Seasonal eating

I really should be studying right now (or pretty much any time over the past week I’ve been putting this together), but as you can tell, I’m not. Oh well. I want to say a *gasp* fond farewell to Yankee Stadium. Yes, me, the quintessential Yankee hater, saying I will miss Yankee Stadium. Hey, I may pull for the Red Sox and others, but that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate sports—and American—history. “A bit of America’s soul is being destroyed with the destruction of the old Yankee Stadium,” said an acquaintance from my hometown (ah, the joys of Facebook reconnections). I was plopped on my couch flipping back and forth betweeen the last game to be played at Yankee Stadium and the Packers/Cowboys game. Not a bad night (except that the Cowboys won), but I can say I am one of the lucky relatively few who made it to a game in the Bronx. For me, it was summer of 2003, to see a Yankees/Red Sox game. Frankly, I didn’t care about the game so much as the experience of sitting in the right-field bleachers, going through roll call, heckling Johnny Damon (who was still with Boston at the time), and being around fanatics, not just fans. There just aren’t many things like it.

I also made it to Shea Stadium during that same trip; to say it was decidedly less enthralling is an understatement, but I still got to see that ballpark before its demise while heckling Chipper Jones, even though I like the Braves. So far, I’ve made it to Yankee (old), Shea, Wrigley, US Cellular (missed Comiskey by a couple years), Kauffman, and Fulton County (for football rather than baseball). I’m still trying to get to Fenway in the next couple years as well as any older parks before they’re replaced. I really don’t feel a push to see newer parks right now.

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The girl and I have been lamenting the forthcoming end of farmers market season here in Charlotte, set to close sometime next month for the most part. It may be purely psychological, but farmers market fare just seems to taste better, cook better, and just plain FEELS better (not like warm fuzzies, just literally physically). In a couple weeks, though, the cornucopia of fruits, veggies, eggs, breads, honeys, jams, and a few meats (no nuts that I’ve seen, though) will give way to pumpkins and, well, pumpkins (and eventually fir trees) until next spring. This all, in a word, blows. Sure, not ALL of the goodies are grown locally (some stuff does come from as far away as California, unfortunately), and sure, there are a few stores in the area for buying more nutritionally- and environmentally-friendly foods, but even those are questionable—note that “free range” merely means ACCESS to the “outdoors,” which can literally be an ten-square-foot patch of grass open to the sky (“organic” is also just a label, not a guarantee—watch Tommy Boy for an insightful take on guarantees). I’ve previously mentioned the proximity of a couple farms that offer a combination of beef, pork, chicken, eggs, and milk, and it’s looking more and more likely that we’ll pull the trigger on buying from these farms (a definite once we’re in a house, hopefully by next summer), but produce remains elusive in this area. Mark, always a go-to guy for all things edible, recently posted a top-ten list of fall season veggies, and at the bottom is a list of his posts covering other seasons and their prime produce.

Also in previous posts, I linked to articles about urban gardening (“square-foot” gardening) as well as compact composting, both of which would be doable at our current location, but frankly, I don’t care to setup a project of that scope if we’re only going to be here six-to-eight months. To me, gardening, composting, and the like all symbolize a sense of permanence (a odd concept if you’ve personally known me for any length of time), albeit one of allostasis (a new favorite word from my last post) if done correctly. Aside from a new, massive HDTV and a home gym setup, I want to christen the new digs with a rotational garden of sorts (suitable for all seasons) as well as a compost area (again, it doesn’t stink if done correctly). Depending on how far out in the sticks we decide to go, a couple chickens isn’t out of the question, either, as long as the dogs don’t get to them. For now, though, the hunt is on for local fall/winter veggie sources and a scouting trip to a purported egg farm out to the east of town to support our roughly eight-dozen-per-month habit (show me a quicker, cheaper, more nutritionally valuable source of protein, I dare ya).

By the way, on a completely selfish note, there is now a sliver of hope that UNC Charlotte, my alma mater twice over, may get a football team. Now, I know it’s still a long shot, but IF it happens, it’ll be at least five years from now. I’ll be 34 then, plenty of time to put on 30-50 pounds of lean mass, lower my 40-yard time (can’t get much higher), and re-enroll at the minimum credit hours required so as to tryout in hopes of getting the last backup roster spot. Hey, it could happen… *snicker*…

Body bits: Mark meets the kettlebell, warming up to run (hey, look, nothing static!), exercise combats obesity and diabetes (gosh, no, really?), exercise programming on the fly, more foam rolling, more reason to avoid fitness center “trainers” and brotards, aged-appropriate exercises, electricity-generating exercise (I don’t know how long I’ve been waiting for this to happen), trying a tri, knee-friendly hip flexor stretches, that neck pain may be more than just a pain in the neck, another former jogger, “cardio” still sucks, treadmill desks (coming to an office near you?), programming for body composition (no treadmills allowed!) OR your form may be keeping you fat, grip it to rip it, how to play bike polo (that’s gonna hurt in the morning), bodyweight training brings out the MacGuyver in you, too much flexibility/mobility, happy twentieth anniversary to Ben Johnson’s date with destiny.

Edibles: Lyle’s dieting physiology wrap-up (an enthralling series if you like one or both of the books I reviewed in my last post), the musclehead’s guide to alcohol, consistency through planning, the decline and fall of sugar (and a look back at some dietary flat-Earthers), hosting guests who aren’t on the primal eating bandwagon, superfood mash-ups (don’t get me started), eating for enjoyment (what? moderation? the hell you say), diet as behavior modifier (in prison as well as in schools, which some might argue can be one and the same), some diet-food suggestions from Leigh (the first ten of fifty, and I already take issue with a couple of them), energy drinks = crap, Green Pans (these are going on the gift list), sour grapes over Splenda, grape juice may be as healthful as red wine (but still less fun to drink), the endgame of restrictive dieting, misleading Nutella advertising (gosh, no, really?), some awesome fish or—not and—egg recipes, more on intermittent fasting (roundtable, Eat Stop Eat review), GM meats (why is this suddenly an issue after years of hormones and fertilizers permeating our food chain???), tricks with Stevia, supplement missteps (I’m willing to bet most of the blame could be placed on the consumers here), the Mediterranean succumbs to the West, Havard pushes bliss through ignorance, a good deal at the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas, news flash: fats aren’t evil, carbs + fats = BFFs?

Mind matters: brain health roundup, making and storing memories (for now), exercise addiction (hint: it should be fun first, logical second), this just in—psychological stressors cause physical reactions, critical thinking may increase appetite, craving security breeds insecurity, viewers may remember TV health messages (this probably just means people pay more attention to TV than to reality), auctions play on fear, ordinary to extraordinary (for better or worse), our onboard navigation systems.

Kiddie corner: how much exercise do children need? (um, more than they’re getting, obviously), reinventing the school lunch, America’s healthiest schools, you’re gonna miss me (funny), cooking better for the kids (that pizza recipe isn’t too bad), a hopeful future of gym class, teaching on the TED.com time limit (note: can’t say this is original to them—I was advised to do this during my own teaching days), overweight kids more prone to headaches, vitamin D supplementation works but is completely unnecessary, banning sodas in schools having little effect on overall consumption (gosh, no, really? you mean parents are to blame? shocking), guidelines for dealing with ADHD (here’s priceless advice for free: get the little rug munchers away from the TV/computer/video games and kick them out into the yard—accidents are okay despite helicopter parenting—until it’s time for supper; donations accepted via PayPal)

General health: genetics (reverse-engineered stem cells, sight restoration), you’ll end up on your back either way, weight-loss surgery is not a get-out-of-jail-free card, plastics are safe (trust us, we’re the government), first pharmaceuticals and now rocket fuel, Doggyfitness officially launches, asthma sufferers may leak less, aweigh down south in Dixie, the dental divide, talking diet with your doctor, the sky is (still) falling, overpopulation and the human mind (consider the Bottom Billion), the US surgeon general was a little behind on this one, ecstasy just got safe(r), break out the votives.

Geek-out:
—Transportation: inside the better-than-a-Prius Volt (video), Chrysler from left field, Pininfarina enters the EV fray, Porsche goes retro, some hybrids are pointless, locusts teach collision avoidance, know if you can beat the light, when Ferraris fly, a super Veyron? (*drool*), an electric Viper, upgrading the moped, big rigs getting fuel cells to reduce idling, North Carolina biodiesel co-op (Big Willie style?), happy anniversary to the last victory for the horse, faster than a speeding bullet train, surfers grounded, one step closer to biofuel from algae (airlines may still get screwed), at least flights may remain quieter, more bicycles mean fewer accidents, tanks, WTF cruises, space travel inspired by sci-fi, take four for Space-X, China building “impossible” space drive, space tourist rebate, yay for camels!
—Large Hadron Collider: hacked and broken (videos and timeframe).
—Nature: bypassing trees, TED.com spurs sustainable fishing, US dumping used tech in Asia, an awesome hurricane tracking website, the coming (already here?) water crisis, redesigning cities for sustainability
—Tech stuff: online gamers aren’t THAT unhealthy, revel in data isolation (I know I do), happy belated anniversaries to the emoticon, tanks, and Myst.
—Miscellaneous: the physical and idealogical differences between liberals and conservatives, Obama announces his science advisors, ten movie geeks, Israel unleashes Pepe LePew, the Human Terrain, optical illusions, who wants to buy a beach town?

Git ‘r dun:
—How about some POSITIVE reinforcement there, Oprah?
—If Mark Speckman can figure it out, so can you.
—Pumps versus drains.
—Leigh begins a series of “action assignments” (with Mike’s reaction).
—Eric invokes Shel Silverstein.
—A mantra for balanced personal development.
—The power of “thank you.”
—Diversify (you hear me out there, big agriculture? Wall Street? brotard?).
—It could always be worse.
—Are you trying too hard? (probably not, but something to keep in mind—you have to TRY first)
—What if exercise made you ugly?

Corn and stress

A two-fer review today. I’m working on another link-laden post as well (and trust me, it will be packed), but since I finally finished these books, I figured I’d better talk about them while they’re a little better than lukewarm in my mind. I’ll say upfront that there are only two “not-so-good things” listed for each book. I really tried to find three, but I had trouble coming up with just two for each, so take that for what it’s worth.

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Title: The Omnivore’s Dilemma
Tagline: A natural history of four meals
Author: Michael Pollan (also: In Defense of Food)
Retail: $16.00

My thoughts: A New York Times bestseller published in 2006, this only recently appeared on my reading radar as I try to get my diet to as simple and close to its source(s) as possible. It’s no huge stretch to imagine the scope and reach of industrialized agriculture—fast food, frozen dinners, Twinkies, grain shipments as part of humanitarian aid packages, and so on. No problem, right? This industry is a testament to the power and creativity of human ingenuity and technology, right? Eh, sort of. When does food stop being food and instead become commodity (read: oh, about 10,000 years ago)? What does this mean for food’s composition (read: we literally eat petroleum)? What does the industrialization of our diets do to our bodies (read: the obesity epidemic isn’t completely an accident)? You’ll be surprised to find out how fast and loose the Food and Drug Administration plays with food labels and labeling, and just how bad a lot of good-for-you stuff really is. As I read through the book, connections to food and other problems kept firing off: obesity, diabetes, pollution (far greater than that produced by vehicles), the link between skyrocketing food and fuel prices, and so on, all of which makes me want to go back and re-read with pen and paper at the ready, just to make sure I keep all my thoughts straight. Let’s just say that I’m more than itching to buy my own house so as to start a substantial garden and compost pile (note: if done correctly, compost doesn’t stink).

Three good things: easy-to-read storytelling style, topic (c’mon, it’s food, what’s not to like?), good explanations of the true costs of various meals.

Two not-so-good things: possibly suspect sensationalism (he’s a journalist selling a book, after all), genre (I didn’t know this was a horror/suspense thriller when I started) :)

My opinion: I can’t encourage you enough: you owe it to yourself to read this book. If you have kids, you have an even greater duty to read and incorporate this book’s information into your and their diets. Yes, it may seem relatively expensive, but food is an investment in the future—spend more now, spend less later. We bargain-shop for clothes, fuel, hi-def TVs, et cetera, but food is the single most basic element of life. Food is what makes us what—and to a large extent, who—we are. It’s one thing to scrimp on an oil change, but as we are what we eat, cheap food makes for a cheap and ultimately breakdown-prone body.

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Title: Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers (3rd ed)
Tagline: The acclaimed guide to stress, stress-related diseases, and coping
Author: Robert M. Sapolsky (also: A Primate’s Memoir)
Retail: $18.00

My thoughts: In studying for my CSCS certification, the one subject that keeps giving me a brain cramp is endocrinology, the study of the form and function of the body’s hormones and other regulatory mechanisms. On a recommendation in Lyle McDonald’s blog, I decided to give this a read considering my growing interest in the physiological effects of psychological phenomena (spawned by my qigong introduction back in the spring). This will absolutely be a re-read for me, not because I didn’t understand what what written, but because I understood so well that, like Omnivore, I want to have a pen and paper handy to take an insane amount of notes. Folks, during and after reading this book, I—that’d be me—have at least an elementary grasp of endocrinology, specifically in the realm of stress, whether real or perceived (ultimately, it’s all the same in humans). I will say it’s a dense read, but that’s mostly due to getting familiar with the jargon (Sapolsky does a brilliant job of reminding you of stuff you’ve already read to prime your mind for a relevant upcoming topic) as well as the sheer amount of information, but when you finish, you’ll have a much better understanding of how stress affects different areas of life (metabolism *ahem*, reproduction, aging, pain, etc), how to recognize what might be affecting your own life, and how to start addressing those issues. This is not a self-help book, by the way; it’s very much a scholarly text written in a very down-to-earth, sometimes snarky style that makes it a pleasure to read.

Three good things: casual and easy-to-understand writing style that makes a very complex subject easily accessible, wide range of topics affected by stress (read: everything) and suggested coping methods, copious footnotes and endnotes for both anecdotal and further scholarly reading.

Two not-so-good things: possibly depressed feeling (tongue-in-cheek) by the time you get to the last chapter (coping), the suggestion that aerobic exercise (think “cardio,” short- to medium-distance running, etc) is healthier than anaerobic exercise (think weightlifting, sprinting, etc).

My opinion: It may take a few weeks, but read. this. book. Especially if you feel stressed more than occasionally or if you consider yourself to be Type-A (misnomer). As Lyle said, “for anybody who is interested in this topic, I would highly, highly, highly recommend” this book (he goes further by suggesting any book by Sapolsky, and if this book is any indication of his others, I have to agree). It’s dense, it’s heavy, it’s packed, and it’s good. Just take your time and maybe some notes, but you’ll come out on the other side with a much better understanding of why we feel and react like we do to all sorts of stressors.

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Now, with the individual reviews done (and trust me, they are completely glossing over and nowhere near comprehensive), let me add the caveat that I read these books back-to-back, meaning I read Zebras in the context of having Omnivore freshly in my mind, which gave rise to a whole host of connections, WTFs, and ah-ha! moments. While a vast majority of stress in humans is psychological in nature (at least to begin with), a fair amount is physical, not only as a result of psychology but also as a result of lifestyle basics. Yes, I mean food. Zebras makes a point early on about how the human body is not in a condition of homeostasis, but rather in allostatis:

The original conception of homeostasis was grounded in two ideas. First, there is a single optimal level, number, amount for any given measure in the body. But that can’t be true—after all, the ideal blood pressure when you’re sleeping is likely to be different than when you’re ski jumping… The second idea in homeostasis is that you reach that ideal point through some local regulatory mechanism, whereas allostasis recognizes that any given set point can be regulated in a zillion different ways, each with its own consequences.

Sounds like the food industry could learn something from psychology. Sure, there’s an abundance of food in this country, but when it’s primarily based on corn, that means the carbon structure in corn supplants the carbon structure found in other foods that our bodies have evolved to better process. A few more steps in logic and cause-and-effect, and *BOOM* there’s your obesity epidemic. When I get back around to doing the whole notetaking re-read on both of these, I’ll try to come up with something substantive to post here, but I wouldn’t look for it for at least a year. I have to concentrate on CSCS (and other) reading as well as completely abandon reality for a bit and finally read Ender’s Game :)

Thanks

Nothing profound or even majorly worthwhile today, just a thanks to everyone who happens to stop by here every now and then. I have another ton of links to share, but those can wait until next time. It’s been just over three months since I started this blog, and though the site traffic is pretty paltry compared to, well, everyone over in that right-hand column, I honestly didn’t figure on getting more than the occasional single hit once a day or so, if that, when this thing started. Thanks largely to the forums at JP Fitness and the running calendar I keep here, I have quite a few more daily hits (on average) than expected, especially since this blog was—and still is—meant primarily as just an experiment to see if I can produce a substantial, informed, and largely correct (according to the latest information) body of fitness-related material. Obviously, so far, I haven’t done much for original content, but I’m hopeful that will come along once I get more into a working environment with this stuff (all I have now are my own continuing experiences and anecdotal material from a couple other people). Maybe then, I can also settle on a common format for these posts. So anyway, thanks again. That’s all.

Dog days

I have three dogs. Each one is an asshole in his own unique way. I leave the doors open on occasion in hopes that they’ll run away: one never goes outside without literally being kicked out the door, one neurotically goes and comes back several times in quick succession but ultimately stays, and one takes off maybe once every five or ten times out the door, disappearing for about ten minutes, only to end up sitting the middle of the back yard looking up at the door until someone calls him in. Assholes, all of them, despite the purported mental health benefits of ownership. I took them out to play yesterday afternoon around 3pm and got a CHILL! No kidding. This is Charlotte, mid-September, and it was 75F and breezy. Of course, this was just a tease—90s are expected tomorrow, and the humidity goes without saying.

While I’m on the subject of dogs, I happened upon a blog (via a Brad Pilon post) that combines human fitness and canine fitness. I haven’t had a chance to read much more than the bio info, but it looks worth a good look, so go look.

The point of this writing comes from a post by Tony today talking about high-heeled shoes for babies.

Let that sink in for a second…

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High heels…

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On babies…

…

I saw this mentioned on a forum the other day and quickly passed by the topic, hoping I really didn’t see what I’d just seen. In fact, I tried so hard to ignore that I honestly can’t say whether I actually saw it or not, but even so, there it is. You’ll find a link Tony’s commentary on the pitfalls of high heels on full-grown adults in that same post linked above. You’ll find to your left (and here) a link to one of my all-time favorite articles, one that I can’t count how many times I’ve sent out or suggested during face-to-face conversation, the latest being during a trip, appropriately enough, to a nearby dog park a couple weeks ago. I was wearing my Vibrams, which I’ll again admit look patently ridiculous yet are the most comfortable shoes I’ve ever worn (after a very short break-in period, of course, which is really the feet getting used to working rather than the shoes getting “used”). A girl who’d been glancing at my feet from time to time finally walked over and somewhat sheepishly smiled, pointed at my shoes, and simply said, “I have to ask.” That started a nearly half-hour conversation that ranged from everyday footwear to running mechanics to my hamstring rehab to this and that and what not (no, not one of those “one thing led to another” stories—this ain’t Penthouse forum), ending with that New York Magazine article for some quick, easy reading.

I wear my Vibrams for a lot of my conditioning work (a little less lately due to some iffy but improving foot biomechanics that I can say with some confidence are the result of having worn typical shoes for, you know, my whole life until recently). I wear a pair of Adidas Goodyear street shoes for my everyday, walk-around stuff. In the gym, I currently wear a pair of Asics split-sole wrestling shoes that otherwise wouldn’t be used; when those wear out, I’ll be getting a pair of Puma Speed Cats. The only place I wear somewhat “normal” exercise shoes is for my sprint work, but that’s mainly because I haven’t found a pair of track-and-field shoes that are as thin and pliable as I’d like. The reason for wearing these particular shoes when I’m not barefooted is because of their relatively very thin and flexible soles, which allows my feet to work more, get stronger, and return to a more natural state. This also pulls a lot of other things into balance that, as a LOT of people experience, if left unchecked cause pain in everything from the feet to the head. Seriously. Poor foot and/or ankle muscle development and maintenance can and does lead to headaches in some people, not to mention pains in a lot of other places (lower back, hips, knees, etc).

One more thing before the links, something I’ve been asked more and more recently: is [insert food/drink/dietary supplement here] bad? No. No food/drink/dietary supplement by itself is bad (see Leigh’s commentary here). This even includes high-fructose corn syrup. There, I said it. HFCS is not bad for you. It’s not holding a gun to your head and screaming, “EAT ME, YOU SONUVABITCH! EAT ME IN MASS QUANTITIES OR ELSE!”

Now, eating HFCS or most anything else in excess and/or in combination with certain other “anything elses” isn’t going to help. Much like morality itself, the idea of “bad” is relative. It’s all about context, so when you ask me if something is bad, I’m going to say no, that donut doesn’t have poor moral character. Use your head (if it’s not hurting from those barking dogs). Keep in mind that context includes source, not just quantity or combination.

General health-type stuff:
—Turns out there’s 46 million—not 41 million—affected by pharmaceuticals contaminating drinking water. Why pay for prescriptions when a lot of us just have to turn on the faucet? At least the FDA is staffing up (again).
—Men of all ages are increasingly dealing with poor physical self-image.
—Diet and exercise are not mutually exclusive on the path to reaching your goals (goes back to that whole “context” thing).
—Seems there’s a tiny bit of progress in getting excess calories out of schools.

General geek-type stuff:
—Nature: deep ocean life, nature for audiophiles, humans and animals can co-exist, dealing with your earthbound leftovers, it’s (almost) alive.
—Transportation: Mini crosses over, Toyota’s plug-in hybrid in testing, so much for the tranquility of the ride, DARPA getting into “clean” coal-based fuel, good luck with this JetBlue voucher.
—Tech: YouTube will never (legally) download, iPhones play Big Brother, Google adds facial recognition, Firefox friendly to pr0n, frog-inspired light bulbs, file sharing is a hard habit to break, MIT for the right-brain.

General good-type stuff:
—The power of hello.
—Some workout humor from Brian Regan.
—And just because :)

Schizo

Before I get into the (admittedly lean) meat of the matter, today is, of course, September 11, which means different things to different people, many of whom still deal with lingering after-effects. I had no direct involvement or know anyone who did, but as I noted in a post (old blog) last year, it was certainly one of those “where were you” moments:

Something I noticed up in Hampton Roads and later down in Jacksonville, as well as a few other places, was all the American flags flying at half-staff, and for the life of me, I couldn’t figure out why they were like that. Just goes to show you how out-of-touch I was with the rest of the world beyond losing track of time. It was, of course, September 11, the six-year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. A friend of mine blogged while I was away about her lingering reaction to the events that day and how she’s still affected on several levels. Me, I can’t sit and watch TV shows and specials on the event. It was certainly one of those “where were you” days in my lifetime. I distinctly remember that I was still living just above Richmond and doing tech work for Paramount. With Labor Day behind us and school back in session (I think), we’d been prepping the theme park for Halloween. I showed up at work semi-early that morning, just like any other day that fall, and walked in to desertion. Not a single person was to be found despite the employee gates being open and the usual keys and radios gone from the office that told me other people had already showed up. I didn’t bother calling anyone, opting instead to make the five-minute walk down to our main theater house to see if anyone was there. There was, about a dozen people, crammed into the costume shop huddled around a tiny black-and-white TV that still sported rabbit ears. I got a couple glances as I walked in, but that was it, so I sat down where I could and turned my attention to the screen. Through the static, I finally saw what they’d already seen. The only thing I remember from that day other than going home because management closed the park at lunchtime was calling Brooke (waking her up, in fact, given her own work schedule) and telling her to turn on the TV. Any station. Just turn it on. And I hung up. At the time, I thought closing the park was a bit pointless, but as the months and years have passed, the events of that day have hit me harder than I thought, just like a couple other past events in my life that I don’t feel compelled to discuss at this point.

I felt a little embarrassed at this realization coming so late in the ride, especially after having ridden past two of the most prominent military installations in our nation. However, I happened to read in another article in that same issue of HogTails about a biker tradition honoring riders fallen or gone: ride with your rear pegs down and perhaps strap a helmet to the back seat. If I’m riding solo next September 11, you can be sure that my rear pegs will be down.

Unfortunately, it’s raining like a sonuvabitch here today, so a ride is highly unlikely.

That being said, the whole 9/11 thing has been politicized beyond recognition to the point that a lot of people still don’t know who exactly was behind the attacks in the first place. While I could go on a completely non-fitness rant on that sentiment, I’ll instead relate it to something more relevant to this blog. I’m sure you noticed the title, which is appropriate both for the 9/11 mentality and the past week of health- and fitness-related stories I’ve seen, but I really just couldn’t think of a better word for the staggering quantity and quality of conflicting messages. High-fructose corn syrup (it’s “natural” and therefore good for you according to the commercials—congrats to Kevin on the first video FitCast), genetics (it’s not your fault if you don’t exercise), magic “Gandhi” pills (read: moral performance enhancers), take your Blackberry into the free-weight area (don’t get me started—ever heard of pen and paper?), you really don’t know what 400 pounds is, treadmills for kids, four-year-old McDonald’s hamburgers (worse than bubble/chewing gum), America runs on Dunkin (or just sits and gets fat(ter)), and (I shit you not) Krispy Kreme cheddar bacon cheeseburgers. Oh wait, there’s more: someone ate—and is heralded for eating—23,000 Big Macs. We need to “get in shape,” yet we figured out how to cheat Wii Fit. WII-FREAKING-FIT!!! Seriously?!?! Get. Off. Your. Ass. You lazy $#!@#!

I really didn’t want this to turn into a rant because, quite frankly, I try not to rant here. For one, it’s stressful, which I’m finding to be a truly viable reason to NOT do certain things as I continue reading Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers (no, exercise isn’t one of them). For two, it’s pointless since you can’t fix stupid, which is basically what is going on here. For three, as pessimistic and cynical a person as I am, I try to keep that to a minimum here (others just let it fly, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing) since I want to keep this blog readable, informative, and at least mildly entertaining. My restraint is a tad schizo itself since, by nature, I can occasionally be just a tad opinionated and maybe a smidge sarcastic, but hey, I’m trying. I’ve been working on getting more qigong into my life, which is slowly improving. In fact, part of why I write, here or elsewhere, is to relieve some of that stress. If you happened to click on the above link where I related my reaction to 9/11 last year, you might’ve noticed that post is part of a series about a vacation I took last year. I can honestly say that, during that week, I was more relaxed and care-free than at any other time in my life. I was a little afraid to take that ride in the first place since it was my first real, actual vacation, and I had a feeling that I was going to experience something that would continue to tug at me long after the week was over (it has/does/will), but at least I now know that I CAN relax. Actually doing it is another matter, but I’ve been there, done that, and want it back, somewhat permanently. Anyway, speaking of schizo…

Relevant stuff:
—Food: protein for breakfast means more energy AND greater satiety, proper diet is not temporary, BPAs are still a problem despite government reassurance (like the irradiation issue), cranberry juice and UTIs, limiting fructose intake may help weight loss, 15-minute meals from Mark *drool* (over the meals, not Mark), add some spices to your food, hand-cranked meat slicers rule, fish feeds the heart, first in a series on adaptive thermogenesis (metabolism), how flax oil affects the body (I long ago went to fish oil only), Pie Town opens in Charlotte, Leigh totally rips off Guiding Stars ;)
—Body: master your body before touching a weight, improvise away your excuses (missing knee ligaments won’t get you off the hook, either), overtraining is real (but you probably aren’t there, no offense), anything training-related and claiming to be “injury-free” is lying, roll away the pain (part 1) that is probably more internal than external in nature, squat like you mean it (it’s safe and natural despite what that brotard trainer tells you), consider skipping the skipping, real-world training, a visit from Pukey the Clown (originally here), anyone want to donate a tire to me?
—Kids: dirt isn’t all that bad, don’t be afraid to be one or at least play like one, early obesity could mean early disease/transplants.
—Sports: NFL (military aid, everything’s bigger in Texas), stay grounded, cancer can wait, funniest picture ever.
—Lifestyle: knowledge gaps, remembering is like reliving, going whole-hog primal, bootlegging your health, cancer may follow pathways instead of genes.
—Genetics: happy anniversary to DNA fingerprinting, DNA folding, genetics of learning further revealed, aging may be programmed rather than cumulative, tobacco gene therapy, stem cells combat muscular dystrophy, skipping stem cells, Stephen Colbert lives forever.

Not-so-relevant stuff:
—Transportation: a bus drives itself, Mazda takes on Chevy, Honda copies Toyota, a 62mpg VW, a 54mpg Volvo (that you can’t have), a 240hp X-bow, Viper raises the speed bar, Tesla gets a working gearbox, hot women dig hot cars, the best back-to-school cars, the fifty worst cars of all time, solar car carrier, a clean subway restroom, history chugs along on biodiesel, drive-in theaters, JetBlue auctions tickets amid gargantuan industry losses and safety issues, sports fans get security express lane, airport GPS, cutting weather-related flying delays, good reasons to explore space.
—Large Hadron Collider: yesterday the day (*pssst* we’re still here), Stephen Hawking isn’t scared, fun physics videos, soundtrack.
—Tech stuff: Facebook not as secure as you might think, building a free digital library for the world, a history of pictures on the Web, North Carolina city is first to go all-digital, open-source textbooks, video games promote scientific inquiry, smaller is not safer, Apple didn’t invent the iPod, could life evolve online?
—Miscellaneous: find/make a story in a picture, happy anniversary to Star Trek (I know, I know), political Wordle, some things are inevitable, survive a nuclear attack (2000s style), selling off the American infrastructure, litigation gone berserk.

Motivation:
—Dead-last-finish > did-not-finish > did-not-start.
—A 481-pound deadlift at age 73 (also congrats to Ross for training a big win in the ring).
—Find success through the grapevine.
—Pain is temporary. Pride is forever.

And finally, some food for thought from RobbyC, a blog titled “The Best Years of Your Life”:

When you hear the title sentence, what do you think of in terms of fitness? Do you look at the past? Or do you look at your current state? Lately I have been thinking about old friends and whatnot, and it dawned on me that all of the ’star athletes’ back in highschool hardly do fuck all in terms of fitness anymore. And that is truly a sad state of affairs.

Imagine being 25 years old and looking back at the time when you were 15-18 as the peak of your physical being. Although I am only 3-4 years removed from highschool I still hear people talk about it as if it were their glory days in terms of fitness. They use the term ‘I used to’ more than anything, as if that means something today.

‘I used to run track.’

‘I used to play varsity basketball.’

‘I used to, I used to, I used to.’

Well, I ‘CAN’ deadlift 350 pounds. I ‘CAN’ beat PR’s on a monthly basis. I ‘CAN’ wake up every day and know that I am stronger, faster and in better shape than the day before.

There is nothing more sad then people who refer to the best years of their lives as being during a time when they werent even legally allowed to drink or vote. A time when they worked at McDonalds.

The best years of my life have yet to happen, the best years of my life is 2009 and beyond. There is nothing more sad then someone speaking about what they ’used’ to be able to do…all that means is that they can no longer do it. So go out there and beat an old PR, lift more weight, run faster and jump higher.

Cheers!

Rob

Tomorrow is too late

Man, I’m such a weather junkie. Some people can sit through multiple SportsCenter repeats, the OJ Simpson trial, or Project Runway marathons. I can veg out for hours watching weather stuff. Mind you, it’s the major things from local severe thunderstorms to all the recent tropical Atlantic stuff, in this case (Hanna may head this way), but still, plant me on the couch with food and drink, and I’m good. Just turn me toward the light on occasion. An empty milk jug would be nice, too. Anyway, I should probably take my own title’s advice and get this done since I started writing it, oh, this past weekend. Between three dogs, reading (totally unrelated to my CSCS studies, I’m slightly ashamed to mention), cooking (a newfound hobby), and rekindling a love for The Legend of Zelda, I’ve just been swamped.

How many times have we heard that it’s never too late to get in shape? Yeah, the proverbial “if I had a nickel.” You know what? That statement is wrong, so wrong that it just downright sucks. Why? A simple exercise in logic tells us that if it’s never too late to get in shape, you can always start tomorrow because, well, it’s never too late. No, the sentiment should be: “tomorrow is too late to get in shape.” That way, you don’t put it off and instead start today. So, if you haven’t started already, today’s the day. It all just depends on your mindset. Examples: For various reasons, I decided in early June that I wanted to be able to do single-leg squats. Aside from the various benefits of unilateral strength, balance, and coordination, they’re also a pretty cool party trick, so I made them a researched and planned priority in my training. Three months later, I’m doing alternating singles with relative ease. I’m still a little wobbly under some conditions (no warm-up, excessive fatigue following a workout, wearing shoes, etc), but they’re well within my abilities now because I decided I wanted to do them. The same can be said for my pull-up (in)abilities a couple years ago. I’d never been able to do pull-ups, first because I’d grown up overweight and so never really attempted them, and then second because I’d never really attempted them to any extent. Like push-ups (next on the short-term list), pull-ups are just one of those things you have to do over and over and over again to improve, something called “greasing the groove.” So, I “installed” a pull-up bar in the doorway I most often walked through where I was living, and every time I went through, I’d do a chin-up or two (different from a pull-up). Over a couple months, I went from a two-rep max to ten reps or more, so I turned my hands over and started pull-ups, which are biomechanically more difficult than chin-ups. My pull-ups aren’t where I want them to be—I’m not doing twenty reps at a time, and my grip is a bit of limiting factor right now (I don’t use straps or hooks myself)—but they’re serviceable for now until they again become a priority, and if my life depended on it, I could pull myself up to a ledge. Next on the long-term list: muscle-ups.

The above isn’t a gratuitous exercise in horn-blowing; rather, it’s just an anecdotal example of the importance of mindset. The hangover from the Olympics is almost gone, but invariably, the world’s best athletes got their two weeks of global media coverage, and a lot of the general public suddenly thinks it’s New Year’s Eve as evident in my gym the last couple weeks. Combined with the back-to-schoolers, there’s been an extra-palpable pall of “special” in the atmosphere there during that time (at least it seems to be wearing off a tad). There’s a difference between making something a priority and making something a potentially debilitating shock to your system. Priority means goal-setting, planning, assessment, and accountability. Shock means trying to go from couch potato to powerlifter or marathoner in a week or a month or three (the ill effects are even more pronounced in children). Ain’t gonna happen, sorry. You can choose to become merely an exerciser, though, or you can choose to become an athlete, something that doesn’t necessarily require (typical) competition to achieve. Up to you. Make something a priority, and chances are that you’ll achieve what you’re setting out to do with one caveat: make it a priority today, not tomorrow, even if it is just steadfast resolve (and a little wagering on the side). Get an INFORMED plan of action, both in the gym and in the kitchen. Make yourself accountable somehow—tell whoever you’re comfortable telling (as long as he or she will hold you to your words). Set some deadlines. Take some pictures. Shirk the shortcuts. Ignore the fads. Chuckle at the quackery. Do what’s been shown to work over the long haul. Trust yourself.

Before getting to the link hodgepodge, I wanted to expand a little bit on food *riotous applause*. Yes, yes, I know, the crowning element of my personal lifestyle priority list. Last night, I cooked with peanut oil for the first time after primarily using various olive oils for as long as I can remember. In a word: nom nom nom nom nom nom (hey, that’s one word). My first conscious experience with peanut oil was with Five Guys fries, and it was the first time I’d actually tasted fresh potato in a fry rather than salt. I ordered my oil from Bell Plantation along with a couple jars of PB2 (also highly recommended both for taste and nutritional value, measuring spoon not included). My stuff arrived in (I think) three days. Getcha some. Also, on a recommendation from Cassandra, I found a local retailer that carries Ezekiel 4:9 bread. I like it, especially the earthy scent and taste, but while I recommend it for the nutritional value, don’t expect anything resembling the fluffy dough-ball crap you usually find at the grocery store. Further, some of you have asked about calorie-tracking sites. While I don’t support OCD-esque bean counting, I do support getting an idea of what you’re eating and adjusting to fit your goals, so here are a couple: FitDay, CalorieKing, CalorieLab.

Now, for some other links to eat: open a wine bottle without a corkscrew, pro-HCFS commercials (you should be impressed at my restraint… for now…), juice fast(ing)s, petroleum-based omega-3 fatty acids (a byproduct of the insane amount of petroleum-based corn products in our diets that also seems to slow wound healing), 250 people in the USA supposedly have an excuse (you’re probably not one of them unless you’re getting on up there in years… maybe…), protein needs for exercise, find out what the kids’ schools are serving (be careful around these parts), eggs may keep you from looking like one, the right foods trump the “best” HBA products (try a green roof), just kidding (again), line of the post: “We pay upfront to eat food that’s good for us, or we pay out back in our health costs.”

—Body bits: Eric elaborates (sort of), bike-to-work subsidies (get the kids started early), walking is a START (hmmm… gym-class/kid-friendly additions, interval training… nice to see some catch-up being played), are you ready for some football injuries?
—Mind matters: Lyle furthers and wraps his discussion on leptin, trigger for brain plasticity identified, IBS is mostly in your head.
—Politics: Sarah Palin on her fitness regimen (too bad she ignores science), Barack Obama answers your science questions (backed by Mark Warner), (politics aside) public figures should be role models (see: Mike Huckabee), no platform for transportation.
—Geek-out: Google Chrome officially seeks to destroy IE (here, here, here, here, translation 1, translation 2, and pictures—I’ll be testing it out later today), Fantastic Contraption (your day at work is officially over), happy anniversaries to a titanic discovery and an atomic visualization (the latter fitting for an inevitable uptick in water cooler talk about quantum physics), happy trails to the heart and soul of Bell Labs (pictures), latest mass extinction projections, hard-time gadgets, Steve Jobs is not dead.
—Git ‘r dun: fear is an illusion, seize the day, random inspiration, how to help others get started, you know where to stick a “poor me” attitude, things can always—ALWAYS—be worse.