Amy and I went to a Halloween party last weekend dressed as PeeWee Herman and Miss Yvonne. Yes my costume included a "shoe mirror" 😉 During the party someone asked me "what's the secret word for today PeeWee?" and I thought why not add a similar feature to ICI.com.
Note: yes I am aware that Groucho Marx first popularized "what's the secret word" on his TV show.
Eustress - It's not a secret word and you may have never heard it before. I first heard Author Tim Ferriss use it in the 4 hour work week. Eustress is simply defined as Good Stress. More here. Tim describes eustress as stress that has a defined end where you can recover. Any form of physical effort is eustress except for when an athlete is over trained - and you know the result of over training, don't you?
If you are familiar with the "wear sunscreen" song, which is a musical version of a commencement address, you may remember the line: "do something everyday that scares you". Placing yourself is scary situations, then experiencing relief, is a form of eustress. Some examples would be: public speaking (teaching your first class), skydiving, asking someone out on a date, asking for a raise or competing in a race.
When I use eustress in class, I explain that the eu prefix is the same as in the word euphoria.
John is a member on the AFS (Association of Fitness Studios) Advisory Council.
Holding certifications from; Schwinn, Heart Zones, Team ICG and Life Time Fitness, John's held regularly scheduled cycling classes between 1998 and 2015 when he moved to Florida.
When the weather permits, you'll find him riding and leading outdoor groups by himself or with his Tandem partner (wife) Amy.
- Happy 75th Birthday Ed Hayes! - April 24, 2024
- Eagles pedaling through the air metaphor - April 21, 2024
- ICI Podcast 238 Meet Nerd Fitness Creator Steve Kamb - April 6, 2024
Hey John,
How about some pictures of you and Amy in costume? Too funny!
Another example for instructors is being willing to step out of the box and teach a little differently than the norm. Correct bad form or contraindications, push for HRM usage, teach a base building program, doing your first endurance class, using mind-body cueing that you’ve never used. A little bit scary for some instructors who are at clubs that really stress the all-out approach, or where the most popular instructor teaches every CI move in the book, or who scoff at mind-body introspective style of teaching. Scary….but oh so empowering when you see those lightbulbs go on with your students!
and yeah, John, i was going to ask the same thing – where’s the photos man!
Coming soon. How come no one told me my wiki link didn’t work?