Jun
6
The Blowout Workout
Filed Under Exercise, Motivation, Work Out | 1 Comment
Every once in a while I like trying out a new way of working out. It keeps my workouts interesting plus it lets me try new things. As with eating, I believe that variety in exercise has many benefits. However, variety is not what today’s post is about. Instead, I’d like to tell you about the workout I tried out on Wednesday and how much I liked it.
The Need For Continuous Improvement
If you’re a long time reader of 60 in 3 and have read some of my past series like the 4 day workout, you’ll know that I prefer to do sets of about 10 reps (repetitions). That means I do an exercise like squats ten times. I usually use weights that I know I can lift for those ten reps, but I try to pick something heavy enough to be challenging. That means picking weights that I don’t think I can do for many reps than those ten.
In the past, I’ve been increasing the weights I use at a slow but steady pace. This reflected the improvement in my overall fitness level. For example, when I started working out I could barely bench press the bar on its own, about 45lbs. These days, I usually bench press around 150lbs for my reps. Unfortunately, I just haven’t been able to improve any of the weights I do for the past few months. In fact, I was feeling as though I had reached a sort of plateau and that further improvement was impossible. In and of itself, that’s not a bad thing. Everyone has a point past which they cannot go. Our bodies have limits and it’s good to know that limit. However, I felt like I should be able to lift more but I simply couldn’t take that next step forward.
The Blowout Workout
I happened to mention this to a friend over the weekend, and he suggested I try out a new kind of workout. He called it the Blowout Workout but it’s also known by other names. Essentially, the blowout workout means you do half the repetitions with about 25% to 50% more weight. So if I normally did ten bench presses with 150lbs, on Wednesday I tried to do 5 bench presses with 180lbs.
At first, this was a bit intimidating. I was having enough difficulties with 150lbs, did I really want to try out this much more weight? Yes, it was just five repetitions instead of the my usual 10 but that’s a lot of weight! But I tried it anyway and I’m really glad I did.
The Results
I was able to do the five reps with the extra weight on each and every exercise I normally do. In fact, in many cases I kept going and did 8 to 10 reps. It was like my body had always been capable of this kind of performance but I was holding back for some reason. All it took was a willingness to try. I had convinced myself to try out the higher weight by telling myself that I was just going to do five reps instead of 10 and once I tried it, it just wasn’t that bad.
Breaking Through Self Imposed Limits
All this time, I was perfectly capable of exercising at a much higher level than I was. So why didn’t I? I’m not sure of the answer but I think it’s because I had convinced myself that I just couldn’t take a little more extra weight before the current weight became easy. Well guess what, the current weight was never going to become easy until I tried something harder. It was only when I challenged myself with something more difficult that I noticed how easy my current workout had become.
This is applicable in more than just weight lifting by the way. If you’re trying to do something that’s a bit challenging, don’t just raise the bar a little, raise it a lot! Challenge yourself way beyond your comfort level. Maybe you won’t achieve 100% success, but that big jump in difficulty will make that little jump you were trying to make seem a lot easier.
Try It Out For Yourself
If you’re interested, the Blowout Workout is a very easy idea to implement. Take every weight you’re using right now and increase it by at least 25%. Now try to do five reps. If you can do more, that’s great, but tell yourself that your goal is just the first five reps. That will keep your focused and make everything seem more doable. My only warning is that you need to be careful. You may not be used to this much weight and having another person around you to make sure you don’t do something silly is probably a good idea.
###
Trying out new things is great. Trying out things you think are impossible is even better. It will make the things you think are possible but difficult seem very easy.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
Jun
4
The Best Blog Post I Never Wrote!
Filed Under Healthy Habits, Motivation | 1 Comment
I try to link to interesting articles and posts on my weekend roundups because there quite a bit of good information out there that’s not on 60 in 3. Sometimes though, I run into a post that’s so good it just deserves a special mention. Today I found such a post.
Mark’s Daily Apple
I like Mark’s Daily Apple for various reasons. It’s smart, funny and includes a lot of good information. It doesn’t quite get into the details I like to write about, which is probably good or else I wouldn’t have a reason to write articles on 60 in 3 
Now Mark has this concept called the Primal Blueprint. Basically, it means that if you live your life the way our primitive ancestors did you’re going to have a much healthier and happier life and I couldn’t agree more. Mark’s Daily Apple has been talking about this concept for a while now, exploring various parts of it in detail, but they never really explained the whole thing at once. They never told the readers “THIS is what the Primal Blueprint is all about”. Well, they’ve gone ahead and fixed that.
The Primal Blueprint post
Take a look at this folks, it’s the primal blueprint post from Mark’s Daily Apple. It’s a brilliant breakdown of what a healthy life can look like. There’s a lot to learn here and all of it is valuable.
Slight Disagreement
Now I will say that I have a slight disagreement with Mark in that I’m mostly a vegetarian and he recommends meat. However, please note that Mark recommends lean, healthy meats and not the processed crap you find in most restaurants. That I have no problem with as long as it’s in moderation. Personally, I chose my lifestyle because I believe it’s healthier for the environment around me, but I have no problem admitting that healthy meat options can be great parts of a healthy lifestyle. In fact, If I could find a reliable source of meat that was healthy and environmentally friendly, I’d be happily munching away at it. As is, I do sometimes add in healthy and sustainable options like venison to my diet. So Mark and I really aren’t that far off on this part of the Primal Blueprint.
###
Yes, I’m urging my readers to go read someone else’s blog. So go already!
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
Jun
2
Rule #1 of Healthy Eating, the Variety Counts Rule
Filed Under Eating Healthy, Healthy Habits, Motivation | 5 Comments
Two weeks ago, I started talking about the five rules I use for eating healthy food. I use these relatively simple rules because It’s just too difficult to keep up with all the guidelines, recommendations and plans for eating the perfectly balanced diet. You can drive yourself crazy and still not be 100% perfect. Today we look at rule #1, which I like to call the “variety counts” rule. This particular rule is partially influenced by Michael Pollan but is also from my own history.
By the way, you may have noted that I’m not exactly following a sequential order in discussing these rules; I started with rule #2, followed by #4, then 3, then 5 and now #1. That’s for two reasons, one because I want to emphasize that none of these rules is more important than the other. Also, I picked each rule because it was appropriate to the day I was writing it. Today is Monday and we’re expecting a catered lunch here at work. This specific caterer delivers food that is exactly like the food I grew up with. So I thought today is a good day to talk about variety and expanding your cuisine choices.
What Is “Variety Counts” Rule?
I grew up in Israel with a mother who came from Eastern Europe. That means my diet consisted of two different cuisines. The first was the Mediterranean cuisine I would eat around town. Things like falafel, shawarma and hummus. The Med diet is relatively healthy if eaten in moderation. The second cuisine was my mother’s eastern European style cooking. Lots of heavy beef and potatoes type dishes with incredibly tasty sauces and of course, chicken soup! The eastern European diet was slightly less healthy since it had more fat and calories and less vegetables. However, the two diets, combined with an active childhood, kept me healthy.
Then we moved to the US. My mother kept cooking her eastern European dishes, but my neighborhood diet had changed from healthy Mediterranean healthy to American fast food. I was still active, which kept my weight in check, but my diet became far less healthy. The final nail in the coffin of my healthy eating came when I moved out. Since I didn’t cook, I either ate out at restaurants or bought frozen dinners and all of these meals were traditional American foods. I ate burgers by the dozens, pizza, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, cheese pockets and microwaved chicken nuggets. I’m guessing you can figure out what happened. This new diet, combined with a lack of exercise, drove me to that health meltdown a few years ago from which I am still recovering.
Since then, one of the things I’ve discovered is the wonderful variety of food we have available to us. I discovered sushi and sashimi, I found Chinese and Thai restaurants, I tried out Indian food and found that I loved it, I experimented with vegetarian dishes and saw that they were really good. I even rediscovered Mediterranean food and reconnected with some of the healthy food I grew up with. I used to be afraid of strange foods but now I seek them out. I enjoy new flavors and new selections.
All of this has left me with a far larger selection of healthy choices to eat. Want a good way to eat vegetables? How about that incredible veggie stir fry from the Thai place. Looking for a good protein choice? Why not try the Salmon sashimi? How about the pumpkin dish at the Afghan place for dinner or the burrito from the Mexican place down the road? These are all healthy options that I would never have discovered had I not been looking for more variety. So these days I welcome variety in my food. I’m always happy to try out new dishes and I’m always looking to experiment with new cuisines. Who knows, you may just find a new favorite dish.
Given two options, I will always pick out the dish I’ve never tried before. That’s the “variety counts” rule.
Advanced Applications
Every week, try out at least one new cuisine or dish. Ask about the ingredients, research the preparation and learn more about how your food was made. It’s a wonderful education and you’ll discover many things you never realized about food.
Don’t limit yourself. Why is an omelet only for breakfast? Why can you only BBQ in the evenings? Why do you have to have mashed potatoes with meat loaf? Mix and match and see what works.
Clarifications to the Variety Counts Rule
No, this rule is not an excuse to gorge. Yes, if you’ve never tried deep fried twinkies before, maybe you should just once. However, did you remember to ask about how your food is prepared? If you did, I’m guessing you’ll figure out that deep fried twinkies are a one time thing. Not all food is healthy and that’s something you’ll figure out as you go.
Why Use the Variety Counts Rule?
Because a boring diet is one that won’t last. Yes, there are healthy dishes in the classic American diet, but they are few and far between. If you limited yourself to just those, you’ll soon get bored and fall back to unhealthy eating habits. That’s why you need to branch out and try new things. Doing so will help you discover new healthy dishes to add to your repartee.
But I Like What I’m Eating Now!
Sure, and if it’s healthy, there’s no reason for you to stop. I’m not saying you should eat something new every day, just make sure to try out new things once in a while.
###
I can’t imagine life without a variety of foods. It would be boring and I would quickly revert back to unhealthy habits if I had to eat the same one or two healthy dishes day after day after day. Do yourself a favor and try something new today.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
Jun
1
Weekend Roundup - Dog Edition
Filed Under Weekend Roundup | Leave a Comment
My wife and I are moving to a new house where we’ll finally be able to have a dog. I grew up with a dog and, as much as I love my cats, I miss having a dog around. Dogs are an incredible health boost by the way. Not only are they a great excuse to get out of the house and go for a walk but they’re also a stress reducer. Now before you go out and get a dog as part of your health regimen, do keep in mind that they’re a tremendous responsibility. You have to care for them like a child and they’re never going to grow up. Please do not adopt a dog on a whim. Make sure you understand the responsibility you’re about to accept and are ok with it. Too many dogs end up abandoned or given away when their owners realize a dog is more than just a cute puppy to show your friends.
Speaking of which, my wife and I are looking through Pet Finder to find our new pet. It’s a wonderful site which gives you access to thousands of animal shelters. A family dog doesn’t have to cost a lot of money and come from a breeder with fancy paperwork, the dogs on this site will love you just as much and need you as much as you need them. Alternatively, go to your local humane society shelter or city animal shelter and adopt a stray. They’re usually smarter and healthier than the pure breeds anyway and unless you’re planning on showing your dog at official dog shows, you don’t really need a pure breed anyway.
And with that public service announcement here are some articles I thought you might find useful:
We start off with a post from Health Matters highlighting a recent study that shows men with more muscle mass tend to live longer. No surprise there for anyone who follows health articles. However, I wonder if there’s a direct connection of if more muscle mass is simply an indicator of a healthier lifestyle.
@Health Matters
By the way, speaking of dogs and stress, here’s an interesting article from Gather.com about the connection between stress and weightloss. Stress is one of the worst things that your body goes through. Prolonged stress can quickly break down even the healthiest of bodies and it leads to many unhealthy habits. Part of your health routine should be identifying areas of high stress in your life and trying to reduce them.
@Gather.com
The following is a very silly article but it does have an interesting point. It’s from our friends down under at the Sydney Morning Herald and it follows the diet fads of the stars. Personally, I don’t really care what Madonna is doing for her abs or how Jessica Biel gets her bikini body, but I did notice something unique about these workouts. They’re all a way to make working out interesting. There’s an important lesson there. A workout doesn’t have to be physically perfect but it does have to be interesting and fun enough for you to keep doing it. The perfect workout is not so perfect if it’s boring and you’re miserable doing it because that means you won’t keep doing it.
@The Sydney Morning Herald
And now for something a bit more serious. Here’s an article from US News and World Report that shows the Mediterranean diet may help ward off diabetes. I was born in the mediterranean and I can tell you that the diet I grew up with was much healthier than the diet I adopted when we came to the US. Med diets are much lower in meat and higher in vegetables. Plus the lifestyle itself emphasizes consumption less and is more active.
@US News and World Report
Let’s finish this off with some good news. Here’s an article from Time that shows child obesity rates may finally be leveling off. Of course they’re leveling off at an unacceptably high rate, but it’s still progress. Just remember, the best way to have your child live a healthy lifestyle is by living one yourself.
@Time
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
