Dwell in the real.....

You are better off dwelling in the real rather than wasting time searching for the ideal.

 The actual quote is the mature lifter is better off dwelling in the real rather than wasting time searching for the ideal, taken from this post at Dave Draper's forum.   

I read that the other day and it has stuck in my mind.

Dwelling in the real

So much of the health and fitness world is about fleeing from who we are.  Sometimes this is hidden or reframed as achieving a goal, changing our appearance.  Often though it is a case of a deep unhappiness with who we are.

There comes a time when we need to stop that and simply dwell in the real, to adopt some reality about who we are, what we can aim for.   There is nothing wrong with seeking improvement but we need to be realistic.  At 45 I will never play professional football no matter how hard I train.   With my bone structure and metabolism I will never be a competitive bodybuilder or powerlifter.   With my VO2 max and endurance I will never run a 3 hour marathon.  Aiming for such things will be a recipe for failure and more than that discontent.

However....I can be a good enough runner and better than most people.  I can develop a good physique, appropriate to my structure;  I can be leaner than 90% of guys my age; I can exhibit endurance to jog or walk for 20 or 30 miles.

I can do things which are excellent for me and for my potential.  The model that I can aspire to is not some shredded physique which is probably built on drugs and through superior genetic.  It is not a sub 3 hour marathoner.  It is me.

I think the word that sums it up is "contentment".  Being happy with what you have and making the most of it.

Identity

This identity thing is also present I think in all of the mad diets.  It is when people start to identify themselves with a diet.

• I am paleo
• I am gluten free
• I am primal
• I am low carb
• I am vegan
• I am a clean eater

No you are not;  you are you.  If you are "paleo" grains erode your identity.  If you are low carb, that pasta dish will take away from who you are.  As vegan you cannot eat those eggs and still be who you are.

It is all rubbish.  You are not your diet....or your training (I am a Crossfitter, a runner, a HITer)

Michael Moore on walking

I am no particular fan of Michael Moore's films or politics, but this piece on walking that I came across the other day is very good.

Michael Moore on Walking

I like his approach that walking is about the experience, the liberty to walk.  It is about the act, not the result.  Process, not outcome.  Yes, there will be changes, but they are not the focus.

box jump fail

Those box jumps that I post on here are not always successful.....

you can't teach speed?

Someone tweeted me this study and I thought I'd share it here.

The point that they are promoting is that good sprinters are born that way.  Those who are elite do not achieve that through working hard and hitting the 10,000 hours of practice that seems to have been accepted as the key to achieving elite status.  Sure practice helps, but in reality the true elite are perhaps elite before they really start to practice?

I don't think this totally invalidates the idea of developing exceptional ability through practice, at least where that is based on skill.  However perhaps it emphasises that it is worth pickin your field of endeavour to focus on one for which you are ....... gifted.

You Can't Teach Speed: Sprinters Falsify the Deliberate Practice Model of Expertise

Abstract:      Most scientists agree that expertise requires both innate talent and proper training. Nevertheless, the highly influential deliberate practice model (DPM) of expertise holds that either talent does not exist, or that its contribution to performance differences is negligible. It predicts that initial performance will be unrelated to achieving expertise and that a long period of deliberate practice — at least 10 years or 10,000 hours — is necessary and sufficient for achieving expertise. We tested these predictions in the domain of sprinting. Study 1 reviewed the biographies of 15 Olympic sprint champions. Study 2 reviewed the biographies of the 20 fastest male sprinters in U.S. history. In all documented cases, sprinters were exceptional prior to or coincident with their initiation of formal training. Furthermore, most reached world class status rapidly (Study 1 median = 3 years; Study 2 median = 7.5). Study 3 surveyed U.S. national collegiate championships qualifiers in sprints and throws. Sprinters recalled being faster as youths than did throwers, whereas throwers recalled greater strength and overhand throwing ability. Sprinters’ best performances in their first season of high school, generally the onset of formal training, were consistently faster than 95-99% of their peers. Collectively, these results falsify the DPM for sprinting. Because speed is foundational for many sports, they challenge the DPM generally.

Wall Sit research

James Steele was good enough to point this out to me.

In the basic Hillfit routine the wall sit is a fundamental exercise.  This is an isometric squat held for time with your back supported by a wall.  I included the wall sit for a few reasons:

• you do not need any equipment
• it is scaleable - if you are weaker, hold an easier position for example do not adopt a 90 degree knee position, don't bend your legs as far
• it is low skill - you don't need to learn a complex move.  Squats are actually pretty complex to perform properly.  I think a good squat pattern is important for health and mobility.
• it is safe - it keeps you in safe positions for your structure and muscles. (Bill DeSimone calls it a congruent movement - you use your muscles in a way that they are strongest where the movement is hardest)

I also find it an effective move for the thighs and hips in terms of producing strength.  Holding a 2 minute wall sit takes some strength.  I've talked about the exercise on this blog before by the way.

Anyway, James pointed out this paper, just published.

The effects of isometric wall squat exercise on heart rate and blood pressure in a normotensive population.

The isometric wall squat could be utilised in home-based training aimed at reducing resting blood pressure, but first its suitability must be established. The aim of this study was to determine a method of adjusting wall squat intensity and explore the cardiovascular responses. Twenty-three participants performed one 2 minute wall squat on 15 separate occasions. During the first ten visits, ten different knee joint angles were randomly completed from 135° to 90° in 5° increments; five random angles were repeated in subsequent visits. Heart rate and blood pressure (systolic, diastolic and mean arterial pressure) were measured. The heart rate and blood pressure parameters produced significant inverse relationships with joint angle (r at least –0.80; P < 0.05), demonstrating that wall squat intensity can be adjusted by manipulating knee joint angle. Furthermore, the wall squat elicited similar cardiovascular responses to other isometric exercise modes that have reduced resting blood pressure (135° heart rate: 76 ± 10 beats ∙ min⁻¹; systolic: 134 ± 14 mmHg; diastolic: 76 ± 6 mmHg and 90° heart rate: 119 ± 20 beats ∙ min⁻¹; systolic: 196 ± 18 mmHg; diastolic: 112 ± 13 mmHg). The wall squat may have a useful role to play in isometric training aimed at reducing resting blood pressure.

Interesting to see this benefit of the exercise - reducing blood pressure.  Exercise is often promoted as a way of controlling blood pressure, but people usually take that as "cardio", thinking strength training will raise blood pressure.  Here the wall sit is shown to be able to benefit blood pressure.

Another nice point in the abstract (I've not read the whole paper) is the observation that  

wall squat intensity can be adjusted by manipulating knee joint angle. 

That is what I mean by it being a scaleable move.

Examine's Supplement Goals Reference Guide

This post is a short interview with Sol Orwell.  Sol is the mastermind behind the amazing resource that is Examine.com  He has just launched a new product, a Supplement Goals Reference Guide, so I took the opportunity to ask him about Examine and the new Guide.

Can you tell my readers something about your background in health and fitness?

My journey is a bit different than most :) I "retired" a while ago - my internet businesses ran themselves, and I wasn't interested in the rat race. I'd rather travel, walk with my dog, and so forth. 

So after traveling and moving for a few years, I came back to Toronto in 2009. Out of shape (way too much delicious ice cream in NYC and Argentina). As I started fixing up my physical body, I also started reading and learning as much as I could. Im a notorious notes-taker, and slowly and surely the pieces started to come together.

What were you trying to achieve with the Examine.com website?

A lot of the knowledge I learned was from various forums. Forums always have their idiots, but some have some really smart people. People who have doctorates, people who compete, etc. And I noticed a lot of smart information was basically lost over time - we could have a really interesting conversation, but then one month later, that thread was (for all intents and purposes), gone. 

I wanted to build Examine.com as a repository of said information. I'll be honest - I knew a lot, but compared to some of these guys, I was a five year old. I found a great partner in Kurtis, who was just finishing up his dietetics degree. So he got to focus on the research, and I took care of everything else.

What does The Supplement-Goals Reference Guide add to the great information at Examine.com?

The site is more geared towards the supplement->health goal relationship. It goes into pharmacology, interactions, etc. Basically, it's nerd heaven. I will eat a hat if anyone can find a page that goes more in-depth on supplements like fish oil, creatine, vitamin D, vitamin K, and so forth. 

The reference is meant for two purposes: 

1. Fast access. Open up the PDF, "search", and done. You instantly have the most pertinent info right in front of you - in vivo trials (animal and in-vitro studies excluded). 

2. The opposite view: health goals->supplements. We are mostly anti-supplements in a bandaid fashion (eg if you eat fatty fish a few times a week, drop the fish oil). But targeted supplementation is brilliant. Berberine for diabetics. Spirulina for middle-aged people. Creatine for vegetarians. You can drill into your specific health goals (over 180), and find supplements that work (and even potentially supplements that can cause problems - eg someone with high blood pressure can find which supplements could increase his or her BP).

Who is the Guide aimed at?

People who take their health and fitness seriously. This includes coaches, naturopaths, teachers, nutritionists (all with clients), and also includes biohackers and quantified-selfers. People who appreciate their bodies and realize potential limitations (and potential areas to improve).

Increasingly I have become disillusioned with a lot of the fitness information on the internet.  There are dodgy gurus out there promoting all sorts of secret knowledge to deliver muscle gain and fat loss.  Does the guide help to keep us on solid ground safe from the excesses of the marketing experts?

You know it :-) We've been around for 2.5 years. We never recommend any brands nor any products. Our advisory board is not only chock full of pedantic people who take us to task for a misplaced word, but you can see on our testimonials that we have a host of MDs and PhDs who are willing to attach their name to what we do. And these are people from all over the fitness and health industry.

The Guide

Could the Guide save me money through stopping me buying useless pills?

100%. Trib (for testosterone-boosting). Glutamine (for muscle building). Glucosamine for joint health? Black cohosh for monopausal symptoms? I could go on and on.

Is there anything else you would want to tell the readers?

We personally believe supplements are both over-rated and under-rated. As I broached before, one should not take supplements willy-nilly because it may have some undefined health benefits. Find out what your health goals, look up which supplements impact those goals (both positively and negatively), and supplement accordingly. Your health *and* your wallet will thank you.

Thanks for that Sol!

Examine.com is a superb resource which I would recommend to anyone with an interest in health and diet.  The Guide is adding something new and impressive to their toolkit.

A "does he even lift" jump

What I like about this video is that the guy does not look like your typical uberlean fitness model.  He is an O lifter and a great athlete however.