Working out

Staying fit has a number of benefits for me. It reduces my stress, improves my confidence, provides certain presumptions in my interpersonal interactions, and, hopefully, buys me some more quality time on the planet. I have to set a good example for my students, so every time I'm tempted to take an unscheduled break, i remember my function as a role model and get off my butt. I have a much better feeling about working out than I did even just a few years ago. Now I train more for function and less for vanity.

Today I'm going to do an Olympic lifting program and possibly some yoga. tomorrow will be more of a conditioning/metabolic routine.

Theodore Roosevelt said his father taught him to be both "manly and gentle" and if he was manly enough, people would not attempt to take advantage of him for also being gentle.

What a week!

It's been quite a week at work. As an old dog, I'm selective about what new tricks I want to devote my energy to. A lot of my energy goes towards working with the kids but the adults are always demanding my attention. The wilderness survival trip to Utah will be a welcome break. I'll get to do a bit of a run through on my rites of passage program.

There may be an opportunity to do some youth work in the Oakland area and I'll have to look into that. High school, rites of passage, international programs and some replication. I just need to bring in some like-minded talent. When I get back froom Utah, I'll need to focus on real estate issues, and student and teacher recruitment.

I've got my first tumbling class tomorrow. I want to enhance my kinesthetic awareness for judo and life.

morning workout

It's taken me all these years to realize that I don't need two hours to get my workout in. Walking to work, 20 minutes of yoga, four sets of deadlift, or a circuit of pushups, pullups, and no weight squats all get the job done. I watch my diet and make sure I move everyday. It's off to Utah in about ten days on a survival course with some students. This will also have an effect on body composition!

India travels

Here I am in February at the Sulaxmi School for Girls, that my wife and I started.

Here are some of my high school students with some of our new friends in Ghana this past March.

Social networking

During a conversation with a man I had never met named Klaus, I learned about the concept of "social marketing." It's apparently been around for twenty-five years and has to do with marketing efforts aimed at changing people's behaviors. After getting off an elevator with a whole family of obese people the other day, I'm thinking that I need to leverage my knowledge of fitness and nutrition for the people of the Harlem community. At 48 years of age, my understanding of my own mortality has pushed me to learn about things like blogs and social marketing. I intend to wear out, not rust out!