Natural Papa » fitness

Two-fer Tuesday: Un-Hippie Co-sleeping and a Spring Workout

Derek Markham — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 15:30:59 +0000

For this week’s Two-fer Tuesday, I found a couple of interesting reads from fellow dad bloggers. Undad writes about co-sleeping, which is an important piece of my own family’s parenting methods, and Almighty Dad shares a great spring workout with us, including some speed rope work (one of my favorite ways to stay fit).

From Undad: On Co-Sleeping

“I want to preface this post by proclaiming that I am not a hippie. Are we clear on this point? I want to put it out there now, because I suspect that it will be increasingly difficult to explain how I am not a hippie as I discuss some of the lifestyle choices we have made.

Now let’s talk about co-sleeping. We do it.”

And from Almighty Dad: 12 Point Workout Jump Rope

“The workout should take about 25 minutes, give or take a few. It’s another full body workout that I think is quite challenging. You’ll get a good abdominal burn while also strengthening your legs, butt and chest. However, abs work is never useful without also a little bit of emphasis on the lower and mid back. Thus, a few of these moves, you’ll notice, give attention to that area.”

If you enjoy either of these, consider leaving them a comment on their sites or subscribing to their RSS or Twitter feeds!

On a dad blogger note, I just saw that the (very first?) dad blogger event is being planned for this fall in Atlanta! Check it out at Modern Media Man.

9 Healthy Body Habits for Overworked Dads

Derek Markham — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 19:33:24 +0000

Among the (oh-so-many) things that people don’t tell you about being a new dad is the fact that your body will have to adjust to it, and that it will take a toll on you. There are assorted back aches and neck pains, lower back issues for some of us, and if you’re not careful, you might end up with the dreaded burping shoulder.

From the time that your wife is told to not pick up anything heavy, or to overexert herself, you’ve been picking up the slack, right? Carrying all the groceries and heavy laundry hampers is just the beginning. Once you finally have a little baby to rock on your shoulder, little do you know that you’ll be assuming that position for many hours throughout the life of your child. And it does affect you, so it’s better to be proactive about addressing it, rather than waiting until it’s escalated to a bigger issue.

Let’s face it, you’re going to be spending a lot of time carrying things from now on, because one of you is going to be caring for the baby most of the time. While you may get to be the baby guy quite a bit, chances are that the mama is going to do it the most, and you’ll be the dude unloading and carrying all the stuff. And that’s o.k. That’s what dads do, right? So make the best of it and take care of your physical body so that it’s not taking a toll on your health.

9 Healthy Body Tips for Overworked Dads:

1. Lift With Your Legs

If you’ve never worked at a job that requires lots of lifting, you may have never paid attention to the saying that you should “lift with your legs, not your back”. It’s a simple thing, but one which can have a huge impact on how you feel at the end of the day.

Every time you bend over to pick something up, bend your knees first and use your leg muscles to pick it up, not your lower back. It’s a very common habit, and one that ends in a painful lower back eventually. If you go grab a shovel to dig in the garden on the first nice day of spring, after not being active all winter, remembering to bend your knees and lift with your legs will help you survive the day with a little less stiffness.

2. Be a Switch Hitter

Whether it’s carrying a bag over your shoulder or a kid on your arm, don’t always do it with the same hand every time. Your body might want you to use your non-dominant hand all the time, so that your other one is free for tasks, or you may use your dominant side if the load is heavy or sustained.

The danger of always carrying your kid on the same shoulder is that your body becomes unbalanced – the stress is always on one side of the body and not the other. By making an effort to switch sides regularly, you’ll give your body a chance to even itself up.

3. Defy Gravity

All day long, the weight of your body, plus that of everything you carry, is compressing you. You actually end the day a bit shorter than when you got out of bed because of that. And if you’re the least bit out of alignment in your posture or in the methods you use to lift or carry, your body spends all day trying to adjust for that as well. By the end of the day, your spine needs some relief. Unless someone gives you a gravity boot setup (for hanging upside down), a standard pull-up or hang bar is sufficient.

Start hanging from both hands, holding on as loose as you can without falling off, and slightly engage your shoulders (don’t just dead hang). Step down when you need to, repeating several times in a row. I also bring my knees to my chest a couple of times, both together and separately, and twist to the right and left several times. I usually end by arching my back while hanging, imagining my heels reaching for my head, and then gently stepping down.

4. Bend Over Backwards

We spend the majority of our time bending forward – bending over at the waist, or forward at the hips (at our desk or behind the wheel) – or lifting or pulling things in front of us, toward or near the core of our body. This means that we rarely get a chance to bend our spine the other way – unless we make the effort to do so.

One of the easiest ways I’ve found to help relax my back is to use a big fitness ball, laying over it backwards, finding the most comfortable position, and just relaxing into it for several minutes. If you have a natural gas tank (submarine shaped) outside your house, this also makes a great prop, or try laying backwards over the hood of your car.

5. Act Like a Baby

The shape that a baby takes in the womb is a natural, comforting position for the body to be in. Unfortunately, most of us aren’t that flexible anymore, so we’ll have to settle for what’s known as the child’s pose. This position has rescued my back and neck numerous times, and is a great one to follow the back bends.

Kneel down, pointing your feet behind you and sitting on your heels. Bend forward at the hips until your head touches the floor, placing your arms down alongside your legs, hands facing up. You can also turn your head to either side if that’s more comfortable. After a minute or two, you’ll probably need to adjust your body as it relaxes. The child’s pose is great for getting re-centered as well, regardless of any back issues.

6. Put Your Feet Up

Another simple method to help release lower back or sciatic region pain or stiffness is to prop up your legs at the knees. Lie on a firm surface, using pillows or a small table to prop up your legs at the level of your knees.

Resting in this position does wonders for your lower back and pelvis. For other tightness in the hips, try propping up only one leg at a time, letting the other lie flat on the floor. When sleeping, use a pillow or bolster underneath your knees (sleeping on your back), or between your knees (sleeping on your side).

7. Circle Around

If you ever find yourself at the mercy of the dreaded burping shoulder (DBS), you’ll be thankful for these range of motion and opposing muscle moves. DPS is caused by always holding a baby with the same arm, in the same position (for burping or putting them to sleep, or even just toting them around), and never doing anything to loosen up the shoulder and upper back. It might sound silly, but when you’ve got a sharp pain under the shoulder blade, or your neck is super-tight on one side, you’ll believe me then…

The first remedy is arm circles. Simple arm circles, as big as you can do them, one for each year of your life in each direction, followed by the same number in reverse. They shouldn’t be fast, but not slow, either. These will help loosen up your whole shoulder region.

The second remedy is to stand up, place your fists right at your ears, as if punching yourself (thumbs down), and then holding your fists in position, rotate your elbows forward until they touch in front of you. Return your elbows to the rear, repeating for each year of your age.

The third remedy is to lie on your back, arms at your side, and repeatedly try to lift your body off of the ground by pushing down with the back of your arms (elbows). Move your arms up away from your body – out to the sides – and repeat.

8. Use Your Head

To stand on… Getting the body inverted can be a powerful process for healing and aligning and toning the body. I won’t even attempt to give instructions for a headstand here, but there are plenty of great free guides to get you started. If you haven’t ever done a headstand, I suggest starting out by learning some basic yoga positions (asanas) which lead up to a headstand.

If you already have some headstand experience, what are you waiting for? Putting your body upside down takes a load off of the pressure on your organs and spine from gravity each day, and is a wonderfully fun thing to do, besides.

9. Make it a Habit

I know, it’s hard to believe when we’re young, but everybody ages, including us, and the best way to help our bodies stay healthy is through supporting it on a regular basis. If we don’t take care of our body over the years, it won’t take care of itself very well – we can’t expect optimum health with no effort.

We need a weekly, if not daily, habit of physical exertion – it doesn’t have to be traditional ‘exercise’, but it needs to be something that gets your heart rate up and your blood pumping. It should be something challenging and rewarding, and it should be coupled with a healthy diet (the scope of a full fitness plan and nutrition program are beyond the scope of this post). If we are willing to commit many hours each week for our livelihood, and for our family, we really ought to commit some to our own health – without that, nothing else really matters.

A foundation in the basics of yoga is a great place to begin, as are basic training and bodyweight exercises – speed rope workouts, push-ups and pull-ups, squats, wind sprints, overhead presses. None of these require much space or money, and the payoff in health and fitness more than outweighs the time involved, but your mileage may vary.

Of course, these tips could apply to just about anybody – grand-dads, grandmas, moms, and kids – so take what you can use, and leave me a comment if you have something to add to this.

And remember, it’s Natural Papa, not Doctor Papa, so don’t take anything I say here as medical advice.

Image: Perfecto Insecto at Flickr

All Work and No Play Makes Dad a Glum Chum

Derek Markham — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 18:56:25 +0000

“Dad is sad.

Very, very sad.

He had a bad day.

What a day dad had!” – Dr. Seuss

Sometimes I feel that way – and then I feel bad for letting it affect how I interact with my kids. If I’m stressed, they can see it. If I’m burned out, it shows.

We forget sometimes, that with the responsibilities of a job and a family comes another task – not so obvious, but just as important: Taking care of yourself.

Dads (and moms) can get way too caught up in the stresses of modern life, and take on the effects of it in our bodies and minds. We need to learn how to blow off steam and clear our heads so that we can be at our best for our loved ones, and not be grumpy old stick-in-the-muds.

I’ve found that one of the easiest ways to burn off stress is to play often. Especially something physically challenging.

It comes easy to kids, but not so much for us adults.

Much of the time, we simply forget to play, or we tell ourselves it’s not a priority. But play is important. If we are only working, and never playing, we’re only experiencing half of life, and by bringing play back into our life, we can discover a whole new side of our self that we haven’t paid any attention to for a long time.

After leaving school and starting to work, I was invited a number of times to come and play on the company softball team, or to join a community sports league, but I always thought that was for old guys, and I didn’t ever join up. I was also innocent enough to think that my body would just naturally stay young and strong, without having to work at it. That was the case up until I hit my early thirties, and then something really shifted for me.

Even though I worked hard, I wasn’t working at a job that was physically taxing, so my body didn’t need to keep up. I started going to a gym, and then changed to work out at a home gym instead, to save money. That helped to keep my fitness up, but it really lacked something: community. When I played sports as a kid, I really enjoyed the camaraderie of the team and the challenge of working together to win the games.

And so the next time someone asked if I was interested in playing on a team, I jumped at the chance. A local indoor sports arena had indoor soccer leagues for men during the winter, and a friend had put together a team to play that season. At first, I wasn’t really too sure about it – after all, I hadn’t played soccer in almost 20 years – but after the first few games, I realized what a positive thing it was in my life. On one night a week, I could go all out, running and kicking and hollering to my teammates, and burn off all of the steam and stress from my job, or from family pressures. I could just go play.

I ended up playing with that team every session during the winter until I moved away, and I didn’t realize how important it was to me until I didn’t have that group of guys to go run around with anymore. But, things have a way of finding you when you need them, and a new friend here has been scheduling a weekly pickup soccer game, so I’ve gotten to add that back into my life again. I also enjoy biking and bouldering, but both of those are solitary experiences for me, and it’s been great to have a group of people to play with on a regular basis.

You really need to add some play back into your life.

If your favorite kind of play is solo – biking or running – then give your friends a call and go for a group run or ride. If there’s a basketball court or field near your home or work, pick a weekday evening and tell all your buddies to invite their friends for a pickup game. I’d bet that after once or twice, you’ll find that most guys would come to a regular weekly game if someone coordinated it.

If you see a sign up sheet for things like community softball, basketball, or soccer, put your name down, pay the fee, and commit to it. Chances are, you’ll be a healthier and happier person because of it. Granted, there are always guys playing in those who are overly competitive, and who get really bent out of shape at a missed play or a lost game, but for the most part, I’ve found a great inclusiveness to the teams I’ve played with. It didn’t matter if I wasn’t the star player, and I got better with every game or practice, so don’t put off joining until you’ve got some serious skills.

I’ve also found that I’ve met a lot of cool people with similar interests through community sports, and I think that it’s a great way to further your personal and professional networks.

Do yourself a favor and play hard and play often. Get your heart rate up, and sweat through your shirt at least once a week. It builds community and makes you a happier dude, err, dad.

Image: Jayel Aheram at Flickr

Meet a Few of My Community of Awesome People

Derek Markham — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 03:35:56 +0000

I’m surrounded by talented people, and I want to highlight a few of my community members that are pursuing their passions and inspiring me to think bigger about my own projects.

Each of these people are trying to follow their muse and make the world a better place, and I think that’s an admirable goal. It takes guts to start a new project or venture, to build something up and then to share it with others. Here’s hoping that you take some inspiration away from this to begin pursuing your next big idea.

Michael Lloyd-Billington:

Michael has been a good friend of mine for years, starting at the co-op that we both worked for. He’s a talented teacher, yogi, personal fitness instructor, raw foodist and has a wealth of information about nutrition and health. I’ve picked his brain for help with a fitness program and diet and detox questions, and he’s always ready to help with knowledgeable and practical insights.

If you need a coach or consultant for health, fitness, or diet, you should definitely get in touch with him. He’s in Fort Collins, Colorado, but does consult via phone or email. Check out Alternative Personal Training or his contributions to Raw Vegan Fitness.

Christa Carlman:

I like bikes. A lot. I think it’s a great way to experience the world, to be out in nature, cruising down the road just by spinning your pedals. Another of my friends (also from the co-op I worked for) has teamed up with another biker-type gal and formed a bike touring company, Rolling Spokes. Based in Fort Collins, Colorado, Rolling Spokes hosts treasure hunt rides, urban chicken coop tours, edible urban garden tours, farm tours, family adventure rides, and more.

My friend Christa is professional, charismatic, and passionate about her business, and I heartily recommend checking out Rolling Spokes for your next (or your first) tour. If you just want to get involved, they need some volunteers: “seeking, hard working, bike loving, community building folks to help out on our rides.” Head over and get more information from Rolling Spokes.

Susan Hazel Rich:

I got a chance to know Susan Hazel Rich’s design work as she helped to design a new ‘brand’ for our co-op with the design firm Little Jacket. She’s a talented designer and creator, with a ‘green’ twist. Here’s some of her bio from her site:

“I love to make things. I love anything vintage, my old sewing machine, things found, cowboy boots, our old typewriter, adventures, doodles [especially chickens and hearts], bicycles, really big sunglasses, poets, mountains, and unicorns. I am currently fascinated with just how easy it is for things to go in and out of fashion. I see my art as an equal opportunity to positively impact my community. I try to excite people about repurposing the unlikely into the fashionable and therefore maybe keeping just a little bit of trash out of the ground. Really, I just love thrift stores and pack ratting—this is all really a complex excuse.”

If you need some design or artwork done, Susan is awesome to work with, and is full of creative energy and positive vibes. Susan Hazel Rich

Susan also seeks out vintage clothing and offers it on Etsy, along with her own clothing creations and aprons. Repurposed Thrift Store Magic

Chad Chriestenson:

Another of my friends (also from the co-op) has started a sourdough bread blog which documents his bread-baking successes and trials with a one hundred year-old strain of sourdough start. Chad is also very active in our local food scene and is involved in a big way with a local non-profit farm project, the Growing Project (no website yet, but follow along on Twitter if you like). He’s passionate about local food issues, co-ops, and bicycles, and has been known to jump double dutch for hours… Chad also runs the Twitter account for the co-op, so follow along if you like.

KC Terry:

I must confess, I’ve never played disc golf. But a buddy of mine is all about it: playing in tournaments all summer and helping to keep the Northern Colorado Disc Golf Club running smoothly, including being the webmaster for the club. KC is a sharp guy with mad amounts of people skills, and I’ve never seen him act even halfway upset, which is a huge thing in my book. Maybe he just hides it really well… [lol] If you’re into playing and competing in the disc golf scene, check out NCDGC’s site for info on the area’s disc golf courses, event schedules and results.

Todd Simmons:

I remember this guy talking about starting his own ‘zine one time, and making his way in the world of words. It didn’t seem like a big idea at the time, but now he publishes a very classy quarterly, runs a non-profit and a bookstore, and hosts poetry slams, all at one of our favorite local coffee shops, the Bean Cycle.

Todd’s been an adventuring buddy of mine on our boy’s river trips down the Yampa and the Green, so I can attest to his infectious sense of humor and creative mind. With his quick smile and easy-going nature, he has boosted the local writing and activism community immensely. Go find out what Matter Journal is all about, and if you’re a writer, think about submitting a piece for the next issue. Wolverine Farm Publishing and the Bicycle Army.

Sara Rushlow:

My local caffeine dealer is Cafe Ardour. It’s managed by a friend (also known from co-op days) who also grows some tasty veggies at a CSA run by herself and her partner just outside town. Sara and Nick (another river trip buddy) started the CSA farm last year and they also sell vegetables at the Farmers Market and the co-op. They’re good people, hard-working and generous, and always quick with a kind word or big smile. Sara pulls a mean shot at Ardour, so if you’re looking for one of the best Americanos ever, pop over to Linden street in Fort Collins and tell ‘em I sent ya. (Ask for a ‘Derekano’ and they’ll know already)

If you’re a social media kinda person and you like what these people are doing, please head over to their site and give them a Stumble thumbs-up. Tweet the link as well if you’re so inclined.

[Wow, I started out to feature 3 or 4 people, and my post rapidly grew to 7. This might turn into a series, as I have a list going of people that I'd like to feature. Stay tuned.]

A Slackline for Papa: Homemade Slackline Setup

Derek Markham — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 13:00:00 +0000

Watching my children play always reminds me of how open and free and capable we are as kids. I’m trying to re-capture that feeling by doing things that are pure fun and serve no other practical purpose in my life. Like slacklining.

Slacklining does have physical benefits, but that’s not the point for me. It’s that feeling of being centered, being balanced, and trying something that is difficult in order to learn more about myself.

I use the ‘primitive’ slackline system, which uses climbing webbing and carabiners for tensioning, but there are some pretty slick kits out there that are quicker to set up and easier to tighten. If you want to set up a long line, you’ll probably want to get a ratcheting tensioner. I haven’t had to yet.

My homemade slacklining setup consists of 60 feet of 1″ tubular webbing, 6 carabiners (three sets of two, with a pair of locking ‘biners as one set), and some climbing slings, both pre-sewn and homebuilt to fit different sized trees. I use either duct tape covered cardboard or a scrap of carpet to protect the bark from the webbing (a tree-saver), whichever one is handier.

It would probably just confuse you if I were to try to explain the exact setup for a primitive slackline in my own words, but this video shows you what you need to know:

How to Set up a Homemade Slackline:

And then you can start to rip:

One of my goals is to walk a highline, mostly just to do it, but partly because I love the adrenaline rush that comes from pushing the boundaries of my physical body, and being that far off the ground, even in a harness, is kind of addicting. I don’t think I’d walk it without a harness and tether, like this next guy, Dean Potter, but I get a huge rush just watching him…

Having a slackline can provide hours of fun and fitness for parents and children alike. Slacklining is a fun way to stay fit and work on your balancing skills. It really works the core muscles and all the stabilizing muscles in your feet and calves. It can also be unpredictable as hell, so your reflexes get pretty sharp after a while.

I love it for the mental time-out it gives me. Everything else disappears just for a second… All I see is the line.

Slacklining is also a lifelong challenge. Once you’ve got the basics of walking the line down, there are as many variations as you can think up: slackline tricks, surfing, yoga, partners, and highlining.

Resources to help you on your way to a slackline addiction:

Slacklining at Wikipedia
Information for parents can be found at: Slackline Express Parents
There’s a great how-to slackline page at Slackline Express Tips
For some history, check out Slackline.com’s A History of Slacklining

If you’ve got a couple of trees in your yard, or a park nearby, get a slackline and get balanced.

Image: Lively Images at Flickr

Speed Ropes: 10 Awesome Speed Rope Workouts

Derek Markham — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 12:00:29 +0000

I’ve been spinning a speed rope off and on for the last couple of years, after taking about 20 years off. I learned the basics of a speed rope routine as a wrestler and a wannabe gym rat when I was a teenager, but I never really stuck with it afterward. So I’m rediscovering the incredible cardio and speed benefits that come from spinning a rope as a regular part of my workouts.

The speed rope is a superb conditioning tool, and for me, because it incorporates rhythm and the entire body, it acts like a re-set button for my body. The left-right up-down movement has an effect on me that I can’t even put into words. In my mind, it falls in the same arena as dancing, cycling, running, or even playing a hand drum.

If you want to be put in your place, just pick up a speed rope and keep it spinning for even just a minute… Anyway, when I’m not motivated to go spin or get my workout in, I watch a video of a speed rope workout, and I’m generally jazzed to go and spin.

This first video is basic stuff, but a good one for those who are new to speed ropes and want a basic routine.

1. I love this video, ’cause it looks totally spontaneous – the guy’s in jeans, and he just starts busting out the rope tricks about halfway in.

2. This dude’s fast, and the video is nicely done. I appreciate the fact that it shows some flubs at the end – not every jump is perfect. The sped rope is a difficult thing to master.

3. Ok, here’s a Floyd Mayweather Jr speed rope routine, but not by Mayweather himself. That one’s next. This guy is pretty skilled, though. You can tell he’s put in the hours.

4. Not so great video quality here, but about 2 minutes in, Mayweather is just smoking with his speed rope routine: fast and smooth, making it look super easy.

5. The video says “King of the Jump Rope” but I don’t think that does justice to some of the other routines that follow. He is pretty dang good with a speed rope, though.

6. Buddy Lee – phenomenal routine. You need to watch this a couple of times, at least. And then bust out your own speed rope and give it a go!

7. Ross is one of my heroes. This speed rope workout video is about 4 years old. The next one is even better.

8. OK, Ross Enamait is just simply awesome with a speed rope. Check out his site, Ross Training. The guy’s a monster, and he trains boxers and fighters with his routines.

9. This man is definitely worthy of the title “The Jump Rope King.” I don’t know how long he’s been training, but I’m impressed (and humbled).

10. This is a short one, but well worth it for the reaction of the other guys when he gets up to speed (and dodges a punch at the end!).

11. One extra video for fun – not a speed rope routine, but double dutch and freestyle jumping. Sweeeet.

Get A Free Report – Avoid The Top 20 Ways To Screw Up In The Gym

Image: woodleywonderworks on Flickr

Natural Father, Natural Fitness

Derek Markham — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 20:00:00 +0000

About a year and a half ago, I took a “real” job again.

Before then, I was self-employed as a handyman/odd-jobber, doing everything from putting up fences to permaculture-based landscaping to installing woodstoves and insulation. That was great, except that being my own boss made it too easy to think, “It’s a perfect day for bouldering. Work can wait.”, or “If I don’t go jump in the river right now, I’m gonna go nuts/get heat exhaustion/(insert excuse here).”

Now I’ve got a steady income again and my body isn’t getting beat up everyday, but being inside and semi-sedentary has been hard. I’ve got some serious chair-time logged, on the computer and the phone, and by the end of the day my shoulders are up around my ears, my hip flexors are so tight that it’s hard to stand up straight, and my butt hurts from sitting. I start to feel my age and I hate it. How do I still feel 20 inside but 40 outside?

The last time that I actively worked out was at a local gym, and I would lift for an hour or so every other day, using both free weights and machines. But my “routine” was based on what I learned over 20 years ago with a basic bench and weight set (plastic-covered cement “plates”, remember those?) and bodybuilding books from the library. 4 sets of 10-12 reps for each exercise, split your workouts between pushing and pulling, lots of isolated work like curls, and so on. A complete Arnold Schwarzenegger/Lou Ferrigno fascination.
So I’d go to the gym with a routine in mind and never get through it because it was too complex. I stayed at it for 6 months, and I always got a workout, but I didn’t really feel any progress. Part of that was also because I would always work on my strong points, like upper body strength, and wuss out on my weak points – legs and core. If I then figured in the time and money involved in going somewhere outside my house to work out, and the amount of time invested in the gym every week, it didn’t make sense to continue that way. So I quit the gym (another story about contracts and direct payments and bounced checks). I would still mess around with jungle gym stuff at the park and work on my handstands, but I wasn’t regular or disciplined about it at all.

So I’m looking for some fun way to stay fit and young (still bouldering, but not so much in the winter), and I hear that a friend is putting together an indoor soccer team to play in a league at the sports center, so I join up. The first sort of practice was at a park, and I don’t really warm up, I just run out there. I’ve got tennis shoes, not cleats, and I just put out a cigarette 5 minutes before. I imagine that I’m still 16, king of the hill on the soccer field, and within 20 minutes, pull a muscle in my groin.

Of course, being a man, I continue to play and limp around for the next half hour. Stupid. Needless to say, I was hurting after every game that first session, but ready to play the next week and feeling some improvement each time. I finally wised up and ran wind sprints every other day between games, but I had to force myself. I would feel like puking afterwards, it was so intense.

Another friend recommended some books and resources about max-effort workouts and functional fitness and loaned me several. Never Gymless by Ross Enamait, and The Naked Warrior by Pavel Tsatsouline are two of the best that I’ve read.

I began by getting a speed rope (6 bucks) at the local sporting goods store and gathering some big rocks. We already had a rope-climb as part of a swing, 20 feet of 1 inch manila rope. I figured that I would start simple and yet try to get full body workout in under 20 minutes. I skipped rope at about 80% of full speed until I had to stop, then go climb the rope, then do one handed clean and press with a big rock, then plyo squats, then repeat the circuit until 20 minutes is up. 20 minutes seems like forever when you are at maximum effort.

I attempted to work out every day except Sunday, alternating wind sprints with bodyweight exercises, but grew to dread it. Now I try for at least three days a week, plus any spontaneous tree climbing or jungle gym fun, and I put up my slackline for balance and core strength.

It’s really been working for me, and I can feel the difference in my mental state and my attitude, because if I miss a couple of days, I get cranky and low energy. If I go out back and crank off a bunch of pullups or do handstands, all of a sudden I’ve got energy to spare. There’s a lesson in there…

To me, natural fitness means a functional, full-body fitness, one that is maintained through low-tech or no-tech backyard workouts. It doesn’t require investing a lot of money, but it does require the willingness to go all out every time. If I get in a rut with a routine, I can easily improvise or learn new skills (handstands, muscle-ups, slackline, unicycle) and add them in. I recently read of the connection between max-effort high intensity exercise and increased HGH production, so I’ve been focusing on the growing-younger aspect of being active.

I’m convinced that movement and rhythm play a huge part in our health, and that when you skip rope, take an African dance or swing dance class, play a drum or take a long bike ride, you re-configure and re-connect your mind with your body. It’s your built-in health insurance!

As a father, I want to be able to keep up with my kids, and I want to be able to climb mountains with my grandkids. I don’t want to miss out because my body won’t do it or my mind won’t do it. When my kids see me out there spinning the rope, they think it’s pretty funny. But isn’t that part of fatherhood, getting laughed at by the munchkins?

Alternative Personal Training

Jumping Rope is Not Just for Kids

Derek Markham — Wed, 07 May 2008 03:02:00 +0000

Early this spring, I promised myself that I would keep working at my jump rope skills.

Part of it was to offset all the sitting that I find myself doing these days at work. Another reason was that the indoor soccer season was over for our team, and I knew that I’d need to focus on getting high-intensity exercise throughout the week. The third, and perhaps decisive, reason was that I was tired of thinking and feeling older than I was. I’m not old (as I see it), yet I’ve felt a gradual “aging” the last few years. It seems to take longer to recover, there are mystery twinges in muscles and joints, and it feels more difficult to get moving sometimes.

As a kid I remember having tons of energy, and being able to clearly focus on whatever was at hand. We sprinted up and down the streets, rode our bikes for hours, climbed trees, jumped off rocks, all “just because”.

I want to do more things just because. So, out comes the speed rope, every (other) day. Still working on the every day discipline, but it’s become much more comfortable to me now. I can get into a groove and find that place- where the rope is skipping me – for longer periods now. No more shin splints or ankle weirdness. I like it.

I like it because it’s humbling. Jumping rope at a brisk pace gets your heart rate up, gets the juices flowing, and it just feels good.

The rhythmic motion of the body and the left/right foot skipping pattern have a very centering effect, a tonic for the typical modern unbalanced life. If we can re-train our mind/body connection and break out of old postures and patterns of movement, then our chances of changing anything in our lives are greatly increased. And change in our lives is good.

I’m kinda hooked on it now. If I don’t get some on a regular basis, I get cranky.

So go jump yourself some rope, and if you need some inspiration, check out these speed rope workouts.

Natural Papa » fitness

Two-fer Tuesday: Un-Hippie Co-sleeping and a Spring Workout

Related posts

9 Healthy Body Habits for Overworked Dads

9 Healthy Body Tips for Overworked Dads:

1. Lift With Your Legs

2. Be a Switch Hitter

3. Defy Gravity

4. Bend Over Backwards

5. Act Like a Baby

6. Put Your Feet Up

7. Circle Around

8. Use Your Head

9. Make it a Habit

Related posts

All Work and No Play Makes Dad a Glum Chum

Related posts

Meet a Few of My Community of Awesome People

Related posts

A Slackline for Papa: Homemade Slackline Setup

Image: Lively Images at Flickr

Related posts

Speed Ropes: 10 Awesome Speed Rope Workouts

Related posts

Natural Father, Natural Fitness

Related posts

Jumping Rope is Not Just for Kids

Related posts