August 14, 2009 and Rant

Took the day off and met "C" for a fishing trip. Used my canoe, which, he and I haven't been in together since our April epic of a few years ago. This trip was uneventful. "C" caught fish -- I believe he has made an unholy alliance with a devil, and hence, his unnatural predatory ability. I didn't get skunked but my performance was pretty poor. Altogether we covered perhaps 2 miles of easy paddling. We went back to his house and I offered to lead a work out. "C" has been working out fairly regularly at the local Y like most of us he has missed a couple of weeks this summer to trips and vacations, but, consistently none-the-less. I remembered how difficult I found these types of sesssions when I started and so I scaled way back in planning the thing. Besides I have acquired a 20lb vest and thought I'd give it a try, before, I use it with the work out group and do something embarrasing -- lose control of bodily functions or something.

Warm Up, 30 yards or so and jog back
Forward skip backward arm circles
backward skip forward arm circles
Carioca, l and r
Forward shuffle, 2l and 2r
Backward shuffle, 2l and 2r
Backward push

Dynamic Moblity 5, or 5 on a side
Tiger push ups
Crucifixion
Scorpions
Superman walk
High knee walk to lunge to quad stretch
knee out walk to lunge w/double reach to quad stretch
Kick walk

Jump Circuit, 3x10
Jump Tucks
Rocket Girls
Speed Skaters
Plyo Pushups, 5 (since the work out was written with a lot of pushups)

Work
3 rounds
Sandbag get ups, 2 on each side
Kettle bell swings, 20 reps

At this point "C" felt crushed. And at this point I got angry -- not with my friend -- but, with a fitness industry, a medical industry, a society at large, that tells us the minimum is enough. Let me clarify briefly: I refuse to use the term "myths" as I love myths, the stories of Loki, Thor and Odin, or Zeus, heroes like Hercules, even Abraham and Moses. Myths are important to a quality life. I refuse to use the term "lies" as that would imply some sort of plot and I'm not convinced this situation is really any kind of grand scheme -- most things in America are more just a muddle then a plot. Rather I will use the term "untruths". It is untrue that 20-30 minutes of so called aerobic work, 3, 5, or even 7 days a week will provide an adequate level of physical fitness. I say "so called" here I'm talking about holding your heart rate at the recommended "fat burn" or "aerobic" while engaged on some slogging machine. This is the minimum recommendation for heart health, but, that is not the same thing as the optimal level for achieving quality of life. Who wants minimal quality of life? I mean at least we ought to be aiming for an average life. But, who really wants to settle for an average life – secretly we all want to marry the prince, win the lottery, take the tropical vacation and have an excellent life. Yet, so little in our society is about the hard work really necessary to achieve excellence – yes, the myth of the American dream seems no longer to be a motivator. Let alone the hard work neccesary to achieve an average life. Precisely how strong do I need to be to sit at my desk and clack away at the keyboard? How strong do I need to be to walk to my car, sit in my recliner watch TV? In truth not very. Is that all I ever want to, or, need to do? Am I ready for an emergency with this minimal level of fitness? Am I ready for an adventure of any sort with this level of fitness?

Another untruth is that exercise will cause weight loss. Point in fact you are what and how much you eat. Everyday I watch people slogging, some at very high levels of intensity, and I never see their body composition change. Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different result…. I disagree that isn’t the definition of insanity, I think it is something worse, it is unthinking. If you want a change in body composition, you have to change what and how much you eat, and you have to change the type of activities you engage in, period -- this is, not easy or simple. To increase muscle mass you have to lift heavy objects. To lose fat you have to reduce your fat and carbohydrate intake.

We really need to engage in some untruth busting because it is sad, annoying, and wasteful, that people are putting in the same 3, 5, 7 hours of workout time as I am and yet yielding such poor returns. With 5-6 hours a week at the right intensity and volume a person could have a well above average level of fitness. Moreover, the friendships I have in the gym are above average. The mental toughness we share prepares us for emotional as well as physical emergencies. The mental discipline of living in the moment that a tough work out forces on us, prepares us for, and applies to many of life's challenges. Too, I have a level of spontaneity in my life because I have the confidence of my fitness, if I am invited to go on an adventure, I go without a doubt.

All of that said: I will probably die of heart failure in my late 80’s just, like many other people in my family. You can’t avoid dying and you can’t avoid you genetics. But like Sisyphus you can flip those numbers the bird every single day.

So, I guess my rant coincides with others: Chip Conrad got all worked up about Time Magazine's latest promulgation of these untruths.