Posture Training

Good posture affects both your physical body as well as your emotional and mental well-being. It is very important during exercise, having good posture has many benefits. By positioning the body correcting while sitting and standing, there is even pressure on the spine, its muscles and ligaments. Having good posture can reduce physical stress on the body.

Art of Manliness published excerpts from FM 21-20, an Army field manual from 1946 that includes the physical training program used by GIs during WWII. I love how simple and appropriate it is.

This series may offer you practical suggestions on exercises to incorporate into your own workouts, or simply inspire you to get in shape and embody the kind of strength and fitness that would make your grandpa proud!

Training for Transrockies 2015

My week is filled with physical activities between soccer, yoga, trail running and surfing. But this year I took a new challenge; participate in the PepsiCo Transrockies Run3, a 3 day trail run in Colorado, 58 miles, 8,600 feet elevation gain. I decided to take this challenge upon myself to promote my non profit, Supportersize which organizes physical activities for people with Caner.



To prepare for this event I retained a coach, Jacob Puzey of McMillan Running which hopefully can help me prepare for this unusual event. I am very excited, about the training and about the event itself, and hopefully the attention I can get for Supportersize, it is so important to get people who live with Cancer active.

How Exercise May Aid Cancer Treatment

I registered to participate in the Transrockies 2015 as a way to draw attention to a very important (to me) cause - promoting exercise to people impacted by Cancer.
This article in the New York Times is a great story with some facts about what I know from personal experience.

Getty images

5 ways to measure your running success – beyond the PR

I just realized that I started running around the age of 13, that is 37 years of running! Initially it was a way to stay in shape for another sport I was focused on; until the age of 21 I played volleyball semi professionally and running was part of training. Later I just ran on regular basis to stay in shape until I was 38 when I picked up Triathlon, at which point running was the sport.

Now, again, running is a way to stay in shape and support my battle with cancer.  Ashley Marcin lists in this article few other ways to measure your running success.


Photo credit: João Lavinha / Foter / CC BY

Training, Radiation and a great Indoor Cycling for People with Cancer

Image by Alex Vachon

The past few weeks started with radiation to my brain to eliminate few stubborn lesion and ended with a great Indoor Cycling event, organized by the non profit I started after my diagnosis - Supportersize. The event was awesome, we had about 40 people in the room and the instructor, Kristen James served the perfect combination of inspiration, motivation and hard work.

Image by Roni Chastain

The idea behind Supportersize is to organize outdoor (and indoor when weather is too much for most folks) physical activities for people affected by Cancer and their families. I decided to participate in the 2015 Transrockies Trail Run to build awareness to Supportersize and motivate people with the disease to go out and be active, "Get busy living..." I am telling my story in this blog.

So far, two months into my training, I was challenged quite a bit: started with a nasty calf muscle injury that took three months to heal, and as I was getting better I had to undergo targeted radiation to my brain which added another layer of fatigue, but I am over these two set backs and hopefully moving full steam ahead, just need the trails to get uncovered from 2ft of snow.

Ultrarunning: What You Should Know About Multiday Races

Two months ago I started training for Transrockies 2015, a three day trail run covering 58 miles and 9,000 elevation gain. Big challenge especially in light of the fact that the longest event I ever participated in was Half Ironman races, the altitude and the fact that I was recently diagnosed with Lung Cancer.

The challenge in typical ultra-marathons like 50 or 100 milers is obviously how to conquer the distance and reach the finish line. Now imagine having to strive for that goal for two or more consecutive days.

That’s basically what multi-day races are and successfully completing one certainly earns you bragging rights. Few tips and advise at Endurance Planet.






Photo credit: Julia Baykova / Foter / CC BY

Biking doesn’t get more chilling than this

This is another way to do Trails, what an awesome idea.

Check out this fantastic clip at Holy Kaw!

The disease-fighting, DNA-altering power of meditation

I started meditating daily after I was diagnosed with Cancer last year. This is a  great article. If you've been putting off practicing meditation because it seemed more belief than science, here’s the evidence that could put it on the top of your resolution list for 2015.

This isn't the first time that Buddhist-style mindfulness meditation has been linked to the molecular goings-on of our biological makeup. A December 2013 study from the University of Wisconsin-Madison demonstrated that the DNA of subjects who meditated “showed a range of genetic and molecular differences, including altered levels of gene-regulating machinery and reduced levels of pro-inflammatory genes, which in turn correlated with faster physical recovery from a stressful situation.” The Full Story

Undo the damage of sitting too much!

If you’re like most men living and working in a techno-service economy, you probably spend a good deal of your day sitting down. 

I started to stand while working at my desk and I thought the folks at The Art of Manliness compiled a great list on undoing the damage, check it Here.

10 Secrets to Make You a Faster, Stronger, and Happier Runner

I am training for the Transrockies 2015, a multi day trail run that covers 59m and 9,000 elevation gain. I'm doing this to built awareness to Supportersize which organizes free outdoor events for people living with cancer. I am constantly looking for ideas and advise on how to prepare and train. Outdoor magazine had a  Great Story that just about talks about everything.

Are you sitting too much?

Mitchell Moffit and Gregory Brown of AsapSCIENCE thoroughly explain why sitting for extended periods of time—at a desk at work, for example—can be harmful to one’s health. Possible adverse effects include decreased bone mass, muscle weakening, increased LDL cholesterol, and even a shortened lifespan and for sure has negative impact on your running. I started standing at my desk while working, and the video they made is great..... video describing ways to solve the sitting problem

22 Ways to Get a Better Night’s Sleep

Sleeping has always been a struggle and the added worries about my health are not very helpful....Found few great ideas that work at the Art of manliness

4 Bulletproof Ways to Prevent Running Injuries

I didn't even start to properly train for the Multi day trail event I registered for in the summer of 2015 since I have been troubled by recurring calf muscle injury. I was looking for healing ideas and came across this great blog post in Art of manliness.

Great Gifts for Trail Runners - 2014 Holiday Gift Guide

There is always something interesting in these lists of gift guides. You think running is a sport that requires nothing more than running shoes, but Scott Dunlap curated a great list.

Training begins... and so are injuries.

Transrockies is about distance, altitude, multi day running. I ran long distance in the past but never under these conditions, so I decided I need some guidance from someone who has done it. Was introduced to  Jason Wolfe and after reading his blog and images and talking with him I figured, he's my guy....

Started to add running to my daily activities and quickly hurt my calf muscle, an old injury. Got to dial it back and heal properly before we restart. Meanwhile continue with Yoga and Strength. Like Mario Andretti once said

If you have everything under control, you're not moving fast enough.

Not yet formally training for Transrockies, but pushing myself

This morning i rented great pair of cyclocross bike at Big Shark and went on a 35 mile bike ride with my brother in law, Sasha and his buddies in St Louis.

I'm lucky to have Sasha as my "cancer quarterback" at my side from the day I was diagnosed advising and helping navigate between doctors, hospitals and treatments. It helps that he happens to be lung cancer researcher at Washington University in St Louis, working on a cure for lung cancer....

It took only four rounds of chemo therapy to wipe out 35 years of keeping fit and exercising, I'm still working hard on getting back in shape. Training for the Transrockies event is going to be tough, but I still have plenty of time to get stronger.

One year ago this week I was diagnosed with cancer and undergone brain surgery

It has been a year since I was diagnosed with cancer. It has been one hell of a year; brain surgery, chemo therapy, routine scans, the emotional and mental load on my family and I, getting back into shape and learning to live with cancer, because once it enters your life it is part of yours and your family daily life.

I continued to exercise while I was undergoing chemo therapy, and it was a crazy challenge. It was quite a wake up call for a life long athlete and triathlete - as I consider myself, to walk half a mile and needing to return home because I was exhausted. It is amazing how in a matter of weeks chemo therapy took away 35 years of exercise and fitness.

This week, a year ago I was recovering from my brain surgery and decided to go on a long bike ride with my buddies Bike ride post surgery. The physical activity and the company gave me a great boost of energy and optimism and this is when I started to think about motivating other people who live with cancer. Several weeks later I founded Supportersize.

Our goal is to get as many people who live with cancer to participate in our free outdoor events, and I decided to take part in a very exciting event that will hopefully help me build awareness to our cause. I registered to PepsiCo TransRockies™ RUN3 August 11 – 13, 2015 – Buena Vista to Camp Hale, Colorado. 58 miles, 8,600 feet elevation gain. Transrockies-run