Author: armstrong.wou@gmail.com

So, you over-indulged a bit yesterday?  That’s okay.  I did, too.  Today, though, is a new day.  Many will start a new fad diet that might shed a few pounds as a preemptive strike against the Christmas calories.  Christmas, of course, will be followed with New Year Resolutions and yet another cycle of dieting. Stop!

Begin today a new habit of responsible, healthy eating.  Exercise and begin making food choices that sustainable and permit the occasional indulgences.

Instead of getting up at some unreasonable hour to shop for specials and fight the crowds of insane shoppers (though I suspect some will be reading this too last, as it will be posted after the madness begins), take the time to get in a bit of extra physical activity.  Exercise and do a bit more HIIT/HIIRT than usual to burn a few extra calories, but also get a bit of extra recreational activity.  Go for a long walk.  Bike.  Move.

Avoid the guilt that you are certainly feeling for that display of gluttony at yesterday’s festivities.  It is too late to eat less yesterday.  Just be smart today, tomorrow, and the weeks to come.

Go a bit easier on the carbohydrates for a few days.  Keep the leftover desserts where they are less accessible.  If you feel the need to snack, snack on those foods which are more satisfying and less calorie dense.

Avoid alcohol.  Perhaps you had more than you usual during Thanksgiving?  No problem (unless it caused problems).  Now, for a while, just reduce the alcohol calories to spare calories for nutritive foods.  (I recommended avoiding the guilt of over-eating, but I didn’t say there wouldn’t be consequences!)

Get on track for the coming holiday temptations and have a plan.  Enjoy, but do so tempered by wisdom.

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving and wish blessings to all!

Carpe momento!

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Have a blessed and grateful day!

Carpe momento!

We walk on starry fields of white
   And do not see the daisies;
For blessings common in our sight
   We rarely offer praises.
We sigh for some supreme delight
   To crown our lives with splendor,
And quite ignore our daily store
   Of pleasures sweet and tender.

Our cares are bold and push their way
   Upon our thought and feeling.
They hand about us all the day,
   Our time from pleasure stealing.
So unobtrusive many a joy
   We pass by and forget it,
But worry strives to own our lives,
   And conquers if we let it.

There’s not a day in all the year
   But holds some hidden pleasure,
And looking back, joys oft appear
   To brim the past’s wide measure.
But blessings are like friends, I hold,
   Who love and labor near us.
We ought to raise our notes of praise
   While living hearts can hear us.

Full many a blessing wears the guise
   Of worry or of trouble;
Far-seeing is the soul, and wise,
   Who knows the mask is double.
But he who has the faith and strength
   To thank his God for sorrow
Has found a joy without alloy
   To gladden every morrow.

We ought to make the moments notes
   Of happy, glad Thanksgiving;
The hours and days a silent phrase
   Of music we are living.
And so the theme should swell and grow
   As weeks and months pass o’er us,
And rise sublime at this good time,
   A grand Thanksgiving chorus.

 

Image: https://c.tadst.com/gfx/750w/thanksgiv-day.jpg?1

We tend, when we celebrate Thanksgiving, to reflect back to the Pilgrims and the “first Thanksgiving”.  Historical discussions and political arguments aside, Thanksgiving is less a holiday to celebrate the past and more of a holiday to celebrate the present.  Gratitude is for today.  Thanksgiving celebrates what we have, not what we had.

We tend to either be looking back or looking forward.  Rarely do we pause to just enjoy the moment.

This Thanksgiving, take the opportunity to just enjoy the present.  Don’t stress trying to please others or have the “perfect” Thanksgiving.  If you have little, don’t dwell on what you don’t have (for most Americans, that will be more than most of the world), enjoy the people you are with.  If you have plenty, be especially grateful.  Share your plenty with others.  Make Thanksgiving about relationships and not food.

Some may have to dig deep, but consider the things for which you are grateful.  Even if things are hard and one is struggling in life, there is much for which to be grateful.  For some, just surviving the battle for one more day is something for which to be grateful.  Take time before Thursday’s festivities to consider the path you are on and make a gratitude list.  It may take several days to perfect, but enter Thanksgiving with a heart of gratitude.

Carpe momento!

Thanksgiving is just around the corner and, as any regular reader of this blog knows, I love lists of “5 things…”.  So, here is my professional recommendations for what not to eat this Thanksgiving.

1) Foods you don’t like.  Seriously, why waste precious calories on things you don’t enjoy?  True, you might have to take a little bit of everything to satisfy your guests who brought food, but take just enough to satisfy them and hide what you don’t eat.  Everybody will be happy.

2) Green Jello with pears and Philadelphia Cream Cheese balls.  Does anybody really like this stuff?  My maternal grandmother always made it when we visited.  Yuk!  I’ll pass.

3) Fewer than a “thin” slice of every type of pie.  You cannot be rude and not try every dessert.  It just isn’t polite.  My paternal grandmother had her own understanding of what a “thin” slice was, however.  Thankfully, my metabolism was much greater back then.

4) Too much turkey.  Just kidding!  Turkey should be the dominant item on your plate (unless you are vegan—then, thanksgiving kinda bites).  I love turkey and would gladly eat myself into a tryptophan coma.  But, of course, you have to save room for everything else—especially #3.

5) Tofurkey.  Seriously!  This is just an abomination.  I respect the choice to be vegan, but eating tofu in the shape of a turkey is just wrong.  There will be plenty of delicious vegan alternatives at the table.  Respect your non-vegan guests and skip the fake turkey.  Please!

In all seriousness, unless you absolutely must cut weight during the Thanksgiving holiday—and I remember these times, as a wrestler—let this be a day to just relax and enjoy.  Be sensible, but don’t be miserable.  In preparing a menu, be balanced.  Cook as light as possible, but enjoy.  Let this be your one gluttonous meal of the year.  Go light on the breakfast and save for the big meal.  Live today for tomorrow we die-t!

Blessings this Thankgiving!!

Carpe momento!

 

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My Facebook page has been bombarded with sponsored posts about combating the so-called “Dad-Bod”, which, as best I can deduce, is anything short of shredded.  Supposedly, I don’t need to work out.  I can gain muscle and lose fat by simply taking a supplement.  If you believe the ads, this is what the likes of Arnold Schwartenegger, Sylvester Stallone, et al. do.  Things that make you go “Hmmm.”

I wish it was just a matter of taking a supplement.  Unfortunately, it takes effort—a lot of effort!

I also question this idea of the “Dad-Bod”.  The notion the everyone needs to be “shredded” is nonsense—not to mention unhealthy.  We “dads” should be concerned about muscle mass and body fat, but, unless one is an athlete, more than a modest amount of muscle mass is purely for show—and a lot of work.  Despite the clever advertising, muscle mass can only be built with resistance training.  Low percentages of body fat (<9%) are not reasonable unless one is a physique athletes in the competitive season.   A more reasonable Dad-Bod is about 12% body fat (which is still a bit of work).  Body fat charts often allow for increases in the ideal range as one ages.  Personally, I don’t agree.  Aging is not an excuse for declining fitness.  A range of 12-20% for males is reasonable across all ages.

So, skip the supplements and do the following to avoid the so-called “Dad-Bod”:

1) Lift weights.  Weight lifting is the only way to build and maintain muscle mass.  The older we get, the more challenging it is to add mass.  Key is to build mass early and maintain.

2) Include some cardio.  Some cardio is necessary for improving and maintaining cardiorespiratory health.  The benefits for improving body composition are probably quite individualized and adhere to the principle of specificity.  Nonetheless, fat loss is dependent upon calories burned exceeding calories consumed.  More activity is always a benefit.

3) Add 2-3 HIIRT workouts be week.  High-intensity interval resistance training (HIIRT) is a time-effective way to facilitate fat loss (see “HIIRT”, November 18, 2017).  If time is limited, this should be the priority workout (barring more ambitious fitness goals).  Just remember, these are less effective than weight training and HIIT cardio for improving VO₂max.

4) Baby steps to cutting calories.  Avoid the futile cycles of dieting.  Focus on long-term lifestyle changes.  Cutting calories here and there add up to significant losses and long-term maintenance over time.  Simple things like watching the %ABV in beer (remember there are 30 kcal per %ABV per 12 ounces of beer) can avoid the “Dad-Bod” beer gut.  Focusing on the caloric density of foods helps cut calories (e.g., substituting egg whites for some whole eggs).

5) Don’t waste money on supplements.  There are virtually no supplements that are substantially effective in affecting body fat—especially in people with already high body fat percentages.  Save your cash.  Eat smart and exercise effectively!

6) Be consistent.  Enough said.

Be your best today; be better tomorrow!

Carpe momento!

I am quite vocal about my feelings about applying the labels of “HIIT” or “Tabata” to what we exercise professionals used to call “Circuit Training”.  HIIT- and Tabata-style training can have beneficial cardiorespiratory effects, but it must be clear how these are defined.

The research by Dr. Izumi Tabata and colleagues, published in 1996*, employed an extremely strenuous protocol (IE1 protocol) that included 8 rounds of 20 seconds of very high intensity cycling (170% of VO2max) followed by 10 seconds of recovery four times a week, with an additional steady-state workout on day a week, for six weeks.  For most, this intensity is nearly impossible.  Moreover, it is absolutely impossible when performing the weight-bearing type exercises that many exercise leaders incorporate in what they call “Tabata”.

HIIT can include an extensive variety of intensity:recovery combinations.  These intensities must be high, or we would have to refer to it as moderate-intensity interval training (MIIT)—which can be beneficial, too.  In general, the high-intensity intervals need to exceed 80-85% of maximum.  The lower the intensity, the longer these sessions need to be to produce significant cardiorespiratory improvement.

There are several issues with performing cycles of weight-bearing resistance exercise for cardiorespiratory benefit.  First, there is a high risk of injury.  As one fatigues, one’s movement mechanics will break down.  The only way to continue is to slow the movement or allow for poor form/technique.  The former reduces the stimulus for adaptation; the latter leads to injury.  Second, the intensities of these movements are simply not great enough or for a long enough duration to promote substantial improvement.

Are these so-called “HIIT” workouts useless, then?  Absolutely not!  For one thing, not everyone is looking to substantially improve VO2max.  In addition, these are possibly more effective for burning fat than traditional aerobic exercise.  There is reasonable evidence that these workouts promote a longer post-exercise energy expenditure that traditional aerobic exercise.  That is, they can turn up the metabolic furnace for several hours allowing the exerciser to keep burning calories (perhaps for as much as a day or longer).  They also improve muscle endurance.  They won’t, however, substantially improve cardiorespiratory endurance or muscle strength.  So, specificity applies—you will want to incorporate other forms of exercise to get gains in these areas.

For clarity sake, I propose adopting a new label for these body-weight circuits (for the record, I am not the first to coin this label—bummer).  I would prefer to call this “high-intensity interval resistance training” or “HIIRT”.  The name might just be catchy enough to be trendy, and it better captures the nature of the exercise.  I still use quotation marks around “Tabata” when referring to short duration, ultra-high-intensity interval training on stationary cycles, rowing machines, etc. (though “burst training” is still a better label) to differentiate the training from longer HIIT programs for cardiorespiratory endurance and to demonstrate understanding that we are probably not coming close to the prescribed 170% VO2max.

HIIRT would be reserved for high-intensity body-weight (or otherwise resisted) intervals—what we are seeing as a trend in many fitness centers.  These should be directed at muscle endurance and body composition (not considered “cardio”) and can be performed several times a week in conjunction with a strength and/or cardiorespiratory training program.

Typical HIIRT programs include circuits of several exercises (e.g., 5) performed for a specified duration (e.g., 20-30 seconds) or repetitions (e.g., 10-20 reps) repeat for a specified number of sets (e.g., 5) with a period of rest (e.g., 30-60 seconds) in between.  There is a tremendous opportunity for variation.  Another way I like to do HIIRT is with a partner—alternating sets until the circuit is finished.  My favorite Bulgarian bag HIIRT workout is my “Core 550” workout.  The Core 550 takes less than 10 minutes and includes 10 sets of 10 repetitions each of:

Hip thrusts (think kettlebell swing).

Side toss, right.

Side toss, left.

Spin, right.

Spin, left.

The rest between sets (not exercises) is usually 30-60 seconds.

This is great for burning some calories. I estimate 150 kcal for the session with a 17-kg bag, not counting the elevated post-exercise energy expenditure.  It is also great for an athletic core (because of the extensive rotational acceleration and deceleration).

Be creative.  Most of all, spread the word.  Let’s make “HIIRT” the standard label!

Be your best today; be better tomorrow!
Carpe momento!

* Tabata, Izumi; Nishimura, Kouji; Kouzaki, Motoki; Hirai, Yuusuke; Ogita, Futoshi; Miyachi, Motohiko; Yamamoto, Kaoru (1996). Effects of moderate-intensity endurance and high-intensity intermittent training on anaerobic capacity and VO₂max. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 28(10): 1327–30. doi:10.1097/00005768-199610000-00018

Image source: http://adjustablekettlebellreviews.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/bulgarian-bag-spin-1024×621.jpg

In a class this term, I am using The Sports Gene by David Epstein as the text.  It is an excellent book and quite insightful with regards the success in sports.  As sports is a bit of a microcosm of the real world, it provides insight into success, in general.

Examining the role of the ever-growing list of “sports genes”, one might expect to learn that Per-Olof Åstrand was correct in saying the “to become an Olympic athlete, choose your parents wisely.”  This is true, but there is more to success than mere genes.

Any success requires that 1) we have the right genes, 2) the right circumstances, and, most importantly, we put in the right amount of effort.  A student in my class commented that “it sounds like we can blame our parents for everything.”  That is one way to look at it, but that is not going to end in success.

Athletically, it is easy to see how we can owe our giftedness to our parents.  Good genes alone, however, are not enough to become an elite athlete.  The opportunity—that is, the right circumstances—need to be in place to make success possible.  Consider where Michael Phelps would be had he never had access to a pool.  Phelps has, perhaps, the perfect physique to excel at swimming.  It is doubtful that he would be as successful at any other sport.  And, of course, he has put countless hours in the pool to get where he is.

In life, we could very well have been born into the circumstances of our existence for a time such as this.  I trust we all have a Purpose.  It is no accident that we were born and raise where and when we were born.  One can blame his or her circumstances on the parents, the siblings, the education (or lack thereof), the socioeconomics of the circumstances, race, gender, and/or anything else one might believe has hindered them, however, there is great power in the knowledge that all aspects of our experience and being come together to shape precisely who we are intended to become.  Perhaps, we just have the wrong idea of who this is?

If you care to be successful, examine yourself.  Consider the gifts you have, rather than the gifts you desire.  Don’t bother with what makes others successful.  You cannot compare, and this will only leave you frustrated.  Consider what opportunities you have to be successful.  Act according to your talents.  If you consider yourself burdened by your circumstances, contemplate how these are, in fact, the very catalyst needed to propel you toward success.  No excuses.  Only gratitude and hard work bring lasting success and pleasure in life.  In the argument of Nature or Nurture, it is both!

Be your best today; and be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!

My son’s football team finished the season 10-0 and winning their JV (7^th grade) Championship 22-0.  It was a great season and, like all good things, must come to an end.  And, so, wrestling season begins.  He has been practicing with his club one day a week through the football season, but now it gets serious.  He is, of course, ready for the season.

If you read this blog regularly enough, you know I love wrestling.  I was never a great (or really good) wrestler, but it is by far my favorite sport.  I love that my son is participating in multiple sports (football, wrestling, and lacrosse), but wrestling is the keystone sport.  I have worried in the past that he might wrestle to please me, but it has emerged as his decision.  And, while I hope he is a much better wrestler than me, I know that, whether he wins or loses, he will be a better person for having wrestled.  The benefits are many.  If, as a parent, you are looking for a sport to occupy your child in the winter months, give wrestling a try.  Our club coach doesn’t even encourage the youngest kids to compete.  It is all about learning the sport and having fun.  There is plenty of time to compete as they get older.  Until then, they will:

1) Make friends. We wrestle as individuals, but we practice as a team. Many of my best friendships have been made in the wrestling room.  Beyond wrestling, I have made countless other friends are former wrestlers.  There is a brotherhood in wrestling (that we now share with the growing number of women who are joining and growing our sport).

2) Learn discipline. Wrestlers are disciplined. Whether it is managing their weight or drilling in practice, wrestling teaches self-control. 

3) Develop a work ethic. I never worked as hard at anything as I did wrestling. Wrestlers have a twisted love-hate relationship with conditioning.  To this day, I still do not feel like I have had an honest workout unless my shirt is drenched with sweat (the kind of sweat you can wring out of the shirt).  It carries over into my occupational and household work—my wife knows when the bark dust (mulch) is delivered, she won’t see me for the rest of the day.

4) Gain skills that will carry over to other sports. I see the benefits in football and lacrosse. My son plays goalie in lacrosse, and his movement to the ball reflects his hours of wrestling practice.  Many of lacrosse’s best face-off guys are wrestlers (some only do face-offs—referred to as FOGOs or face-off and gos). In football, the balance and quick hands and feet of wrestling are a big benefit.  I would be hard-pressed to name a sport for which wrestling is not of some benefit.

5) Gain self-confidence. My shy son can get lost out on the football field, but in wrestling it is man against man (or woman). A wrestler wins or loses as an individual.  There is nowhere to hide.  One believes in himself or herself or one does not.  Wrestling can put an athlete in difficult positions.  The wrestler learns to struggle and to overcome.  There is a phrase: “In wrestling, there are only winners and learners.”  Failure breeds the desire to try again.  Practicing from a disadvantaged position, teaches the wrestler to fight to the finish and never give up.

6) Learn life lessons. Life is very much a wrestling match. As legendary coach, Dan Gable, said: “Once you have wrestled, everything else in life is easy.”

Whether competitively or only in physical education, I think every kid—boy or girl—should try wrestling.  True, I am biased, but I know of no one who has ever regretted wrestling.

Monday night, as the season kicked off with the annual welcome meeting, my son’s coached announced the largest number of participants in the club’s history.  This is great news for a sport that has seem some decline—a sport that has rallied to remain an Olympic sport and remain a priority to the NCAA.  More importantly, this give hope for the sports lasting influence in the lives of these young boys and girls and the men and women they will become.

Be your best today; be better tomorrow!

Carpe momento!

It is not unusual lately to see various sized tires around gyms and athletic fields.  Some coaches and fitness trainers swear by them.  Personally, I don’t.  Now, I am not entirely opposed to incorporating tires into some training, but at the expense of what training?  (Remember: “opportunity costs”.)

The most common exercises one is likely to see being performed are flips, deadlifts, farmer carries, partner pushes, and sledgehammer work.  None of these meet the criteria for specificity, in my humble opinion, but, if variety is of interest, and one is willing to sacrifice other potential aspects of training, there can be some (limited) value.  So, I’ll consider each of the aforementioned variations.

Tire flips.  Most common of the tire exercises, tire flips are frequently performed by athletes and non-athletes, alike.  They are praised for building explosive power, but do they?  Rarely have I seen someone flip a tire in a truly explosive fashion.  Perhaps because the tendency is to “go big or go home.”

One very important consideration is the definition of power.  Power is the product of force and velocity (P = F x V).  Power is optimally trained between 200 and 300 degrees per second.  Much slower, we are looking training strength only.  Much faster, we are looking at speed.  My preference is to train strength with conventional strength training—e.g., traditional squats and deadlifts.  Gains require overload.  Thus, for tire flipping to be effective, the exercise must be performed at an appropriate angular velocity (200-300 deg/s) and allow for incremental progression of resistance (i.e., tire size)—something that is not very likely at most gyms.

I would leave the tire flipping to Strongman competitions.  Football players, wrestlers, et al.?  First, consider specificity.  A better use of tires might be partner pushes.  Olympic cleans are likely a superior option.  I also love the explosive potential of Bulgarian bag training.

Deadlifts.  Deadlifts are a great exercise.  I consider them among the “basic 5”.  The downside of tire deadlifts is the challenge of progression.  In the long-run, the traditional deadlift is likely more beneficial.  This is not to say that tire deadlifts might not add some “fun” to conditioning exercise.

Farmer carries.  Tires are one of many variations of this popular conditioning activity.  There is not necessarily anything wrong with farmer carries.  Indeed, they are great for core bracing and stabilization.  These also build grip strength in the hands and forearms.  These are a great component of a conditioning workout, but we keep coming back to opportunity costs.  If you have time and it fits your goals, then why not?

Partner pushes.  If you want to keep the tires on the football field, then these might be the best use of them.  I like this for linemen in football or any athlete who must absorb force and explode through the legs to counter this force.  To perform the partner push, the athletes oppose each other in an athletic stance. Keeping the elbows in, the athlete drives with the legs and arms to propel the tire toward the partner.  The partner receives the tire and returns it explosively to the other.  Performed with good technique and explosively, these have a place in conditioning drills.

Sledgehammer work.  If you don’t have the good fortune of working a construction job that requires you swing a heavy sledgehammer, then you might want to do these for some “fun” conditioning.  Like tire flips, these are intended to develop power—in the opposite direction.  Unlike the heavy tire flip, the sledgehammer motion (or motions—the swing can be varied) is more likely to be performed with sufficient velocity.  It also requires acceleration and deceleration of the core muscles (like the Bulgarian bag).  On top of it all, it is great for releasing one’s frustrations.

Cardio workout?  Tire circuits are often performed for cardiovascular benefits.  (Need I address these so-called “Tabata” workouts, again?)  These are certainly not going to greatly improve one’s maximal oxygen consumption (VO₂max), but they are beneficial to general conditioning and fat loss.  For athletes, they are also good team builders.

Overall, I would leave tires to be recycled, but, if you have them, use them for a bit of “fun”.  Be cautious, though, in how and how often you use them.  Consider your goals and the positive alternatives to achieving these goals.  Choose wisely.

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