I believe everyone has a superpower and being political is not mine.
If I had to pick a superpower for me, it’d be troubleshooting. I noticed early on when I was an 19 year-old Electronic Technician in the USAF. that I could never accept that there was a problem I couldn’t solve. My brain just doesn’t let go until things are back working again.
As a Design Engineer for 27 years, I used Fishbone diagrams for solving more complicated problems. Here’s one Barb and I created for addressing the COVID crisis.
I apply my troubleshooting skills to Personal Training. A good personal trainer will interview a client and gather all the data to discover what is needed. They may not make a Fishbone, but essentially we are all doing the same thing.
First of all, you should know that we love you and care about you.
Because we care about you, we wanted to bring something to your attention.
We’ve noticed over the past few months that you’ve gained a bit of weight around your middle.
We get it; the COVID has thrown us all off a bit. But, now that the “New Normal” has set in, we all need to get healthy.
In fact, it’s never been more important.
Along with trying to prevent infection by wearing masks, socially distancing and washing our hands, we need to make sure we maintain a healthy weight to handle the virus should we get infected.
So if Plan A is to prevent infection, Plan B needs to maintain a healthy weight to combat the virus.
So what is a healthy weight?
According to the CDC, a BMI under 30 means you’re not obese. About 40% of Americans are obese so a “healthy weight” goal for many of us is to get to a BMI < 30.
If you have a lot of muscle, the BMI chart can be inaccurate. It’s true that many strong, fit people are outside the healthy BMI ranges. If this is the case, you can measure your body fat and use that as a guide. There are scales and other devices that can help you figure out your body fat composition.
You’re at risk if you have over 32% body fat as a woman or over 25% if you’re a man.
A third way to measure health risk is by measuring the circumference of your waist. The National Heart and Lung Association indicates that women with over a 35″ waist measurement and men with over 40″ are at higher risk for disease.
The world is going to great lengths to contain the pandemic. Businesses have been closed and people have been ordered to stay at home. Governments that are already swimming in debt are taking on more debt to provide for families. All of these actions have had unintended consequences that have made it very difficult for a lot of people.
So we all need to do our part in beating this. Outside of prevention, all of us must do our VERY BEST to get and stay healthy – as though our lives depend on it. Because they do.
And if you don’t know where to start or if you need any help, you know where to find us.
There’s so much going on in the media right now that significant stories are getting lost.
One such story is that of the gyms and fitness centers in the State of New York.
A little background:
Governor Cuomo placed all state determined “non-essential” businesses on “Pause” on March 22, 2020. The “Pause” was to last until April 22nd but was then extended to May 15th.
After the “Pause”, Governor Cuomo announced that New York was going to eventually reopen its businesses in four phases. Each phase was to be 2 weeks apart and the situation would be monitored at each phase to ensure the data supported reopening.
Four days before Phase 4 was to begin, the Governor announced that gyms, movie theaters, and malls would not be included in Phase 4. In fact, he had no idea when they would be allowed to open.
The reason cited was that there was concern over the air conditioning units that could potentially circulate the virus. No data was provided.
The local fitness industry is livid.
Over 700 gyms joined a class-action suit against New York State, citing that it had no evidence that gyms were any more likely to spread the virus than restaurants and bars, which were allowed to open in Phase 3. Compare that with the fact that Florida and Texas are closing bars – not gyms – in a reaction to the increasing number of cases.
The International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association (IHRSA) went to bat for the fitness centers and contacted the Governor’s office directly. They got the run around as the office never cited any facts regarding air conditioning. IHRSA provided data and studies supporting the opening of gyms (similar data was presented to the US government and they announced gyms could open in Phase 1).
When Governor Cuomo was asked directly by a reporter he dismissed the claim and indicated fitness centers were unwilling to make clients wear masks. This was a false statement.
Most gyms are not large box chains like Planet Fitness. The majority are small mom and pop shops serving under 200 members. Many health clubs like ours don’t have centralized A/C. Meeting CDC distancing requirements is easy to achieve by limiting capacity as is being done in other industries. In our gym, we have members sanitize before and after using equipment.
I can tell you first hand that fitness center owners are the wrong group to mess with. They are conditioned against adversity. They make very little money for their efforts and are dedicated to helping people. The battle we are in against the system of “Sick Care” is unrelenting. Our opponents are Big Pharma and a Medical system that doles out drugs to hide symptoms of a body that is neglected. Our other opponents are Big Tobacco and the Food Industry which keeps people high on cigarettes and sugar.
The move by the Governor could very well put a nail in the coffin of many small clubs that just can’t remain solvent long enough to last. More importantly, Governor Cuomo’s draconian actions with the lock down in New York State have set many businesses back years and have caused the state and city governments to swim in red ink. NYC alone has a $10 billion deficit they are trying to fill.
Cuomo’s plan is for a Federal bailout. The stimulus checks, the PPP program and the PUA that were provided by the Federal government are not near enough to make up for shutting down the state for 4 months. With the pandemic being far from over, I can’t imagine New York getting enough aid to cover all that has been lost and all that will be lost in the future.
Whereas many states have tried to strike a balance between keeping people safe and keeping them employed, New York’s focus was all about perceived safety. Keep in mind, New York City still has the highest number of cases per capita – by far – of any other area in the country. New York has been very selective on what businesses were closed from the start. The subways and other mass transits were allowed to run throughout NYC spreading the disease. This is likely the main reason the number of cases increased for over a month after the lock down started.
My wife and I have been in the gym business for over 30 years and we will continue to “fight the good fight”. We are not in it to win but rather push back against a society that has lost its way. We will do this until we can’t do it any longer.
To my friends in the fitness business: keep up the fight!
You’re probably thinking it’s normal. Your routine has been upended. No more work. No more going to church. No more going to the gym. No more connecting with others, at least physically.
And you’re right – you should feel a little off. Big changes in a short period. Plus you’re being reminded every time you don the latest wardrobe addition to cover your mouth and nose that things are way different.
But what’s to worry about? The government has your back. They’re sending you freshly printed money in the way of stimulus checks and extended unemployment benefits to satisfy your ‘needs’.
But that’s not enough.
Many people understood that there would be consequences of the lockdowns, but no one knew just what these consequences were going to be. Looking at the stock market lately, most investors think things will be back to normal in a jiffy.
I doubt it.
Your Pyramid Blocks are Shifting
Maslow’s “Hierarchy of Needs” theory is a useful tool to help us see just how the coronavirus has changed our individual worlds.
The theory is that needs on the lower levels must be satisfied before you can move up to higher level needs.
It’s difficult to imagine why someone would sacrifice their life for their country.
Many have done it and some are still doing it today.
But why?
With Memorial Day coming, I’ve thought a lot about this lately. Four decades ago when I was 18 years old and enlisted in the USAF, I would have died for my country. Born to a veteran father and raised by WWII veteran stepdad, it was the honorable path to put your life on the line for our country. I enlisted in the USAF during peacetime, so risk was low, but I knew the possibilities and was mentally prepared.
I was ready, but I don’t believe I really thought it through. Brainwashed? Maybe. Probably.
When you enlist in a branch of the Armed Forces, you take an oath. The oath promises to defend the Constitution and obey the President through the chain of command. Frankly, I knew little about the Constitution when I signed up. What I knew was that we were a free country and that a lot of people gave their lives to keep it that way: 406,399 in WWII, 36,516 in Korea, and 58,209 in Vietnam to name the recent major conflicts at the time.
In identifying those at high risk for the COVID-19 virus, the initial focus was on age and comorbidities such as hypertension (high blood pressure), diabetes and hyperlipidemia (e.g. high cholesterol). Early data supported that these were the big threats for someone that had the virus.
With more data, some are concluding that age and obesity are the two main concerns.
Much of the information protecting us from Coronavirus COVID-19 is about preventing the spread of the disease. The CDC has posted resources on their website to educate us all on how to do our best to keep the virus contained.
Prevention is the first line of defense. But what if the virus cannot be contained? What happens if it spreads uncontrollably and we are all subjected to it?
If all the attempts to contain the virus fail, it will be up to our body’s natural defenses to fight it off.
One of the most difficult challenges with containing the virus is the wide variety of effects in has on different people. Many carriers exhibit no symptoms. Others that have the virus have symptoms no worse than a cold.
She’s from a Western New York blue collar family. Her dad is a pipe fitter. When it comes to helping “normal” people appreciate the benefits of yoga, she’s a bridge.
“Just start moving. The rest will come.”
I used to be semi-flexible 10 years ago when I did Taekwondo. Over the years, the joints stiffened up and the muscles ached. I exercise regularly, but warm-ups were painful. Takes a while to get going.
So I tore something in my elbow. Probably a tendon.
One thing I learned early in my exercise career is that injuries should never shut you down. In fact, they are opportunities.
I witnessed a young gymnast breaking his foot during practice at UC Davis. Being on the gymnastics team at a college, you don’t have the opportunity to just sit out for 3 months and heal. Your condensed 4 year career will likely be over. This particular gymnast was back at training in 2 weeks – cast and all. I thought he was amazing prior to the accident – until I saw him do a one-legged front flip!
