Lessons from Mom

Clean The House

Being a single mother of four boys, mom insisted on keeping a clean house.  She always said, we may not have much money but that is no excuse for being dirty.  Boys love dirt, and we certainly did. 

One Thanksgiving, we went out to play football on a rainy morning and came back covered in mud.  She looked and us and sighed, saying c'mon boys why do you have to do this to me on Thanksgiving.  She made us strip down on the back porch before getting ready for dinner. 

She insisted on keeping a clean house, and taking good care of the possessions that we had.  She would often wake us up with a fearful shriek  in the middle of the night when we left the kitchen a mess. 

She believed that cleanliness was next to Godliness, and lived that motto while passing it on to her boys. 

She would always say, that she was lace curtain Irish and that her boys would not be shanty.

Whatever you have, care for it, nurture, show that you deserve better and remember always to 

Keep it clean.

With Love,

Coach K
Tom Kaufmann
coachkaufmann.com

Summer Road Trip

Summer Road Trip

Always nice to get out on the open road during the dog days of summer.  Our daughter has some southern schools on her list so off we went on a 2000 mile adventure.  Something about the energy and buzz of a college campus that revitalizes and restores, must be the vibrancy of youth.

We cruised thru PA, MD, WV, VA, NC, and South Carolina.  And the best decision we made was to stay off Interstate 95! Our family go-to trip has always been Washington, D.C.  I love the Smithsonian, monuments, the great vibe of all the colleges, Georgetown, and the ease of getting around on the metro.  All told we've been to DC ten times, and each time we make the trek via I95.

For our trip to Charleston, SC, we made the conscious choice to avoid 95, and the trip down 81 mostly a two lane highway was terrific.  The schools were jumping, restaurants, scenery, and an opportunity for our queen bee to compare schools and cities.   College towns are also great for the older folks that can take discounted courses, have access to the music, plays, shows, interesting speakers, and athletic events.

Travel is just another form of education, seeing new places, meeting new people, and experiencing different ways of life. 

We got a taste of southern charm, southern cooking, and good 'ol southern hospitality. Sometimes it's best to avoid the main highway, and take the back roads and visit the neighborhoods.  The trip may be a little longer but the aggravation will be less.

The boys chose nice, urban schools with a little grit, the brilliant one is choosing palm trees!

With Love,

Coach K
Tom Kaufmann

Your Best Muscle - The Heart

The Heart Muscle

We see many bodybuilders and athletes with big muscles and toned bodies.  We can see the muscles on the outside but the most important muscle we have is on the inside.  Our hearts work non stop, when our chest, legs, back, and arms get rest, the heart continues pumping around the clock.

We can see the results when we lift weights or do exercises that our bodies become more muscular and toned, but how do we know how are hearts are doing.  Exercise both aerobic, think running or walking, and anaerobic, think weights and pushups or situps is excellent for the heart.  Movement is key to improving our heart function, our circulation, and our overall cardiovascular health.

Just walking, jogging, running, or jalking a combination of jogging and intermittently walking.  One of my favorite exercise is jumping rope.  I've been jumping for 30 years and it's an easy, low impact, convenient, and inexpensive way to stay healthy.  With a $5 rope you can practically jump anywhere the patio, driveway, basement, garage, even the foyer, the rope easily travels with you.  Jumping is also a great way to activate the lymphatic system, the lymph nodes help clean the body of toxins.

Now we know that exercise is excellent for our most important muscle, the heart. 

To Your Health,

Coach K
Tom Kaufmann

Lymph Nodes

Lymph Nodes

The lymphatic system is used to remove toxins from our body.  Lymph nodes are located in our neck, armpits, and groin.  Where the liver and kidneys help cleanse our blood, the lymph nodes help remove waste from our cells.  They are an important part of our body's immune and detox system.

One of the things I recently learned is that we can help the lymph system remove toxin by simply jumping or bouncing.  That's why it's so important to incorporate some movement or exercise into our daily lives.  Being an ardent proponent of the jump rope, we find another benefit of the low impact exercise of jumping rope, and that is detoxifying our bodies.  Simple jumping jacks will also do.

Deep breathing is also beneficial for the lymph system, inhaling and holding our breath for a count of two, and then exhaling for a count of four helps eliminate toxins.  Deep breathing is also great for reducing stress and helping lower blood pressure. 

A strong immune system is key to our overall health and keeping the lymph nodes healthy and clear is an easy way to keep you healthy and strong.

With Love,

Coach K
Tom Kaufmann

Super Nutrition

A Better Way to Eat

Most carbohydrates are just disguised as sugar.  And too much sugar will make you sick, fat, and riddled with disease.  Cancer cells thrive on sugar and research on the Ketogenic diet shows that when you cut carbs and eat protein and good fats, you can literally starve the cancer cells to death. Healthy cells can live on ketones which are a form of sugar produced by the liver by burning fat. 

In honor of a good friend that has contracted cancer, I have started the Ketogenic diet this week to see how it impacts weight and health. Another eating plan that I have adopted is Fasting where you eat during an 8 hour period during the day and then fast for the other 16 hours. Fasting can reset your health immediately and dramatically.  Give it a try.

We on average eat way too much sugar, over 150 pounds per year!!! Sugar is hidden in all types of foods from crackers to salad dressing.  The sugar epidemic has caused a spike in obesity, diabetes, cancer, and inflammation illnesses.  Research suggests that sugar acts similar to cocaine in the brain, so no wonder we have become addicted to the taste of sweetness.

We need to correct our eating to correct our health.  Start with some simple and delicious changes. 

Foods

Fresh juiced vegetables spinach, kale, beets, carrots, garlic - low carb high nutrients

Berries - Blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries

Greek yogurt, Kefir - high protein, good gut bacteria

Sauerkraut - Excellent for gut health and inexpensive

Coconut oil - high good fat

Eggs - protein, fat

Chicken sausage - protein, fat

Cod liver oil - protein, fat

Avocado - good fat

Spices - cinnamon, turmeric, cayenne, turmeric, cloves

Apple Cider vinegar

Lemons - Excellent for liver and kidneys detox, always on empty stomach

Pistachios, Walnuts, Almonds - Good fats, protein

One of the most important immediate nutritional impacts we can have on our health is to reject sugar, especially when there is no fat or protein involved.  For example, soda is just pure sugar no fat, no protein. Sugar is toxic to our bodies and when you treat it that way you can restore your health.

Cut the sugar and watch your health and weight improve quickly and dramatically.

To your health!

 

With Love,

Coach K

Work to the Task not the Reward

Work

Just came across a great quote, work to the task not the reward.  Say what.  Simply focus on doing a great job with the task at hand whether it is washing the car, the laundry, cleaning the toilet, or working on a school/work project.  Do the best you can with the task at hand and the reward will follow. 

Excellent work gets noticed and usually leads to promotion and reward, but that not the only reason to do a good job.  When you apply yourself to the simple tasks, you create a habit of excellence in all that you do, and you become excellent. 

We have so much to do in only a fixed amount of time, and many of us have become expert multi-taskers.  Slow down, quiet the distractions, and focus on doing your best on the task at hand.  Think of it as every second of excellence equals an 

Excellent Life.

With Love,

Coach K

Tom Kaufmann