Get Fit Boston

Knowledge...Pt 2 Stand-up Paddle Surfing

2009-08-16T17:42:00.000-07:00

Let me start off by saying thanks to John Furey, my good friend and mentor, for taking me through a stand-up paddle surfing lesson today. He may have turned me onto the greatest workout/sport that I've ever tried.

He's been telling me about this great workout that he and his clients get from stand-up paddle surfing, his new company called Maui Paddle Surf Co, and his goal to bring this great activity to the east coast. After a 1 hour and 10 minute/4 mile lesson, my feet right up through my hands, especially my core and arms, knew that he's on to something. This workout addresses many problems that plague many Americans: 1. weak feet thus poor impact absorption, knee pain and poor balance, 2. weak core thus back pain and postural misalignment/dysfunction, 3. poor total body coordination and a general inability to stabilize one's own body weight in space, and 4. an inability to challenge their cardiovascular and neuromuscular systems in an efficient manner. With all that said, my #1 benefit of stand-up paddle surfing is that its incredibly fun while still being challenging enough for good athletes and comfortable enough for novice exercisers. This will definitely be the summertime workout of choice for New Englanders in years to come. I highly recommend anyone interested in trying a stand-up paddle surf lesson to contact John at JFurey@fitcorp.com.

Thanks for reading this blog post, and I hope that you enjoyed the bonus footage of the Engelbert Humperdinck tribute band.

If you only had 6 months to live...

2009-07-21T17:49:00.000-07:00

Would you change anything in your life? If you answered "No," congratulations go out to you. You're one of the few that are living your life to the fullest. Most people who are asked this question, usually answer with a resounding "Yes."

When I was asked this question, I was instructed to think about it for exactly 24 hours, then I was to write down the 3 things that I would change if I answered "Yes."

So I actually did it. I thought about it for 24 hours. I knew instantaneously that my answer was "Yes," but I couldn't pick just 3 things. The instructions were clear though, even though many things may come to you, you have to pick the 3 that seem to be the most prominent in your thoughts.

My three:

1. Treat people as if I didn't have time to ask for forgiveness. What if I used this as my guideline before choosing words or tones of voice when interacting with others. I bet there would be a lot of people that would speak positively about me and would help carry on my legacy when I'm gone.

2. Give 100% of myself to everything that I do. I've often thought about it, just because I may have 10 things to do each day, it doesn't mean that I should give 10% of myself to each endeavor. What if I gave everything that I had to everything that I do. I bet that my interactions, projects, and entertainment would be considerably more fulfilling, memorable, and fun!

3. Spend less of the present, gearing for the future. I realized that I spend a lot of time planning things for a time in my life that I may not be guaranteed. Would I sacrifice my retirement by spending 2 weeks touring South American beach destinations before I can truly afford it? Probably not! Would I be a bad person if I partied on a Wednesday, but had to work on a Thursday. No! Sometimes we put unrealistic expectations on ourselves today, with the hope that it will create a better situation for us tomorrow. Loosen up, live for the moment! (My pep talk to myself)

I'd be really interested to hear what you come up with. Feel free to comment on this blog, or if you want, e-mail me directly (adam@GetFitBoston.com). Take care folks.

**Don't worry Mom, I am 100% healthy and will be around until the day dinosaurs come back to say "hey."

Knowledge is Empowering Pt. 1

2009-07-16T11:55:00.000-07:00

I've realized that the fitness industry is equivalent to the Apple computers of the mid-80s. We're innovative compared to where we've been, but in a few years, our protocols will be quite outdated and we'll know so much more about developing fitness/health through proper movement and nutrition.

So a goal of mine over the next few months is to study under fitness industry specialists. I'm going to turn myself into a client, and find those professionals that have industry credibility within a really specialized niche market. My hope is to learn 1 or 2 things from each of these specialists that I can bring back to my own clients and begin to implement into their programs where appropriate. (I'll also be posting my findings for everyone to read).

The personal training industry as recently as 2004 was still very much influenced by 80's bodybuilding principles. In 2009, we've begun to move away from those flawed principles and have adopted a combination of physical therapy, professional athletic conditioning, primal movement patterning, yoga, pilates, and breathework. The result of this evolution is that those fitness professionals that don't stay up to the second in new information, are doing their clients a disservice by not providing them with the best tools available to help them accomplish their desired results.

The first professional that I sought out is Aaron Brooks. He owns a business in Woburn, MA called Perfect Postures. He specializes in working with individuals that have musculoskeletal imbalances that are resulting in pain or decreased performance. I went to him looking for assistance in correcting an imbalance in my core muscles as a result of years of tennis/baseball. The repetitive rotational aspects of both sports have begun to throw my hips/spine out of balance. Our first session that we did this past Monday was eye-opening for me. His unique skill at evaluating someones pelvic alignment is pretty incredible. The first thing that I learned is that the problem/pain area is not usually whats causing the issue. The second thing is that the small, stabilizing muscles are the ones that usually lead to musculoskeletal pain and are the ones that need to be more heavily emphasized in a workout program. The large, superficial muscles move us and look good when they're toned, but they don't impact our joints and our pain-free living nearly as much as the small ones do. I'm seeing Aaron again on Monday 7/20/09 and will report more then. The program that he setup for me is helping, and I can't wait to share the exercises with my clients who I know will benefit from them.

Next specialist on the "Knowledge is Empowering" tour is John Furey. He's one of my best friends and mentors. He was voted one of the top 100 trainers in America in Men's Fitness magazine and has just created a company called Maui Surf Co. John is bringing the phenomenon of Stand-up Paddle Boarding to the east coast. He says its a killer workout, and I can't wait to report back how it went.

Way to go Georgie!!! ((Testimonial))

2009-07-12T08:41:00.000-07:00

"To say that I have seen results would be a gross understatement. During the first 4 months of exercising with Adam I lost weight, going from 160 lbs to 135 lbs, my waistline slimmed from 34 to 28 inches and my body fat composition dropped from 20% to 7%. More importantly, my appearance changed from chubby to athletic. I now draw comments of admiration and occasional envy from friends and colleagues; and I started getting ID'ed again when I go to bars. Adam was an invaluable mentor and friend in that process. He motivated and educated me, guiding me rapidly but steadily towards fitness. At the beginning, I was overeager and thus likely to get disappointed; Adam showed me how to pace my progress from simple exercises to more complicated ones so that I could keep improving without risk of hurting myself. He taught me the basics of fitness, from simple biomechanics to good practices and etiquette. As the results started coming, he kept increasing the difficulty in my regimen, and he kept me intrigued by introducing me to new exercises, new machines, and new challenges. Above all, he made exercise fun for me. If there is a key to reaching health and fitness from a very poor starting point, Adam surely has it!" - George Barbastathis, 36, MIT Professor

Welcome to our new BLOG!

2009-07-10T09:23:00.001-07:00

Get Fit Boston is a personal, 1-on-1 fitness training service that truly cares. We understand the challenges and barriers that our clients face, and together we overcome them.