Table Of ContentCopyright © 2017 by Derek Beres
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.
Interior photos by Josh Nelson, unless otherwise noted.
Photo model credits: Callan Beres and Derek Beres, unless otherwise noted.
Cover design by Rain Saukas
Cover photo credit iStock
Print ISBN: 978-1-63144-072-4
Ebook ISBN: 978-1-63144-073-1
Printed in the United States of America
Contents
Part I: Setting the Stage
1. An Introduction to Change
2. Brain and Body
3. The Regeneration Prescription
Part II: Movement
4. Learning to Crawl
5. Pump Up the Volume
6. Resistance is Not Futile
7. Strike a Pose
8. Tuning In
Part III: Mind
9. The Art of Disruption
10. What Goes In…
11. Entering the Flow
12. The Perfect Soundtrack
13. Attention, Please
Acknowledgments
Notes
To my father, Ferenc, for kicking me into motion at an early age. Thanks to him
I’ve never stopped.
PART I
Setting the Stage
Chapter 1
An Introduction to Change
“The evolution of our unique brains was locked into the evolution of our wide
range of movement. Mental and physical agility run on the same track.”
—John J. Ratey and Richard Manning, Go Wild
T A M
HE RT OF OVEMENT
Change, the old saying goes, is the only constant. But change itself is neutral
unless we make it either positive or negative, resist or embrace it. We speak
positively of being adaptable or resilient in the face of change, yet we often fear
the inevitable rearrangements and reshaping of our lives, caught up in rituals and
safeguards. While good habits that suspend distraction and make us productive
are essential, overcommitting to routine can act as a barrier to the kinds of
change that keep us flexible, growing, and truly strong.
This book is about motion, disruption, and regeneration, predicated on an
understanding that exercise is as important for your brain as it is for your body.
The exercise we do, and the journey of fitness I’ll ask you to go on with me, is as
much about training your mindset as it is about training your body. The
rejuvenating effects on your brain we’ll discuss in these pages are every bit as
important as the enhancing effects to your physique. Variety is not just the spice
of life; it is also the key to true fitness. Learning to embrace variety and change
—and the discipline to practice active regeneration, an essential pillar to our
foundation—will give you greater control, pleasure, and strength, which
positively affects your whole life, regardless of age. Why else would we work
out? If change is the only constant, growth should be the only goal.
There are changes we have no say in: the loss of a friend or partner; a
destructive house fire; learning you have cancer—that one certainly changed me.
The real mark of self-control is how you deal with what you don’t necessarily
want or expect. Do you respond calmly or with fiery rage? How long does it take
you to bounce back from adversity: minutes, hours, weeks? Are you able to let
grudges go? These questions concern your health as much as how many burpees
or pull-ups you can do. In fact, they directly affect how well you physically
perform, in the gym, on the trail, and in life.
To understand how the tangible, physical reality of our bodies meshes with the
interior, reflective landscape of our minds, consider the following. See if any of
these mindsets describe you:
• Does yoga or meditation freak you out?
• Do you skip the stretch portion after a high-intensity class?
• Is your first response to a challenge to be anxious or stressed?
• Do you judge your performance against others?
• Is “ultra-marathon” an immediate turn-off? What about “5k jog”?
• Do you spend more time on the treadmill texting, reading, or chatting than
focusing on your form, mechanics, and breathing?
• Is focusing hard for you?
• Is sweat the true marker of your workout?
• How about the “burn”?
• Do you use exercise to cheat at dinnertime?
• Do you obsess over the nutritional info on food labels?
• Is it hard for you to remember sequences even if you perform them regularly?
• Do you not show up if there’s a substitute instructor?
If none of these describe your mindset, congratulations! These are but a few
common patterns addressed in these pages, however. Your mindset toward health
underlies how you relate to your body and mind, and no one has just one fitness
mindset. In over a dozen years of teaching, I’ve noticed most students and
clients seek to advance in some capacity. They’re not just in maintenance mode.
How they’re progressing—working on handstand press-ups, training for a 100k
trail race, spending more time in meditation and recovery—is an individual
pursuit. What relates them is this relentless drive to grow.
And that involves changing things up. We often overlook the fact that we have
the power to change every day. Your mindset helps determine whether or not
you’ll implement a new routine, if you’ll stick with it, and if it’s the type of
change you really need. If anything in your movement vocabulary is lacking—
flexibility, strength, better breathing capacity, the ability to focus for sustained
periods of time—is it really impossible, or are you just not putting in the right
amount of effort? Are you overtraining, or never even giving it a shot? Ask
yourself how often you’ve started a sentence with, “I wish I could,” “I really
should,” or “One day I hope to.” If these statements resonate, this book will help
you change that inner dialogue.
Sometimes we need an intervention. Disrupting habits is necessary for clarity
of mind and body. If we’re talking optimal health, being the best we can possibly
be every day, we must discuss physical, mental, and emotional states. Yes, this
book features cutting-edge research on fitness and exercise, but that’s only one
aspect of health. Your body does not move through the day lugging a
disconnected brain. Everything works together, so you want everything in top
shape.
The importance of integrating brain and body science is a hot topic. Since I
began teaching at Equinox Fitness in 2004, I’ve observed a number of trends
emerge. The most important is a growing dialogue between main studio fanatics
—those who go hard in High Intensity Interval Training, who love metabolic
conditioning, strength training, and Tabata, and who hit the trails and train for
marathons regularly—and those entering the yoga studio for stretching,
breathing, recovery, and meditation. Some need to get their heart rate up; others
need to down-regulate more often. I’ve had numerous conversations with
students about what they need to bring balance into their lives. I’ve watched
some rise to the occasion. I’ve also listened to many talk about goals as a distant
dream, apparitions with no basis in any reality they can imagine. Yet imagining
is the first step in dreaming your goals forward.
You’re now holding the result of such conversations. Change is not as hard as
you think. Whether you need motivation to start a program or the patience to
actively engage in regenerative practices such as yoga and meditation, it all
begins with creating a proper mindset. Throughout these pages you’ll be
empowered with information necessary to accomplish just that. As you begin,
it’s important to note that this book is not presented as a cure-all because there is
no singular program that works for everybody. There’s no exact plan for any two
people. What I hope to offer is a wide range of information and movements that
can be tailored in creating a personal program in your pursuit of optimal health.
As you begin the following exercise program, keep in mind that it’s not
necessary to perform them in the order listed. While the book is designed to flow
as in a real exercise routine, you can always mix and match depending on what
you need that day. The map is not always the territory, and so this book is
designed for you to empower yourself as the designer.
