Tuesday, November 16, 2010

How To Transform Your Physique #88

I was recently reading where a guy lost weight on a junk food diet. That was no surprise.  As I have said before in this column, it really is calories consumed versus calories burned.  It really sucks getting old with respect to the ability to burn calories.  Is it a coincidence that as people age they gain weight?  It's like an epidemic.  How many people actually lose bodyfat as they get older?  Hardly ANY!

I've seen some pretty radical training routines over the years.  Everything still will work...for awhile. And, that includes such radical programs.  Any radical program in volume or intensity cannot be done for long periods.  The nervous system will break down and you will feel sluggish and without "snap" during your sets.  This tends to lead injury from my experience.  In other words, the nervous system tends to go before injury occurs.

I was recently commenting on a YouTube video of a national level powerlifter.  I made the comment he was dropping his shoulders (he was) in the bottom and he ended up back lifting his squats.  Of course the first person to comment basically said "He's a top level powerlifter...who are you to tell him how to squat!"  Ok, great. Just like the biggest guy in the gym is the most knowledgeable. NOT!  All I was doing was trying to help the guy avoid some pain in 20 years.  But, hey, who am I to talk. I don't squat as much as he does.  :)

Boy, there are a lot of people around me having health issues. The majority of them are of the age 45-50 years old. Tumors on the brain. Tumors on the pancreas. Growths here and there.  What the heck!?  One person that is a neighbor literally has a couple days to live. Just a week ago he had months.  Cancer yet again.  It sure drives home the fact of not taking for granted your health.  And, we all do it. Until something goes wrong.

I've visited a few college gyms recently.  What was interesting is that there were very few machines.  I think it was part philosophy driven but also cost and space driven.  Hey, I am a barbell and dumbbell basement dweller so that was OK with me.  Not that I won't be changing my tune here in about 9 months when my daughter goes away to college. :)

Winter is arriving. This means I am switching to some non-optimal jogging.  I am not going to let my Sorinex Root Hog get trashed in the Iowa winter by any means.  Unlike the past years. It was also very hit or miss due to the weather and what the ice and snow (and sand and salt!) was like on the roads.

The holidays are around the corner. This means a lot of temptation to stray from the normal diet.  What is your strategy for the holidays with respect to diet? Shoot me an email at editor@cyberpump.com and let me know and I will share it with the other readers.