“You don’t know how strong you are until you have to be.” –Evan Strong, USA ParaOlympic Team We had the honor of interviewing Para Snowboard Champion and Olympic Team Member Evan Strong recently for The Lean Berets Radio Show because his trainer Eric Kenyon of Form is Function in Nevada City, CA is a good…… More
January 1st 2014 marked seven full years of exercising at least 30 minutes per day for me–that’s only 2,555 days if you are counting. My quest to return to a more active lifestyle was a necessity after entering corporate wellness full time in 2005. By late 2006, I was really suffering from long days and…… More
“Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. America has many fitness influences. Our most prominent influences in physical fitness came from Germany and Sweden, but we also have a rich history with other influences as well such as Native Americans and African Americans. One…… More
I was watching my son in basketball camp the other day “running” speed drills. Well over half of the kids could not run with any sort of proper mechanics. I have coached cross country and track from 2nd grade through collegiate. I started thinking about running as a true complex movement skill that must be…… More
Imagine…a playground with real vertical plus kids that could handle it. This playground is actually SAFER than playgrounds today. Why? NO, it’s not the equipment. Think again. It’s the kids using the equipment–they moved better in these days. They had “real” physical education and real teachers–not someone who just threw the ball out. They were…… More
We like bikes, so here’s some cycling history. Indoor stationary trainers are nothing new. Bicycling was actual way more popular over 100 years ago than it is in modern day. While historic gyms did not have wall of cardio equipment like today, they did have hydraulic rowing machines, running tracks often overlooking the gym, and…… More
During the Golden Era of American Fitness from 1885-1920, equipment was actually quite sophisticated. Master craftsmen took pride in quality equipment with attention to detail–so did the people using the equipment. The “Triplex Pulley” is a great example of master craftsmanship from a more physically cultured era. (Source: Narragansett Machine Co. USA, 1905)
We have two great podcast shows publishing soon on American Fitness Icon Bonnie Prudden. This photo was the Bonnie Prudden obstacle course which was the first-ever obstacle course for elementary school children. She designed the equipment herself based on her childhood adventures and upbringing that involved classical physical education and Russian Ballet. Note Prudden…… More
Greek body development had three main objectives: 1) National Defense; 2) Mental Development; & 3) Physical Form & Proportion. A great deal of their education system actually involved “physical education” because they knew it developed a higher intelligence and better citizens. Less than five US states now require PE all the way through high school…and…… More
“Suspending your body by the arms is a very simple maneuver, yet it is one of the most important therapeutic exercises. Every able-bodied person should do some arm hanging exercises each day, and better yet, do them several times a day.” –Robert M. Martin, MD, “The Gravity Training System” Many of you have been following…… More