Tag Archive for: election

Exercise on the Wild Side

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Here are a few observations and comments about exercising on the wild side.

  • “I think I may walk around the yard and talk to my cow.” You know, if it gets you moving, I’m all for it—you do you. I did not talk to the skunk I met on the sidewalk. I took to the street, and we parted as friends.
  • Take a 1½- to 2-year-old to a trampoline park. Watch them run toward the steps; catch them before they fall down the steps; repeat over and over and over, because they never seem to get tired. It’s a naturally occurring HIIT workout.
  • Go to the gym and just lift the weights you want to lift. No order. No schedule to keep. Just do a few random sets of whatever takes your fancy. Take a long shower and you’re done.
  • Back to the trampoline park—get your steps in while the kids jump. Didn’t even realize what the women were doing completely independent of each other; looking at their watches gave them away.
  • Dance. Put on some music and go for it. If you normally bike for 45 minutes, dance for 45 minutes instead.
  • From social media: “Do the thing you can do instead of beating yourself up over not doing the thing you’re not doing” is honestly life-changing, even lifesaving, advice. I agree. Sometimes, you just have to say, “Well, that’s good enough.”

What we think about structure and uniformity to our schedule is important; having a schedule and sticking to it relieves you of the need to decide what you’re going to do every day. But some of the time, we just have to think outside the box, shake things up, and go a little nuts. Every time Riley says, “I’m bored,” Paula says, “That’s your fault. Find something to do.” If you get bored with your workout, change it. Sometimes, you’ve got to lose the structure and get a little wild.

Finally, I misjudged the number of voters; I promised to do 10 push-ups after every 25 voters in my precinct, and we had over 500 voters Tuesday. By the time we got to 250, my shoulders were shot, so I substituted 10 squats; I did 100 push-ups and 100 squats over a 14-hour day. Still felt sore the next day.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

Election Day: Get Wild!

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Today from coast to coast, there are primary elections being held—five today, including Michigan, and about a dozen more the rest of the month. It’s not just the U.S.—it looks like Iceland, Kosovo, U.K., and Zambia have elections this month, and there may be more I’ve missed.

I’m a Michigan election inspector and will be working to make sure everything is done according to the book—and it’s a thick book. Wherever you live in the U.S., take the time to vote for the candidates you support. All the people involved in elections are doing their part to make sure we have a free and fair election. Do your part and vote today or when your primary is scheduled. That’s our voice and we have to express it.

Then go do something a little crazy with a workout. Do jumping jacks at a bus stop. Go up two flights of stairs and then get on the elevator to go to your floor. Race your grandchild across the yard. Play catch with a football. When a meeting is over, drop and do 10 push-ups. Just do some sort of movement that is out of the norm, that is safe, and within any restrictions. I’ll start by doing 10 push-ups after every 25 voters in my precinct. I hope to break 100! Let me know what you did and I’ll put it in Saturday’s Memo along with some of the responses I got via email.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

Two Questions on Independence

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I spend a lot of time observing people; I can spot someone with a gait problem whether the cause is their lower back, a knee, or an overall core issue. I also watch people move who have weight problems, especially young people in their 20s, 30s, and 40s carrying extra weight. Degenerative diseases aside, what kind of life will they have in their 50s, 60s, and 70s? I’ve watched what that does to people as well. I know from experience what carrying an extra 30 pounds is like. What must 100 or more extra pounds be like?

I’ve discussed the how of weight loss many times: eat less, eat better, and move more. But it really comes down to making the decision: 

            How independent do you want to be?

It’s one thing to become dependent on others due to an accident or other issue; it’s another to voluntarily give up your independence without gaining as much control over your body as you’re able. Think about that as we celebrate Independence Day this week.

Independence Day

I try to keep the Memo free from all other issues other than health and the things that can impact health, but I’m going to make an exception this one time to answer this question:

            Can we rely on U.S. election results?

I’m an election worker in my county in Michigan. I’ve been doing that for about six years. I’ve read what people say about elections, and for the most part, they don’t know what they’re talking about. The system is set so that only registered voters with proper identification can vote (and we’re really good at enforcing that), and those votes are protected throughout the election process, even after they are counted and reported.

Here in Michigan, the Heritage Foundation analyzed 17 years of data, 26 elections in total, and in almost 65 million votes they found 19 cases of reported (not adjudicated) fraud, or 0.0000294%.

Here’s my challenge. If people question an election, they should become a part of the process. Become a poll worker, election worker, or election inspector in their county. Use that one day during primaries and during the national election in November to be a part of the process. Yes, there will be some training beforehand. Yes, it can be a long day or days. But if anyone wants to be sure the process is fair and free, they should be there in person and watch it firsthand. Regardless of anyone’s political persuasion, if they won’t do that, anything they say about the election process is meaningless. Feel free to forward this Memo to anyone who repeats the theories without participating in the process. Time to ante up if we want to keep our elections free and fair.

Enjoy the 250th celebration of our country’s Independence!

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet