Update on the Baby Boomer Six Pack Blog…

A few weeks ago, I declared my intention to get into training mode physically and mentally targeting SIX PACK ABS by my birthday.

I hereby announce that I have to postpone this for two months – maybe three.

I am still working on re-establishing my daily routine and implementing the system I created in “Look Better and Feel Better in 60 Days“. However, I will hold off on the intense workout routine until I complete some “corrective training” to re-align and reduce the compensation effect related to the information that follows.

Note the operating word : Postpone – not BAIL…

Here’s why…

When I spoke to my mentor (Dr. Ed Carlson) about it at lunch in Gulfport, Fl the following week, he took a good look at my posture and suggested that before I go into training mode, I should go visit Randy Clark in Clearwater, Fl. Randy is partners with Paul St John (yes THE Paul St John – founder of the Paul St John Method of Neuro-muscular Therapy) at the St John-Clark Pain Treatment Center.

Dr Ed Carlson (my mentor) and Paul St John are old friends and have worked together for many years. A few years ago, Paul St. John and Randy Clark became partners.

Smart People Listen to Good Advice…

I had heard Randy speak at the Core Health Facilitators Update several weeks preceding this conversation and found his work to be fascinating. Over the years – although stubborn and resistant at times – I have learned that smart people listen to good advice. In 11 1/2 months Dr. Ed Carlson has never once given me a bad piece of advice. So I went to meet Randy.

Here is my take on how integrative neurosomatic therapy works…

Basically what these guys do is manipulate the muscles to release contraction. And recently they have learned something new. It is actually easier to get the muscles to relax by massaging and manipulating the “organs” associated with different muscles groups and associated meridians. Apparently this is far more effective than working on the muscles directly and in a very short period of time, by manipulating the organs the muscles relax automatically.

As therapy progresses, and the muscles relax to a normal state, many skeletal alignment issues correct naturally as a function of releasing the tension in the muscles.

While it is far more complex than this, this description is basically the idea. There is a lot that Paul St John and Randy have learned about the relationship between the neural net and muscles – and how they “interact and fire”.

In a nutshell, contracted muscles that stay that way for an extended period of time actually create a “lock” and significant tension in the surrounding muscle groups, associated meridians, organs and connecting tissues. This muscle contraction often creates tilts in the skeletal systems and can create long term complications if not treated.

My Personal Physical Situation Right Now…

In my personal case, Randy Clark showed me that this muscle contraction (and compensation) has created a head tilt to the right as well as a pelvic tilt to the right and several issues related to the neck and shoulder.

Unresolved this could transform – over time – into a permanent physical pattern for me and this is unacceptable.

So…

In addition, my primary front abdominal muscle is “not firing”. Apparently when the surgeon cut through that muscle for a hernia operation in 1977, the neural connection to that muscle shut down. What that means is that when the brain sends the signal to “fire” that muscle, the message never gets there through the neural net. From their clinical experience and observation over a long period of time, this is quite a common problem after surgery – for many types of abdominal surgery for both men and women.

The rub is that most physicians are not aware that this is the case and 9 times out of 10 they recommend physical therapy as the post operative treatment. What this means (if these guys are right and I think they are) is that the recommended post operative therapy (which is exactly what the doctor ordered) is often exactly what is not needed for the client. What they need instead is to relax the muscles, where the physical therapy actually induces muscle contraction.

Anyway back to my situation…

No wonder doing 2500 ab crunches a day (I worked up to that because as my friend Holly says, ” I tend to be an overachiever”) in a workout program several years ago did nothing to help my front abdominal core. The ab muscle itself was not firing. So all the surrounding muscles had to take up the slack and “compensate”. Needless to say this can create numerous issues – like a chain reaction in the body. I have a high pain thresh hold, so over time my body adjusted to the contraction and the compensation and – in time – this became normal.

Dr. Ed Carlson often points out that:

“There is a difference between normal and natural. Natural being the most healthy and normal being what MOST of us do, most of the time.”

My personal challenge to everybody who wants to change their life (and particularly Boomers) from normal to natural:

“I intend to set the bar high as a healthy boomer challenging all Baby Boomers to move from being NORMAL to NATURAL and I invite all of you (whether you are a Boomer or not)” – to participate.”

In 2003, I broke my left wrist in 7 places . In 2005 and 2006 there were additional injuries. The first was when I did a one point landing – full body weight – on the side of my neck and right clavicle. From 2005 until 2010, the clavicle was partially separated the whole time (until an amazing man, Grand Master David Harris reset it). I also sustained a knee injury, landing on a piece of steel full body weight in 2006.

I mention these experiences because they exacerbated the issues that had existed within my body without my knowledge for many years.

So here’s the deal…

When I get:

all the “coiled and contracted” muscles in my body relaxed and normalized and then naturalized

and when we correct the mis-alignments

get the ab firing again and

build muscle in the right places – correctively – to hold everything in alignment, the way it should be

Then I will actively take up the abs challenge again. Maybe the new target will be September instead of July, not sure yet. I am really glad that I found these things out because building significant muscle mass and more tension would have potentially compounded the problems and created serious negative long term side effects.

Thanks Dr. Ed and Randy Clark…

Future Baby Boomer Six Pack Updates

From April 28-May 2, I attended the annual Silent Re~Treat that Dr Ed Carlson has been facilitating for over 25 years. During that 4 1/2 days of Unceasing Meditation, I learned a good deal about what else has been going on in my neck – not just the “what”, also the “why” and what to do about it.

This is part of the solution to my situation and the physical expression of who I AM.

I’ll talk about the emotional and “feelings” aspects of this and how it integrates into my overall personal solution in further Baby Boomer Six Pack Updates…

I AM Michael Barrett, I AM a Healthy Boomer and I AM a Core Health Facilitator.

Baby Boomer Six Pack – All You Can Drink…

Gotcha. I’m talking about six pack abs – not beer. You know the kind of sexy abs that look great at the beach. I’m on a mission and I could use your support. Will you help me?

First A Little Personal History

Back in November 2008, I was talking to my close friend on the phone who said that he and a mutual friend of ours had decided to lose weight together. So on that call, I committed to my friend to join in and get below 200 pounds by my birthday the following July (2009). Along came July and I was under 200 pounds for the first time in a number of years.

This year, I’ve made a different commitment with less time to accomplish it. What’s the commitment?

6 PACK ABS BY MY BIRTHDAY IN JULY.

This is on the radical side – time wise -and a tough target but I’m confident that I can do this. Last time I lost the weight almost exclusively as a result of increased physical activity – initially by walking 5-7 miles a day in the mountains of Pennsylvania and later by adding back in Tibetan Rites, Qigong and reduced food intake to my daily routines.

I’ve tried the six pack abs thing before unsuccessfully. I even blogged about it in 2008: Why Can’t I Get Six Pack Abs?

Why Will I Be Successful This Time?

My plan will succeed because I’m refining my physical routine again plus adding a significant focus on raw foods and being specific about getting enough of the right kind of fat.

This is my physical regimen between now and July:

• Walking 3-5 miles a day aggressively
• Tibetan Rites every day
• Qigong 3-4 times a week
• Free weights: (to build up my upper body to strength level that preceded my broken wrist in 2003) 3- sets of 12, 10, 8, 6 alternating on each arm with starting with 10 pound weights and working my way up to 40 pound weights.
• I will also be using diet suggestions and core exercises recommended in Mike Geary’s incredibly successful e-book: The Truth About Abs.

Note: Personal Recommendation – Over the last couple of years, I’ve been following Mike. I think he is the genuine article and really walks his talk. I always read his newsletter and the more I read it, the more I realize that our health philosophies are really in alignment. Lots of things I have been saying for years keep coming out in his newsletters. Nice to get validation from a certified personal trainer and certified nutrition specialist. I highly recommend Truth About Abs for anybody serious about health and getting in shape – and the bonuses that come with his – e-book are really awesome.

Something else is different too.

Combined with Geary’s core strength recommendations I’m adding another tool: Core Health. Coupled with my physical regimen this creates a Baby Boomer Secret Weapon – and if I am right – the tools for a Baby Boomer Six Pack.

In 2009, I found Core Health. I liked it so much that I moved from Montana to Florida to study it with the founder, Dr. Ed Carlson, and after months of study and multiple joyful, expansive weekend intensives, I received my certification as a Core Health facilitator last December.

While the physical aspects of exercise and diet are very important, there are other things that are just as important and perhaps even more so – attitude and energy. From what I have learned in Core Health during 2009, I am convinced that when I lock in my commitment to succeeding at creating 6 pack abs using the DTQ techniques and making new energy decisions, I will succeed 100%.

The proof is in the pudding. Results are all that matters.

I am going to blog about this process the whole way and post videos and blogs about my routines from now until my birthday. I’m looking for some support. Just an occasional “atta-boy” and blog comments along the way would really help. Are you with me?

Away we go…

Watch as my baby boomer six pack materializes before your eyes between now and July.

I Am Michael Barrett. I Am a Core Health Facilitator and I Am a Healthy Boomer.

Healthy Wealthy Boomer is back on the radar with a lot to say…

After 35+ years of search and study – looking for the best ways to achieve comprehensive natural health most effectively, I finally found what I have been looking for:

Core Health

Heart Forgiveness

Funny With Money

My discovery is THE ultimate Baby Boomer natural health solution and over the next few months we’ll fill you in on the details. This system is endorsed by both Dr. Bruce Lipton and Gregg Braden.

The last six months have been an accelerated period of energy expansion and learning. During that time I have been an active participant in 7 weekend sessions of intensive training in Energy Essentials facilitator certification courses.

I am eager to tell you about my experiences as a student of Core Health, Heart Forgiveness and Funny with Money. As of this date, I am now a certified Core Health Facilitator, Heart Forgiveness Facilitator and a Funny with Money Facilitator.

There are so many meaningful relationships that have grown out of this training as well as so many wonderful experiences.

Dr. Ed Carlson is the founder of Energy Essentials. He has become my mentor, trainer and a dear friend. Dr. Ed is one of those rare individuals that is both a research medical professional and an intuitive. He is driven by the desire to contribute and make a difference in humanity.

Core Health, also known as comprehensive kinesiology, is a system of energy expansion based on principles and functional applications of kinesiology, cutting edge biology and quantum physics.

Core Health is all about energy.

Life energy flows through plants, animals and people as a function of aliveness. When we cut a flower from a bush, it starts to wilt.

Life energy show up as an heart EKG and a brain EEG – no waves, no life.

We can measure what enhances life energy and what diminishes it and the simple measuring device is your arm.

Core Health is a system to clean out all the energetic and emotional junk and debris accumulated throughout our life. We free up and clear our true core of health that we were born with.

Heart Forgiveness is a system to remove and clear the anger we have been carrying around most of our lives – whether we are aware of it or not. Once we remove the anger, forgiveness is easy – forgiving others and most importantly forgiving ourselves.

Funny With Money is a workshop that consciously teaches us how to identify and release all negative programming about money in our lives.

All three are amazing and fun.

Stay tuned for more discussion and stories. In the meantime, you can read a great deal more at this two blogs:

Core Health and Heart Forgiveness.

Nice to be back.

Michael Barrett