Month: May 2019

“Time can be an ally or an enemy. What it becomes depends entirely upon you, your goals, and your determination to use every available minute.”
–Zig Ziglar

All that we do comes at a cost. The cost is what we don’t do. Successful—(extra)ordinary—people don’t have more time than anyone else. The simply manage their time better. They avoid wasting time on that which is unsuited to their goals.

If you want to do something do it. You are not “sacrificing” time. Instead, you are “honoring” time when you use it wisely. If you want to improve yourself, stop doing the things that keep you from doing the things you want—you need—to do. “I don’t have time” is a poor excuse. Be honest and admit that you just don’t want to stop wasting time or that you just really don’t want to accomplish your goal.

Opportunity comes at the cost of doing the trivial things in life. As we refine our goals, the trivial things reveal themselves. Avoid all that is not compatible with accomplishing your goals and Purpose, and you will be surprised at the time you do have.

Be your best today; be better tomorrow!

Carpe momento!

While most over fifty are focused on cardio to lose weight and improve heart health, they are often continuing to lose muscle mass. The statistic I teach in my Physiology of Exercise course is 40% from the 50 to 80 years. This is certainly a rough average, as we all differ according to lifestyle, activity, genetics, diet, etc., and it is not the inevitable fate of the aging adult. Loss of muscle mass shouldn’t be an expected result of growing old (though we can expect some decline).

Focusing on losing weight will only add to the mass of muscle tissue lost as we age. Cardio is less than beneficial for maintaining lean, as well as fat, tissue. So, while important for heart health, it should not dominate our exercise time (unless, of course, one is training for endurance performance—but, even then, there needs to be some effort put toward muscle mass).

So, the question remains: Does one lift for strength or for hypertrophy as one ages? My short answer is—both. It isn’t that simple, however, because hypertrophy isn’t that simple. We are learning more about hypertrophy, and the trend is to refer to two types of hypertrophy: myofibrillar and sarcoplasmic. Myofibrillar hypertrophy involves an increase in muscle size and strength by increasing the thickness of the muscle contractile proteins (e.g., actin & myosin) with some increase in fluid volume. Sarcoplasmic hypertrophy involves an increase in muscle size with limited increase in muscle strength by increasing the fluid volume in the muscle (i.e., the “pump”). Myofibrillar hypertrophy comes from high-intensity weight training (i.e., heavy weights for few repetitions and sets), whereas sarcoplasmic hypertrophy is more associated with high-volume weight training (i.e., lifting less weight for more repetitions and more sets). Each has a place in the training of aging adults.

Functionally, we want to maintain (or better gain) strength for as long as we can as we age. The stronger we remain, the more activities of daily living we can maintain as we age. So, top priority should be to maintain (or begin) a regimen of high-intensity (“heavy”) lifting—e.g., the StongLifts 5×5 program or something similar. This will better maintain the contractile proteins in the skeletal muscle. This doesn’t diminish the importance of some “high-volume” training. While one might not be looking for “big muscles” in their older years, such training will ultimately do more to manage body fat than cardio alone. So, we want to take a more balanced approach to exercise as we age—muscle strength, muscle endurance, and cardiorespiratory endurance—to best maintain health and performance.

Opportunity costs, of course, and we do have limited time to exercise (albeit not as restricted as we might like to excuse ourselves). So, we prioritize. Ideally, we are performing 2-3 strength training sessions, 2-3 high-volume HIIRT (“high-intensity interval resistance training”) sessions, and 2-3 cardio sessions per week. The greatest emphasis should be on completing the 2-3 strength sessions and make as much time as possible available to complete some HIIRT and cardio sessions. Strength, after all, will best affect performance and body composition. The added physique (i.e., appearance) benefits of high-volume resistance training and fat-burning cardio are more icing on the cake.

Be you best today; be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!

“The mere fact that so many continue to rise, year after year, out of just such conditions as you may think are fatal to your advancement, ought to convince you that you also can conquer your environment.”
–Orison Swett Marden

Many have done much more with much less.

Be your best today; be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!

“Stand straight, walk proud, have a little faith.”
–Garth Brooks

I heard a pastor recently state that faith and doubt can coexist. It woke me from my slumber. Really? How can say such a thing? Jesus never taught this. Indeed, he was clear when he said,
“You of little faith, why do you doubt?” (Matthew 14:31). I understand that the point of the message was that it is okay to have doubts about our faith, but faith of any kind cannot exist alongside of doubt. These are mutually exclusive. They have an inverse relationship.

Faith of Spiritual or personal nature is not compatible with doubt. I see how it is tempting to be welcoming of doubt, but one will always drive out the other.

As we determine to accomplish anything, we trust that we can or we doubt. In behavioral psychology, this is referred to as “self-efficacy”. Where we have doubts, we must ask “why” and address the underlying doubt. Otherwise, where doubt remains, success is stifled. Faith is not “blind”, of course. It is tempered with skepticism, but it is skepticism that enables one to overcome doubt. As we challenge our doubts our faith invariably grows. As we step forward in faith our doubt diminishes.

If our faith is misplaced, doubt does not remain. Instead, we test our doubts and realign our faith with a new reality and a new confidence—moving ever closer to truth.

Carpe momento!

If you are anyone who is someone in the fitness industry, you are probably using the word “functional” a lot—in my opinion, too much. Let’s face it, exercise is functional. If not, then what is the point. Exercise, after all, is any physical active performed for the purpose (i.e., function) of improving one’s health, performance, or appearance.

I get it. “Functional” training is meant to refer to “attempts to adapt or develop exercises which allow individuals to perform the activities of daily life more easily and without injuries” (Source: Wikipedia). But, wait a minute, “perform the activities of daily life more easily and without injuries”? Isn’t that the same as improving performance? Of course, it is.

I don’t mind the term “functional”, per se, but let’s stop giving it some special status in fitness programming. Let’s go back to the basics of SPECIFICITY—i.e., understanding that the body system makes specific adaptations to imposed demands. Thus, all exercise is “functional”. It is just that some exercise is more “functional” than others. The key is productivity and effectiveness—that we achieve the highest possible level of functioning (and maintain this for as long as possible).

A former student of mine—a wrestling coach—approached me about a video he had seen and for my input into his off-season training for his wrestlers. It reminded me of David Kling, my high school wrestling coach, and the “Russian conditioning” he had us do in practices. He was much ahead of the times, and, in my opinion, we were the best conditioned team in Western Pennsylvania in the late ‘70s as a result of his coaching. In addition to a lot of running—stairs, pool deck, cross country, etc.—we lifted weights and did drills with sandbags and throwing dummies (AKA: “Mr. Bill”). It wasn’t “functional”. It was productive. I believe Coach Kling would have been a big fan of the Bulgarian bags—if they were around 40 years ago.

Movement patterns are important. Multi-plane rotational movements build a stronger, more “functional” core. Explosive movements are essential for sport—as well as non-sport—activities (especially, when they involve directional changes and deceleration, as well as acceleration).

The need for productive movement patterns does not negate the need for building large muscle strength. It is easy to be sucked into a philosophy of high-repetition light-weight “functional” training and neglect the primary movers. A component of low-repetition heavy-weight “functional” training should be included. This need not be elaborate—especially for us aging adults. I like the simplicity of a “basic 5” (squat, deadlift, bench, row, and overhead press) 5-by-5 program. This can be supplemented with accessory exercises to further other personal goals. As well, is should be balanced with some form of cardio and, certainly, some multi-plane high-intensity interval resistance training (HIIRT).

The key in exercise for the athlete/non-athlete and young/old is that it be productive and specific. All exercise, in my opinion, is functional. Function serves purpose. Purpose serves performance. The goal of exercise is to “adapt or develop exercises which allow individuals to perform the activities of daily life more easily and without injuries”—to be “functional”. So, include the necessary components for success.

Be your best today; be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!

Sugar? Good or bad? These questions will open up much debate. Personally, I am not a fan of labels, so “good” or “bad” is less important than the question of “how much?”.

I am coming off a week of birthdays, an anniversary, Mother’s Day, and a family visit. Sugar was inevitable. The reality is that, for most of us, living a life of “clean eating” and/or “keto-friendly” diets is impractical, if not impossible. Should we be worried that our diets don’t fit the latest fitness trends? Simple answer: “No.”

Look, if you want to walk around looking like a physique competitor, then sacrifices will have to be made. If you want to (or have to) live in ketosis, then sacrifices will have to be made. For the rest us? “Let them eat cake!” (on very limited occasions).

We tend to be all-or-nothing when it comes to desserts. One is unhealthy. The other is not sustainable. Manage your sweet-tooth so you can still work toward your goals.

Americans definitely eat too much sugar—about 60 pounds of added sugar (plus another roughly hundred pounds of sugar naturally occurring in our diet)—so, taking steps to reduce sugar consumption is imperative. But, if we strive to get the rest of our diet and physical activity right, a little indulgence won’t be destructive.

There is sugar that should absolutely be removed from the diet. This begins with sugared drinks and processed snack foods. If you want to “eat your cake”, it has to be reserved for special occasions. Regular consumption of empty calories will make you fat and contribute to a host of health problems. Focus on eating right and allow for the occasion indulgence.

When you indulge, make darn sure it was worth it. There are worse feelings, but the remorse of eating a disappointing treat ranks pretty low. I have come to a point where donuts are no longer tempting because for all the presentation on the outside they never taste as good as they look—even the one’s in fancy boxes from bakeries with iconic names (hint: I live near Portland, OR). Packaged sweets are also less than desirable. If I am going to detour from my diet, I want an experience. Ice cream is the same. I can pass on the Neapolitan in a box, but, on occasion, I will wait in line for gourmet ice cream. We work hard for those extra calories, why waste them on guilt?

When weighing the decisions we make about food. It is important to remember that caloric balance is most important when it comes to weight management. Second to total calories is macro balance. Get your quality foods first—emphasize quality protein and vegetables first. Manage these well and exercise/be physically active, and there is room for some indulgence. (Pink Floyd taught us: “How can you have any pudding, if you don’t eat your meat?”)

Life is about balance. It is to be experienced. Consider the quality of the experience. Ask yourself: “What are these 60 pounds of added sugar giving me?” My guess is that is giving us little more than body fat, disease, and disappointment.

Be your best today; be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!

“Sometimes we may ask God for success, and He gives us physical and mental stamina. We might plead for prosperity, and we receive enlarged perspective and increased patience, or we petition for growth and are blessed with the gift of grace. He may bestow upon us conviction and confidence as we strive to achieve worthy goals.”
–David A. Bednar

When we consider “success”, we sometimes have to consider the path we have traveled/are traveling. One who desires to be extraordinary may need to accept being (extra)ordinary. Few in life achieve shallow success—i.e., wealth and fame. Greater, however, is the value and opportunity that comes from being great at the ordinary—i.e., have real and lasting influence.

As we consider our path, we should not expend excess energy on what we don’t have. Rather, our energy should go into developing and sharing what we do have. Gratitude should be valued over greatness. Influence is greater than power.

“Success” is an ambiguous word. We tend to think we know what it is (or should be), but we never seem to find it. Perhaps, this is because we are grasping at air. If we want success—i.e., to be (extra)ordinary—we need to look beyond self and see that “Success” is in pursuing one’s Purpose. Conversely, that which we call “success” is nothing but a distraction from one’s Purpose.

Be your best today; be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!

A blessed and happy Mother’s Day to all the Moms who have raised and nurtures us in our lives.

Carpe momento!