FFB at the CHEK Exercise!

Hi World! James here…

I spent the last week at the CHEK Exercise Coach Program. I’ve long been utilizing the

CHEK method in my training and programing, and it was great to be able to consolidate and hone in on a few ideas.  I’d love to share with you guys the awesome concepts I relearned and enjoyed.

1. This seminar simplified HLC concepts and program design. A few key points I picked up on:

1. Find your client’s love or dream, so that you can relate directly their passion with their purpose for the program you are creating. Ensure that they clearly understand the correlation between their goal and how the program will aid them in achieving that goal.

2. Identify if the client is yin or yang dominant.  (In our society, 99% of people are yang or “fight or flight” dominant—and this will now determine our next approach)…

3. Identify which of Paul Chek’s 4 doctors is needed:

3. 1. Dr. Diet is often first.  Water tops the chart here. Next is “stabilizing blood sugar.”  In one example we covered in class, Mr. Stress Bucket skipped meals, drank coffee on an empty stomach and then had alcohol with low quality foods.  We stabilized his blood sugar levels by asking him to drink coffee only after eating, pack a lunch, and consider whether or not his Happy Hour habit was in line with his Love of family.  After, it was time to address organic and intact unprocessed foods.

Really cool: A few particular suggestions that I had never used was to suggest intermediaries to quitting drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes.  We know that telling someone to “stop” is not likely to work, but as Terrance Thomas (CHEK Level 4, HLC 3) suggested, “Let me help you do it better!”  For example, to avoid draining the adrenal glands, use high quality organic coffee only after eating; and espresso has less caffeine.  As far as cigarettes, apparently “American Spirit” uses tobacco that is organic, must be with fewer additives.  Overall, the toxicity of the client can be greatly diminished by changing it up a bit rather then focusing on taking it away.

3. 2. Dr. Quiet is next on the list of the Yang dominant clients.  Be asleep by 10pm, and work on ways to do it.  For Mr. Stress Bucket, the class suggested that he employ some deep breathing techniques every few hours when he is at work.
   3. Dr. Happiness can be addressed as well, particularly if the client has expanded upon their love or dream.  Maybe they really enjoy painting, and you prescribe painting once every Saturday with the kids, etc.
   4. Dr. Movement is often last priority of the four! One of the main topics here is to recognize that exercise is a Yang activity the way that most people do it (often CrossFit, Boot Camps, etc), and we have to be very careful how we go about “prescribing” it.  We may want to choose stretches or rhythmic “zone” exercises for our most stressed out cases.  Dr. Movement is, of course, also where corrective exercise comes into play.    CHEK Exercise Coach really keeps it basic, primarily coaching participants on simply solving: upper crossed syndrome, lower crossed syndrome, flat back posture, and sway back posture.  We learn to use a few specific tools for measuring the angle of the pelvis and the curvature of the spine—important to make sure that our eyes are not tricking us during the assessment.

2. What I enjoyed most about our teacher Dan: His incredible knowledge and depth of experience.  It is clear that he has seen it all.  I am staying another week in the area and am enjoying taking some of his classes, which brings me to the next awesome thing I am learning….

3.  Eldoas!  Longitudinal Osteoarticular Decoaptation Stretches; taken from the French Etirements Longitudinaux avec Decoaptation, Osteo-Articularie.  And if you’re lost like me, think: “Pilates lengthening in Yoga poses.”

4. Maybe my favorite of all:  Connecting with like-minded professionals:

• Quiet ______. What’s his name? Let me look at my sheet…Must be Garrett, since that’s the only name I don’t recognize. I asked him if he was waiting for CHEK Level 1 to speak up.  He smiled and quite confidently said “yes,” so I know that he can indeed speak J
• Mindy Jones Lee who provides Holistic Lifestyle Coaching and fitness to families (not kidding the entire family) in the Atlanta area. But she’s not a city girl: cowboy boots, cowboy hat, gun and all.  www.EnergyFitnessFusion.com
• Mike from Jersey.  (www.MichaelSPelusoFitness.com) What a character! Passionately Curiously Confident about everything…Are you and Jenna still on your extended vacation?
• Adamo, every class needs someone from Canada.  He and Mike kept the testosterone levels high in the squat rack and around the studio wherever possible.
• Brian from Boca…one of the few Floridians, and my first friend in class. Awww.
• Ginger, the other doll from the south, who hangs at the country club in North Carolina.
• Alyssa, the perky and energetic Hellman team member who I thank dearly for performing a thorough assessment and writing me an amazing program—I feel it working, and am so thankful for the love and care you’ve put into it, thank you.
• Daniel Brown, from Reebok Sports Club LA (my old alma mater) up in NY! Whoot Whoot!
• Paula from the Hellman team as well. (www.FitPaula.com)  Have you researched Abraham-Hicks yet?
• Juan, who may come over to my other alma mater Equinox on Sobe! Another Whoot Whoot!  Get ready to work long and hard my friend!
• Amberleigh from Louisiana.  She showed us all how to do the Zercher!!! What the heck is that?  Google it.
• Quanita, the dancing queen who is more than capable of finding Whole Foods in Ft. Lauderdale. (www.Quanita.com)
• Joelle the guy from Whales who knew all the assessments and four doctors before he even got there. What’s up with that?  And where was Natassia the first three days?  Say Hi to Ronnie in the van. And I’m looking forward to synergizing your family food snack packs…(www.puremindbodylove.com)
• TT, like Mr. T without the Mister! So awesome to have your energy, your awesome physique, and your ability to FROG either one or two Swiss Balls with the greatest of ease.  It was your fault for making it look easy…Thanks for eating grapes out of the Fage Container while everyone else did Greek (www.physicalexcellence.org)
• And of course Dan Hellman, who shared his studio, his stories, his essential oils, his chilled-out demeaner, and his dog Abby all week long….I look forward to our next class together amigo….C.H.E.K. his Lauderdale studio out at www.HellmanHolisticHealth.com  Awesome group Ex classes complete with Eldoas and Glute-Blasting Cellulite-burning Infernos.

Whew!  There you have it, now I am off to build an empire of Fitness and Health Professionals who use natural methods to reduce infertility, mechanized childbirth, and chronic disease in our infants (Mouth-full I know, I am still practicing saying it all at one go).

Next big piece of this mission happens on Nov. 9 & 10 when Fit For Birth puts on the “Pre & Post Natal Corrective Exercise Course” in Miami, Fl.  Come join us as we teach like-minded instructors and professionals on how to throw out the old doctors and bring in the four new doctors for childbirth and the birthing world

Peace and Love,

James