New Years Wishes

Hello Facebook Users! As everyone is posting something ecstatically brilliant with Abundant Spirits about 2013, I thought I would post a few words (Humour me)… I am not one for the conventional New Year’s mantra. For most people Success is defined in different ways for many of us, but more, and more it becomes synonymous with money and status.  However real SUCCESS is less about results, or a bottom line, and more about the process of achieving goals and dreams…

Jim Carrey once said “I hope everybody could get rich and famous and will have everything they ever dreamed of, so they will know that it`s not the answer”

If I have you attention for just a little more time… You know that you should exercise, and eat lots of veggies and less… well quite brutal and characteristic honesty “Crap, shit and filth” But knowing something and actually doing it are two very different things.

We all should stop procrastinating. We know we should watch less TV or go to go online less often, like facebook, twitter, youtube – you name it and quite ironically this status is even procrastinating. Knowing isn’t the problem. It’s the doing that gets us every time.

Why is implementing New Year resolutions so hard? How do we put knowledge into action? What’s stopping us, and how do we overcome it? The answers are both simple, and difficult.

It’s not knowledge of what to do that’s stopping us. That’s usually fairly simple:

If you want to lose weight, eat fewer calories and move more. If you want to be healthier, eat more veggies, beans, nuts, seeds, fruits and whole grains. If you want to be in better shape, exercise. If you want to write a book, fucking write it. But that’s not what we do. Here’s what we do instead:We talk about it a lot. We put off doing it and go do something else. We feel guilty about it, and then push it to the back of our minds. We finally decide to take action, so we read and talk about it some more. Reading isn’t doing (unless what you want to do is read more books). Talking isn’t doing (unless you’re learning to communicate better or become a public speaker).

Plain and simple: Doing is doing.

So what’s stopping us from doing the doing? It’s fairly simple. The Little Thing That Stops Us There’s something going on here that stops us from doing what we know. It’s hidden, it’s a mystery. We all have it, but rarely know what to do about it, and worse, rarely acknowledge it.

The answer:  FEAR!

Therefore, on 2013 to really respect the year, and make positive and progressive change, do not say, and say DO! – This is why people have much animosity with 2013 Facebook status, because they are the same thing every year. I urge everyone to really reflect and think, and put your words into action, and really make 2013 a year to remember.  Accept the Truth! Speak the Truth! Breathe through the Truth! Process the Truth! Create a plan Based on the Truth! Don’t be afraid to stand for what you believe in, even if that means standing alone. Life is short, live it. Love is rare, grab it. Anger is bad, dump it. Fear is awful, face it. Memories are sweet, cherish it Forget all the reasons it won’t work and believe the one reason that it will.

 

Happy New Year everyone! Thanks for reading!

“A successful life is one that is lived through understanding and pursuing one’s own path, not chasing after the dreams of others.” 

How to learn – Passionately

I am an avid learner and fear hunter, and I’m passionate about both.

I’m a lifelong learner and am always obsessively studying something, whether that’s philosophy, physiology nutrition, training, Cross fit or people’s biographies, chess, religion, life and adventure.

What I’ve learned about learning, is almost everything I’ve learned, I didn’t learn in school; it has improved me physically, mentally, academically and spiritually too.

Learning is Independent

You take responsibility for your learning, and do it because you`re interested in something, not because you were told you should learn it. This is exactly how I learn, and so I know it works.

When teachers (wonderful people that they  are and were – at times) tried to teach me something in school, I often became bored, and just did what I needed to do to do well on the test. Not because the subject or the teacher was boring, but because it wasn’t something I cared about. They wanted me to learn it because they thought I should, but that’s not why I find people learn something. They learn it because they care about it — because they find it incredibly interesting, or because they need it to do something they really want to do. Look at this blog site, I wanted to know about nutrition and publish what I have learned and have some where to look back at and keep that flame interested in nutrition.

When teachers succeeded in getting me to learn, it was only because they made something seem so interesting that I started to care about it. But then I learned on my own, either in class while ignoring everyone else, or more likely after class in the library or at home. You’re learning when you try to do that something — putting it into action. “Actions speak louder than words” That’s when the real learning begins and the superficial learning ends — when you try something and fail, and adjust and try again, and solve countless little problems as you do so.

I’ve learned a lot on my own. The stuff I’ve just read, I’ve mostly forgotten. But the stuff I’ve put into action by playing with it, by practicing, by creating and sharing with others — that stuff has stuck with me. I truly learned it such as training, nutrition, the mind, and wisdom!

I learned about blogging when I started blogging, and kept doing it and improved — not by reading blogs about blogging. This is where the real learning happens — when the fingers start moving, the feet start dancing, not when you hear or read something. “Knowledge is power but only when it is applied”

Here’s how to learn

Get fascinated.  You are you own teacher; you should fascinate the inner student by rediscovering with all the things that originally fascinated you about the topic. If you can’t get fascinated, you won’t care enough to really learn something. You’ll just go through the motions. How do you get fascinated? Often doing something with or for other people helps to motivate me to look more deeply into something, and reading about other people who have been successful/legendary at it also fascinates me. – Lance Armstrong anyone?

Pour yourself into it. I will read every website and book I can get my hands on. Google and the library are my first stops. They’re free. The used bookstore will be next. There are always an amazing amount of online resources to learn anything. If there isn’t, create one such as paradoxnutrition.

Do it, in small steps. Actually doing whatever you want to do will be scary. You can learn as much as you like, but until you start having conversations or setting it into practise, you won’t really know it. You can read as much about Crossfit as you like, but you have to put the theory into action, and play the game. Start with small, non-scary steps, with as little risk as possible, focusing on fun, easy skills. Learning isn’t work. It’s fun. If you’re learning because you think you should, not because you’re having fun with it, you will not really stick with it for long, or you’ll hate it and not care about it. So make it play. Make games out of it. Sing and dance while you do it. Show off your new skills to people, with a smile on your face. – Let your smile change the world, don`t let the world change your smile.

Do it with others. I believe most learning is done on your own, but doing it with others makes it fun. I like to work out with my friends and with Matthew or Crossfit buddies. That motivates me to learn, because I want to do well when I do it with others. Feel free to move around. That’s OK. That’s how passion for more works. Sometimes it will last for a long time; sometimes it’s a short intense burst. You can’t control it. Allow yourself to wander if that’s where things lead you – test yourself. You can learn a lot of information quickly by studying something, testing yourself, studying again to fill in the holes in your knowledge, testing again, and repeating until you have it by heart. That’s not always the most fun way to learn, but it can work well. Alternatively, you can learn by playing, and when you play, allow that to be your test.

Disagree. Don’t just agree that everything you’re reading or hearing from others on a topic is correct, even if they are foremost experts. First, experts are often wrong, and it’s not until they are challenged that new knowledge is found. Second, even if they are right and you are wrong by disagreeing, you learn by disagreeing. By disagreeing, you have already not only considered what you’ve been given, but formulated an alternative theory. Then you have to try to test to see which is right, and even if you find that the first information or theory was right and you were wrong, now you know that much better than if you just agreed. I’m not saying to disagree with everything, but the more you do, the better you’ll learn. Don’t disagree in a disagreeable way, and don’t hold onto your theories too tightly and be defensive about them.

Teach it. There is no better way to fortify your knowledge than to teach it to others. It’s OK if you don’t really know it that well — as long as you’re honest about that when you’re teaching it to someone. Learning can be subliminal. We think we’re in control of our minds and we’re like programmers telling our minds what to learn, how to learn, and what data to retain. No. Our minds work in mysterious ways, and cannot be tightly controlled. They wander, latch onto the weirdest things, and soak up more than we know. Later, you can come back to what you’ve absorbed, and test yourself, and find you knew something you didn’t realize you knew. The lesson is to expose yourself to as much as possible on a topic, and allow yourself to absorb it. Sometimes your mind will pick up patterns you didn’t consciously realize were there, but then can use those patterns later when you put the learning into action.

Reflect on your learning by blogging. You soak up a ton of information and patterns, and you can put that into action, but when you sit down and reflect on what you’ve learned, and try to share that with others, you force yourself to think deeply, to synthesize the knowledge and to organize it, much as you do when you teach it to others. Blogging is a great tool for reflection and sharing what you’ve learned, even if you don’t hope to make a living at it. And it’s free.

All the best everyone!

‘The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education.’ ~Albert Einstein

Fear to Freedom – Lets do it!

Life is a gift, and it offers us the privilege, opportunity, and responsibility, to give something back. ~ Anthony Robbins

Every path to success has been tormented with doubt, fear, and uncertainty, as well as persistence, calculated risks and repeated action. The difference between someone who fails and someone who succeeds is the courage to act, repeatedly. We see others every single day and wonder why they succeeding and you are not? Well this is because they try, they believe and stop thinking about it and saying “I am going to do this and that” they just go out and do it. Actions speak louder than words.

What fear is holding you back? Where do you feel incapable? What daunting task can you complete, one step at a time?

Action step

Make the decision to succeed. Once you decide on success you rarely allow doubt to enter your mind. Your persistence, dedication, and resilience are strengthened. You free yourself to do the uncommon and the impossible.

Take risks. Chase your fear. Do what scares you every single day – no comfort zones. Make the dreaded phone call or talk with your friends. Ask for what you want. When you experience rejection, ask someone else. Be bold and brave. Defy the odds. Be awesome!

Be prepared. Expect your own needs. Don’t live in fear, create solutions in advance. Know how you will get out, over, around, and through what could go wrong.

Let go of insistence and fear. Learn to relax and go with the flow. Our anxiety and stress are caused by living in the pain of the past or the fear of the future. Life happens in the present moment. You went light tomorrow? Then light today by living in the moment – now!

Focus on the benefits of your success. Become focused on what you will gain. Is your benefit travelling (japan), saving the lives of others (A trip to Africa or Close protection, doctor, nurse, police officer or fireman?), or leaving a legacy you can be proud of? When the going gets tough, focus on your why and excels forward in indomitable force.

Calm your body. Find a quiet place and bring your attention inward, notice where your fear resides in your body. Notice if you have a tense forehead, shallow breathing, or aching shoulders. Relax the area of your body that’s being affected. Learn to calm and centre yourself. Trying mediation.

Create your own social fan group. Believe that most people have good “beautiful” hearts. They want to see you succeed. Believe people are cheering for you. When you are scared out of your mind, imagine everyone you know in one place rooting wildly for you. I am always there at my friends side-lines or beside them ready to help them or be there for whatever they choose in their lives.

Participate in life. Turn off your TV, internet, and the negative media. Take a guitar lesson, a spin class or Zumba lesson. Swim in the ocean, hike in the mountains, or go for a morning walk or run.

You are enough. Accept who you are and where you are today. When you compare yourself to others you create your own suffering. You should be comparing yourself with yourself everyday trying to improve yourself to beat yesterday’s self of yourself. What others think of you is none of your business.

“Learn how to work hard, work long hours, find something you love, and then excel at it. Above all else, learn how to create, learn how to invent. That’s your only hope, really.”

This statement you could concur. However — unless you can learn how to move through your fear, you’ll continue to hold yourself back. You’ll never learn to risk, to excel, to create, to invent or to experience true freedom.

Time to be wild and free people -Have a wonderful Easter!

Kettlebells – Everything you need to know (My best friend)

kettlebells (Part 1)

I am excited writing this post as me and Kettlebells are best friends. If you see me you will see a kettlebell close by. I like you all to know about my best friend the kettlebell, the greatest friend you will ever have.

Tell me your friends, and I’ll tell you who you are -Assyrian Proverb

You sound a bit crazy what are kettlebells?

Kettlebells are iron or steel balls with compressed butts on one end and a curved handle on the other. They are also epic – Just saying.

Kettlebells help whole body dynamic movement for strength, endurance, and power training. They are used by everyone such as sports teams, those who train at home (like me occasionally), world class/professional athletes, and to anyone who wants to burn fat and build muscle.

History of the kettlebell – A weight with a handle.

Kettlebells, or things that seem to look like them, have been found in digs of ancient Greece. It’s thought that implements like them were used in Russia initially as grain measures.

Modern kettlebell manufacturers generally respect these weight conventions – kettlebell sizes range. Manufacturers are increasingly producing sizes in between the standards – like 14 kg and 28 kg, and masses as great as 60 kg kettlebells.

Kettlebells have a long history in Europe and Russia from the 1700s onward, and were a feature of European gyms and strongman performances in the late 19th and early 20th century. Now, they are perhaps best known for their association with the Russians.

Pavel Tsatsouline, a Russian émigré, Special Forces trainer and coach. Tsatsouline concurrently began offering classes and a kettlebell trainer certification known as the RKC, now the oldest and most established kettlebell certification in North America. – He brought a revolution!

Since their introduction in the West, kettlebells have begun to emerge as a conventional training implement with numerous trainer certifications being offered like the RKC or Strenth and conditioning REPS Level 2 & 3.

Kettlebells and their benefits

Because of their design, kettlebells enable many familiar movements from pushes like the shoulder press to pulls like bent over rows or American terminology renegade rows. They also support whole-body, dynamic weighted movements, once the specialized preserve of Olympic barbell lifters.

The kettlebell swing

For instance, the foundational kettlebell movement — the swing — starts with a posture and hip drive similar to the deadlift or Olympic clean, but the cannonball-with-handle kettlebell design means that this weight can be swung up from between the legs, driven by the hip thrust forward to about chest height, and then accelerated down again by the shoulders pulling the weight down, back through the legs, then driven back up again with the hips, back and forth for reps.

The mass of the kettlebell used, sets of swings are either very low-rep (3-5) with sufficient recovery breaks, or high-rep (anywhere from 10-100 or more for time), depending on the energy system/strength type being trained. This demonstrates the resourcefulness of the kettlebell — the same movement can be used for everything from maximal strength, to strength-endurance, to cardio or metabolic conditioning.

The kettlebell during swings also works the grip and forearms. Kettlebell swings can also be performed with two hands on one bell, one hand/one bell, or one bell in each hand for two bells at a time (doubles) or even advancing it doing a never back down move – Letting go and tapping it twice and then catching it and returning to start position.

Other dynamic kettlebell movements like the snatch and the clean and jerk also develop full body strength, power and endurance, and besides being used for general conditioning, are the core kettlebell competition moves and we all should be working on them to develop all round fitness.

Kettlebell advantages

The primary advantage of kettlebell training is its efficiency. While it’s helpful to have a few kettlebells of different weights, one bell alone can give you a kick ass workout. They are a room efficient gym: one little ball with so many options.

By varying weights used, you can use the same movement for cardio, strength-endurance, speed, or power. You can do presses, pulls, squatting-type movements, and dynamic work. Because dynamic kettlebell movements involve the whole body, you work upper and lower body strength concurrently and time effectively. – Best of both worlds.

Because these are compound moves, you must engage antagonist, agonist and support muscles.

The hip drive focus is also particularly useful for working the core and posterior chain— the muscles of the spine, butt, and back of the legs. – Warning may result in sexiness. The focus on form for shoulder work helps strengthen and stabilize the shoulder joint.

Risk avoidance

Some people immediately fear for their back when they see any dynamic movement of a weight at high speeds. Kettlebells can induce a similar response in those unfamiliar with proper form.

Lifters should maintain spinal stability and neutral spine throughout the movements. That said, as with any skill, doing it right can be safe; doing it wrong can lead to injury. No pain no gain? Na, no brain no gain!

If you get hurt, it’s your fault.

Uses for kettlebells

Fat burning

When combined with proper nutrition (Exercise is important but diet is critical –PARADOXNUTRITION MANTRA), training with kettlebells seems to offer the benefits of intense interval training on bikes but with the strength development of weights. High intensity exercise is brilliant for weight loss and a fascinating study on high intensity exercise that was conducted for 31 minutes after it the metabolic rate was elevated up to 48 hours burning up to an average of 777 at REST!

Athletes

Strength and Conditioning junkies like me are using the kettlebell to improve overall endurance capacity. Even Lance Armstrong has used kettlebell – If an epic man like him can use them, then so can you!

Warning

Get someone with a trained eye can evaluate key parts of foundational moves, such as:

• proper grip/wrist alignment with the bell
• foot to knee position
• shoulder action
• appropriate back alignment
• Likewise, learning good technique will help preserve hands when doing high repetition kettlebell work.

Recommendations

Kettlebells are a marvellous and often overlooked tool for strength and conditioning. The mileage one can get from a single kettlebell is hard to match with any other training tool. As the kettlebell’s signature movements are dynamic, they blend the benefits of compound strength lifts with power and endurance work. – Best of both worlds.

Kettlebell work also helps develop forearm, hand and finger strength because of numerous options for grip, and various loads dynamically challenging the grip repeatedly and at high speeds.

Kettlebells engage the whole body with a single tool that is small, portable, and affordable for home use. Kettlebells can help strengthen the spinal musculature, keeping your back happy – Good posture is key and sexy. Whether looking for conditioning, fat burning, raw strength or power, it’s worth the endeavour to investigate kettlebell training.

Some lovely Science

In the 20th century, Soviet science validated what Russian hard men had known for centuries: kettlebell lifting is one of the best tools for all around physical development. Voropayev (1983) observed two groups of college students over a period of a few years. To gauge their performance, he used a standard battery of the armed forces physical training (PT) tests: pull-ups, a standing broad jump, a 100- meter sprint, and a 1K run.

The control group followed the typical university PT program, which was military oriented and emphasized the above exercises. The experimental group just lifted kettlebells. In spite of the lack of practice on the tested drills, the kettlebell group showed better scores in every one of them! Vinogradov and Lukyanov (1986) found a very high correlation between the results posted in a kettlebell lifting competition and in a great range of dissimilar tests: strength, measured with the three powerlifts and grip strength; strength endurance, measured with pull-ups and parallel bar dips; general endurance, determined by a 1K run; and work capacity and balance, measured with special tests.

Lopatin (2000) found a positive correlation between soldiers’ kettlebell sport ranking and their obstacle course performance. Kettlebells improve coordination and agility (Luchkin, 1947; Laputin, 1973). Kettlebells develop professional applied qualities and general physical preparedness (Zikov, 1986; Griban, 1990).

2009, in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning showing that one rather disciplined version of a kettlebell protocol (men performing as many two handed swing for ten minutes with as many user-determined stops as desired) is tougher than circuit training. It’s been hypothesized that the swing also provides the forces necessary to generate increased bone density.

Kettlebell work is most often in the back and forth plane, but some experienced kettlebell enthusiasts break out of this box with kettlebell juggling, either as a solo or partner activity. – The Russian Navy members do kettlebell juggling

Resources and references

Baszanowski, W., ed. 8 European Weightlifter Federations: a Brief History of Their Centenaries. Special Issue. European Weightlifter, EWF Secretariat. 2005.

Farrar RE, Mayhew JL, & Koch AJ. Oxygen cost of kettlebell swings. Journal of strength and conditioning research, 24 (4), 1034-6, 2010. PMID: 20300022

Jay, Kenneth. Viking Warrior Conditioning Dragon Door Publications, MN, 2009.

Sanchez, Thierry. Kettlebell Sport and Athletic Preparation, Aalborg Sportshøjskole & Trænerakademiet, 2009.

Tsatsouline, Pavel. Enter the Kettlebell. Dragon Door Publications, MN, 2006.

Tsatsouline, Pavel, The Russian Kettlebell Challenge. Dragon Door Publications, MN, 2001.

Tsatsouline, Pavel McGill on Kettlebells Power By Pavel Newsletter, 155, (April 30, 2008).

Change your habits

I been hearing a lot from people trying to change their bad habits ingrained after so many days, months or years of doing them. Now people think that nothing can change and it is too late?

And I can understand the feeling. Doing bad habits for years makes them deeply rooted, and getting out of that trench might seem impossible, hopeless. – Like me and the carrot cake…

I once was stuck, and felt the weight of built up bad habits crushing, suffocating, and concealing me. I felt helpless, like I had no control over myself, and was too discouraged to even try to change. I was one of the hopeless.

This opposition is what does it. It’s not that changing bad habits is impossible. But if we are so discouraged we don’t try, we will never change them. To try and to fail is of little consequence, but to never start at all is fatal to the habit change. And I’m here to tell you, that changing bad habits is not impossible. No matter how long you’ve done them, no matter how many decades. It can be done.

Here’s how

Know as you start that you aren’t changing a mountain. You don’t have to change years of bad actions. Those actions are gone — they’ve evaporated into the ether, and you can forget them. Forgive yourself for them, and then forget them. As the saying goes forgive and forget (move on).

You don’t need to run an iron man challenge, run a marathon or get in a cage to change a habit. You just need to take a step. And you can take a step. A 5000 mile journey began with the first step.

Consider for a moment your bad habit. You might have a numerous ones, but choose an easy one. Not the one you’re most afraid of — the one you think you can do.

Take a step back and think about this habit. When do you do it? What things trigger the habit — stress, food, drinking, socializing, boredom, sadness, waking, being criticized? What need does the habit fulfil for you? Know that it does fulfil a real need, and that’s why you keep doing it. – If going through hell keep on going.

Realize something — crucial point: you must realize that you don’t need this habit to fulfil this need. You don’t need the habit. You can deal with stress in healthier ways. You can beat boredom. You can cope. You do not need the habit, and you will learn better ones with practice. I train a lot and that is to channel emotions, angry, anxiety, fear and all that. Now training is a good habit as each day I am challenging myself no other but me. The best competition is with me. Each day I can smile and say okay time to improve myself mentally and physically. Yes world will have another feeling of happiness by the beautiful canvas I see affront of me.

You might be feeling a bit overwhelmed at this point, but you’ve done the hardest part. Now you just need to take one more little step. For me that next step is to smile, each morning to smile and mean it and say to myself “I believe great and wonderful things are going to happen to me”, “If I make one person laugh or smile then it is a good day, if I have a bad day it is not a bad life.”

Commit to yourself to make a small tiny insignificant but powerful step each day. Commit fully, not half-assed. Commit by writing it down, and putting it up on your wall. Commit by telling a friend about it, and asking for help. Commit by putting it on Facebook, your blog, Be all in. I fought for happiness last couple of months, slowly, but them steps were always forward. There were hard steps for me but in our weakest moments we realize how strong we actually are.

Find a replacement habit. One that is healthier. One that fulfils the need. One that is easy. One that you can do after your trigger, instead of your bad habit. One that you enjoy and will look forward to. If you need to relieve stress, for example, consider walking, or push ups – Which I told a friend to do before asking out a lovely girl who finally said yes (push ups for the win!), or deep breathing.

You’re now ready to climb out of your trench. Remember, just a tiny step.

Notice your urge to do the habit. Pause. Don’t do the bad habit. Let the urge pass, then do your new replacement habit. Repeat, noticing the urge, letting the urge pass, not doing the bad habit, doing the good habit instead. You might mess up, but that’s OK. You’ll get better with practice.

Practice as often as you can, every day. You’ll get really good at it. Don’t worry about how long it takes. Keep doing it, one urge at a time. Know, Consider, Realize, Commit, and Find, Notice, Repeat, and Practice. These are easy steps that don’t take a lot of work. You can do them as you sit here, reading this post.

It’s never too late. – We can change our stars.

Strength Training

Strength Training

Strength training, sometimes referred to as resistance training, refers to a specialized method of conditioning that involves the progressive use of assorted resistive loads and a variety of training modalities intended to promote health, fitness, and sports performance.

Now that I have got my science urge out of me let us put it in another way:

Strength training is using muscular force against resistance. Muscles adapt to any type of resistance.

The resistance can be a heavy object, one’s own body weight, or other types of machine resistance from pulleys or resistance bands (usually take them with me if I am travelling like going on holidays). The heavy object could be a kettle bell (my Favourite and secret love affair), free weight, rock, another person — anything that has mass even pushing a car or sled, or if you have seen me recently running with a sandbag on the beach it all works beautifully.

The importance of strength training

• Most obviously, strength training makes you stronger (duh). It does this in numerous ways, including:
• Building muscle tissue (hypertrophy or getting you the guns – Biceps)
• Improving inter- and intra-muscular coordination —the ability to coordinate your moving parts. (Motor skills)
• Improving rate of force production — how quickly you can generate force to move against the resistance.
• Strengthening connective tissues such as tendons.
• It can also make your muscles bigger while creating a demand for blood delivery, engaging the cardiovascular system.

Another serving of awesome Strength training please:

• Preserves and enhances muscle mass (look defined and bigger)
• Preserves and enhances metabolic rate (eat more and burn more calories)
• Improves bone density (good for prevent osteoporosis)
• Improves glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity
• Lowers risk of injury
• Improves ability to engage in daily activities
• Improves balance
• Improves self-esteem
• Enhances strength and endurance
• Enhances speed, power, and agility
• Improves overall body composition
• Decreases bad cholesterol level(LDL – Low Density Proteins)
• Decreases blood pressure
• Improves aerobic capacity

Maintaining muscle mass with strength training can help to prevent some of the most common and increasingly widespread health conditions, including obesity and diabetes.

Who can strength train?

Strength training was primarily used by athletes to enhance performance and/or increase muscle size. (Wait, don`t you want that?)

However, strength training is now recognized as critical to everyone’s health and fitness — regardless of gender, age, or ability. Leading health organizations recommend regular strength training as part of one’s fitness regimen. With a properly constructed workout program that is tailored to individual goals and skills.

What you should know

It’s not just about the workout

Outstanding effects of strength training can last up to 72 hours. There seems to be a dose-response relationship between exercise intensity and observed changes in muscle mass and protein composition.

SAID

The term SAID refers to specific adaptations to imposed demands. This means that our bodies adapt directly to whatever demands we give them. If we do particular movements, we’ll get better at those movements. If we do an incomplete range of motion, we’ll get stronger in that range of motion only. If we do a full range of motion, we’ll get stronger through that full range. Hence, full range of motion the more stronger you will become – K.I.S.S: Keep It Simple Stupid!

If we use light weights and long-duration sets (i.e. high reps), we’ll gain endurance. If we use medium weights and medium-duration sets, we’ll gain muscle mass. We’ll also gain muscle mass using heavier weights and shorter sets, provided there’s enough overall volume to the workout.

Sets and reps

Resistance training workouts are divided into sets of repetitions (aka reps). Often the number of reps reflects the amount of weight used, or the technical complexity of the exercise. For example:

To do a set of 15 reps requires less resistance than an all-out set of 2 reps. it’s easier to do a set of 15 biceps curls than a set of 15 burpees, or 15 clean and jerks.

If you’re looking for explosiveness, you might use lower reps. if you just want to do a moderate, controlled repetition, you can use higher reps. Or each day you train mix it up and vary it to get the best results possible. Warning an awesome body is the side effect…

It’s also important to consider the total number of reps performed, and how heavy the weight is.

For example:

You could lift a weight for 3 sets of 12 reps.
Or you could lift it for 12 sets of 3 reps.

In the second case, you can probably use a lot more weight. In both cases, you end up doing 30 total reps. which one you choose depends on your goals.

Volume

Volume refers to the total amount of reps/work within a given workout or training program. For instance:

3 set of 5 reps = 15 total reps — relatively low volume
10 sets of 10 reps = 100 total reps — relatively high volume

Intensity

Intensity in this case doesn’t mean how hard you feel you’re working, but rather how heavy the weight is relative to your maximum. High intensity means you’re lifting a heavier weight; low intensity means you’re lifting a lighter weight.

Rest between sets

Lifters rest between sets to allow ATP (muscle fuel) to regenerate. The rest length is also based on goals. The heavier the weight, and the more complex the lift, usually the longer the rest.

When training with heavy loads for strength or power, about 3 to 5 minutes of rest between sets seems to allow for greater performance in subsequent sets. This is what I and the “Beast” do, He is my partner, and he is a rugby player and plays at a higher level. After we are done with our weights and want to go heavy we give each other 3 minutes. (I listen to a slow but progressing song until the build up using mental imagery as well. – Music has great benefits too and I shall do a article on mental imagery)

When the goal is improving overall body composition, the combination of moderate-intensity sets with short rest periods of 30-60 seconds might be most effective due to the metabolic cost and greater levels of growth hormone and testosterone. – Get a stop watch a very invaluable tool to my arsenal of awesomeness.

Very short rest periods of 20-40 seconds can result in better muscular endurance.

Exercise/movement types

In most cases, complex movements that involve many moving joints are best. – (compounds)

For strength and power, focus on complex, multi-joint, exercises such as squats, deadlifts, pullups, rows, weighted jumps, etc. You can also use “functional” type exercises such as sandbag carries, sledgehammer swings, and tire flips. Again, warning must be said you will become superhuman.

For muscle mass gain, you can use strength and power-type exercises (with medium loads) as well as targeted body part isolation exercises, such as biceps curls or triceps extensions.

For endurance (for sport or rehab), you can use strength and power-type exercises (with lighter loads) as well as targeted body part isolation exercises.

Many rehab-type exercises involve building endurance in specific body parts using very small movements (such as arm rises) with very light loads.

Frequency

2 to 3.5 hours per week of strength training, divided over the course of the week, is enough for most (Emphasis added) people.

Example:

Monday/Wednesday/Friday for 60 minutes
Or
Monday/Tuesday/Thursday/Friday for 45 minutes

However, with sufficient variation in intensity, volume, and exercise choice, along with proper rest and recovery, more experienced trainees can do up to 5-7 hours/week.

Exercise sequence

In general, put the harder exercises before the easy exercises (e.g., multi-joint before single-joint, free weights before machines, etc). For example:

• Squats before hamstring curls
• Deadlifts before lower back extensions
• Pullups before biceps curls

As you fatigue, it’s harder to coordinate and support the movements.

Progression

“Do not be scared of moving slowly, be scared of only standing still” – Chinese Proverb

There are many different ways to make progressions. You can increase the weight lifted, the repetitions performed, or the sets completed. You can also decrease the tempo of each set to allow greater time under tension. Decreasing the rest between sets doesn’t allow your body to fully recover and is metabolically taxing. Even changing the biomechanics of how we do an exercise can be a method of progression (e.g., flat to incline, supinated to pronated, bent to straight, etc.).

Making it tougher

Finally, there are many ways to boost intensity with strength training. some examples:

Supersets

Supersets alternate two or more exercises from set to set.

Example – 1 set of bench press; 1 set of dumbbell rows; 1 set of bench press; 1 set of dumbbell rows, etc.

Drop sets

Drop sets start with a heavier weight, and then decrease the weight on subsequent sets.

Example – 10 reps with 100 pounds on squats, 8 reps with 80 pounds on squats, 6 reps with 60 pounds on squats, and so on….

Rest/pause

Rest/pause sets involve reps to fatigue, rest briefly, and then do a few more reps, rest briefly, do a few more reps, and keep going until total failure.

Example – 10 reps with 100 pounds on squats rack it, rest, 4 reps with 100 pounds; rack it, rest, and 3 reps with 100 pounds

Circuits

Circuits string two or more exercises together with minimal rest in between. The lifter typically rests for a longer period after each “round”.

Example – 8 reps of pushups, 8 reps of deadlifts, 8 reps of lunges, 8 reps of hanging leg raises and 30 seconds of jumping jacks, rest.

Density training

Density training involves the lifter selecting a given time limit, then trying to do as many reps as possible within that time limit. – Doing pushups and pull ups for 10 – 15 minutes with minimal rest.

Negatives

Each rep has a “positive” or concentric portion (the portion where resistance is heaviest, as in the “up” part of a biceps curl), and a “negative”, or eccentric portion (the portion where one is simply resisting/controlling the resistance as it returns to the start, as in the “down” part of a biceps curl). Negative sets involve slow, controlled eccentrics, and usually an assisted concentric.

Example:  Jump up to a pullup bar so your chin is above the bar; slowly lowers yourself down. Here, the jump provides assistance on the “up” part.

Isometrics

Isometrics involve holding a particular static position under resistance.

Example – wall sit for 30 seconds also called roman chairs.

Planned variation

You won’t get very good results if you just wander from machine to machine, or do the same things all the time. You also won’t get good results if you choose the wrong approach for your goals (e.g. an endurance workout if you actually want to improve your maximal strength).

Plan your workout so that:

• you know in advance what you’re doing;
• you’re not always doing the same exercises/sets/reps;
• you vary the loading; and
• You get enough rest and recovery.

Strength training involves moving against resistance. Anyone can strength train. Strength train for 2 to 3.5 hours per week, distributed evenly.

Participate in a progressive warm up before strength training. Your strength training routine should reflect your goals. For strength, try more heavy sets with fewer reps.

For metabolic conditioning and endurance, try fewer moderate weight sets with higher reps. For hypertrophy, aim for more total reps, with moderate to heavy weights.

Think about movement choice. Focus on body part workouts if you are more interested in regional hypertrophy. Focus on complex, “movement plane” workouts if you are more interested in function, performance and strength.

Do the most taxing exercises first in your routine. Vary your routine. The best program, as the saying goes, is the one you’re not currently doing.

Don’t forget about progression — otherwise, you probably won’t progress.

“Training is important but Diet is Critical” – Mr.Paradox (Paul McGinley)

It’s virtually impossible to excel at strength training without good nutrition habits. No matter how awesome your routine is, if your nutrition is poor then you won’t make many gains and will not become superhuman. I have a 36 hours of lovely training this week ahead of me, you gotta love it!

References

• Howley ET & Franks BD. Health Fitness Instructor’s Handbook, 4th ed. Human Kinetics. Champaign, IL. 2003.
• Baechle TR & Earle RW. Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning. National Strength Training Association, 2nd ed. Human Kinetics. Champaign, IL. 2000.
• Rennie MJ, et al. Control of the size of the human muscle mass. Annu Rev Physiol 2004;66:799-828.
• Wolfe RR. The underappreciated role of muscle in health and disease. Am J Clin Nutr 2006;84:475-482.
• Morton JP, et al. The exercise-induced stress response of skeletal muscle, with specific emphasis on humans. Sports Med 2009;39:643-662.
• de Salles BF, et al. Rest interval between sets in strength training. Sports Med 2009;39:765-777.
• De Backer IC, et al. Resistance training in cancer survivors: a systematic review. Int J Sports Med 2009;30:703-712.
• American College of Sports Medicine. American College of Sports Medicine position stand. Progressive models in resistance training for healthy adults. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2009;41:687-708.
• Guadalupe-Grau A, et al. Exercise and bone mass in adults. Sports Med 2009;39:439-468

Happiness

Happiness can’t be bought, but it can be sold. Selling happiness is something we do every day, often without realizing it and in the most special ways possible.

Whoever said you can’t put a price on happiness probably never actually tried. The truth, I believe, is actually the opposite. Not only can you put a price on happiness, you can value it to the exact pound for each and every person.

It’s true you probably can’t actually buy it, at least not with pounds, euros, or any other currency currently out there; you can most certainly sell it. Selling our happiness is something we do every day, and if we don’t take a second to recognize it, we run the risk of losing it.

Every decision you make in life comes with an opportunity cost. If you buy that kick ass shirt you always wanted, you can’t use that money to buy anything else. If you go to that out clubbing, you can’t go anywhere else as long as you’re there if off course you paid your way in and your friends are all there.

Each decision comes with a price, be it money, time, or something else. This is not a revolutionary concept; we all know this. But what we rarely think about is the fact that each of these decisions adds to the bottom line of the value that we put on our own happiness. It really does and how easy our happiness can be easily affected by events of our everyday life.

The price for your peace of mind is the sum of all the decisions you make in a day, week, month, or year that don’t align with what you know will actually make you happy. Add them all up and there you have it—the price of your happiness—a simple equation.

Places we trade our happiness for money?

Everyone has their own set of circumstances, but I think a few things come up regularly for many people:

Work ­– I hear people do jobs they hate doing because it pays the bills or because it’s easy, you trade your happiness for time and money. I talked to my friend and we were in deep talk to quit his job in trespass as he already had a job and he was getting more enough, he was sacrificing time with friends and family, but most of all –Happiness – He quit his job and is much happier.

TV – If watching TV every night is a distraction from things you’d rather be doing but don’t know how yet, then you’re trading your time for happiness. Are you inventing things to avoid the important? (coursework, texts friends, tell someone how much they mean to you or sit down and get a pen and paper and write down goals everything you want and don’t want and then go out and set forth to achieve them?

Meaningless junk – If you buy lots of stuff but can’t afford the big things you really want, then you have a habit of buying meaningless junk and you trade your happiness for money. Hence me on Ebay, I would buy things I liked and hardly used them ever again. I then open another bank account and put a majority of my money in a bank that can’t be touched by my bank card.

Friends you don’t care about – If you hang out with people you don’t like because it’s too much work to make new or different friends, you trade your happiness for time. Now this is one of the biggest areas because we all are meant to socialize with friends however if there is someone that costs you happiness or even a relationship maybe it is best to get out. I did and my happiness increased 10 fold, it felt like I have just quadrupled my productivity and happiness level – The world is mine!

Debt – If you do any of these things and they cause you to go into debt, you haven’t just traded your happiness for time and money; you’ve traded your future happiness for it also.

The method behind the madness

Why does anybody decide to trade their time or money for happiness? I say that it’s because reality makes the situation more complex and less easy to see. When looking at it tangibly, the calculation is really simple. But when you add in real life and the complexities that come with it, the situation gets cloudy.

Decisions you’ve made in the past affect the obligations you have today. Maybe you’re making choices now to sacrifice for other choices you’ve made in the past. And it’s fair to say that not every decision you make will result in 100% satisfaction or dissatisfaction.

And there are times now when, even though I’m pursuing things I care about. I get frustrated and don’t always feel happy. Life never seems to provide us with an obvious solution to our problems. But we can get as close to it possible if we are aware.

What I can say, though, is that when I was headed the wrong direction, most of my decisions felt like sacrifices and compromises and happiness cannot be achieved through those kinds of choices.

Most importantly, why did I stay on that path so long even though I knew it was the wrong direction? Because I didn’t know what else I’d do with myself. I suspect this is a sticking point for a lot of people I all different aspects in life.

Physics do not Apply

James Joule was the first to popularize the law of conservation of energy ( I am still sceptical as I have proven it wrong myself and numerous clients). The idea is that energy within the universe cannot be created or destroyed—only converted into another type of energy. Happiness does not follow this law. Perhaps the most tragic part of this whole mess is that when we sell our happiness, it’s usually not converted into happiness for anyone else.

Why?

Because what’s actually being purchased from you isn’t your happiness at all. Instead, it’s the time that you’d spend doing something that made you happy. Your happiness is only a fatality of the operation, destroyed when you make the decision to ignore it.

Regardless how you look at it, the important thing to remember is that happiness is, in fact, a service, and even though no one can buy it from you, you’re more than capable of selling it, and the price that you choose to let it go for ought to be carefully considered. – Emphasis added.

“Happiness and love go hand in hand”

Successful Habit Changes

I used to have a lot of bad habits. I still do, but I am conquering them one step at a time. Here’s a few:

• I woke up late and went to bed early.
• I neglected my relationships.
• I bit my fingernails.
• I bought worthless things I didn’t need.
• I ate tons of junk food.

I could go on, but none of that’s incredibly important. What’s important is that I used to have a lot of bad habits, and now I have fewer. Now we are creatures of habit and this is true this is why we must change our bad habits to good habits, Productive, positive and healthy.

I spent years discontented with my habits and never made much progress changing them. Yes, sometimes I’d make a small step forward, but it usually wasn’t long until I was back to square one again (thanks, procrastination habit). However, I am very lucky to know it does not have to be this way.

I always thought I could change things myself — so I never gave a second thought to any other way.

The thing that helped me finally knock out that above list I have mentioned it took a real leap of faith; I let someone help me.

It started as a practical matter. Joined a gym and met really motivated people, aspiring to be like them. Then finally I had a few buddies and we trained together until I was content enough to go my own way life a wolf. I do this a lot, I go to be who has the habit or I know that will help me keep right. I tell my friends what I am going to do and I am held accountable. I post up what I am going to do on social networks and other forum sites – I found this great help at the start, as people are on the same boat who wants to help, motivate and give feedback of how you are training and eating.

For the very first time, I was developing habits that I created on purpose. It felt great — like I was really in control of my life after years of spinning my wheels.

How could I keep this going?

I was so fiercely independent that I hardly realized what had contributed to the success. It took a few more heart-crushing failures with other goals before finally getting the picture. A friend mentioned he wanted to wake up earlier to get more work done in the morning. I remembered how much I enjoyed waking up early when I actually did it, and my new habit is I wake up at 7 am 5 days a week preparing my food for the rest of the day that it became a great therapeutic habit.  It’s pretty amazing what a little accountability can do for your motivation.

Since then, I’ve wised up and started recruiting partners (bros) to help me with all of my big goals -The difference is incredible.

The secret is that, for some of us, successful habit change is not something to be tackled alone. If you’ve struggled with habit change yourself, recruit some help.

But who do you ask? And how do you find the right partners in crime? Unfortunately, not just anyone is a good fit. Picking the right person that will compliment you is just as important as picking someone at all.

Fair warning: Friends and relatives do not always make the best accountability partners.

Through plenty of trial and error, I’ve found a few characteristics that I look for in someone I’m about to partner with to make an important life change. Perhaps they’ll help you find a good fit, too.

They’re a little ahead of you, but not too far ahead. In a good accountability partnership, one person is usually at least a little bit further beyond the other. It’s the blind leading the blind. And you don’t want your partner to be too far ahead of you, or the relationship is unbalanced and feels awkward.

They’re a little bit competitive – Friendly competition. You probably don’t want someone who’s looking to stick it to you every chance they get, but you’ll get a lot further a lot faster if your accountability partner isn’t satisfied with self-defeat and is willing to actually hold you accountable. My friend says to me every time we go into the gym – “All I expect is 100 percent”.

They have similar goals to you. You don’t have to be working on the exact same thing to work well with a partner — it can be great to work together on separate goals and endeavours — but there should be an obvious overlap of your big goals. There needs to be something that ties you two together beyond just “wanting to change something.”

They’re focused. If you agree to meet each day, but never seem to get anywhere because your meetings are unfocused, first look at yourself. Are you dragging things off course on a regular basis? If not, then it’s probably time to find a more focused partner.

They’re supportive when you need it.  This goes back to competitiveness or with me and my friend I term it health competition. You want your partner to push you and hold you accountable — that’s what they’re there for — but a good one also has your best interest at heart and knows when you need a little lift instead of a scolding. “Come man you are stronger than this, you will walk away now and regret this and you know you can already do this – already seen you do it”

They show commitment. The truth is that you can usually tell if a partnership like this is going to work within a week. If your accountability partner can’t even get it together at the very beginning when excitement is running high, that’s a pretty good indication they’re not committed to change. This doesn’t make them a bad person, but it probably makes them a bad partner for now.

If you’ve ever struggled with making an important habit change in your life, then I challenge you to step out of your comfort zone and ask for help. If you’re like me, it could turn everything around.

What do you want to change? Who can help? – Think carefully.

Coffee & Hormones

Coffee  and the affects on your Hormones

We look at coffee and there are arguments for and against it. Doctors vali­date coffee’s health benefits yet worry about its contribution to cardiovascu­lar disease, diabetes, and even cancer. The world is going mad and Coffee is also one of my favourite social norms. I love going to coffee for a chat.

Coffee is more popular than ever, which contributes to its conflicting status. In moderation, coffee poses minimal health risks for most people. Coffee even appears to be protective. But many people now consume coffee in large quantities, which can significantly damage our neuroendocrineimmune system over the long term.

neuroendocrineimmune

The neuroendocrineimmune system consists of the processes and structures that form our central nervous systems, our hormonal systems, and our immune systems. Many of us know that when we are stressed, we get sick more easily. Now thanks to Sophie (dailyhealthboost.com/author/sophiebekkering) her lovely saying “Be careful what we think because our cells are listening” – Is a brilliant quote and is completely true; Emotional and mental demands, especially if prolonged, cause our stress hormones to increase, which means our immune systems don’t work as well.

Our neuroendocrineimmune system suggests that there is no clear division between mind and body. What we think and experience is as much “us” as what our body does.

I recommended checking out dailyhealthboost.com

It’s hard to get a clear picture of coffee’s health effects. For one thing, coffee drinking is related with other dietary and lifestyle behaviours such as alcohol and nicotine consumption and a sedentary lifestyle. In other words, people who drink a lot of coffee also tend to drink and smoke, and be out of shape. – On the other hand, people who avoid coffee often do so for health-related reasons. They’re also more likely to be health-conscious in other ways, making health-promoting lifestyle choices such as exercise. Comparing coffee drinkers with non-coffee drinkers thus misses a number of important variables.

There are vast differences in coffee’s pharmacological constituents depending on the type of bean used in the study, the methods of roasting, and the varying ways of preparing coffee, not to mention the differences between commercially available instant coffees versus freshly roasted organic coffee like my lovely Sumatra coffee with some cinnamon and ginger.

There are differences in individual sensitivity to caffeine, due to the genetic traits related to caffeine metabolism as well as lifestyle influences.  Research has shown that we can build tolerance to the cardiovascular effects of caffeine within two to three days. T

Caffeine and Your Brain

Caffeine is one of coffee’s primary constituents with psychoactive activities. Its part of a group of substances collectively referred to as methylxanthines. These alkaloids are well known for their ability to increase cognitive abilities, improve energy, and enhance well-being, and increase arousal and alertness. From a Sport performance perspective it also increases sports performance for reasons previously mentioned and extra surge of energy.

These effects occur largely because of caffeine’s ability to block adenosine receptor sites throughout the body. However, there are other neuro-chemical effects that are worth noting. The effects of caffeine on neurotransmitters (chemicals that allow the cells of our nervous system to communicate) don’t always give us a realistic picture. The dose used in neuro-chemical studies generally exceeds quantities ingested during normal everyday life.

Neurotransmitters are produced in different amounts in different areas of the brain simultaneously, and have very different effects on mood and personality depending on where in the brain they’re used. (Nureo-science is fascinating and I will leave this area of expertise to my great friend and will see her from a few years now us sitting down with our PhD`s.)

Serotonin (happy chemical) is involved in mood and appetite regulation; gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) typically inhibits neuronal activity to cause relaxation and sleep; and acetylcholine is involved in muscle contraction. (Choline is the shorter name it is found in food sources and is important for nerves and muscle contraction)

Chronic caffeine intake has been shown to increase the receptors of serotonin (26-30% increase), GABA (65% increase), and acetylcholine (40-50%). This may contribute to the elevated mood and perceived increase in energy we feel after a coffee (which makes a coffee a handy pre-workout drink). Despite increasing receptors, caffeine also inhibits the release of GABA, which contributes to our feeling of alertness.

In the human body, when neurotransmitter receptors increase in number, or if they increase their sensitivity, it generally suggests a reduction in functional capacity and activity of neurons associated with those receptors. Either the brain needs more chemicals to do the job, or the neurons involved aren’t working as hard. This might mean that a certain neurotransmitter is in short supply, or that its activity needs to increase. In the case of caffeine and serotonin, this can partly explain the mood-enhancing effects of drinking coffee. – I keep away from those who have not gotten there quick hit of coffee in the morning.

Caffeine has also been shown to increase serotonin levels in the limbic system, a relatively primitive part of our brain involved in regulating basic functions such as hormonal secretions, emotional responses, mood regulation and pain/pleasure sensations. This has a similar mode of action as some antidepressant medications.

The increase in serotonin levels, combined with the increase in serotonin receptors, causes the characteristic withdrawal symptoms such as agitation and irritability or lack of concentration when coffee intake is stopped. The brain has come to expect more action in its serotonin receptors, and when its plentiful supply of happy chemicals is abruptly cut off, it gets mean.

Coffee inhibits the absorption of iron, a key mineral involved with the synthesis of serotonin and dopamine. Additionally, we need the activated form of vitamin B6, pyridoxal-5-phosphate, to synthesize serotonin, dopamine and GABA. Coffee consumption can decrease amounts of circulating B-vitamins, which could affect neurotransmitter synthesis in another way.

Thus, caffeine impacts whether certain chemicals are available; how receptive our brains are to them; and whether we’re even making those chemicals in the first place.

Caffeine and Your Hormones

Both scientists and lay people know the effects of caffeine consumption on hormones relatively well. Perusing the internet brings up numerous sites claiming that caffeine “wears out the adrenal glands”. But not surprisingly, this may not be entirely accurate. While we know many things about the impact caffeine has on human’s stress physiology, certain mechanisms of how it occurs are still relatively mysterious.

Caffeine strongly affects the activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis: the linked system of hypothalamus and pituitary glands in the brain, and the adrenal glands that sit atop the kidneys. The HPA axis influences the body’s ability to manage and deal with stress, both at rest and during activity.

The adrenal glands secrete two key hormones: epinephrine and cortisol. Epinephrine, or adrenaline, increases respiration rate, heart rate and blood pressure; while cortisol frees up stored glucose, which we need in greater amounts during times of perceived stress – Adrenaline.

Effects on the Metabolism

Chronic coffee consumption increases insulin resistance, a situation in which the body cannot effectively deliver glucose into the cells of the body. In this situation, insulin, which helps transport glucose into the cells, cannot do its job well because the body’s cells are less receptive.

This typically occurs with a diet high in refined sugars and starches. (Conventional diet of today)The body must release ever-larger amounts of insulin to do the job. The body becomes less and less sensitive to insulin’s effects, which means more circulating glucose, which means more insulin release… and so on. It’s a vicious cycle. And, unfortunately, it’s a cycle that currently occurs and combines the standard Western diet high in refined carbohydrates with stress and a high caffeine intake, and you have a potential recipe for metabolic disaster!

Recap

• A diet high in refined sugars and starches leads to more circulating glucose.
• More glucose means more insulin needed to dispose of it.
• More insulin means cells tune out, which means even more insulin dumped into the bloodstream (especially if people continue to eat this high-carbohydrate diet).
• More insulin means insulin resistance — possibly aggravated by high caffeine consumption.
• More insulin means more IL-6 and more inflammation and hypersensitivity.
• More IL-6 means more cortisol, which means more glucose… and here we are, back at the beginning of a very nasty cycle.
• Consider this as you cradle your extra-large coffee and glazed donut this morning during your white-knuckle commute to work.

Effects on Brain Function and Mood

The elevated blood sugar and insulin don’t just stop at inflammation. They can create imbalances in the neurotransmitters serotonin, dopamine and GABA, which can lead to sub-clinical mood problems such as mild depression (aka “the blues”), low motivation, irritability, and impaired cognition. People with chronically high glucose, insulin resistance, systemic inflammation, and stress typically have “fuzzy brain”, memory loss, lethargy, and/or a short fuse.

Coupled with the potential iron and B-vitamin deficiencies created by coffee, which, again, cause impaired synthesis of key neurotransmitters, this may result in mood states where people feel the need for coffee to keep themselves functioning properly.

Have you ever felt that you desperately needed coffee for a pick-me-up? If so, you may be experiencing this situation.

Caffeine in moderation is likely not an issue for most people. Indeed, it may actually have health benefits. Problems occur when we drink coffee all day long and combine it with sedentary lifestyles, poor diets, and chronically elevated stress.

Not only has our coffee consumption increased, but the market is saturated (pardon the pun) with other sources of caffeine. There is much more refined sugar available to us, and our lives move at a much faster pace! It’s the perfect storm: caffeine, stress, sugar, and sedentary living. This combination and its compound relationships with your neuroendocrineimmune system may be affecting you more than you realize.

Follow the evidence that your body offers you. Pay attention to how you feel when you drink coffee. Do you feel good for a short period, then shaky and irritable? Do you notice more pain or other kinds of physical distress?

Creating Silence – Becoming Aware

We are often afraid of silence, because its emptiness feels sluggish, boring, unproductive, and scary. And so we fill our lives with chaos, noise, clutter. But silence can be lovely, and therapeutic, and powerful. Today sitting in silence I was able to do an entire task in physiology, it took some time but without distractions and having complete silence my focus concentrated on the important not inventing things I have to do and then avoiding the important.

It can be the remedy for our stress and the habits that crush us. (Habits I will be writing about in great detail of my posts tome.) If we want quiet in our lives, how do we create it?

I’ve been exploring this myself. I have to admit that I don’t always have silence in my life. That’s not a complaint — I love the messy noise that my lifestyle brings — but silence can be a welcome refuge from that noise at times and sometimes it is really needed.

I create silence by subtracting, and not filling the resulting emptiness withe noise or clutter. And so my life is a constant experimentation with subtracting. When I’ve subtracted, and learn to love the empty silence, I subtract some more. Subtraction is a beautiful process. Prefer subtraction over addition. Learn to be content with little, or nothing. Realize that silence is beautiful. Find yourself in the empty space that results. Empty a room, and put almost nothing back except that which produces quiet. Speak less, listen more, and contemplate even more.

Walk in silence. Watch the leaves quiver, fall in silence, whisper in the wind. Sit and do nothing. Listen to your mind make noise in the silence, allow it to subside. It is an art in itself I have learned a lot from self-awareness of myself and others. TV, IPods, books, the Internet, mobile phones, social networks (Facebook, Twitter), and other sources of noise.

Be quiet, so that life may speak. This week has done that to me and I feel that I have become aware of the unaware of my life ranging from family to friend, to education and what I am going to do with my life that has gotten me thinking sometime to reflect, sum up things – weigh the pros and cons of my choices, what I want and don’t want, which is very important to wanting to life a very fruitful, happy and enlivening live. – Be quiet, so Life may speak.