From the Hip #8 - Have Fun, Yo!

This one goes out to all the garage gym athletes, the weekend warriors, the casual competitors, the guys and gals who are training for the fun and love of it...

Why do you train? I think it's important to regularly ask yourself this question. It's far too easy to lose sight of why we spend hours in the gym, spend our paychecks on gym memberships or new equipment for the garage gym or hiring a personal coach, pore over fitness articles and athletes' social media accounts every spare moment, and constantly think about hitting that new squat PR or improving our 500m split. For 99.8% of you, the answer to this question does not include "I'm preparing to represent my country at compete against the most elite athletes in the world at the Olympics" or "this sport is my livelihood and my career." Most of us, after a moment of introspection, will answer something along the lines of "because it makes me feel good," "because training is fun," "because it helps me look better naked and I enjoy the friendly competition with my gym buddies," "because it's satisfying to work towards improving myself physically," or maybe even "because I am preparing for a local competition that I want to do for the fun and thrill of it." Most of us do this stuff because we want to, because we like to, because it's fun for us, not because we are trying to break a world record and become a legend, not because our lives depend on it. 

Now, if you are one of the .02% that is preparing for the Olympics or who makes a living off of your elite-level performance in your sport, feel free to stop reading and keep taking your training very seriously (though I'd argue that there's still merit to prioritizing enjoyment). But for the rest of us: your training should be fun. I bring this up because I've let myself fall into the trap of taking my training far too seriously, and I've seen it happen to countless other athletes as well. Missing important family and friend events to spend a few extra hours in the gym, kicking chalk buckets when you miss a PR, spiraling into a state of depression after you tweak a muscle in your back and you can't squat for a week, becoming a social recluse because you're too busy sleeping to recover for your next training session, letting a bad gym performance ruin your day, cursing, yelling, and crying at the weights—without even realizing it, this becomes par for the course for some of us, and the activity that we took up because it makes us feel good and puts a smile on our face is suddenly ruining our day, affecting our relationships, and stressing us out. You know that ass-hat who flips the table and storms out of the room in a fit of rage when he loses a game of Uno? That's what you're doing when you take your training too seriously (unless you're an elite, world-class Uno competitor). You're taking something that's supposed to be fun, satisfying, and enriching, and turning it into something that you can no longer enjoy, that others can't enjoy as much when you're around, and that loses it's original value and purpose. More important, I believe, than hitting that 5lb squat PR, is having fun with your training. Most of us got into this fitness stuff and stuck with it because we love athletic pursuits, we have fun with it, we enjoy the challenge and the reward—not to be #1 in the world. 

Now, this doesn't mean that you shouldn't be competitive, that you shouldn't strive to improve, that you can't get angry when you miss a lift, or that your training should all be a joke. Quite the opposite—being competitive, putting effort and discipline into improving yourself, and yelling a few choice words when you miss a lift can all be part of the fun. Competition can be fun. Improving yourself is absolutely enjoyable. Getting excited or even a little bit pissed, assuming you let it go and laugh it off after, is fun! But when your training starts to get in the way of relationships, starts to ruin your day, starts to turn you into a person that no one wants to be around, you're missing the point. 

The greatest piece of irony is that prioritizing fun in your training tends to yield better results (do I have your attention now, super intense garage athlete?). We tend to perform better when our head is in the right place, when we are not stressed, when we are confident, when we are excited about what we are doing and have a clear mind, not when training becomes drudgery and has lost all of its luster. So remember why you do what you do. Remember what's really on the line. Are you on the verge of setting a world record? Are you about to qualify for the Olympics? Are you going to win the CrossFit Games? Is there a multi-million dollar contract on the line? Is the safety of your family and friends dependent on how well you exercise today? Probably not. 

So lighten up, take the good with the bad, work hard, enjoy the journey, and keep getting better. Have fun.

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8 Reasons You Should Play More

We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing. 

- George Bernard Shaw

When's the last time you played? I mean, really played, like a kid at recess squeezing every last precious second out of your freedom from boring arithmetic lessons? Play is one of the most forgotten elements of being a human. Today, even kids are losing their grasp on play (though generally not through any fault of their own). Issues over children and play frequently pop up in the news, with American schools cutting down on recess time, and parents and advocates speaking out in protest of such playtime cuts, touting the virtues of free play for the mental and physical health and development of children. As a society, we seem to have lost touch with play and how integral it is to the human experience. 

But I'm assuming that if you're reading this, you're not a child, and in this post I'm primarily interested in addressing play for adults. When it comes to abandoning play, adults are the greatest offenders. Play has become an afterthought, prioritized about as much as cleaning the dust behind the refrigerator and going to the dentist. Many adults even scoff at play as something that's "for kids," suggesting that adults ought to hold themselves "above" such impractical pursuits that are done for the mere joy and pleasure of it. But I think we've got it all wrong. I think that play is not only valuable for adults and children alike—I believe it is an absolutely essential part of living a fulfilled life. 

So what is play? Well, it's difficult to pin down because play is, at its essence, spontaneous and uninhibited (the quintessential idea of play that comes to my mind is Calvinball, in which the only permanent rule is that it can't be played the same way twice). Play, as I see it, is something which is done for the fun of it, not for practical reasons—it is "purposeless," done for no reason other than enjoyment (though many practical benefits do derive from play by accident). In this sense, play is also very much a state of mind. The same thing can be both play or not play, depending on one's mindset. For example, a pickup game of basketball in which the focus is fun with friends would be play, whereas an NBA championship game in which the players are concerned primarily with the outcome (winning vs losing), and less so with how much they enjoy the experience, would not be play. Play can be both mental and physical, and can be done solo or with others. It is generally competitive in some capacity, even if the competition is only with oneself. Play is also a reprieve from duty and work—an opportunity to move and act and think freely, without extrinsic restraints and without obligation. Play can take countless, unique forms: anything from seeing how long you can hold a handstand, to participating in an organized co-ed basketball league, to playing "don't touch the lava" on the playground, to running through fresh snow. Regardless of what it looks like, play should be done because you want to, free from responsibility, practicality, and demand. 

It may seem a bit ironic to have a list of reasons (which in and of themselves are practical) to do something that is supposed to be done only for pleasure, not pragmatism. But we humans are funny animals, and sometimes it takes practical reasons to get us to do something that, at its core, is not supposed to be practical; so here are 8 reasons that you should start playing more, today.

1. Play relieves stress. There are no shortage of perceived stressors in the world today. The media bombards us with daily horror stories and gloom-and-doom outlooks for the economy, world relations, and national health. In addition, work and personal finances are a constant stressor, and with our advances in technology and connectivity, the pressures of work can now follow us home easier than ever before. So how do we get a break from this stress? Play! Play gives our minds a break from thinking about the stressors of daily life, and many forms of play involve physical activity, which is known to relieve stress. Play has also been shown to reduce stress hormones and lower blood pressure. The more we are stressed, the harder it may be to find time and motive to play, but the more we truly need it. I am reminded of a great quote about meditation: "You should sit in meditation for twenty minutes every day — unless you're too busy; then you should sit for an hour." I believe the same applies to play. Think you're too busy to play? That probably means you need to play more. 
2. Play improves our health. This one piggybacks easily on play's ability to relieve stress. Numerous studies have shown that chronic stress has catastrophic effects on our bodies, and therefore the stress-relieving effects of play will carry over into improving general health and well-being. In addition, play encourages physical activity, releases endorphins, and fosters social interaction, all of which positively contribute to our health. Studies have shown direct positive relationships between physically active leisure and physical and mental health and well-being. Other studies on play deprivation have demonstrated the tremendous influence of play on mental health, with deprivation being associated with a myriad of mental and emotional health problems such as depression, lack of adaptability, lack of self-control, predisposition to violent or addictive behaviors, and relationship problems.
3. Play helps our productivity. This one may seem a bit outlandish at first glance, but taking time off of work to play can actually boost your productivity. A study at Cornell University found that workers were more productive when they were received reminders to take regular breaks. In addition, a study out of New Zealand demonstrated that after a vacation, workers had large increases in productivity and performance, better outlooks, and lowered heart rate. Additionally, Netflix and Brazilian company Semco have instituted "unlimited vacation" policies with great success, finding greater worker satisfaction, loyalty, and overall productivity. Whether it's a quick game of frisbee in the park, a round of "trash bin basketball" in the office, or a two week vacation to the Bahamas, more play seems to mean higher quality work.
4. Play gets us moving. While not all play involves intense physical activity, most types of play involves some movement, and it often gets us into the great outdoors. There are volumes upon volumes of evidence demonstrating the mental and physical health benefits of regular physical activity and time spent outdoors. In a time when our rear ends spend about 90% of their time smashed into an office chair, car seat, and plush couch, we need every excuse we can find to get ourselves moving. In addition, play gives us a chance to find joy in movement. The ability to move is such a fundamental and yet oft-forgotten element of the human experience—it is a type of knowing and a way of experiencing. Yet for so many of us, the blessing of movement is squandered and ignored. Ask anyone who has lost a limb, who has lost movement or control in part of their body, who has had their ability to move permanently altered in some way, and they will tell you how much we take for granted our ability and freedom to move. Play gives us a chance to enjoy and relish in our movement. Dancing, running, dribbling, throwing, running, rolling, jumping, spinning, wrestling, balancing—our bodies are built to move, and when we play we can find joy and insight in that movement. 
5. Play connects us to others. While some play is done solo, most involves playing with others, either in competition or cooperation. Research shows that play is of central importance in the development of social and emotional intelligence in children, and that it helps to improve cooperation, communication, and empathy. However, similar benefits extend to adults. Research on "rough and tumble" play has shown that when we play, we are able to test our relationships, to simultaneously cooperate and compete, to develop trust, and to explore boundaries. Play is very much a social activity, and it often acts as a safe space in which we can explore and develop the social skills that we rely heavily on in "real life" situations with graver consequences. Cooperative play (whether strictly cooperative or competitive against another team) teaches us how to communicate in numerous ways, helps us develop trust, and challenges us to support and encourage others. 
6. Play fosters creativity and exercises our mind. Play is as much (if not more) a mental exercise as a physical one. Play requires problem solving and assessment of challenges and situations, it gives us opportunities to creatively find solutions, and it is a chance to simply create without the externally-imposed restrictions. The freedom of play makes it very much a creative endeavor. I often think of how children free play, making up new rules as they go and cooperating (and often competing) to develop an objective and negotiate challenges or obstacles. Play also exercises the imagination: imagining a historical event you are reenacting, imagining a new gymnastics or dance routine, or imagining a new design for a snow fort. Stuart Brown, a psychologist who has devoted his studies to the role of play throughout the lifetime of humans as well as other animals, provides considerable evidence for play's integral role in developing and shaping our brains both in childhood and adulthood. Somewhere along the way we got it into our heads that our mental abilities only grow in the classroom or with our noses in a textbook, but this couldn't be further from the truth. 
7. Play is in our blood. Humans naturally want to play. Look at how kids behave when left to their own devices (and when not captivated by electronic devices): they sprint and jump and hang, their imaginations run at full steam, they cooperate, they engage in friendly competition, they test their physical and mental abilities, and they are unconcerned with the passage of time or stresses of life (it of course helps that kids don't have taxes to worry about). Some scientists believe that play has a role in sexual selection, and therefore tied to our evolution and development as a species. Psychologist Dr. Peter Gray postulates that play has been integral to humans developing into what we are today, with our social, cooperative, and problem-solving abilities unparalleled by anything else in the animal kingdom. Play was a large part of hunter-gatherers' lifestyle. After making a kill or gathering food, they would have unrestrained leisure time—they would play. Today, however, we are more likely to commit our "leisure" time to work-related activities, flopping in front of the television, or doing housework.
8. Play helps us explore ourselves and the world. A large part of play is exploring the world and what we are capable of doing in this world—not because someone has asked us to, and not because we are focused on winning a competition—but because it is satisfying and we want to. "I wonder if I can swing from this branch to that one." "Let's see if I can make this basket from half-court." "I bet I could throw this stone half way across the lake." "I wonder if I could make a catapult with this scrap material I have lying around the garage." Play is a time to explore and enjoy our human abilities, physical and mental, without obligations and pressures. It is a time to get lost in just being human. And in this sense, personal growth is very much a part of play. When we play, we are not focused on becoming better, on reaching some concrete goal, or on scores or numbers or statistics. We are just focused on doing what we are doing and enjoying it. But unthinkingly, as a happy accident, we contribute to understanding the world, getting to know ourselves, and leading fulfilling lives.

Now that you've got more than enough reasons to play, it's time to forget the reasons and go play. Play should be done because it satisfies you and because you want to, not because someone on the internet told you it lowers your blood pressure or makes you more productive. Enjoy some time being detached from stress and preoccupation and thoughts about outcomes, and go be human and play!


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From the Hip #6 - "...like it's your job."

Have you ever stopped to consider the phrase "like it's your/my job" and what it says about our culture? 

"Holy crap, I'm out of shape... I'm going to start running every morning like it's my job." 
"This new book is so good I'm gonna spend the next week reading it like it's my job." 
"If you really want to lose weight, start following a balanced diet like it's your job." 
"I feel like I haven't spent any time with my wife in weeks... I'm going to spend start spending time with her like it's my job." 
"Man, he's chowing down on that burrito like it's his job!"

What's the message here? That "your job" is the most significant thing in your life, apparently. Any time I've heard this phrase used, it's applied to something personal: a personal fitness goal, personal health, a passion project, an enjoyable hobby, a personal venture started long ago. Lurking behind this phrase is this idea that personal endeavors should be secondary to our "job"—that whatever it is, it's not that important unless it's making us money, or unless someone with a bigger salary and fancier title than us is telling us to do it. Is that how we want to live? Is that the metric by which we wish to define importance? I, for one, believe that we ought to be prioritizing ourselves, our health, our passions, what we care about, what we believe in, what satisfies us and enriches our lives to the greatest degree. You should be doing what you do because you want to. Turn the tables on how you perceive what's important. If you really want to commit your efforts to something, tell yourself and your friends that you're going to "start running every morning like it's my passion," not "...like it's my job."

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From the Hip #4 - Time is Made, Not Had

One of the most common excuses I hear for not exercising, not being fit, not meeting health goals, not following through with a plan, etc., is the classic "I just don't have enough time."

But how much time you have doesn’t matter one bit. Everyone has the same amount of time in their day. The world-class Olympic athlete who trains for 7-hours per day, runs a charity organization for inner city youth, and cares for her family has the same amount of time in her day as the obese layabout living in his parent's basement who single-handedly keeps crappy daytime television programs and the local supplier of Doritos afloat. Having time is not what matters; what matters is how much time you make. 
I believe we should all ban “I don’t have enough time” from our vocabulary. That simple phrase turns the onus away from us and puts it on someone/something else. When I say “I don’t have enough time,” I make myself the unfortunate victim of the cruel constraints put on me by the all-powerful time gods. My fate is not my own, but that of whoever took all of my time away and gave it out to everyone else who magically seems to “have” more time. We ought to replace the phrase “I don’t have enough time” with “I don’t make enough time.” Our time, or at least what we do with it, is made, not had. It is a matter of prioritization and management, not accident and fortune. And when we tell others and ourselves that we “don’t make enough time,” we must face the reality that the distribution of our time is a choice. Didn’t get to the gym yesterday even though you told yourself you would? That’s because you didn’t make the time to do it. Didn’t spend the time to do meal prep for the week, and now you’re eating freezer meals and fast food? That’s because you prioritized something else. Didn’t get enough sleep all last week? That’s because you let something else take precedence over sleep. And sometimes this is okay! Sometimes you should prioritize something else over working out or cooking your own food or getting 8 hours of sleep every night. Sometimes family takes priority, sometimes an important and time-sensitive opportunity comes up, sometimes it’s okay to make the choice to skip your workout. The key is that it is a choice, and it is a choice that you made consciously and that you believe was the right choice. However, when you have to tell yourself or your coach or your partner that “I didn’t make enough time to come to the gym,” knowing that your time that should have been spent working out was actually spent browsing Facebook posts and watching bad reality TV, that should be a gut check for you. That should make you reconsider your priorities. Is mindlessly scrolling through social media and watching Snookie go snookie-ing about more important than your health and your goals? 

Our time is a choice, not an accident. Treat it that way.

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