Evolution?

Eleven people showed up a few nights ago.
Eleven stations; it was fast and vigorous.
No rest stations; the runner was the timer.
Three laps.
A lot of leg work, then time on the mitts.
“Everyone back?”
“Let’s go again, only two laps, make them all out sprints and have your gloves on”.
Back into the grinder.
Squats, agility ladder and so on through the eleven stations.
“Get your mats”, “time for abs”.
It was the same routine as last week and included one hundred and twenty side planks per side for a total of two hundred and forty side planks.
“Nice work, really nice work”, she states, as we all stretch tight muscles.
The more people there are, the higher the intensity, there is no rest.
It somehow feels better as the hour is gone too soon.
But tonight I am not done.
I go out to finish lifting in the gym.
It seems Sparta is not yet done either; she goes out into the gym and finds her lifting partner.
He is huge, has tremendous strength and I can tell they drive each other.
I watch them as I begin my own lifts.
The dumbbell bench press is his first lift. He holds the hundred pounders in each hand; she is exhorting him, “one more” and then “one more”.
Now it is his turn, he moves to the spotter position, “come on you got more in you, another one, another one”, finally finished the weights drop.
They are like well-honed machines as they continue their workout.
Watching the pair go from exercise to exercise is enough.
It is the extra kick I need to keep moving on my own routines.
The curls, triceps, back, intercostals, shoulders until I am finally finished.
I feel good; my skin is too tight and I am really hungry.
Something inside is screaming for protein.
The grocery store is on the way and the strip steaks are on sale.
I pick up one that weighs bout 8 oz. and head to the checkout.
As she scans the purchase the young lady asks, “Would you like a bag”?
“No thanks”, I say, “I am just going to eat it on the way home”.
She says nothing; her eyes say it all as I begin removing the wrapper.

The End of the Earth?

I was reading the news, and saw the following headline, “Can life on Earth escape the swelling sun”?
They failed to explain until deep into the article that they were talking about 5 billion years from now.
I really have more “pressing” issues, dumbbells that is, than to be concerned about a sun that may burn out in 5 billion years.
Why is everything presented as immediate, as a crisis?
In reality, the past is past, the future is only potential and all we really have is the present moment.
I no longer count away the seconds and minutes of my life waiting for something better or worse to come along.
The fact I lived from the last second to this second is very gratifying.
The fact I can laugh now and still be laughing through the next seconds to minutes is gratifying.
The fact that I can see a dumbbell move to a higher position over several seconds during the bench press tells me I am still alive and making progress every second.
If I suddenly expire during the dumbbell press, I will no longer be making progress but the dumbbell will no longer be part of my future as my future will have evaporated in the instant of my passing.
The dumbbell will then have its own future and will be immediately acted on by gravity without the opposing force of my muscles.
The dumbbell will fall and hit what it will on the way down
The dumbbell and I will be in separate realities.
So why worry about a future that may not exist or a falling dumbbell for that matter if I no longer exist.
A very existential question; “does a falling dumbbell ever question how it got up so high in the first place?”
That does not mean one should not hedge your bets.
One needs to follow the Boy Scout code and be prepared for any possible future.
As an example: I assume I will always need to eat in any possible future so I do the dumbbell presses to make sure I am strong enough to carry the groceries.
In my potential future I would like to be able hold a book, pick up a toothbrush, get out of bed, standup, walk, and maybe even jog a little so I exercise regularly.
Instead of worrying about the future, I try to get ready for any future that might come along.
Therefore I am not going to worry about the sun swallowing up the earth in 5 billion years because I am certain I will not be here and even if I was here there would be very little I could do about it except bend over and kiss my you know what goodbye, that is if I had taken yoga and remained limber enough to bend over.

Great Nights Should Last Longer

Got your attention?
Where is this going, you might ask?

This last Friday must be classified as a great night.
Celebrating the birthday of our trainer was the occasion for the evening.
The weather conspired with the occasion.
Low humidity, a moderate temperature, blue sky and a setting sun allowed for the pleasure of outdoor dining, a rare treat in this town during late July, early August.
The crowd that gathered either “worked out” as a group, “alone” with the trainer or was somehow related to one of those in class.
We were all comfortable with each other and many have become fast friends.
The mood was light, the conversation easy.
A wide spread of ages was present but it didn’t make any difference.
We are all committed to getting and staying healthy and we are all being driven by this young woman that pushes each of us to his/her own personal goals and limits.
We all love her and the celebration was one small way of saying, Thank You!!!! even though the pain she delivers comes in so many flavors.
The orders for the most part reflected learned dietary restrictions.
Salads with salmon, chicken, veggie wraps----whoa, wait a minute where did those onion rings and sliders come from?
She eyes the culprit.
I don’t envy his next session.
The restraint was less apparent when it came to beverages.
The healthiest drink I saw on the table was a Pomegranate Margarita and it was only healthy because of the Pomegranate and the reported effects:

These studies indicate that pomegranate confers unprecedented cardiovascular protection by restoring endothelial health, lowering blood pressure, and protecting low-density lipoprotein (LDL) from damaging oxidation. Pomegranate also appears to suppress the growth of colon, breast, and lung cancer cells. Pomegranate even appears to shield against unsightly signs of aging by supporting the health of the skin’s underlying matrix.

They didn’t mention any added benefit from the Tequila although if you get the “worm” it is an added source of protein.
The rest of the drinks while “fun” did not confer any known health benefits.
As the sun went down, a the fire pit illuminated the evening.
The conversation flowed, the margarita glasses multiplied and then suddenly it all ended.
Bills were passed around, everyone said their goodbyes, hands were shaken, hugs tendered and then everyone gradually drifted off to their cars to return home or find other parties to attend.
My wife and I talked about the evening on the way to our own home (no more parties for us this night-remember exercise in the morning) and we had to admit this was one of the most pleasant gatherings we have attended in some time.
It always surprises me how circumstances ebb and flow until confluence occurs (usually around a special person or special date) mixing occasion, celebration, ambiance and amazing people.
These are the times and nights we all wish could and should last a little longer.

Happy Birthday Sparta

Sparta had a birthday this week.
Sparta looks like she is in her early 30’s and has the energy of a teen.
She has told me different but I find it hard to believe.
What I do know is that age is a misnomer when applied to people like Sparta.
I have seen a number of people who aged more slowly than the average person during my years of practicing medicine.
Their physiology does not recognize the aging process.
They retain the characteristics and appearance of youth late into their life.
I think it is related to several key factors.
The first and most important factor in my opinion is attitude.
If a person wakes up already knowing the day is going to be bad and the frown is affixed to the face then the aging process has a chance to work its magic.
The jowl droops, the chin sags, the shoulders slump, the upper back rounds and the shuffle to the bathroom becomes the routine.
If on the other hand, one is excited to get up and already has determined the purpose in the new day, smiles, stretches, pulls the shoulders back and walks with anticipation then the aging process is reversed a few hours.
Another key factor: nutrition.
When a patient would ask me about a diet, I would half-seriously tell them, “If it tastes good, spit it out”.
A diet must consist of proper nutrition.
It should include high quality protein, complex carbohydrates, fruit, vegetables, grains, nuts and so on.
We all know what a good diet consists of, it just doesn’t taste as good as a diet loaded with sugar and fats.
It is much easier and more “rewarding” to eat doughnuts, chocolate milk, cookies and cold pizza.
Besides, you’ll do better tomorrow as the weight and the age pile on.
Next: exercise.
Many jobs no longer require strenuous activity. Frequently jobs are sedentary.
You feel it at the end of the day. You are drained. Your “Brain” actually hurts.
Muscles are set and resist uncoiling for the walk to the parking spot and some places even offer shuttles to your car.
Sit in the car, sit at home, sit for dinner (usually carry in or processed foods), sit in front of the TV and then struggle to the bed for the night.
The weight of inactivity is worse than gravity as far as aging is concerned.
A better suggestion, do some sort of exercise immediately after work and guess what, your energy level spikes and that “awful hunger” is no longer there.
Your step is quicker, your mind more keen.
Age has again retreated.
Bad habits can certainly wreck havoc on your life.
Smoking, excessive alcohol, too much sun all contribute to the aging process and will make you old years ahead of schedule.
Finally genetics helps.
I don’t pretend to understand the all of the intricacies of the genetic code, telomeres, the repair process, cellular aging, cellular suicide, all of the proteomics but in some people the difference of expression is profound.
As an example, a patient of mine still split his own firewood by hand at the age of one hundred. He lived in the same farm house he was born in and I never saw him when he wasn’t laughing.
His wife said he was like that from the day she met him.
He looked like a middle aged man with a full head of hair even as he passed one hundred and one.
He just didn’t age like other people.
So “Happy Birthday Sparta”.
May your “aging clock” always run slow and many, many thanks for helping the rest of us “slow” ours.

Five Laps?

Is she kidding?
Five laps; I just got “comfortable” with three.
As I said, not fast but getting them completed.
Why five, where did that number come from?
I always get stuck on punch sequence number five.
I believe it is Jab, Upper, Left, Right, Cross.
I never get it right.
Is this my punishment, five laps for failing sequence five?
One of the group members begins yelling, “I am so pumped”. “I love running five laps”.
I am unsure as to the stability of this guy now.
Is this a weak attempt at humor, does he really enjoy running five laps or is he cyclothymic and still in the manic phase?
Most everyone else looked a “slight bit downcast” by this new revelation.
The first time around it was a moderate three laps which were surrounded by the agility ladder, chair squats and then following the run the “farmers walk” with twenty five pound plates.
Now five laps still surrounded by the same “leg” punishment.
I knew when I asked where “the pain had gone” it would result in the return of same.
Yes, I did the five laps.
No my heart did not stop.
The leg cramps left sometime in the middle of the night.
So, I know it wasn’t a permanent injury.
But I would still like to know, where did that five laps come from?
Oh and then the ab workout, one hundred and twenty side planks, three sets of forty each side, now that was a real “kick” after the five laps.
The only good thing, no one began yelling “That’s great; we get to do two hundred and forty side planks”.

Where Has The Pain Gone

This may hurt.
But here is “my truth”.
In the beginning, every activity in the gym hurt either acutely or later, when I couldn’t move, because of muscle cramps and generalized pain.
I was always noticing how purple my fingers and nail beds were becoming during the exercise.
I was always trying to breath.
I was in a fog.
Every day I wanted to quit and stay home, “away from the maddening routines”.
But then something changed.
The fog got less dense.
The fingers no longer turned purple.
Three or four laps were OK.
They were not fast but they got completed.
The pain, it still hurt, but the long term pain and aches were not top of mind.
Had the trainer felt sorry for the group and decreased the intensity?
That’s like asking if Lions are giving up meat.
I don’t think so.
The intensity is still there.
The variety of punishments is still there but they now seem more like exercises instead of punishments.
The main question, what are the limits?
I ponder this every day as I walk into the gym to exercise in the group or on my own.
Every time I pick up a weight to perform some lift, I wonder, “Is this the maximum”?
Every time I try a dip or a chin up, I wonder, “Can I really do this”?
Every time I need more strength, I wonder, “Can I find it”?
Every time a new task is added, I wonder “Can I do it”?
So far I have advanced.
I know my nadir, just not the time.
But will I achieve a “zenith” before then?
Losing the pain has helped.
When the pain comes back I know I will have moved into uncharted territory.
I know that is where the answers will be found.

Of Guns and Six-Packs

Looks like I might be doing a movie review from the early 70’s when teen movies changed from Beach Blanket Bingo to Assault on Precinct 13.
But this is not a movie review.
It is also not about Beer and weapons.
Instead it is about the gym.
It is about effort and hard work.
It is about toning and tuning the body for life.
It would be so easy if everyone from early childhood were supported and encouraged to be active in life.
It would be so easy if children saw their parents being active and conscious of proper diet.
But instead many of our children see inactivity, television and computer games along with high calorie snacks.
Thus the obesity epidemic in this country.
The new mantra is “health care reform”.
In reality health care reform should start in childhood and continue throughout life.
It is more about the individual and “life reform”.
So back to Guns and Six Packs.
“Guns” are a nickname for exceptional Biceps. These are developed through exercise and an understanding of the anatomy of the upper arm. The angles of attack must vary if you are going to develop exceptional “Guns”.
Not everyone needs the “Top Guns” in the neighborhood but some effort at even developing “toy guns” would get you off the couch.
The “Six-Pack” is that very tight and muscular abdomen best exemplified by the Spartans in the movie “300”.
Not everyone can or will develop the abdominal musculature to that degree but just doing crunches some time during the day may make you feel more like a “mini Spartan”.
These can become habits and be passed on to the next generation.
Alterations in diet can follow and fairly soon, I guarantee, (not too many guarantees in life) you will feel a whole new level of “healthy”.
When almost everyone is seeking great “Guns and a Six Pack” through continuous exercise there will be no reason to worry about Health Care Reform as the need for “sick care” will no longer be as pressing an issue.