Organizational Psychology of Wellness, Performance, and Play
Posts Tagged ‘fitness’
Life Life Love | Volume Eight
Hello Everyone,
Isaac Asimov once said, “The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not ‘Eureka!’ but ‘That’s funny…’” I mention this quote because many of you have asked what I have been working on with my father (that I briefly mentioned in last quarter’s newsletter). We have been working on a hangover remedy. We are still very much in the design phase as demonstrated by the following short tale: I administered our first version of the hangover remedy formula to my friend Micah, his aunt, his cousin and myself after a night of libation on Catalina Island (over the Fourth of July weekend). To my dismay it was discovered in this ad hoc human trial that the amount of sodium bicarbonate that can be tolerated after a night of drinking in a normal human had been significantly over-estimated. You can imagine where this is going. Micah’s cousin and I felt relief. Micah and his aunt on the other hand had adverse reactions: acute intestinal distress and uncontrollable burping respectively. In retrospect it is funny, that day however it was a little uncomfortable on the island. It continues to be a fun little side project. New evidence about the effectiveness of asparagus leaf and shoot extract (in the treatment of hangovers) has us playing with the formula once again. I’ll keep you posted on our efforts.
The other good news to report is Anna and I are moving to the Bay Area. Anna has secured a great job with Levi’s and I am surfing up north on her coattails. I owe a debt of gratitude to those of you that have either helped or offered to help in my job search. It is my pleasure to report that things are on the upswing.
Adhering to the parameters of the Live Life Love project I conducted two more excellent informational interviews. The most surprising reveal from this effort is that when I asked the two gentlemen (experts in the field of fitness) what excited them the most about the future of exercise they both basically stated, “a throwback to the importance of functional training.”
For my business interview this quarter I reached out to Mark Friedman, co-founder and president of Perfect Fitness, LLC, the creators of the Perfect Pushup and Perfect Pullup. Mark’s entrepreneurial journey is quite aspiring and he graciously agreed to sit down and talk with me. My interview with Mark about innovation can be viewed by clicking here.
My wellness interview this quarter is with Tom DeLong. Tom was one of my professors at UCLA and is an expert in kinesiology. He is currently working on authoring a book chapter on biomechanics for Human Kinetics but took time out of his busy schedule to talk with me about fitness innovation. My interview with Tom about sports technology can be read by clicking here.
As one can imagine money has been a little tight in these economic times for me and Anna, so one of the prerequisites in partaking in this quarter’s life experience was to keep the traveling costs down. I discovered that you can find great deals to areas of the world that are going through political upheaval. Hello Honduras! All joking aside, Honduras is a wonderful country. We went to the island of Roatan and had a blast… awesome diving, great people and very relaxing. We even got to swim with dolphins.
Swimming with Dolphins | Roatan, Honduras
A tip for those of you looking for budget travel, I highly recommend Vacation Rentals by Owner. We got a $400 a night luxury condo for less than 25 percent of the asking price. There are some unbelievable deals on this site.
Lastly, it is an honor to continue to help those of you pursuing athletic achievements. This quarter I was able to contribute to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society through donations to Kristin and Jeremy and the Make a Wish Foundation through a donation to Nick. Strong effort, great causes, that is what it is all about!
Warm regards,
Michael
Life Life Love | Volume Seven
Hello Everyone,
This quarter has been an interesting one. My wife lost her job last month and my primary engagement is winding down and will conclude next month. We are comfortable enough to weather the storm so we feel quite fortunate, especially considering what many families are going through. It is times like these that allow you to get back to basics. In my spare time I have begun to work on an exciting project with my father, which has allowed us to connect in a way that we haven’t been able to do since my youth. I am also getting to watch my wife enjoy renewed passions, such as Spanish and yoga, which were somewhat unavailable to her before due to the rigors of her career. Even in turbulent times, there are always benefits if you pursue them. I am also using the free time to rip my long term goals back down to their foundation and reevaluate and architect a sounder and more optimized path to getting the things I would like to achieve accomplished… more to come on that next quarter.
In the meantime, I am using my fresh budding autonomy to complete some pretty exciting stuff. By the time I write the next newsletter I will have completed my fitness certification from UCLA, received my American College of Sports Medicine accreditation and attended the first IPPA World Congress on positive psychology in Philadelphia. It should be a fruitful next few months.
Regarding…
Entrepreneurship: To commemorate Web 2.0 becoming the official 1,000,000 word in the U.S. vocabulary I reached out to Web entrepreneur Todd Dipaola, the co-founder of Vantage Media, which in 2007 reached 31 in Inc Magazine’s annual 500 Fastest-Growing Private Companies in America List. Todd is now the president of Pier Alliance, a company that he has founded with former executives from Yahoo and Google. The transcript of my discussion with Todd about Internet search can be found here.
Wellness: I was especially honored this quarter to get to sit down for half an hour with running legend Jeff Galloway. Jeff has helped over 250,000 non-elite runners achieve their goals through coaching and instruction and authored the best-selling running book in North America entitled Galloway’s Book on Running
Life Experience: I used one of my last remaining “hall passes” from Anna to go to the Wounded Warriors Project benefit at the Playboy Mansion. As many of you know I have kept a list since my youth of trying to hit every major party spot around the world. This was the last destination to check off the list.
Playboy Mansion | The Grotto
Contribution: Along with the contribution to the Wounded Warriors Project, I proudly contributed to the Steve Larsen fund. As you might recall last quarter I was able to interview Davis, CA legend Dave Scott. For those of you who don’t know Steve Larsen, Steve was another Davis legend that contributed tremendously to the world of cycling and tri-sport. Unfortunately, while training Steve’s heart failed and they were unable to revive him. If you are interested in contributing to help out the Larsen family you can do so here.
So it is back to the lab again. I am going to spend July finishing up some contract work and clearing out my surplus of reward points by doing a little traveling and then start job hunting in August.
Before I go I would like to give a plug to my friends over at ElliptiGO. They are a start-up that has created an outdoor elliptical product. It is an extremely innovative product. We were giving test rides at the San Diego Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon and people just loved it. If you have any interest, check out the ElliptiGO website.
If I do not see you before the next newsletter, please enjoy your summer! And as always, let me know if I can help you with your goals in any way.
Warm regards,
Mike
Life Life Love | Volume Five
Hello Everyone,
Happy Holidays! I have added some new names to my quarterly musings through my Facebook and LinkedIn contacts. At the end of 2007 when I started the Live, Life, Love endeavor I was filled with elation. Unfortunately, the end of 2008 has been quite tumultuous for me as I am sure it has been for many of you.
It is important in these times we keep our head up, surround ourselves with propitious people, and make sure we reciprocate in kind… but don’t take my word for it, check out this article from Science News.
I found myself in one of the corporate offices of Nike recently and I was taken back by a marketing slogan plastered across the entry wall: Training is the opposite of hoping. The message really resonated with me. As many of you know, I have been a staunch critic of people who interpret and/or peddle the Law of Attraction to mean that you can manifest anything in your life without action. This was further reinforced this quarter through my physiology studies at UCLA. I was surprised to learn that at the muscular level the notion of “muscle memory” is a complete fallacy. After three days of inactivity we begin to lose the positive effects of adaptation and there are limited accelerants to help regain what has been lost. This applies to both anaerobic and aerobic conditioning. In short, the feast and famine training approach I’ve adopted over the years has probably hindered any real progress towards achieving some of my overall fitness goals. I am going to implement a more well-rounded and continuous approach in 2009. I’ll let you know how the experiment goes.
And with that introspective let me introduce the fifth fitness leader to contribute to the Live, Life, Love knowledge database, Dave Scott. Dave is one of the “local boys done good” from my hometown of Davis, CA. He is a six-time Ironman World Champion athlete and the first inductee into the Ironman Hall of Fame. Dave continues to live up to his distinction as “The Man” through his various speaking engagements, sport clinics, and race sponsored activities. It was a true honor that he took the time to answer my five questions. The interview about fitness training can be found here.
The fifth business leader tapped in my quest for knowledge is Scott Bell. Scott spent the last ten years at one of the largest and most revered firms on Wall Street. For legal reasons the company shall remain unnamed but it shares a commonality with my favorite rum (a hint for the truly inquisitive). In 2008, Scott left this firm and started the company Gross Domestic Product. Within less than a year’s time he is already managing over $25 million in personal assets. I am equally honored that Scott took the time to be interviewed, given his profession and the understandable time constraints placed on him over the past couple months. My five questions with Scott about wealth management can be found here.
The life experience for this quarter was going to Oktoberfest in Germany. It was the first time I got to share one of these adventures with my brother and we had a great time — a beer drinker’s dream!
Oktoberfest | Munich, Germany
As for giving this quarter, I helped aid the efforts of few of you, like Melissa, Stephanie, and Mark but I think my favorite was sponsoring Todd’s mustache growing efforts… part of the proceeds Todd collected went to helping fight male depression so it was a truly worthy endeavor (click here to learn more about Movember). Anna and I also donated our old cell phones to the Cell Phones for Soldiers program.
Once again, thank you for being a part of my journey (and sharing in this fifth installment). Please continue to let me know if I can help you in anyway along your path. Wishing you nothing but the best in 2009!
Warm regards,
Michael
Live Life Love | Volume Three
Hello Everyone,
We are already halfway into 2008, I hope that as we move past the middle of this year you find that you are reaching the respective goals that you’ve set out for yourself.
It has been an interesting three months for me since the last newsletter. Work has been very intense but also very rewarding. I’ve had limited time for outside endeavors and as a result I’ve had to pick my battles this quarter.
However, I’m excited that the distribution list for this newsletter continues to grow; even more endearing to me is that a few of you have even noticed that I am a week late. This project is a true pleasure for me and I continue to extend my appreciation to you for letting me share it.
As far as this quarter’s interviews, it doesn’t get much better than this. On the business side I was able to interview David Allen who is an international author, lecturer and, founder and Chairman of the David Allen Company. In the last twenty years he has developed and implemented productivity improvement programs for over a million professionals in hundreds of organizations worldwide. He is basically the godfather of the Getting Things DONE movement. My five questions with David about productivity can be found here.
My wellness interview for the quarter is equally as exciting. I got the chance to throw five questions at Sean Waxman. Sean is a former National level Olympic Weightlifter and highly regarded coach. He has spent nearly a decade of his life immersed as an athlete in the world of Olympic Weightlifting under the direction and guidance of USAW Hall of Fame Coach Bob Takano. He was one of the top Olympic Weightlifters in the country from 1995-2001, earning himself a spot on the National Team, a National medal and five California state championships. My five questions with Sean about weight lifting can be found here.
The exciting life experience for me this quarter was running my fastest marathon to date in Atlanta, GA on April 13. I finally was able to break the 4:30:00 barrier. I still have a long road to get to Boston, but it was a nice milestone to hit none-the-less.
Atlanta Marathon | Atlanta, Georgia
Regarding contribution I made a donation to the Joe Bieschke Memorial Fund. I also donated my time at the Manhattan Beach Earth Day Event on April 19 — and on the subject of being green I have to call out GreenDimes.com — if you want to stop getting junk mail, and as a result help out the environment, then you have to check out this site.
So it is the start of the fourth quarter of this project and I am already a little behind schedule, but that’s all right — it just means I need to make an extra push over the next three months. The good news is we are all getting happier. I hope to hear how all of your respective projects are coming along and help where I can.
Lastly, have a great and productive summer, you deserve it!
Warm regards,
Michael
