Laughing Wolf

Thursday, June 12, 2008

So You Want To Get In Shape

I’ve been having several discussions off line with people who are wanting to get in shape, and the net result is that I am going to post some quick guidelines for that and for what I think can be/is an essential part of so doing:  getting a personal trainer.

First thing:  see your doctor.  The older you are, the more out of shape you are, the more you need to check with your doctor to find out if there are things you should not be doing.  Not what you should do, but what you shouldn’t do.  It may be a hard limit on heart rate (i.e. do not exceed XXX beats per minute no matter what), certain joints that you don’t want to strain, or a limit related to something like diabetes.  Even if they say just go do it, you need to take this step. 

Second:  Find a good personal trainer.  I asked mine what he recommended and he suggested strongly that you not only want someone who knows exercise, weights, and biomechanics; but, most of all, you want someone who will listen to you.  Listening is critical, because that is how they know what your goals are, or can learn enough about you to help you set goals and then develop a plan to meet them.  They will learn about you, and not simply try to shoehorn you into a preset thing that they like to do.  Also, one you find a trainer, they can help you find a facility as trainers may work at or with multiple facilities. 

Third:  Any trainer or facility should put you through a thorough assessment.  This will check not only general fitness, but assess each area of the body, your overall cardio fitness, flexibility, and even how well your body is using the oxygen it gets.  Not everyone does the latter, but if possible it is something I strongly recommend.  Any trainer who would put you immediately into a program without a good assessment is someone you should run from, not merely walk away from.  That also holds true for any trainer who tries to make you do things without regard for age or damage.  For example, if you’ve had bone spurs removed there are going to be limits on what you should do, so if they tell you to do something the doctor said not to do, run.  If they don’t modify things for age, again, run—we all can do things when we are young that we shouldn’t do, but can get away with it (for a while if lucky); or, we can do things then that you simply can’t do from a structural standpoint later (another thing you should discuss with your doctor in step one). 

Fourth:  In terms of facilities, find one that is reasonably clean and has a good mixture of cardio (elliptical, treadmill, bikes, etc), free weights, and machines.  Look also at the brands of equipment, as that can tell you a lot about a place.  Me, personally, I now look for Free Motion, Precor, Hammer Strength, and a couple of others.  They also should have a working, current AED in place and have a staff that is trained in what to do when things go wrong.  Ask them, and then ask around about them.  I also tend to stay away from any that demand a huge amount up front, and a continuing payment if you don’t do prescribed steps in a precise order multiple months in advance (sometimes also involving blood, candles, and rituals by moonlight) to resign; or, if they hit you with high pressure and/or high-pressure smoke as soon as you hit the door (why no we don’t have X brand, but we have something even better than that junk...).  I also look to see if they have some specialized fitness rooms, where trainers can work with you in privacy on flexibility and more.  These often don’t have a lot of weights, but large open areas, mats, balance balls, and more specialized gear for working on such things. 

I would also note that a good personal trainer may not be a good or registered physical therapist.  Physical therapy is a different animal from personal training, so a therapist may not make a good trainer.  That said, a good trainer should have some knowledge of physical therapy. 

Working with a good trainer will get you better results faster, without injury, and therefore is worth it.  You will get much more bang for your buck with a good one.  I’m lucky.  I have a great trainer and the place I work out has some excellent staff.  Between the trainer, the Nice-Young-Marine (who tries to kill me), and Uncle Fester (another staff member) I get a lot of assistance in meeting my goals safely and as quickly as my general condition allows. 

If you happen to be in the Indianapolis area and are looking for an excellent trainer, drop me a line.  I will be glad to put you in touch with mine, and while he doesn’t have large amounts of time, I highly recommend any time you can spend with him. 

LW

Sunday, June 08, 2008

Riding, Working Out…

Just a quick update for those few who are interested.  The workouts continue and the nice young Marine is helping a lot with the upper body workout.  In bad news, I found out that the personal trainer I worked with before my first embed is leaving.  So, I found the funds for a few sessions with him before he goes, and the first one was last Thursday.  At my request, he is concentrating on stability, balance, and coordination; then core; then lower back.  His work on the first part was invaluable to my embeds, as I lack coordination, balance, and stability.  While I am working core in my regular workouts, anything and everything helps in the battle of the bulge.  Lower back is just the recognition that it is not what it was, and I want to strengthen, protect, etc. 

Right now, I am working with the trainer on Tuesday and Thursday, leaving Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for my core and upper body sessions.  Am debating if I am going to do two sessions on Tuesday and Thursday so I can keep doing the circuit.  The sane part of me is saying no, since my first session with the trainer had me stiff, sore, and mobility impaired until today.  Ow was and is the word.  Squats, one-legged squats, lunges, calf raises, leg press, and runs up and down stairs were but part of that first session. 

Today, I got up early and took off on the most challenging ride I’ve done here.  Almost exactly 18 miles, and it hits the worst hills in the worst way for the majority of the ride—making it a very good workout.  It is not a route I could take during the day because of some interesting traffic, but at about 6 a.m., not bad.  Did it today for the first time in roughly 1 hour 15 minutes.  I did have to stop once, just because I hurt where I sit and needed to get off the seat for a couple of minutes. 

Yes, I wore the bike jersey and it actually worked very well.  Think I may have to get another here next month, another bright one so that drivers find it hard to miss me. 

More soon, off to make breakfast.

LW

It May Well Be An Interesting Summer

The weather has been flat out weird, and now is going from late winter to summer with nothing in between.  Insects are already a huge problem, and I’m even having to change what I do and how I do it to meet the challenge.  Nothing, however, prepared me for what happened Thursday night.  I came home and began spraying the yard with its weed portion (having wisely decided not to feed, or at least not yet) and got the house yard.  As I moved across and into the back pasture, I sprayed around where I park.  As I sprayed behind and beside the car, the ground erupted.  Yep, five or six baby bunnies burst up from their shallow nest and proceeded in about every direction.  They looked to be about a week or so old (easily could have fit in my hand), and one of the little tykes made straight at me.  I told it that if I were indeed the big bad wolf, it would already be gone, but it ignored me and ended up almost on my foot.  I finally moved it along with the bottle of weed killer, and got it headed in the rough direction of its siblings.  I haven’t seen any signs of obvious munching by anyone (had Jenny seen them she would have been whipping up a batch of bunny burgers post haste), but did notice one of the feral cats out in the back pasture last night.  I didn’t get any pictures immediately, but here is a photo I took Friday evening of one of them:

LW

Friday, June 06, 2008

The Loss of a Good Enemy

Yesterday evening, I got the news that Socrates had passed on.  It wasn’t a shock in many respects, though he had been doing well enough that I actually thought he would make it to the fall. 

Socrates was not a friend, but was in that rare and special category that I would call a good enemy.  He was a mean, cantankerous, and possibly even vicious SOB.  He also had a sense of humor, a code, and you knew where you stood with him.  He also came the closest so far of any wolf to doing me harm. 

A few years ago when I was doing meatballs (meat with medicines inside), he demonstrated the elasticity of chain-link fence by hitting it at a run and bowing it out a good distance to snatch a meatball from my hand.  Had I not been carrying it properly, my fingers might well have gone with the meatball—which would have just made it all the better from his standpoint.  He was quite pleased with himself that day, and I swear he laughed at me after he did it.

For all that he was, I could respect him and even like him—not because of what he wasn’t, but because of what he was. 

I’ve tried to explain the concept of a good enemy to some people, and don’t think I’ve done a good job of it.  Maybe you have to be or have been in an odd position on the spear (or knife) to get it.  Maybe not.  But I would like to take a stab at it here to see if I can do better. 

Friends/acquaintances are easy to find, especially as today’s social networking often encourages one to claim someone marginally met as a “friend” for life.  While I sometimes take shameless advantage of it, I do find the cheapening of the concept of friendship as a problem, but that is a post for another day.  What truly matters to this argument is that acquaintances and casual friends are not hard to come by. 

What is truly rare and wonderful are what I call “True Friends.” In years past, I summed up the difference between the two types as that True Friends were the people in your life for whom you would give your own life without apparent hesitation, and know that they would do the same for you.  These are the people who not only help you with bodies, they also don’t turn state’s evidence.  You trust them with your life, your fortune, your honor, your spouse, and your kids.  They are the blood you have chosen.  People like this in your life you usually can count on your fingers, if not the fingers of one hand. 

Enemies are a dime a dozen.  As with friends, the term enemies has been cheapened and such is also a growing problem within the social compact much less the social matrix.  Again, that is a discussion for another day.  Enemies range from the person who snubs you professionally or socially to any of the true scum-of-the-earth that pollute our world.  Real enemies have few or no rules to life, no code, no honor, and usually a propensity towards violence without thought or meaning.  True enemies are usually those that you could (and even should) kill and who’s demise would greatly improve the world.

Every now and then, though, comes along a rare breed.  They are the Good Enemy.  They may be your complete antithesis and stand for all that you despise; but, they also have something more to them.  It often is a code, a sense of honor, a strong intellect with corresponding sense of humor, and something else I find hard to define.  The end result is what truly matters, however, and the funny thing is you trust them, respect them, and even like them. 

The good enemy is the person you would sit down and enjoy a beer with them, even knowing that in the past they had orders to kill you, or could even still have them now but that circumstances of the moment make the meeting safe.  Safe because they do have that intellect, humor, and honor.  Safe because the circumstances of the moment are such that you would have each other’s backs against any and all comers.  They are the person that if any but a friend had to kill you, you would want it to be them because you knew that they would do it right and do right by you and yours then and afterwards.  You may despise that for which they work, but you understand and respect the principled decision that went into their choosing to do so.  You even understand when it was just circumstances.

Good Enemies are the people that you are almost surprised when the end comes, amazed if they die peacefully in bed, somewhat regret you weren’t the agent of death, and you miss them.  Two-legged or four-legged.  I’ve been fortunate to have both, and in this case, I will miss his meanness Mr. Socrates. 

For the world is much less rich and vibrant for the loss of any True Friend and Good Enemy. 

LW

Wednesday, June 04, 2008

The Weather Can Slack Off Now

Not much sleep last night, as we had storms starting about 2200 and going pretty much all night.  Not bad, as I enjoy a good storm—Jenny does not.  In point of fact, she freaks out.  Even with a doggie downer in her, she freaked out.  This meant not a lot of sleep for me.  Joy.  More soon.

LW

Tuesday, June 03, 2008

Getting Into It, or Just Sick?

I haven’t been biking as much as I would like, but am doing what I can when weather and job permit.  Since I have to ride on some busy highways, I do want to stand out.  So, today I ordered a black-and-gold Army bike jersey…

LW

Sunday, June 01, 2008

Yes, We Are Okay

The weather did get interesting, and the Indy station did let me know that rotation was seen/detected above or otherwise near the lair.  That said, we got off lucky with no major damage in this area.  Not too far from here there were trees down and other delights.  Indy got hit hard later, and the amazing thing is that there were (as of the last report I heard) no major injuries or deaths, and only one or two minor injuries.  The winds during the day yesterday were interesting, and even blew a bat from wherever it was spending the day into the yard.  This necessitated annoying Jenny by getting her into the house, but by the time I did that and got back out, the bat was either well hidden or gone.  Today seems nice, and I am contemplating what all I will try to do today.  Enjoy your day.

LW

Friday, May 30, 2008

Well, So Much For The Diplomacy Lessons

We are in the midst of some severe and interesting weather.  Rotation being spotted even.  Power going in and out. 

The closest television station to where the lair is dug in is WLFI in Lafayette.  Have to tell you, the weather there during emergencies sucks.  What’s more, I just called and pretty well told them that in a message.  The talking head they have spends 20 minutes endlessly droning about getting to your safe place, what to do, multiple slides with the same message, and—next to no real information and data.  They have a radar, but do they spend time zooming in, tracking, using the neat features that tell you what is happening where and when it will hit locations downrange?  About one minute in 20 if you are lucky.  To be honest, while the cable is on, I switch to an Indianapolis station and get more real data and radar information in 30 seconds than I do in 30 minutes at WLFI. 

Since my lair was in the area of some of the worst, and apparently some rotation was spotted near me, I expected that they would be concentrating on that, doing closeups of the radar, and giving useful and needed info.  Nope.  I finally got tired of it and called, and upon getting an answering machine, I let them have it—though I didn’t lapse into soldier speak or Marine speak that I recall.  Damned if it wasn’t tempting though. 

When severe weather strikes, these guys are useless—live or on the web—and I miss the real weathermen and real weather coverage that I got in Huntsville. 

Feh.

LW

Rejuvenate Three Parts?

Instapundit pulls a one-liner off from this intriguing post on medical rejuvenation.  There are some caveats, but good ones. 

As for me, my first thought is that you can’t separate the cardio from the vascular system as they are too intertwined to be separated.  If you just did the vascular portion, think of it as replacing all the plumbing in a system that had a high-pressure pump that had dropped in pressure because of the various plumbing issues.  Fix the plumbing and don’t replace the valves and seals, and find most of the pump back up to pressure and what is going to happen?  That’s not a bad analogy, so with that caveat I would go for a new cardio-vascular system first thing.

Second, you are talking systems here and the first choice made in the original post opens that door—so I plan to walk through it and claim the interrelated endocrine system as a similar exemption and go for that.  There is some medical theory that says that the endocrine system acts as if it has a lifetime limit on its various elixers. Use up your ration of any given part early, and… The drop off, elimination, or decline of the various components is tied to many problems of aging and a number of nasty conditions can and do arise.  For that reason, I would go for a regeneration of that system in a heartbeat.

My third would be predicated on a quick check of lungs and other major organs, but if all was good my choice for the third part would be either my eyes or my immune system.  The eyes don’t get better with age, and if I could go back to 20/20 without any astigmatism, it would open so many doors back up to me.  No problems with flight physicals, no scrambling for my glasses first thing upon awaking, far easier photography and videography, better marksmanship, and a whole array of better ballistic eye protection options.  The immune system isn’t bad, but I wish I had better and the article makes some good points.  Not sure which of the two I would pick, though I am leaning towards the eyes.

What would you choose?

LW

Into The Light:  Harvey Korman

I used to love the Carol Burnett show, and Harvey was one of the reasons.  The cast was a true ensemble, and they played so well off each other, but to this day I still think of Carol, Vicki, Harvey, and Lyle Waggoner as the heart of that show.  It produced so much laughter and pure entertainment magic.  Havey went on, and outside the show I still think Blazing Saddles as one of his best roles.  After a series of health issues, Harvey Korman has passed into the light.  May the light shine on his family and friends in the days ahead, and good warm laughter have greeted him and wash over them in the days ahead. 

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Yes, I’m Still Alive

Just more than a touch busy at work and with some of the changes at Blackfive.  Despite the Jimbo-centric post, the changes affect all and much is in the works. 

I am going to post some photos from work around the lair here soon.  Really. That had me tied up quite a bit this weekend, and had Jenny very annoyed with me as outside time should be with her, not with that noisy nasty thing (lawmower, though I think the tiller has that title too).

The workout continues, and is changing as I change and can do more things.  I am trying to ride the bike multiple times a week now that the weather is nice, and in the gym, a nice young Marine on the staff is going to be introducing me to new meanings of the word pain…

More soon.

LW

NOTE TO SELF:  If you let the nice young Marine help you kick up your main workout, it is not a good idea to go and kick up the off-day workout several notches too.  Ow.  I really need to get the hot tub working…

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

In Regards Senator Kennedy

No, I don’t like him or respect him.  In fact, I will admit that I find him a loathsome and despicable human being, and a coward to boot.  That said, malignant glioma in the brain is something I would wish on no one.  I offer to and for him the prayer I offer all in such situations:  Let that which is right be. 

LW

A True Must Read

If you read no other article this week, please go read this one.  The article is on movies, in particular modern war movies, and is remarkably well researched and written and examines the ethics, philosophy, history, and even morality in context and with devastating accuracy.  Context is a key here, and the examination of philosophical/political systems and movements with such is truly amazing—and essential for anyone who wants to understand art, much less movies and cinematography.  For that matter, for anyone who wants to understand current events and depictions of same…

Again, please go read The Lost Art of War.  If you have any intellect, you will be glad you did.

LW

I Blame Jane

Okay, posting has been lite.  The yard and some repairs have taken a lot of time of late.  The time I have left, well, among other things, it has been claimed by Facebook, and I blame Jane of Armies of Liberation for that.  Yep, it’s all her fault.  Uh huh.  Really.  It is, er.....

LW

Saturday, May 17, 2008

The Princess Candidate???

Not sure, but I love yesterday’s Day-by-Day!  I have some real serious issues with Bob’s positions, but…

LW

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