Tis the season for giving. Unfortunately what we often bestow on ourselves and others during the Holiday season is a generous serving of anxiety, so I have developed (just now) a blueprint for healthy Holiday living.
Get as much sleep as you can, exercise, spend time with people you love and whose company you can enjoy for however many hours you will be spending time with them.
When traveling have an exit strategy and a safe place to go for time outs.
Take a break from your usual down-time routine: Turn off the computer/TV, talk to your significant other, don't rush and listen carefully to what they say.
Meditate.
Play with your pets.
Concerning Food and Drink:
Eat what you love that doesn't hurt you, drink little booze and If the party is too painful without overindulging leave.
Happy Holidays!
Wednesday, December 24, 2014
Thursday, December 18, 2014
What's your type?
Many of you are familiar with the terms ectomorph, endomorph and mesomorph. For those of you who have not seen these terms they are a means of describing body types. If you are an ecto then you are skinny, have a difficult time gaining muscle and generally perform well in endurance events. If you are an endo you gain weight easily (both fat and muscle) and endurance events fill you with fear and loathing. Mesos are the genetically gifted few who gain muscle quickly, perform well in endurance events and don't gain fat easily.
These terms are generalizations and like most all encompassing descriptors they are a starting point. Many people can accurately be described as endo-mesos (or meso-endos) and others as ecto-mesos, etc. The relevance of these terms has to do with understanding the percentage of muscle types one is born with and what one wants to do with that information. Generally ectos have a greater concentration of type I muscle fibers and these aerobic fibers have more mitochondria (a cell's power source where ATP is produced) than Type IIa and Type IIb fibers which are associated with power and short term energy. Type"a" fibers are a mix of aerobic and anaerobic tissue while IIb's are strictly anaerobic and recruit a greater number of fibers when they fire. Type I fibers are known as slow twitch muscles and their advantage is that they last a long time due to their increased blood supply in comparison to the type II fibers which generate more power but posses less stamina (especially IIb's.)
Who cares? I know this already.
We all like to work to our strengths, so ecto's, like me, enjoy, long fast hikes, trad climbing and 20 minute body weight routines but are not as enthusiastic about workouts that suggest we clean 155lbs several times (my body weight at 6' tall) in addition to multiple burpees. Endos prefer the cleans and mesos, on the other hand, are psyched to do everything. The benefit of knowing your type is knowing how to approach your training. Ectos have a tough time gaining muscle, while endos suffer in endurance events, but if you want to improve in your weak areas you have to train to your goal with an understanding of your type.
I think I have the lowest percentage of body fat at my gym. I have trained all of my adult life and I have never gained more than 15 lbs of muscle and this is not for want of trying. I experimented with protein diets and lifting heavy with no cardio for weeks and I saw few results and suffered from overuse injuries. I am strong for my weight and height but I will never be a power lifting contender. What I am is content. I can compete in pullup and pushup competitions with the fit twenty and thirty somethings and I feel healthy. The problem I have experienced, especially when I was training and doing carpentry, is that I am constantly moving, which makes it difficult for the body to heal and often leads to injury. Now that I am slowing down a bit my form has improved in all of my lifts and I don't hurt all the time.
Recently I have stopped caring about the clock during Crossfit workouts. Of course if I have the best numbers I might post them, but mostly I record these statistics in my book as a gauge - that's what a log is for.
No matter what your type, in order to progress, you need to set goals and keep records for yourself, not for other people.
If you are kicking some ass at Crossfit check in with your coach and ask her if your pushups and pullups are legitimate and your lifts are in order. You might be surprised by her answer. As you work on form your time will suffer but your range of motion, alignment and strength will improve and so will your numbers (eventually.)
I am content to do the best job I can on any given day with good form.
It used to bother me when my "time obsessed" cohorts would beat me by seconds or minutes using improper technique. Now I don't care. When I am coaching I tell people every time I see something amiss with their technique and I work with them. If they are in the middle of the WOD I point out the issue and when they have cooled down and recovered I discuss what I saw and ways to fix it. This is the way we learn and although it is challenging it is crucial to the success of every client.
Over the past five years of coaching I have seen many people excel in their lifting capacity (most lift far more than I do.) It is a pleasure to watch them grow and I would like to think that I had something to do with their success but most of these people, I knew from our first meeting, were built for strength. Their body type gave them away, but this does not take anything away from their effort, training, desire and planning which has lead to their achievements. On the contrary it accentuates the concept that knowing your talents is key to developing them.
No matter what your type the choice is yours. If you are an endo who wants to run marathons start reading and hire a running coach. If you are an ecto who wants to lift heavy find the best gym you can afford with skilled trainers, read, rest and eat - a lot. The only way to overcome you short comings or to develop your talents is to be specific in your training. Attention to details and research, like every other pursuit, will lead to a more efficient use of your time.
Oh, and have fun.
Happy Holiday!
These terms are generalizations and like most all encompassing descriptors they are a starting point. Many people can accurately be described as endo-mesos (or meso-endos) and others as ecto-mesos, etc. The relevance of these terms has to do with understanding the percentage of muscle types one is born with and what one wants to do with that information. Generally ectos have a greater concentration of type I muscle fibers and these aerobic fibers have more mitochondria (a cell's power source where ATP is produced) than Type IIa and Type IIb fibers which are associated with power and short term energy. Type"a" fibers are a mix of aerobic and anaerobic tissue while IIb's are strictly anaerobic and recruit a greater number of fibers when they fire. Type I fibers are known as slow twitch muscles and their advantage is that they last a long time due to their increased blood supply in comparison to the type II fibers which generate more power but posses less stamina (especially IIb's.)
Who cares? I know this already.
We all like to work to our strengths, so ecto's, like me, enjoy, long fast hikes, trad climbing and 20 minute body weight routines but are not as enthusiastic about workouts that suggest we clean 155lbs several times (my body weight at 6' tall) in addition to multiple burpees. Endos prefer the cleans and mesos, on the other hand, are psyched to do everything. The benefit of knowing your type is knowing how to approach your training. Ectos have a tough time gaining muscle, while endos suffer in endurance events, but if you want to improve in your weak areas you have to train to your goal with an understanding of your type.
I think I have the lowest percentage of body fat at my gym. I have trained all of my adult life and I have never gained more than 15 lbs of muscle and this is not for want of trying. I experimented with protein diets and lifting heavy with no cardio for weeks and I saw few results and suffered from overuse injuries. I am strong for my weight and height but I will never be a power lifting contender. What I am is content. I can compete in pullup and pushup competitions with the fit twenty and thirty somethings and I feel healthy. The problem I have experienced, especially when I was training and doing carpentry, is that I am constantly moving, which makes it difficult for the body to heal and often leads to injury. Now that I am slowing down a bit my form has improved in all of my lifts and I don't hurt all the time.
Recently I have stopped caring about the clock during Crossfit workouts. Of course if I have the best numbers I might post them, but mostly I record these statistics in my book as a gauge - that's what a log is for.
No matter what your type, in order to progress, you need to set goals and keep records for yourself, not for other people.
If you are kicking some ass at Crossfit check in with your coach and ask her if your pushups and pullups are legitimate and your lifts are in order. You might be surprised by her answer. As you work on form your time will suffer but your range of motion, alignment and strength will improve and so will your numbers (eventually.)
I am content to do the best job I can on any given day with good form.
It used to bother me when my "time obsessed" cohorts would beat me by seconds or minutes using improper technique. Now I don't care. When I am coaching I tell people every time I see something amiss with their technique and I work with them. If they are in the middle of the WOD I point out the issue and when they have cooled down and recovered I discuss what I saw and ways to fix it. This is the way we learn and although it is challenging it is crucial to the success of every client.
Over the past five years of coaching I have seen many people excel in their lifting capacity (most lift far more than I do.) It is a pleasure to watch them grow and I would like to think that I had something to do with their success but most of these people, I knew from our first meeting, were built for strength. Their body type gave them away, but this does not take anything away from their effort, training, desire and planning which has lead to their achievements. On the contrary it accentuates the concept that knowing your talents is key to developing them.
No matter what your type the choice is yours. If you are an endo who wants to run marathons start reading and hire a running coach. If you are an ecto who wants to lift heavy find the best gym you can afford with skilled trainers, read, rest and eat - a lot. The only way to overcome you short comings or to develop your talents is to be specific in your training. Attention to details and research, like every other pursuit, will lead to a more efficient use of your time.
Oh, and have fun.
Happy Holiday!
Thursday, December 11, 2014
Cut to the Chase
I recently read a book that discussed Cognitive Dissonance Theory (c.d.t.) regarding scientists insisting that their previously held beliefs remained fact despite new data that clearly indicated the contrary. I was familiar with the term from various psych courses but this time the relevance of the theory hit home. Last week I mentioned the term, which was first posited in the 1950s by psychologist Leon Festinger, who postulated that when people hold two or more ideas to be true that contradict each other they become agitated. Why? Because like every other function in the human body the brain, or more particularly in this example, the psyche requires homeostasis. Because these conflicting ideas create dissonance, we primates, engage in three specific behaviors to mollify this irritation to achieve consonance. If, for example, I am craving 88% dark chocolate, but I know for various reasons that I should not eat it, I can do one of four things:
1) Leave the delicious, bitter, smooth, perfectly sweet, aromatic and butter like morsel in the cold, dark and lonely cabinet where a mouse might eat it.
2) Decide it is o.k. to have one piece because I have been a good boy and I am only having a small treat, so I can reach into the cupboard, pick up the wafer thin bar, gently unfold the paper wrapper, feel enlivened as I turn down the folds of the foil membrane, breath-in the roasted musk of cocoa, gently separate a single tile from the whole with a firm and caring click and rest my lips on the dusky fraction momentarily before I plunge it into my mouth, or...
3) Justify the above by bargaining with myself by committing to row an extra 1000 meters or some other nonsense to make-up for my action.
4) Deny that A) I am eating chocolate, or B) this is a carb, it contains sugar, and it is harmful to me in any way shape or form.
What strikes me about the above scenarios is that we engage in these behaviors all the time in-order to make it through the day. We are surrounded by dissonance and how we manage it determines the quality of our lives. Trivializing and denying are tried and true methods of coping with conflict. It doesn't matter if we are eating chocolate or committing a regiment of troops to certain annihilation in a losing battle, it is the same mental process. So how can you use this information to help you make the healthiest choices when it comes to diet and exercise? Being aware of your feelings and not brushing them aside when they produce discomfort is healthier than minimizing or negating unexplored convictions that cause your strife. At times it is necessary to turn the cognitive volume down or off, but you should be aware of why you are doing it.
I read an interesting piece recently on the internet about a woman who was sexually harassed in a pharmacy in Manhattan. This poor woman was sick with strep throat and was waiting in line to pay for her antibiotics when some asshole chose to invade her personal space and proceeded to tell her how pleasant it must be between her legs. With a high temperature and ready to pass out she had three options: deny what was happening, minimize it by asking him to leave her alone or addressing the assault head on. She chose to confront him. She spoke out-loud so everyone in line could hear her that he was sexually harassing her at which point he shrank and disappeared from the store. This was a courageous act under any circumstances but particularly in a weakened state. The jerk could have retaliated (she called her roommate and asked him to walk from their shared apartment a few blocks away to escort her home.)
We all make tough decisions everyday, but if you block things out you set yourself up for constant agitation because you are not solving the dissonance. If this woman had put up with the harasser's bullshit the experience would have gnawed away at her long after the event. There is truth in acknowledging conflict by shining a light on the issue. Even if you can't solve the dissonance immediately you can articulate it which is the first step to consonance. It is difficult to develop a state of mind that allows for continuous reflection in a world of overwhelming dysfunction.
Like physical exercise awareness requires daily practice which I engage in via meditation. Mindfulness meditation affords me the ability to observe my racing thoughts and emotions instead of being caught in their whirlwind. Unfortunately this skill of awareness eludes me more often than I would like but just as in diet and exercise I strongly believe that this pursuit is beneficial and necessary to stay healthy, to be happy, the possibility of happy, to no take medication, to take less medication, to be pain-free, to be relatively pain-free, to feel less desperate and to be more compassionate.
"If we choose always to be wise we should rarely need to be virtuous."
Jean-Jaques Rousseau
1) Leave the delicious, bitter, smooth, perfectly sweet, aromatic and butter like morsel in the cold, dark and lonely cabinet where a mouse might eat it.
2) Decide it is o.k. to have one piece because I have been a good boy and I am only having a small treat, so I can reach into the cupboard, pick up the wafer thin bar, gently unfold the paper wrapper, feel enlivened as I turn down the folds of the foil membrane, breath-in the roasted musk of cocoa, gently separate a single tile from the whole with a firm and caring click and rest my lips on the dusky fraction momentarily before I plunge it into my mouth, or...
3) Justify the above by bargaining with myself by committing to row an extra 1000 meters or some other nonsense to make-up for my action.
4) Deny that A) I am eating chocolate, or B) this is a carb, it contains sugar, and it is harmful to me in any way shape or form.
What strikes me about the above scenarios is that we engage in these behaviors all the time in-order to make it through the day. We are surrounded by dissonance and how we manage it determines the quality of our lives. Trivializing and denying are tried and true methods of coping with conflict. It doesn't matter if we are eating chocolate or committing a regiment of troops to certain annihilation in a losing battle, it is the same mental process. So how can you use this information to help you make the healthiest choices when it comes to diet and exercise? Being aware of your feelings and not brushing them aside when they produce discomfort is healthier than minimizing or negating unexplored convictions that cause your strife. At times it is necessary to turn the cognitive volume down or off, but you should be aware of why you are doing it.
I read an interesting piece recently on the internet about a woman who was sexually harassed in a pharmacy in Manhattan. This poor woman was sick with strep throat and was waiting in line to pay for her antibiotics when some asshole chose to invade her personal space and proceeded to tell her how pleasant it must be between her legs. With a high temperature and ready to pass out she had three options: deny what was happening, minimize it by asking him to leave her alone or addressing the assault head on. She chose to confront him. She spoke out-loud so everyone in line could hear her that he was sexually harassing her at which point he shrank and disappeared from the store. This was a courageous act under any circumstances but particularly in a weakened state. The jerk could have retaliated (she called her roommate and asked him to walk from their shared apartment a few blocks away to escort her home.)
We all make tough decisions everyday, but if you block things out you set yourself up for constant agitation because you are not solving the dissonance. If this woman had put up with the harasser's bullshit the experience would have gnawed away at her long after the event. There is truth in acknowledging conflict by shining a light on the issue. Even if you can't solve the dissonance immediately you can articulate it which is the first step to consonance. It is difficult to develop a state of mind that allows for continuous reflection in a world of overwhelming dysfunction.
Like physical exercise awareness requires daily practice which I engage in via meditation. Mindfulness meditation affords me the ability to observe my racing thoughts and emotions instead of being caught in their whirlwind. Unfortunately this skill of awareness eludes me more often than I would like but just as in diet and exercise I strongly believe that this pursuit is beneficial and necessary to stay healthy, to be happy, the possibility of happy, to no take medication, to take less medication, to be pain-free, to be relatively pain-free, to feel less desperate and to be more compassionate.
"If we choose always to be wise we should rarely need to be virtuous."
Jean-Jaques Rousseau
Tuesday, December 2, 2014
Dialogue
In this age of cognitive dissonance and lack of communication it is refreshing to receive honest and thoughtful responses to ideas. Because this blog focuses on health and wellness the way we use the fattest organ in our body is my primary concern. The brain, which is composed of about 70% fat is often switched off when there is a difference of opinion or the suggestion that there might be a disagreement. This tendency has lead to a dis-functional government whose participants are more concerned with the appearance of pleasing their constituencies than actually doing anything substantive that they can be held responsible for and as a result relieved of their duties in the following election cycle. We have seen some masterful obfuscation, denial and poll induced flip-flopping, so these officials can retain their well paying jobs at the expense of us, the people. And shame on us for tolerating it.
Which makes it a pleasure to have civilized discourse with my readers concerning all topics discussed here-in, but not limited to this blog. The diet debate continues and the cool thing is we are now getting into the limits of will (G. Gordon Liddy listen up!), and my favorite brain exercise - philosophy! After a good bout of this my head hurts, in a good way, and I feel strongly that these sessions are staving off dementia, Alzheimers and Creutzfeldt-Jacob syndrome.
Last week a reader emailed the following response to my low carb diet monologue:
Because I am disorganized I will start from the top and work my way down. But first Thank you. Thank you for taking the time to respond to these ideas, and thank you for giving me permission to post your thoughts.
I once heard a philosopher describe the philosopher as a blind man dressed in black standing in a black room with no light searching for a black hat that doesn't exist. The theologian, however, finds the hat. My jejune understanding of Foucault on the subject of society's imposed restrictions on the body politic is that a person must create her own existence to fight against subjugation. I see choosing a diet that relieves pain and dis-ease as the ultimate form of self creation especially when it negates a normative diet designed by corporations who (they are persons after all) financed studies to support their products which were then imposed on unwitting citizens resulting in the ultimate subjugation - margarine, partially hydrogenated oils, breakfast cereal and, arguably, statins!
Reconciliation of "pleasure and diet": Why must they be mutually exclusive? What is pleasure?
The orgasmic sensation of biting into a chilled, baked that morning cream puff from The Tea Room in NPZ, NY, or the pleasure of not riding the huge sugar spike & crash and the discomfort in my bowels that this treat creates? Eating the former lasts a few minutes. The latter effects, however, last a few hours. So pick your pleasure. That being said I will make my way to the Tea Room again at some point to enjoy this treat and it will taste that much better because I have waited. Which begs the question: is foreplay denial or is it a means of creating greater pleasure? Men, please do not respond to that query. Is there no room for play without carbs? I believe there is - try an avocado with smoked wild caught salmon and a dollop of full fat plain Greek yogurt on top.
In terms of self control: I have read some of these studies and that is one of the reasons I am trying to eliminate the need for self control with my diet. Reducing or eliminating cravings should give me more willpower which I can direct to other aspects of my life. Exercise is more complex because it requires a greater sacrifice than diet. I feel that way because diet is a more passive experience that requires a decision and then you cook and eat, which are mostly pleasurable activities, while exercise can be quite demanding and not always immediately gratifying - often times you have to make it through the work to feel pleasure.
Skinny people: In medicine the BMI is the standard for assessing risk of cancer, heart disease /stroke
and D.M. Because we (you and I) take care of ourselves and visit doctors I would bet that we have a much better chance of living longer as skinny folk than those who do not have access to health care, eat crap and are overweight. One of the flaws of the BMI is that it does not take muscle mass into consideration. Perhaps this study is another argument for increasing muscle mass. It would be interesting to see a study that compares fat and thin people in the same socioeconomic category that includes diet, exercise, education and access to healthcare. In the balance I would rather die a few years earlier feeling well as opposed to being an overweight older person having lived in a wheel chair with tubes in my body and unable to care for myself for several years. Fat or thin numerous studies have shown that caloric restriction or taking in only what you need correlates with longevity across cultures.
Access to information: I usually try to keep these posts short and many of the topics I discuss are associated with numerous opinions both for and against, so I leave it up to the reader to google information and decide for himself what is relevant.
Thanks for reading.
....
Which makes it a pleasure to have civilized discourse with my readers concerning all topics discussed here-in, but not limited to this blog. The diet debate continues and the cool thing is we are now getting into the limits of will (G. Gordon Liddy listen up!), and my favorite brain exercise - philosophy! After a good bout of this my head hurts, in a good way, and I feel strongly that these sessions are staving off dementia, Alzheimers and Creutzfeldt-Jacob syndrome.
Last week a reader emailed the following response to my low carb diet monologue:
"Being an atheist (on both religion and diet), and
being unable to extricate religion from diet in my mind—both dealing
with the process of disciplining the body and body politic, infusing
narratives of guilt, denial of pleasure, bad/good, belief, control/power
(if you know his work, you’ll recognize I’m a student of Foucault)—I
tend to put both subjects in a box, and ignore them. Happy to let people
believe, if it helps them through their world, but personally, I try
not follow a religion or diet. That doesn’t mean that I haven’t changed
the way I eat or live to help me feel better, but I tend to avoid
using/feeling the terms “splurged” or “fallen off the wagon” or “goal”
or whatever. And I’m sure that results in a body that doesn’t function
at its optimal point, but my personal reaction to discovering my body
isn’t infallible (double negative) was that I actively chose to not make
it a focus. (you’re right, tends to be a very personal subject).
All perhaps rationalizations for my choice to be an atheistic, non-goal-oriented slouch.
That said, a couple of rhetorical questions that your blog posts stirred:
Less philosophical:1. Knowing that you and Melinda appreciate the pleasure of food, and reading your article on the importance of play, how can one reconcile the simultaneous pursuit of diet and pleasure (especially if one isn’t a creative cook or has to eat out a lot)? You talk in your blog on play how it helps us to escape from our regimented/puritanical lives, but aren’t imposing “diet” and “exercise” regimes yet another form of regimentation, leaving us very few avenues of non-regimination?2. You may be interested (I know I have been) in the studies about how we have a limited amount of self-control, so if we exert self-control in one part of our lives, we’ll splurge in another. If true, it means we each have to decide the hierarchy of what is important to us—work or body or relationships or whatever—and make sure that is the priority for our limited self-control. (Alternatively, we need to consciously ask: if one is “good" in the world of diet and exercise, what has one sacrificed elsewhere?)
--They’ve done studies that show thin people have a higher mortality rate. Not sure how that jives with your comment that restricting calories is inherently good, at least for skinny folks like you and me.--And, just to be balanced and make sure your audience has the info they need to make decisions, I’d link to sites about the possible negative impacts of a Ketogenic diet (I did a search, but not everyone may)—I always like finding the best critiques of whatever thought I’m espousing."
Because I am disorganized I will start from the top and work my way down. But first Thank you. Thank you for taking the time to respond to these ideas, and thank you for giving me permission to post your thoughts.
I once heard a philosopher describe the philosopher as a blind man dressed in black standing in a black room with no light searching for a black hat that doesn't exist. The theologian, however, finds the hat. My jejune understanding of Foucault on the subject of society's imposed restrictions on the body politic is that a person must create her own existence to fight against subjugation. I see choosing a diet that relieves pain and dis-ease as the ultimate form of self creation especially when it negates a normative diet designed by corporations who (they are persons after all) financed studies to support their products which were then imposed on unwitting citizens resulting in the ultimate subjugation - margarine, partially hydrogenated oils, breakfast cereal and, arguably, statins!
Reconciliation of "pleasure and diet": Why must they be mutually exclusive? What is pleasure?
The orgasmic sensation of biting into a chilled, baked that morning cream puff from The Tea Room in NPZ, NY, or the pleasure of not riding the huge sugar spike & crash and the discomfort in my bowels that this treat creates? Eating the former lasts a few minutes. The latter effects, however, last a few hours. So pick your pleasure. That being said I will make my way to the Tea Room again at some point to enjoy this treat and it will taste that much better because I have waited. Which begs the question: is foreplay denial or is it a means of creating greater pleasure? Men, please do not respond to that query. Is there no room for play without carbs? I believe there is - try an avocado with smoked wild caught salmon and a dollop of full fat plain Greek yogurt on top.
In terms of self control: I have read some of these studies and that is one of the reasons I am trying to eliminate the need for self control with my diet. Reducing or eliminating cravings should give me more willpower which I can direct to other aspects of my life. Exercise is more complex because it requires a greater sacrifice than diet. I feel that way because diet is a more passive experience that requires a decision and then you cook and eat, which are mostly pleasurable activities, while exercise can be quite demanding and not always immediately gratifying - often times you have to make it through the work to feel pleasure.
Skinny people: In medicine the BMI is the standard for assessing risk of cancer, heart disease /stroke
and D.M. Because we (you and I) take care of ourselves and visit doctors I would bet that we have a much better chance of living longer as skinny folk than those who do not have access to health care, eat crap and are overweight. One of the flaws of the BMI is that it does not take muscle mass into consideration. Perhaps this study is another argument for increasing muscle mass. It would be interesting to see a study that compares fat and thin people in the same socioeconomic category that includes diet, exercise, education and access to healthcare. In the balance I would rather die a few years earlier feeling well as opposed to being an overweight older person having lived in a wheel chair with tubes in my body and unable to care for myself for several years. Fat or thin numerous studies have shown that caloric restriction or taking in only what you need correlates with longevity across cultures.
Access to information: I usually try to keep these posts short and many of the topics I discuss are associated with numerous opinions both for and against, so I leave it up to the reader to google information and decide for himself what is relevant.
Thanks for reading.
....
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