Its May! /Overload and Burnout

By now you've noticed its getting a bit longer between my column submissions --- its the end of April , heading into May -- i'm busy - not only with my outdoor activities , but also (and thankfully) with work , but i care about this venture , and just like life --- it doesnt stop just because i get a  little "busy"

I live in central  Oklahoma -- more specifically, i have a Moore, OK mailing address

Whats this mean?   -- Well, faithful watchers of the weather channel will know that my pleasant little suburb has been hit hard by tornadoes several times in the last 15 years - starting with the most violent one ever in 1999 and culminating in May 2013's string of storms that devastated 2 elementary schools, a hospital  destroyed many homes and changed a lot of lives forever -- a former 7-11 convenience store is now an empty slab of concrete - a stark reminder of the men, women and children who perished there - trying to ride the storm out in a walk in freezer.   God be with them, and be with those affected by the rash of tornadoes the last few days in Arkansas, Alabama, Mississippi, Iowa and elsewhere

What am I getting at?  

You have to be hardy to live here in this general region  --- the spring and fall demands a certain level of readiness-- being glued to a weather radio --- non-stop high speed winds -- other things - doesnt sound like much fun does it?    I'm really not sure it is anymore myself

     I think most attitudes of decent people contain within them a basic pre-cept that in times of great distress, we should be able to rise up and help our neighbor -- help and honor our elderly, our youngsters and our sick and infirm

     Would you rather be on the asset side of your community? --- or  a liability when disaster strikes  ----

Anyone of us can be trapped under rubble with a piece of lumber impaling our leg -- no getting around that --- but part of being a good neighbor and being able to rise to the occasion means maintaining a base level of conditioning that might allow us to help dig someone else out of a pile of bricks,  - help lift a destroyed garage door off a cellar entrance, - and then have the stamina to do it again and again as long as it takes without becoming a casualty ourselves

It doesnt take much to maintain a small base  --- some of the fitness concepts i go over in here at times may even be a little much for most, --- but just a little extra work to ensure you wont lock up when your muscles and heart are needed the most can be invaluable


--------  Praying we all have a safe month of May
- Doug

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Overload and Burnout
           

This is a buddy cop drama about 2 guys on the edge  ----   Overload, - now he puts in the hours.   He is up with the sun and doesnt stop until the bad guys drop
     He challenges his chief all the time with reckless and daring arrests, high speed car chases and wanton destruction of public property in the name of getting his man

    Overload thinks he is on his way up ! -- The test for detective is in a couple of months !
 However -- the chief secretly thinks Overload is beginning to turn into more of a liability than an asset  -- he's begun stealing product from the evidence room to juice his CI's on the street to gain an extra edge

          Then comes Burnout .   Burnout is 10 years older than Overload and has been there, done that --- he is transferring in from Vice squad ---he is getting shipped down because he has a rep for being too violent with the arrestees , but only the pervs --- he lets most others walk because he's just too da** tired to deal with 'em
    Burnout is an ex sniper from Black-Ops who has already buried 4 partners


He thinks Overload's cop commando bs is stupid and they clash when Overload raids an illegal gambling/strip tease establishment and Burnout is there front and center in the middle of the room (as a customer) 

It is here where they make a hard introduction  ---- later , in the Chief's office --- he decides to make them partners , -- stating    "You two deserve each other !"


And that folks -- is the beginning of my screenplay!   -- Pretty sweet huh?   I'm sending a copy to Mel Gibson to see if he's interested in playing in it !  



But seriously ---     Overload and Burnout are 2 characters i would like to talk a lot more about but right now it is crowding my bedtime -- and i need to get in those 8 hours so i can run swift and jump high tomorrow (figuratively speaking)

         You've probably figured out my metaphor ----   give yourself too much Overload and you will meet Mr Burnout sooner or later --- the reason for this warning is its pretty easy to do too much this time of year with plenty of daylight out there and great temperatures

     Overload can be tamed with plenty of rest and plenty of hydration, but do you have the time for it , and how much of an outside stressor is your  1) work, 2) other hobbies,3)  family, 4) chosen sport  --  adding to it ?
      If you need to add more to one thing or another, you have to take away from something else -- or else you can tiptoe over the edge

In other words -- life is a balancing act  --- its healthier to balance on a nice sturdy 2 x 12 , than a narrow tightrope ---- and this is where base fitness comes into play

        I can go on and on , but as i said i'm trying to bring this to a close ----  but rest assured -- keep tiptoeing with Overload, and the Chief is gonna assign Burnout to be your next partner

Once again
thanks for reading ---

Doug


     

Spring Tune Up

Spring time is definitely here !   In my neck of the woods, that means oppressive winds, dodging tornadoes  and other maladies,  - but it also means a lot of days outside -- both on the job and in sport 

It goes without saying, i am fond of cycling for a lot of reasons  ----  I have spent more than a few days over the winter and early spring out in the woods on my mountain bike  -- it is a slower pace and is out of the wind  --

        Was starting to feel moderately good about the program until last Friday -----  i decided it was time to start in on some standing start 500 meter drills on one of my track bikes ,   

    so , thinking all i would have to do is knock the dust off a bike, take it to the lake and start doing 500 meter intervals until lactic acid made me pass out      ,  i climbed into my attic to retrieve my forgotten steed   .......................

 And..................... here is what i encountered           ---    a dirty, dusty , unrideable hulk of metal and despair
         
    Check out the grime and oily mess around the bottom bracket area  ---   this needed more work than i had time that particular afternoon,  so the mountain bike got loaded up yet again

 

I hauled it downstairs anyway  ----  this  is not an especially high end track bike, but it deserves more respect than to be robbed of its parts -- and it was currently wearing a hodgepodge mis-matched set of older racing specific wheels, -- the chain wouldnt even fit the sprockets , which is why the chain is hanging  ---  its also wearing some odd commuter type pedals and the handlebars and stem are long forgotten castaways .
          As well  -- although track bikes dont have brakes when they are raced, - i was going to use this for interval drills on a public (but secluded) stretch of road,  so at minimum, a front brake is in order

-----  bottom line --- the thing needs a serious  SPRING TUNE UP    (see where i was going with the title? )

                  You can see the little grumpy face on Buttercup, my Poquito Jefe  and tell she does not approve of this situation at all either

But the sad , forlorn condition of my dusty little bike reminded of the millions of others out there who could also benefit from a spring tune up

We are rounding April's 3rd base and are beginning the stretch for to the end of the month ---- spring has been here for a while --- in some regions the weather has been better than others,  - some of my friends in the east and northeast have told me about freak snowstorms as late as a week ago ,      so its been hard for some to get out as much as they'd like, but thats changing now everywhere it seems

Just like that bike, which needs some TLC , elbow grease, and time thrown at it, -- a lot of our bodies require the same
   -- whether you are New Years Resolution guy or gal who failed mid February,  or just somebody who never started,  or somebody whose goals are so high, it can be alittle daunting trying to get there

    The summer solstice starts June 21st -- so we technically have 2 more months of spring to get something done
      Whats your long distance goal?  Lose 50 pounds?- 75 even?    Or do you want to run a 10k in under 40 minutes?
        It sounds simple , but to drop 50 , you first have to lose 15  --- and to run a sub 40 10k, - well , first you have to go sub 50 , (or sub 45 , etc)
   You see where i'm going with this  ----   some people may have wellness issues they need to deal with , like quitting smoking, or cutting down their alcohol consumption --- Rome wasn't built in a day  and nobody is perfect

 Pick a tough, but attainable 2 month goal to close out spring with  ---   lets face it, if its all you can do to ride a bicycle 10 miles right now, i don't think you'll be entering the Tour de France as a free agent in July ,  but you can stretch that 10 miles to 25 or 30 -- or bring your 10 mile time down  a bit if you'd rather concentrate on speed than distance.      Or walk 2 miles 5 minutes quicker than you do now -- you dont need specialized equipment to set goals

Watch the nutrition -- this is the time of year where we all start enjoying ourselves outdoors a bit ---  i've preached about meal consistency and frequency , but it can be easy to forget the timing of that when we have a lot going on  .  
   Heck, it takes me 4 hours to mow my own yard --- if you factor in the time it takes to check oil and tires etc before, then to hose the beast off after mowing, - thats 5 hours --  if i dont eat a banana or an apple in there sometime, i'm failing at my own guidelines  (but this is where a protein or meal replacement powder or bar comes in handy too )

And if your stuck at work and need a midday snack -- it'd be a lot better to grab some water, an apple and some peanut butter from the cooler in your car   instead of  Ruffles chips and a Dr Pepper from the vending machines at work


One of my last points i'll make is a word or two about failure    ----

Its ok to fail occasionally --- personally i've experienced failure many times, in many different arenas ---  if you crush every goal you ever set for yourself, then your probably  not setting your goals high enough --
 but lets work on an attainable 2 month goal just to get something back in the "Win column" this year !


As for my crusty and dusty spider web magnet from the attic?     Its ready to go, with a lot of polish, grease , and more appropriate hardware for its mission at hand   -- a track bike is not any fun to ride on its best day,  but at least its ready for an afternoon soon when my legs are feeling it again


         If only my personal 2 month goal were as easy --- but it served to give me inspiration for my "spring tune up" metaphor

Thanks again for reading and have fun hitting your stride again this spring !


-- Doug
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 Just a quick reminder, if you like what you read, forward this email to a friend, or use the little tab at the bottom to link it to your facebook page.  

 Thank you very much in advance for your support and send me an email at   Dougmcbride@fitclaimspro.com   to be added to the hard subscriber list

---- Doug

_______________________________________________________________________________
disclaimer:    The information contained here is not intended to replace the medical advice of your physician and is not intended as medical advice.  This newsletter/blog is a sharing of knowledge and information from the research and experience of the staff of Fitclaimspro.com and professional colleagues unless otherwise noted    .

Steady energy and basic weight workouts for the spring

It has been a while since i broke out the quill and ink

The early spring has involved a bit of travel that was unanticipated , both business and personal  - so the opportunity to pen some thoughts on health and wellness has not been there

In my ever changing quest for betterment, i am making some more tweaks to my personal program  --- on the advice of another colleague , we are going for a constant flow of steady and moderately low impact fuel by taking in some protein, fruit or veggies every 2-21/2 hours  as opposed to 3-4 hours
   
    The primary goal being to meter out nutrients throughout the day slowly but steadily so there are few gaps, or energy swings either up or down

    This may sound like a familiar strategy, but it is not strictly a paleo or low GI system, but it has many of the same characteristics   --- in fact, eating a piece of something like pineapple is not necessarily low GI,  but quantities are relatively small , so the impact is not devastating  -- plus pineapple is a happy fruit (it makes people happy )

    I am currently measuring the effects of this and am in the early stages of this change --- like anything else i have spoken about , it requires thinking ahead , and carting around a cooler or a sack of fruit with you if you are away from base camp for more than a few hours requires a little bit of pre-planning too -----
   --- fruits are easy, veggies a bit harder .



As well , i've been monitoring my own blood sugar levels to observe the effects different foods have on that, so my fingers have seemingly turned into pin cushions

It is similar to what diabetics should be doing ,  but for them, it can be a game of life and death,   -  if you are otherwise healthy though, it is still good to see   what your food does to you because if a certain food elevates blood sugar too much , it will lead to an energy dump and a crash later,  and its not an exact science as it can be personal and unique from one individual to another.  

For example, white potatoes are historically thought of as a "bad food" --  test yourself with a  small spud and a bit of butter (skip the sour cream , bacon bits and mounds of cheddar )  --- if it swings the meter more than 30 or 40 points in 2 hours --  then yes , its likely best to abstain from the spuds ,  --- but if it doesnt move the blood sugar meter much , then go ahead and enjoy in moderation

But there are some obvious things  -- you can't munch on snickers bars and lemon meringue pie all day and expect that to go well for you, but go ahead and test it anyway if you need the verification ----  if you're trying to keep your internal bio-rhythms as steady as possible , it will only take a couple of weeks of experimentation to figure out which foods to keep and which foods to kick to the curb

So far, on fruits, veggies and proteins, with minimal extras , --- (example of an extra: - a sandwich has to have bread - thats just part of it --but try something like a rye bread or something similar as opposed to a calorie dense, nutrient free catastrophe like a white hoagie roll  )
           I am staying pretty darn steady with very few peaks and valleys -- but as mentioned, i am still working on this and am not prepared to make a full report  yet

----  one effect i have already noticed though is that its not absolutely critical to get an afternoon nap in anymore --- i like to, - and recommend the practice, but my body had gotten to the point where i would really start to feel it around 5:30 or 6 pm if i hadn't gotten in a 30 minute power nap earlier  ----  now, its not as dramatic

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Something i am prepared to make a report on is the weight work  --- Its springtime and summer will be here before we know it, so  a broad spectrum gym program  is not needed (unless thats your thing)  ---
   I have already been logging miles on the mountain bike and when i can't get the bike out ,  the Concept 2 rower is a great fill in workout.
       The road bikes have had their flats repaired, gears adjusted , etc. etc. , just waiting for that afternoon where the wind is not blowing 40 mph so i can get in a nice long ride or two  ----  but days in Oklahoma are more often than not windy, so being surrounded by trees on singletrack is appreciated

  Cycling in a basic weight workout 3x a week keeps things fresh  ----

Whats a basic weight workout?     ---    For me , right now it is 5x3 squats, deadlifts, and flat bench.   These are the powerlifting movements,
       Feel free to make adjustments as needed to what three exercises you use in your personal 5 x 3 program, or for something as basic as this, shoot me an email  (   dougmcbride@fitclaimspro.com   )   and i can throw out some other suggestions if you want, but the main theme is 3 compound multi-joint exercises

           -- personally i use the Zercher squat as opposed to the traditional back squat , - i have a seriously trashed out left knee and my lateral stability is not good enough right now for me to trust under a heavy  squat load ,  so i make the adjustments and drive on --- The Zercher is a variation of a front squat that also demands a lot of input from your core stabilizer muscles  -- its different, but lets me seemingly blow a kiss to the floor with my butt under load, as opposed to the squat, where it can be tough to get parallel with a wretched knee joint



5x3 is 5 reps and 3 sets each (one warmup set is suggested , so actually would be 5x4) -- start light and pyramid up until the last rep on the last set is almost a forced rep  --

-- thats it  --  this is not a timed endeavor, and rest between sets should be limited to however long it takes to add additional weight to the bar -- maybe a little more if you can't catch your breath --- but i doubt this will take most people more than 20-25 minutes to do

I won't be sticking with this "back to basics" theme forever, because i'm not a powerlifter , but for now, when the emphasis is on the outdoors, this will do    ---

Basically, you're not lifting weights to become a better weightlifter,  you're lifting weights to become a better athlete all around   -- so get it done and get out

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I'll close out with this thought on an amateur vs a professional

An amateur practices until he can do something  right -- a professional practices until he can't do it wrong

there are parallels in sport and real life me-thinks


--- thanks again for reading

-Secrest out
   








This is a fine looking toy for putting on some muscle and adhering to a 5x3 system of the basics

Although the weights are a necessity , wouldn't you rather be outside on a nice day doing a few of these activities ?   As i said regarding the weights , just get 'em done , done properly, and get out --- no sense in messing around with unnecessary fluff

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____________________________________
 Just a quick reminder, if you like what you read, forward this email to a friend, or use the little tab at the bottom to link it to your facebook page.  

 Thank you very much in advance for your support and send me an email at   Dougmcbride@fitclaimspro.com   to be added to the hard subscriber list

---- Doug

_______________________________________________________________________________
disclaimer:    The information contained here is not intended to replace the medical advice of your physician and is not intended as medical advice.  This newsletter/blog is a sharing of knowledge and information from the research and experience of the staff of Fitclaimspro.com and professional colleagues unless otherwise noted    .