Joseph F. Radosevich

I was in my twenties when I started as a trainer. I had some success and had happy clients. Now that I'm in my forties, I see that work a little differently, even though I still follow the same broad programming I did then. One thing that I think differently about is that I would emphasize baby steps more than I did. What kind of baby steps? The beginning and basic parts of each exercise pattern. Learning to hold yourself in a push-up position, handing from a pull-up bar, etc. Doing the part that you can do and working on that until you can do the whole exercise. I didn't encourage and require baby steps because so much of the personal trainer's job is sales--convincing people to start and continue with training. I was always afraid that all my clients would leave and then I would have no income. I would modify push-ups to doing them on suspension straps like the TRX instead of having them work on basic shoulder, stomach, and wrist stability. I would try to figure out how t...

One of my new year's goals was to practice playing the cajon for 20 hours this year. I finished in May. Here's what, why, and how it went. I have always loved drums, but I never learned. I never had a set around to practice on or books, videos, or drumming teachers. I did learn to play the guitar, but I have always preferred drum/percussion. My favorite drum sounds are from drumming on a 5 gallon bucket and from the cajon. The cajon is a wooden box with snare drum strings behind the front panel. The sound it makes changes depending on where and how you hit it. There are three basic sounds that it can make. I saw this TED talk last year from Josh Kaufman on how it only take 20 hours of deliberate practice to learn any skill to a competent level. He wrote a book on the same topic: The First 20 Hours. He argues that most of us aren't aiming to be world class which might take 10,000 hours. He gave a few guidelines such as identifying the most important skills involved and prio...

I turn 42 this Friday. I still remember celebrating my 13th birthday at Dairy Queen and being disappointed that the kids menu was no longer for me. I've always liked my birthday, but hated getting older.  I've been thinking about health and fitness again this year. I've written many times about the struggle that pastors and their wives face with weight and health. The constant stress that pastors live with is indistinguishable to your body from physical stress, and I believe that makes the body store fat and refuse to let go of it. This year has been a challenge for this pastor as I turn the corner to middle age. Neither elbow will forgive me for doing pull-ups anymore. My knees can be gimpy if I'm not careful during heavy squats. I've gained 20 lbs over the last 3 years while I've averaged 4 or more workouts per week those 3 years. I've tried all sorts of diet restrictions and workout plans. My weight has crept up very slowly (just .12 lbs per week), but I...

I first read Mortimer Adler and Charles Van Doren's How to Read a Book  25 years ago. I was finishing high school, and I returned to it occasionally for the book list in the back or to revisit some section. I thought I understood it and even used the reading principles. I hadn't reread the whole thing though. I reread most of it this spring and realized how much I misunderstood. I was seventeen the first time I read the book; I actually read it twice that year and took extensive notes in the front and back pages-my attempt to practice their method. I just hadn't read it enough. I didn't know enough. I also missed the section on the aims of reading. Adler and Van Doren are known for their levels of reading. Their aims for reading are the critical part, but it's a short section that is easy to miss.  Levels Elementary-simple reading straight through. Inspectional-15 minutes of systematic skimming to get the gist of the book. Analytical -careful reading with analysis a...