So, we know big bellies are bad for dudes and dudettes of all ages, but most especially those of us of a, shall we say, certain age? The question is what we’re going to do about it.

Basically, I’m going to be a smart alec and tell you to eat more healthily and work out more. [...]]]> by Richard

So, we know big bellies are bad for dudes and dudettes of all ages, but most especially those of us of a, shall we say, certain age? The question is what we’re going to do about it.

Basically, I’m going to be a smart alec and tell you to eat more healthily and work out more. I know, not very helpful. But that is the basis for every successful diet in the history of, well, history. And we all know how that goes. Really great. At first. Then we start slacking off.

With that in mind, I’ve got 10 tips for you on how to stick to your workout. Not all in this post, of course, but you’ll get them. Eventually.

Tip No. 1: Date often. Not a romantic date, mind, but a work out date. If you want to keep up the consistent work outs, you really should get a bulge-busting buddy. That is, someone who will join you on workouts. It’s probably best to find someone who is near your fitness level and who’s interested in the same things as you. It won’t help if your workout buddy loves racquet ball and you loathe the sport. Talk to your workout buddy and set up a series of times to get together. It’s harder to bail on a workout when you’ll have to listen to your workout buddy groan at you all the time because of your slack-itude.

Tip No. 2: Speaking of schedules. . . You and your partner need to plan your workouts in advance. Don’t just say you’ll show up at the gym and get some weights done. If you don’t have a plan or don’t follow your plan, that’s a sure recipe for doing less than you should. It’s also much easier to convince yourself to take yet another workout off if there’s nothing specific on the agenda. You can do something as simple as decide to work on your upper body one day and your trunk the next and your legs the next. Just as long as you’ve got a schedule. Remember, 90 percent of life is showing up.

Tip No. 3: Find an exercise you love to do. If you like what you’re doing, you’re more likely to continue to do it. Personally, I hate stair-based cardio and I can’t stand running on a treadmill. I know I need cardio, both for my heart and to help lose that unsightly fat (no, peanut gallery, not my head), so I hit the elliptical machine. It’s easy on my knees and gives me a good workout. Plus I can watch videos on my iPod while I work, so that helps me get through the hour fairly quickly. One last thing for today, though, and that’s to not get too comfortable. Not only will doing the same thing again and again get pretty boring pretty quickly, it’ll also only focus on the same group of muscles and your body will get used to it. You need to change things up to keep your muscles guessing.

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It’s back. After spending most of last week talking about a seminar I attended at The Fletcher School, a fantastic private school for kids with learning disabilities here in Charlotte, NC, I thought I was done. But every time I think I’m out, they pull me back in. Sorry. I just couldn’t help myself. If [...]]]> by Richard

It’s back. After spending most of last week talking about a seminar I attended at The Fletcher School, a fantastic private school for kids with learning disabilities here in Charlotte, NC, I thought I was done. But every time I think I’m out, they pull me back in. Sorry. I just couldn’t help myself. If it’s any comfort, you were spared my appalling Al Pacino impression. Anyway, there was one last social skill I wanted to tell you about, since Diane Stewart, The Fletcher School’s k-5 counselor, went to the trouble of telling us all about it.

One particular problem that many, many kids with LD’s have is holding basic conversations with people in a socially acceptable manner. For instance, they might hijack the conversation onto a totally unrelated subject, but one that interests them and of which they have great knowledge. Or they might constantly interrupt and never actually listen to what the other dude has to say. Or not even let other people have a turn talking at all.

So, yeah, just talking to people is a little more difficult for dudes and dudettes with learning disabilities. Through modeling, Stewart suggests, and working diligently with your own little dude or dudette, you can help teach some of the following basic conversation skills.

How to start and end a conversation. Making eye contact by, for instance, looking at a point above one eye if looking people in the eye is uncomfortable. Asking appropriate questions to keep the conversation going. Reading and responding to body language. Sending body language that tells the other person you are interested and enthusiastic. (For this last one, imagine someone leaning forward, sitting on the edge of their seat and looking raptly at you. Then contrast it with someone leaning back in her seat, legs stretched out in front of her, arms crossed and eyes glancing around the room at anything but you. Yeah. I thought you could see this one.) Another skill to learn is adjusting your vocabulary, volume, language and tone to your audience because you wouldn’t talk the same way to your boss as you would one of your old college buddies. Kids with LD’s also might need help recognizing when someone is using figurative language. For instance, some kids with severe LD’s might get upset if a person told them to break a leg before a play. Most kids with LD’s are very literal-minded about language, Stewart said.

Finally, and this should probably apply to most of us, try and help your little dude or dudette to think and reflect before speaking. I think that one should be self-explanatory, but here goes. Does what I’m going to say fit the topic? Is it appropriate? Is it nice or is it mean? Will it get me fired? Thoughts like those can go a long way toward helping make sure you don’t have the conversation that will get you kicked out of the popular kids club.

Now, really, that’s all. I promise. Thanks again to The Fletcher School and Diane Stewart. As always, anything you liked was all because of them. Anything you hated or was wrong, well, that was all me.

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I’d thought that as he grew older (he’s now approaching [...]]]> Some things, it seems, never will change. Take my middle little dude, just as a for instance. Zippy the monkey boy got his name because, as a little little dude, he would climb anything he saw. I mean anything. Couches, legs, counters, trees, fences, cars. Seriously. Anything.

I’d thought that as he grew older (he’s now approaching his 15th birthday) he just might have grown out of it. Turns out I was wrong. Very, very wrong.

When we were at the beach for our family vacation last month, Zippy and I parted ways after the deep-sea fishing trip. He stayed behind to eat lunch with some of the cousins his own age, while I headed into town for a little shopping. What can I say? That’s how I roll.

Anyway, he headed home with the cousins to an empty condo. There was no one home. To top it off, the front and back doors were locked and, he said, he couldn’t find any way in.

So, what did he do? Did he decide to stay with the cousins? Did he ask an adult for help? No. Of course not.

He reverted to type.

Zippy the monkey boy decided to climb up the outside of the condo to the second-story balcony, clamber over the iron railing and then open the sliding-glass door to get inside. Luckily, the sliding-glass door was unlocked and he got in without incident.

Here’s an artist’s conception of Zippy the monkey boy getting into the empty condo.

Considering the artist has never met Zippy, well, let’s just say it’s a pretty good likeness.

– Richard

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