Author: Bob McMillan

One of the main benefits of an exercise or physical movement program of some sort is the ability to get into a state of FLOW. What is FLOW you ask? In the 1990s, a great deal was made of the ability of an athlete to get into a Zone or a state of what became called FLOW.

In 1990, Author Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (pronounced Chick-sent-me-hi) wrote a now classic book on the subject called Flow, The Psychology of Optimal Experience where he describes FLOW as “being completely involved in an activity for it’s own sake. . .   Your whole being is involved and you are using your skills to the utmost.” Mihaly C. says that the feelings you get from being in the state of flow are: You feel completely involved and focused; you get a feeling of being outside everyday reality; you feel a sense of serenity; and very importantly you have a feeling of intrinsic motivation in that whatever produces your experience of FLOW becomes its own reward.

FLOW is a feeling of COMING ALIVE!

Earlier than Mihaly C’s trendsetting book on FLOW, was George Leonard’s excellent 1974 book, The Ultimate Athlete. In it, Leonard described an interview between his sometime co-author, Michael Murphy and John Brodie, the former quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers football team. Brodie said this:

“Often in the heat and excitement of a game, a player’s perception and coordination will improve dramatically. At times . . . I experience a kind of clarity that I’ve never seen adequately described in a football story. Sometimes, for example, time seems to slow way down, in an uncanny way, as if everyone were moving in slow motion . . . The  whole thing seems like a movie or dance in slow motion.”

                        — The Ultimate Athlete, George Leonard, p. 35.

Again, intense physical movement inspires FLOW

Much more recently, authors Steven Kotler & Jamie Wheal and a team of Neuropsychologists are revitalizing the term. In their 2017 book Stealing Fire, the authors describe Flow by linking it to the feeling one might get as an altered state much the same as that produced by psychedelic mood altering substances.

I find exercise and physical movement far preferable to achieving FLOW than the idea of using mind altering substances. From my reading and research, the effects last much longer and are much more beneficial with exercise.

So, why am I writing about the flow state? I have personally found the ability to get into a FLOW state as one of the great motivators for me to be consistent in my own exercise program. Over the last ten years, I created a program for myself where I become so focused on the feeling of aliveness I get during and after exercise, that I simply don’t want to stop.

The experience of FLOW with movement and exercise is real. I’ll be continuing to write about the benefits of the FLOW STATE and how you can use movement and exercise to achieve it.

Thank you for reading.

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Bob McMillan is a blogger, speaker and seminar leader on the topic of Health, Fitness and Personal Energy for Active Seniors. Email Bob at bob@thecomealiveproject.com

“Up and down and twist around”. I don’t remember where that phrase came from, but it popped up in my mind a little while ago and it sounded like a good lead for an article.

The phrase may have been  part of a nursery rhyme of some sort that I heard as a kid. I’m not sure. But now, at age 79, the phrase has meaning for me. It’s what we, as seniors, need to be able do with our bodies as we pursue the rest of our lives.

Simply put, we need to be able to get up and get down and be able to twist around. What could be simpler than that. We need to be able to stand up from a chair and sit down in a chair without losing our balance and crashing into the chair, or knocking it over out of clumsiness.

We need to be able to get up and down from the floor or ground under our own power without assistance. And we need to be able to move around from point A to point B under our own power, as well as be able bend and twist our bodies into other than normal standing and sitting positions.

We need to be able to reach upward and outward and behind us. That means twisting. We need to be able to pick things up off the floor, either by bending over (not good), or by doing a deep knee bend of some sort to get us close to the ground.

Unless we start taking steps that will enable us to do those things when we are in our 50s and 60s, we simply won’t be able to do them as easily in our 70s and 80s and beyond when we start losing our physical abilities — unless we do something about it. Of course if you are in your 70s and 80s and haven’t been able to get up, down and move around, it’s not too late to develop the strength and mobility to do it. It just takes a bit more training and effort.

What parts of our bodies do the brunt of the work? What parts of our bodies do we need to exercise the most to be able to do the up, down and twisting around movements that we are discussing here?

For the most part, our legs and our “mid-sections” are the major movers for this effort. A strong mid-section, or “core” is critical as we age. Legs are a prime indicator of our aging level and the stronger our legs, the longer we live (studies show). Dancers seem to have a longevity that others don’t have. Dick Van Dyke, Ginger Rogers and Tina Turner are prime examples of people who are still dancing in their 70s, 80s and even 90s. How? Strong legs that keep on moving along with the support of a strong core.

How do we keep these areas strong. We exercise those parts of our bodies. We do half knee bends, using a chair if necessary to stand up and sit down — full knee bends if possible. We do our leg raises (with  head and shoulders raised), crunches (with your back against the ground), and planks. Take walks — long or short, it all helps. Mostly MOVE YOUR BODY — get up, get down and twist around.

Programs like Yoga, Pilates, resistance training all work. They work whether we do them by ourselves or in a class. But a self-directed program that blends all of them into a single program is probably best. You may find such a program here soon.

But no matter, keep moving. Your body is built to move. Laying around on the couch at night watching TV is OK as long as you’re getting up, getting down, and twisting around for a half hour or so some other time during the day.

Thank you for reading.

A friend of mine keeps asking, “How do I get rid of excess belly fat?” I told him to walk ten miles a day, then go home and eat three carrots and a piece of lettuce, nothing else. I told him he can have three blueberries for dessert. I told him to do this for three months and that should get him started.

There is truth in the above. But I did exaggerate. Keep in mind I am not a nutritionist.

Moving more and eating less really is a good answer for both men and women. The question is what kind of movement and eating what kind of food and how much of it.

Alas, that has been perplexing the Health, Fitness and even the Medical Communities, ever since men and women started climbing out of the primordial ooze.

In the 18th and 19th centuries in the United States, it was fashionable to be significantly overweight. It was considered a sign of prosperity. Even Theodore Roosevelt, the scrawny and weak child who became America’s fittest President, was overweight by his early fifties.

It wasn’t until the late 19th century and the early 20th century that the health and fitness craze really got started. People like Bernarr MacFadden, Charles Atlas, Paul Bragg were pioneers in the Health and Fitness Industry. By the mid-century, people like Jack LaLanne had a solid hold on general fitness, bodybuilding came of age, and the general public started on the fitness bandwagon.

So as the 21st century progresses, health and fitness has become an obsession with most of the interested public jumping on the “Quick and Easy” Fad diets and exercise programs that don’t really work long term. The discipline to stick with a difficult program is missing and people get tired of the diets and exercise, only to go back to where they started. There are hundreds of diet and exercise books filling the shelves of libraries and the remaining bookstores. Diet and exercise programs with opposing and conflicting viewpoints are being promoted by medical professional, fitness professionals and charlatans alike, all touting the benefits of their own programs and confusion reigns.

So what’s the real answer to losing that belly fat? Yes, in most cases it’s “Move more, eat less”. And yes, it’s still “burn more calories than you take in”. And yes, the nutrient density of the calories makes a difference. The nutrient dense calories are better for you than the empty calories, but the underlying formula still works.

So, the truth of my answer to my friend still holds. Move your body vigorously a minimum of 30 to 40 minutes a day for a bare minimum of three days a week. Cut back on the meat and increase your veggies. Please, if you are already a vegetarian or a vegan, don’t increase your vegetables — eat less! Cut back on sugar and junk food — you know what that is.

As for exercise, besides walking or calisthenics, do some honest crunches, leg raises, side bends and other exercises for your mid-section. While “spot reducing” may or may not work, once the belly fat gets moving off your body, your abs will be the envy of the beach.

Thank you for reading.