Have you ever stopped to consider the way people talk about the act of stretching? They say things like:

“I have to stretch,”

“We should stretch, right?”

“It’s too (cold, hot, late, windy, insert favorite excuse here) to stretch.”

They hardly ever say:

“It’s a great day to increase my range of motion.”

“That was some awesome strength, let’s combine it with some killer length.”

“I want to be as flexible as Gumby on a griddle. Let’s stretch Pokey!”

I say lose the word stretch and all of its negative mutations. Pursing flexibility is really about “range of motion training” or “motion training” for short. Flexibility work trains your muscles, bones and joins to operate in fuller ranges of motion, giving you freedom of movement and protection from injury.It’s time to think about flexibility as a positive, desirable part of your fitness life. Here are a few excellent phrases to get you started:

“Sorry dude I can’t bench press now. I’m focusing on motion training today”.

“Gee honey, maybe if you did more motion training you could scratch you own back.”

“Wanna see me grab my toes? That motion training is really paying off!”

It’s time to show flexibility some respect. Why is it that running without stretching is considered a workout and strength training without stretching is considered a workout, but flexibility training is not (usually) considered a stand alone workout. This is a shame because range of motion is every bit as important as endurance or strength. Without healthy, flexible joints and muscles strength and endurance activities become impossible. A flexibility session is every bit as important as any other component of fitness. Take this moment to consider how you really feel about stretching? Do you think it’s slow and boring? Is it something to be endured like taking out the trash or cleaning the bathroom? Do you check out and day dream when you’re stretching or are you fully present and aware of what’s going on with your body? Are you doing the same stretches you learned in junior high and do you wonder how long you’re really supposed to hold each position? Consider how much time you have invested in revising your flexibility routine, learning new stretches or setting new goals and you can see why you might be bored, confused or both. Come back next week for ideas on how to spice up your flexibility life and make motion training a valued part of your fitness routines.

The Downsides of Passion

Are you lucky enough to have found your soul-sport? A soul-sport is the activity that you would choose before any other and that you feel good, strong and confident doing. Other signs of a soul sport is thinking about it when you aren’t doing it, lusting after the latest equipment and irritating other people with your devotion.Finding a soul-sport, much like finding a soul-mate, is a wonderful thing; but you should be aware of potential problems that can be created by your devotion.

Too Much Lovin’

We all agree that exercise is a good and healthy pursuit. It strengthens our bodies, clears our minds and gets us out of the house. Troubles can sneak into paradise though, when we focus exclusively on a single activity. Too much of anything can lead to muscle imbalances, chronic and degenerative injuries and mental exhaustion. The sports kingdom is full of examples of fitness passions gone wrong; runners with wrecked knees and frustrated doctors who won’t stop running or strong backed swimmers with brittle shoulders. Any activity practiced exclusively without a counter balancing strength and flexibility program can lead to bodily breakdown.

But You Said Forever!

A soul-sport, just like a mate, can leave us at anytime. Aging, injuries or unforeseen circumstances can take away the sport that you love. Then what? If a person loves one sport to the exclusion of all others and it is taken away their sporty heart will be broken and their daily spirits crushed.That’s why it is important to diversity your fitness life before its too late. Learn to swim, even though you love to run. Try out rollerblading even though rugby makes your heart race. Diversify your fitness portfolio so that if your soul sports get wrenched from you bosom you will have something to fall back on.A Happy EndingIts time to face the reality that the sports we love change our bodies for the better and the worse. With a little research or the help of a good trainer you can learn to balance and injury proof your physique and keep enjoying your favorite activity for as long as possible. Cross training is the best way to create balance and ensure that your fitness life can survive any circumstance that life throws your way.What a Cute Couple!Here are a few examples of sports that compliment each other and help to create balance.Yoga or Tai Chi with just about any other sport
Running/Swimming
Running/Rowing
Cycling/Swimming
Tennis/Aqua Aerobics
Volleyball/Rowing

I think there are two primary reasons why we don’t achieve our fitness goals; we are either lazy or scared. The trick is figuring out which diabolical force is driving us and then treating it accordingly.

A lazy person needs discipline, encouragement, honest assessment, perhaps a good, stern talking to and other forms of legal, adult paddling. A scared person need something else entirely (though encouragment helps for both conditions).

Say Ned is a runner. He likes to run, has the equipment, time carved out of his schedule and feels good about his running ability. Still Ned has not been running. Why? Ned has found an activity that he likes to do, has a plan and schedule for doing it and a feeling of basic competence about his chosen activity. Still his sneakers gather dust. Perhpas Ned is lazy and needs a swift kick to the backside of his running togs. After a good pep talk and 16 high fives Ned is glazed over and non-responsive. Maybe its fear then and not laziness?

Treating fear is a little more tricky, especially in those who fancy themselves athletic. From the youngest of ages athletic sorts are trained to ignore and deny weakness and fear, to play through pain and to dream very big. Limits, aging, losing and other awful realities are pushed aside in favor of stronger, more muscular ones. Maybe Ned’s knees felt a little kinky the last time he ran. He’s afraid there might be something wrong with them, but he hasn’t told anyone. And he certainly hasn’t gone to the doctor to find out for sure. What if they told him he shouldn’t be running or that his only fitness option was now aqua aerobics. No, that would be bad. He would rather not know and so he doesn’t run and he because he hasn’t been totally honest with himself he doesn’t really know why. After a few days of this Ned feels bad and lazy, but he’s not.

He’s scared.

Martha joined a gym three months ago and has been exactly once since then. On that occasion she spent the entire time on the exercise bike watching all the other people walk around like they had been born of muscle gods and felt awful. Then she couldn’t figure out how to set the program on the bike which made her feel stupid. She can’t get herself to go back and keeps paying the monthly membership and berating herself for being wasteful. Martha too is scared, not lazy.

So before you beat yourself up about what you are not doing to get healthy, take some time to figure out if you are scared or lazy. Because berating yourself for being lazy when you are really scared is like kicking a puppy, it doesn’t help anybody.

Then once you figure out what’s scaring you get help. If you feel stupid at the gym hire a trainer. Worried about your knees, buck up and go to the doctor. Afraid someone will see your big butt in the locker room, change at home until you get more comfortable with your butt. If you are afraid you won’t be able to perform like you did when you were younger find people to workout with that are of similar ages and ability levels.

But ifyou’re just lazy get your ass off the couch. I’m coming over and you better be ready!

What obscure 1976 film features the following?

Scantily clad body builders posing atop a bus cruising down the streets of Birmingham, Alabama.An inspiring musical montage featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jeff Bridges finding redemption through recreation (including the sadly endangered sport of racquetball).Leotard clad Sally Field looking fantastic and fit enough to actually fly without the help from God or any other fancy nun get-up.A water skiing dog.Give up…“Stay Hungry” is a film that I stumbled upon while seeking out my latest Gilmore Girls fix (judge me if you want but those sweet, sexy Gilmore Girls never do). Arnold’s oiled up and flexing arm dominated the cover and since I am a muscle whore I couldn’t help but grab the box. All I can say is I didn’t know what the hell to expect and the unexpected is exactly what I got.The characters were lovable, the premise vaguely preposterous and did I mention there are blue grass fiddle players? This film takes place back when the fitness industry was a new born and still gleaming with sweaty afterbirth. But Stay Hungry is much more than a fitness time capsule; its a story about the redemptive qualities of found families, fitness and love.So rent it, oil up, grab your free weights and hit play. Only your neighbors will regret it.

Breasts make terrible workout partners. They are lazy, clingy and almost entirely dependent on their owners for support. Though often lovely, breasts contain absolutely no muscle tissue and are incapable of independent local motion. Unfortunately, breasts are highly capable of being moved by outside forces. One British Study conducted by sports bra maker Shock Absorber found that for every step taken the average, unsupported breast moves nine centimeters!

A lifetime of unsupported bouncing can damage the breast’s natural support structures and lead to irrevocable sagging. Pain is another regrettable side effect that leads many women to curtail their activity levels. High impact activities such as running, soccer or jump rope are particularly brutal for the innocent breast.

So what is an energetic, athletic girl on the go to do? Read on for helpful tips on finding the support you need and deserve.

One easy way to test your bra is to run down a set of stairs. Next run down that same set of stairs with your arms crossed and holding your breasts (left arm to right breast and right arm to left breast). If you bounced significantly more the first time down (without manual support) you need a different bra.

Try on several types and brands of sports bras and bounce around the store. Mimic what you will be doing on the field or court and find the bra that limits movement the most (warning: this will most likely be the most hideous; in the sports bra world there is an inverse relationship between form and function).

Don’t be afraid of tightness. A good compression bra (the kind with one compartment) often feels like a spandex corset. Give yourself a chance to get used to this feeling and remember that you only have to wear the bra during very high impact activities.

Buy the right bra. Compression works best for A and B cups and compartment bras (which look more like traditional bras) work best for larger breasted gals.

Don’t be afraid to spend some money. Like good shoes good, sports bras are expensive. Unfortunately unlike shoes, they rarely go on sale. Remember this is an important piece of sports equipment that is protecting an important part of you. Don’t skimp on yourself.

Downgrade (to less bouncy activities) and eventually toss your sports bras as they weaken. This can be difficult as you will inevitably have favorites. Old sports bras often have productive second careers as everyday bras.

Links:
http://www.titlenine.com/: The best bras I’ve ever worn. They have a cool rating system that allows you to select bras based on your needs and breast size. They have a store in Berkeley.

www.shockabsorber.co.uk/: An excellent sports bra manufacturer based in the UK . Check out the bounce-o-meter and you will never run unsupported again.

http://www.lessbounce.com/: A wide selection of sports bras to choose from.

I got goose bumps when I saw Abe Lincoln’s ball at the Oregon Historical Society’s exhibit of sport’s greats. It was made of deep brown leather, worn dark and shiny from presidential sweat and pounding. The famous ball is now retired and rests in a protective Plexiglas case, never to bounce again. That part was a little sad.

So what did Abe Lincoln do with his brown leather ball? Turns out he loved “fives” a game much like modern day handball or racquetball without the racquets. In this game teams of two used speed, strength and guile to try and slap the ball against the wall and out of the lunging reach of the other team. For a time starved up and coming politician the game was very convenient and could be played against walls and the sides of buildings.

Though by all accounts Mr. Lincoln was a workaholic before the word was coined, he loved to sneak out during the day for a game of “fives”. Recalled Dr. Preston H. Balhace, “When Mr. Lincoln went to the printing office for a talk or to get a lot of newspapers he often joined the boys in a game of “fives”…which furnishes a very active and exciting contest.”

Court Clerk Thomas W.S Kidd also watched Lincoln tear it up on the court, “(He was) as vigorously engaged in the sport as though his life depended on it. He would play until nearly exhausted.” According to Kidd Lincoln played “not only for the sport afforded but for the better reasons that they gave him recreation from office labor and the menial toil he made in the studious preparations for his professional duties.

Abe Lincoln, arguably one of the greatest Presidents that ever lived, a man whose day to day stresses were Atlas like, recognized the importance of physical activity and the incredible release it provides from the grind.

And if the modern wage slave sometimes feel cramped, tired and in the mood to knock off people’s hats after a long day at the office imagine what if felt like for Mr. Lincoln. He was a man who came later to the relatively sedentary pursuits of law and politics and grew up splitting wood, farming, wrestling and generally running amok in the wide open country.

So the next you feel the burdens of the work a day world piling up and the awful fatigue of office toil do like Mr. Lincoln did. Find some friends and a ball that bounces and have a game. If President Lincoln can make time to work out in his busy country uniting, slavery busting schedule to play so must you!