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Athletic Challenges and Achievements by Ordinary People

Record-Breaking Day

May 16

Posted by ira in exercise, squash, tennis | No Comments

I broke three achievement records today. So I am certainly proud of myself.

I did 58 continuous push ups. My record was 57, done in Moscow in 1984 or 1987. So all this recent effort is showing some results. Just took me 25 or so years to do it…

I beat Joe Marshall at tennis 6-4, and then lost the next set in a close tie breaker, 5-7. But the joke is that he is a right-handed player who used his left hand in our contest. So it’s a small satisfaction.

I have now done SOME exercise every day for 187 straight days. A huge achievement for me, but a friend who used to be a dancer was totally unimpressed: “Only 5-10 minutes a day? That’s not very much exercise.” The fact is that sometimes I do it after 1:00 AM. Other times after 3-5 hours of tennis and/or squash. It actually takes all my effort to keep the record going, to remain disciplined (by doing ANYTHING AT ANY TIME) in spite of travel, business, family activities. I am still proud of my staying with it. But it’s all relative. I once knew a retired prima ballerina, and she still fit in a “mere” 1 1/2 hours of ballet exercise every day.

Yesterday after 90 minutes of singles and doubles tennis, I drove an hour to a prep school and took a 90-minute, non-stop squash lesson. I was exhausted. I asked my 17-year-old instructor how much he practiced during the squash season, and he said at least three hours every day, and he rose at 5 AM (as did other students) to do some of his workout before class!

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Russ St. Hilaire Describes Tough Mudder Challenges—Part 2 of 2

May 15

Posted by ira in OTHER PEOPLE'S STORIES, obstacle courses/racing | No Comments

Russ St. Hilaire has completed three Tough Mudder challenges in one year

Russ wrote yesterday about why he was attracted to this obstacle course. Think you are ready for it?

So let me give you a brief description of the fun. Lets start with taking your Tough Mudder pledge (look it up at www.toughmudder.com ). Then out the gate and run up a long hill. Down the other side and across a river. Up a full ski slope on a mountain—with the snow makers turned on—keeping you nice and soaked. Jump into an ice bath four feet deep and swim under a wall and out the other side. Run down the mountain—run up the mountain. Hang upside down from a rope and cross a large pond. Climb up the mountain again. Crawl under barbed wire in the mud. Climb through sewer pipes down into a pond. Cross some water under more barbed wire and go back up the hill in another sewer pipe. Run through the woods. Use a rope to climb a tower and then jump out of the tower into a freezing lake. Swim out. Go up the mountain half way—grab a 30-40 lb log and finish going up the mountain. Run down through fields of mud. Splash into a pool of water and mud and slosh through it while electric fence wires zap you on your back. Get out and run. Crawl through a zigzag of underground tunnels. Run through the woods and down a river with logs and barbed wire across it. Run back up the mountain while people with large water cannons try to blast your legs from under you. Run through a gauntlet of burning hay bails and inhale rancid smoke while tripping in the mud. Cross a huge jumble of giant logs and then run a hillside of tires, stepping in and out of each one. Run down a hill and try to run up a half pipe and pull yourself over the top. And finish the day with running through a tunnel of electric fence wires, while climbing over hay bails and through the mud—being shocked the whole way.

Here is Russ conquering one of the course obstacles in the video above. You can see and hear that it is a team effort. And you can imagine the effort and strain it takes to reach the other side.

Now doesn’t that sound like fun! And I probably left out some obstacles. And what do you get for your suffering—a terry-cloth headband with the words Tough Mudder on it and a beer and a T-shirt. But those three small things are treasured items! So treasured that people wear those orange headbands to work! They are prized items, because finishers are in an elite crowd that have proved to themselves and others that they ARE Tough Enough to finish a challenge like that. So tough that I have seen people crawl through the finish line with injured knees, or carried through the finish line with broken legs. I have literally seen plenty of blood, sweat, and tears on that course. But when you are done—other challenges in your life seem small and easily surmountable.

This is why I do the Tough Mudder. It may have started out as just a challenge and a way to prove to myself that being 50 wasn’t going to stop me. But it turned into something much more.

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Russ St. Hilaire Is One Tough Mudder—Part 1 of 2

May 14

Posted by ira in OTHER PEOPLE'S STORIES, obstacle courses/racing | No Comments

Russ St. Hilaire enjoys another Tough Mudder obstacle

I wrote earlier about the Tough Mudder obstacle courses that have attracted 500,000 people in just two years to these incredibly demanding physical challenges now at 28 different locations. Russ St. Hilaire has done three of them in just the last year. He also teaches kobukai jujitsu at his dojo in East Hartford, Ct., which you can learn about at his web site.

The Tough Mudder—what can I say? The name says it all. It is very muddy and it is very tough! 10-12 miles of dirt and cold and water and mud and suffering. It would be just as easy to do a 10-mile road race and only suffer a little sweat and tired feet. But no—I had to go find the toughest race on the planet. Why, you may ask? Well I think everyone has their own reasons for wanting to torture themselves for 3-4 hours, but I had some of my own specific reasons.

A little background first. I have been practicing and teaching one of the most physically demanding martial arts in the world: Jujitsu, for over 30 years. In that amount of time I have achieved a 7th degree black belt, and have accumulated numerous hematomas, injured elbows, a neck injury, and a knee injury resulting in surgery. So you see—maybe there is something a little “off” in my head already.

But it was natural for me to want this physical challenge. My own parents brought it on. They took me hiking and rock climbing and camping, since I was a little kid. I grew up feeling like hiking the White Mountains was natural. Swimming in freezing cold mountain rivers was just something we did and enjoyed. Later in life, I took on swimming as a sport in high school and did very well, going to several state championships. After that I took up weight lifting and fitness as a hobby, as well as the martial arts. After receiving my black belt, I joined the Army. Why? Because I wanted the challenge. I loved the long ruck marches. I loved the obstacle courses. I loved rappelling out of a helicopter. I wasn’t a big runner, but I could hold my own.

Now decades later, I still train and teach Jujitsu three or four times a week. I still lift weights. I still run. I still camp and hike the mountains. But I wanted more of a challenge.

So there I was a couple years ago—49 years old, doing all of these physical activities. Physically fighting with men 10 and 20 years younger than me in Jujitsu several times a week. Taking my whole dojo on crazy runs up hills, through the woods, across rail yards, in the snow—and I felt good! I still felt good! I wanted more.

Just by luck someone told be about a 5k Mud Run put on by Merrill. I gave it a try, having no idea what to expect. It had a dozen obstacles and some mud and runs through the woods. I had a blast—but it was way too easy. Then my girlfriend’s son Sean told me about a race he just heard formed called the Tough Mudder. I researched it and found out just how crazy it was supposed to be—and immediately signed up. That was a year and three Tough Mudders ago! I found the type of physical and mental challenge I was looking for. Plus it combined teamwork and camaraderie. It attracted military and fitness folks, and it gave money to the Wounded Warrior Project. It was—well—perfect!

Here is Russ and his buddies walking and falling in the mud. You really get a sense of how gritty and sloppy this particular obstacle is. Ready to do it yourself?

One of the key things that attracted me was that with each successive race, I began to see more and more people 50+ years of age taking on the challenge. They, like me, had kept very active over their lifetime and still craved the physical challenge. Many of them were smoking the young guns on the course. That really sparks something in me. It shows me that age is just a thing. It happens. But it doesn’t have to happen the way we are taught growing up. You don’t have to become frail and feeble and doddering. You can be active and an athlete well into your oldest senior years! (Part 2 posts tomorrow)

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Domino Pool Table Trick

May 14

Posted by ira in pool/billiards | No Comments

This is nuts, but fascinating. It’s definitely a challenge and an achievement. But how do people think of these things?

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Ashima Shiraishi Is A Climbing Phenomenon

May 13

Posted by ira in climbing/bouldering | No Comments

This video shows how astonishingly dexterous you have to be to climb these indoor walls. It’s unimaginable. Watch for Ashima’s upside down toe hold followed by a crunch that raises her trunk and arms!! She was only nine in this video.

Here is an article about Ashima Shiraishi, an 11-year-old girl who has been climbing boulders and indoor walls since she was six. And now she can beat competitors who are years older than she is. I love that her talent appeared at such a young age.

Competitions have been part of her climbing repertory since she was 7, and for the last three years, she has won the national youth bouldering championships, the biggest contest in the sport.

Modern bouldering is not much older than Ashima. It reached widespread recognition only in the 1990s as a discipline of rock climbing, one that requires participants to climb without ropes or harnesses, on rocks that generally do not reach higher than 15 or 20 feet.

The sport favors the small rocks over the big ones, so it lacks the drama and death-defying heights of climbing mountains like Everest and K2. But its fans are drawn to bouldering for its spare quality, powerful movements and the simplicity of being unburdened and unaided by heavy equipment.

Very little gear is used, beyond a pair of light climbing shoes, a pouch of white chalk to keep the hands dry and a thick mattress, known as a crash pad, that lies beneath the climber.

During local competitions, a point value is assigned to each boulder problem based on how difficult it is. Athletes climb in isolation, without any verbal help from the ground.

According to the Outdoor Industry Association, 3.65 million people participated in indoor and boulder climbing in 2011. Physically, children and teenagers may even have some advantages over adults: their small hands and feet allow them to use holds that adults cannot. Some experts have suggested that they bounce back more quickly from falls and injuries than adults do.

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Record-Breaking Surfing Waves Look Like Fun

May 12

Posted by ira in surfing | No Comments

He’s either crazy or stupid. That’s the only way to explain Garrett McNamara’s decision to tackle a freak 78-foot wave last November you can see in the video above. Original reports pegged the wave at 90 feet, but Guinness certified it this week at 78 feet, a mere 50 centimeters bigger than the previous record holder. The record-breaking ride occurred in Nazare, Portugal, and has to be seen to be believed. As he surfs the wave, McNamara looks like a small GI Joe figurine gliding through a wall of water. The tryst lasted all of 30 seconds, but the bragging rights will last forever.

Surfer Ken Bradshaw calls this huge ride, “Biggest Wednesday,” and it occurred in 1998 on the north shore of Oahu, Hawaii. The only video above of the radical ride was taken from shore and is a bit grainy. Still, it’s impressive to see Bradshaw dart with ease through this 85-foot wave. I don’t understand why Guiness doesn’t consider this the biggest wave ever?

The fact that this wave occurred at a deepwater reef referred to as “Jaws” should indicate the level of the danger involved in this performance. Surfer Mike Parsons rode the 64-foot wave during a 2001 competition on the north shore of Maui, Hawaii. A helicopter hovered overhead, catching every second of the gnarly ride. I think this video is the best of the three posted here for showing you what a really big wave looks like.

You can see two more big surfing waves here .

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An Unusual Way To Cool Off When Exercising

May 11

Posted by ira in cycling | No Comments

this is a special achievement that I imagine is somewhat painful—5/10/2012

Cops busted 45-year-old Joseph Glynn Farley for cycling naked, saying Farley was a distraction to drivers. He was also creating a hazard by falling off his unicycle and into lanes of traffic. For his part, Farley says he just likes the feeling of riding without his clothes on.

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Creative Wedding March Down The Aisle

May 10

Posted by ira in OTHER PEOPLE'S STORIES, dancing, humorous stories | No Comments

It’s a stretch to call this surprising dance performance an athletic achievement, even though it involves handstand walking and a somersault, but it’s so creative and makes me smile every time I watch and listen to it. Enjoy the premier and then the redo five weeks later on the TODAY SHOW. With so much stress and sadness in the world, this really is a joyful and uplifting celebration of life and new beginnings. Time magazine ranked the original video at number fifteen on its list of the fifty greatest YouTube videos.

Most couples wait until the after-vows reception, before breaking out into ecstatic dancing on their wedding day. But Kevin Heinz and Jill Peterson figured, why wait to unleash their unbridled joy?

The 28-year-olds floored their wedding guests on June 20, 2009, by having their whole bridal party—including seven bridesmaids, five groomsmen and four ushers—boogie down the aisle in a choreographed dance more at home in a Broadway musical than in a somber church.

Groomsmen split into sides as Heinz did a somersault in front of the wowed crowd—and the gown-clad Peterson quickly followed, shaking her hips to Chris Brown’s “Forever,” while pumping her bridal bouquet into the air during the ceremony in St. Paul, Minn.

Of course, some things are too good to keep to yourself. And when Kevin posted the wedding dance routine on YouTube, it quickly became a viral hit—some four million people right away and as of May, 2012, almost 75 million people have shared in the couple’s novel way of showing their matrimonial joy.

Heinz and Peterson (shes keeping her maiden name) appeared live on TODAY Friday, July 24, 2009, to tell their story of how their artistic self-expression on the biggest day of their lives captured America’s imagination and made them Internet stars.

After watching the video, TODAY’s Matt Lauer told the couple,” If that was a ceremony, I don’t know how you survived the honeymoon!” He then asked the couple who came up with the idea.

“It was mine,” Jill told Lauer. “I danced growing up and was a dancer through college and loved dance as a way to express yourself and share joy. So it was something I always thought about doing.” It didn’t take her fun-loving husband Kevin long to agree to the idea, saying the decision to dance was the first thing we really decided about the wedding that he wanted to do.

They then broke the news to the parents that their wedding processional wasn’t going to take on the more reserved joy of a typical wedding. Jill admitted that her mom was maybe a little nervous, and Kevin said his parents were definitely apprehensive, but didn’t try to talk the two crazy kids out of their plan. They swore them to secrecy so other wedding guests wouldn’t know what they were up to.

Next up was a dance rehearsal for the wedding party. Anyone seeing the YouTube video might think the whole party was composed of dance professionals—the bridesmaids alone, with their waving-hands routine at the altar, are worth the price of admission. But Jill said it was actually more seat-of-the-tux than the final result would indicate.

“People were sort of making it up as they went, people just got really into it and went for it. We just gave them a general layout.”

The wedding party rehearsed the dance for just 90 minutes. While guests were clearly overjoyed at getting a floor show even before the champagne flowed at the reception, Kevin and Jill are adamant they weren’t seeking a quick kiss of fame by posting their dancing high jinks on YouTube. Like many other viral video sensations, it was originally intended for friends and family.

“I put it up because her dad had been really harassing me to get it out to some of his other family members, and it exploded,” Kevin said.

JK Wedding Party—6/20/2009

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Motorcycle Polo

May 9

Posted by ira in motorcycling | No Comments

A new sport was launched four years ago in Rwanda: moto-polo. I wish the video above showed some of the crashes and falls, but we can dream on…

The sport is similar to traditional polo, except it was born out of this country’s distinctive palette of characters, customs and resources…Instead of horses, of which there are few in Rwanda, players drive and ride motorcycles, of which there are many.

There are five cycles on each team, opposing goals and 15-minute quarters with a “beer’s worth” break in between. The game is played at a frenzy—drivers goose the bikes to 45 miles per hour—as players jab and motorcycles fall.

The sport is evolving. Official statistics are not tabulated. Rules have never been written and are generally thought to be limited to these: motorcyclists cannot use their feet to kick the ball, and players cannot stick objects into motorcycle wheels.

You can read more about it right here.

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Why Some Black Women Are Fat

May 8

Posted by ira in diet, exercise, health, weight loss/overweight | No Comments

Fitness instructor, Michelle Gibson

There was an interesting article the other day explaining why so many black women are overweight or just plain fat: they want to be. It’s a cultural thing. White girls want to be skinny. Many black women never want to go below 200 pounds, partly because their husbands and boy friends won’t like it. Or so claims Alice Randall as she states candidly, “My goal is to be the last fat black woman in my family.”

She is hoping for a revolution against this desirable large-bodied stereotype, because one in four middle-aged black women has diabetes, which with obesity are causing more cancer deaths in America than smoking. And blacks have 51 percent higher obesity rates than whites do.

A few days later, the Times quoted a Washington Post study that concluded heavier black women have much higher self-esteem than average-sized white women. Fitness instructor, Michelle Gibson, who teaches 10 aerobics classes a week, says “I’m a full-figured woman who would run circles around the average person, and I know it.”

The Times also printed eight short opinions about this whole issue of overweight black women. Here are some excerpts:

“We are all dealt various hands in life through our genes. Some may be more fit than others, and some may have an inherently better self-image. I would suggest it’s how we play the hand we’re dealt that’s important.”

“While there is a greater acceptance of a curvaceous body in the black community, that holds true for other cultures as well — Latino, Armenian, Italian and Greek, to name a few.”

Josephine Baker

“To say that “black women are fat” because they “choose to be,” as Alice Randall says in her Op-Ed, could not be further from the truth…I agree with Randall that Josephine Baker “embodied a curvier form of an ideal black woman.” Similar to Marilyn Monroe, Kim Kardashian, Jennifer Lopez and Beyonce, Josephine Baker is considered “thick.” But there’s a difference between thick and fat.”

“According to Alice Randall, not dieting is a bad idea. But here’s what current data show:
· Pretty much everyone who loses weight gains it back within a few years. Some regain more.
· Yo-yo dieting is linked to poor health and shortened life.
· Exercise is good for health, not for weight loss. (Fat people who exercise regularly are healthier than thin people who don’t.)
· Nutrition is good for health.”

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Bummed Out And Guilty For Being Alive

May 7

Posted by ira in LIFE LESSONS, aging | No Comments

David Byrd and two of his famous posters

You know I want to live as long as I can, but in a fit and healthy condition…so I can be active and not whine often like older others about their doctors and disabilities.

On April 27th, I went to the Museum of Bethel Woods, the site of the Woodstock Music Festival in 1969. An artist friend from high school AND college, David Byrd, was having a retrospective of his posters—he did one for the Festival and many for Broadway shows like Godspell, Follies, and Jesus Christ Superstar—and I hadn’t seen him since the eighties.

(left to rt) Jolino, Ira, David, Michael

My college roommate, Michael Futterman, who had also known David at school, met us there, along with David’s friend, Jolino. It was a great little reunion, being together in the midst of David’s work plus all the videos, mementos and photos of the Woodstock weekend that changed the world. The mud-spattered, often-naked, hippie, drugged-out bodies. A generation with great hopes for peace and optimism. David admitted he spent a lot of his Festival time under the stage…cold, hungry, wet and miserable. But the music was great!!

I was still glad the next day that we had survived so long and reconnected, although we had talked about common friends who were gone. Then I received a phone call informing me that just as we were reminiscing at Bethel Woods, another high school classmate had died in a hospice. A few days later I learned that still another high school classmate’s husband of 53 years had also just died on the 28th. Both men fought long losing battles with cancer.

While I am smiling and hugging old friends, while I am exercising, watching cholesterol and improving my tennis, others I know or friends know…are sick, and dying. Lives over. Bums me out. I’ve been sort of numb for two weeks. I feet guilty for still being alive.

dinner with high school friends...Gary second from left—10/2011

Gary Brooks was a rear-echelon military lawyer in a helicopter brigade in Vietnam, but volunteered to fly for over 100 hours in rescue missions. He was exposed to Agent Orange, contracted cancer and died from it. Not fair that such courage and generosity is rewarded so harshly. I was upset that he looked so frail at a dinner last October, though he was humorous, vital and energetic. He did tell me about the cancer and how it started. He also sang a long funny song he wrote about a she-eagle who fell in love with a Huey Helicopter. Helluva lawyer.

My friend, Flora Mason, wrote beautifully about her husband’s dying: “We faced the challenge of his illness together and walked with him on his last steps in life’s journey. It was a privilege, not a duty.” How magnificent to not think of all that caring and effort as a burden.

I am sad that we humans, like all other organic creatures and matter, wear out and die…unless before that we are stepped on by a dinosaur or crushed by a falling piano. Life is such a treasure, a gift. We who are surviving can only be grateful at the opportunity to make the most of the time we have. We make money, clothe and house ourselves, love a few friends and family members, influence and help some strangers, and pray that we do not become so sick or injured that we can’t function.

Muscles, fitness and good health seem petty to me sometimes. Until I see those who don’t have them speeding faster than I toward our graves.

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Natsumi Hayashi Floats And Levitates For Fun

Apr 26

Posted by ira in OTHER PEOPLE'S STORIES, exercise, humorous stories | No Comments

200-300 attempts to get the perfect shot sounds like a very tiring effort

Natsumi Hayashi posts photographic self-portraits on her blog, Yowayowa Camera Woman Diary. I love them, and definitely regard them as an athletic challenge and achievement. She does 200-300 jumps to get one winner that she uploads and displays in print shows.

“I must be aware of the shapes of my arms and legs and make slight adjustments in every jump,” she said.

New York Times writer, Kerri Macdonald, says, “the more complicated—in some cases, dangerous—the pose appears, the less inclined a viewer will be to anticipate a landing. Ms. Hayashi holds her head high, averting her eyes from her landing point. She releases her muscles. She points the soles of her feet to the sky.

floating down for a drink

And she readies herself for a fall, knowing that it’s important to maintain the pose in the air.”

“I cannot easily suggest my style to everyone,” said Ms. Hayashi, who, like an athlete, uses therapy to learn to control her body. (Still, she did fall—and land on her jaw—once.)

You can read the whole article here and see many more of the levitation photos. Ready to start jumping yourself???

Natsumi likes defying gravity inside the picture

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Filly Meunier’s Childhood Secret To Good Tennis

Apr 24

Posted by ira in LIFE LESSONS, OTHER PEOPLE'S STORIES, tennis | No Comments

Tennis Sisters—Filly Meunier (rt) with 2010 French Open Champion, Francesca Schiavone—8/2011

Before I posted my words two days ago about subbing surprises, I showed it to one of my opponents, Filly Meunier. Her reaction was another surprise: “I had no idea you were so frustrated. You didn’t show it one bit.”

When I told her how startled I was that my weaker partner was giving me advice on how to improve my game, she said, “I have learned that the less you say, the better. Encourage your partner to work as a team. But if you don’t have anything positive to say, you say nothing.”

When I asked Filly how she had developed such a strong game, here is what she wrote.

ah ! , you flatter me ! such a nice compliment. thank you.

I don’t have many secrets to my game, and in my opinion, it would be beneficial if I did. There is a lot of technique/strategy I don’t use (and don’t know) and have not taken the time to learn or practice. Maybe one day.

I’ve played tennis since I was a young girl, for the most part only once or twice per week. On days I’d find no one to hit with, I would hit against a cement wall at a private school near my home. Could that be my secret? I believe that could improve one’s eye, hand coordination and ball contact. Since then, I have continued to play the game , mostly just for fun (very few lessons) and on average, only twice per week.

For the past two years (and for the first time ever) I have enjoyed playing in the ladies Dogwood League at the New Milford Tennis and Swim Club, something new for me. Competition/League tennis is really fun. I take it more seriously and strive to do well for my “team.” It’s a totally different ball game when you are working towards a trophy and working to advance your “team’s standing,” in addition to winning your own match. It’s a lot of pressure (talk about butterflies!), but I enjoy the challenge. In the past two seasons, we have taken home the “Silver” and continue to work towards the “Gold.” I am proud to say that in last year’s final (of the four courts that played), my partner and I won our match 6 -4, 6-3. Unfortunately, our other three courts lost their matches (though one of them came very close to a win at 6-2, 2-6, 5-7). Nonetheless, it was loads of fun having a shot at the Title!

I did read Brad Gilbert’s “Winning Ugly” last summer and enjoyed it. I would recommend it, if you haven’t.

I hope to get to play with you soon again Ira. It was a pleasure to have you join us last week. You played very smart, very tough, had some impressive “gets” along with some very nice points. Keep up your good play and always remember to keep having fun. In the event I find something interesting to add to your site (which I thoroughly enjoy), I’ll be sure to send it along.

The photo (above) was taken last year at the New Haven Open. I thought you might get a kick out of it. I was sitting at a court watching a match and suddenly heard Francesca Schiavone’s famous “grunt” (“ahh..hee”). With total excitement I scurried around and found her two courts over (practicing with her coaches). I waited patiently, and as she walked off the court I approached her to say hello. She was very personable and friendly, so I had a few words with her and then asked for a photo. She has been a favorite of mine and I was so elated to have met her. It was fun.

Schiavone is currently ranked #11 in the world.

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How A Squash Player Should Learn Tennis

Apr 23

Posted by ira in squash, tennis | No Comments

A squash player named Stephen commented on my March 2nd post about how Practice Does Not Make Perfect. He also asked how he should learn to play tennis. So here is his post and an answer (below) by Bjorn Runquist, a local coach for squash and tennis. I would also add that if you can play squash, you don’t need more cardio training to play tennis. I played about 8-10 squash games yesterday and was exhausted in just 1 1/4 hours, whereas I can go 2 of singles and 4 of doubles and not be nearly as tired. Let us know Stephen how you do…

Hi ira,

I stumbled upon your bog whilst looking for tips on how to improve my squash game.

To put it mildly, you have inspired me. I mean that in no small terms either.
I’m a 23 year old University student from the UK and the Chairman of our Uni’s Squash team.

All too frequently I find myself frustrated that I cannot compete at the level of some of the teams we play (just last week I lost a game to a player who turned out to be a Hong Kong open champion).

Like you my return is not good enough, especially the backhand, so hearing of your troubles and the revelation about “perfect practice” really hit home with me. Now I cannot wait to get back on the court and get a good mindset going.

I’ve looked over your site a bit and read your story about how you wanted to embark on the journey of change, and all I have to say is well done.

I’ve always been larger (not obese by any means, just carrying extra padding :) ) and have used it as an excuse to not play tennis, as the movement required for it really takes it out of me. After reading your blog however, I feel shamed within myself that I have not tried harder to do what I dream of doing, and getting that “beach body” and playing tennis.

So here is a little question for you.

I’m fairly good at squash, good all round strokes, but have never really played tennis other than a playful back and forth. What would you think the first step should be?

Should I get a coach? Work on my strokes or serve? gain cardio to hang with the guys in rallies?

Hope you are well today,

Stephen

Here are Coach Bjorn’s suggestions:

Advice for your web site commenter on tennis: definitely get private lessons. The stroke is so different from tennis and is critical to being able to hit the ball hard and keep it in the court. The business of simply striking the ball is, I think, much more complex in tennis— there are more “correct” ways of doing it in tennis than in squash (slice, top-spin etc). Once you have the strokes down, the game is simpler than squash, but changing technique from squash and getting a proper stroke in tennis is critical to anything else— get private lessons, visualize and hit a thousand strokes without a ball (the tennis stroke starts at the feet, goes through the knees which drive the ball and shift weight in the right direction and finishes with the racket and the critical follow-through of the last 3rd of the swing).

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Lessons And Surprises When Subbing

Apr 22

Posted by ira in LIFE LESSONS, tennis | No Comments

Subbing in a doubles tennis game is often full of surprises. Twice in the last month I was called late at night to fill in for a missing fourth, and I said “Yes,” to be polite and allow the regulars to play. Plus I love the game.

My opponents both times were much stronger than I had imagined from what I’d heard or seen. Balls were returned unexpectedly…a lot. I was lobbed, lost points to very angular, ungettable winners, and my great (rare) forehands down the middle were somehow retrieved and sent back for another point against me. Live and learn.

Now usually I could care less if my partner “doesn’t play perfectly.” I even like the challenge of having the weaker partner. Winning isn’t everything, I am out there to practice my new strokes and just happy to be playing at all. As a sub in one match last week, I was facing a 75(+)-year-old who is my role model: can return almost anything that comes to him and lobs and places expertly. My partner was another 75 to 80-year-old whom I like, is witty, was admired as a professional and also inspires me to keep on playing until I drop. I just didn’t think I might pass out in this match! He just didn’t move or return toward the center when he went for a wide shot. I had to cover most of the court, like a singles player against two people who could return almost anything. I was pretty tired pretty fast.

Then my partner began telling me I should yell at HIM during the point to remind him to move back into a good position! I have enough trouble remembering to move myself back into position. Now I am supposed to tell both of us what to do? It was actually quite funny.

But I have to admit the “singles-against-doubles” effort got to me. The other team made me run from one side of the base line to the other and then back again with perfectly placed moonballs. I was worn out after just a few games, my serve suffered, and it showed in the score, as we lost 5-7, 2-6, 0-6. I was lucky some points to touch the ball, even if it didn’t go back over. When it did, the other side just put it away. When I gave them a good shot, and they returned a soft ball, my partner didn’t always make the easy winner. On the other hand, when he did make a point, it was like a huge victory. I loved his smile and shared in his jubilation. Hey, it’s only a game, and lucky us to be playing when we’re over 70!

Half way through the match, I was a tad frustrated, but I kept coming back for more in a futile effort to turn things around. Some times in games where I am the weakest player, I can count on my partner to carry me or make half the points. In this unforgettable match, I felt it was all on my shoulders. That was crushing pressure.

Afterward, when I was licking my many wounds, my partner publicly offered me some well-intended advice. First he said that “I probably shouldn’t say anything,” but then he told all four of us that the problem with Ira’s game is that it was one-dimensional. No lobs or drop shots. I admit I was a bit disheartened to hear any constructive criticism.

Fortunately I didn’t scream. I just smiled and said politely we might have done better if he had been able to move back into position after each shot.

Hours later, when my emotions had subsided, I realized my partner was right. Although I have a great excuse—I was lucky just to get to the ball and send it over the net, much less control it with a perfect lob or drop shot—my game had become very predictable. So it was a good, if punishing, lesson.

Tennis is such a mental game. I love it. Pain, defeat and all. But when you hit a winner in the sweet spot…it’s all worth it. Hope I can still be playing another 10 or 20 years. Even if I can’t move too well or hardly at all…

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How Actively Do You Relax?

Apr 21

Posted by ira in LIFE LESSONS, golf, hiking, hunting, tennis | No Comments

I relax by writing, watching TV, surfing the internet, reading a book, looking at the grass grow. This morning I played 1 1/4 hours of squash games, lost every one, and am exhausted. I need to “relax.”

The other night I met a man who said he can only relax by being active. He said that he had hunted EVERY single Saturday for a solid year. Pheasants, quail, chukars, deer. If he couldn’t hunt near his home up north, he “hopped” a plane and went to Georgia or South Carolina. On Fridays or Sundays, he takes a golf lesson in the morning, plays 18 holes, then goes home and has a trainer give him a shooting lesson, and finally rounds out the afternoon by shooting 500 clay pigeons in his back yard. Probably just before going to a black tie dinner party.

How does a seemingly normal human being do all that activity?

But I remembered a lawyer I once hired who invited my family to his weekend house in Massachusetts. He was up by 5:30 am rowing his shell on a lake, then played two hours of tennis. As soon as we arrived around noon, we all ate lunch and went for a hike up a mountain. Back at the house, we were ushered onto a a speedboat for a spin around the lake. He said this was a normal day. Rowing is so beautiful when the mist is on the water. Gets you ready for the day.

But any one of these activities would have been enough activity for me. I was going crazy just talking, eating and hiking. I’d already driven a couple of hours to get there. The boat tour was fun, but way too much input for me.

Yesterday I heard from a friend that these guys may have ADD, which is attention deficit disorder or ADHD, which is attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Some part of their brains need to be constantly stimulated to feel ok or calm or relaxed. Too much stimulation wears me out. I need to relax. Too little stimulation makes ADD brains go crazy. They need MORE activity to feel relaxed.

I knew that ADD/ADHD kids are given ritalin to relax them. I never knew before yesterday that the drug is a stimulant and helps decrease one’s need for activity and movement.

Whether the two adults I referenced have any disorder or not, they certainly have higher energy than I do or will ever have. The challenge is to discover what you need, what you like and figure out how to have them both.

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Tough Mudder Was Created By Harvard Student For Class Contest

Apr 20

Posted by ira in obstacle courses/racing | No Comments

The video above has commentary by the two founders of Tough Mudder, who are also on camera as they describe their first ever event in May of 2010.

In just two years this start up has attracted 500,000 participants paying $90-200 each, depending upon when you sign up. This year there will be events in 28 locations. A great and growing success. You can learn more in yesterday’s post .

What’s more impressive to me is that Tough Mudder was founded by Will Dean and Guy Livingstone. Dean developed the concept while studying at Harvard Business School, where Tough Mudder was a finalist in the annual business plan contest. Wow! Those Harvard guys can really come up with some earth-shaking businesses: facebook, Microsoft, etc, etc…

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Tough Mudder Obstacle Course Claims It’s The Toughest

Apr 20

Posted by ira in obstacle courses/racing, running | 2 Comments

Kate St. Hilaire told me her father is a toughmudder. I wasn’t impressed until I found out what that means. Tough Mudder events are hardcore 10-12 mile obstacle courses designed by British Special Forces to test your all around strength, stamina, mental grit, and camaraderie. With the most innovative courses, 500,000 inspiring participants (25% women), and more than $2.5 million dollars raised for the Wounded Warrior Project, Tough Mudder says it’s the premier adventure challenge series in the world.

Those who comple one of these courses are convinced they can do almost anything else. It’s an ultimate physical achievement. In 2012 there will be Tough Mudder courses held in 28 different locations, mostly in the US, but a few overseas. Some have as many as 32 military designed obstacles, including running through fire and hanging electric wires, jumping into pools of water and ice cubes, swimming through mud, climbing walls/ropes/rope ladders, running up large hills (sometimes carrying heavy logs), walking balance beams and ropes over freezing water (one video I saw was held in 38 degrees), going through long and narrow pipe tunnels, walking up a mountain bent over under a net, crawling many yards under 18 inches of barbed wire…you get the idea.

Now check out this video above and decide if you have what it takes to accept this challenge! It was shot by Ryan Tworek who completed the course wearing a head cam, so you can see every obstacle in the October 2011 Virginia event.

I love Ryan’s hot tip about the electric shock obstacle: “Yes, they had 10,000 volts or 3 car batteries hooked up to it and you didn’t know which one’s are live as it’s alternating current! I got hit 3x and you definitely know when you touch one of the live wires! It’s yellow rope with a metal wire in the middle of it.”

Wikipedia’s description of Tough Mudder includes a list of upcoming events, which the New York Times wrote are “more convivial than marathons and triathlons.” Contestants are not timed, and organizers encourage ‘mudders’ to demonstrate teamwork by helping fellow participants over difficult obstacles to complete the course. The prize for completing a Tough Mudder challenge is an official orange sweatband and a free beer. It is estimated that 15-20% of participants do not finish.

You might also want to compare this obstacle course with two others I have written about: the Tough Guy and Spartan Racing. There are also many painful long-distance running events you can explore under the “running” category on the Home Page

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Spicing Up Your Tennis Game

Apr 19

Posted by ira in humorous stories, squash, tennis | No Comments

Federer and Nadal play tennis in Dubai

Kate St.Hilaire sent me a link to 25 photos of sports being played in unusual places, like a basketball court on an aircraft carrier and a soccer field on a Tokyo rooftop. Here are three of the sites related to my favorite sports, even though the tennis courts are strictly humorous publicity stunts for Roger and Rafa. Amusing to me is that one of the sites is the portable squash court in New York’s Grand Central Station…I went there for a match and didn’t think it was unusual at all!

Squash in Gaza

Tennis in Qatar

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TJ Faces Two Big Challenges

Apr 18

Posted by ira in LIFE LESSONS, OTHER PEOPLE'S STORIES, health, running | No Comments

TJ (left) with friends—3/24/2012

Back on March 17th, I wrote about how I hurt my knee and was scared that I might no longer be able to play tennis…and then was ashamed that with all the sickness and sadness in the world, I had no right to feel sorry for myself. Here is a poignant and powerful comment from a reader named TJ. She has really set a high athletic challenge for herself: to run a marathon (26 miles) although the most she has ever run non-stop in her life is “just” eight miles! She also has another challenge involving her health and appearance, and has an unbelievably positive and adaptive attitude. She reminds me how in the past, as my hair thinned out, my bald spot became larger, and I watched a relative lose all her hair during cancer treatments, I would rationalize that “it’s better to be bald than dead.”

This post resonated with me, so I felt the need to comment. These are just some thoughts, so forgive me if the sentiment’s a little scattered.

This past December I entered the lottery for the New York City marathon for the fourth time in my life, and was admitted. FINALLY I’m getting the chance to live out one of my lifelong dreams of running 26.2 miles in the city in which I’ve learned some of my most important life lessons. To have the opportunity to meet this challenge head on, means the whole world to me, and every day that I go running, I just picture all of my Rocky Balboa-esque workouts culminating in that final moment when my mind has conquered matter, and I’m dashing across the finish line.

Another challenge presented itself this past December too—I discovered I have an auto-immune disorder called alopecia areta that causes my hair to fall out in patches sporadically. While otherwise perfectly healthy, I have absolutely no control over what my hair will look like the next day, and eventually, if my body doesn’t respond to treatment (cortisone injections in my scalp once a month), I could end up totally bald.

You can imagine that for a woman, not having any control over how I’m going to look is incredibly frustrating, and it’s made me consider how drastically others’ perceptions of me could shift in the next year or so. But surprisingly (even to me), I’m not that upset. I’ve had a lot of time since December to reflect on what my condition really is in the grand scheme of things. I’m not dying. Being bald wouldn’t change who I am fundamentally. There are so many worse things that can happen to a person. I have friends who are battling cancer, mourning the losses of their parents, and learning how to live their life again with only one leg. So whenever I start to feel sorry for myself for a little hair falling out, I remember that for now, I can still go for a run. Who knows? Maybe if I end up totally bald, the lack of extra wind resistance will shave a couple minutes off my marathon time? : )

she is losing patches of hair

It’s tough not being able to do something you’ve been able to your whole life. It’s tough not having control while your body changes. I know playing tennis and putting your hair up are in two totally different ballparks, but I think I can empathize with the sentiment. We’re all constantly on a journey to achieve and to perfect ourselves despite the wear and tear that comes with living. But maybe if you stay off of your knee for a while, you’ll have the opportunity to pull something else out of yourself you didn’t know was there. Maybe you’re a world class chess player? Maybe you’ll spend more time rowing and find that it’s something you love?

We are each a project that’s always evolving and re-growing. I could lose all of my hair. I could sprain my ankle and not even make it to the marathon (knock on wood). But until that happens, I’m relishing in shampooing my hair every morning and beaming with every step I take in the evening because you’re right—as long as we’re alive, it’s not enough to just watch the ocean from the beach. You don’t get a dress rehearsal, so you have to enjoy what you’ve got while you’ve got it and push for everything you want in this life. If you love tennis, play tennis until you can’t play tennis anymore, and then when you can’t, you’ll find a new passion within yourself and be a stronger person for it.

When I’m running, I spend a lot of time thinking about the people and ideas that have made me strong enough to conquer a marathon, and I want to put them all on the t-shirt I wear that day in some way to remind myself of who I really am. You can be sure that I’ll have a shout out to irasabs.com somewhere on that shirt. Thank you for always being an inspiration.

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Sports Lessons Can Be Life Lessons

Apr 12

Posted by ira in LIFE LESSONS | No Comments

I mentioned yesterday that I was getting a lot better at tennis and squash, and much of that improvement was attributed to pointers from knowledgeable coaches and the advice that “practice DOESN’T make perfect,” but “PERFECT” practice is what is needed for better performance.

What seems applicable in these thoughts to life off the courts is that you can’t get things “right” the first time. It’s a lot of trial and error, identifying “perfect” practice and then practicing. There is the need to risk failure, to make mistakes, to get up off the mat when you fall and do it again. One needs to read books and talk to others who have succeeded, whether it is creating good relationships, career changes, making money, relocating where you live.

Life is full of challenges. Just like athletics. Unfortunately life has to be lived, whereas no one has to play sports. We all know you can learn about people by watching them play sports, and you can learn about life by playing any sport. The biggest problem is that there are no classes for how to live your life. And people expect you to know what you are doing and act like you know, when we are actually very uninformed. So most of us bluff others and also ourselves. A big mistake. Life is a lifelong learning process. We are all in it together. No one is really fooling us if they suggest that they have all the answers. But experience is worth everything, and practice—that is “perfect” practice—makes us better at it. So let’s keep on learning and practicing and enjoying the progress.

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The Joy Of Improving At Sport

Apr 11

Posted by ira in LIFE LESSONS, squash, tennis | No Comments

Today I was a case history twice on how to improve at sport. Maybe there is a message for non-athletic activities as well.

I played my best tennis ever for two hours in the morning, using the new techniques I’d learned from local coach Rob Ober, who’d roomed with Andre Agassi at their tennis camp. The open stance and serve pointers he gave me took a couple of weeks to adjust to, but I am now swinging and serving well enough to be more competitive with some strong players in the area. My ground strokes have more power and sometimes have top spin.

In the afternoon I played my best squash ever for an hour and a half and won eight games out of 12 against a player who beat me all five games the last time we played months ago. I was using the new swing, serve return placement and body position that I’d learned from local coach Bjorn Runquist, who had wisely taught me that “Practice does not make perfect, but PERFECT practice is what makes perfect.” A major distinction.

My tennis partner in the morning was a 4.0 player who has seen me play at least three or four times with months or years between viewings. When I first faced Phil Farmer four years ago, I wasn’t even at the level of the 75-93-year-olds with 50-75 years of experience I was playing with. I could out run the older guys, but they could place every shot so accurately that if the ball came near them, they earned a point. Drops and lobs were a key part of their strategy. At the end of our games back then, Phil gave me some wise advice that I really appreciated him mentioning. He said it seemed that I hadn’t identified his weaker side, forehand or backhand, and that my game would improve if I noticed things like that and adapted my game to each player. I was grateful for his suggestion.

A couple of years later, Phil saw me at his club, where I was a guest, and he commented that my game had improved. A real compliment. In the last year, I have been learning about doubles strategy from Joe Marshall and the books he and Rob Ober recommended. So today Phil praised my game a couple of times, noting that I was playing “good smart tennis.” My volleying at the net was also pretty good.

It’s very gratifying to work at something and make progress. To challenge yourself to grow or improve at a skill and then realize that objective. For now I just want to keep getting better. There is no end goal, like winning tournaments or becoming the best in the country or the county. I just want to play with stronger and more experienced players and be invited back into their games. I am enjoying the journey and not focused on any final destination.

I remember a friend telling me sadly that he had stopped playing tennis regularly, because so much activity had injured his body, and now his level of play was only going down, rather than up. It was too upsetting. But I am still on the upside of the curve, aiming for the highest point I can at this age.

Somewhere in the future, I will reach my peak performance, my level will start to flatten out or decline, and I will be back playing mostly with the 75-90-year-olds. I hope that happens, when I am almost 90 myself. I may have wistful moments about how good I was in my early 70′s, but at least I will still be alive, playing, enjoying some cardio, and having the thrill of making each winning sweet-spot-shot.

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Beach Vollyball Champion Kerri Walsh Has Abs

Apr 10

Posted by ira in abs pictures, beach vollyball, photos of celebrities | No Comments

A recent news story about how bikinis may no longer be the official uniform for women’s beach volleyball motivated me to look at what the present costume is. That’s how I bumped into Kerri Lee Walsh-Jennings who with teammate Misty May-Treanor were the gold medalists in beach volleyball at both the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics. They have been called “the greatest beach volleyball team of all time.”

Of course I picked this picture, because it’s so rare to see women with abs.

In this photo by Jamie Squire: Kerri Walsh (left) and Misty May-Treanor celebrate during the women’s gold medal match against China during Day 13 of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China.

And for those the least bit curious, here are excerpts from the AP news story I mentioned:

Under new rules adopted by the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB), players are now free to wear shorts and sleeved tops. The governing body said the move was made out of respect for the cultural beliefs of some of the countries still in contention to qualify for the games.

But top players say they won’t be switching from the beach- and TV-friendly bikinis to the more modest uniforms approved recently by the International Volleyball Federation as a nod to countries where more modest attire is preferred.

“It’s something I really feel comfortable with,” said Kerri Walsh, who with Misty May-Treanor won the gold medal in Athens and Beijing while wearing the standard beach volleyball uniform: a two-piece bathing suit. “It’s something I feel empowered by, not distracted with. I’m not a sex symbol; I’m an athlete. I want to be streamlined out there.” Read the rest of this entry »

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150 Straight Days Of Exercise

Apr 9

Posted by ira in exercise, push ups | No Comments

Forgive my bragging, but this is really a terrific achievement for me. I challenged myself to do some kind of exercise every day—even if just 5-10 minutes—no matter where I was, time of day, or what I did. I completed this much of the goal—150 continuous days—with five sets of push ups: 21, 25, 21, 21, 32 with 90 seconds rest between sets, except for 120 seconds before the last set. Exhausting.

This has changed my life completely, because I do them in the evenings, and I won’t eat usually until I have done the task. And many of the days, like today, I played squash for an hour after working during the day. So I came home at 8 pm and couldn’t get up the energy to do the exercise until 9:15. This is mostly an effort to stay disciplined, and I have not been a disciplined person ever before, when it comes to regular exercise.

Many of the early days, I ate and then read or watched TV until I felt able to exercise without nausea or indigestion. Often I was exercising after midnight or after having fallen asleep on the couch.

Doing push ups three times a week is another sub goal I have also taken on to see if I can ever reach more than 57 non-stop push ups. The program I am following is supposed to enable me to do 100, but I’d be happy for now just to break my previous record…which I set in 1987, when I was in the Soviet Union for a month and could exercise every day. I was also a lot younger. We’ll see what I achieve.

Tomorrow I will practice a new tennis serve that I saw on TV. So much to do. So many challenges to take on…How are you doing?

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I Have Reached Another Birthday

Apr 5

Posted by ira in LIFE LESSONS, abs pictures, exercise | 2 Comments

Ira after 1000 non-stop crunches—4/5/2012

Today I am 71 years old and have been writing on this web site for exactly three years. Although the age number sounds ancient—and I am definitely a little scared to be this old—I am thrilled beyond anything you can imagine that I have survived at all for one more year. And I am still enjoying good health. I remain grateful for so many parts of my life, and I am constantly reminded by less fortunate friends—and strangers read about and seen in media—how really crappy life CAN be and actually IS for vast numbers of humans. Of course I have setbacks and disappointments, struggles, anxieties and fears. But they are in the past, and as much as possible, I keep on looking forward.

The Buddhists say Life is Suffering. M.Scott Peck (who lived and worked just a few miles from me) says in his book, The Road Less Traveled (10 million sold), that Life is difficult. It is filled with problems and pain. It takes discipline to deal with them. It is only because of the problems that we grow mentally and physically. Many people attempt to avoid problems and suffering instead of dealing with them.

Somehow I have been able to wend my way through and around many of my problems. It’s not clear to me how or why I achieved this. I attacked them obliquely or confronted others head on. But I credit much of the progress to chance, luck and good genes. All around me are contemporaries who have had serious illnesses, injured their limbs or were born with organs that let them down. Some of these incidents might have been prevented if they’d eaten less or exercised more or paid a bit more attention. But a few are sick, because their military service resulted in exposure to toxic chemicals. Maybe, like my father, they looked left instead of right and were hit by a car…or like a friend who looked straight ahead and broke legs, when he fell through a hole in a roof. Others went on vacations to remote places and came back with lifelong diseases. Life can be so cruel.

When I was working full-time, I almost never exercised. I just couldn’t make time for it. It’s only now that I am semi-retired, and not forced to work eight-plus hours every day, that I finally have the psychological strength and time to exercise and play sports. Many friends have been enjoying the gym and sports their whole lives. They had to do this. It was not a choice. It is who they are. And when you exert yourself like that, you will have injuries, soreness, and wear out your body. So by age 71 or younger, they are no longer able to participate.

Fortunately, my genes, my attitude, my diet and now my physical activities have brought me to this wonderful, but totally ridiculous, place, where I care about six-packs, tennis swings and low cholesterol. I want to be fully alive, and good health is the highest priority. I have been sick and confined to hospitals. Without health, you just can’t partake in many of life’s activities. If these words help guide you to a fuller, lengthier and satisfied life, I would love to hear about it. I don’t know how I became who I am. But here I am, making the most of a blessed journey.

I hope you enjoyed this day, my birth day. I just learned that April 5th is also the birthday of Colin Powell, Booker T. Washington, Thomas Hobbes Gregory Peck, Bette Davis, Spencer Tracy and Melvyn Douglas.

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