Your fitness center may have already opened, if not, it will be soon. As much as we would all like things to go right back to normal, the way things once were, you should lower your expectations. You should also be cautious with any fitness facility that does go right back to normal.
You want a facility that has your health and wellness at heart. This should go without saying, because your health and wellness should be at the core of the establishment.
My family history has a history of hypertension. Because of this, I’m at a higher risk for hypertension. May 2020 is National Stroke Awareness Month (#StrokeMonth). Interestingly enough, World Hypertension Day (#WorldHypertensionDay) is on May 17.
This is the world asking you if you know where you stand. Do you have Hypertension?
What Is Hypertension?
Just like most medical terms, there is usually a common, more relatable term to describe it.
Poop = Feces
Microorganisms = Germs
Hypertension is the term used to describe High Blood Pressure.
You’ve been stuck in your home with your family. It’s like an indefinite family vacation. The walls start closing in on you. Little annoyances start to run you up the wall. Why is EVERYONE so noisy!?!?
Your kids are loud, messy kids and act like they don’t know how to pick up behind themselves. Your teething one year old is whiny, clingy, and eating everything in sight, the floor included. Your three-year-old who fancies herself a comedian, makes her little brother cry, then cries because you try to correct her behavior. Your wife doesn’t seem to get that Work-From-Home, literally means, WORK. From. Home.
This doesn’t sound so appealing, right? Man do I miss it!
My current situation has taken me away from “all the fun” for 45 days. So the first two anecdotes (and SO much more) are from the glue that holds our family together, my wife of course. That last one about Work-From-Home was from me (she doesn’t doesn’t read these anyways 😉).
A goal was set for ACTIVE-DAD.com to attract 2,000 views in the first year. I now know this to be what Elite Blog Academy’s Founder Ruth Soukup calls a “Vanity Goal”, but a goal nonetheless. Thirteen months later, I FAILED! I came up short of 2,000 views. Just how much more did I fail? Let us count the ways.
I set additional goals:
At least 1 blog post a week
At least 2 Video post a week
Build an audience of 999
FAIL! Succeed. FAIL Some More!!!
Based on the three goals set above…With 52 weeks in the year, 42 posts were published on ACTIVE-DAD.com (FAILED!) and 171 videos went live on YouTube (Succeeded). With no clear criteria set, no real way to quantify the “audience” was defined. Another Failure. One out of four ain’t bad, right?!?!
I may be hangry from my intermittent fasting or just irritable after working 21 straight nights, half of which were 12 hour shifts. Regardless, I am not mincing words. I am going all in!
The whole world has been ordered to Shelter In Place—of some form or another—by our governing officials. The majority of you have taken that ordinance and have decided to conveniently use that as your reason to DO NOTHING. Let’s be honest, you didn’t really need an excuse. If it wasn’t this excuse, it would have been another. You see, you are FULL of excuses (among other things). No amount of “Work From Home” or “Free time” would have ever been sufficient for you to Prioritize Physical Activity. You know why, because it starts with YOU and YOU don’t really want to change. You are satisfied with being one of the 40% plus of males either overweight or obese. You are comfortable with your lifestyle as is. Well, It’s Time To Move Beyond Comfort! Being a dad is not your issue. Time is not your issue. YOU are your issue.
You can make excuses or you can make progress. You choose.
I love sweat pants. They are arguably the most versatile, comfortable article of clothing ever made. EVER. I sleep in sweat pants, I run errands in sweat pants, and most importantly I PRIORITIZE PHYSICAL ACTIVITY in sweat pants. It’s no surprise when I say that a box of new sweat pants are enough to get me revved up about physical activity, or any activity for that matter. My stimulus package came early! You are overdue a stimulus package this quarter. Instead of waiting for your federal stimulus package, go out and get yours!
Since 2013, my wife and I have lived in four different states. From Florida, to Arizona, to California, to presently Maryland. That may sound a little excessive to some, but it’s not without reason. Nevertheless, our tendency to move around has unexpectedly honed one very important skill, the ability to connect with good people. Of course, my wife oversees the family’s Communication Department, because if it were up to me, we would only know work colleagues (she would be bored with us talking “Shop”) and people from the local real estate investor meetups (again, boring to her). It’s a big deal to me when dads connect.
I think the key for us is being open to getting out there and just moving!
Bernardy Darguin
As a family of four, 99% of all social gatherings must involve kids and/or be kid friendly. So when my wife mentioned someone invited our family over for a get-together, I was ready and willing. I was happy to meet Bernardy and his family of six (four kids, him and his wife) and enjoyed spending time with them. Not to mentioned they opened up their home! Bernardy not only has a good handle on Prioritizing Physical Activity, he is well vested in it. As the Showroom Manager of the Peloton Bethesda Row Retail Store, he lives, breathes and eats Prioritizing Physical Activity. Now that all gyms and fitness centers are closed, don’t you wish you had a Peloton?!?!
In July of 2019, facing some tough career decisions, I sought the guidance of the ALMIGHTY. I started fasting 12 hours a day and praying daily (early morning, noon and nighttime). During this period, I experienced so much clarity of my thoughts. My focus was laser-sharp. In concert with me Prioritizing Physical Activity, I also witnessed a decrease in body fat. This was an added yet expected benefit. I continued the fast for about 40 days. I felt good. I ate the foods I craved during my eating window and never felt like I was sacrificing good tasting foods. More importantly, to the purpose of this short-term journey, the answers I sought were provided to me.
We are in Extra-ordinary times which call for creative ways to be vigilant with your resources and guard your health. Here is a way to do both.
You have either heard these excuses, or have uttered them yourself…
“If I only had a personal trainer”, “If I was rich, I could afford a personal chef”, or my favorite, “If I only had more time”.
There’s no more room for excuses. YOU HAVE PLENTY OF TIME!
fancy equipment
Just before my 8th grade school season started, my mom moved us from Nashville, TN to Altamonte Springs, FL. A new state, a new neighborhood, and a new apartment. Suddenly, I went from playing two sports (football and wrestling), to no sports. I was either too big for Pop Warner football or I missed the registration period, I can’t remember which. I found my self with no source of organized activity. I watched a lot of T.V. that year, a lot. There was an infomercial that spoke to my desire to be physically active. Chuck Norris would pop up on the screen on this slidey cable table that used your body weight for physical exertion. Oh, it was so collapsible that it would “fit under your bed”. In our new apartment I had my own room, so this would be perfect. I just had to get me one! I told myself If I only had the Total Gym, I could be more in shape.
As soon as the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) was identified as originating from Wuhan, a city in China, and constantly in news coverage…Busta Rhymes’s 1996 hit came to mind. This was arguably Busta Rhymes in his prime; both music career and physical shape.
If you show up to your fitness center, you are likely to notice
a thinning of patrons. I can’t figure out whether this is due to the time
change and losing an hour (I’m an early riser), or the mass panic surrounded around
COVID-19 pandemic.
Is it COVID-19 or have your New Year’s Resolution gone OFF TRACK!?!?
If you’re not going to the gym out of an abundance of
caution, don’t give up on Prioritizing Physical Activity unnecessarily. You
Can Take Your Gym Membership and SHOVE IT! AND take your physical activity
outdoors! No one will be breathing, coughing or sneezing on you, and if people
get too close, YOU CAN RUN AWAY! (or briskly walk) 😊
Some things are just out of your control, and it is important to recognize it.
Just as important is how you react to those circumstances that are out of your
control.
Wipe down your equipment before you use it and after.
ACTIVE-DAD
In the same token, if you are in somewhat good health, don’t
have any underlying
conditions (heart disease, diabetes, lung disease), and not elderly (65 years or
older), you are not at a high risk of getting seriously sick from COVID-19.
But just because you are not likely to get “REALLY” sick, does not mean you won’t
get sick. I don’t want to be sick AT ALL regardless of the severity!
Additionally, you can’t be an ACTIVE-DAD, unless you are
first a dad. That means you have kids. Protecting them is always one of the
highest priorities. You may not get hit hard by a virus, but they are likely to
be impacted differently. I have a one-year old toddler. Although he’s a BIG
healthy boy, the last thing I want is him to get sick.
Higher than normal stress levels are linked to getting sick. It is hard to be anxious if you physically exhausted from physical activity.
ACTIVE-DAD
The gym can be a place of close proximity with individuals,
sharing of equipment, and sometimes fluids!
