Keep Your Friends Close, Your Enemies Closer…

and your “FRENEMIES” closest! I thought of this word while anxiously engaged in a good cause (losing my expanding waistline). Specifically, I was utilizing a principle I had learned from Dan John, one of my favorite strength and conditioning coaches, author and seemingly all around good egg.

More on Dan John in a minute, but first the principle: Inefficient Exercise, which he defines as

“doing something that takes a lot of movement and breathing and really doesn’t get you very far. If you are poor at swimming or dancing, swim or dance.”

My chosen Inefficient Exercise was riding my fixed gear bike. Although not a true “fixie” as these single speed bikes are commonly known, as my bike is set up to “freewheel” allowing me to rest when riding/coasting downhill. It is nonetheless, VERY inefficient for me, and as Coach Dan John has taught, a great way to lose body fat, exercise for met-con (metabolic conditioning), aerobic exercise, etc.

So why “frenemies?” After all, I am clearly a fan of Dan John and his coaching and should see him as a friend in my life… well, the truth is, because I was hurting. Bad. But that is good, inefficient, and in this case, and for my purpose effective, right? Right! But still, in my agony, I started “hating on” the guiltless Dan John… my new… “frenemy.”

Dan John is someone who teaches principles that are simple but not easy!  Principles that expose my weaknesses for my benefit! In my life, I have been blessed with many friends who have taught me myriad correct principles. When I am my best self I have had “enemies” who have taught me my own weaknesses, and therefore my most important life lessons personally.

During today’s efforts, I thought of some amazing “frenemies” I would like to introduce over the next several weeks, months, years? People who teach myriad correct principles that can expose personal weaknesses and help you develop YOUR best self, more than any friend or foe!

Examples: The aforementioned Dan John on Strength, Conditioning and being an amazing Coach! Jocko Willink and Leif Babin on Leadership, and Tim Ferriss on all things Learning/Teaching and Training/Coaching.

I am an unapologetic “bibliophile” and have read extensively the great writings of these three. Jocko and Tim also have amazing podcasts. My hope is to share with you some of what I have learned for your benefit, in hopes that you too might study these great Teachers/Coaches/Mentors, and selfishly to journal some of my experiences while putting their principles to the test! So…

“Keep your friends close, your enemies closer and your frenemies CLOSEST!”

 

Making a Comeback

I so very much miss creating posts here. It’s been way too long. So long that I’m not sure exactly how to post. I’m shocked out how difficult it is to remember the “nuts and bolts” of posting here. I have a faint recollection of learning to post, finding the current background, creating some organization, adding pictures, adding videos and most important responding to the many kind comments that come through.

One thing that has not changed is my love for life, learning and sharing. Oh sure, there have been some serious changes and challanges, but I am still higly motivated to share some of my learning with others. Please remember me and my family in your prayers. I will do my part to find the time to “make a comeback,” here at PeakaBoomer.

Any fellow bloggers who have suggestions as to where I might find some instruction specific to WordPress, please let me know!

Best wishes to all! Joe H.

Forgive me father for I have sinned…

It’s been one year since my last confession, er, uh I mean one year since my last post!

-I’ve forgotten how to make use of the many features here at WordPress.com

-I’ve been intimidated by the whole writing/blogging process.

-I’ve coveted my neighbors’ blog.

-I’ve procrastinated.

You get the idea. Well it’s good to be back! Even with only this short note of commitment to blog more this year (heck I’ll beat my 2012 posts, if I can make it into next month!)

I’ve got some penance to go do, but I’ll be back soon!

Happy New Year 🙂 Joe H

P.S. I’v also noticed that I’ve got advertisers! No I don’t get any royalties. Turns out that’s part of the WordPress deal, you get some advertising popped on your blog at random… so far I’m flattered, nothing I absolutely wouldn’t endorse.

Prayer to Those Passed and Those Left Behind

There are few pains in life deeper than the loss of a loved one. This pain, in my experience, holds a deeper sting when the loss is suffered in violence, when the loss is a brother or sister with whom you have trained and served in righteous conflict against a common enemy.

 I wanted to share with those who have served and lost, those who support those who serve and have lost and all fellow Americans so that we might stand together in support of our loved ones who’s challenges are often unknown and unknowable, and sometimes unfathomable. Take the time today to say thank you to our service members, both foreign and domestic, and their families.

Here is an amazing song and video, I’ll let Edwin McCain tell the story and say the words in the way only he can. You can follow the lyrics I’ve included below, thanks to LyricsDomain.com:

Let them in, Peter
For they are very tired
Give them couches where the angels sleep
And light those fires
Let them wake whole again
To brand new dawns
Fired by the sun
Not war-times bloody guns
May their peace be deep
Remember where the broken bodies lie
God knows how young they were
To have to die

You know God knows how young they were
To have to die

Give them things they like
Let them make some noise
Give dance hall bands not golden harps
To these our boys
Let them love Peter
For they’ve had no time
They should have bird songs and trees
And hills to climb
The taste of summer
And a ripened pear
And girls as sweet as meadow wind
And flowing hair
And tell them how they are missed
But say not to fear
It’s gonna be all right
With us down here

Let them in, Peter
For they are very tired
Give them couches where the angels sleep
And light those fires
Let them wake whole again
To brand new dawns
Fired by the sun
Not war-times bloody guns
May their peace be deep
Remember where the broken bodies lie
God knows how young they were
To have to die

You know God knows how young they were
To have to die

And tell them how they are missed
But say not to fear
It’s gonna be all right
With us down here

It’s gonna be all right
With us down here

God Bless, and remember; “It’s gonna be all right with us down here,” for one day (hopefully a long time from now) we will be reunited for they are only lost for a season. Joe H

Books and Blogs

Don’t you love this age, when they’re missing their front teeth! Ah to be six again!

I’ve recently started Dave Ramsey’s NYT Bestseller; The Total Money Makeover, at Linda’s request. She wants us on the same page concerning our family finances. A good suggestion in and of itself. So far (only 3 chapters in) I really like this book, and trust me I’m a guy who could care less about this subject… to my peril!

I like the straightforward approach generally and Ramsey’s comparison of personal finance and debt to diet and exercise specifically. He tells his readers up front that he’s not going to say anything new (just like losing weight and getting fit, eat less/workout) he’s just going to package a plan, and show you how to accomplish freedom from debt and financial fitness.

And my favorite, he loves quotes! here are a few from the first three chapters:

Personal finance is 80 percent behavior, and only 20 percent head knowledge.

That’s good news, because I am NOT motivated to learn the “head knowledge!”

To avoid criticism say nothing, do nothing, and be nothing. 

He attributes this great quote to Aristotle.

Those convinced against their will are of the same opinion still. 

This is just true, true, true, I’m sure we all agree!

A man with an experience is not at the mercy of a man with an opinion. 

Thank the Lord!

Even a turkey can fly in a tornado.

I like; “Even a broken clock is right twice a day!” Kinda the same!?

I also wanted to make a quick note about a blog I found that has goals similar to this one and does a fantastic job! AMSDaily.net, (Aspire, Motivate Succeed! Daily) has all kinds of inspirational stories, posts and ideas. Take some time to look a their about page here!

I’m certain I will be commenting in the future on both of these resources! Have a great day, Joe H

Quote of The Day

Work is crazy this week and probably for the next few. As much as I would like to write more, I probably will be unable. Hey, it’s good to have plenty of work! At any rate, I will at least do my very best to have a positive quote of the day, every day, even if I can’t comment on it!

Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark. Professionals built the Titanic!

I can’t find anyone to attribute this to, but I can tell you that I found it and other great quotes at croatia.org. A blog about all things Croatian… I know, strange, but that’s where I found it. The link I’ve embedded goes straight to the particular post where other great quotes can be found. Go try something new and have a great day! Joe H

WiFi Wars (A Few Laughs For Your Day)

Seems folks are communicating through their WiFi with anyone close enough to pick them up, usually their neighbors. Apparently one neighbor named his “Hack Me if you can!” The next day he signed on and found his WiFi name had been changed to “Challenge Accepted!” Scary, and… well, kinda funny!

Many things can influence your day; what you read (You Are What You Read), what you eat (The Human Diet) and the friends you keep (The Five People You Hang Out With). What you listen to also has a big influence! At least for me.

Locally my “drive to work radio” choices are Glenn Beck or Bob and Tom. Pretty diverse no? If you’ve not heard of these two, or for that matter either one of these two, you’re living under a rock! Just kidding. If your not familiar with them, just  click on their names, I’ve linked each to their websites. 

I’m not a huge fan of politics in popular media, especially on the radio. I was at one time though. I even had XM for a time and a longer commute, so I listened frequently. If I listened to a left leaning station I would get pissed, so I gravitated to more conservative radio. The difference? It just took me longer to realize that the right leaning shows pissed me off as well! Why get mad over some things, probably most things, outside of my sphere of influence? At least occasionally Glenn Beck has some humor!

Bob and Tom on the other hand is 99.9% comedy. Be advised it’s often “off color” comedy but pretty darn funny! Rarely they’ll allude to politics… somewhat left leaning… hey they’re entertainers what do you expect!? I have Bob and Tom to thank for today’s topic. They were talking back and forth about different WiFi network names this morning. Pretty funny stuff! Once I got to work and close to a computer I searched for WiFi names and quickly realized it is a subject that has been covered extensively in the “blogosphere.” Not blogs like this one, but blogs that have been around for awhile, mostly “techy,” some getting thousands of visits per day and many, with some outrageous content!

Looking at several I found that most humerus WiFi names come from one of three catagories:

1. Take off on names:

Abraham Lynksys (Right on Mr. President!)

Kenny Log-Ins (Old School Muzak)

Bill Wi The Science Fi (Old School Techy, HA!)

2. A Couple of Great Tunes:

Wi Believe I can Fi (R. Kelly’s Best! Love this track!)

Pretty Fly for a WiFi (Great tune from The Offspring)

3. And Finally, Warnings-Commands-Requests:

Virus Infected WiFi (Wouldn’t risk using this one)

Get Off My LAN (Modern take on an old theme)

FBI Surveillance Van (Big Brothers Watching You!)

I’ve Seen You Naked (Your Neighbors Watching You! Close the Blinds!)

PlzBringVodkaToApt1310 (Back away from the Smirnoff!)

The take home for me? I definitely prefer to start my day out with some humor! I hope this little bit will add a smile to your day too! Joe H

It’s Not What You Know, It’s Knowing Where to Find It

The right to know is like the right to live. It is fundamental and unconditional in its assumption that knowledge, like life, is a desirable thing. GEORGE BERNARD SHAW (1913)

Today’s title is something I heard and said often as a  Physician Assistant (PA) resident in training. As testimony to this maxim we all rounded with our white coats’ pockets stuffed full of reference books, quick-guides, lists, and if you were really “on the cutting edge,” the new Palm Pilot. That was just ten years ago.

Palm Pilots quickly became old technology and today we enjoy amazing resources for increasing knowledge not only in medicine, but in literally every human discipline, and most of  it readily at our fingertips here in the US and other parts of the world. All serve to radically increase human knowledge, and therefore our ability to serve one another.

“New” ideas are generally not entirely new, but rather spring from existing ideas, which are either combined in new ways or built upon by experts who bring new insights to them. So, the iPod was born by combining the notion of miniaturized data storage with online music services. From that has grown the “podcast” phenomenon of broadcasting video/audio interviews to MP3 owners who can view this information at convenient times. And so on, and so forth. ROGER Z. GEORGE, Meeting 21st Century Transnational Challenges: Building a Global Intelligence Paradigm (2007)

How else could someone like me write and publish information as diverse as diet and spirituality, fitness and orphanages in Mexico, or quote Umberto Tosi, Winston Churchill or Roger Z. George? Trust me, it’s not what I know, I just know where to find it.

I’ve been able, over the past two weeks, to come to work with a particular thought in mind, expand on it via an internet search or two, find pertinent quotes, and write my ideas down here. Not  entirely new ideas, just ideas that “are either combined in new ways or built upon,” and given new insight (I pray) from any expertise I might be blessed with.

I love learning and sharing what I learn. So much so, that I have, and will continue, God willing, to hyperlink names of people I have quoted to a wikipedia page in many cases, or other resources in other cases. If you check today’s hyperlinks and any of my past links to wikipedia, you will see the image I’ve placed above, as wikipedia and others are on “strike” today, protesting legislation that may limit or halt our ability to find and utilize information. Tomorrow the links will be back in operation. Find out why many resources are “striking,” Google search SOPA BLACKOUT or simply check my links from this blog! Have a great day, and stay informed! Joe H

P.S. Roger Z. George’s quote was taken from the CIA’s Center for the Study of Intelligence. The article sited the Intelligence Communities need to use a global “open source” collection model, involving non-government persons from many diverse disciplines worldwide in an effort to find and mitigate “new threats which are more diverse, less visible and less predictable!” Ironic I think. How will this be accomplished without the unrestricted, OPEN SOURCE, flow of information?

The Human Diet

You are in the middle of a river (Time) and facing downstream. The future approaches you from behind… only to recede into the past, which actually lies in front of you, moving ever farther away. If you could look far enough downstream you would see the beginning of the stream and in essence, everything. —Robb Wolf, The Paleo Solution: The Original Human Diet.

With a focus on the evolutionary and anthropological basis for diet, health and well being in modern humans,  Dr. Loren Cordain, a Professor in the Department of Health and Exercise Science at Colorado State University, looked far enough downstream, to find the answer to today’s dietary issues. His focused backward glance in time resulted in an excellent book The Paleo Diet: Lose Weight and get Healthy by Eating the Foods You Were Designed to Eat.

Robb Wolf, Co-Owner of Nor-Cal Strength and Conditioning and also a renowned CrossFit Coach read much of Dr. Cordain’s work, became a student of Dr. Cordain’s and eventually wrote The Paleo Solution: The Original Human Diet.  Robb Wolf’s work is an engaging study of Dr. Cordain’s work coupled with practical advice for incorporating this, the human diet, into our modern lives.

If you don’t have the time or energy, or if you’re not a pointy headed academic geek, like me (I actually enjoy reading about exercise and diet), trust me and give both CrossFit and The Paleo Solution a good 12 week trial. It will make all the difference in the world for you. After years of study and experimentation in my own life, these two methods get my highest recommendation and continued support.

Thanks for stopping by, sorry for the delay in today’s post, I suspect a later post on Tuesdays will be the norm! Joe H

P.S. To save yourself some time and facilitate a smooth transition into a paleo diet that will fit your lifestyle, visit Robb’s blog HERE. Like CrossFit, Robb’s site is jam packed full of information to support the use of his book and your success.

On Getting Older WITHOUT Ageing

Everyone wants to get older, no one wants to age! –Joe Hamilton, talking with a patient, sometime last year.

As a “baby boomer,” (along with every other generation) I’m getting older. I really feel it at work when I ask my co-workers to “get me a ‘xerox’ of this chart please.” Most just look at me quizzically and ask, “you need me to copy that chart?” Others are so young they don’t know that xerox is now one of many copier manufacturers, much less remember a time when xerox was the ONLY company that made copy machines!

Heck, I remember “dittos!” The copy machine that rendered all of our printed material at school in a distinct blue print!

And of course, like every red-blooded American male boomer of the 70’s I remember “dittos” the great looking pants girls wore to school…  Hey guys, I’m happy to report dittos (the pants of course) are making a comeback! Sorry, back on topic;

There is, however a way to get older without excessive ageing. Exercise and eating right. Don’t shoot me, I’m just the messenger. Seriously, best exercise methodology (if applied correctly) for slow-ageing? CrossFit. This is my informed opinion, for three reasons:

1. CrossFit has THE best methods, based on a comprehensive definition of fitness, and strict adherence to aligning it’s programming with human energy systems, as opposed to training for aesthetics.

2. CrossFit continues to develop best practices of it’s methods by using an open source philosophy, the only exercise methodology to my knowledge to take advantage of the internet, communication and media, strictly for the purpose of improving the practice of developing peak human performance. (As opposed to strictly for marketing)

3. CrossFit is scale-able. Don’t discount CrossFit for it’s focus on Olympic Weightlifting, gymnastics, sprint training, and their use in a high intensity interval training format. It’s true affiliate gyms and their coaches are taught to scale workouts to each athlete’s abilities. Can’t do a single push-up, pull-up or dip? Think you might be allergic to iron, and/or can’t see yourself doing a barbell clean from the floor? Haven’t run in awhile? Don’t worry there’s ways to get you from zero to hero WITHOUT injury… in the hands of the right coach!

Check the CrossFit affiliate in your area. If the workouts are not scaled to your needs, there’s probably two or more CrossFit affiliates in your city or surrounding area to choose from, find the right fit.

Even if there are no CrossFit affiliates in your area, go to the main website and subscribe to the CrossFit Journal. For $25.00 bucks a year  some of the BEST writing on strength and conditioning anywhere! You get a searchable database of all past journals, videos, pod-casts and articles, along with the new material that comes out every month. An amazing resource.

So there’s your answer to the exercise half of the equation. What about the whole “eating right,” half you ask? Great question, I will attempt to answer that tomorrow! Until then; please, continue to get older (it’s better than the alternative!) and I hope you’ll visit again for more suggestions on how to do so with less “ageing” along the way!