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GAGA is not a weight lifting program. We will set one of those up for you if you are interested. We are a BodyMindSpirit approach to health, we teach you how to live life optimally. We do not desire to force you to do anything, this is your life, we are here to encourage you to progress and develop the talents the good Lord has blessed you with (see The 12 Principles of a Healthy Spirit), if, and only if, you are willing and teachable. We have all been blessed with a wonderful body; even if it is impaired it is a great blessing to your life! You are responsible for keeping it healthy and alive, receptive to life and all its challenges and opportunities. Use your body to experience all that life has to offer. If basketball is your favorite thing to DO, not watch, then join a basketball league and have at it! Or maybe just get a bunch of friends together periodically and play. Or there is softball, baseball, tennis, volleyball, racquetball, swimming, etc. Maybe your greatest asset is your physique, so you like to lift weights and compete in bodybuilding, or maybe you just like to lift to be toned and strong, or jog and compete in marathons…the important thing is to go do something, I suggest on a daily basis. Whoever said riding bikes or roller blading is for kids? They are wrong! Dead wrong! They are wrong and will be dead soon if they don’t go do something! Why do so many parents put so much pressure on their kids to excel in sports? I remember when I was growing up we would have parents yelling back and forth at our little league baseball games, they would yell at the top of their lunges at the umpires, other players, and other parents…sometimes there would actually be fist fights between parents. You might say no, but I was there and it happened more than once! I believe there are many reasons for this type of behavior; the desire to be in there playing themselves, potential financial gain for themselves through their children, desire to have their children learn from their mistakes and avoid the woulda, coulda, and shoulda’s of life. Maybe a father had a great future in baseball and could have played in college or maybe even the pros but was side tracked in high school with drugs or the social scene? Or maybe a mother always dreamt of being able to do a beautiful floor routine in gymnastics but was never able to because her parents would not take her to a class where she could learn to do it? There are so many sad stories out there of wasted or forgotten talents. My thought is, why is it too late? It might be too late to make the Major Leagues but why not join a men’s league, or even a summer college league, if you think you still have it? Go see if those college kids can out do you! There is a great movie I saw on TV once called, The Jericho Mile. It is a story of a guy who was a mile runner and he was thrown in prison for something he did or didn’t do, I can’t remember which. Anyway, they were going to let him compete in the Olympics and run the mile, then at the last minute they decided to not let him out. This about killed him. So one day he went out with a stopwatch in his hand and ran the mile on the prison track and broke the world record, with all the inmates looking on. After the amazing run he threw the stop watch away, he did what he wanted to do, and thought he could do, and it didn’t seem to bother him much after that that the “world” wasn’t able to see him do it, what was important was he did it! Sometimes this will be the only satisfaction we will ever get in life. Life isn’t fair, but I believe one day we will all be able to fulfill those dreams, even if they didn’t come to pass during our lifetimes. But if you can do something to fulfill your dreams now, do it! Don’t wait; don’t push your kids because you blew it! Encourage your children to develop their talents. Make everything available to them that you can, expose them to a variety of activities when they are young, so when they get older they can see for themselves where their greatest talents lie, then let them choose! When they get to high school, maybe sooner depending on the activity, tell them that if they want to excel they need to focus in on what they really like to do. The world is a competitive place; we might often feel like it is “survival of the fittest”, and if we measure everything in worldly terms it often is! So you do need to encourage your children to focus, just don’t have them focus too soon and ignore the opportunities and enjoyment of childhood. Much of what I studied in college related to this, when I was out in the “real world” coaching I saw it for myself. Sometimes it was very heart breaking to see so many kids waste their greatest talents for something that had little consequence. I remember having many kids who were some of the very best swimmers in the nation in their age groups when they were young, but never even swam in college. Many never even swam in high school. Why? Because their parents and coaches pushed them so hard at young ages, and didn’t let them or encourage them to experience other activities, so they quit when they got to high school to play football, or some other “popular” sport where they were mediocre at best. They threw away a free college education and an opportunity to develop their greatest physical gifts for a few moments of so called “glory” on a high school football field. I remember being really sad about it. Even worse are the kids who went off the deep end spiritually and have led whole lives of mediocrity. I’m sure it tore their parents hearts apart. What is the answer? Wisdom and balance! And a BodyMindSpirit approach to your life, and your family life. Develop your talents, don’t let them lie dormant, you are never too old! If someone tells you this, tell them to go jump in the lake, don’t listen to them! “You are as old as you feel, and you have an extraordinary influence over how you feel through your daily habits of activity, diet, and rest. Caring relationships, creative hobbies, and a sense of purpose and goals also enhance longevity and vitality.” (Dan Millman) Our nation needs more adult activities, so we develop our talents, are healthy, and don’t try to live our lives through our children. Often when I go by athletic fields I look to see who is playing on them, most often it is children or kids, but rarely adults, my thought is always, WHERE ARE THE ADULTS? Most say I’m doing about all I can do to work and raise my family, but how about having better balance in your life and taking 15-30 minutes out of your day for some physical activity or exercise? We do need to be supportive of our children and attend their activities, but develop your own talents, EXAMPLE IS THE BEST TEACHER. Many people need to stop living in the high school glory days and do something today. In Japan businessmen play catch with the baseball on their lunch breaks, why does sport or “playing” just have to be for kids? It shouldn’t, YOU should take time to workout and play everyday, your whole life if you desire to be a complete person, BodyMindSpirit! One of our plans as a company is to support and make people more aware of adult activities within their own communities, so they will participate themselves, have more balance and fun, and set the example for their children. Come join us!
Tom Wright is a Personal Trainer in Scottsdale Arizona. You can contact Tom through his Personal Training Webpage for more information on his services.
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