Volume Week 1 W/O1

I've picked up a cold in the last day or two so I have to take it easy tonight. As usual I am going to have a week or two deloaded, and then ramp it up for a six week period or so...chucking in some 'instinctive adjustment' and all.
I also seem to have sustained wrist injury that hurts when I'm in a press-up position. I am not sure what I am doing that is aggravating it. It could be planching so I will have to adjust the positioning and experiment.

Warm Up (5 minutes)
Main (30 minutes).
1. Stairgators (1)
2. Barefoot Sprinting (1x10s, 1x10s, 1x10s, 1x10s)
3ai. Rope Climb (1)
3aii. MU to Ring Routine (1, 1).
3b. Scissor Splits (3L, 3R, 3C)
3c. Planche (20s, 20s, 20s)
4. 321 (All 4 down the rung sizes)
5. Barefoot Kill Carry

Rehab workout.

I'm doing this workout mainly for the rehab side of things. My right wrist has developed a twinge (no laughing at the back). Might be from planching.

Training 'proper' will commence next week.
Warm Up (5 minutes)
Main (20 minutes).
1. Pistols (20kg assistance/64kg working weight: 8, 8, 8)
2. HSPU (as many as I can over three sets)
3. Golfers Elbow Drumstick Rotation (12)
4. 5-Way DB Rotator Cuff (10)
5. Reverse DB Wrist Curls (12)

Fat, Fate and Disease

New for 2012, Fat Fate And Disease by Peter Gluckman and Mark Hanson.

• 'Why are we losing the war against obesity and chronic disease?' This is the simple question Peter Gluckman and Mark Hanson ask, exploring the dominant myth that the exploding epidemic of obesity, heart disease, and diabetes can be tackled by focusing on adult life styles. Addressing the flawed approach of the weight-loss industry, they explain why a continued focus simply on diet and exercise will fail. Highlighting the implications of the growing burden of these problems in the developing world, they show that the scientific enterprise ignores the reality of the social, cultural, and biological determinants that make different populations and people respond differently to living in the modern nutritionally rich world. Gluckman and Hanson review the overwhelming scientific evidence that much of the problem emerges in early life and even before birth, identifying that to address these issues requires considering development in two dimensions - a life course approach and addressing the developmental challenges of countries emerging through the socioeconomic transition. Asking why the major global bodies and vested interests fail to consider these dimensions and continue with failed approaches, they conclude by discussing the complex interactions between health and the food industry, and suggest that the food industry must be co-opted as an ally in this battle, providing a clear pathway forward.

Looks interesting....

Anti-Gravity Insanity

I am not really a petrolhead.  I like gravity sports and games; those that rely on propulsion from the human engine and/or gravity, with the addition of a few simple tools (bike, canopy, rock boots etc...).  But I do make the odd exception.

Behold Levi LaVelle and Robbie Maddison in a truly FM moment:

Lazy Weight Loss

At this time of year we get the usual 'eat less, do more' message.  This may work short-term.  Whether it leads to sustainable weight loss is another question.  At best it seems to be simplistic and at worst it is the very thing we'd recommend to compel ourselves to eat more.

New Scientist has a nice little article on weight loss (Eight lazy ways to lose weight), which highlights several ways in which weight change has been observed without calorie counting and chronic cardio, through:

1. Vaccination
2. Stress Reduction
3. Cold Exposure
4. High Protein
5. Packaging and Endocrine Disruption
6. Circadian Rhythm and Blue Light
7. Air Pollution
8. Sleep

We paleotards will be familiar with all of the above.

;)

Warm Up Workout

Just easing myself in to 2012!

Warm Up (15 minutes)
Main (25 minutes).
1. Sprints (5 x sprint, 1 min rest btw)
2a. Snatch Grip Deadlift off a Deficit (5x5xBW)
2b. Chins (10, 5, 5, 5, 5)

The SGDLs and Chins were interleaved with one min rest between each exercise.  Man this one was tough - even though I was trying to go light.  I simply stopped as soon as it got awkward.

Gotta say that my inner thighs and butt are aching now.  The sprints are the only thing that felt good and breezy.

Weight is 86kg (plus a bit), and general hustle is at best 'modest'.  Not feeling strong and ripped.  Motivation is high.

Hitchens on War

I've just finished Christopher Hitchens excellent memoir, Hitch 22.  He seems to divide people in equal measure, but whatever you think of his political persuasion, Christopher had a certain gravitas that is rare amongst public speakers and almost absent among politicians.  His command of the English language coupled with a sharp wit, logical mind, broad knowledge of literature, and experience from the world's trouble-spots made him an accomplished journalist and raconteur.  He was an engaging and forthright speaker and fearless in defence of his opinions.

One point in Hitch 22 that particularly jumped out at me (and which is something that I had long suspected but have never seen any public figure actually tackle), is the damaging conceit afforded to those leading 'resistance' campaigns around the world,

• "The local leaderships that are generated by the troubles in such places [as Lebanon, Gaza, Cyprus, NI and several other 'hot spots'], do not want there to be a solution.  A solution would mean that they were no longer deferred to by visiting UN or American mediators, no longer invited to ritzy high-profile international conferences, no longer treated with deference by the mass media, and no longer able to make a second living by smuggling and protection-racketeering.  The power of this parasitic class was what protracted the fighting in Northern Ireland for years and years after it had become obvious to all that nobody (except the racketeers) could 'win'.  And when it was over, far too many of the racketeers became profiteers of the 'peace process' as well."

As Orwell wrote, some animals are truly 'more equal' than others. 

Hitchens goes a long way to explain his move from the left (he was a Marxist in his youth), but it would be too simplistic to suggest he simply lurched to the right.  His Marxism was fuelled by an anti-fascist instinct - an instinct that lead him to support the war in Iraq.  He didn't really move from the Left, it is just that the Left became impotent.

It is at this point in the book that Hitchens takes a brief detour to document the life of Mark Jennings Daily - someone with similar instincts to Hitchens and in part motivated by him.  This story in the LA Times gives a background to Daily and Hitchens' influence upon him.  I can't really do it justice here, but both Daily's actions to fight for what was morally right, and Hitchen's actions in taking time to honour Daily (in both word and deed), makes for moving reading.  There is a you tube video here in which Hitchens narrates the relevant extract.