Random Thoughts....

....as we get closer to July 4th.

• Let's face it, this weekend is not the weekend to worry about your diet and exercise. If you've been pretty solid on both ends up to this point, this weekend is the weekend to let loose a lit bit. If you haven't been so solid, literally and figuratively, one weekend is not going to save you or make a whole lot of a difference. The time to worry was 8-10 weeks ago. So have some fun, enjoy a couple lower calorie beers and go all out on the grass fed beef.
• Opening Accelerated Fitness has been quite the process. Things have taken a bit longer than expected. There's been some unexpected costs. And there's been the stress about where my clients are going to come from. But I see good things for this facility. The facility has come out just as I had imagined. It has gotten good reviews from the clients who have started training here. And I enjoy the challenge of growing a business. Anytime you're in the area come by and check us out.

• I've come across a few clients with chronic knee pain lately and see a common issue with each one of these clients. As much as they think the issue is their knees, it's not. They all have hip mobility issues. Their hip external rotators are extremely tight. Their quad and hip flexor areas are extremely tight. In a case like this, if they can not get mobility from their hips they are going to look for mobility elsewhere. Hello knees. The knee is not a joint that wants to be mobile. It wants to be stable. So do not always look at the pain site as the pain source. Look above, look below, look behind.
• Kind of tying into the previous point, when an issue like this comes up my first suggestion for these clients is that they should be doing some foam rolling work or get some hands on work done. Most likely they have some muscular density issues in these muscles and it's tough to get mobility or flexibility from areas that are dense. Some routine foam rolling would help alleviate this issue. So after I suggest some foam rolling, how many of these people do you think take me up on my suggestion? I would say one out of five. And how many people are still having issues a few weeks down the road? I would say four out of five. A foam roller costs $15. A foam roller routine would take you a maximum of 10 minutes a day. A small investment in time and money for a large return on injury prevention and performance.
• I hate cardiovascular equipment from the standpoint of the returns it gets me and my clients...zero. It's too easy not to work hard. Why are the ellipticals always busy? Because they're easy to use. But one piece of cardio equipment I've taken to is the Schwinn Dual Action AirDyne. I picked up a few of these for Accelerated Fitness and clients are already hating them. Any time a client hates an exercise or a piece of equipment, it's a good thing. They usually hate it, because the exercise or piece of equipment requires hard work . I've already had the pleasure of watching a few of my clients crawl to their lockers after doing 4-5 minutes on these things. No frills to these bikes. No "18 Hole" program. Just hard work required.
• I've already been asked the question three or four times from a few walk bys who have come in to check out the new space, "Are you a Crossfit gym?". Just because we have one machine, which is actually a Free Motion Functional Trainer, people seem to think we're Crossfit. Crossfit gyms are not the only ones who do not have any machines. Before the advent of Nautilus machines back in the seventies, gyms were not known as Crossfit gyms, were they? Just because I do no believe in machine training, exculding cable pieces, doesn't make me a Crossfitguy. In fact, I'm anti-Crossfit. But that's a post for another day.
  
  Have a great July 4 and be safe....with your grass fed beef, turkey or chicken sausages and Heineken Lights. And don't forget to come check out Accelerated Fitness at 153 north Street in Lexington, Ma .