Core Workouts

I named this blog post "Higher Ground" because to me the notion of a refuge from the lower levels of existence so readily accessed via the media bombarding the humans with images and information most of us can do nothing about is essential to extracting some sense of meaning for being alive. Face it most of us don't really like some part of ourselves and that dark place gets fed by a constant affirmation that all would be well in our world if we just had... "washboard abs." I am amazed by the number of infomercials touting a great waist and girdle to be the transforming force that somehow makes the rest of life's problems all the much easier to stomach...(sorry.) Of course for the models on TV that use these machines they have taken on the qualities of Adonis or Athena from Greek literature and doubtful if they all used the machine they are posing for to get that way...and the mere fact that they have lost a couple inches off their midsection and you could now bounce quarters off their belly button seems to denote that everything else falls into place once you lift your shirt up. If only that were the case!

Before you call me on the carpet for not getting behind a healthy midriff-let me say that I spent six years as a personal trainer so I get it. The core of your body-the midsection-is a very important part of keeping fit-and long before all the gadgets came out to make the workouts "easier" athletes and others knew the "secret" to a fit human machine- so its back to my days in college kinesiology class when Prof. Betty White (no kidding) taught us the meaning of the S.A.I.D principle-or Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demand. In short- your body-and mine- has adapted to the demand we have placed on it-be it a steady diet of Burger King or Lean Cuisine- sitting on the couch watching the Olympics or doing your own cross-country skiing. Genetics play a role in how you are built-but science has shown that an overwhelming 80% of body reaction and response can be changed by working out-including the Ab-Fantastico machine. What all this means is you don't have to look the way you do-and on some level you are choosing-who you are and be honest-how many times have you tried to lose weight? S.A.I.D means that you have to continually changed the demand on your body- that's why the P90X guy is a millionaire- he took an age old concept-muscle confusion-and put it into a DVD- muscle that get challenged changes-muscle that don't.....don't. Simple- but not easy. Most of us don't want to put the effort in that it takes to make the changes in our life that we crave and we spend billions trying to find short cuts-turning treadmills into catch-alls for clothes and gym memberships are regulated to the bottom of our priority list...matter of fact gyms are banking (literally) on the fact that you will not show up-because most of us lose our motivation in less than a month...Whats all this have to do with finding Higher Ground?

Here's the deal- your life-not just your abs have adapted to the demand placed on it- some of it in your control-some of it not-meaning life beckons us to be proactive and reactive often at the same time. Its a process that says tonight I am turning off the tube and going for a walk...or instead of spending hours online looking up information that is at best used for trivia night at the local bar I am going to take a class and learn a language. Its taking the first step forward in repairing a relationship instead of letting age old wounds fester. S.A.I.D is a principle that is not limited to your physical health but your entire being. One change...just one....becomes like compound interest in your favor if you stay with it and allow the principle to work. The human mind has been trained that everything is fixed in the span of an infomercial-life is not an infomercial. Its the real deal and if you are really lucky and reach the average life span in America of 77.6 its just over 28,000 days you get to create ...a really great career...a really great marriage...a really great friendship...what you do with it is totally up to you...and just to be clear..having a great set of abs only guarantees one thing...a great set of abs.