Category Archives: Peak Performance

Enter the Peak Performer

Posted on by Bob Choat
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After studying many peak performers in all kinds of fields, one thing that stood out for me is that these people that were the best at what they did worked at it.  They did not have the best talent or skills to begin with, though it may help.  What I found was the amount of time and effort each person put into what they did.

This was even more important when the peak performers started their training at a younger age.  It seems that the mental adjustments through training helped the peak performer even more than when they were in the arena.  The military has known this for years, the best trained harder during peace time than others did.  The best athletes train harder and put more into what their training than the average athlete.  Again, those that started training at a younger age developed skills that enabled them to respond much faster than athletes that started later in life.

You may wonder, “How can I develop the same qualities at my age?”  While you may not reach the same level as the elite performers, you can still reach a level worthy of the best.  It’s been said that it takes approximately 10,000 hours of training to master any skill.  If you were to break that down for each day you’d have to practice it would be like this: 2-3 hours a day/ 7 days a week for 10 years.  Or 4 hours a day/5 days a week for 10 years.  You can do the math in any combination that you want as long as it equals 10,000 hours.

BTW, mentally practicing a skill also helps.  That means using mental rehearsal during the times that you can’t practice it physically.  And in some cases, it actually may be even better because you can perfect it.

Being physically fit will help with your mental fitness too.  Blood flow to the brain makes it function better.  That includes having a regular workout schedule, eating healthy, proper amount of sleep, & proper recovery.  Think of a race car, you wouldn’t put regular fuel or other parts in it, right?  The peak performer’s body is like that of a race car.  Keep yourself properly maintained through high quality living and it will pay you back many times over.

Keep a journal that documents each day.  That way you can make adjustments when needed and to go back and find out what you did to perform at a higher level one day versus another day.  The peak performer knows him or herself.  So should you when you’re striving to get to that level.

Give yourself some good recovery time.  Even the peak performer need time to recuperate in order to get back into the game and be their best.  We see some of the best athletes drop in their performance because they did not have the proper recovery.  When you’re constantly working to perform at a high level, day in and day out, eventually that will come back to haunt you in a down day or longer.  So do some self-care.

The peak performer surrounds themselves with other peak performers.  It’s like the old saying, “Birds of a feather flock together.”  Eagles hang with eagles.  Chickens with chickens.  You decide who you associate with the most determines where you end up.  Hang with peak performers.

As you take this journey towards being a peak performer in your given field, remember, it’s the amount of right effort you put in that will give you back the right skills you need to succeed.  Give it your best!!!

Fitness Occurs Through Action, Not Sitting on the Sidelines

Posted on by Bob Choat
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I hear many people complain about the state of circumstances in their lives and yet when I ask them what they are doing about it, they don’t say anything. Yet, one can see that they never took any action. Heck, they don’t even know where to go because they have no goals in which to strive for.

Nothing will happen simply because you believe it will. I agree that you have to have belief. But, belief with no plan and no action towards a worthy goal, means nothing at all. I can say that I want to get healthy and fit and then I sit all day long with no action. What happens? Nothing, except getting less healthy and fit. You can say, “Well, I bought some fitness equipment, isn’t that action?” Sure it is if you use it on a regular basis.

Too many people falsely believe if they bought a piece of equipment that it’s action in getting healthy and fit. You’ve go use it people! And if you really believe in getting healthy and fit, then you’d take action simply by moving more and eating healthier. Just because you bought that piece of fitness equipment means you’re also going to get fit.

Once you make a decision to get off your duff and start moving more, then and only then will you start on the road towards getting healthy and fit.

Change the way you think about being healthy and fit. Create a goal you want to work towards. Next, develop a plan of action. Then, each and every day, work the plan by setting daily steps that you can take action on. Do research all the time and document your progress through a journal. See what works and doesn’t work for you, both in your diet and your physical activities.

Keep challenging yourself on a regular basis. Once you do that, then growth will occur in your attitude and spirit. Your body will become noticeably fit and healthy looking. And the way you carry yourself will become apparent.

Now, get out and take action today!

Brain Fitness and Physical Fitness Go Hand-in-Hand

Posted on by Bob Choat
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There’s been several studies that show being physically fit also affects how fit your brain is. Obesity has an affect on one’s cognitive ability. This could be due to the slowing of blood flow to the brain as it does the rest of the body. When the visceral fat around the heart and other organs increases, the heart’s ability to be effective decreases.

I think that we’re seeing a correlation between the decrease in physical education in schools and an increase in obesity levels in our children. This, in turn, may have had an effect on the decline in each child’s thinking levels. Sure, there are many other factors that lead to this decline, including less reading and an increase in playing games and watching TV.

Though, those activities also show a lack of physical activity versus kids a couple of generations ago. There used to be a time when kids would engage in outside play and later settle down to read a good book. All of these contributed to better learning and memory retention. According to an article in Science Daily back in 2009, a person’s spatial memory (responsible for learning) increases with physical exercise. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090224133220.htm for further information. In a more recent study (Sept 2010), the same showed that physical exercise helped children in learning too http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20735996.

Now we know that physical fitness can improve cognitive function and memory, so can the opposite be true. Improving your cognitive function can have a direct affect on your physical function. In another study (http://www.sharpbrains.com/blog/2011/01/05/can-cognitive-training-improve-physical-fitness/) cognitive training helped to improve the gait of seniors during walking. That includes the pace of the gait too.

So all in all, you can stave off the effects of mental decline through exercise and improve physical fitness through challenging your brain. That’s a big part of continued overall health throughout ones life. So I want to challenge each person to challenge your brain by reading more, thinking more and learning more. I also want to challenge you to have a plan to move more and on a regular basis. Add a healthy diet and you’ve got all the bases covered. Give your life meaning too. And keeping yourself healthy in mind and body will help you pursue that meaning with a robust attitude.

I wish you complete health and enjoy every moment of your life.

Jack LaLanne: The Man Ahead of His Time

Posted on by Bob Choat
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Today the passing of a man who was known as “The Godfather of Fitness” has left both a void and a massive legacy in the world of fitness. Jack LaLanne was well known to many for his ageless pursuit of fitness and most currently, his infomercials on juicing. Yet, Mr. LaLanne was also a pioneer too. He opened a health spa in Oakland back in 1936 and went onto creating a system of pulleys, cables & selective weights in lifting machines. We now see these type of machines in most gyms today. You can check out his number of firsts through this link: Jack LaLanne Firsts.

Those of us that can remember his television show many years ago called “The Jack LaLanne Show.”

My own life in fitness was inspired by Jack LaLanne and his fitness show. He would challenge and motivate us often. And because he showed the world what can be done when we are fit, we did. He proved through challenging himself that a functionally fit person can overcome what seems impossible and make it possible. When he turned 40, he towed a 2,000 lb cabin cruiser with his hands ties behind his back. At age 65, Jack pulled 65 rowboats across Lake Okanogo in Japan. At age 70, he went further when he had his hands tied, and then managed to pull 70 rowboats, each with a person in it, across Long Beach Harbor. That was approximately 1 and 1/2 miles.

He kept challenging himself since then. I still remember one challenge back in the 80s where he proposed to any person that could keep up with him for one day that he would give them $10,000. One person tried and failed.

I want to challenge each person to live up to the legacy that Mr. Jack LaLanne left for all of us by giving your best in living and truly healthy and fit life. Do it for yourself and those you love. That’s all I can ask of you and you of yourself. give it your best effort. Start from where you’re at and challenge yourself to make improvements regularly.

You can go to The Weekly Fitness Challenge on Facebook to get information on challenging yourself and learn to live a healthy and fit life. Also check out Jack’s website at http://www.jacklalanne.com/. And on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_LaLanne.

Rest in Peace Jack LaLanne (September 26, 1914 – January 23, 2011)

Thanks and may you live your best life ever starting right now! OOH RAH!!!

Visualize Your Way to Fitness Success

Posted on by Bob Choat
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Many people who I’ve run into have become despondent about whether or not they can get healthy and fit. They even feel challenged just to get started. They may have tried something only go back to a belief they can’t really do, so why try. This is more common then we believe.

Those of us that are health & fitness professionals are used to taking action on our health. Many of us have done it our whole lives, it’s our passion. For the general population, they have no basis in fitness or forgot that at one time they did do it.

Using the power of visualization, anybody can create a thought process of health and fitness success.

I remember watching Dwight Stones (http://www.dwightstones.com) at the broadcast of 1976 Olympic Games. Prior to each high jump, he would do a mental rehearsal. He would start from where he was at and then imagine the each step he would take and then the leap over the bar. He did this several times. Dwight then put into action the exact same amount of steps and the jump that he visualized.

You can do the same thing as he did.

You can do this for both long-term and short-term goals as well as immediate actions. For the long-term goals, imagine the endpoint first. As Stephen Covey stated in his book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, “begin with the end in mind.” In this process, imagine you’ve reached your goal(s). What would your day be like? Are you feeling happy? Do you walk with a bounce in your step? Are you received positive feedback, both from yourself and others? Are you able to move with ease? What is your wardrobe like? What do you eat on a regular basis. What physical activities do you engage in? What have you accomplished that you couldn’t before you were healthy and fit? What new people has come into your life? And so forth…

When you visualize/imagine – bring in all five senses (modalities). That way it becomes more real. While the average person is more visual, it’s important to use them all. And even bring in the detail of each sense.

For the short-term goals, including the day-to-day and weekly goals, imagine the same way. And the shorter the goals, the more you have to take immediate action on it. Make sure each short-term goal helps leads you to your long-term goal(s).

For the immediate action stuff, you can visualize prior to engaging in any activity and then take immediate action on it, much like Dwight Stones did. Not only will you follow through better, you’ll also help to create neuroconnections that lets you know that you can do it. The more times you visualize and take immediate action, the stronger the connections will be. Then one day it’ll just be a regular part of your day – like driving a car. I’m sure you remember the first time you got behind a wheel of a car and how hard it was, right? Eventually it became a habit.

Once an action becomes easy, then challenge yourself to new actions.

To sum it up, use visualization for long-term, short-term & immediate goals. The closer your goals are the faster your actions should be soon after visualizing them. This will accelerate your success.

I wish you continued growth and success as you get healthy and fit.

For more learnings in health and fitness, join The Weekly Fitness Challenge on Facebook: Click Here and on Twitter: follow here

The Beauty & Brilliance of Hedy Lamarr

Posted on by Bob Choat
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One of the most beautiful women to ever grace the silver screen was Hedy Lamarr. Her beauty in movies such as Samson and Delilah made her a much sought after actress. Not only was she great as an actress, Hedy was brilliant as an inventor.

Hedy’s legacy has gone far beyond her contributions in acting or in the way she looked. She was responsible for creating was known as “frequency hopping” & known today as “spread spectrum” radio communication. Without that invention, we wouldn’t have such devices such as cell phones and other wireless technology.

Her invention was used in World War II against the Nazis and later in both the Cuban Missile Crisis and Vietnam. Today we can thank her for the various devices when we communicate to others via our cell phones.

You can read more about Hedy Lamarr at: http://www.hedylamarr.org &

http://www.hedylamarr.com

Hedy Lamarr on Film:

Hedy Lamarr Tribute:

Think about what you can do in your life that can make a difference like Hedy Lamarr did. Go beyond the superficial aspect of your life and into doing things that contribute to society in a meaningful way.

Each one of us has that kind of power only if we find our purpose and take action on that purpose.

Doing Your Best is the Best You Can Ask

Posted on by Bob Choat
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Many people strive to be the best they can be. If you are giving what you do your all, then that should be the testament to what success is for you. We all have certain talents, skills, and strengths and should always use them towards a positive and purposeful goal. When you do that at 100%, then when it comes time to leave this Earth, you will have succeeded.

The best way to always stay at your best is to make sure you have a purpose in which to do that. Most people are living life without a sense of purpose. They may even be in jobs or career that offers them no true purpose. What I’ve found is that people who live life this way, tend not to give it their best effort.

There have even been studies which have shown that people who do volunteer work will give much more effort than people who merely get paid to do the same job. The difference being is a sense of purpose which drives the volunteer’s passion to give it their best.

If you are not living a life of purpose, then find something that would instill that sense into you. Grab it by the horns and go at it 100%. You’ll do much more good in this world by focusing on your purpose and passion. Your goals will be more in line with who you are when they are driven by your purpose. In fact, what you do will bring you more joy and the work you do will seem like play instead.

Coach John Wooden’s cornerstones of his Pyramid of Success are Industriousness and Enthusiasm. That means to work hard at what you enjoy. That way you’ll stimulate the same passion in others. And his definition of success? “Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to become the best of which you are capable.” Doing your best is a big part of that.

HIIT and Peak Performance

Posted on by Bob Choat
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Many people are looking for ways to perform at their best – in fitness, sports, business, and their everyday life. While the conventional ways are good – that includes getting into some regular workouts and some mental training – our bodies are looking for something more.

I think back to our ancestors when they had to go out to hunt for food. When they stalked, they didn’t engage in long marathon runs, they would walk and then lie in wait. When their prey (a deer or some other animal) would get close enough, our ancestor would do a full sprint in order to get even closer to throw a spear at or club the animal. Our bodies have not changed much since those days. We need to engage in the same physical activities – just not throwing spears at or clubbing an animal. Our activities when it comes to fitness, should be the best simulations that engage our bodies as it was back then.

High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is one of the closest fitness training routines that best simulates this. After your warm-up, do an activity (such as a sprint) at full speed and then at a slower pace (walk). Repeat this several times. The full speed can be at 10 seconds to 30 seconds – followed by 10 seconds to 1 minutes of the slower pace. Circuit training can also be done at part of a HIIT routine. Make sure proper form is maintain when doing each exercise at a high speed.

HIIT has shown to improve both cardiovascular and strength endurance. If you were to add a compound training component to each routine – then you’d be better simulating the way our ancestors engaged their muscles. Think of it this way – not only did they sprint, they also carried their weapon (spear, club), and then threw it while sprinting. They even ran at angles many times. Their whole body was involved.

You can some of the same things. For example you can sprint carrying football and then throw it at the end of your sprint. Think of different way to engage your full body. You can do compound circuit training exercises. My friend, Jason Johnson, has designed a circuit training routine that does just that.

Incorporate HIIT into your daily workouts and you’ll see massive results in a short time. You’ll drop bodyfat fast and perform at higher levels in whatever activity you do. Heck, it’ll even help you at your desk job. Feeling and being fitter also helps your mind to think better.

Have fun with this and make sure you get a full medical checkup before starting a HIIT routine and play it safe.