A little less talk, a lot more training...

I'll begin this post with an anecdote:

My aunt, God bless her, has never been particularly active, not that I can recall, anyway. She was never an athlete, never one for risk-taking, either. Nevertheless, in her fifties she began to experience shoulder pain, which lead to surgery and even more crippling shoulder pain. A woman who never stressed or strained her body too much, except maybe to clean house here and there, my aunt enjoys even less mobility and function than before.

How is all that possible? Friends, I'm going to share something with you that might come as a shock: our bodies are meant to MOVE and to undergo the stresses and strains of a routine workload, because these are the conditions under which our bodies have evolved, the one's that ensure that they will continue to function well even into our twilight years. They've gotten pretty damn good at it, by the way.

Now, let's consider the case of my great-uncle, by contrast. He's in his eighties now and still remains vital and active. All of his life, he has routinely engaged in mentally and physically demanding work, which has ranged from maintaining a small farm to trapping furs in the wooded areas that surround his house. Recently, he survived a stroke with only some short term memory loss, having regained all motor function in the time since hospitalization. He's strong because his lifestyle demands it.

What I hope you gain from all of this is that, contrary to the hype, stress is good for you. What we have is a culture of pain avoidance made worse by the fact that, for most of us, working entails little to no physical labor. And while my great-uncle now suffers from many aches and pains due to his work, that work has made his late-life independence possible. As I see it, the choice to remain active is a simple one: either we grow old and suffer, never having exercised regularly, or grow old, experience pain, but enjoy more mobility and exhibit a higher late-life work capacity, the fruits of active living.

Diet & Nutrition

Much of what I'll cover in this post can be found over at Lyle McDonald's website, Body Recomposition. Lyle has spent a great deal of time combing through research on diet and nutrition so that you and I don't have to.

Research indicates that diets identical in calories will initially result in the same amount of weight loss irrespective of the ratio of fats to carbs to proteins, provided that there is a calorie deficit. However, in the long run those who consume a diet high in protein (for instance, 9 grams for every 20 lbs. of bodyweight) lose more. Likely, this is the case because protein curbs the appetite. Those who don't consume enough protein stay hungrier and begin to make up for the deficit by eating more. In short, more protein is better regardless of the diet that you're on. Now, whether or not you should eat a diet slightly higher in fats or carbs is specific to the individual, and in order to determine which is best, one needs to experiment to decide which percentages of fats vs. carbs make him or her feel the best.

Provided that protein intake is sufficient, one should then address what his or her energy demands are. A deficit of 500 calories daily will result in a pound of weight loss weekly ("deficit" means more calories out than calories in), which translates into 3500 calories a week. Conversely, a surplus of 500 calories daily will result in a pound of weight gain weekly.

In addition, feedings should be spread out across a minimum of six meals a day to ensure that energy levels remain high. Gorging oneself leads to feelings of sluggishness and foggy-headedness because blood is diverted to the stomach and intestines to aid in digestion, not to mention that the corresponding spike in blood sugar leads to the inevitable "crash." Lastly, the collective wisdom of the health and fitness community holds that smaller meals eaten more frequently keep one's metabolism running higher. When the body is nourished in this way, it tends to burn more calories, having been conditioned to expect a steady stream of energy, rather than horde calories in the event of starvation.

Injury

Although we strive to remain injury-free, sometimes injuries do happen, despite proper programming and proper lifting technique. Thankfully, most injuries turn out to be minor and self-limiting, provided that we have programmed and executed our lifts correctly along the way.

In the event of an injury, it is important that you do not cease to train; instead, find exercises that provide a tolerable amount of stress to the affected area without exceeding the rate of healing. When treated this way, an injury, provided that it isn't serious, will heal faster because you provided the stimulus for it to do so. This is the way that your body is meant to function.

Remember, this applies only to minor injuries, the sort that feel okay once you've warmed them up and can comfortably be trained through. Injuries inside or near joints that manifest with sharp and stabbing or even crippling pains, and which may be accompanied by swelling, should never be trained through.

Strength

As we grow older, our levels of strength and mobility define our quality of life (whether we like it or not). There is no excuse for not developing or maintaining strength--neither age, nor sex, nor race, nor injury, NOR displeasure or discomfort stemming from the thought or practice of training.

When I train my clients, I remain sensitive to the limitations each brings with him or her. Understand that I will never ask any of you to perform exercises that are unsound. Having said this, everyone must accept that training can be unpleasant, life doesn't care that you don't like certain exercises, and that you must, therefore, train in ways that are uncomfortable in order to meet life's demands, or else risk sustaining a truly devastating injury outside of the gym.

If you experience sharp, stabbing pains--the kind which threaten to throw you off kilter--then you should never continue with a given exercise. However, the fact that you are uncomfortable, or that you just don't "like" an exercise, does not fly with me. If you're having difficulty performing an exercise, then you should probably invest time in discovering why this is the case--with my help, of course--so that we can make adjustments and continue to move forward. Always come prepared to do your best and work hard, no excuses.