Diet and Destiny

One of the many weaknesses with ELDM is it narrow remit.  For example, it singularly fails to address the impact of epigenetics, stress/sleep, mitochondrial expression and gut flora.  The latter is addressed in this piece by Science Daily which discusses research in to how microbes harvest energy,

• In a new study appearing in the journal Nutrition in Clinical Practice, researcher Rosa Krajmalnik-Brown and her colleagues at the Swette Center for Environmental Biotechnology at Arizona State University's Biodesign Institute in collaboration with John DiBaise from the Division of Gastroenterology at the Mayo Clinic, review the role of gut microbes in nutrient absorption and energy regulation.

Given my recent blow-out over the jubilee weekend I was particularly taken with the comment about the speed with which the profile of gut flora can change,

•  After birth, diet becomes a critical determinant in microbial diversity within the gut. Recent research indicates that microbial populations vary geographically in a manner consistent with regional differences in diet. Children in rural areas of Burkina Faso for example showed much more abundant concentrations of Bacteroidetes compared with their cohorts in Italy, a finding consistent with the African children's plant-rich diet.While microbiomes appear to have adapted to local diets, changes in eating habits significantly alter composition of gut microbes. Variations in macronutrient composition can modify the structure of gut microbiota in a few days -- in some cases, a single day. Studies in mice show that changing from a low fat, plant polysaccharide diet to a Western diet high in sugar and fat rapidly and profoundly reconfigures the composition of microbes in the gut.

 
Glad I am back on board the paleo-mammoth!

Faster than the Speed of Sound

Hot on the heels of Gary Connery's recent wingsuit heroics, step forwards Felix Baumgartner.  Felix will attempt to jump from the edge of space this August, and in the process break several records set over half a century ago by Joseph Kittinger.  You can see an excellent video of Kittinger's jump here (starting around 4:21) and it is truly surreal,

• On August 16, 1960, Joseph Kittinger jumped his last Excelsior jump, doing so from an air-thin height of 102,800 feet (31,334 meters). From that nearly 20 miles altitude, his tumble toward terra firma took some 4 minutes and 36 seconds. Exceeding the speed of sound during the fall, Kittinger used a small stabilizing chute before a larger, main parachute opened in the denser atmosphere. He safely touched down in barren New Mexico desert, 13 minutes 45 seconds after he vaulted into the void. The jump set records that still stand today, among them, the highest parachute jump, the longest freefall, and the fastest speed ever attained by a human through the atmosphere. Somewhat in contention is Kittinger's use of the small parachute for stabilization during his record-setting fall. Roger Eugene Andreyev, a Russian, is touted as holding the world's free fall record of 80,325 feet (24,483 meters), made on November 1, 1962.

Felix Baumgartner seeks to go higher and fall faster!  There is a great interview with him here,

• Later this summer - the plan is to do it in August - I will get into a pressurised space capsule in Roswell, New Mexico, go up to 120,000 feet [36,600 metres], depressurise the capsule and step out. Within the first 35 seconds I'll accelerate so fast that I'll break the speed of sound.

One of the dangers mentioned is Felix going in to a flat spin,

• If you spin with your head towards the centre, blood leaves the head and you pass out. If you spin with your feet to the centre, you get a red-out. The blood rushes to your head, you get an aneurysm in your brain or a cerebral haemorrhage. There is a g metre on Felix's wrist that controls for a flat spin and we developed an emergency drogue parachute, which can pull his head high and stop the rotation.

Gripping.

Thoughts

Well tonight's Lau Gar kickboxing session was a bloody killer!  Very intense.  This is on the back of roughly two weeks off from formal exercise.  In that time I've noticed three things:

• My handstanding has become awesome with all this rest - with solid 15-20s on occasion.
• My niggly left hip is clicking a LOT less,
• Despite my ambivalence about the monarchy, on a jubilee I can celebrate with them best of them eating a whole ton of crap-in-a-box and drinking a lot of ale.

Point two is the critical observation.  I think I need to adjust for the amount of weights I do along with the Lau Gar.  This is something I will plan in to my next cycle which should start on Sunday.  In all likelihood the next cycle will be heavily punctuated by annual leave and so forth, so things might get a bit free form around here.

Still, best to roll with it.  Flow!

Transit of Mercury

Dates to book for your diary:

• 9 May 2016: Transit of Mercury
• 2 August 2027: Solar eclipse "Solar eclipses are one of the great natural wonders and one can usually be seen somewhere on Earth each year. But the one in 2027 will be exceptionally long with a maximum duration of six minutes and 23 seconds. It will pass through the Straits of Gibraltar then across the North African coast before dipping down to Yemen and Somalia."

Time to book accomodation in Gibralta before the astronomical price rise (Ithangyou).

More On Venus

I like my celestial phenomena.  Prepare for next week's transit of Venus (5th/6th June).  It is your last chance for 100 years.  Nothing better than something like this to let us know our 'puny earthling' status in the grand scheme of things!

Gymnastic Week 4 W/O3

This is the last workout of this cycle.  I will take a rest week next week - maybe two.  On my return I will look to go on a strength cycle or Wendler. 

Deadmau5's Strobe and South Central's Aeon are once again my 'choons of choice' for the workout.  A blue sky will facillitate some tan-work.

Warm Up (5 minutes)
Main (35 minutes).
1. Handstand work and walking lunges to side/front (10 mins)
2. Manna Progression (three rounds for time)
3. Chins (10, 10, 10)
4a. Headstand RLLs (8)
4b. Snatch-Grip Deadlift off a Deficit (BWx5, BWx5, BWx5)
5a. Wall Walk (3)
5b. Backbridge  (1, 1)

Wrist and Elbow Prehab
6a. Golfers Elbow Drumstick Rotation (10)
6b. Wrist Push Ups from the Knee (10)
6c. Reverse Wrist Curls (10)

7.  321 (8L, 8L, 8L)/Bouldering

Urban Climbing

Our Russian friends showing once again that they live on the edge - and then some.  The guy's expression at the end is priceless!