Category: General Information

Why can’t I lift as much as that guy?

At an event I attended and presented at this weekend, I was watching a friend of mine compete at powerlifting.  He did great considering he took 1st in his category but one thing that struck me was when he was squatting and benching, how much farther the bar was travelling than some of his competitors due to him being quite tall and narrow.  This was especially true with the females, who were using a very wide grip (which is perfectly legal for powerlifting) but had massive torsos and huge legs so the bar did not have to travel nearly as far.  Even the other guys were quite a bit shorter and stockier, which tends to be the trend with power lifting.

So the inner geek in me decided to do some math and see if there was a big proportional difference between what my friend did and for example, what pound for pound another competitor would do if they were simply a different shape or the bar didn’t travel as far.  There’s some very interesting results, but first I’m going to embrace my inner geek and go through some very basic math and physics for you:

A Joule is a unit of energy or work that factors in weight, distance and time and gives us a formula to derive the work done moving one Newton of force through a distance of one meter.  We’re going to assume that for our purposes today, the bar that they were using was travelling at the same speed for everyone.  I thought about getting into acceleration and stuff like that but my head started to hurt thinking about all of the parameters.  So, today let’s assume that the time taken to lift is a constant 1-second per foot of distance for everyone.

For a squat, we need to factor in the fact that the load is on the back, and that means that the weight involved is not only what is on the bar, but the bodyweight of the person in question as well.  They are exerting Joules into the floor.  So my friend puts 100 kilograms on his back at a bodyweight of 85 kilos for a total of 185.  He drops down and then lifts it a total of three feet or one meter over three seconds.

J = 185 * 1 / 9 for a total of 20.55 joules

Competitor number two lifts the same weight – 100 kilograms, but only lifts it two feet or .66 meters over two seconds (because it doesn’t travel as far).

J = 185 * .4356 / 4 for a total of 20.14 joules

So they are roughly the same.  Not a big deal in terms of the amount of force.  However, when another parameter changes, let’s see what happens:

My friend suddenly lifts the bar the three foot distance, but over the same two seconds of time.

J = 185 * 1 / 4 for a total of 46.25 joules

This is 229% more power generated than what the previous person did.  Simply because he lifts the bar further over the same amount of time.  For the second competitor to generate the equivalent amount of Joules, considering that he can only lift the bar two feet over two seconds, he would have to lift 424 kilograms – over 900 pounds!

We can really see how factors like acceleration; displacement and velocity come into play, especially when it comes to lifting things.  This is a very simple example for you not to take anything for granted when generating power on a bar or lever.  That person lifting significant amounts of weight can generate a surprising amount of power, which is the whole idea behind power lifting in the first place.  Hope you enjoyed this little display of how physics can be applied into proper lifting, but also consider things like how far the bar is travelling and at what speed when it comes to your own lifting.

Also, increasing your strength is a very slow process and should be.  Don’t get discouraged when you see guys in the gym lifting a lot more than you are.  Likely they have been doing those lifts for a lot longer, and have other factors into play (like the above) that make it a bit easier for them.  Do what your body allows and is designed to do properly, and keep everything healthy to stay strong and fit another day.  Think about the goal and then just keep moving towards it.  Hope you enjoyed this and feel free to comment and subscribe.

What Value do you bring to the World?

A colleague of mine recently tragically passed away, and while I didn’t really know him that well except as a teacher, he definitely gave me one of those “A-ha!” moments in my life and put me onto a different path.  He was also one of those remarkable human beings that just brought real value to everyone and everything that he did.  His passing was very sad to my community and the world in general as was obvious from the amount of people who mourned his passing.  Then recently I have had other examples of people in my world who bring very little value to anyone except for themselves because they don’t care to.  Totally self focused, narcissistic; “look at me!” type of behaviour that I know deep down has some rooted issues and is just the result of past circumstances.  Almost an example of yin versus yang – opposite sides of the same coin.

There are many different definitions of value, but the one I am talking here about speaks to personal integrity and something of worth to another person.  My colleagues passing made me think about what value that I bring every day to my clients and even just the people I encounter on a daily basis.  I have often said that my mission in life is to heal people, one way or another.  Through strength and various other ways I have managed to find a way to do that every day as my career, which I am very grateful for.  But the question I’m posing to myself (and you can pose to yourself of course) is do I bring value to people every day?  Do I carry myself in a way that is positive and uplifting to people and do my best to be at least congenial and helpful?  Not every day of course, we all have our days where things are slipping or we are simply not being mindful of these things.  But do I do it most of the time?

The other part of this is that if you aren’t bringing value to either yourself or others, then why are you doing what you’re doing every day?  Are you trapped in a job because of money and family and are unable to change?  Maybe just getting one hour a week where you can give to others would make a difference not only in your life but in someone else’s life as well.  I’m lucky that I get to help people every day, but it was a conscious choice made many years ago and has been a struggle many times.  I found my calling and I can only hope that you’re lucky enough to have found yours.  But every day from now on when I wake up I’m going to think about “how can I bring more value to the people I meet today” and really try to emulate that.  I think it will help to make the world a better place as a whole and if I can change just one life, then it is worth it to me.  Really take a look at yourself and figure out why you’re here on this planet, and then if you’re not heading there, just go do it.  Find a way to get there, even if it takes a long time and a lot of struggle because at the end it will be worth it.

When my grandfather passed away years ago, the church was standing room only.  He was a orthopaedic surgeon who helped people walk again, and the amount of grateful people in that room that he had an impact on overwhelmed me and partially shaped what I do today.  Every now and then we lose sight of things, and I’m really glad that this weekend helped me open my eyes again.  Rest in peace Peter.  Your work will live on in the people that you influenced like me.

 

Why is Nutrition so Complicated?

In my line of work one of the things that probably guides the results of people more than anything else is proper eating habits.  Just like exercise, this means eating in a way that your body will respond towards reaching your goals of changes in body composition, whether that be losing bodyfat, gaining weight, gaining lean mass, or growing a vestigial tail.  For the vast majority of people they think this means scale weight.  First of all, here’s a tip – throw your bloody scale out of the window.  Right now.  Scale weight literally means very little in the world of body composition.  For health reasons like obesity, you can certainly consider it but for most of the general population who just want to lose some body fat and look better naked it is a useless tool.  So let’s talk about eating in a way that will help you get healthy first.

The general goal of my clients is to increase their lean mass and reduce their level of body fat.  However, usually what I try to start with is simply getting them healthier and feeling better and 99% of the time, the body composition changes as a nice side effect.  There are a few key things that basically anyone can do in order to accomplish this that I try to get my clients to do, and they are actually quite simple but require a bit of discipline and time management.  And don’t worry; this isn’t your typical “eat 6 times a day and get 1 gram of protein per pound” crap.  Let’s take it from the beginning:

1)      Track your intake.  There are so many free tracking programs out there right now there is really no excuse not to be doing this.  I have two free apps downloaded on my phone I can update anytime, and there are probably dozens of free web sites that will allow you to simply track your calories and macronutrient ratios every day.  It takes ten minutes a day once you know what you are doing and this is absolutely vital to your long-term success in body composition.  Do you know how many times I hear “I don’t have time” or “I need to start doing this”?  Garbage.  If you can’t do this every day and your body composition is a priority then you’re lying to yourself or you are a terrible time manager.

2)      Figure out what your body reacts to.  I’m a believer that we all have food insensitivities, and some of us have full blow allergies as well.  With the amount of evidence out there right now about people’s reactions to things like gluten you can’t help but think that most people have a bad reaction to it.  So if you’re following point #1, all you have to do is make a note on how what you eat makes you feel.  If you eat something, and you immediately feel sleepy, or an hour later you are bloated, or (to be more extreme) something gives you bad gas or bowel movements odds are that your body didn’t like it.  So stop eating it and see if that goes away.  Pretty simple, right?  This might mean you have to give up eggs, or gluten – but you will feel a lot better, and this leads to more energy, which means your body can deal with other things, like getting fitter.

3)      Clean everything up.  When my wife was ill we for a time went on a fully non-inflammatory diet.  This meant no sugar, wheat, dairy, soy, nightshade vegetables, tomatoes, eggs or red meat.  So basically you’re eating lean protein, lots of fruits and veggies, and things without any processing or chemicals.  Things that once came from the earth and were good quality bioavailable foods.  Amazingly enough, after about two weeks we both felt amazing, slept better and had more energy – plus I dropped a few pounds and shed some body fat.  For most people you certainly don’t have to be this extreme, but if you simply start with cutting out sugar and anything else that makes your body react in an adverse way then you’re doing well.  If you are following point #1 and #2 you will hopefully know what you need to get rid of and where your bad habits are so it makes it easier.  You just need a bit of discipline.  Often once you cut something out you don’t even notice it’s gone.

4)      Hit your numbers consistently.  This means getting more consistent with your calorie numbers and macronutrient numbers every day for at least 2 weeks, and then finding out if you are heading in the right direction or not.  Most people eat barely at all during the week because they skip breakfast, barely eat lunch and then have a massive dinner because they are starving.  Then they are home on weekends and have a couple of days where they increase their calories by 50% or more and add things like alcohol.  No wonder they can’t lose weight or gain it.  Many of my clients when I tell them how much I want them to eat claim they simply can’t eat that much or don’t have time.  Again, I go back to point #1 – poor time management and priorities.  If this is something you really want, then just put the habits in place.  This is also just a good general health tip to not stress your digestive system.  If you can do this for a period of weeks (not days) you will be able to see if your body is reacting and then tweak things in order to head in the right direction.

5)      Be real about your habits.  If you drink too much, stop drinking for a while.  If you snack at night, find a new habit that prevents it.  There are TONS of food addicts out there who actually have a serious problem because food can trigger emotions through hormonal response.  This requires more than just tracking and cleaning up – it requires changing the way you think about food and how you deal with situations in everyday life.  Change your patterns and get yourself thinking about food as fuel and energy – not a warm hug when your partner is ignoring you or a stress reliever when you have had a rough day.  Get some other strategies in place.  Once in a while, it’s fine – and won’t completely derail your goals.  But if your choices are bad, have a serious conversation with yourself about why, or find a partner that will help you out.

6)      Don’t stress about what you’re eating.  If you are tracking, eating real good quality bioavailable foods, not eating things your body doesn’t like and hitting your goal numbers then believe it or not, what you eat doesn’t really matter in the long run.  Eat things you enjoy.  Eat things that make your body feel alive, because at the end of the day, food is energy and forms the basis for your body to produce great things or feel crappy.  The choice is up to you.  100 calories of broccoli isn’t the same as 100 calories of Frosted Flakes.  And you will notice that by the way your body reacts to it.  However, if you indulge one day, don’t beat yourself up.  Get back on track right away and just start again.  You’re still better off than where you were before.

Please, please, please don’t ask your trainer for a “diet”.  Your trainer is not a dietician.  If you have health issues or want a specific food outline, go to the people who have taken many years of education about it, not somebody who got their knowledge from a diet they were given themselves by someone and thinks it applies to everyone or got it out of the latest magazine.  I can almost guarantee you if your trainer gave you a diet that this is precisely the case.  Plus, if you follow something for a little while and then go back to the way you were before, you’re going to go back to the way you were before.  To make a change, it has to be permanent and consistent, just like your exercise program.  Remember, we want long term permanent change – not a quick fix.  The reason so many people fail on “diets” is because they never put into place the good habits that will move them towards their goals, just like with exercise.  People want results immediately, and aren’t willing to give their body the time it needs in order to get healthier.  Stop being one of those people and resolve to do better for a period of 4-6 months.  I guarantee at the end of that period you will look and feel remarkably different.

I hope that this helps you think more about what you are doing and if you have any questions, feel free to contact me.  Comments and questions are also welcome.        

What about the other sides of health?

My job mostly deals with physical health and structure.  Every day I spend time with people who are trying to move better and without pain, move faster, or be able to move more resistance.  However, over the years I have found that this is only one component of wellness, and I wanted to take the time not only to acknowledge the other sides of this whole thing we call “being” but take a look at ways that you can help yourself achieve a higher level of potential in your day to day living.

I want you to think of the whole thing as a square structure.  In one corner there is your physical health, which incorporates all of the things in the physical realm you can control.  Your strength, nutrition and sleep fall under this category.  These are the things I talk about all of the time.  But what about the other three corners?  These corners are your mental health, your emotional health and your spiritual health.  Let’s break these down and see if you are really paying attention to them like you should be.  So many people walk through their daily lives not even thinking about what is going on inside them and what fuels their desire to perform in other areas of their life.  Try to increase awareness and focus on these things that may have been long neglected can really help to enhance your overall being.  I’m of the opinion that everything is linked, and what we think really determines what we do and how we act, towards ourselves, and each other.

Life has energy, and your thoughts do as well.  How we think determines a large part of how we act and react to things around us every minute of every day.  Therefore mental health can be a large part of your overall being, and one that many people struggle with on a daily basis.  Think about it – how many people do you know with a “defined” mental illness?  I put defined in quotations only because it is my belief that people who are simply outside of the norms get put into a box and labelled as different because they think in a different way.  I’m by no means saying that there are not real diseases, but sometimes we as a society need to not be so quick to rush into labelling someone as mentally ill, especially our children and young adults who are just developing into their ways of thinking.  Our mental health is a huge part of how we approach every day and the people that we interact with.  It can control the decisions that you make and steps either forward or backwards in your existence.  Learning also falls under this envelope.  I try to learn something every day – do you?  Even if it is just reading an actual newspaper about world events or a magazine article about gardening, this goes a long way into keeping our brain active and working well.  Keeping your brain fresh can help you be more physically able to react and deal with everyday situations.

How do you deal with emotions?  Do you bottle them up and then vent all over somebody who doesn’t deserve it?  Do you expose them to anyone who will listen only to find that they stop listening after a while?  Learning to control and manage the emotions that we deal with daily is another component – your emotional health.  Sometimes we all need a good venting session, or to just sit and be sad, but we also need to open ourselves up to truly being happy and joyful about the things in our life we are grateful for.  Tony Robbins calls this the “hour of power” where you take time first thing in the morning to think about and acknowledge all of the things that you are blessed with in your life.  Often when I’m walking my dogs in the morning I’ll just go through the list and realize how lucky I am to have a great family, a beautiful place to live, and a job that I love to go to in the mornings, even at 5am.  If you have a hard time with this, friends and family are good ways to express how you are feeling (hopefully) without judgement and let you explore how you are feeling.  Some people need direct counselling help for this type of thing, but it is still important just like the other two for overall well being and healthy living.  When you’re angry – be angry.  But make sure that it doesn’t detract from your overall health by causing you to have stress and be mentally unstable.

Which brings us to the final cornerstone of this equation – spiritual health.  Whatever higher power you believe in really doesn’t matter to me, and if you don’t believe in one then that’s fine too.  What you should have though is a set of principles and beliefs that you follow that fulfills you as a person.  In a nutshell, I think that one can be spiritual in many ways, even if it is something as simple as being good to others.  Giving to others can be a big part of this, and if you don’t have something like that in your life I encourage you to create it.  I’m a believer that what we put out there is what we get back, which is one reason I do what I do every day.

So there we have it.  Body, mind, heart and spirit all form the cornerstones of a healthy being that is able to go through life in a fulfilling way, conquer their goals and attain a higher state of being.  What steps can you take today in order to shore up some of these cornerstones?  Even a small step can make a difference and I encourage you to start right away.  Feel free to comment and let me know what you have done today to help yourself.