I always wondered what that term about ‘aging gracefully’ means. Similarly: what does it mean to ‘act your age’? What is allowed and what is forbidden?
I guess it really depends where you stand when you look at those questions. I am 58 now, and I have been spared those health challenges that come out of nowhere and that disregard the fact that you have done nothing to bring it on.
I must admit: I do just about everything that I ‘should’ do by the standards of health recommendations. I also have to admit that I enjoy most of that stuff really a lot. If somebody asks my favorite activity: walking my dog, hands down. The more, the better. I love to move, I even move when I sit still which got me the term ‘Zappelphilipp’ at an early age. That is a German word for somebody in constant motion. And while MELT has a funny way of keeping me in one place for a while, it has even further enhanced my sense of well-being.
I am a vegetarian because I do not think that somebody needs to die so that I can eat. But I also really like all that green stuff, and after we recently joined a CSA, I am taking ‘green leafy vegetables’ to new heights.
I did smoke at one point in my life but gave that up when I was 21. Never touched another cigarette but certainly understand the power of addiction.
Right now, I am as healthy as can be, and my physical abilities are not a limiting factor in the choices I make. I sometimes marvel how little has changed between the current version of me and the one from many years ago. Oh sure, some grey hair and ‘laugh lines’! On close inspection, not all parts of my body should be exposed to detailed scrutiny but I choose not to inspect too closely. I have no interest to compete with my younger self because that version has evolved to where I am now, and I would not go back to any earlier point in my life.
So what does ‘aging’ really mean? Adding years – yes. Acting smarter – I hope so. Embracing new challenges – absolutely!
About two months ago, I got a call from a young lady named Charman Driver. She introduced herself as a reporter for the “Walter” magazine and was asking me about MELT. She writes the fitness column for “Walter” and only about things after she had gained some personal experience.
Well, we spoke, and I explained as well as I can what MELT is all about. MELT is one of those techniques that, while explainable, have to be experienced to ‘get it’. But Charman promised me to attend one of my classes.
A few weeks later, she came with photographer Mark Petko in tow. I put her in the front row so that I could keep a good eye on her, and then I conducted the class in my usual way. It was immediately obvious that Charman was on the ‘very fit’ end of my participants’ spectrum, and her exceptional body awareness enabled her to perform exercises very well that usually have a bit of a learning curve, such as the low back decompression.
At the end of the class, it was quite obvious to me that MELT had just acquired a new fan. Her article appeared in the April addition of “Walter”, and I want to share the link here http://www.waltermagazine.com/melting-away/.
Alexandria, VA, begins to grow on me, and the proximity to Raleigh has a lot to do with it. The much smaller size of the conference itself with only about 800 participants (as opposed to 5000 for the IDEA World event) makes it feel almost intimate. It’s funny to compare this conference to its big brother. The absence of group exercise instructors makes it a lot more low key, and the reduced noise level is most welcome to me.
Since Sue Hitzmann presented at this conference, 3 time slots for lectures and/or workshops were automatically assigned because I use any opportunity to re-learn the MELT material. As such, her sessions were the highlights of the conference for me, particularly her one lecture on chronic pain. The rest of the sessions were informative. I enjoyed the one with the Dynamax ball but will first need to get a non-weighted beach ball to practice before throwing 6 lbs. at my clients. The other sessions may have provided some insights to newer trainers but – let’s face is – I am a veteran now in the field. So I should feel good if there is no ‘take home’ message in some cases because it is already there.
The next two conferences are already on the books. The IDEA World Fitness conference will be in August in Los Angeles, and the Personal Trainer Institute in 2014 will mean another trip to Alexandria.
If you are interested in all conference notes, you will find those on my web site http://www.meltnc.com/page718.html.
Since last week, I feel particularly virtuous. I have joined a CSA (Consumer Supported Agriculture) and have started indulging in truly fresh vegetables which I pick up once a week.
The concept of my chosen farm is a little different from others: I get to pick from a list which is forwarded to me once a week. I can also skip a week if I want to. What had prevented me from joining before where the stories of people getting delivery of whatever vegetable is abundant, and while I like vegetables in general, I did not cherish the thought of a box full of one which I may not be particularly fond of.
So now I am off to expand my vegetable horizon, and have already encountered a new one: Red Russian Kale. Courtesy of the internet, a recipe was quickly on hand, and it was a wonderful choice. Picking vegetables from a list works really well for me because I am not an adventurous cook. If I don’t know what to do with it, I don’t buy it unless I am reasonably sure that I can eat it raw.
I am looking forward to a year of fresh veggies. In case you want to know: go to www.wildonionfarms.com and see for yourself.
We have to admit: nobody ever accused North Carolina of being on the forefront of any trends that trickle out of New York but, for once, things are different.
I have been teaching the MELT Method now for well over 3 years here, and we have a few more instructors in the Triad and the Triangle now, even though the western part of the state is still a MELT wasteland. But compare that to other states of the union with no MELT instructors at all, many in the so-called heartland which is still a MELT dessert.
Bad for them, good for us. And in little over a week’s time, we will be able to welcome Sue Hitzmann herself to North Carolina. She created the MELT Method, and she will, in a whirlwind stopover, teach three MELT Intro Classes here in our state, two of them back to back at the Rex Wellness Center in Raleigh, and the other at the YMCA in Wilson.
I was the organizer for the classes in Raleigh, and those classes sold out in a flash. I can feel the excitement people have at the opportunity to meet Sue in person. Many of them are already seasoned MELTers for whom MELT has become a part of their lives, and that is because the regular application of MELT has impacted them in such a positive way.
I have rarely found anything quite as rewarding as introducing people to this self-treatment technique. MELT empowers people to take control over a part of their healthcare which had to be handed over before to others who would to it to them or for them.
Power to the people!
February is heart month, and not just because Valentine’s Day is right in the middle of it.
According to a 2009 statistic of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, heart disease is still the # 1 killer for women in the United States with 24%, followed by ALL cancers with 22% and stroke with 6%.
While there is a genetic component to heart disease, many factors leading up to it like diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol are under our control. I am not even talking about weight. It is well-known that excess weight can lead to all of the above, and that even a moderated weight loss can reduce the risk.
And exercise is the not so secret weapon that can help in the management of diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol. When I see the barrage of pharmaceutical advertisement which promises help with all of the above, I am always struck by the qualifier “If diet and exercise is not enough, please ask your doctor if XYZ is right for you”. Sadly, the first half of this sentence is often conveniently blocked out, and XYZ is the preferred choice.
Please give “diet and exercise” a chance. It can help manage medical problems, does not have a list of side effects in fine print, and will make you feel a lot better.
I hope so. Definitely another year older as the calendar goes. Oh well.
It strikes me, though, how fortunately I am to have my own business as a personal trainer. If I had been able to stay with IBM where I worked for 18 years (and not being laid off years ago), I would bite my nails for fear of being let go now and hope that I can make it to retirement. No matter how one looks at it, age discrimination is alive and well in the work place, particularly when it comes to new hires.
How strange in some ways that my position as a self-employed person is so much more secure.
And I am so grateful that I am not counting down the days to a retirement day but instead look forward to every day with the joy of what I am doing.
Age? So what? 58? YESSSSSS !!!!! Happy Birthday to me !!!!!!
It sure is easy to feel that way when an otherwise fit and healthy person (me) tries yoga. I began to be intrigued when participants in my MELT classes (or Pilates for that matter) all of a sudden told me that that ‘was yoga’.
I am not a yoga teacher, and I am also not a yoga practitioner but I respect this modality highly. I am also aware that there are many schools of yoga which can vary quite fundamentally from one another in addition to all the hybrid creations of the western world (my favorite is probably hip-hop yoga).
I have taken some yoga classes, all of them at the IDEA Conventions where the teachers tend to be the best in the country and are of a yogic ability to give the artists of Cirque du Soleil a run for their money.
Being a bit pressed for time and not having time for a class, I got some DVDs and instructions and went to work. Fortunately, I have a studio with huge mirrors and can inspect myself from every angle. I can also understand when cues on form are provided yet it is interesting to slip back into the role of a student and acquire a new set of movement skills. Also quite maddening when one understands the instructions but somehow the body fails to comply because it hasn’t been in that position in a while (maybe never). Yet, I am determined to give it a try.
Good thing I know how to MELT. MELT is a great lengthening technique, and it prepares the body well for any other fitness modality, particularly yoga.
Who knows: maybe one day I will be able to twist myself into a pretzel after all.
Throughout the month of December, we have been giving our fitness studio a serious facelift. We replaced the office type flooring with light rubberized gym-flooring and painted the walls and ceiling. While we had everything out and about, it was a good opportunity to re-think the layout of the equipment which resulted in some rearranging of the larger machines.
And then there is the small stuff which – in a small studio – you don’t sweat but cherish. Unfortunately, over the years, we put some here and some there, and while it never became a mess, it started looking a little untidy.
So we bought two large shelf units which can hold 800 lbs. (!) each which came in two large and very heavy boxes. While I needed help getting them into the studio (they are over 100 lbs. each), once they were in place, I was in my element. I have always loved putting things together, and the words ‘Some Assembly Required’ hold more promise than threat for me. So I rolled up my sleeves and went to work. After an hour one unit was put together, and now the studio is all shiny and organized.
I keep thinking about the satisfaction that I get from actually creating something with my hands. Something that I can hold and look at, point to (and brag about). Many people tell me the same thing; it must be part of human nature to have that desire to create things (even something as mundane as a shelf unit).
As my mind was meandering from gym flooring to shelf units to the workings of human nature, it struck me that it is our own mind that gives meaning to things. And after I floated a little while on the highest level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, I remembered that there is still a pile of ‘stuff’ outside of the studio which will need a home inside. Once that is done, I can get back to floating.
I wish everybody a very happy and healthy New Year 2013!
This week, my husband and I attended a fabulous presentation by Dr. Eric Oestmann on Rotator Cuff Disorders. While designed as continued education for physical therapist, it had plenty of information for our use as personal trainers. We see shoulder problems more often than we like, and I myself am intimately acquainted with impingement syndrome, shoulder surgeries and a frozen shoulder.
Most interesting for me were the assessment modalities to determine range of motion of the two shoulder joints. Yes, indeed, two! Not just right and left but two per side. The one we always think of is the one of the arm called glenohumeral joint. The other one is a little more obscure, and we may not even think of it as a joint: it is called scapula-thoracic joint and is the movement of the shoulder blade against the rib cage. The movement of those joints can be assessed individually, and the result can give valuable information as to what needs to be stretched or strengthened.
What struck me during the presentation is how much overlap there is between physical therapy and personal training. For me, manual manipulation is off limits; won’t do it, it’s not in my scope of practice. At the same time, I can instruct people in the use of the foam roller with MELT thus empowering people to mobilize their connective tissue. And while I must not and cannot diagnose and treat a problem, it is within my scope of practice to identify muscular imbalances and address those.
As I listened to Dr. Oestmann who approached from the field of physical therapy, I realized how lucky I am to be a personal trainer. I only see people who actually WANT to exercise and don’t have to give a second thought to those who don’t. Physical therapists are also limited in time and often must be done after a given number of visits whether their patient is sufficiently better or not.
One take home assessment immediately became a challenge to the students in my MELT class the following day. It is called clock exercise and goes as follows: lie on your right side, right leg almost straight, left leg bent and left knee touching the floor. Put your left hand on a straight arm on the floor near the left knee. Keep your left arm straight and your knee on the floor as you circle your arm around your head and to the backside of your body. Repeat on the other side. The goal is to keep the hand in touch with the floor at all times. This should indeed be possible, and it would be an indication of ideal shoulder range of motion. We did this at the beginning of the class as an adjunct to the MELT assessment. After some serious MELTing, we checked the same assessment again and – voilà – it was improved for many participants.
