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Hello and welcome to another episode of the

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self-initiative project podcast i’m your host jim o’brien hey hey and welcome

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back in episode 44 this time we’re going to be talking about physical fitness

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you know exercise and how that

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fits in or should fit in to your personal safety and preparedness plan.

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And, you know, before we get started, I know what you’re thinking,

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you know, what gives you the ability to talk on this subject?

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And I’ll say, well, you’re right. I’m not an expert.

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You know, it’s not my profession necessarily, but I, like a lot of people,

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have exercised and am exercising.

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And so, you know, I think I have some experience to talk to that.

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And, you know, going back, I can even remember in middle school and particularly

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high school, working out in the gym, you know.

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Lifting those clanky weights on the universal gym sets and even some free weights

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too along the way and working out in the gym in college.

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And then later in life, doing it all again. And,

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You know, I can say that for me, you know, at 45, 46,

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I was probably, well, I know I was in the best shape of my life because of the

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exercise routines that I’d put together for myself, as well as the activities

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that I was participating in at the time as well.

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You know, I think it was probably Krav Maga that I got started in,

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I think, going back as early as 2009, I think, the first time, if I’m not mistaken.

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And maybe the first seminar was 2008, but certainly getting involved with Krav was 2009 or so, 2010.

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No, it was earlier than that. Anyway, it was Krav that I really began to understand

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and see the benefits that working out and routine exercise had.

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And not just from a personal body composition, you know, building muscle, losing weight.

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Those were certainly benefits, but the light bulbs really went off in my head

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relative to what being physically fit and exercise and what that role that played

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in my self-defense plan, in my personal safety plan.

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And it was at that time that I really started taking it seriously.

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So, you know, 45, 46, not to date myself, but I will, I was in the best shape of my life.

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I trimmed down some, I gained some muscle, and I was doing things from a cardio

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perspective that I had never done before and an anaerobic perspective as well.

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Calisthenics, weightlifting, battle ropes, gym, you know.

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Slam balls, all kinds of crazy activities. So my point is, is I’ve done a lot

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over the years, but I’m also human and I’m an average Joe.

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Like I think a lot of probably our listeners might be as well.

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And so with that being said, you know, I’ve definitely taken my time off.

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Maybe I didn’t maintain the discipline that I should have, or I didn’t maintain

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the discipline that I should have.

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So I took, you know, sometimes months and then that turns in,

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you know, you take a couple of days off, and that quickly turns into two weeks.

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It turns into two months, and then next thing you know, you’re two or three

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years since the last time you picked up a weight or went on a walk.

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So I’ve been guilty of that multiple times over my lifetime.

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And certainly in your youth, you take your physical prowess,

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if you will, and your fitness for granted at times. I know I did.

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But as I got older, it becomes more important, or at least you give it more

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thought. But I’ve been guilty of taking the time off.

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But the point is, is that I always seem to go back to it.

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And that’s where I’m kind of at today, right?

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After taking a break, an embarrassing amount of time off, you know,

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a couple of years, I’m back at it again. And so I think, you know,

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I have some basic experience that I want to talk to you about that I’ve experienced myself.

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And then while my certification has long since expired, and what I mean by that, it’s been a few years.

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I was once a NASM certified personal trainer as well as a NASM certified group

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personal training specialist.

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So I’ve got that knowledge and I’ve done that in my past life as well.

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So that’s kind of the intro and how I feel like I can talk about this with you today.

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You know, to me, I’ve always been fascinated by the human body and what it’s

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capable of, you know, its ability to protect itself, its ability to heal. It’s miraculous.

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And it’s just a, I’ve always said, it’s just an amazing machine.

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And I’ve always been fascinated by it.

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So I thought, just as an experiment, if nothing else,

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that as we go through this particular podcast, I would give you some assignments

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along the way that, A, makes this podcast a little interactive, perhaps,

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but maybe by tasking you with some things to go look up on your own, that A.

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It might make you as interested in things as I am and just see things in a new

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light and maybe you go dig a bit deeper for yourself.

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But the takeaway is here is the importance of that physical fitness and doing exercise.

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So I’d like to start by talking about the types of exercise.

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And I’m not talking about like individual exercises like, you know,

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climbing stairs or jumping rope or jogging. I mean, when we talk about types

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of exercise, there are two.

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The first one you’re probably very familiar with, it’s aerobic.

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And most of us know that commonly by cardio, right? Getting our cardio in.

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And what does that mean? Well, in aerobic exercise, you’re getting oxygen rich

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blood to the major muscle groups, and that’s what’s helping you burn fat.

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So you can think of aerobic as using oxygen for extended periods of time in a steady state.

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And because you’re burning oxygen, you’re able to burn all your fuels.

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You’re able to burn fat, you know, which is why cardio is known for being such

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a great weight loss tool, for an example.

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But you’re burning fats, you’re burning carbohydrates, and you’re burning proteins

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with that oxygen that’s being supplied.

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And, you You know, some examples of aerobic exercises that you’re familiar with

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is walking, jogging, swimming, and even long distance bicycling, for example.

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The other type that, you know, there was a point in time where I always got

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confused and mixed up and I wasn’t really clear on the differences.

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But the other type of exercise is anaerobic exercise.

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And anaerobic literally means without oxygen.

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But the other thing that you can think about that’s easy to remember is really

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the main thing with anaerobic activities is that you’re building muscles.

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As compared to aerobic or cardio, you’re burning fat.

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And the other way to think of anaerobic is that it’s very high energy for a

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very short period of time.

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And it’s a shorter period of time because you’re not able to burn oxygen or

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you’re not burning oxygen.

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Your body starts using the glucose.

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There’s a little bit of glucose in your blood. And of course,

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glucose is another name that we’re more familiar with is blood sugar,

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but we’re burning, primarily burning glucose that’s found in the muscles.

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And this is our first interactive activity. I will ask you to go look up the

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organs that are responsible for managing glucose, and I’ll give you a hint, there are two of them.

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But through glycolysis, that’s our big word for today, which is the burning

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of glucose, lactic acid is built up in anaerobic activities.

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And that’s why you get so burned out, so gassed and tired so quickly is because

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your body’s not working off of oxygen. It’s burning what little bit of glucose

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is stored in those muscles. And that’s kind of what happens.

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Now, this is another opportunity I’m going to talk about is that one of the

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ways that your body creates that energy, It’s called ATP energy,

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A as in apple, T as in Tom, P as in people, ATP energy.

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One of the ways that that energy is formed is burning the glucose that’s in the muscles.

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So go look up ATP energy. I think you’ll find that interesting.

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And some examples of anaerobic activities are one we’re very familiar with,

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weightlifting or resistance training.

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There’s sprints. There’s plyometrics like jumping up and off those boxes like

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you see in all the CrossFit gyms as example.

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Jumping rope. And then, you know, one other is HIIT, which is high-intensity interval training.

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And we’ll talk more about that here in a few minutes. But when it comes to anaerobic,

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you know, weightlifting is the big one we’re all familiar with.

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But can you think of any other activities that are anaerobic?

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Okay, so now I’m going to talk about the benefits of physical activity,

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exercise, being physically fit. And, you know, something kind of scary,

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but it makes sense, and I’m not surprised.

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It is said that physical inactivity is a top cause of mortality, and I kind of get that.

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It makes sense, right, especially if you consider that heart disease is one

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of the top killers, for example, and we know that heart disease can be at least

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somewhat controlled with regular routine exercise.

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Physical inactivity is a top cause of mortality. You know, so you’re dying sitting

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on that couch all the time.

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But, you know, the benefits of being physically fit and exercising regularly,

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I feel like, are endless.

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They’re both physiological and psychological.

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And, you know, we associate fat loss with aerobic and muscle gain from anaerobic, for examples.

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But really the benefits come from either. There’s, you know,

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advantages and benefits to both.

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And we should be doing a little bit of both. So I put together this list,

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at least high-level list of benefits that I hope motivate you further when you

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begin to explore your exercise routines and what you want to be doing.

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So, you know, these first two are tried and true, and we all know them.

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The first one is losing weight, right?

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Burning those calories, creating a caloric deficit, you know,

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moving more to burn more calories than we’re taking in, losing weight.

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The other big one is, you know, building muscle.

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And there’s a, you know, there’s a couple of side things that come out of building lean muscle.

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One is that you’re speeding up your metabolism when you build lean muscle.

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And of course, that lean muscle is what helps you burn the calories.

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Some other benefits is one that’s talked about, which is important for that

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heart health, is decreasing blood pressure.

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And, you know, that’s going directly towards reducing the heart disease.

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This is extremely important for everyone, but especially if you have heart disease

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and issues that run in your family, for example.

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Exercise can really help improve those numbers and get that heart to a healthy point.

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Doing regular exercise can improve and even reverse both things like arthritis

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and diabetes. It’s even said to help cancer in some ways, in fact.

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But arthritis and diabetes, you can have a direct positive impact on with that regular exercise.

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Exercise boosts energy. It reduces stress.

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I can’t tell you how great I feel when I get back, whether it’s a simple two-mile,

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two-and-a-half-mile walk.

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Slinging some weights around whatever it is

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it’s a great outlet for

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stress so reducing stress is a big one

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for me it increases your endurance and

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stamina you can do things for longer because you’ve gotten

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into this regular routine of exercise and now you can stand more for extended

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periods of time and of course you know with that you’re reducing fatigue and

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you know the The reduction of fatigue is kind of one benefit that happens more over time.

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But certainly a benefit nonetheless, protects the joints.

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This is because, you know, whatever activity you’re doing, you’re building and

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strengthening all the stuff around those joints, which is important, right?

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Those joints make us move, help us move, right?

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You know, increasing both flexibility and mobility, which are not the same.

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That’s another one you might want to look up to. Sometimes those words are used

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interchangeably and they’re not.

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Mobility, flexibility has to do with elongating and stretching of things,

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more pliable, more flexible.

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Mobility incorporates the joints and all the things around those joints.

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Two separate things, but nonetheless very important.

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Another benefit is that it maintains and in some cases can even build bone density and mass.

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You know, when you’re lifting heavy, that puts a lot of strain on the bones.

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And over time, that helps strengthen and build the bones just like it does the muscles.

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Obviously, it’s not the same, but there’s a real benefit in bone health there.

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And working out, you know, I think this ties into the reduction of stress,

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certainly, but it increases endorphins.

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And this is another challenge. I’ll ask you to go look up where endorphins come from.

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There’s a couple of places that are primarily responsible for release,

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releasing endorphins into our system.

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But, you know, endorphins are responsible for things like pleasure and pain

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management, social connection, motivation, and more.

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I mean, honestly, once I get to working out,

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I want to keep going, and I know that’s the endorphins speaking,

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right? So a lot of benefits in triggering those good chemicals.

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If you’re working out regularly, you’re going to get a better night’s sleep.

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I can almost guarantee that.

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So improved sleep is certainly a benefit of working out of exercise.

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You are increasing your lactic threshold.

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Now, we talked a little bit about an anaerobic activity where you’re burning the glucose, right?

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And when you burn glucose, the output of that is lactic acid.

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So the more you do over time, and this is why I said reducing fatigue kind of

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takes time and comes with time,

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is that the more exercise you do, the more resistance training,

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the more anaerobic you do over time, you can increase that lactic threshold,

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meaning it’s taking longer for the lactic acid to get built up in your muscles,

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and therefore it takes longer for you to get tired.

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That’s really the simple way of looking at that.

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It increases your VO2 max.

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Now, what is that, you ask? Well, this is a point where I’m going to ask you

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to go look this one up too.

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So you want to look up your V, your Victor O as in ostrich, 2,

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the number 2 max, VO2 max.

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It’s very important, especially if you have ambitions of being an athlete and even not.

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You know, exercise, and this is especially true for me, and I’ll tell you why,

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It’s a good way for to develop injury protection.

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You know, strong muscles mean your structure, your bone structure is being better

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supported as an example.

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And and therefore, you know, it’s being better protected. And I have issues

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with my lower back and have for a number of years ago.

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I think I lifted a big wooden table once and popped my lower back and pinched

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a nerve. I’m not I’m not sure what.

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And I’d say once to twice a year, it’ll go out on me and it’s not fun at all.

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And I’ve kind of found ways to manage that through ice therapy and SMR.

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But anyway, the irony is, is that when I’ve lifted my heaviest,

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for example, doing squats and deadlifts, just as two examples,

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when I’ve lifted the heaviest weight, when I’ve worked out in my past,

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I never had any of those back issues.

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My back never went out, and it’s because I’m constantly strengthening those

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support muscles around my spine, thus better holding things in place.

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And so that’s just a huge benefit for me that I’ve taken away,

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and I need to remember that when I slack off my exercise routine.

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One is one specific to HIIT so

00:17:34.382 –> 00:17:37.442
I mentioned HIIT high intensity

00:17:37.442 –> 00:17:45.282
interval training is a great or a form of anaerobic activity and I’m going to

00:17:45.282 –> 00:17:50.462
give you another thing to look up here in a second but the benefits of HIIT

00:17:50.462 –> 00:17:57.242
if you will are extended calorie burn and that is because of EPOC.

00:17:57.462 –> 00:18:03.402
So I want you to look up E as in elephant, P as in Paul, O as in ostrich, and C as in Charlie.

00:18:03.662 –> 00:18:09.322
Look up EPOC. Because of the EPOC, you’re able to continue burning calories

00:18:09.322 –> 00:18:11.882
long after you’ve stopped working

00:18:11.882 –> 00:18:16.082
out, which is a big selling point of high-intensity interval training.

00:18:16.362 –> 00:18:20.562
And the last one that I’m going to mention, which ties into the whole personal

00:18:20.562 –> 00:18:26.222
safety, self-defense thing, is that you’re better able to manage your response

00:18:26.222 –> 00:18:29.522
to your A&S, and we’ll talk more about that.

00:18:29.682 –> 00:18:34.502
It’s A-N as in Nancy S, A-N-S.

00:18:35.242 –> 00:18:38.462
And therefore, why is that important?

00:18:39.551 –> 00:18:44.191
You’re able to better cope with and manage your fight, flight,

00:18:44.211 –> 00:18:49.731
or freeze response, which is extremely important in your self-defense plan,

00:18:49.731 –> 00:18:53.011
and we’ll talk more about that here in just a minute.

00:18:53.711 –> 00:18:57.371
So, you know, we’re here today to talk about why it’s important,

00:18:57.371 –> 00:19:02.211
why physical fitness is important to your personal safety and preparedness plan.

00:19:02.211 –> 00:19:07.971
Well, why is physical fitness important to self-defense? And why is anaerobic

00:19:07.971 –> 00:19:11.971
exercise important to your overall exercise plan?

00:19:12.851 –> 00:19:20.171
Well, self-defense is an example of an anaerobic activity. Your body goes anaerobic.

00:19:20.431 –> 00:19:25.671
You’ll be getting tired very quickly to the point of, and getting to the point

00:19:25.671 –> 00:19:31.831
of exhaustion unless you’re training and, you know, specifically training anaerobically.

00:19:31.831 –> 00:19:38.711
And remember, when you’re scared, when you’re frightened, when you’re suddenly

00:19:38.711 –> 00:19:43.491
ambushed, whatever triggered those mechanisms, you know, you’re dealing with

00:19:43.491 –> 00:19:46.191
a massive dump of chemicals.

00:19:47.111 –> 00:19:54.691
Adrenaline and cortisol, and you’re also dealing with a giant spike in heart rate.

00:19:54.691 –> 00:19:59.491
And so there’s no good way that your body can possibly use oxygen.

00:19:59.771 –> 00:20:06.131
You know, you can think of anaerobic activity as explosive, powerful for a very

00:20:06.131 –> 00:20:09.151
short period of time. You know, this is self-defense situations.

00:20:10.011 –> 00:20:14.771
Scenarios are not an exercise in marathons. You know, it’s not a marathon race.

00:20:14.771 –> 00:20:18.791
It’s a sudden dump of chemicals and heart rate and all this stuff you’re dealing with.

00:20:18.891 –> 00:20:24.111
And so, you know, you’re not able to feed off of oxygen like you would in regular cardio.

00:20:25.031 –> 00:20:30.331
So, as I mentioned, due to being scared and fear, you’ve got this massive dump

00:20:30.331 –> 00:20:34.891
of adrenaline and cortisol, which has all kinds of effects on your body.

00:20:35.071 –> 00:20:39.091
And you might want to look that up as well, you know, and you’re dealing with

00:20:39.091 –> 00:20:43.311
a lot of things all at one time that you’re having to combat,

00:20:43.311 –> 00:20:46.071
you know, in addition to the scenario itself.

00:20:46.831 –> 00:20:51.731
As I mentioned, high blood pressure is going to be huge. you’re going to most

00:20:51.731 –> 00:20:56.431
likely experience auditory exclusion, which means you basically go almost deaf.

00:20:56.671 –> 00:21:01.571
You’ve probably heard of stories of police officers firing shots and not being

00:21:01.571 –> 00:21:06.651
able to recount the number of shots they took because they didn’t hear the shots go off.

00:21:06.771 –> 00:21:10.831
That’s hard to believe, but that auditory exclusion is what causes that.

00:21:11.031 –> 00:21:12.831
You develop tunnel vision.

00:21:13.111 –> 00:21:17.431
Some have described it like looking through paper toweling tubes,

00:21:17.691 –> 00:21:19.071
cardboard paper toweling tube.

00:21:19.551 –> 00:21:24.811
You lose, there’s a loss of fine motor skills. You know, they talk about the

00:21:24.811 –> 00:21:26.471
importance of dialing 911.

00:21:27.031 –> 00:21:31.871
Well, under stress, it’s more difficult to dial a phone than you think.

00:21:32.091 –> 00:21:38.211
That’s why a lot of smartphones make accessing 911 easier, at least in some cases.

00:21:38.211 –> 00:21:42.451
And there’s some apps out there that do the same because we know that you lose

00:21:42.451 –> 00:21:45.771
those fine motor skills and it’s all about gross motor skills,

00:21:46.111 –> 00:21:52.551
which also plays a role in the types of self-defense moves you need to be focusing

00:21:52.551 –> 00:21:57.351
on, those gross motor skills, nothing that requires detailed movement.

00:21:57.591 –> 00:22:00.631
There is, I know I read some time ago that…

00:22:01.517 –> 00:22:07.817
A sudden shock, fear, whatever, may even decrease our IQ in those scenarios some.

00:22:07.977 –> 00:22:09.917
So we’re not going to be thinking straight.

00:22:10.337 –> 00:22:16.057
We’re not going to be performing our self-defense techniques exactly the perfect

00:22:16.057 –> 00:22:19.337
way we might have done in class the night before, for example.

00:22:19.557 –> 00:22:21.897
All of that is subject to go out the window.

00:22:22.177 –> 00:22:25.977
And then some other things like your eyes dilate.

00:22:26.157 –> 00:22:30.877
It’s all about self-protection. Our bodies have been doing this thing.

00:22:31.517 –> 00:22:38.077
This fight, flight, or freeze and this physiological undertaking for hundreds,

00:22:38.077 –> 00:22:43.577
if not thousands of years. It’s a self-protection mechanism that we all have.

00:22:43.837 –> 00:22:50.857
So, our eyes will dilate and the goal there would be to let more light in, just as an example.

00:22:51.317 –> 00:22:55.877
And then, you know, something else that occurs that, again, under self-preservation,

00:22:56.157 –> 00:23:01.517
all your blood primarily goes to your core and your primary organs to protect them, right?

00:23:01.737 –> 00:23:05.537
And there’s some other things that happen too, but those are some big issues

00:23:05.537 –> 00:23:12.017
that you’re dealing with and that are generated from the autonomic nervous system.

00:23:12.177 –> 00:23:16.597
Remember, I mentioned that earlier, the ANS, autonomic nervous system.

00:23:16.757 –> 00:23:18.177
So I want you to look that up too.

00:23:19.037 –> 00:23:23.817
There’s two aspects of the ANS that control fight, flight, or freeze,

00:23:24.077 –> 00:23:30.777
and this is where being better physically fit and where your routine exercise,

00:23:31.197 –> 00:23:35.297
your routine anaerobic exercise, is going to really help you better,

00:23:36.023 –> 00:23:43.083
regulate or control the chemicals that are causing the stress and potentially

00:23:43.083 –> 00:23:44.943
causing you to freeze up, right?

00:23:45.263 –> 00:23:51.023
We get caught up sometimes in the fight or flight, but the third aspect is freeze,

00:23:51.023 –> 00:23:53.223
and that’s what we’re trying to avoid.

00:23:53.403 –> 00:23:59.043
So regular exercise can help us better regulate and control some of those chemical

00:23:59.043 –> 00:24:02.963
stress-induced responses that our bodies may otherwise have.

00:24:03.763 –> 00:24:08.703
And the other reason why anaerobic exercise is important is because,

00:24:08.903 –> 00:24:14.103
again, as I mentioned previously as a benefit, it can really help reduce those

00:24:14.103 –> 00:24:15.763
lactic acid thresholds,

00:24:15.823 –> 00:24:22.703
and that translates directly or correlates directly into increasing the amount

00:24:22.703 –> 00:24:24.703
of time it takes for us to get tired,

00:24:24.883 –> 00:24:29.283
which in a self-defense, life-and-death scenario becomes extremely important.

00:24:29.283 –> 00:24:33.443
And, you know, with that being said, exercise in general can help you.

00:24:34.232 –> 00:24:38.992
Get those chemicals under control, and giving you the ability to better respond

00:24:38.992 –> 00:24:43.512
physically and mentally with all those chemicals being dumped.

00:24:43.692 –> 00:24:48.672
Again, we’ve got adrenaline and cortisol, these things going on with our ANS,

00:24:49.012 –> 00:24:52.492
you know, exercise can help us better manage.

00:24:52.752 –> 00:24:57.272
Therefore, we can think through the scenarios better and be able to better respond.

00:24:57.392 –> 00:24:59.952
And in a self-defense scenario, that’s really what it’s about.

00:25:00.472 –> 00:25:06.412
So, you know, just to touch upon an example of where we can see this being utilized

00:25:06.412 –> 00:25:11.172
effectively, and I don’t, you know, I’m not going to toot the horn too much

00:25:11.172 –> 00:25:15.012
here, but I am a fan of Krav Maga, and I’ve trained in it quite a bit.

00:25:15.632 –> 00:25:19.712
And if you take, you know, so I’m speaking about this firsthand.

00:25:20.452 –> 00:25:25.232
So, you know, Krav’s philosophy, at least relative to physical fitness,

00:25:25.512 –> 00:25:31.792
is that they believe one should train from the point of being tired or more fatigued.

00:25:32.092 –> 00:25:37.232
So if you’ve ever taken a Krav class, or if you have not, I will tell you that

00:25:37.232 –> 00:25:42.212
the first 10 to 15 minutes of most any class is going to start off with some

00:25:42.212 –> 00:25:46.212
rigorous activity, warm-up routines and exercise, right?

00:25:46.372 –> 00:25:50.352
And they’re generally going to be anaerobic. It’s going to spike your heart rate really quickly.

00:25:50.352 –> 00:25:53.552
It’s going to get you up there so that when you start working on those techniques,

00:25:53.552 –> 00:25:58.112
You’re working from a place of being tired already because that’s as close as

00:25:58.112 –> 00:26:02.732
they can get you without you actually experiencing fear in class,

00:26:02.732 –> 00:26:05.012
which is kind of hard to generate.

00:26:05.672 –> 00:26:12.092
So the idea is that it’s getting your mind and your body more accustomed to

00:26:12.092 –> 00:26:16.012
what it’s going to go through should you find yourself in a situation where

00:26:16.012 –> 00:26:17.332
you’re having to defend yourself.

00:26:18.370 –> 00:26:23.550
So that’s one example where I think they’re doing things right or better relative

00:26:23.550 –> 00:26:28.030
to incorporating physical fitness and the goal being to get you used to the

00:26:28.030 –> 00:26:30.710
idea of responding when you are tired.

00:26:30.710 –> 00:26:35.930
I think an area that needs probably more focus, and I know it happens some,

00:26:36.250 –> 00:26:39.450
but for those of you that have guns for self-defense.

00:26:39.810 –> 00:26:45.390
I think there’s an opportunity to try to incorporate some of that heart rate

00:26:45.390 –> 00:26:50.650
spiking, sudden activity into your shooting.

00:26:50.950 –> 00:26:55.690
Because if you have to use a gun, you’re not going to be doing it from a low

00:26:55.690 –> 00:26:58.190
heart rate and calm perspective, right?

00:26:58.190 –> 00:27:03.070
Like, I know some of you got a gun because you feel like you’re not physically

00:27:03.070 –> 00:27:08.950
able to defend yourself, and that may be because you’re overweight more than you want to,

00:27:09.070 –> 00:27:13.370
or that may just be because you’ve never worked out for a day in your life,

00:27:13.390 –> 00:27:15.190
or it’s been a while since you have,

00:27:15.350 –> 00:27:17.990
and you think a gun’s going to be your answer.

00:27:17.990 –> 00:27:20.990
But it’s not because guess what

00:27:20.990 –> 00:27:24.310
you’re not going to be shooting that gun in a self-defense scenario

00:27:24.310 –> 00:27:28.290
from a low heart rate and calm point you

00:27:28.290 –> 00:27:34.390
are going to go through the same things the same chemical changes the same physiological

00:27:34.390 –> 00:27:38.590
changes in your body that everyone else does and so how are you going to be

00:27:38.590 –> 00:27:43.350
prepared to handle that so when it comes to exercise and getting started with

00:27:43.350 –> 00:27:45.730
your physical fitness plan,

00:27:46.050 –> 00:27:48.550
how do you get started? Where do you go? What do you do?

00:27:48.890 –> 00:27:54.110
Well, first off, especially if you’ve never worked out, or maybe it’s been a

00:27:54.110 –> 00:27:59.170
super long time since the last time you have, or you know you have a health issue,

00:27:59.510 –> 00:28:04.170
you need to see a physician first and get cleared for exercise.

00:28:04.450 –> 00:28:09.270
You know you best. So see that physician if you have any doubts at all.

00:28:10.538 –> 00:28:13.698
And these are in no particular order, but next I’m going to say you need to

00:28:13.698 –> 00:28:17.898
find your motivations, whether you want to lose weight, you want to get back in shape again,

00:28:18.098 –> 00:28:21.818
you want to be around to play with your kids when they get older,

00:28:21.818 –> 00:28:25.538
or you just want to be able to go out in the yard and play with your kids.

00:28:25.938 –> 00:28:31.278
And then once you find your motivations, you need to be prepared and go about

00:28:31.278 –> 00:28:32.738
it in a disciplined manner.

00:28:33.118 –> 00:28:38.138
And that discipline is what’s going to see you through and carry you through day after day after day.

00:28:38.818 –> 00:28:43.998
Motivations will sometimes fade or change Discipline is what you need And it’s

00:28:43.998 –> 00:28:49.618
on you to figure that out And you know I saw something recent from Mike Tyson

00:28:49.618 –> 00:28:51.098
There’s a quote from Mike Tyson.

00:28:51.985 –> 00:28:56.505
And he said that discipline for him, and I’m paraphrasing, don’t hold me to

00:28:56.505 –> 00:29:05.045
it exactly, but he said that discipline for him is doing the things he hates as though he loves them.

00:29:05.225 –> 00:29:12.665
And I should say doing the things he hates and doing the things he hates like he loves them.

00:29:12.705 –> 00:29:16.185
And I think that’s a good way to describe discipline because there’s going to

00:29:16.185 –> 00:29:20.385
be days you go out to run that jog, however long it’s going to be.

00:29:20.385 –> 00:29:26.805
There’s going to be days where it’s deadlift or squat day or whatever it is, jumping rope.

00:29:27.385 –> 00:29:30.525
There’s going to be days where you simply do not want to do it.

00:29:30.645 –> 00:29:34.925
You’re dreading it. And those are the times that it’s going to be incumbent

00:29:34.925 –> 00:29:37.325
on you to push through and do it anyway.

00:29:37.745 –> 00:29:41.905
And I’m going to say this for the guys out there, especially the younger guys.

00:29:41.905 –> 00:29:45.125
And look, if you’re bodybuilding and such, that’s great. Okay.

00:29:45.425 –> 00:29:49.785
But I still think this holds true. And I think I learned this from my,

00:29:49.885 –> 00:29:53.065
well, I know I learned this from my NASM days, so I’m just going to say it.

00:29:53.185 –> 00:29:57.985
When it comes to weightlifting and resistance training and doing weightlifting

00:29:57.985 –> 00:30:04.245
as your chosen anaerobic exercise activity, you know, the tendency is just go

00:30:04.245 –> 00:30:07.645
straight to the weights and start working out.

00:30:07.645 –> 00:30:12.565
In some cases, I know guys like to go to the gym and start trying to lift as

00:30:12.565 –> 00:30:14.365
heavily as humanly possible.

00:30:14.805 –> 00:30:17.925
And I understand that and I get it.

00:30:18.005 –> 00:30:21.285
And if you’re trying to bodybuild and all that, there’s a place for that.

00:30:21.365 –> 00:30:25.705
But I would recommend, especially if you’re just starting out for the first

00:30:25.705 –> 00:30:29.045
time or you’re getting back to it after a long time,

00:30:29.045 –> 00:30:34.765
I would recommend starting out with balance and stability training and getting

00:30:34.765 –> 00:30:39.885
those support systems in place to better support the heavy lifting that you

00:30:39.885 –> 00:30:41.645
want to do at some point in the future.

00:30:42.365 –> 00:30:46.145
So start with stability and balance and you can find a lot of stability and

00:30:46.145 –> 00:30:51.305
balance activities out on the interwebs, videos and everything else imaginable.

00:30:52.462 –> 00:30:56.062
I would recommend, and I’ve been going through this myself for the last few

00:30:56.062 –> 00:31:00.282
months, I’d recommend starting slow and ease into it, whatever you do.

00:31:00.442 –> 00:31:04.862
Don’t try to go all out from the get-go, because especially if you’re older,

00:31:05.082 –> 00:31:06.802
you’re more susceptible to injury.

00:31:07.122 –> 00:31:12.902
You got to work up to injury protection, and it’s not going to be there from day one.

00:31:13.082 –> 00:31:19.542
So slow and easy to start out, but always working with the goal in mind that

00:31:19.542 –> 00:31:22.242
you’re going to start going at it a little bit more and more,

00:31:22.402 –> 00:31:25.702
adding the weights, adding the reps, adding the distance,

00:31:25.962 –> 00:31:28.342
adding the time, whatever it is,

00:31:29.102 –> 00:31:34.722
start out and ease into it, but maintain the goal of doing more and getting

00:31:34.722 –> 00:31:36.142
to the point where you want to be.

00:31:37.042 –> 00:31:40.182
And with that being said, do what’s sustainable.

00:31:40.702 –> 00:31:47.542
Do what is sustainable. For example, if you’re used to lifting super heavy weights,

00:31:47.542 –> 00:31:50.662
you probably don’t want to start there because you’re not going to be able to

00:31:50.662 –> 00:31:52.302
maintain that for yourself, right?

00:31:52.462 –> 00:31:56.242
And then you’re going to get discouraged or worse yet, as I mentioned,

00:31:56.402 –> 00:32:00.002
you might get injured and then you’re going to have to stop altogether unless

00:32:00.002 –> 00:32:01.562
you really want to overdo it.

00:32:01.642 –> 00:32:03.982
You know, so that’s probably not sustainable.

00:32:04.282 –> 00:32:08.802
So again, ease into it, you know, and again, if you were once a marathon runner,

00:32:08.962 –> 00:32:12.542
but it’s been, you know, three years since you ran your last marathon,

00:32:12.542 –> 00:32:17.022
you’re probably not going to start day one running 26 miles, right?

00:32:17.122 –> 00:32:20.802
It’s just not feasible. and that training regimen isn’t sustainable.

00:32:22.179 –> 00:32:26.699
Have some common sense about how you go about it and figure out what is sustainable

00:32:26.699 –> 00:32:28.999
for you. Again, you know you best.

00:32:29.639 –> 00:32:34.359
And I would recommend maybe starting with, if you’re just getting started,

00:32:35.099 –> 00:32:43.219
I’d maybe recommend one day of anaerobic activities and two days of cardio and

00:32:43.219 –> 00:32:46.259
then figure out what you need to add as you go along, right?

00:32:46.419 –> 00:32:50.199
Over time, you can build on that, but that might be a good place to start.

00:32:50.199 –> 00:32:54.439
One day of anaerobic and two days of cardio or aerobic activity.

00:32:55.159 –> 00:32:58.939
And we’re not going to talk about diet a whole lot here.

00:32:59.439 –> 00:33:04.599
I read years ago and I forget who said it, but I thought it was brilliant,

00:33:04.919 –> 00:33:08.819
you know, and again, I’m paraphrasing, so don’t hold me to it.

00:33:08.959 –> 00:33:15.199
But it said, if a book has been written about a diet, it’s probably garbage.

00:33:15.659 –> 00:33:19.459
And I tend to think whoever that was that said that is right,

00:33:19.459 –> 00:33:21.419
because it’s more about lifestyle.

00:33:21.599 –> 00:33:24.519
But anyway, not going to get into diet here, but I will say this.

00:33:24.879 –> 00:33:29.699
Diet is an important piece about it, especially if your goal is weight loss,

00:33:29.899 –> 00:33:34.639
which I know for a lot of us is the case when it comes to our exercise routine.

00:33:35.119 –> 00:33:40.319
And I’ll say this, pick something about your diet that you think needs to change.

00:33:40.319 –> 00:33:42.979
And I could think of two perfect examples for you.

00:33:43.919 –> 00:33:48.519
Say you drink a lot of soda. I know a lot of folks that drink liters upon liters

00:33:48.519 –> 00:33:50.439
of Diet Coke on a daily basis.

00:33:51.059 –> 00:33:55.879
If you wanna make a high impact to your diet without a lot of change,

00:33:56.119 –> 00:33:59.399
reduce or eliminate one thing.

00:33:59.639 –> 00:34:04.859
So if you drink a lot of soda, at very least look to cut it back significant,

00:34:05.199 –> 00:34:07.619
but try to just cut it out altogether.

00:34:08.399 –> 00:34:12.339
And maybe that’s a little bit over time, right? Maybe you cut back to start.

00:34:13.465 –> 00:34:16.965
And then you eliminate it, right? Same with breads and pastas.

00:34:17.125 –> 00:34:20.545
Breads and pastas, a little bit here and there is just fine.

00:34:20.545 –> 00:34:22.425
Like everything else, moderation, right?

00:34:22.765 –> 00:34:27.945
But if you know you’re a bread hog, look again to eliminate bread. Just that one thing.

00:34:28.505 –> 00:34:32.225
And again, ease into it. It’s about easing in.

00:34:32.425 –> 00:34:36.085
So reduce it and then work to eliminate. Just that one thing.

00:34:36.245 –> 00:34:40.225
You’ll be surprised if it’s beer and you think that’s what you want to give

00:34:40.225 –> 00:34:45.305
up. You know, reduce it at the very least and try to get to the point of eliminating it.

00:34:45.765 –> 00:34:51.485
Whatever it is, find that one thing. Again, ease into it and do it in a sustainable

00:34:51.485 –> 00:34:52.845
manner that works for you.

00:34:52.845 –> 00:34:58.105
One of the most important pieces of advice, and all of these are,

00:34:58.685 –> 00:35:03.285
but when it comes, especially when you’re just starting out,

00:35:03.345 –> 00:35:06.185
and even for those of us that have been going at it for a while,

00:35:06.625 –> 00:35:15.265
only ever compete against yourself and never compare yourself to others and

00:35:15.265 –> 00:35:18.585
what others might be doing or what others might have accomplished.

00:35:18.585 –> 00:35:22.645
You are only and should only ever compete against yourself.

00:35:23.745 –> 00:35:29.205
That’s your greatest motivation. There will always, I can almost guarantee it,

00:35:29.425 –> 00:35:32.805
I’ve been around a while and I’m sure most of you will agree,

00:35:33.125 –> 00:35:35.845
there will always be someone bigger,

00:35:36.465 –> 00:35:39.725
faster, and or stronger. Always.

00:35:40.125 –> 00:35:42.245
So only compete against yourself.

00:35:43.235 –> 00:35:47.595
One of the things that I’ll tell you in getting started and maintaining,

00:35:47.855 –> 00:35:52.535
if you’ve been going for a while, and something that works for me tremendously

00:35:52.535 –> 00:35:59.035
is always think about your accomplishments and not how much further you have to go.

00:35:59.455 –> 00:36:05.055
I find that if you get caught up in how much longer, how much more distance,

00:36:05.315 –> 00:36:09.915
how much more time, how many more reps, it’s an easy way to get discouraged.

00:36:09.915 –> 00:36:16.195
For me, and I think it might work for you too, always think in terms of how far you’ve come.

00:36:16.435 –> 00:36:22.515
So for an example, if I go out for a jog and I’m only a quarter of a mile in,

00:36:22.715 –> 00:36:24.655
and I’m just using a random example,

00:36:24.895 –> 00:36:32.995
don’t think about the 1.7 miles you’ve got left to accomplish your two-mile jog or walk for the day.

00:36:32.995 –> 00:36:36.035
Think about the fact that you’ve come a quarter

00:36:36.035 –> 00:36:38.815
of a mile or x percent of the

00:36:38.815 –> 00:36:41.735
distance or x percent of the reps you know whatever it

00:36:41.735 –> 00:36:47.535
is you’re doing look at what you’ve accomplished and not how much more you’ve

00:36:47.535 –> 00:36:52.575
got to go and i find that goes a long way in keeping me energized and motivated

00:36:52.575 –> 00:36:58.055
in the activity in the moment and last but not least because this one’s killed

00:36:58.055 –> 00:36:59.755
me so i can speak firsthand.

00:37:00.155 –> 00:37:03.275
Try not to take off more than one day at a time.

00:37:03.455 –> 00:37:08.695
You need time off, especially if you’re just starting out, especially after

00:37:08.695 –> 00:37:12.195
a day of heavy lifting, if and when you get to that point.

00:37:12.495 –> 00:37:17.195
You need to take days off for recover. You need to take days off to recoup and rest.

00:37:17.735 –> 00:37:22.315
There might be occasions where you need or have to take two for whatever reason,

00:37:22.315 –> 00:37:29.295
but I don’t recommend getting to that point, and I certainly don’t recommend going past two.

00:37:29.295 –> 00:37:34.615
The reason being, going back to what I said earlier, is you might take two days

00:37:34.615 –> 00:37:39.195
off, and suddenly you’re watching movies, and now it’s two weeks, and,

00:37:39.977 –> 00:37:43.397
And then it’s two months. And the next thing you know, it’s two or three years

00:37:43.397 –> 00:37:46.377
since the last time you went for a walk or picked up a weight.

00:37:46.557 –> 00:37:48.037
You don’t want to find yourself there.

00:37:48.297 –> 00:37:54.677
I have to keep going. So I recommend not taking more than a day or two off at absolute most.

00:37:54.897 –> 00:38:00.577
And I think that those points will get you started and, you know,

00:38:00.757 –> 00:38:05.497
are a great way to stay motivated and see things as you’re going on your journey.

00:38:06.497 –> 00:38:10.977
And look, and just to touch upon this again, because it’s an important piece

00:38:10.977 –> 00:38:16.017
when we talk self-defense and I’m, you know, I’m a gun supporter for those.

00:38:16.177 –> 00:38:19.417
And listen up for those that carry a gun to defend yourself.

00:38:20.217 –> 00:38:26.617
I’m going to tell you that regardless of any physical fitness or exercise you’re doing,

00:38:26.877 –> 00:38:33.637
get some training for yourself or at least be sure that if you are caring for

00:38:33.637 –> 00:38:37.657
self-defense purposes, is that you’re at the very least shooting regularly.

00:38:38.237 –> 00:38:43.077
I believe you should get training, but at the very least you need to be shooting

00:38:43.077 –> 00:38:47.797
regularly because it’s a depreciating skill. It’s not like riding a bike.

00:38:48.417 –> 00:38:51.257
And if you take time off from shooting, I’m sure you know what I mean.

00:38:51.937 –> 00:38:54.317
You know, just because you own

00:38:54.317 –> 00:38:59.477
a gun and have a gun doesn’t mean you’re ready to use it or use it well.

00:38:59.697 –> 00:39:04.037
It doesn’t mean you can’t use it if you had to. It just means that you’re not

00:39:04.037 –> 00:39:07.797
going to do as well as if you had some training or if you’re shooting regularly.

00:39:08.077 –> 00:39:09.397
So that’s first and foremost.

00:39:10.217 –> 00:39:12.917
Now, with that being said, getting back on the subject to hand,

00:39:13.077 –> 00:39:17.857
which is exercise, as far as exercise goes, you know, the next time you go to

00:39:17.857 –> 00:39:22.997
the gym, try doing some jumping jacks or some pushups or some short sprints

00:39:22.997 –> 00:39:25.137
back and forth behind the firing line.

00:39:25.157 –> 00:39:27.997
If they don’t look at you like they’re crazy, and even if they do,

00:39:28.077 –> 00:39:32.637
who cares? or, God forbid, get in there and do some burpees in your lane, right?

00:39:33.684 –> 00:39:36.544
And then try to shoot.

00:39:37.004 –> 00:39:43.944
Watch how your heavy breathing and your suddenly increased heart rate really

00:39:43.944 –> 00:39:47.524
impact your concentration and your ability to shoot accurately.

00:39:48.204 –> 00:39:54.024
With that being said, there are more than likely many ranges that are not going

00:39:54.024 –> 00:39:57.504
to be really happy with you doing that sort of thing out on the range.

00:39:57.504 –> 00:40:01.364
Although I would hope they wouldn’t care if someone was doing jumping jacks

00:40:01.364 –> 00:40:03.524
in their booth, whatever.

00:40:03.684 –> 00:40:09.564
Or behind the booth, but that’s okay because you can do those activities at

00:40:09.564 –> 00:40:14.124
home and then you can do dry firing, whether you’re dry firing,

00:40:14.344 –> 00:40:18.744
you know, do some jumping jacks and then try dry firing at the target on the wall with the corner,

00:40:19.044 –> 00:40:22.544
with the, uh, sorry, not the corner, the quarter on the front sites,

00:40:22.764 –> 00:40:27.484
you know, see if you can still squeeze off those rounds the way you would when

00:40:27.484 –> 00:40:33.444
you’re in perfectly resting heart rate with no elevated breathing or heart rate.

00:40:33.624 –> 00:40:37.624
Try to see if you can’t shoot. And then if you’re using a laser system for your dry firing,

00:40:37.824 –> 00:40:42.904
you should really be able to see the impact of that elevated breathing and heart

00:40:42.904 –> 00:40:49.904
rate and how it drives the need to focus more and really take into account what’s

00:40:49.904 –> 00:40:53.144
going to happen to you in a real self-defense scenario.

00:40:54.021 –> 00:41:00.221
So that’s the advice I’d give for those that are using or expect to use or are

00:41:00.221 –> 00:41:01.821
carrying a gun for self-defense.

00:41:02.401 –> 00:41:08.861
And last but not least, I want to touch upon stretching and self-myofacial release and breathing.

00:41:09.061 –> 00:41:13.641
I would be remiss not to talk about stretching and breathing at the very least,

00:41:13.641 –> 00:41:18.281
which can help you prepare for any exercise that you do as well as,

00:41:18.301 –> 00:41:20.221
you know, recover from it.

00:41:20.221 –> 00:41:24.861
So, you know, stretching, that’s kind of a no-brainer there.

00:41:25.321 –> 00:41:30.721
Ideally, you should be stretching both before and after any exercises that you do.

00:41:31.121 –> 00:41:35.221
And a number of years ago, and I don’t know where things have settled out,

00:41:35.321 –> 00:41:38.421
but I’ve kind of taken on a philosophy myself.

00:41:38.421 –> 00:41:42.541
There was some discussion for years and years, it was about stretching before

00:41:42.541 –> 00:41:46.981
all exercises, stretching before weightlifting, stretching before jogging,

00:41:47.141 –> 00:41:48.401
stretching before anything.

00:41:48.401 –> 00:41:54.001
And a lot of times stretching involves static stretching, meaning there’s no

00:41:54.001 –> 00:41:58.601
movement of the limbs or the joints as you stretch.

00:41:58.601 –> 00:42:02.341
You’re just, you know, pressing your calves down in the floor,

00:42:02.661 –> 00:42:06.461
whatever the exercise is, doing your thigh stretches, whatever.

00:42:07.221 –> 00:42:12.081
Versus dynamic where you’ve introduced some movement, whether you’re doing side

00:42:12.081 –> 00:42:18.061
to side lunges, for example, or you’re doing, you know, circles with your arms.

00:42:18.201 –> 00:42:22.121
Those are a couple of simple examples I can think of of dynamic stretching.

00:42:22.461 –> 00:42:27.281
There was some debate, topic, choices, whatever you want to,

00:42:27.421 –> 00:42:28.821
I don’t know how to say it.

00:42:28.921 –> 00:42:34.221
There was some discussion a number of years back, that static stretching really

00:42:34.221 –> 00:42:39.301
shouldn’t be done prior to serious exercise activity.

00:42:39.881 –> 00:42:45.101
And I think it mostly had to do with anaerobic activity, for example.

00:42:45.321 –> 00:42:47.841
So weightlifting is a prime example.

00:42:48.101 –> 00:42:56.321
The argument was that with static stretching, you could run the risk of overstretching the.

00:42:57.460 –> 00:43:03.660
The primary moving muscles and thus allowing the antagonistic muscles to potentially

00:43:03.660 –> 00:43:08.800
impact negatively the output of your weightlifting, for example,

00:43:08.940 –> 00:43:10.180
just to stick with that example.

00:43:10.380 –> 00:43:15.780
So there was a recommendation that you should consider moving to dynamic stretching

00:43:15.780 –> 00:43:22.500
so to avoid overstretching those muscles and potentially avoiding negative impact

00:43:22.500 –> 00:43:24.780
and most important injury.

00:43:25.240 –> 00:43:28.920
And then after your routine, static stretching was certainly okay.

00:43:29.500 –> 00:43:33.780
I don’t know where the conclusion has fallen out.

00:43:33.900 –> 00:43:38.360
You’ll probably find people of varying opinions as you do everything.

00:43:38.360 –> 00:43:43.760
I know there’s some people that I used to train that were upset if I was skipping

00:43:43.760 –> 00:43:49.460
static training before class or static stretching before class, sorry.

00:43:50.222 –> 00:43:57.122
I think that starting out with dynamic stretches, again, forward lunges with a side twist.

00:43:58.022 –> 00:44:03.142
Movement side to side lunges, for example, just to stick with those examples,

00:44:03.302 –> 00:44:07.002
I think starting out with dynamic stretching is probably a better route to go

00:44:07.002 –> 00:44:12.162
overall, especially when you’re going to be doing things like weightlifting or running or jogging.

00:44:12.262 –> 00:44:15.222
Let’s talk about self-myofacial release briefly.

00:44:15.482 –> 00:44:22.662
If you have not discovered the miracle of SMR, self-myofascial release, I highly recommend it.

00:44:22.782 –> 00:44:26.522
Whether you get yourself some balls or rollers, they make everything.

00:44:26.742 –> 00:44:28.322
There’s a bunch of brands out there.

00:44:28.902 –> 00:44:32.082
Trigger Point was the big one at one point, I think still is,

00:44:32.162 –> 00:44:35.622
but there’s a lot of brands, a lot of different size and type balls,

00:44:36.102 –> 00:44:39.082
hardnesses, textures, same with rollers, Right.

00:44:39.922 –> 00:44:44.202
And you should find a way to incorporate SMR into your routine.

00:44:44.422 –> 00:44:50.102
Ideally, again, both before and after your exercise routine. I primarily do it after.

00:44:50.322 –> 00:44:57.022
In fact, I do a lot of my stretching and yoga and SMR in the evenings before I go to bed.

00:44:57.022 –> 00:45:02.242
But SMR is a great way to break up those knots, you know, those muscle knots,

00:45:02.462 –> 00:45:06.142
those nodes down in the fibers of the muscle is actually what you’re breaking

00:45:06.142 –> 00:45:09.862
up when you roll, whether you use a roller or ball.

00:45:10.042 –> 00:45:14.882
It all depends on what area of the body you’re trying to get to and how much pain you can stand.

00:45:14.882 –> 00:45:19.782
And I will tell you that you should go easy with SMR, especially if you’re new

00:45:19.782 –> 00:45:24.122
to it, because it can be painful, but it’s painful because it’s getting in there

00:45:24.122 –> 00:45:28.742
and breaking up those nodes, which is causing the issues in the muscles to begin with.

00:45:29.022 –> 00:45:33.902
And you can overdo it. So I would just caution you there to, you know, to expect it.

00:45:34.002 –> 00:45:37.422
It’s not going to be, you know, it’s going to be like a deep tissue massage

00:45:37.422 –> 00:45:40.902
at the end of the day, except you’re doing it to yourself. It’s fantastic.

00:45:41.502 –> 00:45:46.282
And last but not least, I want to talk about breathing, the importance of breathing.

00:45:46.442 –> 00:45:48.682
And honestly, this can be…

00:45:49.115 –> 00:45:53.955
Getting yourself ready for exercise, meditation, recovery.

00:45:54.175 –> 00:45:59.195
I even find myself doing some techniques while I’m exercising because it breaks

00:45:59.195 –> 00:46:02.475
up my mind and makes me concentrate on something else.

00:46:02.655 –> 00:46:04.855
But breathing is really important.

00:46:05.095 –> 00:46:10.295
And breathing can help tremendously in stressful situations.

00:46:10.595 –> 00:46:15.495
In fact, one of the breathing techniques is called combat breathing.

00:46:15.495 –> 00:46:22.135
And you basically take a breath in down into your belly for a count of four seconds.

00:46:22.715 –> 00:46:28.975
You hold it for another four seconds and then you let it out for four seconds.

00:46:29.275 –> 00:46:32.735
And at the bottom of that, you know, as you’ve let all the air out,

00:46:32.915 –> 00:46:37.535
you hold that for four seconds before you take in another four second breath.

00:46:37.735 –> 00:46:41.215
So that’s the cycle. It’s a four, four, four, four routine.

00:46:41.475 –> 00:46:44.855
And it’s actually, at least in some circles labeled as combat.

00:46:45.195 –> 00:46:50.675
And the idea is, is that it, it is an opportunity to change your focus,

00:46:50.675 –> 00:46:53.795
to reduce the stress potentially to,

00:46:54.035 –> 00:46:57.695
you know, make you think about something else and really bring yourself back

00:46:57.695 –> 00:47:01.095
to a point of being centered and calm and more calm again.

00:47:01.375 –> 00:47:05.955
You know, another technique that I like is the six, seven, eight.

00:47:06.775 –> 00:47:11.895
You take a breath in for six seconds, Again, breathing down into your belly.

00:47:12.055 –> 00:47:16.075
This is about deep breathing, not just shallow chest, up top breathing,

00:47:16.115 –> 00:47:18.135
but really taking in deep breaths.

00:47:18.495 –> 00:47:21.035
You take in a breath for six seconds.

00:47:22.261 –> 00:47:28.441
You hold it for seven seconds and then you release it over the course of eight

00:47:28.441 –> 00:47:32.061
seconds and then you take in another, your next six seconds.

00:47:32.241 –> 00:47:36.161
So again, you’re doing rounds of these and yeah, you’re probably thinking how

00:47:36.161 –> 00:47:39.481
many rounds of combat breathing or the six, seven, eight that I do,

00:47:39.701 –> 00:47:43.621
depending on what you’re going through and what you’re dealing with and how

00:47:43.621 –> 00:47:45.161
stressed out you are, maybe,

00:47:45.421 –> 00:47:51.161
you know, I would recommend a minimum of three rounds, but probably more like five to six.

00:47:51.161 –> 00:47:56.681
I think I tend to do about five rounds, and even that just really helps me refocus and center.

00:47:57.481 –> 00:48:03.141
And then a basic breathing technique that you can even try to focus and concentrate

00:48:03.141 –> 00:48:07.921
on when you’re in the middle of jogging or walking or working out is just this

00:48:07.921 –> 00:48:11.181
notion of taking a short breath in through your nose.

00:48:11.181 –> 00:48:17.561
So say anywhere from two to four seconds of a breath in through the nose and

00:48:17.561 –> 00:48:21.921
then letting it out for a longer count through the mouth.

00:48:22.221 –> 00:48:26.841
So maybe you take a breath in for two or three seconds and then…

00:48:27.960 –> 00:48:32.120
Letting it out for a longer period than you breathed in for.

00:48:32.280 –> 00:48:35.720
So for example, if I breathed in through my nose for four seconds,

00:48:36.000 –> 00:48:41.580
I’m going to try to let that breath out over the course of say eight seconds.

00:48:42.260 –> 00:48:47.420
I personally work to at least double my time. That seems to work for me.

00:48:47.540 –> 00:48:49.220
But the goal is I don’t care.

00:48:49.380 –> 00:48:52.300
Breathe in through your nose for four seconds and let it out for six.

00:48:52.440 –> 00:48:55.060
It doesn’t have to be double the time. That’s just what I do.

00:48:55.180 –> 00:48:59.660
The goal is to breathe in for a shorter a period of time through your nose and

00:48:59.660 –> 00:49:01.860
then take longer to exhale through your mouth.

00:49:02.560 –> 00:49:09.420
Breathing is really great to calm down, to recover, and then really just get

00:49:09.420 –> 00:49:12.860
yourself back to a state of relaxation and centering.

00:49:13.180 –> 00:49:17.380
Okay, so over the course of this podcast, we’ve given you a lot of homework

00:49:17.380 –> 00:49:20.540
assignments, several things to go and look up on your own accord,

00:49:20.700 –> 00:49:27.020
VO2 max, EPOC, endorphins and where they come from and a few others.

00:49:27.807 –> 00:49:32.527
What I’d like to do now is give you a challenge. And this challenge is especially

00:49:32.527 –> 00:49:36.507
for those that haven’t gotten started yet on their physical fitness journey.

00:49:36.747 –> 00:49:39.667
And where maybe it’s just been a long time since you’ve worked out,

00:49:39.867 –> 00:49:43.027
you know, it’s just been a while and you’re thinking you need to get back into

00:49:43.027 –> 00:49:45.207
it. Well, I’m here to tell you you need to get back into it.

00:49:45.387 –> 00:49:49.527
So my challenge to you is to go walk one mile today.

00:49:50.007 –> 00:49:55.267
Now you’re saying, Jim, there’s no way I can do that. I’m 450 pounds or I haven’t

00:49:55.267 –> 00:49:57.827
done any such thing. okay, that’s fine.

00:49:58.067 –> 00:50:02.347
Pick yourself a goal and just do it. But go walk a mile today.

00:50:02.787 –> 00:50:05.327
I know what you’re going to say. You’re going to say, well, I don’t have time.

00:50:05.507 –> 00:50:07.987
We’ll make it because you’re never going to have time otherwise.

00:50:08.247 –> 00:50:11.327
So you’ve always got to make time for yourself and your exercise.

00:50:12.067 –> 00:50:17.267
If you don’t know where a mile is, go get, there’s a free, they’ve got a paid

00:50:17.267 –> 00:50:19.707
version too, but there’s a free app called RunKeeper.

00:50:19.827 –> 00:50:23.687
I use it on occasion when I want to know mileage or what my route was.

00:50:23.807 –> 00:50:28.607
It also gives you elevation. but just to determine where that half mile marker

00:50:28.607 –> 00:50:31.587
is, because you only need to go to a half mile because you’re going to go there

00:50:31.587 –> 00:50:33.207
and back and that’s for one mile, right?

00:50:33.507 –> 00:50:37.727
You can use RunKeeper. I think Google Maps has a walking option,

00:50:37.727 –> 00:50:39.267
so it should give you distance.

00:50:39.867 –> 00:50:44.687
And I think even Waze has a walk option. I’m not entirely sure.

00:50:44.867 –> 00:50:49.567
Look, man, worse comes to worse, get in your car and use your odometer and drive

00:50:49.567 –> 00:50:51.167
a half a mile and figure it out.

00:50:51.307 –> 00:50:54.287
It doesn’t have to be down to the the yard anyway

00:50:54.287 –> 00:50:57.367
so just find the half mile mark walk there

00:50:57.367 –> 00:50:59.987
and back and and that’s your

00:50:59.987 –> 00:51:02.687
first mile and then walk further if you

00:51:02.687 –> 00:51:05.507
like it or you know you get past the point of wanting to

00:51:05.507 –> 00:51:09.207
pass out huffing and puffing you know keep going and then come back whatever

00:51:09.207 –> 00:51:14.347
it is and then maybe along the way you decide to start picking up some weight

00:51:14.347 –> 00:51:19.767
while you’re at it and doing that so hopefully you’ve now been convinced of

00:51:19.767 –> 00:51:24.167
just how important your physical fitness is to your personal safety and preparedness plan.

00:51:25.134 –> 00:51:29.874
And I will leave you with this. It doesn’t matter if you push to progress or

00:51:29.874 –> 00:51:33.034
you push to progress, so long as you’re doing something.

00:51:33.434 –> 00:51:37.034
So get out there and move. Thanks for listening.