Month: January 2018

“Don’t dwell on losses or setbacks, but don’t forget the pain they cause.  If there is no pain, you need to invest more in what you are doing.  Mark these losses or setbacks down, and use them as motivation for future victories.  Learn from your losses.”—Dan Gable

Remembering.  There are no losers in wrestling, only winners and learners.  Such it is in life.  We look back in remembrance, but not dwell unnecessarily on the past.  We can have no regrets, only grattitude.  We must learn and grow from our disappointments.

Likewise, we cannot dwell on our victories and become complacent.  Even in success, we must remember the pain of defeat and work harder.

Iowa Wrestling ended their run toward a 10^th consecutive NCAA National Championship in 1987 because they had lost the level of work ethic that had brought the program to the pinnacle of collegiate wrestling.  It was not for a lack of talent.  Iowa was consistently bringing in the top recruits.  With success, however, it is often easy to forget the discipline and hard work that got us to where we are.  Complacency can set it.

There is a benefit in losing, on occasion—if it is coupled with learning.  Losing (i.e., learning) propels one forward.  Setbacks give us the focus to move toward future victory.

I like to think that I have no regrets.  Regret rears its ugly head from time to time, but I let this refine my focus on my present path.  I would not be where I am where it not for all that happened to me (and others) in the past.  I learn (or try to learn) from history.  There are two reasons to ask why something happened in our lives: 1) to hang the streamers for a pity party and 2) to lay a foundation for the road ahead.  We either learn from or losses or we don’t.  The choice is in what we do with them.

Dan Gable wrote: “If there is no pain, you need to invest more in what you are doing.”  My take on this is that, if you are not tasting failure, to need to challenge yourself more.  In sport, practice is an opportunity to take risks and fail for the purpose of learning.  There is some truth to what Vince Lombardi said: “Only perfect practice makes perfect.”  This applies, however, only to execution.  To grow/improve, we have to challenge our limits.  Perfect practice only makes us best at what we already know to do.  Investing in the pain is what leads to growth.  I don’t believe Lombardi was not focused on growth.  To the contrary, I suspect that “perfect practice” means one is moving toward personal perfection.  One cannot move toward personal perfection without addressing one’s limitations, and one cannot know his or her limitations without testing them.  So, if you don’t feel some pain, invest more effort in what you are doing.

Be your best today; be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!

“If you can shrug off a loss, you can’t be a winner.”—Vince Lombardi

I got a lot of questions about the ketogenic diet in class today.  It seems to be all the craze in fitness now, and it is reasonable to question whether it would work?  In short, you will lose weight on the ketogenic diet (provided you are hypocaloric, of course), but there are some caveats.

How does the ketogenic diet work?  Basically, it forces the body to burn fat inefficiently—energy stored in fat is lost at a faster rate.  A ketogenic diet involves very low carbohydrates (usually less than 30 grams) and high fat.  Fats need some carbohydrate to be adequately metabolized (in the Krebs cycle or tricarboxylic acid cycle).  In the absence of carbohydrates, oxaloacetate—the final substrate in the TCA cycle—is converted to pyruvate and acetyl CoA gets converted into ketones.  This leaves a lot of energy wasted and one burns through fat.

Ketosis is fine for the overweight non-exerciser, but I would not recommend the diet for an athlete or someone who is training really hard.  Some claim that you become “fat adapted”—meaning that the body learns to prefer fats over carbohydrates for energy.  To some extent this is true, but I question to what extent, and the evidence is not substantial.  If you are lifting weights and doing little to no cardio, you may not notice any great difference.  If you are lifting hard and doing some additional conditioning, you will likely feel sluggish.  And if one can become “fat-adapted” they have to be all-in—that means giving up carbs altogether (no more pasta, pizza, beer, etc.).  You can eat a lot of meat and enjoy (healthy) fats, though.

In my opinion, the ketogenic diet is best for those who are significantly overweight and those who are lean and looking to cut the final bit of fat for show.  Those of us in the middle can stand to cut the carbs some (especially carbs with a high glycemic index), but are best to cut our calories to a reasonable level and just be smart with our macro balance.

Diet is a lifestyle.  The ketogenic diet is not something one does for a few weeks to get ready for the beach.  To be most effective it needs to be a long-term strategy.  Some can manage.  Others cannot.  I cannot.  I can limit carbs, but below 0.5 g per pound of bodyweight (about 115 g for me) is too low.  I certainly can’t do less than 30 g. 

If you want to maintain a more active lifestyle and enjoy some carbs, I would suggest trying to limit carbs to between 0.5 and 1.0 g per lb.  If you feel sluggish in your workouts, add more carbs (and cut calories from fat).  Optimal protein is easily set at 1 g per lb.

There is nothing inherently unhealthy about the ketogenic diet.  It has long been recommended for epileptics and other medical conditions.  There may be some concerns about certain nutrient lacking from cutting foods from the basic diet, but selecting low carb and nutrient dense fruits and vegetables can help.

Overall, if the goal is to lose fat, choose a healthy plan that you can stick to for life and start by being hypocaloric.  Restrict carbs—or not—based on your activity level.  Being able to perform physical exercise at the highest possible level will allow (require) you to eat more while still cutting fat.  In the end, you must do what works for you.

Be your best today; be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!

The above meme struck a chord with me this morning.  I don’t dwell on regrets, nor do I desire to change the past.  After all, the events of the past have made me who I am today.  I would, if I could, however, want to relive my three years of varsity wrestling.  I don’t mean to “relive the glory days”.  Rather, I would just want the opportunity to right my attitude and work harder at the sport.

I doubt much would have changed.  I grew up in Southwestern Pennsylvania where there was some stiff wrestling competition.  The weight classes did not suit my body type, per se.  (I was 6’2” to 6’3” and wrestling 185—down from a 215 lb football weight.)  I wish there was a 220-lb class at that time, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.  Still, I could have lost better.  I could have, at times, had a better attitude.  I could have helped my team better at getting better.

My greatest regret came in my senior season.  I was going through some personal issues at home and, frankly, acted selfish.  I decided that I didn’t want to lose the weight from football to take my position at 185.  Instead, I determined to take the Unlimited position that was occupied by my friend, Ken—a Junior.  I came out of football with a pinched nerve in my neck and lost to Ken in the initial wrestle-offs.  From there, I could never win the two-in-a-row I needed to take the spot.  I refused to lose the weight and rode the bench.  Later in the season, I finally wised up and dropped to 185.  (Our 185-pounder, Rich, was out with the flu and had dropped enough weight to drop down to 165, where he wrestled the year before.)  I determined to make weight (i.e., lose 17 lb in 24 hours) so the team did not have to forfeit.  I wrestled well, despite being dangerously dehydrated, and remained there for the rest of the season.  I never recovered from the dramatic weight loss, however, and had a horrible final season.

I never aspired to wrestle collegiately, though a friend did convince me to briefly entertain the thought of walking on with him at WVU.  Subsequently, I never put the energy into the sport I could have.  I worked hard, but I could have worked harder.  I succumbed to being the better side of mediocre.

Despite my missed opportunities, I benefited greatly from the sport, my teammates, and, especially, my coached.  I owe much gratitude to my coaches—David Kling, Dave Colley, Dave Connelly, Robert McGregor, Skip Fisher, et al.  Many of the lessons may have been deferred, but I owe a great deal of my success to them.  Besides my son’s interest in the sport, I believe that much of my renewed passion for the sport came following the passing of Coach Kling a few years ago.

Yes, I would probably still have been an average Pennsylvania wrestler in ’81, but I could have been better.  I should have stepped on the mat earlier in the season rather than later and been a better leader.  The past is the past.  Today, however….

Be your best today; be better tomorrow!

Carpe momento!

I watched a video recently of a couple 70-something women lifting weights.  This is certainly impressive, and I encourage it.  What troubled me about the video was that the ladies were lifting some pretty decent weights for back-loaded split-squats, but they were only going down about a quarter of the way.  I have seen worse, and I give them credit for the effort.  I blame the trainer.  The weight on the bar is only as impressive than the technique with which is executed.

The split-squat technique of the women in the video was very good compared to some exercisers I have seen.  My favorites are the guys who load the leg press with every 45# plate in the gym and performs a set of unlocking and locking the knee.  The latest I saw was downright hysterical until you consider the danger the guy was in.  As Forrest Gump said, “Stupid is as stupid does.”

Sometimes we need to check the ego at the door.  Lifting heavy weights are only beneficial if they are lifted properly.

I have had my own challenges with maintaining proper technique.  I received a great lesson in high school training at Steel City Nautilus in Pittsburgh.  The first machine in the circuit was the Nautilus Hip & Back—a great exercise for the gluteals.  It is a challenging machine to maintain proper technique.  Like nearly everyone, I kept adding weight until my techniques suffered.  I was only impressing myself, of course.  The owner, Biz Stark, knew how to motivate a teenage kid to check the ego.  He told me that, if I wasn’t going to do it properly, he would refund my membership and send me on my way.  (I got off easy.  My friend, Danny, got marked with a Sharpie pen every time he performed a repetition incorrectly.  He let that workout with quite a bit of black on his thigh!)  To this day, I can be across the room, with my back to the machine, and know only from the sound that an exerciser is using the machine incorrectly.  It was also a lesson about the importance of technique.

If you are going to invest the time in exercise, do it correctly!  Some “gym bros” might be impressed, but those-who-know know better.  In the long run, you will make better gains.

Don’t be afraid to lower the weight, master the technique, and focus on proper execution.  Do this, and you will see great improvements (provided you maintain technique as you progress).  Best of all, you will minimize the risk for injury.

Be your best today; be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!

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“Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning.”—Benjamin Franklin

Improving.  I have to remind myself daily: “Be your best today; be better tomorrow.”  Kaizen—Japanese for “change for the better”.  We need to have a growth plan.

Improvement is progressive.  In exercise science, we teach that, for a body system to adapt, it must be stressed to a level greater than that to which it is accustomed.  It applies to life, as well.  If we want to get better at anything.  It takes conscious effort.  It takes intention.

I have encountered many who believe that, if you question the status quo, you are somehow being negative toward those or the practice that you seek to improve.  This is a challenge for me, as I tent to believe that, no matter how good the current situation is, there is always room to improve.  People may not like to hear this (and perhaps I am always not the best at how I relate this).  It is a reality, however.

I’d like to think that the point of this blog has been all about improving.  I write less to the readers than to myself.  I am my worst critic.  Moreover, I am my best champion.  When my attitude (grattitude) is right, I find myself on the right side of self-criticism—kaizen.

So, yes, be your best today; be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!

Everything is perfect and there is always room for improvement.”—Shunryu Suzuki

“Unity is strength… when there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved.”—Mattie Stepanek

Teamwork.  No success comes in isolation.  Even the best athletes need training partners and the support of a team.  Teamwork is essential, not only in sports, but also in our work and in our relationships—especially in our relationships.  Great things happen when we work together.

While I never had the skill or the opportunity to wrestle for Coach Gable at Iowa (or any collegiate coach), I did have the good fortune to wrestle with some outstanding teammates in high school.  I was blessed to be on some of the winningest squads in the school’s history.  These were teams that were able to put up the points needed to win dual meets.  While several of my teammates went to the individual Pennsylvania state wrestling championships, none every came home with a first-place medal.  Nonetheless, we won as a team.  Individually, we ranged from average to quite good.  Together, however, we were exceptional.

We are made stronger and better by the people around us—assuming there is an atmosphere of teamwork.  Surround yourself with the people who are going to make you better—who will have high expectations and hold you accountable.  Teammates will push you and encourage you.

Nick Saban, a coach who knows a thing or two about producing winning teams, tells us that when we “have the ability to affect other people and be somebody that somebody wants to emulate, care enough to help somebody else for their benefit, that’s what makes you a good teammate, and that’s what everybody’s looking for.”  Being a teammate means we want to see everyone succeed.  Like the cliché: “there is no ‘I’ in ‘team’.”

“Gable trained” means team-centered.  Team work in the essence of Spiritual well-centeredness.  Find your “team”.  I am repeating myself, but surround yourself with the people who are going to make you better (and who you can make better).  Find mentors.  Be a mentor.  Form a mastermind group.  Schedule time with the important people in your life and make that time matter.  Work together with people—even those with whom you find difficult.  The sense of “team” can sometimes bring the most unlikely people together.

Teamwork does not come from working for a cause.  It comes from working toward a joint cause.

Be your best today (together); be better tomorrow!

Carpe momento!

“Individual commitment to a group effort – that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.”—Vince Lombardi

Adversity.  I have long loved the quote: “That which does not kill me makes me stronger (Friedrich Nietzsche).  It is the essence of a growth attitude—or grattitude.  It is the challenges in life that make us stronger.  Experience has long taught me that good comes from adversity.

My father was a management consultant for much of his career.   His company was called “Phoenix Associates” from the mythological bird that from the ashes is brought to new life.  So, perhaps it is a part of my upbringing.  I never fail to trust that good is going to come from my struggles.

In trusting that good can come from adversity, it is important to understand that the good does not always come to us.  At times, our struggles are for the sake of others.  I have had far too many friends who have suffered with health and/or financial struggles, watch their child(ren) suffer through disease and disability, or lost a child.  There is no joy in this for these friends.  There aren’t always happy endings.  More often than life sucks.  But from this we grow, we learn compassion, we learn to love, and we become better people—if we choose to.

“Grateful” is not the best word to describe how I fell for the people who have suffered for my sake.  It pains me that I have in some way “benefited” from their adversity.  Even “indebted” fall short.  “Blessed” is perhaps the best I can come up with.

I don’t wish anyone to suffer.  When we see one who is struggling, we must do what we can do to ease their burden.  Herein, is where we are blessed in adversity.  We learn (or should learn) to cultivate love, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

When we face adversity, let us remember that it will make us stronger and the life-philosophy of Mattie Stepanek: “Remember to play after every storm.”  Let adversity grow you rather than destroy you.

Be your best today; be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!

“Gold medals aren’t really made of gold. They’re made of sweat, determination, and a hard-to-find alloy called guts.”—Dan Gable

“Diet” is a lifestyle.  Let’s get it out of our heads that one “goes on a diet”.  One’s diet is what one eats on a regular basis.  There are only three types of diet: eucaloric, hypocaloric, and hypercaloric.  Eucaloric refers to any diet in which the caloric intake meets the need (i.e., the daily caloric expenditure) and results in no change in weight.  If your weight is stable—with only minor day-to-day fluctuations—you’re are eating a eucaloric diet.  Hypocaloric refers to any diet in which the caloric intake is less than the daily need.  One loses weight (preferably fat) on such a diet.  Hypercaloric refers to any diet in which the caloric intake exceeds the daily need—thus, causes a gain in weight.  Ideally, on is only on a hypercaloric diet for the intent of gaining muscle (though there are times when, for health reasons, one may need to gain some fat weight).

In order of importance, weight management depends on caloric balance, macronutrient balance, nutrient timing, food composition (i.e., quality), and supplementation.  The diet component of greatest effect must be controlled before moving on the lesser component.  In other words, in order to lose fat, one must be hypocaloric before considering supplementation or whether one eats organic or unprocessed foods.  Too much wholesome food will make one fat that same as too much fast food will.  Cut down on the total food eaten, first, then worry about replacing the junk with better quality food.

As I work toward cutting some of my own fat, I will share some of the tips that help me:

Baby steps.  Focus on the small changes that add up over time.  Cut easy calories from what you already eat.

–buy leaner cuts of meat

–cut small amounts of added fat

–trim portion sizes

–limit alcohol (drink less and drink beverages with fewer calories—remember: each %ABV in beer is equal to 30 kcal; going from 6% to 5% ABV is 180 kcal v. 150 kcal per 12 oz!)

–increase physical activity

Watch your macros.  Protein is essential (well, so are carbs and fats, but….).  Make sure you are getting 0.8-1.0 g per pound of body weight.  Set your carbs and fats from here.  Carbs are dependent upon activity level.  I suggest a minimum of 0.5 g per pound of body weight (unless you elect to go full ketogenic—which I don’t recommend, if you are exercising).  Healthy fats (Olive oil, coconut oil, grass-fed butter, etc.) can round out your caloric needs and be incorporated in your meal plans to help provide satiety.

Watch your timing.  Avoid the traditional high-carb American breakfast.  Opt for protein and fat in the morning, limiting carbs to those that are high in fiber (i.e., filling) and low in calories.

Restrict calories most in the morning.  Most of us lead pretty busy lives and can find it easier to avoid binge eating during the day.  This leaves us a reserve of calories for the evening when our access to food is harder to control.  Plan your meals.  Carry food to work or school and avoid dining out.  Let your daily activities distract you from eating.  At night, when you kick back, you can relax knowing that you are less likely (notice: less likely not unlikely) to overindulge.

Load up on veggies.  Vegetables are filling and low in calories.  They also help control insulin (thus, blood sugar) and spare protein.  Veggies that are nutrient dense also help make up for nutritional opportunities lost by being hypocaloric.  A good fist-sized serving of veggies should be included in every meal.

Limit the starchy carbs.  Breads, potatoes, etc. can have a glycemic index that is quite high and, thus, spike insulin.  This will likely lead to stalled fat loss.

Be patient!  Don’t expect to lose fat overnight.  It takes time to lose fat.  (Weight, however, can be lost very quickly.  I once lost 17 lb in 24 hours to drop a weight class for wrestling—not something I would encourage.  This was, of course, water weight and my performance for the rest of the season was impaired.)  One’s target for fat loss should be no more than 1-2 lb per week for sustained fat loss.  The requires a reduction in caloric intake, an increase in energy expenditure, or a combination of the two that amounts to a 3500-7000 kcal/week deficit.  Remember, we want to maintain lean tissue and lose only fat.  This takes time!

Be your best today; be better tomorrow!

Carpe momento!

I actually think that the most efficacious way of making a difference is to lead by example, and doing random acts of kindness is setting a very good example of how to behave in the world.”—Misha Collins

Examples.  My values and mission include “impacting others”—more specifically, having a positive impact on the lives of others.  I am not sure I do this well, but I try.

As important as it is to be an example, we also need to seek out examples who possess the traits we desire.  This is similar to the first “Gable Trained” principle, mentors, but does not necessarily require a relationship.  In other words, we can seek out the example of others even if we don’t know them.  Charles Barkley famously said: “I’m not a role model… Just because I dunk a basketball doesn’t mean I should raise your kids.”  He is right, but he also can’t escape the fact that he is in the public limelight and cannot escape being a role model for others.  We cannot determine who will follow our example, but we can (and must) be conscious of the example we set for others.  Likewise, we must be diligent in selecting who we choose to pattern ourselves after.  We must also be aware of to whom our children look as role models.

Jim Rohn has said, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”  Of course, we also impact the people we spend the most time with.  As parents, we want to make sure that our children are hanging around with friends who will be a positive influence.  We want good coaches and teachers for our children.  More importantly, we want to make sure that our parenting (and leadership) is not “do as I say, not as I do”.  Like Charles Barkley, we may not choose to be role models, but, to someone, we are.

It is critical who we choose to emulate.  I enjoy learning about Dan Gable.  It is easy for me to see how he has been a role model and example for so many wrestlers—and non-wrestlers, alike. He has an unparalleled work ethic.  He is a leader who is open to learning from others.  In my mind, the best examples to follow are those who are willing to seek the guidance of others.  We must not seek the counsel or the example of people who are like us, per se.  Rather, we must model our actions after those who demonstrate the qualities to which we aspire.  Growth requires that we aspire to greater heights.  The examples we seek must be just beyond our reach—they must stretch us.

Be your best today; be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!

“Having tunnel vision can be a good thing when it keeps you focused on the goal.”—Dan Gable

Focus.  Distractions displace our priorities.  Dan Gable epitomizes focus.  Anyone who has followed his wrestling career knows he has a phenomenal work ethic and tunnel vision when it comes to training.  Gable writes that his only college loss (to Larry Owings) came when he lost that tunnel vision.  Likewise, we, too, fall short of our goals when we lose focus.

Focus doesn’t always require tunnel vision.  It does for our highest priority goals, but, in general, we prioritize (“opportunity costs”) our most significant desires.  Herein is where a mission statement and clearly stated values come in.  We focus on these.  All else are unnecessary distractions.

The concept of “well-centered fitness”—the balance of the Spiritual, Physical, Intellectual, Emotional, and Social dimensions—requires focus.  These are the focal point of efforts—moving ever-closer to true center.

I don’t believe one should mistake Dan Gable’s “tunnel vision” for single-mindedness.  It is true that when he was focused on wrestling that his intentions were centered on winning, but read into his life and it will be clear that he was balanced—academics, family, friends, relationships, faith, and the like also had priority in his life.  Our lives have multiple dimensions.  A key to success is in knowing which are important.

Be your best today; be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!

“Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand. The sun’s rays do not burn until brought to a focus.”—Alexander Graham Bell