Just wanted to post this little blurb, to let those of you who were supportive of my start know that the battle is underway. I got swamped with some Web Design work I needed to do to pay rent etc. so I am behind in the editing & writing of the posts. However, I have been shooting the daily videos and keeping my journal. (I am on Day 12 — 7 have gone Great, 2 Rest Days and 3 Total Disasters — But the post will explain). I should be caught up and posting regularly, including the other Columns (Nutrition Center, Training, Room, Inner Universe etc) early next week. On a side note, after the 3 disasters (which sprouted from feeling like “I don’t have time for working out with all this work I need to do), I watched the boxing scene between Paul Newman and George Kennedy in the film Cool Hand Luke last night to motivate me to get back in the ring. Just returned from the gym – I kept the session to 1 hour limit because of work but the Intensity was awesome — 1 hour at the right level of focus and intensity is plenty!
“The greatest accomplishment is not in never falling, but in rising again after you fall.”
- Vince Lombardi
“The greatest accomplishment is not in never falling, but in rising again after you fall.”
- Vince Lombardi
As promised in the videos, here are my current measurements for documentation. Although I was never one for photos of myself, fortunately I have been pretty obsessive about keeping a Body Measurements Journal. I do it as a simple Excel style spreadsheet (I use Open Office for it, and everything else “Office” – Open Source Rules!!!). For reasons I will discuss in a later article concerning Assessing Your Fitness Level and Progress, I find this method to be quite superior to relying on BMI or just going on one’s weight as many do. Therefore I also provided measurements from “Before the Fall.” The latest a file was from November 2008. Here they are:
Current Measurements – Before Day 1
Chest: 40
Right Arm Flex: 14
Right Arm Static: 13.5
Left Arm Flex: 14
Left Arm Static: 13
Right Forearm: 11.5
Left Forearm: 11.5
Waist – Below Love Handles: 36.25
Waist – At Love Handles: 38.25
Right Quad: 20
Left Quad: 20
Right Calf: 14.5
Left Calf: 14.5
Neck: 15.5
Body Weight: 212 Lbs.
Measurements November 17, 2008 -”Before the Fall”
Chest: 44
Right Arm Flex: 15.5
Right Arm Static: 13.5
Left Arm Flex: 15.25
Left Arm Static: 13.5
Right Forearm: 11.75
Left Forearm: 11.75
Waist – Below Love Handles: 32
Waist – At Love Handles: 33.5
Right Quad: 22
Left Quad: 21
Right Calf: 15
Left Calf: 14.5
Neck: 16.5
Body Weight: 186 Lbs.
As you can see from the differences in the measurements, my body lost size in places where I would like it to retain size and gained size dramatically in places where I would like it not to – particularly the belly! Measurements of the chest and arms and legs decreased, while measurements of the waste areas increased dramatically. In simplest terms these changes are due to a loss in lean muscle mass and a gain in fat. This can also be seen in the Arms – the Right Arm Static, for example, has not changed, however, the Right Arm Flex has changed drastically = Loss of Lean Muscle Mass and Gain of Body Fat.
The results shown above are also of representative of typical differences between where mature men and women store fat. Before maturity we all store fat and our stomach. Later in life, the body’s first choice for fat storage changes and men and women. Mature men will tend to store fat in their stomach, while women will tend to first store fat in their hips, thighs, and buttocks. (In my own biased opinion, storing excess fat in hips and buttocks is far more attractive than in the stomach, so women get the genetic edge on that one, but to each his own.)
If you look at the differences in body weight in the two charts, the weight gain, from 186 pounds to 212 pounds, is fairly dramatic and rapid. As I am over 30 years old this too is common.
Over 30? Listen up! — I will speak much more on this topic in the upcoming Increase Your Natural T and Anti-Aging articles, however for now to put it in its simplest terms possible, a lack of exercise and leading a sedentary lifestyle triggers the pituitary gland that you are old – you hormone production will decrease rapidly. Levels of testosterone, human growth hormone, and even serotonin are already decreasing naturally once you are over the age of 25 or 30, we need to FIGHT AGAINST that process. Lack of exercise (and poor diet) will lead to a RAPID decrease in these crucial hormones. Among the negative side effects of this process are low libido, loss of energy, low self esteem or depression, and if compounded with a poor diet, the potential for rapid weight gain – Negative Weight Gain, that is, a weight gain that results from increased fat levels and decreased lean muscle mass. If you’re on that path, it’s time to turn that ship around and convince your body (particularly the pituitary gland) that you’re 25 again! With the commitment to muster persistence, endure some pain, and be patient, your body WILL respond!
“Unless a man believes in himself, makes a total commitment, and puts everything he has into it-his mind, his body and his heart – what is life worth to him?”
- Vince Lombardi
“Physical Fitness is not only one of the most important keys to a healthy body, it is the basis of dynamic and creative intellectual activity”
This Column on the Strength2Soul iZine will document my own personal journey back to health, fitness, and self-esteem (and hopefully happiness).
Why start this Internet Magazine now? I am beginning the process back to health and fitness after a long period of sickness and difficulties, the true magnitude of which were only touched upon in the Video Introduction above, as I waned to keep it somewhat entertaining. I have wanted to (and planned to) launch this site for quite some time now; however, after these past several months, my first thought was to wait until I was back in tip-top shape before launching this project. Obviously, who would possibly have interest in a Physical Fitness site authored by an out of shape Trainer? It seemed a no-brainer: get back in great shape, then launch the site.
However, a close personal friend suggested that I may be missing an opportunity. After all, haven’t we all been there? Why not launch now and document your progress on your journey back to health? After an admittedly long and terrifying debate with myself, I decided to take her advice. So here Goes!
I must confess that the closer I have gotten to starting this endeavour (documenting it live to the world), the more frightened I have become of the prospect of failing. I can only hope to promise you this: My experiment will either be a truly inspirational success or a (hopefully if it comes to this) a hysterical and entertaining failure. A simple quote I remembered from a biography on Einstein finally sealed the deal:
“If you’re going to fail, fail big.”
- Albert Einstein
About the Posts to Come
I will try my best to include in all of the post on this iZine (not just this Column), a Video Introduction of me summarizing the main points of the post. These videos will be available also as Podcast Video Downloads and I will include a Podcast Audio Download of the post in its entirety.
Hence the 10 Days until I start idea – I will need to be a few days ahead of the posts to allow for shooting, editing, writing, and podcast creation. (feel like I should have made it 30 days, but I’ve heard fear and pressure can be great motivators if channeled correctly).
My first Post will include starting measurements etc. and all successive posts will include detailed workout and diet specifics. As for before the tsunami photos, for better or worse, I have never been into photographing myself with my shirt off but I found a couple pics from last summer playing with my nephew and niece on a home-made water slide at Pap’s house. They will have to do. Though not ideal, you can at least see the muscle definition a bit as compared to now. Before and Now Photos:
Before the Fall
Pushing My Nephew & Niece down the "waterslide" - Before The Fall
Going down the "waterslide" - Before the Fall
Now
In the Kitchen yesterday. -- After the Fall
About Commenting
You are welcome to and encouraged to comment on the posts here. You do not need to be a member (If you’d like to be a Member just Contact Me – it will allow some other privileges including your own control panel with some options to make the site faster on your computer).
“Our food should be our medicine and our medicine should be our food.”
- Hippocrates (link)
The Nutrition Center
This Column on the Strength2Soul iZine will focus on Nutrition and Supplementation for Training, General Health and Anti-Aging. This topic is a massive one, and is one which we will hopefully get through with some stimulating and interactive discussion. There are more opinions out there on this subject than there are Irishmen in a Boston bar (being Boston-Irish, I felt I could get away with that one), and the opinions, even from our professionals and experts, are constantly changing. However, I believe we can all agree on some basic starting principles: we feel better when we eat healthy (God knows we look better); it can be very difficult to maintain a healthy diet in our society and on our schedules; and, lastly, we all, or at least most of us, aspire to achieve a healthier lifestyle. Ultimately, our goal is not just health but happiness.
We will start there, with those simple premises sited above. I hope it will not seem odd for a man so apt to quote the likes of Vince Lombardi, to here cite a bit from J. K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter books, but it seems quite appropriate at this stage. In The Philosopher’s Stone, Professor Dumbledore catches Harry gazing at length into the Mirror of Erised, which has magical powers to show one “the Deepest and most Desperate Desires of one’s Heart.” Dumbledore proclaims at this point that
“The happiest person on Earth would look into the mirror and see only oneself, exactly as they are.”
- Professor Dumbledore
So, through all of the Columns on the Strength2Soul iZine working together, this will be our goal: to make our mirrors into The Mirror of Erised, for our simple, muggle mirrors can only ever show us ourselves as we are. Luckily, as Shakespeare so wisely reminds us through Hamlet of the nature of our own universe:
“Nothing is good or bad, but thinking makes it so.”
- Hamlet
Our Nutritional Thinking is Constantly Challenged by Giant Corporate Interests
Some Coming-Soon Topics include:
The Basics of Sound Nutrition: Starting principles for us all.
Nutrition Goals: Defining Nutritional Goals to match your Training Goals.
Developing Your Nutritional Program: Assessing your current dietary habits and customizing your Personalized Nutrition Program.
What I do: A brief look at my own nutritional and training goals (much of which will also be seen in the My 90 Day Journey Column).
H2O: Hydration for health, training, and the wonder of Thermogenics for fat loss.
Supplements 101: Introduction to Supplementation, how to incorporate them into your Personalized Nutrition Program, and how supplements will be covered in this iZine.
Top 10 Myths: Common myths concerning exercise, nutrition, and weight loss; their sources, proliferation, and the truth behind them.
Stop Eating in the Car!: Eating healthy in American society.
Eat More – Eat Less: A Nutritional Guide for Lean Muscle Gain and Fat Loss.
Focus on Supplements I – Antioxidants: The Renaissance of “Free Radical” Biology.
Losing the Smokes: My own experience on quitting smoking and resources from elsewhere.
“It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves.”
- Sir Edmund Hillary
After participating in two successive failed attempts to conquer Mt. Everest, and witnessing the painful death of a colleague and teammate in the bargain, in 1953, New Zealand mountaineer Edmund Hillary decided to try again. This time he would lead the expedition himself along with Nepalese Sherpa, Tenzing Norgay. Shortly before their departure, at a reception for Expedition Members in London, Hillary spoke to the crowd. Behind the podium, he had hung a massive photograph of Mt. Everest. Hillary turned his back to the audience, faced the image of the mountain and exclaimed:
“Everest you have defeated us. But I will return. And I will defeat you. You can’t get any bigger. And I can.”
Hillary and Norgay on the Summit of Mount Everest
On May 29, at 11:30am, Hillary and Norgay became the first to reach the summit of Mount Everest, and stood together at 29,028 feet above sea level on the Nepal-Tibet border for some 15 minutes before beginning their descent. Here is a recording of a BBC Interview with Hillary from July 3, 1953.
Mount Everest
Our Inner Universe
This Column on the Strength2Soul iZine will focus on the training of the mind and psyche. Some Coming-Soon Topics include:
Self-Image Central: Programing our brains for self-love and success.
Body-Image Focus: Defining and maintaining a healthy personalized body image.
Shift/Delete: Identifying false beliefs about ourselves and re-programing our psyche for self-esteem.
Visualization for the Mind.
Why Talent is NEVER Enough: Confronting the Mythology of Talent and Success. “Nothing is more common in this world than Unsuccessful people with Talent…”- part of a quote from Calvin Coolidge, (the entirety of which will be in the upcoming article). Addressing the additional ingredients we need for success.
Meditation: Introduction to techniques and recommendations on getting started. – Hopefully, a very prominent & wise guest lecturer here as well!!! (She is THE Best; but gets all of her – many famous – clients through word of mouth, and I am doing my best to get her to Guest Lecture on here)
Depression: Handling Depression. No matter what your relationship to Depression, Physical Fitness, Healthy Nutrition, and working on our Self-Esteem WILL UNDOUBTEDLY HELP! However, over the past 10 years, I have encountered a seemingly common myth among the Physical Fitness Community that Depression is bullshit – “We all feel that way at some stage or other” or “Clinical Depression is an invention of the Pharmaceutical Industry” are phrases I have heard uttered way too many times to leave them unaddressed on this iZine. These beliefs and their proliferation are not only false, but DANGEROUS. We are Bio-Chemical Organisms (even that definition is incomplete, but we’ll address that later). The point here is that a chemical imbalance can be a scientific and biological reality for many individuals. For some people diet and exercise may very well solve the problem permanently over time; however, for others it may not. This Article will address ways to incorporate Physical Fitness and working towards a Healthy Mind and Body into your work you may be doing with a Therapist or Doctor.
Screaming Into a Towel: The cheapest and simplest drug-free Stress Relief Method on the Planet. I can not wait to video this Article. As silly as it sounds, I do it all the time and has yet to let me down. (Funny faces and character creation in the mirror may follow this one – love those too.)
“He who loves practice without theory is like the sailor who boards ship without a rudder and compass and never knows where he may cast.”
- Leonardo da Vinci
The "Clank" of the ol' Iron Plates
The Training Room
If you instinctively understand the rationale for the photo above – if the sound of old Iron Weight Plates as they’re hoisted onto barbells makes you smile, if you love that “Clank” in the Weight Room, this Column will undoubtedly be for you. Many years of doing this (and having a majority of female clients over the past few years) have taught me better than the stereotype, that the love of the “Clank” will apply to only men, and this Column will do its best to cover not only general information that applies to everyone, but specifics for both males and females. For this goal, I will rely upon my training as a Personal Trainer for women and my own personal experience; however, when reviewing applications for Contributing Authors, securing a qualified and dedicated female voice for the iZine will be my first priority.
If the paragraph above concerning the sounds of weight plates banging together is basically Greek to you, DO NOT WORRY either. This Column on the Strength2Soul iZine will focus on the Training of the Body. No matter what your goals are or where you are starting from, you will find information and inspiration to help you on your way to better health, success and happiness. Some of us will be starting right off with advanced work in Body Sculpting and Achieving Symmetry, while others of us will be beginning with dietary priorities and simple walking exercise for some time. It is all good, and it can all start here.
Some Coming-Soon Topics include:
Day 1 – The Universal Truth: Whether we are are fine-tuning our shoulders after months of work, or just mustering the wherewithal to get our asses to the gym in our schedules, we are always and ever in Day 1. How do we turn this terrifying truth to our advantage?
Training Cycles: What they are, and how to use them in designing your training program, beginner to advanced.
Developing Your Training Program: Assessing your current fitness level and customizing your Training Goals.
Priorities: Enough said for now.
Visualization in the Gym: How Focus and Visualization Techniques will maximize your training gains.
The Wake Up Call: Getting started on the road back from obesity (it is not a dirty word, just a state many of us face and are in – luckily, the first rule of nature, or our reality, is flux – everything changes).
Google Maps Cardio: From local high school tracks to biking and hiking trails, finding local hot-spots to shake up your cardiovascular exercise routines.
The Mind: Training your most important muscle in the gym.
Focus on the Weight Room: Shoulders.
Focus on the Science – Muscle Fiber Types: Understanding different Muscle Fiber Types in your Training.
Sleep Naked (for Men) – The Almighty T: Techniques and Natural Supplementation for increasing Natural Testosterone Production.
Intensity: Making the best of your time at the gym; workout techniques to maximize our gym time on our already overloaded schedules.
All Natural Body Sculpting: The Sport of Bodybuilding before the Steroid Era. The changes in All-Natural Supplementation, Training Techniques, and Equipment over the past 30 years.
Don’t Fix It If It Ain’t Broke: The Classic Meat & Potatoes of Weight Training, and why, despite the tsunami of quick-fix fads, machines, and magazines, they are still the best.
This Column on the Strength2Soul iZine will function as a playground of free thought and ideas. Hopefully, we will receive many recommendations for topics and hopefully some folks who want to contribute to writing here. For now, my own post will cover a diverse range of topics from Physics to Literature, Film, Acting, and Global Politics. I am truly excited at the prospects for this Column.
Topics be ever changing and will come as they may.
