Interview with Paul Chek, part II

[Guest guest]

Paul Chek, Corrective, Holistic Exercise Kinesiologist and certified

Neuromuscular Therapist, is the founder of the C.H.E.K Institute in Vista,

California. A sought-after consultant to sporting organizations, his

services have benefited numerous professional sports teams and athletes.

 

Paul has produced over 60 videos, 17 correspondence courses and is the

author of several books, audio programs and articles.

 

Interview with Paul Chek, Part II

http://www.mercola.com/2004/sep/15/paul_chek3.htm

 

 

Q. The exercise portion of your book is divided into four exercise

categories. The first section, stretching, is recommended for everyone.

What are the some of the negatives that could result from not stretching

before exercising or playing a sport?

 

 

PC: The body can be likened to a very complex string instrument, like a

piano for example. If you want to play a concerto (exercise) on a piano

that is out of tune (muscle imbalance), no matter how much you play the

piano, you will never play it " into tune. " Therefore, if you are going to

exercise, you should have completed the stretch tests in my book so you

know which of your muscles (piano strings) are too tight and which are too

loose.

 

By stretching only the tight muscles before exercising, you will bring the

body back into normal muscle balance. This will immediately improve joint

stability, which will in turn, improve strength in the body. This is

because " you can't fire a canon from a canoe! " All of your joints are

loaded with special receptors called mechanoreceptors that sense when there

is too much compression, torsion or sheer on a joint.

 

When the nervous system feels the joint is at risk, it simply reduces the

activation of any muscle crossing that joint complex, thus you become

functionally weaker and reduce your chances of getting hurt. When you

stretch the right muscles, the opposite happens in that your muscle balance

and joint stability improve so the nervous system improves muscle

recruitment and you become stronger, immediately. I've seen golfers add 20

yards to their drive in one stretching session, without exercising, because

of this exact mechanism!

 

 

Q. What have you found is the most common mistake/misconception when it

comes to exercising? Is there a best/worse time of day to exercise?

 

 

PC: The most common mistake or misconception is that you have to make it

hurt to get the job done. This is far from the truth. In fact, as I say to

my patients, clients and students, " training to failure, is training to

fail! " As I clearly show in my book, you must get healthy from the inside out.

 

The last thing you want to do is build bigger biceps with the nutrition and

energy you should have been using to allow your liver to detoxify your body

from soda pop or garbage processed foods, or toxic tap water and the like.

There is, unfortunately, a lot of ignorance today in the health and

exercise industries. This can be proven by the fact that in spite of having

more health and medical professionals per capita than ever in history, we

have more sports and orthopedic injuries in almost every single category

ever recorded in history.

 

When you spend all of your time and energy and money studying disease, you

get exactly what you look for. My book encourages people to do the

opposite, which is to study those things that have consistently proven to

be directly linked to health in those that apply the principles.

 

With regard to time of day, you will find that each of us is unique in our

needs. For example, I'm a real morning guy. I wake up like a rooster and

hit the ground running, yet seem to get sluggish physically as the sun

sets. Therefore, I get my best lifting/exercise done in the first half of

the day.

 

My wife is the opposite. There are a number of complex hormonal variables

that can influence optimal time of exercise for an individual as well. For

example, many people will find that hard exercise later in the evening (5

p.m. or later) makes it hard for them to get to sleep and they must stay up

till late to wind down. Those with adrenal exhaustion often find the

opposite. This happens because once your adrenals get fatigued enough, hard

exercise will kick your cortisol levels up to normal. The result for these

people is that they sleep much better and feel much better exercising in

the late afternoon or evening.

 

While there are other variables to be considered, I don't think expressing

them here would do anything for anyone but healthcare and exercise

professionals and even then, a lot of training is required to implement the

information correctly.

 

 

Q. What would you recommend to former athletes with sports injuries such as

osteoarthritis of the knees or people with health conditions such as

scoliosis that are following your exercises? Any modifications or

limitations and what are they?

 

 

PC: None other than this: " If it hurts, don't do it! " If you can't reduce

the intensity or amplitude of movement of an exercise to get a therapeutic

response, you should look for another one in my book that is at the same

level of intensity or complexity, which is easy because the exercises are

coded.

 

Those with scoliosis who do not have any pain should place emphasis on

stretching the muscles on the concavity of any of their spinal curvatures

or any shortened muscle before exercising. Those with pain and scoliosis

should seek help from at least a CHEK Level I Practitioner or a trained

musculoskeletal medicine professional.

 

 

Q. On the flip side, is it possible for an athlete to overtrain or overdo

it with the exercises?

 

 

PC: Not if you follow the directions in the book.

 

 

Q. All of the exercises in this book are accompanied with very detailed

" how to " illustrations. Several of the illustrations include workout tools

such as the Swiss ball, an exercise mat, a foam roller, weights, body bar,

etc ... What tools are essential to successfully complete your program?

 

 

PC: You will notice in the book that as the health and vitality of the

reader improves, their level of conditioning also improves and therefore,

the complexity of their program increases. Initially, you need only a small

set of dumbbells and a Swiss Ball (Paul Chek's Duraball is the brand I

use). Some exercises can be done with a stretch cord device as well.

 

It is my experience with my programs that once people are educated about

exercise, eating well and have direction, they lose their fear of the gym.

In fact, I've had a significant number of patients become CHEK

Practitioners because when they went to the gym, the trainers were asking

them so many questions about what they were doing, it really shocked them.

They found out how much trainers make and realized it would be a big pay

raise for them so they made the jump to a new profession. In fact, some of

my very best CHEK Practitioners were first my patients!

 

 

Q. Each of your exercises contain both written " how to " instructions and

pictures on how to perform the exercises. Do

you feel, on the whole, people are better visual learners?

 

PC: Yes, and research proves it. About 40 percent of people are visually

dominant learners followed by auditory, kinesthetic and finally

mathematical/logical (5 percent). Surprisingly, about 90-95 percent of the

information imparted to students in Western school systems is

mathematical/logic.

 

Now you have a better idea of why we have so many health, exercise and

medical professionals with advanced degrees, yet they can't get themselves,

nor their clients/patients healthy.

 

When you learn in the wrong format, the information doesn't stick with you.

You cram for tests and then it's gone like the clouds in the sky.

Philosophically speaking, the difference between an intellect and a wise

man is that the wise man practices what he preaches. Even quantum physics

today is showing that much of what the ancient wise men taught is correct.

In fact, I was watching a program about the string theory and one of the

mathematician-scientists said that he suspects that at the end of a long

complex mathematical equation they expect to find a rishi sitting

cross-legged one day.

 

 

 

Q. You devote a whole chapter to stress and sleep. We seem to live in a

stress-filled sleep-deprived society. How does your book help people break

this unhealthy lifestyle/pattern?

 

 

PC: I believe education is the best antidote for stress of any kind. As the

old saying goes, " You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him

drink. " My book is written for those willing to help themselves. The

medical system is designed perfectly for those who want a pill to cover

their pains and problems. The number of sick people with drugs in their

pocket is astounding today. Much of it is the fault of the general public.

 

For example, I read an interview with an expert in natural cancer treatment

from Germany. In it, he explained how the only people who didn't get better

on his program were the people not willing to change their diets or clean

them up! He clearly showed that people are so dogmatic, addicted and

brainwashed when it comes to food that, unfortunately, many would rather be

cut, radiated and endure chemotherapy than stop eating bread or their

favorite cookies! Such people have a spiritual quest. They are like the

moth that is so addicted to the light, he burns his wings off in the flame

of a candle.

 

People can either wait till they burn their wings off (so-to-speak), or

they can listen to people who lead by example.

 

 

Q. Almost every chapter of your book closes with a success story. Do you

have a favorite success story?

 

 

PC: I love them all but Emma Lane is an amazing case. She was a vegetarian

(for all the wrong reasons) and had cancer. She followed my advice and the

advice of the other members of the team I assembled for her. She not only

beat the cancer, but three and a half years later she now travels the world

as an instructor in my Nutrition and Lifestyle Coach program! She decided

that growing new wings was easier in the long run than having them burned

off. There are others like her as well. My practitioners could fill books

with similar success cases.

 

 

Q. Your book is filled with a bunch of inspirational quotes. Is there one

quote that captures how you live your life? Or a personal mantra?

 

 

PC: Well, there are many that I use in my self-development. But if you

would like to get a sense of me, I will share with you (and the readers)

what I say to my food before I eat each meal:

 

" Dear ___________ (I name the food out loud), thank you for the love you

have given Mother Earth, Mother Universe, and now me. Please join me now in

body, mind and spirit so that together, we can make this world a better

place for all living beings, now, and in the future. Amen. "

 

I then do my level best to make sure that the life forms that will now

become me, be part of my team, feel rewarded by contributing to worthy

efforts in my day, my life.

 

 

Q. Now that you've completed this book, what are you currently involved

with? Future projects, books?

 

 

PC: I am working on a book teaching people how to implement my " How to Eat,

Move and Be Healthy! " book while living on a low budget. I am also well

into my next book, which shares the fruits of my life's search into

religion, comparative religion, metaphysics, spiritual development and

philosophy.

 

As my skills as a Holistic Health Practitioner and coach have developed in

the past 21 plus years in the business, I've found more and more that a

large percentage of what ails people can be alleviated, quite simply, by

falling in love with themselves, by falling in love with Mother Earth

(Nature) and by a better understanding of the life process.

 

When people realize that we each create our own life, our own physical,

emotional, mental and spiritual existence, reality if you will, they

quickly realize that there are no pills to fix what can only be corrected

when better decisions are made. That is, in large part, a process of

education and is also why I tell people all the time don't go to sick

people for help with your health!