PM

Do It. Did It. Done It!

Rest Day Read (SR-51)

Do It. Did It. Done It!

“Johnny did P90X”

“Mary did RKC”

“Andrew did CrossFit”

“Elizabeth did Maximum Effort Black Box (MEBB)”

“Frank did Bigger, Stronger, Faster(BSF).”

I was sitting in the doctor’s office with one of the offspring today.  It was quite the extensive visit, so I had the chance to read a couple Men’s Health magazines from their selection of reading materials.  It had been several years since I have even opened a MH issue.  I subscribed for a year to their spinoff Men’s Fitness a while back, but that was about it.  I was amazed how many “workout” systems they present in ONE issue of their magazine.  It sent my mind reeling.  Do you realize how many “workout” systems there are out there?  I imagine it is somewhere into the thousands.  And in the rise of internet based information, that number probably is more into the tens of thousands.  With the incredible number of choices and information floating around out in the world, how are we supposed to know what we are supposed to be doing for fitness?  Which choice is the correct answer?

Do, Did, Done.

Set a goal and get to the “do”.

Make a plan and make it a “did”.

Then get after the goal and get it “done”.

There are many ways to exercise, find one you like and get moving.  Walk, run, air squats, weightlifting, dancing, sports, etc.  Like TV?  Well do something during commercial breaks.  Just hop off your keister and get busy.

Do, Did, Done.

Leave a comment

Filed under Rants, Reads, Training, Writes

Tagged as , , ,

August 24, 2010 · 7:57 PM

A Coach Hays Rant: Compartment Syndrome, Supplements, Etc.

Rest Day Read(SR-43)
Mystery Illness Strikes 12 High School Football Players
by Dean Shabner, ABC News
Compartment Syndrome, Rhabdomyolysis, Affect McMinnville Players
by Amy Judd
Compartment Syndrome Hits High School Football Team
by Dr. Michael Smith, MD @ WebMD
Creatine a Culprit in Oregon Compartment Syndrome Cases?
by Kim Carollo, ABC News Medical Unit

When I first heard and read of this “outbreak” of Compartment Syndrome/Rhabdomyolysis in Oregon, I can honestly say the warning bells started going off in my head. Why did this happen? What can we do to prevent this from happening in the future? How much is too much for high school athletes?
I tried to find articles to present all sides of the story. I don’t know if you can blame creatine supplements.  I don’t know if you can blame the adults for pushing the kids too far, too early in too much heat. I do know that wherever the blame lies, the behavioral factors must be prevented in the future.
I am a firm believer in The Performance Triangle (Hydration, Nutrition and Rest) for high school athletes in training. In fact, I published an article on The Performance Triangle several years ago in a football magazine called Gridiron Strategies. The article covered what I preached to the kids I coached and trained over the nine years I was allowed to work with athletes. I am not a believer in supplements, except in very, very rare situations. Whenever a kid asks me about creatine or other supplements, I first ask them to tell me what exactly the supplement does. They rarely know (Creatine phosphate, for example, helps restore muscle energy stores after extremely long intense work). They just heard by word of mouth that Product X really works and usually are doubling or tripling the recommended dose! I would explain how the supplement works then have the athlete log in a notebook their food, fluid and sleep habits over a week period. After looking at the weekly log, we can find a hydration/nutrition/rest solution to help them out 99.99% of the time. I only advised one kid in nine years to try creatine phosphate. He worked his butt off daily, ate well, drank well and slept 8+ a night and was able to benefit from the supplement taken at recommended dosage.
I believe HARD WORK IS THE MAGIC. I believe kids develop a body confidence and positive self-image through their hard work. I believe kids develop a trust and belief in themselves through their hard work that cannot be equaled. I think supplements rob this from athletes. The confidence is developed in the supplement, not in themselves. There is no magic pill, there is no easy way, HARD WORK IS THE MAGIC.

1 Comment

Filed under Rants, Reads, Training, Writes

Tagged as , , , , , ,

March 2, 2010 · 12:11 PM

One Month and Counting…

It’s March! Only one month until Fitness New Year’s Day! You haven’t heard? April Fools Day is now also Fitness New Year’s Day, the start of the fitness year. See, it’s blogged and everything, so it is official. Get that fitness resolution ready to roll in 30 days!

Leave a comment

Filed under Rants, Reads

Tagged as , , , ,

February 23, 2010 · 10:52 AM

Rest Day Read 2-23-10

Rest Day Read (SR-11)
Exercise as Medicine?
SR-11a An ADHD Med Without Side Effects by ADDitude Magazine Editors
“Exercise turns on the attention system, the so-called executive functions-sequencing, working memory, prioritizing, inhibiting, and sustaining attention…On a practical level, it causes (ADHD) kids to be less impulsive, which makes them more primed to learn.”
SR-11b Riding is My Ritalin by Bruce Barcott
“For the past 30 years, athletes, coaches, sports psychologists and medical researchers have probed and debated one of the most complex mysteries of the human body: How does exercise affect the brain? Common sense and our own experience tell us it does something. Every parent knows the best way to settle down a hopped up kid is to take him out to the playground and run the bug juice out of him. A generation ago, teachers and coaches frequently use this approach as well.”

Folks, we need more “bug juice” run out of us. In a previous post, the evidence suggests a mutation in the “wandering” gene may play a role in ADHD. Let’s see, we can treat a genetic predisposition to want to move (and go, go, go) by exercising the body/brain or we can overload with medication. Which should we choose? Which would we choose? Which DO we choose?

Leave a comment

Filed under Rants, Reads, Training

Tagged as , , , ,

February 3, 2010 · 11:59 AM

Fam-Fit Rest Day Read

Rest Day Read (SR-7)
(Note: The next several Rest Day Reads and associated commentaries are going to be on the subject on the benefits of exercise.)
The Deadliest Sin by Johathan Shaw
“America loves to think of itself as a youthful nation focused on fitness, but behind the vivid media images of robust runners, Olympic Dream Teams, and rugged mountain bikers is the troubling reality of a generation of young people that is, in large measure, inactive, unfit and increasingly overweight.”

“”The modern lifestyle is a radical departure from the one in which we evolved. Though scholars disagree on the relative amount of time that our hunter-gatherer ancestors spent running versus walking, the evidence suggests that they covered a lot of ground either way: 10 to 20 kilometers a day walking among men and about half that for women”, says professor of biological anthropology Richard Wrangham.”

H1N1 Outbreak! The panic was everywhere. The nation’s medical system shifted into high gear to fight this dangerous strain of influenza. The education of the people, the vaccination of the people, the hand washing skills, the coughing/sneezing skills and the awareness we developed over the course of the last year helped avert a medical disaster. The people of the United States of America should all reach back to pat themselves on the back for their response. Then we should all turn and slap ourselves across the face. Why you ask? Because, we have become nation sitting-on-our-asses and eating ourselves to death. Obesity and its myriad of disease side-effect is THE major issue in our society, yet we seem to ignore the 800 lb. gorilla sitting in the corner. The evidence is out there and it is starting to stack up in such a overwhelming pile its simply can no longer be ignored: A large percentage of the medical problems in our country can improve with exercise.
Hey, Mr. Obama, want a REAL health care plan? You want a plan to lower health care costs and save billions of dollars? Let’s spend 5% of the amount you propose for health care reform and use it to promote fitness for all ages. Let’s use it to get people moving. Let’s get Americans living, learning, thinking and innovating. Now, that would be a real stimulus package.

Leave a comment

Filed under Rants, Reads, Training

Tagged as , , , ,