Christopher Peterson

The moment I finished reading Chris Peterson’s Primer for Positive Psychology textbook I knew I wanted to introduce this intellectual giant and his remarkable work to the fitness industry. His genuine and thoughtful, yet rigorous research, teaching and writing leaves a looming legacy. A pioneer and founder of the Positive Psychology movement and academic discipline, Chris’ critical work focused on “character strengths and how they pertain to such outcomes as happiness, achievement and physical well-being”. His work supported his life philosophy and underlying personal trademark that “other people matter”.

Chris passed away suddenly this week at age 62. It is ironic that his last post on Psychology Today, “Awesome: E Pluribus Unum: We are all the same, and each of us is unique, in death and in life” captures the essence of positive psychology and what makes life most worth living.

His passing saddens me, yet I am inspired by his words and his work. In celebration of his life I will endeavor to make someone out there know they are special and that they matter. The loss of someone so monumental and so suddenly is a reminder that the only thing that really matters is how we spend our present moment.

Thank you Chris and also to his personal trainer and professional colleague, Kathleen Xydis, for making his work available to fitness professionals.

As one of my staff stated, “He achieved the highest level of happiness and fulfillment and it was time to move on! Good for him!”

To read more about Chis Peterson, his work and his legacy:
http://www.psychologytoday.com/collections/201210/the-good-life

Engaging the body
Expanding the mind
Elongating the spirit
Enlarging the heart
Creating new space

Hvar, Croatia

98 steps lead to the pristine sea and beckon a morning swim. The warming sun dances across the cove awakening the boats of the Harbor. Tough choices today…which flavor of morning tea? Which pastry? Which afternoon swimming hole? Life losses complexity. Time passes simply. The mind quiets, yet expands.

Always I trek with a swim suit in my pack. The hidden coves and seaside ladders that cling to the rocks along the rustic shoreline provide continuous treasures for a leisurely dip or more robust swim.

The water senses autumn and has started to cool. Yet is is no colder than the northern Michigan Straights of Mackinaw summer swimming, referred to as invigorating.

The Island of Hvar, Croatia.

200 spin bikes…everyone occupied by robust males and females primed for action… 9pm in the piazza on a Friday night in Lucca,Italy. Upbeat, heart pounding music streaming through loud speakers…Call Me Maybe…rocking the alleyways leading to the the town square.

They love to ride bikes here…road bikes, hybrids, commuters and yes, spin bikes. How exhilarating to work that body, meet friends, socialize at a Friday night sweat fest, a cold beer waiting at the sidewalk Could this be the new disco? The IN place? The rendezvous? The way to launch the weekend…Italiano style.

I’M IN!

Let’s go, let’s go…. Called The deep melodic Italiano voice of Paulo, our guide.
Only 4k climb, we meet at round-about at top. 99k and 1400 meters of climbing today. A cappuccino and pastry await at the walled and cobblestoned town of Urbino.

Drafting behind Guiseppe, all 139 pounds and seven- time Giro de Italia racer, for the final 10k back to Riccione was like lemoncello after a wonderful Italian meal, smooth and easy.

What’s not to like about cycling in Italy! The vistas of rolling hills speckled with olive groves and uniformly lined grapevines. San Marino, ……….in the distance with its Castillo reaching majestically for the clouds. The flavors of homemade pasta, tomatoes, peppers, olives, breads, fresh catch from the sea, pecorino, proscuto, fungi and the olive oil…oh the olive oil! And then there’s the wine; bianco, rosa and my favorite proseco.

Our companions from Canada, New Zealand, the UK, Norway, and of course Tucson made for an engaging and gregarious week and we gained moto Nuevo Amicis. The Whistler contingency lead the partying, dancing and just all around good time FUN!

Marina and her Belvedere staff embraced us and we molted into one big Italiano family by weeks end.

Injuries in the shoulder complex can be avoided or rehabilitated by determining whether there are muscle imbalances and by identifying which muscles need to be stretched to normalize the length/tension relationships. If a muscle is tight and unable able to move optimally through its functional range of motion, compression, torsion, or shear can occur, creating pain and discomfort. Tight and shortened muscles must be lengthened to balance the joint structures.

After a muscle imbalance is identified and flexibility improved, stability of the shoulder joint will be gained. Following this, strengthening and power exercises can be added to the protocol.

This progressive formula to improve performance and reduce injury is accomplished by intelligent program design:

Identify muscle balance/imbalance
Improve flexibility in muscles that are tight and need to be stretched
Increase stability of the shoulder complex by integrating:
>Inner unit and outer unit muscles to provide functional movement patterns
>Closed chain and open chain activities
>Rhythmic stabilization to provide short oscillations to create reciprocating tension
On either side of the joint
>C.R.A.C. training – Core Recruitment Antagonist Co-contraction
Add strength exercises
Add power exercises

Join Paul Chek as he walks you through the success formula to increase performance and reduce shoulder injury using intelligent design.

http://www.youtube.com/embed/IBKDJN8RViY

For more information on training the shoulder complex check out Scientific Shoulder Training CE course by Paul Chek.

And what a nutritious and healthy blend of Mediterranean vegetables! It was thought that gazpacho originated as an Arab soup of bread, olive oil, water and garlic and arrived in Spain with the Moors or the Romans. It soon became part of the Andalusian cuisine, particularly in Sevilla, where salt and vinegar were added and in the 1800s tomato joined as a primary ingredient.

Gazpacho was traditionally made by pounding the vegetables with a mortar and pestle and this method is still favored as it keeps the gazpacho cool and avoids a completely smooth consistency and foam created by using blenders and food processors.

Here’s an authentic Andalusian recipe from my class today in southern Spain on How to make Gazpacho:

Ingredients
10-12 large, ripe and juicy tomatoes – peeled and seeded
2 red bell peppers
1/2 green pepper (optional)
1-2 cloves of garlic
Day old bread soaked 1 min in water
1 cucumber
Salt- I recommend sea salt
200ml extra virgin oilive oil
50ml white wine vinegar
250ml cold water or ice
Blend together

Diced tomato, cucumber and onion can be used as garnish

Tips
Do not add onion to the bled as onion will ferment and cause the soup to taste acidic if it is not eaten fresh

The stale bread soaked briefly in water enhances the consistency so the gazpacho is not watery.

Bon appetit! From costa del sol, Spain.

That’s the question I asked when working with a personal trainer last year. To determine my abdominal strength I was asked to perform as many bent-knee sit-ups as possible in 1 minute with feet anchored. Wait, this was the test we used when I was in high school in the 1960s! Surely there is a more contemporary and effective measure of abdominal strength.

So I called on my strength and conditioning industry friends for their expert recommendations. Here are the responses from Todd Durkin, Wayne Westcott, Douglas Brooks, and Paul Chek:

We use external resistance (such as the Nautilus Abdominal Machine) to test abdominal muscle strength. We find the heaviest weight that can be performed with correct technique for 5 repetitions (5 repetition maximum) or 10 repetitions (10 repetition maximum), and use this as our baseline strength measure. After several weeks of training, we reassess the 5 rep or 10 rep maximum to attain the pounds and percentage improvement over baseline. Although it is easier to do standard body-weight abdominal exercise tests, form is always a major variable and the assessment typically tends more towards muscle endurance rather than muscle strength.
— Wayne Westcott

I would say the best test you can do is a “simple” plank test (elbows & toes). It is going to test your entire trunk. Perform the max time you can stay up and maintain good form. Retest every 30 days and you will easily measure improvement.
— Todd Durkin

I would recommend eight assessments to help determine abdominal conditioning and where you’d need to start your training.
Prone TVA
Multifidus in Prone
Standing TVA Activation
Janda’s Upper Abdominal Strength
Forward Flexion Activation
Lower Abdominal Strength
Lower Abdominal Coordination
Oblique Dominance
These eight assessments provide a good understanding of abdominal conditioning (both inner and outer units) and guide the design of a strength training program that is appropriate, fun, and safe. You cannot perform these assessments alone, however. You’ll need a practitioner to assist.
— Paul Chek

We use a 7-level plank assessment. Initially the goal is 15 seconds per hold and build to 30 seconds. Or, go for 30 seconds at each stage and try to reach level 7 — 2.5 minutes. As soon as a perfect plank is lost (form break) or either hip turns up toward the ceiling the test is ended.

Start with a prone bent elbow plank; after that you move to right arm extended; then left arm extended; next right leg lifted; then left leg lifted; next opposite arm and leg lifted and, lastly, switch sides for the opposite arm and leg lifted…test over.
— Douglas Brooks

As you can see, a multitude of approaches can be used to measure muscle strength and endurance from a relative and functional strength perspective.

If you have questions about the best test for assessing your clients’ cardiorespiratory and muscular fitness, flexibility, balance, and body composition, the Fitness Assessment and Exercise Prescription for all Ages CE course is an excellent reference tool. Check it out today!

Personal security and self-defense training classes are grabbing a foothold in the wellness and fitness industry. Evasion, redirection, loosening and escape techniques and specific conditioning for self-defense provide new opportunities to infuse your current conditioning and boot camp activities. But there’s much more you can teach your clients about being safe.

Tim Rochford, the creator of the Proactive Personal Security system, identifies four progressive strategies for dealing with an aggressor:

• Recognize and avoid conflict
• Deal with conflict verbally
• Exit or depart from the conflict
• Defend from the conflict physically

“To be safe is 90% awareness, knowledge, self-esteem, attitude, confidence and choice. 10% is strategy, de-escalating language, physical defense tactics and protective tools and technology.”

Recognize and Avoid Conflict
Become educated about and aware of potential conflict situations during specific routines and activities. Learn to recognize potentially negative confrontations and avoid those situations when possible. If you are unable to remove yourself from a threatening situation, remain calm and aware.

Deal with Conflict Verbally
This means communicate, verbally and nonverbally.

Maintain a clam and confident appearance
• Stay physically balanced on both feet and keep your shoulders squared to the aggressor.
• Speak calmly and be empathetic (not sympathetic).
• Prepare for movement.
• Move your limbs slowly when speaking or listening.
• Act as if you know the aggressor. Recognition may create uncertainty and can disrupt the aggressor’s plan.
• Cooperate with the aggressor without increasing the danger of the situation.
• Exit or Depart from the Conflict

Always leave the area of conflict quickly, if possible. Avoid getting into a vehicle or going to an unknown building with an aggressor. Going with an aggressor eliminates any control you have over the situation.

Defend from Conflict Physically
The very last recourse is to fight! All attempts should be made to resolve the conflict peacefully. Make noise if possible – yell FIRE (not help). Everyone will rush to see a fire, but not many want to get involved to help in a conflict. If aggressive action must be taken, there can be no delay or hesitation once the decision has been made. You must instantaneously decide how to strike, where to strike and what to use when striking. Do not stop the attack until the attacker retreats or is completely subdued. Then exit immediately and contact authorities.

To gain more insights and skills for improving your self-defense tactics, join Tim Rochford as he demonstrates attack evasion movements.

Go to Empower Self Defense for more information on Tim Rochford’s CE course.

The Hyatt Clan

What better way to get the entire family out for some vigorous family physical activity than to partake in one of the many sponsored events that happen every weekend. The Hyatt clan was well represented at the Mackinaw Multi-Sport Mix Triathlon/Duathlon this weekend. Two generations – 5 entries – swam, biked, and ran in individual and team events.

The Mackinaw City event offers one of the most beautiful venues in the country – swimming under the expanse of the magnificent Mighty Mac Bridge, cycling along the shores of Lake Michigan and running past the historic Fort Michillimackinac and lakeside cottages.

Mackinaw Bridge

And everyone medaled. Patrick (15-19) first place, Michael (15-19) third place, Gordon (55) second place in the duathlon even with a flat tire on the bike, Gwen and Glen (combined 214) relayed and took third. Jim unfortunately DQd on the swim, but had a great bike ride none the less. Great day!

What fun family physical activities do you have planned?

Post Race Fun!