Fitness Revelations From The Blues Joint Vol. 3

I think it really is a great outlet to be able to step out of your normal conversations and take in something a little different. After a busy summer of training, teaching, and travelling all in the name of fitness it felt great just to sit back and take in some music this past weekend. It is something that I enjoy a lot as you get the chance just to sit back and listen. It's a laid back environment and whether you're at the top of the white collar or at the bottom of the blue there is no judgement. It's all about the music.

Oddly enough when I seek out something different like live music, training often jumps back into my head. Hence the reason for having aVolume 1 and Volume 2 this concept. The beauty of it however is that it is an unforced thought process. I am not thinking about my schedule, what I should be reading, what I should be writing, or what I should be doing next. Instead it is a thought process that just sort of happens organically as a result of two of my favorite things jamming together and bringing an outside of the box thought process that I can't help but put on paper. 

So here we go with Volume 3. 

Don't Go Out Like Bleeding Gums Murphy

As fitness becomes a wellness endeavor as much as an appearance endeavor you are always seeking out ways of doing things better. It could be related to your workouts or your diet but as I mentioned in my Hierarchy of Fat Loss post, you eventually seek out other external factors that could be worked on. 

My oral hygiene is something that I could say prior to knowing what I now know I could have done a better job at. However this one is a big one as it goes beyond bad breath and cavities. Bad oral hygiene has been linked to diabetes, heart and kidney disease, pancreatic cancer, oral cancers and digestion problems. Big problems considering the time that it takes to maintain a healthy mouth.

Thankfully I was made aware of this and thanks to this new found awareness as well as training my dentist for the past four years I have made a conscious effort to brush a lot, floss daily, eat well, and visit my dentist. 

Doc I am sure you will enjoy this one.

An Unnecessary Loss Of Musical Talent

Miles Davis Would Have Been A Beast Of A Client

Call this a bit of training voodoo but I have to say that some of the people that I have trained with the most kinetic awareness play wind instruments. I too played a trumpet for many years and have to say that it has done a lot for me when it comes to developing relative strength. 

The reason being that two key factors that were drilled home by my music teachers throughout the years were posture and diaphragmatic breathing. Two things that the average training population I would say is lacking. While playing, not only are you tapping keys, but you are changing force output by way of the diaphragm, rib cage, esophagus,  and abdomen. As speeds and duration of music progresses, so does your breathing and postural demand. Core control? I certainly think so. 

You Do It Because You Like It

What's really special about a blues jam is every weekend it is the same group of guys more than willing to get on stage and rip and they don't get paid a cent. They show up every Saturday because they love it. 

I really think this is the pursuit that needs to be approached with fitness. If it is not something that you are looking forward to when it is time to get moving then I would say its time to change directions. I think we can learn a lot from these guys because they aren't doing what they do for extrinsic incentives. They do it because they like it, they want to get good at it, and at the same time they are stepping out of their comfort zones, as well as identifying and working on their inefficiencies within their labor of love. I really think that training has to follow a similar path 

as there are numerous genres that can be explored and I think it is possible for anyone to find their ideal groove. 

That's it for volume 3 and time to get back in the gym. I also wanted to share a resource by a good friend of mine and fellow co founder of The ChangeLink as well as The Move Improve App. I have been spending a lot of time thinking about external factors over the past week and Josh Stryde's blog is chalk full of these. The guy has a real passion for wellness as a whole unit and spends a lot of time absorbing as well as sharing his knowledge. Well worth a look.

Move Improve,

Jeff