am I hippie or a bodybuilder: HEALTH + FITNESS

[Greg Nog]

I only like to stretch and strengthen my left side, but then, I'm rather partial to the half-Windsor.

[milesofsparks]

quick--someone Photoshop historical queen wearing a tie and teaching Pilates.

[Bernard]

Skipping breakfast. Is it really that bad for you, and if so, why. I have very little appetite in the morning, and then I run out of time. Usually the only thing I have before 2 or 3 is a cup of coffee. I know it's bad, I'm not saying it's good, but how bad is it?

[coldforge]

I never eat breakfast. Gives me instant heartburn, no matter what. And I'm slim and trim like a motherfucker.

[milesofsparks]

I'm not a big breakfast eater unless it's closer to brunch, though I do eat something like yogurt or a granola bar mid-morning, otherwise I crash before lunch (and get ridiculously ravenous by then).

my cousin, though, lost a bunch of weight merely by eating breakfast (which he had not been in the habit of doing). I guess it made him eat more moderately later?  I'm not sure, but the effect was dramatic.  I'm sure it depends on your body type, metabolism, etc.

[Bernard]

my cousin, though, lost a bunch of weight merely by eating breakfast (which he had not been in the habit of doing). I guess it made him eat more moderately later?  I'm not sure, but the effect was dramatic.  I'm sure it depends on your body type, metabolism, etc.

Wow, really! Hm. I am thinking of getting some apples and almond butter. Bit of fiber, bit of protein, bit of fat, but has a bit of crunch to it.

[Greg Nog]

It may not be bad at all, depending on whom you're listening to.  A lot of people who advocate intermittent fasting will point out that the skip-breakfast-gain-weight correlation is tied more to an overall pattern of dietary crappiness than any particular effect arising from breakfast itself.

[coldforge]

I should note that on the occasions that I personally do eat breakfast, I end up being exactly as hungry as I would be anyway by the time 12:30 comes around. So go figure.

[Dick]

I think Greg is on to something.  For a year or so, I woke up every weekday at 4 am and never got a chance to eat until round 4 pm, and by that time my attitude was invariably I WILL EAT 2000 CALORIES OF ANYTHING I CAN FIND which would lead to some real dissatisfying food experiences. 

I could have gotten up at 3:30 and eaten some cereal or something, but I mean honestly.  Fuck that.

[peacocks]

I usually have a banana or some other piece of fruit at my desk. When I was doing protein shakes in the morning I felt the absolute best.

[RavingLunatic]

My experience--and I think most dietary experts concur--is that going without eating for long periods of time is a bad thing. During the day, I never go more than about three hours without eating something anymore. 

[mixed cats]

I think part of the idea is that if you have a big breakfast you'll have energy and spend it during the day. If you have a big dinner, you're usually just sitting around and going to bed, so your expenditure of consumed calories might not match up. But that could indeed be bunk, 'cause I dunno how that shit works.

My experience--and I think most dietary experts concur--is that going without eating for long periods of time is a bad thing. During the day, I never go more than about three hours without eating something anymore. 

this is meeeeeeee but I am not thin or losing weight or whatever.

[Greg Nog]

Unrelated to when-to-eat questions: SHOE BREAKDOWN!

I got my Feiyue Shoes this week, and ran in them on Wednesday and today.  So far, they're my favorite out of all the barefoot-ish running shoes I've tried; when I took them on their inaugural run on Wednesday, I had to hold myself back from running way more than I'd been doing, for fear that I might overdo it and injure myself.  

Here's a breakdown of the barefoot-ish stuff I've run in for the last few years:

Nike Frees, 3.0
Pro: flexible enough that my feet can move around as they wish.
Con: big heel-drop (wedge of rubber under the heel), which makes me less inclined to run on my fore/mid-foot and more inclined to come down on my heel, as with a standard sneaker.

Nike Frees, 5.0 (the standard type, which I believe is now rebranded "Free Run")
Pro: still flexible, though a little less so.
Con: still with the heel-drop.  Overall, I kinda preferred the 3.0s.

Tarahumara-style running sandals
Pro: cheap!  And I got the kit, which meant the fun of DIY assembly.  The wonderful free feeling of being (almost) barefoot, which meant light conscientious footfalls.
Con: the cord used to lash the soles to my feet was a bit irritating between my toes, and the heel had a tendency to slap between the ground and my heel in a constant FLAP-FLAP-FLAP, like a clown metronome.  Also, if I didn't tie them just right, they would start to slide to one side, exposing my foot to the ground directly.

Totally barefoot, no shoes at all
Pro: All the freedom of the sandals, without the irritation of the cord against my skin.  Even more of a feeling of freedom in how my foot naturally wants to fall.  Utterly joyful feeling of touching the ground directly.
Con: On the park's rubberized track, I can only run so far before the skin on the bottom of my feet starts wearing away and I start bleeding; on concrete and dirt/grass, there's so much tiny painful crap (pebbles, broken glass, etc) that I can't really build up much speed without accidentally stepping on something that bruises me.

New Balance Minimus
Pro: Very little heel-drop, and minimal sole padding. Unlike the sandals or totally-barefoot, feasible for wintertime runs in the snow and such.
Con: Less flexible than the Nike Frees, so they ended up feeling as constricting as a lot of standard sneakers.

Feiyue shoes (#1 CHOICE OF SHAOLIN MASTERS)
Pro: Cheap as hell (between 15 and 20 bucks), cheaper even than the sandal kits!  No heel-drop, very flexible, breatheable canvas, reasonably flat on the bottom but with a good tread.  
Con: It remains to be seen how durable these are; the rubber bottom is already starting to look a little worn after just two runs.  A little bit worried about their longevity.

So I guess in an ideal world, I would have the Feiyue uppers with the Tarahumara sandal soles (made by Vibram) somehow affixed.  I'm already starting to wonder if I could Frankenstein this all together.

[Bernard]

http://images.auctionworks.com/hi/55/54922/us0228a.jpg

Karate shoes, we used to call these -- they were $2. Wear out, replace.

[ellaguru]

http://images.auctionworks.com/hi/55/54922/us0228a.jpg

Karate shoes, we used to call these -- they were $2. Wear out, replace.

I remember those, from the old days. I liked them. I didn't run in them, though (at least partly because I've never been much for running).

[jess]

Skipping breakfast. Is it really that bad for you, and if so, why. I have very little appetite in the morning, and then I run out of time. Usually the only thing I have before 2 or 3 is a cup of coffee. I know it's bad, I'm not saying it's good, but how bad is it?

Recent studies have come out that suggest that people who skip breakfast weigh less (which breaks with conventional wisdom, but maybe relates to the fact that these days, most of us sit on our asses most of the day), or people who eat primarily protein for breakfast (such as only eggs, vs cereal or bread) weigh less. These are two separate studies I believe, and I haven't read either in detail. But I think that the idea of eating a hearty and/or carb-intensive breakfast being good for you likely only applies to the people who then go out and do intense physical work, which is probably few of us. If you are going to have a larger meal, lunch is likely the one to go with.

Also, I'm assuming those studies either controlled for a lot of other variables, or (and I'm pretty sure this was true for the protein one) were experimental studies that had similar groups try the two options, so other factors should have been held constant. That is consistent w/Greg's thought that the skipping breakfast = fat myth is more related to general bad habits than the lack of breakfast.

[Good Intentions]

Are there any other good triceps free weight exercises, aside from this one?

The down movement of the usual bicep curl, especially if you keep your back straight and upright and your elbow tucked into your side. The same goes for the down movement of a push-up, a pull-up, and lowering yourself on parallel bars or a campus board.

[jess]

One thing that has really helped my posture is walking around with my abs tightened. Sure, it's what fratboy douchebags do, but try it: you can't tighten your abs without straightening your back. It feels stiff at first, but the thing with slouching is that your body relaxes into the posture its used to being in--so once you get used to standing/sitting up straight, it's a lot easier to do so in a relaxed manner. In fact, I've taken to doing situps and planks at various points throughout the day (err, on my good days) just to keep my abs tight without having to think about it.

The problem with this I'd think though is that wouldn't it prevent diaphragmatic breathing and thus be ultimately bad for you? We get taught to teach people NOT to do that when helping them develop healthier breathing patterns. I find I have better posture if I focus on keeping my shoulders back, which works without tightening my belly and resulting in chest breathing.

[ellaguru]

Are there any other good triceps free weight exercises, aside from this one?

The down movement of the usual bicep curl, especially if you keep your back straight and upright and your elbow tucked into your side. The same goes for the down movement of a push-up, a pull-up, and lowering yourself on parallel bars or a campus board.

This isn't quite right. The downward movement in a regular biceps curl is still biceps, it's just doing an eccentric (lengthening) contraction rather than a concentric contraction (that is: you're still lifting up, just not enough to beat gravity). Similarly with pullups/chinups, which are biceps both ways. The pushup and the lowering down are triceps both going up and going down, for the same reason, so both of those would be fine triceps exercises.

[clare]

http://images.auctionworks.com/hi/55/54922/us0228a.jpg

Karate shoes, we used to call these -- they were $2. Wear out, replace.

Yeah! I used to favour the girly ones, like Mary-Janes.

[RavingLunatic]

Dips work the triceps pretty good. I used to do them a lot. It's easiest just to use a chair.



There's another one where you get in the same position you do for dumbbell rowing, only instead of doing rowing, you keep your elbow stationary next to your side and straighten your arm so that the dumbbell ends up back by your butt.

[Good Intentions]

This isn't quite right. The downward movement in a regular biceps curl is still biceps, it's just doing an eccentric (lengthening) contraction rather than a concentric contraction (that is: you're still lifting up, just not enough to beat gravity). Similarly with pullups/chinups, which are biceps both ways. The pushup and the lowering down are triceps both going up and going down, for the same reason, so both of those would be fine triceps exercises.

Oh, I stand corrected. Those are all exercises we use for rock climbing for increasing pull-up strength, which is more triceps than anything else.

Actually, thinking about it, of course the biceps curl wouldn't work the way I said. Silly me.

[RavingLunatic]

Unrelated to when-to-eat questions: SHOE BREAKDOWN!....

Nice reviews. Do you know of anybody else who wears those Kung Fu shoes for running, or is that just something you decided to try on your own? The price certainly makes them attractive, but I'd be worried about running in shoes that are not designed for running.

I've got a pair of New Balance Minimus shoes, but I haven't really been able to wear them. A little over a month ago, I ran a half mile cooldown in them in an effort to sort of gradually work them in. The next day, I umpired three games, and my left Achilles tendon really started to hurt. It continued to bother me for about a week, during which I had to avoid running. Right now I'm having a bit of left Achilles tendinitis again, and it's possible it's from walking a half mile barefoot earlier in the week. I've always had some Achilles problems, but my problems right now are all after-effects from my broken ankle and subsequent surgeries. My left ankle was fixed in an awkward downward position for months, and I still don't have the same flexibility in my left Achilles as I do in my right one. I hope this goes away in the next few months so I can wear those Minimuses.

Right now I've been running about three times a week, doing a pretty hard 6-mile workout twice a week and on the other day doing 4-5 sprints along with about 3 miles total for warm-up and cooldown. For my hard workouts, I gradually work up until I get to 6:00-mile pace for the last two miles. I'm not in great shape, but it's better than I've been in in a while. I hope I can work myself into the kind of shape I was in about five years ago and maybe get in a few races.

[Greg Nog]

Do you know of anybody else who wears those Kung Fu shoes for running, or is that just something you decided to try on your own? The price certainly makes them attractive, but I'd be worried about running in shoes that are not designed for running.

I'd seen someone on the internet suggest them as a cheap version of a barefoot running shoe, and had vague notions of trying 'em out someday.  Then, a few weeks back, I was chatting with a kung fu instructor about barefoot running, and she said she usually did all her trail-running in her kung fu shoes.  So I decided to give it a whirl.

[FreddyKnuckles]

Dips work the triceps pretty good. I used to do them a lot. It's easiest just to use a chair.



There's another one where you get in the same position you do for dumbbell rowing, only instead of doing rowing, you keep your elbow stationary next to your side and straighten your arm so that the dumbbell ends up back by your butt.