Miscellaneous pile, 02/26/10

This screams out miscellaneous pile.

Shall we?

1. This week and next are just jam packed busy. Sadly, I don't get time to read anything fitness related. Woe is me.

As a result, no article to recommend in this pile as I usually do. Sorry folks!

2. The picture above is what my roommate and I saw on the wall outside of the dining hall side exit. We started laughing then began to admire how well it was done. Kudos to the person who did it.

3. An exercise is only as difficult as you understand it. So if you don't understand a single aspect of it, guess how performance is going to be. Likewise, this is where coaching and bodily cues are important to follow.

The smallest of cues can lead to changes that can be the biggest transfers in gains and performance.

4. To date, this will possibly be the most useless and least informative post you're going to read. Seriously, no joke. Well, maybe #3 will be useful.

5. Know why I say that about #4? Cause of this, behold!

I was starting a paper Tuesday night and ended making this stud of a robot in Paint. Snazzy, right?

6. Despite this being a deload week - where I usually sleep a crap load and sit on my rear - I wanted to see how many body weight pull-ups I could do last night. I got a grand total of 16. Not bad, I guess.

7. Vocab-dizzle. My seminar professor's tossed this one out a few times.

proselytize - (prah-suh-lih-ties) - v. - To convert or attempt to convert to another faith or religion.

8. What happens when a bad personal trainer influences others? This.

She seems passionate about fitness, but oh darn that Tracy Anderson and her popularity.

Have a good weekend everyone!

What's yours?

What's yours?

Limiting factors of life

Reading, do you do it?

2 1/2 year through college and a few things hit you. Here's 3 of them that I believe apply to life and training.

1) Going it alone

People don't like to do things alone. While it may not be great, it does help to be ready to do activities by yourself. Whether training alone in the gym or out somewhere, self-confidence and ability is key. Do it yourself and do it well.

But, that doesn't mean partners need to be completely off limits. They can be motivating and helpful for the stuff you may not know. Just don't become completely dependent on other people.

2) Learning & reading

If you're reading this, good start. It helps to pick up a book, read an article, browse websites, or anything to increase your knowledge. There is so much information, how could you not? Especially if it gets you closer to your goals.

Will knowing more really be bad? I'd expect it to help you progress in one form or another.

3) Fear

The big bad one and the most important. People are often scared about little details which are made worse than they truly are. Trying something new, going out of your comfort zone, new exercises, different food, unfamiliar places, you name it.

If there was no fear, imagine how great your potential really would be, the things you can accomplish.

And honestly, what's the worse that could happen? You do it wrong? Who will judge you? Someone you don't know? Is it really so bad to mess up sometimes?

We learn by mistakes and we get better because of them.

The difference between the ordinary and the great are little, but make a world of difference.

Which one will you live each day as?

Ordinary and being content with average?

Will that make you happy?

Poor kid

Nothing fancy today, but I thought I should put this out there.

I volunteer twice a week at an after school program near my university for kids around 2nd to 7th grade.

I'm pretty laid back and what not so I don't ever give the kids I work with a hard time.

Yesterday I shared a room with another tutor who was working with another kid.

While I was helping his brother with his homework, the other kid didn't have it all that good.

No one likes doing homework when they're a kid, that's true enough, but an approach is so critical in how you handle things.

The other tutor working in the room was very authoritarian. The kid obviously didn't want to work and wasn't receptive of the strict role the tutor was playing. Instead he slumped down, showed little interest, and wasn't enjoying himself.

The kid's behavior only made the tutor respond more aggressively, which in turn made the kid feel crummier, and thus, a feedback relationship was created. He speaks more harshly, the kid hates being there all the more.

An authoritative approach would have been so much better.

Want me to do something? Think I'll do it if you're speaking in a harsh domineering manner? Or would I do a favor if you ask nicely?

If you get interviewed for a job, are you going to tell the interviewer they're ignorant and need to learn something? Highly doubt that.

A person only acts as nice as you act towards them.

Let's end a note with a few words from my mother.

"My dad always made us study all the time, but even then I would just stick my face in the book and wouldn't even know what I'm doing or reading at all. That's why I'm not so strict with you doing your work."

Thanks mom.

Have a good weekend everyone.

Bee's knees (not really)

First, the bee...

Fuzzy guy.

...then the knees...

Not sure why a
photo like this exists.

If I planned this correctly, that was silly enough to get you through the rest of this post.

Although bees aren't part of it, knees are, so let's look, shall we?

Actually, look was the wrong word. Rather, let's test.

Test 1: While standing barefoot, look ahead or close your eyes. Next, stomp the bottom of your forefoot into the ground. Pay attention to where the shock is felt most on your leg.

Repeat, but this time strike your heel and focus on where vibrations are being felt.

Now if it worked for you the same as it did for me, in the former scenario the bulk of the impact was concentrated in and around the calf muscle. With the the latter variation, most feeling is around the hamstring.

There's a problem with the latter case. The shock from the initial strike being sent to your upper leg also made a stop to your knee, and it's taking quite a bit of stress from the upward traveling shock.

Test 2 is much simpler. Just jump. (I hopped off a step)

First land on your forefeet, then switch it up and try landing directly on your heels.

Did landing on your heels feel uncomfortable? Unnatural and possibly painful?

Not good. It's like trying to reach and grab an object with the part of your palm near the wrist instead of the finger tips first. Feels awkward and weird.

Where does this all lead?

Answer: running mechanics.

If you're a runner - sprinter or long distance - and repeatedly striking your heel into the ground stride-after-stride, damage is occurring and a future injury won't be far behind from it. Even if no injury occurs, aches and pains in your joints and muscles will still be bothersome.

The most common problem causing heel strike style is use of running sneakers with too much support.

Try progressing through shoes with less support.

For your body, the switch can make a world of difference.

Happy Chinese New Year!

It's the year of the tiger.
This tiger seems to be a lazy one. Nice!

Happy Chinese New Year!

You say today's Valen-what?

Pft, enjoy a real holiday you lame-o.

This past Thursday, my Chinese Religions professor took a break from our regular curriculum to talk about the Chinese New Year. Additionally, he brought delicious treats - which all tasted like Indian sweets.

For those of you who aren't familiar with the holiday, it follows the lunar calendar. And this year is the year of the tiger, but specifically the white tiger, which comes every 60 years.

While there's a bunch to say, I think I'll leave it at that, but I'll be back tomorrow with another post.

Does that make sense?

Made this in paint, but uploaded

on here, it reminds me of a zebra.

During my morning perusing of sites and such, I came across a person's workout session.

2 things popped out at me, thus giving me a concussion.

Get it? "Popped out" at me. Agreed, it's lame.

Moving along, the 2 things were:

1) The person was doing a body-split routine for fat loss.

2) The exercises' numbers for weight used didn't make sense.

About #1, the first third of this covers my response to it. To sum it up for the lazies out there, why bodybuilding routines for fat loss? Why not do fat loss for fat loss?

Quality is key. Doing 10 exercises for one muscle isn't necessary for the general population. If you squat 1 set of 5 reps with all your strength, will you really be able to do another 15 sets of other exercises?

And numero dos, does it make sense to work with similar weights in certain exercises? Take for example the squat and lunge.

• If you can squat 150 lbs., your lunge should be roughly around half that weight; 75 + 5-10 lbs.
• On the opposite end, if you're lunging 100 lbs., your squat would be more than 150.

Here's a quick breakdown of total weight typically lifted for the common compound exercises relevant to one another.

Deadlift > squat > bench press > overhead presses > infamous bro-sef curlz

It's always good to have a plan, but don't forget to ask, "does that make sense?"

Have a good weekend everyone.

What I originally started with.
Less doesn't mean bad.

Win some, lose some

I don't eat too many white grains nowadays.
Mostly cause they make me sleepy like
it's nobody's business.

I get made fun of, knocked on, looked at, or commented for a lot of the things I do or have, like...

• Eating unprocessed foods too often
• Eating Fiber One
• Avoiding white grains
• Foam rolling
• Owning a copy of New Rules of Lifting for Women
• Lifting weights
• Stretching
• Dynamic warm-ups
• Doing front squats, overhead squats, and a whole bunch of other exercises
• Blogging
• A load of other stuff that doesn't come to mind

Oh well!

On the bright side I can deadlift twice my bodyweight, sprint pretty fast, have an understanding of what I'm doing when I exercise, have a body that's not aching or tired, and I'm pretty content with it all.

You win some, and you lose some. That's what people probably think.

Truth be told, there's no losing on my end.

Stepping out of the box puts you in an uncomfortable position and away from everyone else.

But also keep in mind, everyone in the box isn't happy with their results.

Be stuck with where you're at or do something about it.

The choice is yours.

Don't take it for granted

This bad boy.

Or girl?...thing?

The human body of course.

I believe most people are under the assumption the human body is weaker than it really is.

Hogwash!

The body is quick to adapt, is stronger than we know, and more efficient than any machine.

Such as,

• The human heart beats 1.9 billion times by the age of 50 (average 72 beats per minute x 60 mins. x 24 hours x 365 days x 50). My high school physics teacher told our class how enduring the human heart is and there isn't a machine to date that can replace it's efficiency.

• Get a spoon and put peanut butter on it. Now, try washing it clean with your hands and water. Not easy huh? Now use your tongue. Tasty? Yes I know, but also not too shabby to clean with. And no soap needed! Your tongue is more abrasive than a sponge. Cool? Very.
  

• Shoes, yuck. Nowadays, shoes have way too much support than what is necessary. Go back a couple hundred years and see what they were wearing. Probably the bare essential, only something that offers protection for the bottom of the foot and that's all. I bet they didn't have shin splits, sprained ankles, or bad knees. Honestly, you don't wear bulky gloves on your hands all day, so why restrain your feet which have just as important fine motor movement functions? Absurd I say!
  

• Movement. What of it? It's functions in an X-fashion, meaning when your leg foot takes a step forward while you're walking or running, your right hand will swing forward. Go sprint and try not allowing that to happen. It's tough and awkward. Even in the most basic movement - crawling - this fashion of movement is present. (I crawled on the floor to make sure)

Only a few examples, but I think they're great ways to think about the body.

It's not some flimsy squishy bag of bones. Rather, it's a vehicle of amazing potential.

But, it comes down to how you want to treat it and use it.

Will you use it for it's most simplest purposes?

Or, will you use it to achieve great and wonderful things?

The choice is yours.

It always is and it always will be.

Alright, it's not that good.
But who knows, keep at it!

"Fatty fat fat fat!"

Bad news: I couldn't find a clip of the Simpsons episode I got the title from. However, I will settle for this picture.

Exhibit A: Massive donut seen above
has worsened the obesity situation.

Good news: I came across this video over at Health Habits. I thought it would make a good post.

Worse news: Brendon's post today explaining these numbers.

Children's obesity numbers are climbing and that's not good.

Obesity leads to risk for other problems, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, and depression.

These lead to the need for treatment, and of course, treatment is not cheap.

So in case you didn't catch that,

Obesity = more $$$

Here's a start to fix the problem.

1) Educate parents on proper nutrition. Foster a healthy lifestyle and be a role model.

• Do it through any type of media and let parents know the deal. Kids are quick to imitate and want to be like that older somebody. Don't let it be the wrong person they copy and turn into, most important, one that you wouldn't want to see.
  

2) Get kids active by doing fun things.

• Find something they enjoy and let them do it. Martial arts, volleyball, football, basketball, tag, leap frog, whatever. Just move, kids like having fun.
  

3) Back to basics. Be a family.

• Spend time together doing things, go to a park, a walk, family trips, the list is endless. When I was younger, my mom took me around walking to stores she visited 2 or 3 blocks away. It doesn't have to be anything fancy.

I barely scratched the surface, but it should be evident that obesity is no joke.

Do it for the kids, cause sometimes, they can't do it for themselves. Children don't always know better, but adults do.