{"id":54223,"date":"2016-10-05T09:03:54","date_gmt":"2016-10-05T14:03:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/?p=54223"},"modified":"2017-04-27T09:24:42","modified_gmt":"2017-04-27T14:24:42","slug":"story-shabbat-shuva","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/health\/story-shabbat-shuva\/","title":{"rendered":"A Story for Shabbat Shuva"},"content":{"rendered":"

Prior to writing my columns, I always try to think through an idea before I put it to paper.\u00a0 <\/span>This column was to be no exception and I actually began mapping it out in my mind several weeks ago.\u00a0 <\/span>Just when you think you have it all down, something comes along that you can\u2019t ignore and it\u2019s time for a rethink.\u00a0 <\/span>And so it happened last week as I was leaving the office for the day, my phone rang.\u00a0 <\/span>I saw the number identified as an old personal training client of mine from many years ago.\u00a0 <\/span>As a matter of fact, I can tell you that he is one of my original clients from when I was a relatively new fitness trainer.\u00a0 <\/span>Although we are in touch every now and then, his call was unexpected and unusual to say the least.\u00a0 <\/span>I would like to share the contents with all of you. <\/span><\/p>\n

Simcha (not his real name) came to me more than 15 years ago.\u00a0 <\/span>He was a Vice President of marketing in a high-tech company when high-tech was a new and budding field.\u00a0 <\/span>He was under chronic pressure and stress trying to help this start-up company succeed.\u00a0 <\/span>It meant long hours at the office and constant travel abroad to their American office and also all over the world in order to sell their product.\u00a0 <\/span>There was hardly an economically viable place on the planet that Simcha hadn\u2019t been to.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But he came to me because he was overweight, and his doctor told him to try me out because his blood pressure was too high and if he didn\u2019t want medication, he needed to make the lifestyle changes necessary and to lose weight.\u00a0 <\/span>We began to work together on exercise and diet and Simcha was an incredibly focused and compliant client.\u00a0 <\/span>He ended up losing more than 20 kilo over time.\u00a0 <\/span>Just as important, he began exercising on a regular basis and went from being sedentary and totally unfit to a very in-shape and healthy person.\u00a0 <\/span>Not only did he avoid having to take blood pressure medications, he learned how to handle his stress better.\u00a0 <\/span>I still remember at one juncture, his company needed to lay off some workers.\u00a0 <\/span>He told me that in the past, after a day like that, he would have gone out to a fast food place and eaten a couple of burgers and then go home and eat a full supper.\u00a0 <\/span>Now, he was coming to me for a workout and taking care of this stressful situation by exercising, not eating out of control. <\/span><\/p>\n

Simcha stayed a training client of mine for a few years but then moved on and joined a local gym.\u00a0 <\/span>He still exercised 3-4 times a week and kept his weight off, albeit with the normal fluctuations people have.\u00a0 <\/span>His blood pressure remained normal and he eventually changed jobs so he could work from home more and see his family more.\u00a0 <\/span>Unfortunately, a few years ago Simcha came down with a rare neurological problem and it inhibited his ability to walk normally.\u00a0 <\/span>Although still trying to take care of himself, he was now limited.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, back to the phone call.\u00a0 <\/span>Simcha called me up and said that he was sure I was wondering why he was calling.\u00a0 <\/span>So, he told me that he called me to thank me.\u00a0 <\/span>I couldn\u2019t imagine what he needed to thank me for after all these years.\u00a0 <\/span>THIS IS WHERE THE STORY GOT VERY INTERESTING!<\/span><\/p>\n

Simcha proceeded to tell me that a few months ago, he developed a deep vein thrombosis (DVT\u2014blood clot in his leg).\u00a0 <\/span>I suspect his limitations in walking may be related, but without much warning, this clot moved right up into his lung and he now had a life-threatening pulmonary embolism.\u00a0 <\/span>Before he even had time to realize what happened, he was in cardiac arrest\u2014his heart stopped beating.\u00a0 <\/span>He was resuscitated for more than 10 minutes before he was revived.\u00a0 <\/span>In other words, he was clinically dead and brought back. \u00a0 <\/span>A true Ness<\/i> and we are all thankful to Hashem and the Paramedics who were his Sheliach<\/i> for keeping Simcha with us.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So why did Simcha call me to thank me?\u00a0 <\/span>Although I am a former CPR instructor, I wasn\u2019t there to resuscitate him.\u00a0 <\/span>A little bit about the physiology of the heart and brain\u2014when they don\u2019t receive an adequate supply of oxygen, as in, it stops beating for a certain amount of time, or you are being resuscitated for a long time before your heart returns to a normal rhythm, there is a likelihood of damage even if you survive.\u00a0 <\/span>Simcha was released from the hospital and the doctor told him that he has an unusually strong heart.\u00a0 <\/span>As a matter of fact, he couldn\u2019t recall after any similar story that one\u2019s heart was undamaged.\u00a0 <\/span>It was the exercise.\u00a0 <\/span>All these years of exercise helped Simcha survive an incident that many don\u2019t survive and not only survive, but he remained totally intact!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The truth is, I don\u2019t take any credit other than being the right person at the right place at the right time.\u00a0 <\/span>Simcha was the one who executed the program and saved himself.\u00a0 <\/span>But his \u201cthank you\u201d affected me deeply.\u00a0 <\/span>First off, his realization that his commitment to his own health over the years allowed him to survive.\u00a0 <\/span>Unfortunately, not everyone realizes the good they are doing to themselves, and their loved ones, by undertaking the commitment to good health.\u00a0 <\/span>Secondly, I felt very privileged to have had a part in Simcha turning his life around.\u00a0 <\/span>For some reason, this phone called caught me off guard and I was, for a few days overwhelmed by it.\u00a0 <\/span>To think that it was under my auspices the Simcha accomplished what he accomplished which ultimately helped him, with Hashem\u2019s help, live again is probably not something that most of the readers of this column may ever experience.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I love what I do.\u00a0 <\/span>That in itself is a big Bracha <\/i>because according to recent polls, most people don\u2019t like what they do in order to earn a living.\u00a0 <\/span>And I am passionate about the need for each and every one of us to take our health into our own control.\u00a0 <\/span>You have read here time and time again\u2014exercise on a steady basis (it doesn\u2019t have to be intense), proper eating (it doesn\u2019t have to be perfect) and learning how to control our stresses will go a long way toward being able to lead a life where we have wellness, happiness, and productivity.\u00a0 <\/span>We don\u2019t have to spend our older years in the doctor\u2019s office.\u00a0 <\/span>We can take that time and put it into learning, chesed, and being good parents and grandparents.\u00a0 <\/span>But when you are sick, you can\u2019t do what you want to do whenever you want to do it. It pays to take care of yourself. <\/span><\/p>\n

Rosh HaShanah is upon us again.\u00a0 <\/span>Each year, all of us try to commit to changes.\u00a0 <\/span>Most of the time, we try to take on too much and the changes don\u2019t stick.\u00a0 <\/span>So I ask all of you\u2014pick one change on the exercise front, one meaningful change in your eating, and figure out what you can change in your life that will decrease your stress levels.\u00a0 <\/span>Write them down and if you need to, write down a plan on how you are going to accomplish those changes.\u00a0 <\/span>You might be surprised at how a few small changes can make all the difference in our health.<\/span><\/p>\n

We are all overjoyed that Simcha will be davening with us this year on Rosh HaShanah <\/i>and Yom Kippur<\/i>.\u00a0 <\/span>Let\u2019s make sure that each and every one of us will be able to daven for many years to come; and not just daven, but be able to daven with proper Kavona <\/i>and be able to serve Hashem as we need to.\u00a0 <\/span>Let\u2019s all daven this Aseret Yemei Tshuva<\/i> for Hashem to give us the ability to \u201cadd hours to your day, days to your year, and years to your life.\u201d\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

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Alan Freishtat<\/strong> is an A.C.E. CERTIFIED PERSONAL TRAINER and a BEHAVIORAL CHANGE and WELLNESS COACH with over 19 years of professional experience. Alan is the creator and director of the \u201c10 Weeks to Health\u201d program for weight loss. He is available for private coaching sessions, consultations, assessments and personalized workout programs both in his office and by telephone and skype. Alan also lectures and gives seminars and workshops. He can be reached at\u00a002-651-8502<\/a> or 050-555-7175<\/a>, or by email at\u00a0alan@alanfitness.com<\/a> Check out the his web site \u2013www.alanfitness.com<\/a> US Line: 516-568-5027<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Prior to writing my columns, I always try to think through an idea before I put it to paper.\u00a0 This column was to be no exception and I actually began mapping it out in my mind several weeks ago.\u00a0 Just when you think you have it all down, something comes along that you can\u2019t ignore<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":469,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-54223","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-health"],"yoast_head":"\nA Story for Shabbat Shuva - OU Life<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/health\/story-shabbat-shuva\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Story for Shabbat Shuva - OU Life\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Prior to writing my columns, I always try to think through an idea before I put it to paper.\u00a0 This column was to be no exception and I actually began mapping it out in my mind several weeks ago.\u00a0 Just when you think you have it all down, something comes along that you can\u2019t ignore\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/health\/story-shabbat-shuva\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"OU Life\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-10-05T14:03:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-04-27T14:24:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/ou-images\/content\/alans_fitness.JPG\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Alan Freishtat\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Alan Freishtat\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/health\/story-shabbat-shuva\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/health\/story-shabbat-shuva\/\",\"name\":\"A Story for Shabbat Shuva - OU Life\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/health\/story-shabbat-shuva\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/health\/story-shabbat-shuva\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/ou-images\/content\/alans_fitness.JPG\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-10-05T14:03:54+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-04-27T14:24:42+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/#\/schema\/person\/f1abe9e48d32d5a2a473e32020a2317f\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/health\/story-shabbat-shuva\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/health\/story-shabbat-shuva\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/ou-images\/content\/alans_fitness.JPG\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/ou-images\/content\/alans_fitness.JPG\"},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/\",\"name\":\"OU Life\",\"description\":\"Everyday Jewish Living\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/#\/schema\/person\/f1abe9e48d32d5a2a473e32020a2317f\",\"name\":\"Alan Freishtat\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/files\/Alan-Freishtat_avatar-96x96.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/files\/Alan-Freishtat_avatar-96x96.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Alan Freishtat\"},\"description\":\"Alan Freishtat is an A.C.E. 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