Have YOU tried a 21 day no complaint challenge? What do you think it might have to do with physical and mental health? With “fitness” even?

Well I tried it. And I found it to contribute to all of the above.

For me it was a really great thing to do and very timely. I am coming off a LONG run of repetitive negative thinking and just a generally piss poor attitude. Ever have those ;)?

When I first challenged myself to do this I figured it meant that no complaint shall pass my lips for 21 days. And that’s what I ended up deciding on. You’re actually “supposed to” wear a rubber bracelet that you snap every time you utter something that may be construed as a complaint. And while I didn’t feel it was that big of a challenge to refrain from complaining out loud (I caught myself once that I’m aware of) what IS hard is not doing it mentally. Which ended up being the real value of the exercise. Noticing how often and repetitively my thoughts turned to what essentially amounts to complaining.

Noticing is the first step. Then, hopefully, you are appalled at the persistent frequency of your negativity. I was. I have an image of Homer Simpson reaching for a doughnut under the threat of electric shock I believe it was? Many attempts were made…

And so I spent a lot of the 21 days first noticing then gently and sometimes forcefully re-directing or simply aborting those negative thoughts. This made up the bulk of the challenge for me.

It also brought to light how it’s really just a few issues that go round and round in my head in this fashion. It’s amazing to me how deep I dug the trenches of what amounts to be a literal prison of undesirable thought patterns. And this is where we live day to day isn’t it? Granted not always negative but in the same thought patterns and dialogue with ourselves every day, every month, year after year.

And while we are having the same conversation with ourselves all day long the whole world is out there. Dare I say passing us by?

This gave me perspective and that perspective was the real benefit.

When you can notice what’s going on inside your own head you are much better able to affect purposeful change. When you have mindfulness in each day the quality of your days improve dramatically. And since there is no real distinction between body and mind, when the mind is made to be more healthy so becomes the body.

I found myself feeling better and consequently “performing” better.

If you think it might be something worth trying I highly recommend it! Then hopefully we can continue the work together, long after the challenge is over…

I actually stole that title or concept from the man in the picture, or at least the way it’s worded. However we have observed this response or lack thereof many times over the years working with a wide range of clients.
So what do I mean when I say “piling fitness on top of your dysfunction”?
I’m talking about the inability to assume basic, innate positions like squatting to depth with your toes straight ahead, knees out and a vertical torso. Or being able to bend over to address an implement on the floor while maintaining your mid-line. Or being able to put both hands overhead, perpendicular to the floor without having to release your rib cage or drive your hips forward.

And then, in spite of these issues, these fundamental inabilities to meet the demands and requirements of proper movement, continuing to exercise harder, better, more, faster, stronger. Continuing to push the pace and often the intensity of the load.

Certainly within the context of “functional training” this is happening a lot. It’s a slow, insidious process of neglect that eventually is setting up a lot of people for disappointment, frustration and often times injury down the line as they continue to train and ask more and more of their performance without addressing their movement and positional issues.

Of course this is a deep rabbit hole once you start investigating the various, often compounded causes of an inability to move through range and/or create stability and structure in a position.
It has been my observation that the limitations for a given individual are usually one, some combination of or all of the following:

1. A lack of motor control/neural pattering/control over one’s body. Many are simply not yet in touch with understanding what their bodies are doing in any given moment or how to get their bodies to do exactly what their brain is seeing or asking.
2. A lack of strength to maintain the basic requirements of creating a sound position.
3. Impediment or obstruction while moving through range or in assuming a position (tight tissues, poorly functioning joints or more rarely actual physical obstruction).
   

Actually learning how to move correctly is one of the most important skills you can acquire. In any endeavor right? Sure you can get it done and in a hurried fashion with a few quick cues but at what cost? Get yourself a good coach who understands the requirements of proper movement for your chosen sport, exercise or whatever. Whether it’s improving your running mechanics or learning how to create a strong squatting position with progressively heavier loads, the ability to make the basic shapes and refine your movement over time is critical.
Everyone wants a quick fix but it takes time and work to build these patterns and shapes. And if you’ve been doing them incorrectly or poorly it takes a lot of time and work to undo those bad habits. So make sure and start off with attention to detail and repetitive patterning of correct movement. When you do this it’s important that you are not under significant duress. If you are simultaneously trying to learn good mechanics and movement while exercising or training hard you are going to have a really shitty foundation! Sound movement first, then intensity.

Lack of strength can also be a limiting factor in creating good position. That’s why it’s good to have some sort of assessment done on the front end, to expose your shortcomings if you will. Then those weak spots and positions can be progressively made stronger over time. Both supplementary training of the constituent pieces (IE doing some glute and abductor work to make a stronger squat) and repetitive threshold work in the position you are working can help build the strength to create correct structure.

With issues around tight and bound up tissues and squeaky/sticky joints, again, assessment is useful. Get someone who has knowledge around screening (PT, FMS practioner etc.) for things like external and internal rotation around the femur and hip, ankle mobility etc. to run some diagnostics so that you can pointedly address YOUR issues. Work has to be done, often times a good amount of it on the front end, to restore smooth/normal operation to the problem areas. Then you can make progress and overcome the sticking points that perhaps unknown to you were a big piece of the puzzle that left you wondering why you can’t seem to bend your knees and your hips at the same time without your heels sucking together and arches collapsing no matter how many air squats you hammer out in a training session.

No matter how “hard” or often you are training or working out just remember it can be almost entirely unrelated to the actual quality of your movement. You’ve got to lay a strong foundation by learning and implementing correct movement patterns, refraining from repetitive heinous approximations of that movement, expose and address basic dysfunction and service that dysfunction regularly and thoughtfully. Then you can add intensity or progressively more demanding efforts. In doing so you will increase your potential (for all you performance nuts) while buffering against injuries that often arise from repetitive poor movement and weak positions (for the fearful and those with experience).

Which body positions do you struggle in? Do you keep hammering away in that position or have you keyed in on it and begun to do some the work that’s necessary to simply MOVE BETTER?

I recently completed a 30 day challenge to myself involving abstaining from the consumption of alcohol. I have to say it was a very worthwhile endeavor. Hopefully you will find something here of value, something that may change the way you perceive things. Or maybe not, and that’s fine too.

I’m composing this particular post in list form with a total disregard for writing by the way (In retrospect I can see that’s not true, but I DID make a list. Sort of.). Call it laziness or simply an experiment in getting to the point without the mess of composition, grammar rules etc. I think you’ll get the important concepts and I hope you give it a go yourself if you’re so inclined. It’s really about the inquiry and what that inquiry reveals.

It’s important to note that none of this is meant to be holier than thou. I drink. And I definitely have the gene that always reminds me if one is good, two must be better, three has to be great etc. Drinking is forever a managed activity for me and frankly a mental struggle at times. I’m very aware that it’s either that or choosing abstinence permanently which I’d rather not do as of this moment as I’d still like to be able sit down and have a couple cold ones with friends when the opportunity presents itself.

OK, here is the brain dump/my thoughts and realizations:

Committing initially/speaking the intention out loud was probably the hardest part.

Once you get some distance IE get off the sauce it’s really no bigE.

The whole world is addicted to drugs, this one just happens to be legal and of the socially accepted variety.

People don’t separate the experience from the booze. IE they can’t possibly NOT drink at an infinite variety of things ranging from sporting events, to family vacations to social get-togethers.

Alcohol deadens. So each time you drink you effectively blunt/numb the experience. I don’t want to go through my life numbing everything down.

If you don’t drink you are one step away from being a TOTAL FREAK. It’s not “normal”. Literally it determines who people hang out with and dare I say whole perspectives on life or at least what you should spend your time in life doing.

I thought it would be a sort of super power in terms of my work productivity. In truth I think I handled things at about the same pace as usual. I do feel it was a bit like a superpower because you always have the potential to feel at your very best. Many of us will likely replace drinking with an activity like more exercise or positive output which could be good.

When you no longer have a designated day or days and times of the week set aside for catching a buzz you are left wondering “now what on earth will I do”?

I definitely feel like I had some clarity over the month. It’s confounded by other major changes I perceived going on with myself over the same period of time. But I do feel like there was a clarity.

Responding to the end of a day, to a specific event, to stress etc. by drinking is another form of auto-pilot, another example of how we are all sleep walking. I would like to WAKE UP.

I had lots of thoughts on doing this at the exact same time every year regardless of circumstance (discipline), doing it every other month, doing it twice/year etc. I think I’ve settled on 2x year unless I decide to do something more “severe”.

It is helpful if your significant other is on the same page :).

It helps if you can talk with others who might have the faintest clue why you might do something like this.

There was some anxiety about the end of the challenge.

I’m still thinking about how I’m going to proceed.

It did change me.

Ian

PS If you enjoyed this post or think someone you know might benefit from reading it or giving it a try please pass it along!

Right to the point… Here are some REALLY powerful secrets hiding right in the open that you can use increase your health, fitness and overall happiness. Think about them!

1. Create a base first: Lots of folks leap right from an inactive, over stressed and poorly fueled lifestyle into their latest attempt at an exercise regimen. That’s fine if it works for you (I understand it does for some people) but for many it ultimately does not. They are putting ANOTHER stress on top of a crumbling foundation. Demanding an additive behavior of themselves before they are ready. First work on the pillars of support:

• Sleep
• Food
• Mitigating stress and increasing your quality of life
  

Then you can see about adding an exercise/training regimen to your routine.

2. Build Strength: Strength first! Not “cardio”. Let’s face it, the single-minded focus on mid-high intensity cardio like cycling, running and machines at the gym is leaving people short. Think skinny-fat, broken down bodies and a never ending dependence on carbs and sugar (not unrelated). You want to balance/repair your metabolism to be better at fat burning which will give you better indicators of health AND a lean tone body. Combine this with strength training/load bearing/weight lifting and you have a really awesome combo. Most people would be shocked and awed to find out that if they fix the 3 points listed above and start doing some good load bearing training 3x week, they very likely could reach their body composition/aesthetic goals with virtually no “exercise”. Unfortunately this is one of the best kept secrets around….

Find yourself a good instructor and start learning the basic primary movement patterns: squatting, bending and pulling being the most important and giving you the biggest ROI.

Smaller accessory movements with Dumbbells and Kettlebells represent a nice departure, provide each side of your body with independent demands which can help you balance and strengthen your structure and are great for targeting specific weak areas.

3. Low Intensity in the Sunshine: Go outside and walk, hike, bike, snowshoe, x-country ski etc. but ditch the intensity focus. If you are a hobbyist or an athlete training for an event then obviously you should see your pre-planned training regimen through (nevertheless the sustained low intensity can still play a prominent role in your template). But for the rest of us, or when you are “off” or early season, practice recreating/training in a different state. Here we are combining it with the prescription of going outside to do the work.

*Note that if you are a “Type A”, at least in how you approach your training and exercise, this will be challenging. You will have to try really hard to dampen that pace and chill out! Just enjoy the opportunity it creates for you to see everything you have been missing…

This practice serves numerous functions:

• Vitamin D!
• It’s an excellent opportunity to practice mindfulness which conveys a whole host of health benefits…
• It helps you get into the parasympathetic nervous system, something we all need more of
• Builds and maintains your aerobic base – creates a platform for all forms of metabolic exertion

4. Upgrade your happiness! Here are some tips and approaches that many have used and that I personally am working to implement:

• Go out in the sunshine (again). So many known/established ties to health and mood here.
• Be physical, get strong! Creating a physical basis also builds strength in mind body and spirit.
• Practice watching or being the observer of your “parade”. What a show it is! This is the beginning of perspective. Then you can begin to be more skillful about identifying judgement, desire and reactions.
• Say “yes” to everything in your life.
• When you catch yourself becoming attached to something or a certain outcome ask yourself if it’s really that important that you be unhappy if you don’t get it or if things don’t go your way.
• Create time in your life. It’s the only thing you actually have AND you have no idea how much is left.
• Serve
  

So there you have it. Go forth and be strong, healthy and happy!

Last month myself and 6 other guys headed out for a 4 day tour by mountain bike of the White Rim in Canyonlands National Park. I highly recommend the trip in some form if you ever get the chance or have the inclination. It’s nothing short of amazing. You can do it by car (some sketchy roads to drive a car over though ;), motorcycle, hike or bike.

As I said the trip was amazing. While we were out and after I thought a lot about the experience. There were a few things that really struck me, things that were both the best part of the trip also served to expose what I feel are some real problems we all struggle with on a day to day basis. Things that have become pretty dysfunctional for many of us on some level. The modern world is amazing and wonderful in so many ways but there are some really important ways in which I think it’s failing people – or we are failing to notice and correct our course.
I used the word “Primal” in the title of the post to insinuate that there are some things in our “hard” wiring as human beings that have fallen away, some needs and deep seeded constructs that are not being met or ceasing to exist with the creep of technology and the modern age. I think we would be wise to acknowledge them, re-visit them and re-institute them to the extent that we are able in order to reconnect and restore. To aid in reclaiming something that is ours, to become a little more whole.

The power of retreating to a natural setting, being in nature etc. is profound. It’s the experience that provides the backdrop, the inspiration and all of the noticings I’m rambling about here. I have no doubt that if we were hooked up to a dozen different monitors and scientific devices while taking a 2 hour hike through the woods we would find some interesting divergences both mentally and physiologically from our day to day existence. Again, anyone who regularly contrasts the two can attest. The natural environment has this amazing power to absorb. Shit falls away. As a regular (ideally) source of therapy and connection I think it’s invaluable. At home I normally try and get out for a ride or hike wherever I can, 1-2x week for this exact reason.

Of course this was very much my experience out in Canyonlands but on a scale that was just massive. The country out there is so massive and in a sense void, it simply swallows everything. I was pretty surprised about how virtually as soon as we got on the fire road and started descending into the canyon everything in my mind, all my BS and life dramas, were instantly gobbled up by landscape like the above around every corner…

One night when I got up to pee, stepping outside my tent, the sky overhead was a massive dome of stars and you could see the streaks of the milky way. Standing out there in a stillness and silence that is completely impossible to describe finalized the power of that place to absorb anything and everything. I was acutely aware of how utterly insignificant I am and although that feeling can be unsettling the actual experience in the moment was totally awesome and inspiring.

Something else that I really keyed in on over the course of the trip was the simplicity of each day. For me it was a pleasure to be out there. Nevertheless, you had some basic tasks you were responsible for:

• Getting up and getting your food, coffee, snacks for the day, water etc. prepared
• Breaking down your camp and getting all packed up
• Getting on the bike and riding for 3-6 hours (being physical)/keeping up with the group/driving and helping
• Unpacking all your gear and setting up camp again
• Getting your dinner made

I can’t tell you how much satisfaction, intuitive understanding and pleasure there is in simply accomplishing the most basic stuff. You get to “be productive” each day, make some form of communal contribution and still have plenty of time for enjoyment. It makes so much sense!

Also, even though we had some technology out there (no signal for most of the trip), the nature of the whole situation was conducive to quality interaction with the rest of your “tribe”. Because you are not always face down in whatever digital stream of trivial brain suck, you have to look “up”. Low and behold there was this great group of people to connect with and a mind blowing landscape you were a part of. Now that’s connection. It was a great balance of an amazing shared experience, a bunch of goofing off and nonsense and still plenty of alone and contemplative time if you wanted it.

It’s funny that in a world that is effectively more “connected” than ever before, I think we are also more disconnected than ever…

And that world becomes more complex every passing day. This is obviously true when considering technology but it’s hardly limited to our devices and gadgets. The flow and intake of information alone is massive by way of comparison to what it was just 20 years ago. We are being bombarded by so much input! It seems to be accelerating at a rate that most people admit they cannot keep up with or comprehend on many levels. Perhaps faster than we are, again, presently wired to keep up with?

So…taking a trip like this and returning to simplicity and some “primal” tasks can be a true blessing. Taking care of your own shit and doing what you can when you can for the group is ENOUGH. And herein lies another fundamental issue/source of angst for so many of us…

Wouldn’t you like someone to tell you that whatever it is you did or accomplished today is ENOUGH? That whoever you are, perhaps simply as a function of your relationship to your family and whatever extended community you’re a part of is ENOUGH? That you don’t need to re-define yourself each passing day and somehow accomplish an ever increasing number of myriad “amazing” things in order live up to something or someone’s crazy expectation (especially if it’s your own ;)? That you don’t have to look and be like all the doctored images and misleading representations of people and lifestyles you are flooded with EVERYWHERE you look? That YOU are good enough? Better than needing someone else to tell you, wouldn’t you like to just know it.

I mean really, hasn’t it all become absurd on so many levels?

Thus the beauty of returning to simplicity. I think it helps us remember that which we have forgotten. I know I have found a lot of relief lately in my own life realizing this concept and reminding myself of it each day. What I did, who I am, is enough.
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I’ll tell you what else was totally absent while on this trip:

• Traffic
• Pretending your someone you’re not
• Superficial social interactions
• Email
• All of the incessant and more often than not negative crazy talk and re-enactments that you insist on filling your head with day to day back at home

I suppose the absence of these things helped to provide clarity on the previous concepts, helped to quiet all that noise. And when you quiet the noise you can actually get some presence. And when you are present you can start to take your life back.