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Chris Raynor doesn’t believe in New Year’s resolutions. Especially the ones that aim high, and end in misery.
Lose 30 pounds. No carbs. Daily workouts.
The bigger they are, the harder the resolutions fall.
Instead of a dramatic, miracle makeover, what if we could make small, daily changes that are eminently do-able, and actually healthier for bodies and minds than a killer two-hour workout followed by seven hours at an office desk?
“What we should be doing is injecting movement into our way of living,” says Raynor, an orthopedic surgeon and former football player at Western University. Raynor and his wife, Mandy, operate a gym in Ottawa South (called Human 2.0) that embraces the modern move to movement.
A popular theme in Raynor’s public speaking gigs is to take the work out of workout, and make it feel like play. At Human 2.0, there isn’t the usual mix of gimmicky weight machines. Instead there is open space for movement, and games involving sticks, balls, squats and rings. Play and movement go together, and are fun, to boot. Adults get to act like kids.
If a workout truly is work, chances are we won’t stick to it.
Grunt work weightlifting regimens like bench press increments do nothing for movement or overall fitness. Learning a new skill, such as a proper squat or pull up, keeps fitness fun as well as functional.
Raynor is 48, meaning he is just old enough to remember when no one had to be told “go work out, it’s good for you.”
Children climbed trees, built forts and played sports on the street – getting fit by osmosis, not because it was a goal or resolution.
Movement wasn’t talked about. It just happened in the day. Kids walked to school, unless they lived far enough away that a bus was required. No self-respecting school child received a ride from a parent. Compare that to today, when the streets around an elementary or high school are gridlocked at 9 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Monday to Friday from parental traffic.
(I witness the mayhem every day from my home next to a grade school.)
Dr. Mark Tremblay, a professor of pediatric medicine at the University of Ottawa, remarked last year on a study that showed millennial children, aged 12, were “taller, heavier, weaker, rounder, less flexible and less aerobically fit” than a generation ago.
Adults are just as glued to their smartphones as their children are, and don’t get recess at the office. And hitting the gym after sitting at your computer all day doesn’t undo the damage.
“Research has shown that exercise and sedentary lifestyles are independent variables,” Raynor says. “What you do over here (exercising), does not counteract what you do over there (sitting).
“There is some crossover. It’s better than nothing. But it’s not as good as if you are doing more, throughout the day.”
Less active children grow into sedentary adults and finally into seniors requiring excess medical care, he said.
The beauty of getting moving is that it is never too late to start. There are endless community programs, trainers and online information on developing a range of motion to keep joints healthy.
As simple an exercise as a walk outside can be invigorating and good for mental health, but it’s better if the walk is brisk enough to raise the heart rate for cardiovascular fitness. Find a walking route that includes an incline.
Raynor suggests finding an exercise program or activity that is sustainable and appropriate for years to come. Find friends to play with — it’s a lot more fun and maintains good mental health.
“We’re built to move,” he says. “Our lifestyle has to be more active and involved.”
Raynor gets the first-place CCHL Ottawa Jr. Senators hockey team moving, and it has made them faster on the ice. (The U18 team is also doing movement drills.)
There was a time when trainers of hockey teams loaded up the barbells with weights and pushed their charges to lift for power.
Today’s strength coaches – and Chris Schwarz of the Ottawa Senators is a prototype – advocate mobility and spatial awareness over strength. The Jr. Sens don’t work on speed per se, but are more mobile and fluid because they are doing mobility work.
Raynor likes to think it’s making them better hockey players, because their mobility and awareness are improved.
“We are teaching them the letters and the words of movement so when they speak the language of hockey, they speak it better,” Raynor says.
In this regular column series, we will explore any and all fitness and wellness concepts plus personal tales of weekend warriors, kids and seniors. Ideas are welcome.
Remember the immortal words of the great Satchel Paige: “Don’t look back, something might be gaining on you.”
Wayne Scanlan writes a regular column on fitness and wellness. Ideas are welcome at wscanlan@postmedia.com.
查看原文...
Lose 30 pounds. No carbs. Daily workouts.
The bigger they are, the harder the resolutions fall.
Instead of a dramatic, miracle makeover, what if we could make small, daily changes that are eminently do-able, and actually healthier for bodies and minds than a killer two-hour workout followed by seven hours at an office desk?
“What we should be doing is injecting movement into our way of living,” says Raynor, an orthopedic surgeon and former football player at Western University. Raynor and his wife, Mandy, operate a gym in Ottawa South (called Human 2.0) that embraces the modern move to movement.
A popular theme in Raynor’s public speaking gigs is to take the work out of workout, and make it feel like play. At Human 2.0, there isn’t the usual mix of gimmicky weight machines. Instead there is open space for movement, and games involving sticks, balls, squats and rings. Play and movement go together, and are fun, to boot. Adults get to act like kids.
If a workout truly is work, chances are we won’t stick to it.
Grunt work weightlifting regimens like bench press increments do nothing for movement or overall fitness. Learning a new skill, such as a proper squat or pull up, keeps fitness fun as well as functional.
Raynor is 48, meaning he is just old enough to remember when no one had to be told “go work out, it’s good for you.”
Children climbed trees, built forts and played sports on the street – getting fit by osmosis, not because it was a goal or resolution.
Movement wasn’t talked about. It just happened in the day. Kids walked to school, unless they lived far enough away that a bus was required. No self-respecting school child received a ride from a parent. Compare that to today, when the streets around an elementary or high school are gridlocked at 9 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Monday to Friday from parental traffic.
(I witness the mayhem every day from my home next to a grade school.)
Dr. Mark Tremblay, a professor of pediatric medicine at the University of Ottawa, remarked last year on a study that showed millennial children, aged 12, were “taller, heavier, weaker, rounder, less flexible and less aerobically fit” than a generation ago.
Adults are just as glued to their smartphones as their children are, and don’t get recess at the office. And hitting the gym after sitting at your computer all day doesn’t undo the damage.
“Research has shown that exercise and sedentary lifestyles are independent variables,” Raynor says. “What you do over here (exercising), does not counteract what you do over there (sitting).
“There is some crossover. It’s better than nothing. But it’s not as good as if you are doing more, throughout the day.”
Less active children grow into sedentary adults and finally into seniors requiring excess medical care, he said.
The beauty of getting moving is that it is never too late to start. There are endless community programs, trainers and online information on developing a range of motion to keep joints healthy.
As simple an exercise as a walk outside can be invigorating and good for mental health, but it’s better if the walk is brisk enough to raise the heart rate for cardiovascular fitness. Find a walking route that includes an incline.
Raynor suggests finding an exercise program or activity that is sustainable and appropriate for years to come. Find friends to play with — it’s a lot more fun and maintains good mental health.
“We’re built to move,” he says. “Our lifestyle has to be more active and involved.”
Raynor gets the first-place CCHL Ottawa Jr. Senators hockey team moving, and it has made them faster on the ice. (The U18 team is also doing movement drills.)
There was a time when trainers of hockey teams loaded up the barbells with weights and pushed their charges to lift for power.
Today’s strength coaches – and Chris Schwarz of the Ottawa Senators is a prototype – advocate mobility and spatial awareness over strength. The Jr. Sens don’t work on speed per se, but are more mobile and fluid because they are doing mobility work.
Raynor likes to think it’s making them better hockey players, because their mobility and awareness are improved.
“We are teaching them the letters and the words of movement so when they speak the language of hockey, they speak it better,” Raynor says.
In this regular column series, we will explore any and all fitness and wellness concepts plus personal tales of weekend warriors, kids and seniors. Ideas are welcome.
Remember the immortal words of the great Satchel Paige: “Don’t look back, something might be gaining on you.”
Wayne Scanlan writes a regular column on fitness and wellness. Ideas are welcome at wscanlan@postmedia.com.
查看原文...
