exercise

Even the surroundings are kind of primal!

Does anyone remember the 50 Million Pound Challenge? I don’t really, either. It was part of an effort in 2007 to address obesity in the Black community and the rising tide of preventable “lifestyle diseases” that are associated with it.

I See Fat People
When it comes to nutrition, the American people in general and the poor in particular have been lied to by the government which does the bidding of Big Agriculture. Big Box gyms and basketball courts capture most of the small number of my community who exercise regularly. Functional, lifetime exercise is a rarity. Information about a diet consisting of moderate protein, high fat (the good kind – yes, there is a good kind), and low amounts of carbohydrates gets washed away in a flood of high fructose corn syrup.

I’m Starting with The Man In The Mirror
Well, I intend to do something about it. First, let me say that I am not obese. My middle-age exercise regime now includes more flexibility and hypertrophy components but I will not leave the power exercises alone. The meal above – barbecued chicken with an apple compote, brussel sprouts sauteed in grass-fed butter, avocado, zucchini, and a pickle (helps with digestion), are representative of what the diet in my house has looked like for the past 3-4 weeks. The macronutrient profile is also representative of what our Paleolithic ancestors ate. This is also the diet that is more evolutionarily appropriate for our bodies. It’s the diet we will be following from now on with some concessions in the form of basmati rice and corn pasta for the younger children and guests.

Next Steps
Over the coming weeks and months I will be seeking platforms to spread the gospel of a Paleo lifestyle to people in poor communities. I have a feeling that I won’t get a lot of help from the established medical community since they are a subset of the triad comprised of politicians, pharmaceutical companies, and Big Agriculture.

Let me know if you’re interested in taking on a Paleo challenge involving exercise and diet. If I get enough people interested in being better than they are, I’ll find a suitable reward. We can join the world of Paleo pioneers covered by the New York Times; the exercisers who follow Movnat; and people like me, who became convinced by the case made by Robb Wolf in his recent book. This is the Internet at its best. Stay tuned and in the meantime, let me know if you’re in. BTW, watch out. I just got my All-Clad Slow Cooker!(NOT an affiliate link!)

When we workout, most of us don’t usually think about calm nerves as one of the goals for the session. We go to a gym or health club with a sound system or put on a IPod. The playlist, more often than not, has a powerful and simple rhythmic ( and not always melodic) structure. Heavy metal and rap figure prominently on the music menu. We feel motivated, our hearts start racing, and the adrenaline starts to flow but… are these the things we want happening? I contend that we need to go a different route for more of our workouts.

Things Your Mother Didn’t Tell You About The Autonomic Nervous System
The Autonomic Nervous System (“ANS”) regulates the functioning of organs and muscles. It’s divided into the sympathetic, parasympathetic, and enteric systems. I will focus on the first two.
Sympathetic
When we’re in a situation of “fight or flight” this system causes our digestion to slow down, and our heart rate and blood pressure to increase. We also increase our production of cortisol and adrenaline. This system obviously played and plays a critical role in our survival but the chronic production of these effects ends up being too much of a good thing. That music that you want pumped up as you go for the big lift or an extra mile will eventually play a role in things like hypertension, suppression of our immune system, and Type 2 diabetes.

Our bodies do a pretty good job of recognizing emergency and danger. Artificially adding to this stimulation with our choice of workout music (on top of job and family stress) is not something we should be doing.
Parasympathetic
The parasympathetic system helps us to rest and digest. Energy is saved, blood pressure decreases, and digestion begins. Classical music and, more specifically Baroque music (with its 60 beats per minute – like the human heart) gives us the ability to more easily access or remain in the parasympathetic state. Baroque music has been studied for its “Mozart effect” and its healing abilities. It stands to reason that it would have a beneficial effect in what would otherwise be an adrenaline dump of an activity. It makes sense to me that if we exercise in as close to a parasympathetic state as possible, using music and awareness, then we are better training our bodies for a more healthful reaction for times of stress that are not life threatening. Make the substitution on your IPod a couple of times a week and see what happens.

Why a post like this? Because I love you.

Are you willing to give classical music a try during your workout? What do you listen to now? Comment and let me know.

The police department in Mexico City has had to ration the calories served to police officers in their cafeterias. Many officers are limited to consuming no more than 2,500 calories if they eat in the cafeterias – instead of the usual 4,000. Do you know how hard it is to eat 4,000 calories? If you don’t know, it’s an interesting exercise to count your average caloric consumption over the course of a week (go to fitday.com for a free nutrition account – it’s actually pretty good). Most of us (I hope) would find it a challenge to consume 4,000 calories.
Three-quarters of the Mexico City police force is overweight. This problem is reflected in police departments throughout Mexico and in the urban population in general.

I am interested in this for reasons other than anthropological and physiological curiosity. Mexico has the highest rates of obesity – second only to —wait for it— the United States. The problem of overweight police officers is shared by their brethren in the US. I have undertaken my own very informal study of the New York police department and found they are not exempt – despite having a disciplined and fit Commissioner. I am even able to play my own version of the Volkswagen “punch buggy” game with the number of VERY overweight officers I come across.

I have asked friends in the department about the reasons for this low fitness level – why don’t you guys work out? The standard response seems to be: “Because we don’t have to.” Police officers work under something called “presumed compliance.” The uniform and the authority it conveys are supposed to elicit a measure of respect and compliance from the average citizen. A problem arises when, as frequently happens, officers are called to engage someone who is not average and who despises authority.

What happens when a suspect is not prepared to comply? The answers range from “I’ll just kick his ass” to “that’s what guns are for.” I don’t know about you, but neither of these answers is satisfactory. Whatever happened to Coach Paul Bear Bryant’s philosophy, “The will to win is nothing compared to the will to prepare to win”? If it’s good enough for football, it should be good enough for law enforcement. After all, just like the military, coming in second in these worlds has a whole different meaning.

After the police academy, few police departments have ongoing fitness requirements. This is a result of the strength of their labor unions and our litigious society. Another argument is that it would be a logistical nightmare to check on compliance with any fitness program. Legal barriers notwithstanding, I find it hard to believe that checking on compliance doesn’t have a technological solution. A bigger issue is the matter of “will.”

Being physically fit enables an officer to perform the basic functions of their job, such as chasing criminals. Another benefit would be a reduction in the frequency of life threatening illnesses that come with being unfit and overweight in an extremely stressful job. An unhealthy level of stress is the most pernicious and deadly consequence of police work. A healthy lifestyle would go a long way to countering its effects. I also believe that taxpayers have a right to question the reasons behind increasing disability and pension costs for civil servants.

I would hope that financial incentives or legislation would not be required for our guardians to show self-discipline and pride. Not all of these officers are “big-boned.” There should be an annual fitness requirement much like the Marines have that matched the test to the job tasks – one that also took into account worst case scenarios. Police would be able to do their jobs more efficiently, police shootings would decrease; depression, high blood pressure, diabetes, and broken marriages would decrease; taxpayers wouldn’t be supporting bad lifestyle choices; and the people would take more pride in our guardians.

I know some incredible police officers. Some are incredible athletes and some of them are in less than peak condition. It’s about creating a culture of improvement and accountability. Hey, who knows? The police today, and the rest of society tomorrow?