Century-Old American Art Form Alive and Tapping

Tap dance, a young student says with a giggle, is “a bit louder than ballet.” Wearing leotards and pale pink tights, she and three other girls skip across the floor at a community center in Albany, California. Their shiny black tap shoes make them sound like a small herd of ponies clattering across cobblestones. The sound comes from metal “taps” on their heels and toes, taps that are attached to a small sounding board that makes the sounds crisp and bright. Uniquely American After just a few beginner lessons, these girls can make an explosion of merry syncopated noise doing classic tap moves such as the step-ball-change. By learning these steps, they’re part of a uniquely American art form that dates back to the 1800s, when a melting pot of ethnic percussive dances blended African tribal dances with English clog dancing, with a bit of Scottish hornpipes and jigs. Tap’s improvised inventions fit especially well with the growing popularity of American jazz. African-American dancers such as Bill “Bojangles” Robinson used their skills at tap as a stairway to stardom in the 1930s. High-stepping tap was the hallmark of dozens of movies, from “Singin’ in the Rain” to the animated “Happy…

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Why Can’t I Touch My Toes?

Don’t worry, it’s not a fair measure of fitness. For some people, touching toes feels like pulling a muscle. As a middle schooler, one of my life goals was the Presidential Fitness Award—an accolade given to those who passed a series of gym-class tests that included doing a number of pull ups, running a…

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The NFL’s Downfall is an Opportunity for America!

As a long-time sports fan, I’ve watched the NFL self-destruct before my eyes over the past few weeks with a sense of both sadness and hopefulness. Hopefulness? I’ll get to that. In truth, I’m not nearly the fan of sports that I once was. As a kid it was such a thrill to go the baseball game, or basketball game, or football game. All levels were exciting to watch, from youth to high school, to college, to the pros. But especially the pros. Professional sports has always had its good and bad. The good is that one gets the chance to see the best athletes in the world compete at the highest level—that’s entertaining and inspiring! The bad—which is more pronounced than ever—are the contract disputes, nasty player attitudes, steroid abuse, criminal acts, drunk and abusive fans, and so on. I suppose one could say, “The thrill is gone!” But this year, the NFL has reached a new low—players actually kneeling, sitting, and even eating during our national anthem! Just ten or even five years ago, this would be unheard of. But today’s society is constantly reaching new behavioral lows. Worse than seeing the players disrespect our flag is seeing…

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How to Become ‘Crisis Fit’

Tennessee Star

Like so many Americans, my heart truly goes out to the victims of Harvey, and my admiration goes out to the amazing rescuers. The scope of this disaster is unprecedented, and thankfully the outpouring of support has been overwhelming. The ordeal is hardly over for Houston and adjoining areas, with new storms like Irma barreling toward us. Watching a TV image of a displaced person resting in a shelter got me thinking. Once they have gotten the rest they need, they will then need to maintain or build their physical conditioning. I then considered how strikingly out of condition the average American is, and how it can potentially affect their survivability during a crisis, or their ability to rescue another human being. It has been good to witness the resurgence in “functional” training, led by CrossFit, Spartan Races, progressive calisthenics, heavy barbell work, and kettlebell training, among so many others. Yet there still exists a great mass of deconditioned Americans. They are unlikely to fare well in a crisis – any crisis. I say “any” for a reason: it is far more common for someone to succumb to a self-created crisis, formed by poor sleep, nutrition, exercise, and stress habits than it is…

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‘Which Fitness Path Should I Choose?’

Tennessee Star

  Two roads diverged in a wood, and I –  I took the one less traveled by And that has made all the difference. ~ Robert Frost The Road Not Taken   There are many ways to get fit. Many of these ways are not attractive – at least not to me. Long, boring cardio, burpees till you puke… You get the idea. There are new, trendy, fitness routines coming out all the time. Some are good, and some are outright ridiculous. One can be led to believe that if they’re not doing the latest craze, they’ll be left in the dust. This turns off many who would otherwise find their road to fitness: “If I need to go through all of this $%#! to attain health, count me out!” Fitness choices include: weightlifting (bodybuilding, Olympic lifting, powerlifting), bodyweight training (progressive calisthenics), kettlebells, bands, awkward object lifting, long “steady-state” cardio, high-intensity interval training (H.I.I.T.), yoga, Pilates, barre, Zumba, and so many more. Though I enjoy some of these disciplines, many people do not. And fortunately, that’s okay. There are many roads to fitness, including less regimented ones than those listed above. Activity of almost any kind – particularly in the great outdoors – is beneficial, as…

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Is a ‘Program’ Necessary to Get Fit?

Tennessee Star

  “I mistrust all systematizers and I avoid them”   ~ Friedrich Nietzsche It’s long been assumed by most fitness enthusiasts that in order to train effectively, one must follow a “program.” But is this really true? Now understand, I am a Certified Personal Trainer, and I make my living primarily by having clients follow one kind of program or another. So, yes, you can say I’m biased. Nevertheless, as in all things, we should not blindly move forward, but do so with our eyes wide open. After all, as Socrates once said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” Seeing a need to have someone show us how to work a program means having the humility to admit we don’t really know how to do it on our own. There’s wisdom in that. Yet ultimately, I believe what we should seek are principles more than programs. In fact, a good program is basically a collection of principles. Principles are from God, and on a certain level, can be innately understood by human beings. They are the laws of the universe, such as gravity. When we follow natural laws, things go well for us, and when we don’t, well… Programs are…

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Is Your Guru Killing You?

Tennessee Star

  …For the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. ~ 2 Corinthians 3:6 (KJV) I suppose it’s ironic that I – a Certified Personal Trainer and owner of a fitness and health company – someone who makes his living by providing instruction, am writing an article warning of the dangers of giving or receiving too much information. And yet, it’s an article that needs to be written. We are beings who ultimately function best through our own internal guidance system. Yet we sometimes need the assistance of other people, to help guide us back to our natural path, and to help move us through life’s complicated maze. The problem occurs when their guidance fails to move us back to our path, but instead guides us onto their path. This is a huge problem in our world, and is spread across nearly every field of human endeavor. It is common in the world of religion and spiritual pursuit. It is also huge in the world of medicine, health and fitness. Authorities and gurus abound, each with their own take on reality, and what it takes to “succeed.” When someone asks me to help them transform their health and fitness, they typically either…

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It’s Time to Take Care of Our Own Health

Tennessee Star

   Health care “reform” is once again in the news. And while I am happy to see any increase in our choices as citizens and consumers, the conversation is still about other people – politicians – deciding the future of our health care. This is the wrong emphasis. Most Americans want to see those who have special situations get the care they need. And I think that most want as much personal freedom as possible, allowing them to make their own health care choices. Accomplishing both these goals should not be a difficult chore. Meanwhile, I’ve been thinking about what I’d personally like to see more of in health care plans: An increased emphasis on help to get or remain healthy. For instance, gym membership and fitness class discounts (such as done by the SilverSneakers program for senior citizens), and affordable access to blood work, nutritionists, personal trainers and other specialists. Trainers can guide clients through targeted 12-week sessions covering weight and fat loss, lean muscle mass retention and gain, strength and mobility training, etc. Plans such as these will be more popular as the public demands them. I also want to see more freedom to choose in the marketplace, just as…

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6 Reasons Why Less Is More for the Mature Fitness Athlete

As the owner of a fitness training and consulting company, and as a mature fitness athlete who has experienced numerous injuries (as well as surgeries), I’m painfully aware—pun intended—of many of the challenges faced by the seasoned fitness athlete. I’m also aware of how these challenges can bring out the best in us. How they can cause us to train smarter, learning valuable lessons about health, fitness, and life that we would likely have missed without these experiences. I’d like to explore with you some of the key changes that often occur in the older fitness athlete, that can bring on new insights and even superior techniques and practices: 1.    Priorities The older fitness athlete has more responsibilities than the younger athlete. Having to pay the bills every month and often take care of a family has a way of focusing the mind! The older fitness athlete no longer has the motivation to spend hours at the gym pumping up. 2.    Desire for more essential things in life As a person matures, we begin to see what’s important to us. Meaning increasingly matters. More time for contemplation matters. The simple enjoyment of life is important. Being a slave to a gym loses…

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Why You’re Not Reaching Your Health and Fitness Goals

Tennessee Star

  Health and fitness are one area of life. No doubt they’re an incredibly important area, but they are still just one area. With few exceptions, your level of health and fitness is under your own control. The laws of God and nature control health and fitness, just as these laws control all aspects of our lives. Therefore the same character that we exercise in all other areas of our lives affects this area in the same manner. So to consider why you may not be reaching your health and fitness goals, so too consider why you may not be meeting goals (aims), in other areas of your life. Think about particular paths you’ve taken, or rather started to take, but then quit for one reason or another. Think about your career path, for instance. Have you invested time and energy learning a vocation, only to give up on it, thereby wasting time and money? How many false starts have you had? Now apply this to health and fitness. Let’s look at diet. How many times have you started a new eating program, only to quit once the going got rough? Often it’s because you gave in to the siren’s…

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Fitness: The Only Failure Is Not Being In the Game

Tennessee Star

  Anyone who has ever attempted to improve a condition has experienced failure – sometimes considerable failure. And there are many seekers of health and fitness whose bodies are strewn across the road of failure. They set out with high expectations of having a well-toned physique, losing those unwanted pounds, or becoming fit enough to at least finish a 5K race. But failures – multiple failures – beat them down, convincing them that they’ll never succeed, so why try? Failures can come in many forms, such as being on a nutrition and fitness plan that does not seem to work at first, or seeing your weight actually go up instead of down while dieting, or feeling that you can’t get stronger – or build the physique you desire – no matter what you do. These kinds of things have happened to anyone who has spent any time in the fitness game. These people who have been convinced they’ll never succeed are the casualties of the fitness game – the quitters. Everybody knows instinctively that there’s something wrong with quitting. That giving in to our doubts and fears is a sure way to failure, which is linked to a number of bad outcomes, from the numerous health…

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The Best Diet Book Doesn’t Exist

  In my debut piece last week, I Made It Back to Good Health, I discussed the long, hard, but ultimately satisfying road I traveled to become more fit today, in my mid-50’s, than I was twenty years ago, and along the way became a knowledgeable fitness professional. The article primarily dealt with my uphill journey overcoming injuries and surgeries. In today’s column, I want to talk about about the nutrition side. Many experts have said it is at least 75% of the game, when it comes to losing weight and body fat. I concur. I have spent thousands of hours studying and implementing many “diets” over the years, putting in a ton of reading, including the most cutting edge information in the fitness industry, in the quest for more mental and physical energy, a clean and efficient body, more muscle, and less fat. Let me save you a lot of time and trouble: the best diet book, written, or video program does not exist. “What? Come on!” you say. “There are some great diet books and programs out there – amazing breakthroughs!” Yes, that’s true. Science has come a long way. And there are some great diets out there. But…

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