LIFT – Part 1

Posted on October 5, 2011 by Josh

“As facilitators of skill development, it behooves us to enhance the movement capabilities of the individual to the greatest extent possible because that would extend the individual’s problem solving capacity. At the same time, we should facilitate the development of the cognitive and perceptual knowledge bases that support the meaningful organization of movement over a wide range of problems and a wide range of conditions.”
Susan Higgins – Motor Skill Acquisition

This is my goal in personal training.

Strength, “movement quality,” power, speed, endurance, flexibility, “toning,” fat-loss, weight-loss, muscle-building…whatever your goal is, it is horribly incomplete without the additional pursuit of your cognitive and perceptual knowledge, meaning-making, and organizational development.

Period.

Take it easy…

Posted on December 3, 2009 by Josh

Not sure if I’ve said this before, but it’s a good idea to take it easy when doing new things.

Kids will “go for broke” a lot of times, but because they’re so small, and still so resilient, the injuries that result from that exuberance are usually relatively minor (scratched knees), and heal relatively quickly.

The bigger and older you get, the harder it is.

I want to relate this to the barefooting experience, but first, a personal anecdote:

Back in 2001, when I was just starting out as a trainer, I decided it was a great time to try skateboarding. That was when I was 28, and weighed a good 200-210 pounds.

I bought all the gear, and started going to the skate park regularly. I also started to appreciate ice.

When a little kid falls, they fall from a distance of one, or maybe two feet. When I was falling, it was from a distance of three or so feet (as the skateboard shot out from under my feet).

What’s the difference? Well, a 90k (roughly 200lbs) mass falling from a height of 1 meter (roughly three feet), will have an impact force of 17640 Newtons. A 23k (roughly 50 pound) kid, falling from a height of .6m (roughly 2 feet), will have an impact force of 1352 Newtons.

I’m hitting the ground with a magnitude greater force than that kid is!

And that hurts.

Probably could’ve spent some more time getting familiar with the board. Acquainting myself with standing on it on a carpet for a couple of weeks. Progressing to using it in a parking lot or someplace very flat, but not very fast. I maybe could’ve spent a few weeks or months in that environment, before moving into the very fast environment of the skate park.

But that’s not what I did!

Barefooters (or anyone doing something new) will experience similar problems in this regard, and it will pay huge dividends to think about this before you start your new exercise program or routine, rather than contemplating it from the recovery room later.

I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating. If you’ve been predominantly shoe-bound most of your life, your foot and leg musculature are most likely not ready for a full-on barefoot (or Vibram FiveFinger) onslaught.

Keep your shoes!

Cycle the new activity in to your normal routine. Do it in small doses at first. Gradually build up your activity in that new pattern. And by gradually, I mean, consider how long you’ve not been doing that activity. Give yourself at least an equal number of years to be perfectly comfortable in the new activity.

This relates to weight-loss as well. I have people ask me how long it will take them to lose a certain amount of weight. My immediate response always is – How long did it take you to put that weight on, and how long have you been maintaining that weight? Once they answer, they’ve answered their own question.

Plan on it taking you just as long to take off weight as you’ve been carrying it around with you.

While it’s possible to lose weight very quickly, such fast change is rarely permanent. Your body adjusts its levels of (internal or external) activity to the ongoing demand it experiences.

This is like habit. You have to form a new pattern of activity for your body to adjust to. And then you have to maintain that pattern…

Anyway, the point is this – Take it easy. Take it slow. Take your time. Pay attention to the process. Feel the things happening in the moment. Don’t rush by them. Then you’ll be able to appreciate the end-result that much more.

Good Calories, Bad Calories – Review

Posted on November 16, 2009 by Josh

Bread and butter?! Yummy!!! Ohhh....

On page 169 of his book, Gary Taubes quotes Albert Einstein, who once said that “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler.”

Why didn’t Gary take Albert’s words to heart?!!!

This book is awesome, in every sense of the word. It is a comprehensive look at the research surrounding diet and obesity, since research in that area began.

It is also incredibly dense and difficult to read, and, I think, poorly structured. Themes, dates, studies, characters, are repeated throughout the book. I wish Gary had hired an editor!!!

That being said, the book is still incredible. It’s an amazing look into the vagaries of science – that there is essentially only conflicting evidence around the diet-heart, or cholesterol-heart hypotheses, and that those ideas have been driven mostly by fame-hungry researchers, or by the impetus of the thrust of research itself (once the general tenor is set, research tends to continue in the same direction). It is a fascinating look at human dietary physiology.

Earlier today, I was speaking with a client about this book, and saying that I had reached the point (at page 384…roughly 80 still to go, after two months of plodding) where I wished Gary had produced a Cliff Notes version of his book.

Then, lo and behold, on page 453-4 of the book, he does. I’ll quote the entire “summation” here, because I think the message is important. It goes against everything we’ve been told for the past 30-50 years. But that stuff wasn’t really backed up by anything at all. Read the following passage, and if you’re still interested, read the book!

“As I emerge from this research, though, certain conclusions seem inescapable to me, based on the existing knowledge:
1. Dietary fat, whether saturated or not, is not the cause of obesity, heart disease, or any other chronic disease of civilization.
2. The problem is the carbohydrates in the diet, their effect on insulin secretion, and thus the hormonal regulation of homeostasis – the entire harmonic ensemble of the human body. The more easily digestible and refined the carbohydrates, the greater the effect on our health, weight, and well-being.
3. Sugars – sucrose and high-fructose corn syrup specifically – are particularly harmful, probably because the combination of fructose and glucose simultaneously elevates insulin levels while overloading the liver with carbohydrates.
4. Through their direct effect on insulin and blood sugar, refined carbohydrates, starches, and sugars are the dietary cause of coronary heart disease and diabetes. They are the most likely dietary causes of cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, and the other chronic diseases of civilization.
5. Obesity is a disorder of excess fat accumulation, not overeating, and not sedentary behavior.
6. Consuming excess calories does not cause us to grow fatter, any more than it causes a child to grow taller. Expending more energy than we consume does not lead to long-term weight loss; it leads to hunger.
7. Fattening and obesity are caused by an imbalance – a disequilibrium – in the hormonal regulation of adipose tissue and fat metabolism. Fat synthesis and storage exceed the mobilization of fat from the adipose tissue and its subsequent oxidation. We become leaner when the hormonal regulation of the fat tissue reverses this balance.
8. Insulin is the primary regulator of fat storage. When insulin levels are elevated – either chronically or after a meal – we accumulate fat in our fat tissue. When insulin levels fall, we release fat from our fat tissue and use it for fuel.
9. By stimulating insulin secretion, carbohydrates make us fat and ultimately cause obesity. The fewer carbohydrates we consume, the leaner we will be.
10. By driving fat accumulation, carbohydrates also increase hunger and decrease the amount of energy we expend in metabolism and physical activity.”

I’m going to go have a donut and some ice cream!!!

UPDATE – 2011
God-bless the ability to change our minds!

I read this book while in grad school, and understood some of the science, but had little time to really dig deep into Taubes’ arguments.

Needless to say, I also never stopped eating any sort of carbohydrate or modified my diet in any way (see my last statement…I literally did that that day…).

Since that day, I’ve read more deeply, and seen the ridiculous extent to which “paleo” and other low-carb advocates have gone in deriding carbohydrates of all sorts, and trying to push their bizarre dietary agenda on the world.

For instance – read this post.

So now, read this post, for the most comprehensive and thoughtful look I’ve ever seen at the carbohydrate/fat/obesity debate.

Obsession and Diet

Posted on March 11, 2009 by Josh

I think there are a couple of other things that diets (books, etc.) do that are dangerous.

First, they put you in a position of powerlessness. When you pick up a book to get advice from it, you are saying to yourself that you don’t know what’s best for yourself. This is really horrible. People need to know the basics about diet (eat as close to nature as possible) and then just listen to their bodies. Counting calories, macronutrient grams, or anything else is not listening to your body. Let your body be your book.

The other thing these books do is they guide your focus. Most diet books are focused on weight loss. Weight loss shouldn’t be anyone’s primary objective. There have been several studies in recent years that have shown that people who are “overweight” (and I mean in bodyfat percent, not BMI which is a bogus measure) but active are much more healthy and less susceptible to cardiac and other risk factors than their “thin” but inactive counterparts.

We all know that a professional athlete will have a BMI that puts them in the “obese” range. To boot, my grandmother, who was raised in North Carolina, and ate “southern food,” and drank and smoked through most of her life, is now 89 years old.

What is the aim of all of this obsession in our culture? The human body is amazingly adaptable, and will find a way to get through almost anything your throw at it. Diet is an artificial focus. What is at the root of dietary concerns? Looking good? Being thinner? Or is it even deeper? Being healthy. Living a healthy and satisfied life.

As long as you continue to look outside of yourself for your happiness, you will never be satisfied.

How do you look within? Look to nature as your guide. What is your nature? I think being natural is or should be about much more than the way you eat. It should also be about how you live, where you spend your time, how you move and how frequently, etc.

Don’t obsess over your diet. Make things simpler and simpler, and you’ll be nearing the path of nature.

Soda Tax

Posted on February 27, 2009 by Josh

Felix Salmon remarks in his blog about the non-diet soda tax under consideration in New York state.

The tax is supposed to help reduce obesity, and close the $13.3b state deficit.

I’m amazed by this…almost to the point of silence. But not quite.

Possibly one of the stupidest things I’ve ever heard. Tax non-diet sodas? How about taxing muffins? What about venti mocha latte’s at Starbucks? Tax the “danger dog” vendors extra too, while you’re at it. Then tax Nabisco, Johnson & Johnson, Proctor & Gamble, and all of the candy companies (Nestle, etc.). Then tax McDonalds restaurants more.

I mean, if New York is serious, they could make a lot of money here!

If not, it’s a stupid waste of time.

There’s a strong link between bad nutrition, lack of exercise, and poor sleeping habits and obesity. There’s also a strong link between poverty and obesity.

So, New York should take all of that tax money, build more jungle gyms around the city, provide free vegetables at the jungle gyms, and give everyone who shows up with last year’s tax form showing that they’re below the poverty line $100 for joining the workout and eating some carrots.

There’s your solution to obesity!

As for the state deficit…someday the people in our country are going to have to realize that in order to spend money, you have to make money. These absurd debts and deficits that we carry as a culture are symptomatic of a much bigger problem. You can’t spend what you don’t make. Obesity is another symptom.

You figure out the problem.

Eat your fruits and vegetables!

Posted on December 6, 2008 by Josh

Hi there,

While I’m not a nutritionist, and I can’t make any recommendations regarding dietary choices, I can pass along information when I see it, and this is too good to pass up.

According to this study, eating a diet higher in fruits and vegetables reduces loss of lean body mass in older adults.

This should be nothing new, however, I think it bears repeating. As the obesity epidemic in America continues, and in spite of messaging to counteract it, people continue to make bad food choices. Part of the issue is the preponderance of diet books out there, using bizarre terms like “Acid, Alkaline, Paleolithic, Zone,” etc., to “create” their own “methods” that they can then market and sell.

Let me try to clear some of these up real fast. Alkaline acid balance results from eating more fruits and veggies (see above). Hi acid pH results from eating more meat products. Paleolithic diets say we should eat like our Stone-Age ancestors (sounds good to me). The Zone is a place where your macronutrient (protein, carbs, fats) balance is “perfect” and your total caloric intake is “perfect.” Other diets promote more raw foods, more enzymes, more this or that.

No wonder there’s so much confusion, and lack of motivation to stray from habitual eating patterns (or fall back into those patterns once the palate offered by any single diet book starts to grow bland)!

What can you do? Try getting some real cookbooks, instead of diet books. I highly recommend Nourishing Traditions as a start, or anything produced by Jacques Pepin.

That being said, diet and nutrition are only part of the equation in health and happiness. LIFE IS MOVEMENT! The reason that you need healthy, wholesome food should be that you’ve been moving your body a lot, in a lot of different ways, and so it needs nourishment.

There are three comments on diet that I’ve carried with me for years, as my own guideposts, and I’ll share them with you here:

Paul Chek at a conference I attended back in 2001. He said “If it doesn’t grow out of the ground, or eat something that comes out of the ground, don’t eat it.”

At the same conference, Juan Carlos Santana said that he wasn’t going to cover weight loss and diet, summing up diet by saying “if you consume more calories than you use, you gain weight. If you consume fewer calories than you use, you lose weight.”

And finally, what mom, dad, and grandma always told me – Eat your fruits and vegetables!

Have fun, eat healthy, and move often!

Josh