Jason Alan Griffin, Nia black belt, former actor & model, now fitness consultant and trainer, talks straight about gym work-outs, aging, marijuana, and what we can learn from just watching children:

Deanna Elaine Piowaty: “Change. Is it possible?”

Jason Alan Griffin: “It’s funny, when you first asked me ‘how’ [a person can change], I was stumped. I had never considered that is wasn’t possible, so I didn’t know how to answer ‘How?’”

DEP: “What about smokers? Possible to quit?”

JAG: “They can, if they want to. [But] let’s face it. [Smoking can be] very satisfying.”

DEP: “I was talking with a chemical dependency counselor last week and she informed me that many self-medicate for depression by smoking. That it actually is a stimulant.”

JAG: “Have you ever smoked? There’s more to it than the chemicals. The chemicals are strong enough. But there’s a social/cultural aspect to it. And there’s a ritual to it as well.”

DEP: “Yes. The very act of bringing something to your mouth that frequently.”

JAG: “Yes. Just like with smoking pot, there are the ritual qualities and social and cultural incentives with that as well, but with marijuana there are no physical addition symptoms. [Smoking pot is] less harmful than drinking beer, which people do every day and no one cares. I’ve researched a lot of drugs, and alcohol is so much more dangerous than many of the illegal ones. Most people drink alcohol, almost daily, and to me, I see it as a poison.

There’s a difference between ‘Can someone change?’ and ‘Can I change someone?’ I think the answer to the first one is YES, and the second one is NO. We can only inspire change in others. Change itself must come from inside. A change in your attitude and behavior.”

DEP: “Ok. So how can you start putting exercise into your life? When it might seem like just so much effort and time? Feels like it’s taking energy away from other things that matter to you.”

JAG: “There’s a bigger picture that can’t be denied. I rarely ever talk about being ‘in shape’ or losing weight or gaining muscle. When I talk about exercise, I talk about how healthy it makes you, physically and mentally.”

DEP: “But being ‘healthy’ is such an amorphous concept. What will it get me? Realistically, how much time should one set aside to work-out each day? If they want to become fit like you?”

JAG: “Forty-five minutes. But–and this is where most people are misguided–it’s more than exercise that makes me like I am. You can exercise five times as much as me. Five times as hard, but if you eat crap, you’ll have crappy health. I spend more time and put more attention on my diet than my exercise. I don’t eat processed food. 75% of my diet is organic vegetables. I choose every bite carefully. And I am aware of the source and history of my food. I don’t think much can be gained by extreme dieting; but I do think that careful and clean eating is crucial for good health. And my body is simply a healthy one. I’m not in spectacular shape.”

DEP: “Not in spectacular shape? C’mon. Jason, I’ve danced with you. Shirtless. (You, not me.)

JAG: (laughing) “I’m not a slob. But my body is the result of health-focus. I have friends who count calories, and 40% carbs, meal timing, etc. blah blah, and some of them have amazing bodies.”

DEP: “Men?”

JAG: “Both. But I can’t have a life like that. The obsession, I see, is a vanity thing. The perfect body. There’s no such thing. You’ll pursue it forever. What [people] want is to be happy with their bodies. But if people would just start to work WITH their bodies instead of trying to control and change it, they’d find that happiness.

But there’s people who kill themselves in the gym. They will literally say. ‘I’m going to kill it in the gym today.’ Yuk.”

DEP: “So you mentioned to me before that the key is to choose activities you enjoy.”

JAG: “Yes, you have to enjoy doing it.”

DEP: “But a hike in the forest: does that bring you the same results as working out on a fitness machine? Do you go to the gym?”

JAG: “I don’t have a very high opinion of exercise machines. Or gyms. I don’t think either is healthful. Running on a treadmill is terrible for your psyche.”

DEP: “Free weights are better? Because they require your body to balance?”

JAG: “I’d recommend push ups before weights. And I’d recommend playing a sport over any machine. Going on a hike over Stairmaster.”

DEP: “For the pleasure it gives you? The motivation? Or also the variety in the activity itself? And what about for your core? To get rid of that gut?”

JAG: “Stop eating crap. It’s 80% diet, 20% exercise. (Not scientifically proven numbers, but just to give you an idea.)”

DEP: “So I’ve got 45 minutes. What do you recommend? For an overall toning workout?”

JAG: “I hesitate to answer that. It’s not that cut and dry.”

DEP: “Because you don’t know what I enjoy.”

JAG: “Yes. Or what your goals are. People ask me all the time what should I eat, what exercise should I do, etc…And any answer I give is only a small piece. There is no answer to what is the best. You could swim today, run tomorrow, play tennis Thursday, climb a tree Friday. It’s all good. But if I tell you, push-ups are the best exercise…I’m afraid you’ll stick to push ups, giving them false powers. Like people do to yoga. I want people to go have fun with their bodies and enjoy what they can do.”

DEP: “We’ve all got very busy lives. As my mother used to say, ‘Everybody’s got the same number of hours in a day.’ So you have to make choices. Time with kids, friends, your lover, working on your business, improving your craft…plus all the not-so-fun stuff that just has to get done each day. And then there’s taking care of your body. How does one choose what to insert in there that won’t edge out but will actually compliment all the rest? Supply you with the energy to do all that you love?”

JAG: “It doesn’t matter what you do. Do something. Every day. A lot of my philosophy is based on pretending we are not living in civilized society. I see society as that fat guy in a suit smoking a cigar and holding a wad of money. So I pretend I’m Tarzan, or a Native American. I have to run for my dinner, and fight and kill in order to eat. I don’t take escalators. But more than that. I honor the work that goes into a piece of bread. I ask myself, if I had to make my own bread, how much of it would I eat? So I slow down in the eating of it. If I had to walk to the lake for fresh water…Whenever I do anything, I compare it to living in the wild; and I feel that being in touch with that primal lifestyle is more natural. I look at things like potato chips, and I wonder, if I lived off the land, how hard would it be to make potato chips?

I think of living more like a Cherokee. I hunt, not shop. I run, don’t drive. And why I don’t choose to go to a gym or use elliptical trainers. They make me laugh when I use this filter.

I get lots of idea from toddlers. How often do you sit on the floor? Do you walk upstairs or run? How often do you run those last few feet to the door? Children resist walking. They honor their energy and aren’t’ afraid to use it. Throw stuff. Jump! Climb!”

DEP: “Yes. They’re not afraid of wearing themselves out.”

JAG: “No, they’re not. My exercises are mainly focused on learning skills and having fun. There’s more benefit to doing it the kids’ way. A ‘moderate’ workout is a huge waste. Yawn. Yell and laugh–that’s better than sit-ups. Roll in the grass.”

DEP: “So no sit-ups? Crunches? C’mon, Jason! I’ve seen your six-pack.”

JAG: “Have you ever seen me do a sit up? I ask people, ‘What are you practicing? How to lift something off the floor with your face? It’s an unnatural movement. Outside of the gym when do we ever lay on our back and lift up?”

DEP: “Climbing is better then.”

JAG: “Oh yeah. Plus, when you’re done doing crunches what do you have? Nothing. you’re lying on the floor still! But when you climb something what do you have? You’re at the top of a freakin’ tree!! Look at what you’ve accomplished!”

DEP: “Precious. So who is your role model, Jason? Who do you think has this balance thing right?”

JAG: “Jack LaLanne. R.I.P. After the Cherokee Indians.”

DEP: “Yes, I’ve heard that from my children’s kung-fu sifu as well.”

JAG: “He was way ahead of his time. Even though he was doing it fifty years ago, I think he’d STILL be ahead of his time if he did it today. He also spoke about the importance of being grateful and devoted to worship. Hugely progressive thinker in a field that basically hadn’t even been invented yet. I also think Debbie Rosas [founder of Nia Technique] has it. I do appreciate her philosophy about exercise. And that she’s spreading the news that moving your body can be a pleasure.”

DEP: “What about the culture of youth? Do you think with baby boomers aging now that this will change?”

JAG: “We need youth in our culture. As much as we need maturity. I value children and adolescents for things that they offer that I can’t get from adults. Watch the kids. They’ll teach you how to exercise. I always ask the youth for guidance. They have a fresh view of something I’ve been looking at for decades. They can question things you’ve taken for granted, or they can invent something you never knew there was a need for. Just because there is value in maturity, doesn’t mean there is no value to youth. Think about it…maturity…means that you’re done developing.”

DEP: “Sometimes we forget what we knew when we were younger.”

JAG: “I am saying there is value to both, and I hesitate to say one is more important than the other.”

DEP: “There was a wonderful interview I read with the ever quirky [musician] Tom Waits…Did you know that when he was a teen he used to walk around with a cane? He just thought that made him more interesting! He wanted to be old! All the cool characters he knew were old guys!”

JAG: “That’s great! (laughing) He’s a nut. I love him.”

DEP: “Ok, I think we’ve got it, Jason. What do you think?”

JAG: “Did you just interview me?”

DEP: “Ha! That’s what they all ask!”

JAG: “Hehe. Was it good for you?”

DEP: “Seems to work better this way rather than the traditional way a lot of times.”

JAG: “Works for me!”

To read more about Jason’s fitness philosophy, visit his website at JAGfit

Also view his instructional videos on youtube. My personal fav: Jason Alan Griffin stability sets.