Simple Treatment for Plantar Fasciitis

To heal your plantar fasciitus use the RICE method.

R.I.C.E.

REST

• less walking
• insoles for shoes (try the brand Super Feet)

ICE

• frozen Poland Spring bottle to roll out your feet
• ice bath - fill a bowl or bucket with ice water

COMPRESSION

• roll foot out on a lacrosse ball AND a golf ball

ELEVATION

• buy "boot sock" or "night splint" and sleep with it on

Monday Martial Arts

In a continuing effort to share my training regimen with you, here is my workout of the day.

White Crane Kung Fu
Hand Stands and Monkey Swing
Wu Shu Form #1 & #2
Hsing-I Linking Form
Hanging Leg Raise and Slow Pullups

Spend 10-15 minutes on each of the above.

Spartan Beast, Killington Vermont 09/22/2012

OK I'm going to toot my own horn here for a second.  That's what blogging is for isn't it?  By writing this I have decided that what I have to say is important enough for you to read it.  So there!

I'm not just a good trainer I'm an awesome one.  Why?  Because I walk my talk and live by my truth.  What does that mean? It means that the principals that I live by, when applied to the realm of exercise, result in a super fit, super capable body.  How do I know this?  Well let me tell you.

On September 22, 2012 I ran my first Spartan Beast race.  The "Beast" is a 13 mile obstacle course race through the woods.  I came in 37th in my age group of 500 men 30-34 years old.  Out of the roughly 3000 that participated in the race I cam in 177th.

Why can I brag and boast and be proud of this result?  Fact is I didn't change my training much to prepare for this race.  All I did was add a few long runs on the weekends prior.  That's it.  What I want to convey in the most humble way possible is that I know the secrets to cultivating longevity, strength, stamina, fitness and health.  It's not extreme and it's far from weird.  It's the essence of setting yourself up for success and that state is achieved through living your life more and more consistently in alignment with your goals dreams and ambitions.  You have to eat, breathe, sleep and bleed your passion!

If you aren't at this point don't worry.  The first step is to take a nice deep breath and chill out.  Next is to realize it's time to take responsibility... you've got work to do.

September: All About Cardio

This month at ATOMIC we will be focusing on Cardiovascular and Respiratory Fitness.

Cardiovascular Fitness is basically your body's ability to bring fuel to the fire of life.  Your body is much like an internal combustion engine.  You too need fuel and oxygen to run.  Your body stays a warm 98.6 degrees under most circumstances and burns the food you eat with oxygen to perform it's many functions.  The degree to which you train and condition this system determines weather or not you get winded when you walk up a flight of stairs.  It can also affect your ability to lift weights and resist certain diseases.

Your cardiovascular system consists of your heart, lungs and blood vessels.  There are some other complicated anatomy terms that we won't discuss here, but the most important thing to know is...

Using specific training and exercise, you can improve the functioning of your Cardiovascular System - your heart, lungs and blood vessels.

The benefits of cardiovascular fitness include:

• maintaining a lower healthier body weight
• higher ability to do intense exercise
• lower resting heart rate
• larger stroke volume (your heart pumps more blood per beat!)
• increase in the number of capillaries i.e. blood flow to ones extremities
• greater capacity for your body to take in and absorb oxygen
• improved mood and feeling a sense of accomplishment 

To have a decent or above average level of cardiovascular fitness one has to engage in activities that stress this system.  Hence the term "cardio" or the phrase "today I'm doin' cardio".  There are so many ways to improve this system's functioning I can only begin to list them here.  The classic triathlon three would be swimming, biking and running.  Most cardiovascular training activities involve large multi-joint movements and must be performed two and a half hours per week to see benefits.  

Now for an example. Watch this video: A great routine for adding cardio to a strength training workout.  Then give it a try!

Early to Rise

I'm sitting in a van on the corner of 9th avenue and 31st street. It would make for a good kidnapping scene but I'm here on my own volition. After a few more crew members arrive we will be driven to the set of the ESPN Miller Light commercial we are shooting today. I am playing the lead/hero role. It should be a long but fun day and I look forward to sharing the final product with you.

More importantly is the product that I can share with you now. Read on!

There are many factors that allowed me to book this role. However, the most important one, as well as the one I had the most control over was the physical condition of my body.

I train, move, exercise, and tune my body 3 to 6 days per week. The way I workout and the effects I create are never haphazard or random. I'm not just trying to be fit or simply well, I'm using contemporary as well as ancient methods to keep my body in the best most youthful state possible.

Fact is we are all working longer hours and expected to do more and more. Our time is precious. We literally can not afford to not care for ourselves. And one definitely doesn't have the time to waste at the gym doing inefficient outdated exercise routines.

We can all be heroes in our own way (cheesy I know, but true!). And if you want to get the most out of life you have got to be in the physical shape necessary to handle the demands.

What you havin' for breakfast?

People keep asking me what I eat!  

And to be perfectly honest it's not always that great.  I love ice cream and even the occasional trip to McDonald's.  But! ...and here is the catch, I know what foods do to my body when I eat them.  

For example: Many health professionals, personal trainers & dietitians recommend oatmeal for breakfast.  Ok fine, seems simple enough. Most people then go right out and ruin this advice by buying Quaker Oats single serving apples and cinnamon packets that contain up to 35 grams of sugar!  Not ok!

Oatmeal is recommended because it is warm and easily digestible, yet still has enough fiber and roughage to be absorbed into the body slowly.  To break the fast in the morning we want to warm the engine up slowly.  Whole grains served hot accomplish this nicely.  Don't be fooled into the "whole grain" cereal myth.  Those grains in cereals are processed and you then douse them with cold milk.  A double no-no.  Try steel cut or old fashioned style oats.  They take longer to cook but you can always make a batch up on Sunday and then reheat a serving every morning before work.

• To loose weight you first need to take in less calories than you use. After that it is the quality of the foods and the rate of absorption that affect how your body utilizes the energy.
• No white bread, pasta etc.  This is a highly processed form of carbohydrate meaning it is basically predigested.  When you eat this it presents itself to the body like sugar.  It's absorbed too fast, causes your insulin to spike and is then stored as fat.
• No fruit juice or soda.  It's sugar. See above.
• I have two caffeinated beverages a day.  One in the morning and one in the afternoon.  When I'm sleeping enough and eating well I find I don't need them.

What I eat could be considered a modified Mediterranean/Atkins style diet. 

FOR ME a perfect day of eating it would look like this:

6:00am bowl of oatmeal with fruit for flavor, NO ADDED SUGAR, large green tea

9:00am egg white vegetable omelet with a little salt and pepper

12:00pm lean turkey meat and cooked green vegetables possibly a baked sweet potato. Take a multi-vitamin

3:00pm strong coffee and peanut butter and jelly on 9 grain bread. Last carbs of the day.  Only meat, vegetables and water until bed.  If you are not working out this eve then a hand full of nuts could replace the PB&J.

6:00pm green vegetable salad or steamed vegetable and baked or broiled fish or chicken.  Make friends with your local chinese restaurant, I'm sure they will make "steamed vegetables with steamed chicken" for you.

9:00pm protein shake or fruit or a scoop of peanut butter OR some other healthy snack before getting 8 hours sleep. Sleep is KEY!

I play by the 80:20 rule meaning that I stick to the above 80% of the time. 

• buy organic when possible
• dairy is NOT great.  Look to reduce to one serving a day
• keep red meat to a minimum (like once a month)
• learn about the benefits of quinoa and kale
• Buy Dr. Atkins' book on the Atkins diet. 
• Buy Bill Philip's book titled Body For Life

Send me any questions you may have!

Workout of the day?

Agh! There are so many options out there... Where do you start?

First of all: WHAT ARE YOUR FUTURE GOALS?
I don't mean like "I wanna loose 10 pounds". You have to picture yourself in the future. Can you see yourself fit, exercising, sweating? Are you on a bike, running in the woods or scaling the face of a mountain? Maybe you are skiing, snowboarding or surfing. How about a vacation with your family and being able to keep up with your kids and also feel comfortable taking your shirt off at the beach? Or what about getting back into a sport you played in high school?

No matter what it is, it's of paramount importance that you can see yourself in the future. This will guide your direction in training. Like my martial arts teacher always said, "what you practice you become".

Remember, When you visualize what you want you become more confident and can see the steps you need to take to get there.