Interview with Paul Chek

[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

http://www.mercola.com/2004/sep/11/paul_chek2.htm

 

 

Q. With having as busy of a lifestyle as you do, how do you manage to stay

so energetic and upbeat all the time? Where do you find the energy?

 

First of all, I am quite selfish. I love myself enough to put " me " first,

making time to eat very well, exercise, practice Tai-Chi and Qi-gong and

study daily.

 

Once that is done, I'm on track, on purpose and feel much better about

sharing myself with others and the world.

 

 

Q. In the beginning of your book you describe yourself as an athlete,

therapist, conditioning specialist and consultant to professional athletes.

What title best describes you right now?

 

Truly, I am a Holistic Health Practitioner. Having been an athlete and a

highly motivated learner my whole life, I've been able to achieve a level

of mastery in several areas, which has afforded me success as both a

therapist and a coach/teacher.

 

 

Q. It seems like the hardest thing for people beginning any kind of

exercise/eating program is just getting started. What have you found is the

biggest roadblock to getting started and how do you overcome that? What

were some of the personal challenges that you have had to overcome?

 

Most people have a hard time getting started because they don't have

clearly defined goals and objectives. Most are not sure who they are, nor

are they sure who they are trying to become!

 

Much of my work with healing and athletic performance centers around life

coaching. When one finds a direction they want to go with their body and

their life, desire naturally feeds the will. As a coach, I often help them

get clear on the reason and rational.

 

 

Q. With two-household incomes, careers, meetings, kids and not enough hours

in the day, how would you approach the excuse, " I just don't have enough

time. " ?

 

First of all, I hear this almost every day I work with clients. They are

pretty shocked when I tell them that it simply isn't true! I expand,

highlighting the fact that they are currently spending a LOT OF TIME:

 

Going from doctor to doctor. When you add up the travel time, waiting for

doctors in their office, cost of tests, waiting in line at drug stores for

pills, it really adds up!

 

The average American watches 4.7 hours of TV a day! My wife and I don't

watch TV at all because it is predominantly mind pollution. As I tell my

students and patients, " If there's anything on TV worth hearing about, you

won't make it 20 steps down the street before someone tells you! "

 

Doing unnecessary things, like shopping when they don't need anything. Just

looking at things they " wish " to have when they " have more money, " which

will probably be about the same time they " have more time! "

 

Frequently, my patients, clients and even students -- until I get them

thinking clearly -- are spending all their time working for things they

don't need and often don't even want. For example, How many people have

cars, vacation homes, motor homes and jewelry they are paying for every

month, but don't need?

 

Their monthly expenses are so high that they constantly need to work

overtime and stress themselves into submission (think disease), yet they

hardly ever get anything close to the value from these " extras " in their

life. I have people driving $70,000 cars who tell me they can't afford

organic food! I simply ask them to drive their car to the graveyard to see

if they can find a hole big enough for both them and their car. And if they

do, they should reserve it!

 

In the end, all you can take with you is " what you become " while you are

visiting this lovely planet. More importantly, if you are a parent, you are

teaching your children how to live and you should stop and take a look at

yourself and if you can't state with 100 percent honesty that you love

yourself, you are probably passing on the same poor self-esteem to your

children.

 

They too won't have time to eat, move and be healthy, because that is what

they learned from Mom and Dad!

 

 

Q. Once people begin your program, what is the key to staying motivated?

 

The outcome is better than anything they have ever done to this point, I

assure you, or they wouldn't need the program to begin with! Consider

everything I've said above and once you get clear on what you want to

become, know that the rest is comparatively easy.

 

When anyone knows what they want to become, they always find reasons to do

it, which feeds desire, driving will. For example, " It WILL be done. "

Additionally, my system is fully customized to their personal needs, not

trend, fad or fashion. This fact helps people feel more motivated because

they know they are truly investing in themselves.

 

How To Eat, Move & Be Healthy! also has a library of exercises, a system of

stretch testing to maintain optimal flexibility and a system of progressive

reassessment so each individual is appraised of his or her progress at all

times. We all love success and are likely to achieve it when we feel

supported with a good, tried and tested plan. This is one reason I've given

so many case histories in the book. People get healthy and vital against

the odds and, more importantly, against the tide of society every day!

 

 

Q. In your book you talk about the importance of finding your metabolic

type to customize a diet plan that is right for your body. What is your

metabolic type and could you give an example of certain foods you need to

avoid because they don't fit your individual body type?

 

Using the Intermediate Level Metabolic Typing system, I am a

parasympathetic dominant fast oxidizer. For those who don't know what that

means, it basically means I need to eat almost exactly like an Eskimo. My

bloodlines are Cherokee Indian and European mix. True to tradition, most

American Indians age a predominantly animal food diet and supplemented with

available vegetation, which is what makes me feel the best.

 

If I eat any processed sugar, or even root vegetables without a lot of fat

to slow them down, I go up like a rocket and down like a rock! I do very

well on what is often referred to as a caveman diet. I am very conscious

about food quality and am very concerned about the power of my food dollar,

not wanting to contribute to the destruction of society by supporting

commercial farming.

 

 

Q.You attribute the success of metabolic typing to individuality and a

" one-size doesn't fit all " notion. The low-carb craze is everywhere, with

Atkins-style, low-carb foods in grocery stores and fast food restaurants

quickly scrambling to add low-fat selections to their menus to keep up with

their competitors. How would you challenge the attitudes of low-carb

followers and how is your program the better option to losing weight and

keeping it off?

 

Humans, for the most part, are still a lot like our ape ancestors in that

they are very much " monkey see, monkey do. " They seldom think about the

natural, logical rationale behind the diet industry, nor do they think

about how we got here through millions of years of evolution with a

fraction of the illness and minimal need for the medicine man!

 

Quite simply, the reason all the diet gurus have success cases to sell

their books by, is because they are only telling you about their success.

Their failures are simply the results of live metabolic typing experiments!

 

Think about it. People bounce from diet to diet, choosing the one that made

their sister, mother, brother or coworker look or feel better until they

finally land one that works for them. My book simply saves them all the

trial and error (which is extremely hard on the body by the way!) by

implementing Bill Wolcott's system of metabolic typing right into my

overall health and vitality plan.

 

In rare cases where the person using my approach doesn't get the kind of

results they feel they should for their time investment, I suggest reading

Bill Woloctt's book or hiring a CHEK NLC II Practitioner to assist them

with Intermediate Metabolic Typing, which is much more advanced and

specific in their dietary and supplement prescription. Rarely do we not see

success after that is done. I've only had a small number of cases that had

to go to the Advanced Metabolic Testing Level and a disease process was

involved in each case.

 

In short, eating a low-carb diet will make you fat just as quickly as a

high-carb diet if you are eating wrong for your metabolic type!

 

 

Q. Along with finding your metabolic type, your book seems to mirror many

other Dr. Mercola's program and beliefs. How do you feel your book

complements Dr. Mercola's TOTAL HEALTH Cookbook & Program? How would people

benefit from having both books?

 

There are no inconsistencies between Dr. Mercola's book and mine. Where I

go much deeper into critical lifestyle factors and strategic use of

exercise, Dr. Mercola offers more information about the negative effects of

some foods, such as grains and gives a lot of fantastic recipe options.

This is important because society's commercial food services today are not

equipped to feed people wanting to be healthy. Anyone combining the two

books has no option but to get healthy and vital.

 

 

Q. In the foreword of your book, William Wolcott talks about who the book

is designed for -- from students wanting to learn more about nutrition,

practitioners trying to keep up with the latest developments and athletes

in training to housewives and people facing a dire health challenge. How

would a housewife use this book or benefit compared to a professional athlete?

 

Because the book uses a series of questionnaires to determine how much

stress your key physiological systems are under (digestive system for

example), each individual assesses his or her unique needs. A professional

athlete and his mother, for example, will get very different scores on each

of the questionnaires and will have different total scores, which indicates

" total stress or physiological load " on the body.

 

The Chi cultivating exercises (called Zone Exercises) are specific to your

stress zones, while the suggested exercise programs are designed to lower

your total score. Therefore, there are any number of possible outcomes for

any number of people!

 

The exercises in the exercise library are intensity coded so that anyone

can choose the exercises that are appropriate for their level of health and

fitness based on their total questionnaire score. The book encourages

people and teaches them how to lower their score through natural means. I

have found that 8 out of 10 people following my book will never need to see me.

 

Those who simply desire professional guidance will be very supported by the

fact that I have developed a very large network of CHEK Practitioners and

Nutrition and Lifestyle Coaches to assist them personally by becoming a

client. They can be located via my Web site.

 

 

Q. Throughout your book there are several tips called " CHEK Points. " As the

obesity rate continues to rise, particularly childhood obesity. What " CHEK

Points " would you give to a family with children who wanted to use your

book as a tool to exercising right and eating right?

 

The way my book works is congruent with my philosophy as a Holistic Health

Practitioner, which simply stated is: " Don't treat the disease that has the

patient. Coach the patient who has the disease! "

 

Obesity is a symptom of not caring for yourself correctly and you could

just as easily have diabetes, chronic fatigue, irritable-bowel syndrome,

cancer or any other malady as a result. You can see this idea proven in any

military camp that runs basic training programs where all the soldiers eat

the same food, experience the same exercise programs and mental stressors,

go to bed and rise at the same time, yet suffer a tremendous variety of

differing maladies, even diseases!

 

I know this for a fact, because I was a member of the 82nd Airborne

Division and watched it happen over and over again in basic training,

Advanced Individual Training (specialized schools) and during Jump School.

 

My book is, above all else, a book of truths regarding what it takes to

have a healthy body, as is Dr. Mercola's book. There is no fancy

this-for-that prescription of the latest high-tech supplements or hormones.

There is a lot of " do " involved in these things or you will end up bouncing

from doctor to doctor like a rubber ball, getting fatter and sicker as you go!