Tips for the Club (And Elsewhere)

One hot topic in the fitness industry for the past year or so has been MRSA. MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) is a type of staph infection that has historically been found in hospitals, but is more frequently being found in other public places, including athletic and recreation facilities. This particular strain is known as CA-MRSA, or Community-Acquired MRSA. The bacteria moves very quickly and can cause death in a matter of days if left untreated. MRSA received a lot of attention in the mainstream media when Sports Illustrated ran a story in early 2005, but the attention seemed to be short-lived, even in fitness circles. However, for whatever reason I’ve heard more colleagues discuss it over the past year than before.

The good news is that with some basic precautions – precautions that people should be following anyway to avoid other types of infections or illnesses – a person can greatly minimize their risk of acquiring MRSA, regardless of location. In fact, location is important to note because it’s not only health clubs or athletic facilities at which a person is at risk to acquire MRSA, but in many highly trafficked public places. One such place here in Chicago that comes to mind is any public transportation vehicle or station. Newsweek has a brief article that lays out some tips on protecting yourself, as do the Mayo Clinic and CDC sites linked above. The bottom line is to be sensible about protecting yourself by taking a few simple precautions. By doing that you might even find that you can avoid that cold or flu that your family and coworkers picked up.

A Critical Moment

It’s very possible that the country received some promising news this week – a new study from the CDC suggests that the number of children and adolescents who are overweight or obese is holding steady. If this is the case, it’s very good news, although it’s certainly too early to tell. It’s important to keep in mind that all research studies are imperfect, and as a result they “provide evidence” for something, but they don’t “prove” it. However, the media often instead latch onto the results of a single research study when they’re made public and announce them as the gospel. If you were ever confused about whether eggs are healthy given their cholesterol content, you can thank the media for that.

Regardless, one would think that in the fairly near future we’d begin to see some tangible, large-scale results of multiple efforts to reverse the overweight trend among this age group. The adults are now recognizing the impact of various questionable decisions for our children from the past two decades, including decreased or eliminated physical education programs, poor cafeteria food choices, and junk food readily available in vending machines throughout schools. It will continue to take a coordinated effort though on many fronts to make sure that this is truly the beginning of a reversal and not just a “statistical fluke,” as one physician put it. This effort requires not only addressing mistakes such as those above, but also addressing changes in our lifestyles that influence behavior, such as the explosion in gaming, and the struggles of working parents to maintain balance between home and the office.

To me the part of the childhood obesity issue that has been particularly concerning is that not only have more children (at least to this point) become overweight, but the extent to which they’re overweight has increased as well, and at an even faster pace. This just sets the stage for these kids to struggle with their weight as adults since they (or rather, we, the adults) have dug themselves such a large hole. Many people don’t realize that when children gain weight, they not only increase the size of their fat cells, they also increase the number. The real kicker though is that a person can’t decrease the number of fat cells once they’re there, only their size can be decreased.

Essentially, the adults have to be adults and help kids make healthy, responsible decisions. If the kids want to grow up and sabotage themselves as adults, well hey, it’s a free country. Kids deserve better though. But to clarify, I can’t really put too much blame on the parents, teachers, and other caretakers of the first half or so of this 25-year period of increasingly overweight kids – hindsight is 20/20, and we certainly couldn’t have predicted all of the various factors that led to our kids’ weight gain. No, my particular beef is with adults of the past 10 years who have continued to make or facilitate those poor decisions, because by this time period we knew exactly what had been happening to our children. And while there are unquestionably societal issues that can make it difficult for some families to live healthy lifestyles, adults who failed and continue to fail to do anything to support healthier living for children in their care need to have their card revoked.

Maybe if the rest of us keep speaking up and taking action to make up for those misguided people, the reversal of our children’s weight gain will in fact become a reality.

Temporary Lapse of Ignorance

While browsing around the Internet this weekend, I found some health and fitness articles from (appropriately enough, given the holiday) the Army Times website.  Having family who served in the military, I’m familiar with the magazine, although I’ve not seen a print edition in a long time and had never visited the website.  I looked through the site a bit and was not only glad to see a wellness-related section in the magazine, but was also impressed with the variety of information available for its readers.

It was also instructive – browsing through the article titles alone gives you an idea as to what topics are relevant to the health, fitness, and well-being of our soldiers today, some of which I wouldn’t have considered was I asked to make a list prior to seeing the site.  But why would I have?  I, like many Americans, can go through my daily routine without much thought as to what our military personnel are dealing with on a daily basis, whether they’re overseas or right here at home.  And while reviewing the list of articles, I was struck by my ignorance, and simultaneously thankful for my naivete.   There are numerous ways in which these people are making sacrifices, and only a handful of the most dramatic stories are going to wind up front and center in a special report on CNN or Fox News.  It’s a reminder that the size of the sacrifice is irrelevant, as is the fact that our service men and women voluntarily sign up for the Armed Forces – every sacrifice and every soldier deserves our appreciation.  They are what make blissful ignorance possible for the rest of us.

Wii Be Fit

As you may have heard, Nintendo’s new entry in the fit-gaming segment, Wii Fit, hit stores earlier this week, and is expected to do very well.  I’ll be curious to see just how successful of a venture this will be for Nintendo, and what its competitors and other game developers will do in response.  Up to this point the major player in this arena has been Dance Dance Revolution, which is popular among children and adolescents (and even some college students), and is being used by some physical educations programs as a result.  Nintendo hopes that the Wii Fit appeals to a broader market of course, and subsequently capitalize on the Wii’s popularity among new gamers.

I know some people are skeptical about the potential for weight loss with gaming systems, but these systems shouldn’t necessarily attract more skepticism than any other form of exercise.  Weight management (with regard to the exercise component) basically boils down to two factors – one’s current fitness level and whether the tool of choice can provide a sufficient challenge.  For example, people who are already pretty fit will have to modify movements or increase the duration/repetitions to achieve a challenging workout, but it appears to be possible from what I know of the system (without having seen it in person yet).  Having said that, it’s not going to be appropriate for all people and all fitness goals – I don’t think a marathon course is going to be too forgiving if you’ve used a Wii to train, nor will it help you with a goal that involves a specific piece of equipment, like doing X number of pull-ups.

Similarly, I know that some people have misconceptions about various pieces of traditional exercise equipment.  For example, I don’t know how many times I’ve heard a college-aged guy (read into that what you will) say that machines or resistance bands don’t build strength.  It may be accurate to say that you have a preference for a given type of equipment, but to say that another type of equipment isn’t effective for increasing strength (or toning, or whatever) is ludicrous.  Our muscles are dumb, and that’s a good thing – they don’t know or care whether you have in your hand a dumbbell, a barbell, a resistance band, a cable attachment, or a machine handle, or whether you’re doing body-weight, floor based exercises or water exercise.  They only know to respond to a demand.  You create sufficient demand, and they respond – it’s that simple.  Those college guys who say that resistance bands aren’t difficult enough simply haven’t used a band that’s thick enough to provide the resistance they need for their respective fitness level; trust me, those bands exist and if they used them, they’d know it.  Similarly, I’ve taught numerous water exercise classes to people (including college athletes) who thought that it was an old lady’s exercise, only to find out just how great of a workout it can be.

The point is this – whether a person uses a Wii, a DDR, resistance bands, etc., there are a variety of options out there to achieve fitness or weight management goals.  The common piece is that they simply need to be used consistently in conjunction with a sensible diet to be effective.  So if the Wii Fit is your thing, have at it.

Maxing Out

I don’t tend to get fired up by motivational books, and I think most public speakers don’t tell you anything you don’t already know, but instead simply remind you (which can still be helpful in itself).  For some reason though I’ve been drawing energy lately from people in the public eye who are passionate about what they do and live it daily.  Living life to the max, as one might say.  One of these people is Starbucks’ Howard Schultz, whose recent return to the CEO role was the focus of a Wall Street Journal article this week.

Now, I don’t know the guy, I only know what I hear and read.  And I realize that some people don’t like Starbucks coffee, or don’t care for the company for various reasons.  I’m only speaking to Schultz’s passion for the company and what he does.  People like him are fun to watch if you really pay attention, because they’re doing what so many of us aren’t or can’t – living life to the fullest, at least in one sense.  From interviews you get the idea that Schultz is doing what he was put on the planet to do, and I don’t mean sell coffee.  Coffee is just the vehicle.  The concept of a “third place,” the original purpose of Starbucks coffee shops, is well known to many by now and probably perceived as tired company lore, but I don’t think you have the kind of success that he and the company has had without fully believing in what you’re doing.  He envisioned creating a community space and he (and thousands other Starbucks “partners”) did it.  That’s why I consider Starbucks a lifestyle company.  Regardless of your philosophy on spending and personal finances, think of how many people get a bit of joy each day from stopping at the store and buying a cup of coffee, or having a visit with a friend over a latte.  Think of the sense of community that exists every time a customer walks in and the person behind the counter knows that person by name and the drink they want without even asking.

One could argue that there’s better coffee, that Starbucks isn’t going to return to its former glory, that Schultz is motivated by money, that he’s probably sacrificed his family for money, etc., etc., etc.  These and other criticisms may all be true – I’m not trying to deify Howard Schultz.  I’m just saying that watching someone like that can make you wonder what you’re passionate about and whether you’re living it everyday.  Something to consider.