New stuff, exercise, diet, etc.

Well after posting the fasttwitchmind to this site I decided to let it rest a few days, then get back on some fitness/healthy lifestyle stuff. One of the periodical fitness/healthy newsletters that I subscribe to is Alternatives(For the Health-Conscious Individual) and on a monthly basis it really gives me some new, interesting information. The March issue came in while I was sending fasttwitchmind stuff your way, so now I can really fill you up with some current information from Alternatives. While I get all kinds of weird stuff in the mail this newsletter happens to be one that I have a lot of confidence in and I feel good about providing my readers with some of the information I get from them. I have felt for a number of years that alternatives to the synthetic drug use is a great idea for our body and health I have also felt that there was not enough real professional information out there to tell us what to take or how much. Since just about anything can be toxic if you take too much or take the wrong thing for the wrong reasons, I felt that more professionalism should have been applied to herbs or so-called natural healing medicines. So, what has happened is a lot of medical doctors are venturing into the natural medicine applications and or actually telling bad things about the possible toxic affects of pharmaceutical products. It is a known fact that over 100,000 deaths occur each year, in our hospitals, due to poorly prescribed drugs. So, I am a believer in investigating the alternatives to see if they may apply.

Since aging happens on a daily basis everything we do affects it, good and bad. Also, I have found that on a daily basis I am ask what is the easiest and single most important thing a person can do to stay healthy. Funny thing is there are a couple of key things people can do to stay as healthy as possible, but the two things that are a must are the two things that most unhealthy people are really guilty of: 1. Unhealthy diets, 2. Lack of exercise. Since cardiovascular disease is the number-one cause of death in the US, and accounts for 30 percent of all deaths worldwide there is certainly awareness of the dangers associated with abusing this part of your body. Along with this major killer is the associated partners called, high blood pressure, heart attack, angina, peripheral arterial disease, stroke, kidney disease, fatigue and shortness of breath. Man this makes me ill just writing about it. Today I will touch on the exercises that will help combat these dreaded killers and you have heard it before, but I am going to keep harping on it till it sinks in. The two forms of exercise that will help us live healthy is aerobic and musculoskeletal exercises. While I have been talking about the values of aerobic exercise since the beginning of time you will find it very repetitious, but not boring. The most current study resulted from a group that exercised 15 minutes per work out, 3 times per day, 3 days per week at 65% of their maximum heart rate. Remember, to get your maximum heart rate take your age say 70(mine) from 220 equals 150 then multiply by .65 for 98 beats per minute. While most fitness coaches now use the blood test method of determining your maximum heart rate this less sophisticated
method will work. Also, the three times a day is not realistic for people still active in the world but was used for this test period. I suggest the 3 times per week, at a time you will most likely feel like exercising, going 30 minutes each time. As you feel stronger you can increase the amount of time you are out there, but do not add anymore than 10% any given time. Now that we have the cardiovascular motion going let's do some musculoskeletal exercises to give us a little strength but not Arnold looks. Resistance or weight bearing exercise is good for the body if done is smaller doses. Possibly some light weights, maybe 5-15 pound dumbbells for the arms, and small small weight resistance for the legs. If you don't have actual dumbbell weights just go to the pantry and get out some large cans of beans, or similar products. They work just as well and don't clutter up the room. A couple of strength exercises were also mentioned for home exercises: LUNGES--This exercise strengthens the muscles in your upper and lower legs, knees, and lower back. Stand with your feet together, then take a long step forward with one foot. Be sure that your toes are pointing straight forward on both feet. Lower your body slowly by bending your knees, until the knee on the front leg is just over the ankle on that leg. Don't go any further down that that. Slowly return to an upright position by pushing with the heel of your front foot. Do five of these, resting for a couple seconds between each repetition, then return to a standing position with your feet together. Repeat the same with the other foot, see that is not so bad and can be done anywhere in your home. SQUATS--The squat is undoubtedly the best exercise for the muscles of the lower body. It will strengthen the muscles in your legs, knees, and buttocks. Here goes, stand in front of a chair with your feet spread should-width apart. Keep your back straight, and your arms extended in front of you. Slowly and steadily lower yourself until your are almost sitting in the chair, hold that position for a couple of seconds(longer as you progress), and then slowly come to the upright position. Do this exercise for 10 repetitions, with a couple seconds between each repetition. Work your way up to three sets of repetitions, with a minute or two of rest between sets. You can also lean flat against a wall and accomplish the same thing while giving your back some support. As in any new exercise always take it easy to start with since these muscle groups have not been worked in a while and will have a tendency to feel weaker and get sore. If soreness sets in then give it a day of rest, but try to do these exercises at least 3 times per week.

Last but certainly not least Alternatives had some food tips for some healthy grub. This little number is called "one of the most delicious heart-healthy foods you can eat comes from the pure, clean water of Portugal."--Dr. David Williams. Now get ready for this since we all have our misconceptions of this little fish. It is the sardine of all things. All I can think of it those little flat cans of little fish coated together withs some kind of slimy wet substance and the real fishy taste. BUT, wait a minute the sardines that Dr. Williams is talking about come from Portugal and are really healthy. He says that these little powerhouses are filled with bone-building nutrients, and are a great source for Vitamin D, which is necessary for bone growth and immune function. This little dude also is rich in calcium and enhances cellular metabolism and energy production. Now you ask, "well how do I get these little bundles of health and energy since what I see on the market shelves just doesn't seem to fit these descriptions?" The answer is simple, Alternatives has a way that you can order the "from Portugal sardine," so I will order some and report back to you on how they look, smell, and taste. Sounds like a little saltine crackers, some Tabasco and I am off to healthy eating.

My closing comment would be another simple suggestion, if we all just adopt eating and exercise habits that become our lifestyle, instead of doing these things as an after note to our lifestyle, it would so much easier to live a healthy fun life.

Mike Greer

Sorry about that!

The current post concerning nothings, movie reviews was posted to this site by mistake. It should have been on the fasttwitchmind site, but some how was sent through cyber space and landed on maturefitness. For those of you who were eager to see the latest maturefitness posting, which will be some time today, will have to either ignore this post or wait until I figure out how to get it transferred to the other site, or if you have nothing else to do you can read it.

greer

Nothings, Movie Reviews

Most of the time when I write on this site I have something really hot and world changing to say, i.e. JD's bar, the latest on Big O, or maybe the latest concerning the w. man, or how riding a motorcycle compares to sex, etc. But, today I am going to wing it with nothings. Nothings consist of really nothing that makes sense or even has anything to do for the improvement of mankind. It also illustrates that I resigned myself, for today anyway, to not try and change the world through my site. Every time I write something I want to present the point of the writing and then try to draw a conclusion from it, maybe something that will change the world of professional football, i.e. quit paying these jokers so much, or why does JJ continue to ruin the Dallas Cowboys and their worth continues to go up, or why they continue to call them the Dallas Cowboys when they have been in Irving for over 30 years and now are moving to Arlington? I read the Cowboys daily up date and it is full of a bunch of nothings, so I am not the only one that is guilty of writing nothings. One time a few years ago I was ticked off at USA Triathlon so I spent over 6 hours substantiating my points of frustration only to find that no one was listening or even cared about my frustrations. So, it is a pleasure today to share my nothings with my reading patrons and try to prove that rather than label these nothings we will certainly not call it rambling(we did that subject some time ago) even though I am in the age group that is eligible and has the life time license to ramble if I want to. However, I believe that rambling is truly saved for the senior living centers and those folks who really don't want to make sense so they just ramble with good cause and sometimes enthusiasm. Last night we went to a piano bar in the heart of the Depot District of Lubbock and enjoyed another phase of our population that I had a little trouble figuring out who they were or where they came from. The Depot District usually has a large portion of the Texas Tech student body on hand to drink of the adult beverage(I have been told that if they are not 21 they just have a fake id made so they can buy these precious beverages, and enjoy the entertainment. But, this crowd was definitely a diversified bunch ranging in ages from 21 to 70(do we know anyone 70 that would be handing out amongst all this fun?). The piano bar guys were great and really presented a different piano bar presentation that I had ever seen. They were excellent musicians and had a sense of humor to boot, while bringing in the crowd during every song. As an amateur psychologist I always have fun studying the new crowds that I may be exposed to, so I was having a great time looking this crowd over. Of course it also made it easy to look when the young women all had on low cut, breast exposing, tantalizing dresses( I had to make note of this for the writing). To add to the diversity there was a platoon of gays(gals and guys) right next to us and they were having a great time. Needless to say we got a little frustrated since it was a non-dancing place and when you hear music you just want to dance. So, we moved on to the only C & W dance hall we could find and wrestled with the real cowboys for a spot on the floor. When you get there late you really run the risk of being rolled over by the drunk cowboys on the floor or not being able to dance because of the drunk cowboys on the floor. Yep folks, there are still cowboys in West Texas and no there are not any Indians to speak of in West Texas. Seems as though they were captured and run out of the canyons many years ago, never to return. Ooops, I forgot to mention that before we got to the C & W joint we stopped in a bar that was predominately Chicano, Mexican American, Latino, or whatever the political correct definition is today to test out the band and the dance floor. We found a very good band, small dance floor, but no one danced. Also, it was one of those places that if you went ahead and danced anyway you would probably be tarred and feathered by dawn, and left to be plucked by the coyotes. Since we are Scotch Irish Americans we decided to move on and knew that the music and dance floor would welcome us at the Chances R(really a meat market, you know meat as in girls and boys looking for that next opportunity of true love, he he!!). Turns out we had hit the jackpot with a larger dance floor, great C & W music, so our dancing toes took over and we wore out the sawdust for about 2 hours. Now before I conclude these nothings I will say that the rest of the day will be spent in some kind of exercise mode, while trying to get out all of the smoke, adult beverage and anything else that creeped into my body while my twinkle toes of the midway had their fun. Enjoy the day since it is the beginning of the rest of your life.

Movie Reviews: "The Wrestler", *****, Wow what a movie, in the beginning of it you just have to be a little patient and realize that the back shots of Mickey Rourke, playing Randy "The Ram" Robinson is just the style of this cinematographer. The story revolves around "The Ram" in the seedy world of grade B professional wrestling. But you will learn very fast that this movie is not just about wresting. It also is about barriers put up by lonely people, and the painful risks that go with taking them down. An Oscar nominated performance by Rourke and very well done movie. On the tail end of his career, Ram survives a heart attract and emergency bypass, and the he struggles to pursue desired relationships with his estranged daughter and possible girl friend. But in the end the power of being the athletic performer as a professional wrestler just gets the best of him. Go see, dynamic conclusion that possibly only an athlete of any sport will understand. Rated R for violence, sexuality/nudity(a rear entry sex scene for starters), language and some drug use.

"Pink Panther 2", *, Terrible movie, boring and misuse of one of my favorite actors, Steve Martin as Inspector Clouseau. I give it one star because Martin was in it, but it is really a waste of money. Rated PG for some suggestive humor, brief mild language and action. BORING!

"He's Just Not That Into You", **, First of all the title is too long, but I feel the movie is worth a bargain basement price or wait till it comes out on cable. It is definitely a girlie movie, I only saw 3 other men in the fully packed house. It concerned four on going love, like, or lust stories concerning four women. A great cast with Ben Affleck, Jennifer Aniston, Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Connelly, and Scarlett Johnsson. Rated PG-13 for sexual content and brief strong language.

greerman

12 New Developments to help you feel fit

Now here I go again with the some new steps to feeling fit and good. But, these come from Mr. Stephen R. Covey, a noted author of "The Seven Habits of Successful People". Since he is a guy I have followed for years and admire his work I thought I would list these with some of my comments, if need be. Mr. Covey is probably close to 80 years old, and raised 8 children. He is still very active and healthy, the last I heard. Here goes:

1. Eat right, breathe easy. This advice can vary with each person; however, the most important guideline here is to eliminate trigger food that cause indigestion or heart burn. Eat smaller meals, and be real careful as to the prescription drugs you take. We do not need as much food as we actually eat, in most cases. There are too many eat all you want venues in the food industry. Eat to live, not live to eat(my stuff, not Mr. Covey's).

2. Boost your fitness with food. HDL the good cholesterol, reduces the risk of heart disease and limits the damage of LDL(the bad stuff). Foods high in monounsaturated fats, such as olive oil, nuts, avocados and olives are recommended. Berries are very good for you and now the power berry is the "acaia" berry, and the "bilberry".

3. For energy, move it with simple and easy exercise program(okay go back to my previous posts, remember, 20-30 minutes per day, at recommended heart rate. That is all you need.

4. Sweat it out--I love this one since I love to sweat. I believe this is one of the most effective things you can do for good health. You sweat it out with aerobic exercise. If you don't like to sweat then get over it and learn to like it, it is a healthy thing to do(from me not Covey).

5. Ditch depression--positive attitude is a must to be healthy. Help this along with Vitamin D or the sunshine vitamin. Omega 3 fatty acids are also strong allies to help fight depression.

6. Get soles--It has been said that when your feet hurt you hurt all over(I changed this a little when I had some tooth problems and it seemed that when my tooth hurt I felt it all over my body), but at any rate make sure you have a good fit with comfortable shoes.

7. Go from good to grape--again juice sippers can enjoy the health benefits of grapes the same as their wine drinking buddies. This is a very healthy fruit, even with all the new power fruits coming on the market the grape is holding its' own. Seedless, or not, green or red, it matters not. Along with the energy boost there is also plenty of fiber. Juice + is the best supplement you can buy to get all your fruits, including grapes. I take one each of the three Juice + capsules, daily.

8. Sleep on a soft bed for more restful sleep. I know hat hard beds have been prescribed by some, but now they are finding that softer is better. Good sleep is essential to a healthy, fit life.

9. Make like a fish and swim--take up swimming if you have the facilities for good low impact aerobic exercise. Now my 20-45 minute swims are the high light of my exercise during the week. After a long bike ride or run the swim feels great. You can also reduce joint pain with a 500-1500 yard swim work out.

10. Network your way to happiness--this means staying away from negative people and environments. When someone starts talking negative, just say, "sorry I have to go." Makes it hard some times when it is one of your loved ones, but do it, it works.

11. Pop some pine bark--short for looking into herbal supplements. These are sold over the counter and would very seldom be recommended by medical doctors. After all they don't get a kick back from them and they consider this stuff magic pills or poison. The biggest challenge I have found with with herbals or alternatives is finding someone who really knows something about these supplements, but I have and I use them frequently.

12. Look(out) for the salt--my practice is not to add salt to anything I eat. With the salt already present in most foods that you eat you really do not need anymore than that. No more than one teaspoon of salt should be added to you food per day. Leave this stuff alone, it does increase you chances for high blood pressure.

These are all excellent tid bits to make your life more fit and healthy. Well the proof will be in the pudding since my annual physical with be this coming Tuesday. I will report back on the results.

Off to do a bicycle work out! Happy Super Bowl weekend, we are for the Cardinals since they are the Cinderella story.

Mike Greer