Health And Fitness Bendots

Making Changes

2009-04-25T13:40:00.000-07:00

My job takes me to a number of different stores in my area. I get to know the people that work in those places fairly well.

There's a woman in one store. I would guess her age in the mid 30's. She's overweight. She's not morbidly obese but she is obese. She told me once that she's had rheumatoid arthritis for 12 years.

A few weeks ago she told me that she had just been diagnosed with gout. I asked if she was going to give up red meat then because surely the doctor told her that red meat was absolutely the worst thing for sufferers of gout. Yes the doctor told her that but, "I was raised with red meat. There's no way I'm going to give up red meat."

Huh? I don't get it. She would rather suffer the pain than give up something that causes that pain to be much worse. She refuses to make a change in her diet that would help her. She won't help herself but complains about having the ailment and the pain it causes her. Hmmm.

There's a woman in our circle of contacts that has fibromyalgia. I just recently found that out. I've known her for a long time but didn't know that. My wife did though. I knew nothing about fibromyalgia but, once again, my wife did. One of the things my wife learned about it was that diet pop can make the symptoms much worse. This woman chugs diet Mountain Dew and knows that it increases the pain of her fibromyalgia. She won't give it up. I just don't understand.

One change for each of the above women in what they consume could bring a lot of relief in the symptoms of their respective ailments yet they won't make that change. I knew another man with gout who has since passed away. He got so bad at times that he couldn't even walk. He had to use crutches but while standing with said crutches, he would discuss with coworkers whether they wanted Whoppers or Big Macs for lunch that day. What?? Makes no sense to me.

The time changes, the seasons change. We change jobs or residences. We lose a loved one and our life changes. Changes are all around us and we have to make changes whether we want to or not. When a simple dietary change can help a person tremendously and that person refuses to make that change, well it's hard to feel sorry for them.

There have been many changes in my life over the years. Some I embraced. Some I was dragged into kicking and screaming. They were going to happen whether I liked them or not. I found it's best just to accept them and move on for the most part.

Just in the last few days, I've had to make a change in my workouts and it's one I don't like. I've had to temporarily give up my favorite exercise--burpees. I don't know what I did to my knee but in the interest of not making it worse, I made the executive decision to temporarily stop doing burpees as well as hindu squats and a few other things that require rapid and explosive knee movements. I've had to go for kinder, gentler exercises. I'm doing a lot more ab and upper body type work and will get back into the burpees when my knee gets back to normal.

In all my middle age man wisdom, I thought it better to make the change than keep it up and possible make my knee worse. My brother just recently had to have surgery on one of his knees. I don't want to have to go through that.

So I changed. Hopefully soon I can get back to normal. Until then, I'll accept and embrace the change and move on, unlike the two ladies I mentioned at the beginning. They refuse to change and suffer more than need be because of it.

Green Smoothies

2009-04-19T13:48:00.000-07:00

I wrote about going green right here. You can go back and read that rather brilliant post again if you so desire. Today, I'm going to talk about green smoothies.

Health and diet are big interests of mine and once while browsing another site, I came across a link to the Green Smoothie Girl. There's a wealth of good health info on the site and it's an enjoyable one to look through. I signed up for her email newsletter and you should also.

I like smoothies but I've always had fruit smoothies or fruit smoothies with a yogurt or kefir base. I was reluctant to try a green one. It just sounded, well, disgusting. It was several months after I signed up for Robyn's (the Green Smoothie Girl) newsletter before I actually decided to try it. I'm glad I did.

She has instructions on the site on how to make one but you can always alter things to suit your tastes. The basics are a fruit base along with greens, enough water to make a smoothie and maybe some stevia to make it a little sweeter. I've tried adding carrot to it but it doesn't taste as good. My favorite combo is banana, clementine, and strawberries, along with the greens. I've made some that I was able to choke down but just barely so I gave up being adventurous. Mostly, they have been pretty good.

If you've ever spent any time on a raw food web site, you may have come across the term "blended salads." In case you're wondering, that's a green smoothie. Some of those raw fooders use a fruit base and same make a savory green smoothie. I've yet to try that. I'm not sure I want to.

You will want a good blender. I have a Vita Mix. Robyn likes the BlendTec. A 20 dollar blender from Walmart will probably not cut it and it won't last long if you're making green smoothies every day. You can buy one from her site at a price you probably won't be able to beat.

I won't go into the benefits of green smoothies other than that it's easy to get a good nutritious meal on the road and I spend a lot of time driving. They make it easy for me to fill up on something good for you while going down the highway. For other benefits, check out the website.

She has a book coming out called, surprisingly enough, "The Green Smoothie Diet." It's one I will add to my library.

Just so you know, I am in no way associated with her site and I don't get a commission if you go there from here and buy something. I just like green smoothies and I discovered them through her site. It's a fun site to browse and she's got a lot of good stuff there. Even if you don't like smoothies but are interested in overall health, it's a good place to stop by.

After writing this, I'm reminded that I'm hungry. A green smoothie would go well right now. Take the plunge and try it. Yes it does sound gross but they really are quite good and very good for you. Give it a shot.

Something different

2009-04-16T07:06:00.000-07:00

We had to take my 3 year old daughter to a children's dentist in Denver yesterday. We went up Tuesday and got a motel room with an indoor pool so the kids could go swimming. Everyone had fun.

After swimming, we still had awhile before meeting my sister for dinner so I went to the motel's "gym" for a workout. The gym is next to the pool with plexiglass windows separating the two. It contained 3 pieces of equipment: a multipurpose weight machine, a stair stepper, and a treadmill. For my workout I decided to do sets of 10 burpees followed by 1 1/2 minutes running on the treadmill.

There were 2 women and 5 kids in the pool when I started my workout. They were fascinated by the burpees. After the first few sets, every time I started another, they would all stop and watch. Judging from the looks of the mothers, I don't think the kids had ever seen anyone exercise before.

One of the kids would come right up to the glass and stick his nose on the window to get an up close look. The others would stay in the pool and every time I came up from the burpee and jumped, they would jump in the pool. So not only did I get a workout in, I entertained a bunch of kids.

I have never worked out using a treadmill before. This was a first. I started out slow and every set, I increased the incline and the speed. During the last of ten sets I had it at full incline and was running pretty fast. After the minute and a half I had some juice left so I cranked the speed some more and ended with another 1 1/2 minutes of what was pretty close to an all out sprint. I don't plan on buying one anytime real soon but I did enjoy the workout.

The treadmill had sections that said warmup, fat loss, aerobic, endurance, and performance levels. The last few sets I was in the performance level and all I have to say about that is the treadmill has very low standards.

I also got to try something else different. I have been to lots of Mexican, Chinese, and Italian restaurants over the years but I have never been to an Indian restaurant. There was one close by the dentist that had a buffet and we ate there for lunch. And after the meal, I can honestly say I LOVE INDIAN FOOD! It was great. I ate way too much as I had to try a little of everything and go back for more of the stuff I particularly liked. It was one of the more enjoyable restaurant meals I've had in quite some time.

Happy Birthday, Barbie!

2009-03-15T09:46:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure of the exact day but sometime this month, Barbie turns 50. Millions of girls grew up play with this American icon of the toy world. My wife did. My oldest daughter did. And my youngest daughter will. She's only 3 now and not quite ready for Barbie but she will be someday.

The problem is that there are a lot of do-gooders out there who think Barbie is evil. They think here unrealistic figure will pollute young minds and make young girls strive to be unhealthy just so they can try to look like her. But for those folks, I have news for you. Barbie is a toy. She's not real and children are smart enough to realize it.

Boys may grow up reading Superman comics or playing with Superman action figures but they know they can't fly, they can't leap tall buildings with a single bound, and they aren't faster than a speeding bullet. They might pretend but they grow up.

Same with little girls. They might say when they're six that they want to look like Barbie when they get older but when they get older, they realize it ain't gonna happen, that it's unrealistic, and they get on with life.

There are girls that starve themselves and do unhealthy things with their bodies to get a certain look, but it's those super models and Hollyweird actresses that they're trying to emulate, not Barbie. BARBIE IS A PLASTIC TOY!

So for all those politically correct, nose in everyone else's business types who want to hate on Barbie, I say get a life. There are plenty of real concerns out there. There are plenty of people who actually need help. Quit picking on a toy and go make yourself useful. Become a productive member of society. If I want to buy my daughter a Barbie doll, I will and it's none of your business.

This is a little off topic from my usual health and fitness ramblings but I thought it was appropriate for the time.

And by the way, G.I. Joe kicks Ken's rear all over the place, gets the girl (Barbie), and drives off into the sunset. But he absolutely refuses to do it in that pink Barbie corvette. He's a man and he has standards. Ken, however, looks right at home in it.

The Mind/Body Connection

2009-03-12T15:51:00.000-07:00

The mind can have a powerful effect on the body. I think we all know this. How many times have you heard someone at work say something to the effect, that, "Bill came to work coughing today. Now I'm going to catch his cold." And sure enough, the next day that person has the sniffles and the next two days after that he calls in sick.

I used to be a cop and use to read cop stuff and watch videos of the same. I saw an interview of an officer once who should have died after a violent confrontation. He should have been dead before the paramedics arrived. He should have been dead before he got to the hospital. But he had a strong will to live and he survived to talk about afterwards.

Contrast that to another cop who was afraid of getting shot because he just knew he would die if he did. He even told people that. Well, one day he did get shot and sure enough, he died. The problem is that it was a flesh wound in the arm that would have been cleaned and bandaged and then he would have been sent home. But he died. He killed himself with his own mind.

So people know that the mind has a strong influence on the body but what a lot of people don't realize is that the body can also have a strong if not stronger influence on the mind. You can be happy and in a good mood but make yourself depressed just by changing the way you move. Put your head down, slump your shoulders, shuffle your as you walk, and put a frown on your face, and it won't be long before your good mood is out the window.

Conversely, you can be in a bad mood or depressed but if you force yourself to walk with your head held high with a smile on your face and a spring in your step you can change your mood all by changing the way you use your body.

How does relate to working out? It's simple. If you allow your body to behave as if you're worn out, you won't perform near as well as you will if you force yourself to act as if you're not near so tired. And it doesn't have to be anything major. Just little things will do.

A few weeks ago, I was doing a particularly brutal bodyweight circuit. When I do pushups, I make it a point to pop my knees under my chest and just pop right up when done. However on the 6th circuit of that particular workout, I put my knee on the ground and stood up like a tired old man. I realized what I did and knew that it just wasn't right. The next circuit I struggled to get through as my body told my mind that I was worn out. On the 7th circuit, I forced myself to pop right up like normal and finished 3 more circuits much better than I did right there in the middle.

If you've ever worked out with others whether at the gym or in sports in high school or college or whatever, you've no doubt seen people bend over with their hands on their knees. I've done and if you've ever exercised at all, chances are you have also. I don't allow myself to do that anymore no matter what. For one, I've read somewhere that a lot of back injuries during exercise actually occur when people assume that particular position for rest. And two, your body is sending a signal to your mind that you're too tired. Even when you feel like doing it, force yourself to stand up straight and walk around and you'll be surprised how much better your next set will go than if you assume the position. Try it. You'll be amazed.

And the next time your alarm goes off and all you want to do is bury your head under the covers and hide from the coming day, just throw them back and hop out of bed like you're ready to conquer the world. Your day will go much better--guaranteed. Just don't wake your wife up in the process.

Birthday burpees

2009-02-19T15:17:00.000-08:00

I turned 48 years young today. To celebrate I decided to end my workout with a single set of 48 burpees. I got the inspiration for this from my friend and fellow middle age fitness dude blogger, Ed Pierini. He turned 54 today. He set himself a more difficult task. Starting in January he did 54 burpees at the end of each workout, Monday through Friday with the caveat that if he didn't do burpees, he didn't eat the next day. Maybe I will do something like that when I turn 50. Or maybe not.

I'm well acquainted with burpees. On the average week I do burpees of one variety or another 5 times doing anywhere from 50 to 100 during a workout. How many depends on what else I do and the variety of burpee since some are more challenging than others. I usually do them in sets of ten except for the hardcore burpees of which I generally do 5-7 in a set. This particular burpee involves jumping forward and onto something and then jumping back far enough from the object to perform another one without hitting your head on whatever it is you were jumping on. These will take it out of you quick. If you don't believe me, try it.

Since I was going to do burpees at the end of my workout, I didn't add them to my circuits as usual. I just saved them for one set at the end. I did 10 circuits of 10 each lunges, pushups, mountain climbers, and hindu squats. For the mathematically challenged that's 100 of each exercise all done non stop. I did 100 flutter kicks after my circuits and then it was time for the burpees.

I just did the standard burpee. After 20, I was mentally congratulating Ed for making the commitment and sticking to it. And wondering why I thought I should do such a thing. I started making the dying walrus noises at about 35. When I hit the 48th one, I checked the time and found I completed the task in 3'50". I was hoping for 4 minutes but didn't think I would make it. Going all out when fresh I generally can get 14 to 15 on a one minute timer so I was trying for an average of 12 per minute. I made it. After checking the time, I did another 2 just to make it an even 50.

I can smell my birthday dinner cooking and it smells good. I'm starving. And I do plan on indulging in a piece of chocolate since it is my birthday. But only a small one.

Aging and Exercise

2009-02-15T16:25:00.000-08:00

I went to a funeral service today for a dear old friend who passed away at the age of 96. He lived on his own until about 3 years ago. His family moved him into a nursing home and he was pretty much bedridden the last couple of years. I think the reason he stayed vigorous as long as he did was do to two things: 1) he ate a healthy predominantly vegetarian diet and 2) he worked hard most of his life. He was quite an athlete as a youngster and was a farmer and did manuel labor. He was in good physical condition. It was only when he stopped being active that he started to significantly decline. He was a good man and I will miss him.

We will all get old if we live long enough. But aging is another story. We can do things to slow down the aging process. Two things we can do are to eat healthy and exercise. What constitutes a healthy diet is debatable. Ask 100 different "experts" and you will likely get 100 different answers. However, if you look at the diets of the longest lived people groups in the world right now, you will find they share some common traits. They eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, they eat whole grains, and they don't consume a lot of meat. Read the book, "Healthy at 100" for a better more comprehensive look. They also stayed active throughout their lives. They may officially retire but they continue to do something. Inactivity kills more retired people than anything else I think.

I have no desire to be old and in a nursing home. Someday it may happen but I plan to put it off as long as possible. That's why I watch what I eat and make exercise a priority in my life. I do hope to grow old but they will have to drag me kicking and screaming into the whole againg thing. I won't go down without a fight.

When Moses died after leading the children of Israel out of Egypt, the Bible says in Deuteronomy 34:7 "And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated." It's a bit late for my eyesight but I plan on keeping my natural force as long as I can.

One of the 12 spies Moses sent out was Caleb. He was 40 at the time. He said in Joshua 14:10 and 11, "And now, behold, the Lord hath kept me alive, as He said, these 40 and 5 years, even since the Lord spake this word unto Moses, while the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness: and now, lo, I am this day fourscore and five years old. As yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me: as my strength was then, even so is my strength now, for war, both to go out, and to come in."

These are the examples of aging that I want to emulate. I won't be able to do it sitting on my rear end watching TV.

Jack LaLanne and Change

2009-01-26T17:43:00.000-08:00

As I was thumbing through the paper this morning on the way to the comics I spotted a headline that said, "Fitness buff LaLanne still strong at 94."

He still exercises twice a day in his home gym and swims 30 minutes daily. He says that people should exercise a half hour 3 times a week. And don't take a rest. He changes his routine every 30 days to avoid monotony.

I exercise most days from 20-30 minutes a day and I don't rest. So we're on the same page on that part.

The article said he eats only at 10 a.m and 7 p.m. with no snacking in between. That flies in the face of all the gurus these days that advocate 6 small meals a day. I'm in agreement with Jack on this one. I don't eat at set times like he does but I do generally eat 2-3 meals a day and I don't snack. It's a lot better on your internal parts to allow one meal to fully digest before eating another, something that can't happen on 6 small meals a day.

One thing I found interesting is that it said he ate a daily breakfast of 4 egg whites with 3 pieces of fruit. Several years ago I read an article in which he said he consumed a soy protein shake every morning. It seems he's off the soy and now doing egg whites.

But Jack has a history of changing diet. He was vegan for a long time. Then he added fish back into his diet. In the same article about the soy shake he said that he had a salad with at least 10 different vegetables every night with a 3 ounce piece of broiled fish. He doesn't eat dairy or red meat.

I don't know why he jettisoned soy for egg whites or why he went from vegan to fish but apparently Jack isn't afraid of change and we shouldn't be either. If something's not working for you, instead of doing the same old thing and hoping you get better results, you need to be adaptable. You need to change.

Whether it's you diet or your exercise routine, if it's not producing for you, or not working as well as it once did, try something different. Change your workouts a little. Tweak your diet. Or maybe both need a major overhaul.

Of course if what you're doing is serving you well, by all means keep it up. But if the results start falling behind, you just might need a change.

Jack LaLanne is a MAN and a true fitness icon. I have no idea why he's changed his diet over the years but change he has. And it has worked. There are no doubt many people 50, 60, 70 years his junior that can't keep up with him. What he's doing works for him.

As a side note, I once read that he used to drink a quart of cow's blood every day. Besides being disgusting, I don't know if it's true as I never bothered to try to verify it. I have my doubts.

Priorities

2009-01-16T16:21:00.000-08:00

Too often the excuse people use for not exercising is that they don't have the time. I say if it's a priority for you, you will find the time.

During the summer, I work 55 to 60 hours a week on average. Last summer, I decided to learn how to ride a unicycle. It was a goal of mine, thus a priority, and I made time for practice every day until I learned how. My 15 year old son learned in a week or so. They say you can teach a 10 year old in a few hours. It took considerably longer for this 47 year old to get it, but I kept at it until I did. I also still got in my workouts, still spent time with my wife and kids, and still had time to read 3 or 4 books a month. I don't watch TV. I don't have time for that.

But people who don't have time to exercise often still have time to watch 3 or 4 hours of television a day. I got an A in math so say you watch 3 hours of the stupid box every day. That's 180 minutes. Subtract 30 from that and you still have 150 minutes of television time. Take that 30 minutes and use it to exercise. See how simple that is. The time is there if you make it a priority. Better yet, jettison the boob tube all together and you will have all kinds of time to get in shape and do something more productive with your life. It just depends on where your priorities are.

Today was a gorgeous Indian summer day here in Colorado. It was hard to tell it's still the middle of January. So after work, I got out the unicycle and lo and behold, I haven't forgotten how yet. I made some pretty good rides after not being on it for over a month. I was hoping I wouldn't lose it during the winter and have to relearn again in the spring. So far, so good.

And guess what? I still found time for a workout. Unicycling is a good workout in and of itself. I highly recommend it, not only for fun but for exercise. But it will be hard to learn if you don't make it a priority.

Water

2009-01-14T17:47:00.000-08:00

Here is the long awaited second installment in my 8 principles of health series. The second principle is water.

Most of the body is made up of water. Water acts as a solvent, a lubricant, a medium of transportation, and it is important in regulating our body temperature. And most of us don't drink enough of it.

If your joints are creaky, chances are you're dehydrated. Drink some water. Your joints need water for lubrication.

Fatigue, poor digestion, toxicity, heartburn, poor memory, poor kidney and liver function, bad skin, etc. can all be caused by you not getting enough water. Of course, there could be other causes for these and other conditions, but a lot of ailments could be easily taken care of simply by consuming enough water.

Dr. F. Batmanghelidj in his excellent book, "Your Body's Many Cries For Water" states that physicians often treat the symptoms with drugs or other treatments when the cause is simply dehydration. I highly recommend this book.

How much water should one drink? That depends on who you ask. Some say half your body weight in ounces of water each day. For me that would be 78 ounces. From personal experience, that isn't enough. Others say your full weight in ounces per day. So if you're not used to drinking a lot of water, cut out the sodas and all the other garbage (you should do that anyway) and start with half your body weight. Go up from there.

I generally drink around a gallon of water each day. Several years back I bought a water distiller. I also bought some one gallon polycarbonate jugs that aren't suppose to leach anything into the water like plastic does. Every morning upon rising, I do a few exercises to get me going and drink a 16 ounce glass of water. By the end of the day, the jug is usually empty or pretty close to it. That's what works for me. If you're smaller than I am, you may need less. If you're bigger, you'll probably need more.

The bottom line is that water is essential for good health. And if you're like most Americans, you get your liquid from sodas, coffee , tea, or other beverages that are dehydrating and just aren't very good for you. And if you have any nagging health problems and you're like most people in this country, chances are you just need to drink more water. So get a glass and drink up. It's for your health.

Christmas Adventure

2008-12-25T15:41:00.000-08:00

First of all, I hope each and every one of you had a Merry Christmas. I also hope that you remember the true meaning of Christmas and the real reason we should be celebrating the season.

My number 2 son wasn't able to join us this year as he's in the army and wasn't able to come home. The rest of the family was there and we had a good time. When you have a large family like I do and everyone gets everyone else a gift, opening the presents can take awhile. But it's always fun and I love seeing the other's faces when they open a gift.

I resisted for a long time about getting my wife a wish list as there really wasn't anything I needed or wanted but I finally gave in after much pestering and made one up. I told her socks, a hoodie, a new basketball, a 10 pound medicine ball, and a hot air popcorn popper. Between her and the kids, I got each of those items. The popcorn popper works great, it was unseasonably warm, so we went out and shot some hoops with the new basketball, and I just got done with my workout in which I used the medicine ball. I also got a few tools.

We made the six block trek to my mother-in-law's house for Christmas dinner. We had a good meal and a good time. After dinner they got together a a game of Mexican Train dominos. My youngest daughter wanted to go home so I took her home while the rest stayed and played. They're still there.

I titled this "Christmas Adventure" and here's where the adventure started. When we got home, there was a man sitting in a chair that I had next to the door outside. He was completely unresponsive and I had no idea what was wrong with him. I assumed he was just drunk but didn't know for sure. I called our local police department and the officer had trouble rousing the guy but it turns out that he was drunk and for some reason left the home of the relative he was spending Christmas with. He must have saw the chair and figured it was a good place to rest. The officer took him away, I assume back to the relatives house. He never came back to talk to me so I'm not sure.

Once that was over, I went into my bedroom and tried to cut the plastic holding a pair of needle nose pliers to the package that my 10 year old son got me. You guessed it. I cut my finger, the left index finger to be precise. And yes, it needed stitches. It turns out about 10 or 12 years ago, I bought a suture kit at a preparedness expo I attended. I always take some when I go camping just in case and just before I bought it, I had to make several trips to the emergency room with various children for cuts that needed stitches. After I bought the kit, I told them that I would just do it myself next time. There hasn't been a next time.

Well, I decided to just do it myself. I found the smallest needle and proceeded to sew myself up. Tying the knots was a little difficult but otherwise it wasn't that bad. My wife and the rest of the kids are still gone so they don't know yet. It doesn't look professional but it closed up the cut and stopped the bleeding.

After that I went outside and did my workout. I like the medicine ball and I think I will be using it quite often. I do mostly body weight circuits but there are many ways I can incorporate it into my circuits. As most of you probably know, I prefer to workout outside. The hoodie I requested was specifically for extra warmth when it's cold out. I didn't need it today but it will get a lot of use this winter.

Have a Merry Christmas everyone!

An Unpleasant Experience

2008-12-17T17:17:00.000-08:00

Today I had a physical. I haven't had one in 3 years I think and my insurance will pay for one every year. My wife thought I needed one so she made me an appointment. She had one several weeks and thought I needed to join in on the misery.

Actually my doctor is a good guy. He has a good bedside manner, he's friendly, and he doesn't act like he's anxious to be done so he can get on to the next patient. If you have a question, he takes time to give you a thorough answer. I like him. The problem is that he's a big man and he has big fingers. That's where the unpleasantness comes in.

If you're a guy and not yet 40, just wait. Once you hit that age, they think that they need to do a prostate exam when they give you a physical. During the previous physical I told him I thought the prostate was a mythical organ invented by sadistic medical personnel with the sole purpose of torturing men. He laughed and assured me that it was indeed real. Of course that's what he'd say if I was right. He wouldn't admit it. This time I just accused him of being sadistic. He did admit to that one.

I'll turn 48 in 2 months. He said it was about time I thought about getting a colonoscopy. I asked him to explain the procedure. He did. I'm less than enthused and will have to think long and hard before submitting myself to such a thing. It would be like the prostate exam times a hundred. But I suppose in a few years, I should seriously consider it. Lives have been saved by such procedures by catching things before they manifested into actual physical symptoms. Sometimes when you start showing signs that something may be wrong, it may be too late to do anything about it. It's called being proactive.

That's what health and fitness is all about. You eat right and you exercise so that you can have a higher quality of life now and you can also prevent health problems down the road. An overweight couch potato who eats junk is going to be way more likely to have something turn up on that colonoscopy than someone who stays fit and eats a healthy diet. It's the best way to be proactive and it's preventive medicine at it's finest.

And it's never too late to start. Go for it.

Fresh Air

2008-12-07T14:58:00.000-08:00

I'm going to be doing a series of blogs on the 8 principles of good health. The first will deal with fresh air.

Fresh pure air is essential to life and good health. We can live for weeks without food, days without water, but only minutes without air. Every cell in our bodies needs oxygen to function and if we breathe polluted air, we force our cells to function on a less than optimal level on less than pure air.

In order to have good health, we need good blood. Through the blood, waste is removed, repairs are made, and the body is nourished. When the blood is supplied with nutritious food and cleaned and vitalized by the breathing in of fresh clean air, it carries life and vigor to all parts of the body.

So in order to have good blood, we need to breathe well and we need to breathe fresh air. It's free and it alkalizes and electrifies the entire system. Full deep breaths of pure air-not polluted or smoke filled air- will fill the lungs with oxygen and purify the blood. Deep breaths sooth the nerves. The age old advice to take deep breaths when you're angry to calm yourself down is good advice. It works. Try deep breathing before bed and you might find it also helps you to sleep better.

The lungs need freedom. Restrictive clothing restricts the breathing as does poor posture. When your mother told you to sit up straight, she may not have known why that was a good idea, but she was onto something. Good posture whether standing or sitting helps to promote good breathing.

Superficial breathing has become a habit for most people and the lungs lose their power to expand. Thus an insufficient supply of oxygen is received. The waste which should be expelled when you exhale is retained and absorbed into the blood thus causing a host of problems.

If you work in a office with poor ventilation you know that there's a lot of sickness in those buildings. Not only are the people hunched over computers restricting their breathing, they are also breathing impure stale air. Close confinement indoors has and continues to make many people pale, feeble, and sickly. They keep breathing the same old recycled impure air with the impurities that they and others exhale. Those impurities are reabsorbed into the system, polluting the body. A lot of this could be avoided just by a supply of fresh air.

Something you should do daily in your home or office is open the windows to allow some fresh air in. Five to 10 minutes at a time twice a day would do wonders. It doesn't matter if it's cold out. Your heating bill may go up a little but you'll feel better and have better health as a result.

Exercise forces one to breathe deep. I like to exercise outdoors regardless of the weather. When I do, I breathe in fresh pure air that brings life and vitality to my entire body. Try it. You'll like it.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-27T10:39:00.000-08:00

Have a happy Thanksgiving everyone. Give thanks to God for all your blessings and enjoy the day with family and friends.

Moderation

2008-11-25T16:02:00.000-08:00

The holiday season is upon us, starting this Thursday with Thanksgiving and continuing through Christmas and New Year's. This is weight gain season for a lot of folks but it doesn't have to be.

Even with the parties, the bigger than usual meals, and the trays of goodies people bring to the office, you don't have to get fat or fatter. You don't have to put on a pound. Just continue with your exercise program and practice moderation in your eating. Gluttony doesn't have to be part of your holidays.

I'm spending Thanksgiving at my mother-in-law's house this year. That means a relish tray, a beef roast, a ham, a turkey, all the fixings and most likely three kinds of pies. I don't eat pork so I can skip the ham but the rest of it is going to be tempting. There will be pumpkin pie, pecan pie, and cherry cheese pie which is kind of like cherry cheesecake only better and it weighs in at approximately a kazillion calories per slice. But it sure is good.

If you read my yesterday's blog, you know I'm not going to skip my workout but I am going to practice moderation in my eating. I used to eat myself sick on Thanksgiving. Then I started to back off and just eat until I was mildly uncomfortable. This year I'm going to show restraint and eat until almost full and stop. It's going to be difficult but I'm going to do it. I will practice moderation. I've worked hard this last year and I don't want to go backwards even half a step.

Remember, this is Thanksgiving, not Eat Until You Feel Like Puking Day. So give thanks. Enjoy your family and friends. Eat a good meal. In moderation, of course. And if you must have a piece of pie, make it a small one. Skip the whipped cream.

A Day Off

2008-11-24T18:36:00.000-08:00

I'm taking Wednesday off.

If you've read one of my previous posts, you know that doesn't happen very often but it will on Wednesday.

Here's why: I'm a route salesman and I have so many stops I have to make every week. With Thursday being a holiday I won't work. I can't work on Saturday so I have to split my Thursday stops up between Wednesday and Friday. I'm going to be home late Wednesday so I've decided ahead of time that I'm just going to rest.

I will actually do something. Every morning I do a short series of exercises to get me ready for the day but I won't be doing a workout when I get home.

Friday will be late also but it should be better than Wednesday. I may have to do a shorter workout but I will do something. And I will be hitting it hard on Thanksgiving to try to work of some those extra calories. I'm going to try not to indulge and overeat like I'm prone to do. We'll see. Regardless, I will do a workout.

Stay tuned. Tomorrow I'm going to talk about moderation--not a popular subject around the holidays but it's a good one.

You Are What You Eat

2008-11-23T11:47:00.000-08:00

You are what you eat. Or to put it another way, you reap the results of what you choose to put in your mouth. You give the body good fuel, it rewards you with better health, more energy, less sickness, etc. You feed it junk and it just doesn't run right.

You can read a hundred different "experts" and get a hundred different opinions on what the best food is. I'm not going to argue that but I do have my opinions. What I am going to do for the most part here is tell you what you shouldn't eat.

First and foremost, the bane of modern civilization, is soda. You get absolutely no nutrition, empty calories, and lots of chemicals and harmful acids. Even if you drink diet pop, you're still getting chemicals and acids. It's no good and if you care about your health, you shouldn't drink the stuff. It was hard for me to give up my beloved Mountain Dew but I did and feel much better for it.

Hydrogenated oils are another on the list shouldn't be consumed. It's not natural. It's created by adding hydrogen to vegetable oils. There have been many studies done indicating the harmful consequences of hydrogenated fat products. Do a search and find some if you're interested. One study I read even linked skin cancer to it's consumption. This particular study said sun exposure doesn't cause skin cancer unless one also consumes hydrogenated oils. People who get lots of sun but don't consume this product have very low rates of skin cancer. Bottom line is that it's no good and should be avoided.

Don't eat white. By this I mean white flour, white sugar, white rice, etc. They provide calories with very little nutrition. Eat whole grain products, brown rice, and use honey or maple syrup or raw sugar as a sweetener if you must. At least the raw sugar does provide some needed minerals which white sugar is lacking. Is a piece of birthday cake on your child's birthday going to kill you? No it won't but few and far between is best if you can't or won't do away with it all together.

High fructose corn syrup is another and it's in most sodas as well as lots of different processed foods from bread to ketchup to salad dressings to snack items. Read labels and avoid if you can. Once again, there are lots of studies done about this which you can find if you care to look.

Regardless of what else you eat, if you stay away from these things you can't help but improve your health. I think almost everyone would benefit by avoiding these and adding lots of fresh vegetables, particularly the green variety. A large salad a day would do wonders. Raw fruits, nuts, and seeds are other items most of us could stand to eat more of.

I don't think there's a one size fits all diet plan. One needs to be flexible regarding one's own individual needs, metabolism, genetics, health problems, etc. Some can eats lots of grains to good effect, others can't. Nevertheless, avoiding the bad and concentrating the bulk of one's calories on the good, you can't help but be better for it.

Remember, you are what you eat. Garbage in, you will get garbage out. It's that simple.

No Excuses

2008-11-19T15:05:00.000-08:00

Excuses used to be part of my exercise life. I would go great guns for awhile but when something came up--anything--I would use that as an excuse to skip a workout. Skip one, then it's easier to skip the next. Pretty soon I wasn't working out at all. After awhile I'd make a decision to start again and would until the next excuse came along. It's hard to make consistent gains in strength and conditioning if you're consistent at making excuses. On the bright side, at least I was consistent at something.

So what I had to do is adapt a "no excuses" policy. I do take days off on occasion but it's planned ahead. On a workout day which is most days, I no longer accept excuses. Some days may be lighter than others because of time restraints but I do do something.

For example last Friday I worked later than normal. When I got done my wife was starting dinner and I thought I might as well skip the workout. But wait. You have a "no excuses" policy. Don't you remember? Yes I remembered. I found out when dinner would be ready and got my jump rope out for a quick workout. I jumped for a minute, then did 20 pushups and 20 flutter kicks. I did this 5 times without rest except on the last one I did 50 pushups and 100 flutter kicks. I got in a short intense workout in the time I had available. I could have made excuses but I chose not to.

Sunday evening I came down with a headache. I made some changes to my diet. I'm trying to eat a high alkaline, low acid diet and one of the side affects is a detox. The headache is most likely related to that.

Monday I was hurting bad but when it came time to workout, I didn't use it as an excuse. I did a full workout anyway. I had to dial back the intensity and take it a little slower than usual. I normally do body weight circuits with no rest in between. I had to take 10-20 seconds rest in between some exercises but I got my workout in.

It's now late Wednesday afternoon and the head ache is still there but getting much better. Hopefully it will be gone soon. But I have been doing my workouts and today I was able to go a little harder than the last 2 days- not full speed yet- but harder.

Things happen and someday when I just simply can't get in a workout when I wanted to, I'll just have to live with it and move on. I won't beat myself up over it. Life sometimes just gets in the way. I might have to drop down and do set a pushups and call it good. Oh well.

The bottom line is that fitness is not something you do for a day or a week or a month. It's a lifetime thing. You either do it or you don't. I'm into the middle age category now, and God willing, I will someday grow old. But when I reach my golden years, I want to enter them fit and healthy. I won't do that if I don't keep up with it now. Retreat is impossible and I refuse to surrender. So I make no excuses. I'm marching forward....

Going Green

2008-11-12T15:43:00.000-08:00

No, I'm not talking about making your workout more environmentally friendly but I do suppose you could cut out taking those mostly indigestible protein powders on the market and thus decrease your own personal emissions of greenhouse gases. I'm sure your workout partners would appreciate it. But that's another subject for another time.

I'm talking about going green in the form of powdered green drinks--that stuff that looks kind of like pond scum mixed in water. Let me tell you about my accidental discovery.

I did a very difficult workout one day and felt like I was going to drop dead any second. I didn't and a few days later I was going to repeat that workout. Before doing it a second time, I mixed a glass of greens and drank it down. I did the workout with no problems and felt rather good at the end.

I experimented. I tried to do the same workouts around the same times of day under the same conditions. The workouts in which I drank the greens, I finished quicker, felt better, and had much more energy at the end. I was onto something.

I did some research as to why. I haven't yet found an exact answer but from what I have found, I believe it has to do with acid-alkaline balance. Exercise is an acid producing activity. Lactic acid is produced in the muscles and other acid forming reactions occur when the body is under the stress of exercise. The body operates better in an alkaline state. A lot of the foods and beverages we consume like sodas, coffee, tea, alcohol, sugar, processed foods, junk food, and meat are all acidic. Most people are probably chronically over acidic.

The high alkalinity of the greens help to counteract the acids produced by exercise and that allows the body to continue longer in a more efficient state. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

If you want to try this and see if it works for you, there are some things to look for when choosing a green drink. First, get one with no nutritional yeast added. Some green mixes have it added as filler. Regardless of where you stand on nutritional yeast as a food, it's acidic when consumed and would negate some of the alkaline benefits of consuming the greens.

Second, stay away from mixes that have seaweed and other water vegetables added. The reason is two-fold. Some people have an adverse reaction to plants from water and if you don't know the conditions from which they were harvested, you may be getting a lot of contamination even if all the land plants are organic. Also, mixes without the kelp, dulse, etc. taste a whole lot better. Trust me on this one.

Third, get one with organic ingredients that are low temperature air dried. This will retain a greater portion of the nutrients found in the plants. A big bowl of salad would, of course, be better but it would be hard to eat enough at one sitting to get the punch of alkalinity found in one glass of a green drink which absorbs fast and gives you an instant alkaline boost.

If you try this, I would be very interested to hear your experiences. It works well for me and I think you would be pleasantly surprised. Thanks for stopping by.

Movement

2008-11-09T12:41:00.000-08:00

The human body was made to move. Plain and simple. In other words, if you want to get in shape, you can't do it by sitting on the couch in front of the TV wishing you weren't so fat and in better condition. You have to go out and do something about it. You have to move.

There are a lot of "experts" out there who are willing to tell you how to get in shape. Most of them want you to pay them first but I can't blame them for trying to make a living. The trouble with it is that if you have never seriously exercised before or haven't in a long time, the different modalities and opinions can be a little bewildering.

I like body weight exercises and I do them mostly in non stop circuits or circuits with very little rest in between. I do other things also but this is my favorite way to exercise. But it's not the only way. And what you do needs to depend a lot on your goals.

If you want to go to the Olympics as a weight lifter, then you need to practice Olympic lifts. If you want to complete a marathon, you need to run. If you want to lose weight and get in better shape, you need to eat right and do something--anything--just move.

The options are almost limitless in what you can do and how you do it. You can lift heavy weights and low reps or light weights and high reps. You can do it fast or slow. You can use kettlebells or clubs. You can sweat to the oldies. You can jog, sprint, walk, hop, jump rope or a host of other things. Or you can do body weight exercises.

The advantage that body weight exercises have over some others is that you need no equipment. You can drop down and do some pushups anywhere. For pullups you can use a tree branch or playground equipment down at the local park. It doesn't cost anything and you can get strong and fit using by using your own body.

Regardless of what method or methods you choose, you need to choose something you like and stick with. The best exercise program in the world (and almost everyone claims theirs is the best) won't do you any good if you don't actually do the exercises.

No, thinking about it just won't cut it. You have to do something. So what are you waiting for? Get out and move already.