Derek Jeter and the Hall of Fame (Health) Career

Hey everyone, hope you are having a bright and sunny June. In this post, I want to talk about a guy by the name of Derek Jeter. If you don't know who I'm talking about, please stop reading immediately and google him. 

I'm not a baseball guy at heart, but damn; that dude could play. Some of the Yankees haters up here in New Hampshire may disagree about him being one of the best ever (Insert all of my bros), but I think we can all agree that Jeter was a great player. He built a Hall of Fame career based on intangibles: hard work, integrity, and leadership. He wasn't the most powerful hitter or the fastest guy on the field, but he added a level of class to the game that nobody could top. Here's how you can build a hall of fame "career" too:

1. Hit for contact, not the Home Run

Jetes racked up 3465 hits during his career, placing him 6th All Time. He didn't get there by trying to hit everything to Times Square. A typical Jeter at bat consisted of him fouling some pitches off and then lacing one to the outfield for a single. While he did have some home runs, much of the time he was hitting to get on base. This is how you should approach health. 

Remember the old phrase, "Life is a marathon, not a sprint." I have no idea who said it, but that's kind of what we're going for here. Everything adds up over time. For example, choosing vegetables over the fries, making sure you get some exercise in, or investing in your nutrition by choosing good quality food at the grocery store. Each time you make a good choice, you are instilling healthy habits that will help you down the road. Making a series of good decisions, no matter how small they seem, goes a long way in helping you gain momentum on the path that reaches your goals. Tallying up hits is how you create consistency and progression.

Imagine that every time you faced a challenge, you went for the "home run." You are more likely to strike out and be unsuccessful, and that's not going to build you a Hall of Fame career. Just get yourself to one base at a time, and eventually you'll end up at home.

2. Know Your Strengths, and Use Them to Your Advantage

I can't think of one thing that Jeter was "the best" at. But, he was pretty solid at a lot of things. He was a great leader and great at hitting the ball. He had intangible qualities that helped create a cohesive team that won a bunch of World Series titles. That's how the guy impacted the Yankees the most. He just went about his business with work ethic and integrity, and knew that his teammates would follow suit. 

What are you good at? Cooking? Organizing? Running? Public speaking? Lifting couches? Whispering to dogs? Melting faces (guitars, duh)? It doesn't matter what it is.

Find your strength and use it to better yourself. Practice it. Learn about it. Own it. It will get you pumped up and eager to improve. And as you get better, you'll gain confidence each day. Not only will this help you succeed, but you'll eventually be able to help others. Wouldn't that pretty awesome?

I'm a firm believer that chronic stress- either emotional or physical- is the underlying cause of why people are so jacked up these days. Using your strengths and feeling damn good about it will help you reduce stress and fight illness. If you feel good about yourself, then something is going right in your life, and that has more power than you know.

3. Get After It

Pretty simple stuff folks. If you want to get better, you need to put in the time. It takes effort and persistence, period. Jeter put in the work, which is why he had a great career.

You have to be willing to make some sacrifices in order to achieve your goals, time being one of them. My first marathon will be in October in the great state of New York. So, I'll be racking up the miles and eventually laying off the Heady Topper's (which may be the biggest sacrifice of all). But, at the end of the day, that's my goal, and I'm willing to take on that challenge.

So, if you want to:

Get a better deadlift: work on technique and lift. 

Crush your 5k time: Work on speed endurance.

Build a Dad-bod: Eat better, work out, and cut back on the #Margs.

Obviously these are not the only rules to follow. At the end of the day, you won't have a great health career if you aren't work hard at keeping yourself in the game. Focus on what you want and go for it. When the dust settles and you have reached ultimate glory, it will feel that much sweeter knowing how hard you worked for it.

Extra Innings

No, I don't have a man crush on Jeter. I simply find a lot of parallels between how he played baseball and how you can get yourself healthier. Consistency, self discipline, and pride. All of these play an integral role in shaping your future. Take pride in how you go about your day, what you eat, and how you bust your ass at the gym. If you do that, you'll never have to worry about wondering why you make decisions. The answer is for yourself.

Best,

RY

Move it or Lose It

In today's post, I want to offer a simple concept. If anybody has seen the movie "40 Year Old Virgin," there is a hysterical scene where Steve Carell poses a question, "Is it true that if you don't use it, you lose it?" LOLZ.

By now you realize that I have an affection for stupid comedy movies and a childish sense of humor. Read on and disregard this about me.

Basically, that question doesn't necessarily have a black and white answer and can mean a lot of things. Not only is it funny in the context he was using it (hopefully you've seen the movie), but in terms of exercise it makes a ton of sense.

Movement in general, won't be very dynamic if you don't practice it. You create better movement quality by ... moving. Especially if you are doing it the right way. If not, you are just feeding the problem. Try not to sit around and create static patterns for your body to get used to. This is where poor posture, breathing dysfunction, and illness come in to play.

Think about your favorite chair, or for that matter, where you spend most of your time. If you spend a few hours a day there, chances are that you are going to have some adaptation coming with it. Humans are creatures of habit, and the body is going to get good at whatever position you are in most. This is absolutely the reason desk workers tend to have a lot of the same postural and mobility issues. Knowing your tendencies is vital to improving your current state.

So here's how you can start to change all of this: 

1. Get up, every hour. 

Think of this as like a total body reset. Walk around, take some big deep breaths, and try to get yourself back to where you started the day. Maybe even throw in some basic mobility drills to scare away your coworkers. 

2. Drink more water. 

This is like: 

Muscles and the fascia that bind them together are mostly comprised of water. So if you've had 2 cups of coffee at the desk and no water to rehydrate yourself during the day, your movement could be affected. Now, the body will adjust in the short term because it's wicked awesome at that, but imagine doing this to your body day in and day out. Consistent dehydration will only lead you to sub-optimal health and gluey (scientific word) muscles and joints. Eventually, something has to give. A good rule of thumb is 1 cup every hour you are awake, which usually works out to about 2-3L per day.

3. Get uncomfortable.

Try to find new ways to sit and stand. For me, I'm on my feet for the majority of the day. I've noticed and have been told that us personal trainers usually will be standing on one hip or the other. This can cause some issues. The solution is to simply always be moving. Up, down, one knee, two knees, sitting, etc. 

For the people that sit most of the day, simply try to get yourself out of the position you like most, and stay in it for a few minutes. Maybe it's just sitting up straight or keeping two feet on the ground. You'll notice how hard it is, and that your body will try to revert back to what its used to if you don't keep tabs on it. Try it out for yourself.

4. Emphasize the opposites.

When you're training, focus the most on what you need to work on. The classic example would be Upper Back Strength and Thoracic Mobility for those desk workers. Place emphasis here before you go to town on Chest and Tri day. For runners and cyclists, get lateral. For people that stand all day, do some soft tissue work on the lower legs.

These are a couple examples, but you get the point. This will help with injury prevention and overall functionality. If you are unsure about where to start, hire somebody like me to take the guesswork out of it. If can't afford it, pick up a book or check out this cool website called YouTube. There is a lot of free information out there, you just have to be willing to look for it. Your body will thank you.

5. Do something active that you enjoy.

I want to place a lot of importance on the word "enjoy." The reason I say this is because you need to be invested in something to put real effort into it. You will be more apt to push yourself and get yourself into new positions and situations. One of my biggest pet peeves is when somebody tells me they hate doing a certain activity. 

Okay. Sweet. Don't do it. Provided you've actually made a solid effort to try it. 

For me- Last year I got into mountain biking. It's been really challenging to get better at, but that's what keeps me coming back. I like spending the time, sweat, and energy trying to learn a new skill. It forces me to get uncomfortable, and that's how you develop movement. Being invested gets your body to adapt quicker because you are more willing to follow through with the activity.

Wrap It Up Already

So, how on earth did I start with some shameful humor and end here? 

Look at at your day-to-day activities and try to focus on where you having been "moving." Try to focus on some weaknesses and use the tips above to help get your body out of it's comfort zone. Whether it's posture, mobility, strength, or just general athleticism- you need to work on it to get better at it. That way, you can still "move it" when you want to.

RY