Haven’t been writing much lately…need to remedy that. Meanwhile, I have been listening to lots of music. Thought I’d share a mix of tracks that I’ve had in steady rotation lately. Feel free to download the mix here or listen using the embedded player below. Comments always appreciated and definitely post recommendations for further listening…
It took me a long time to learn this lesson. If I bought a book or picked one out from the library, I felt an obligation to read it, even if reading the book was not an enjoyable experience. I had to train myself to believe that it was OK to put down a less than enjoyable book.
If within a few chapters the book hasn’t grabbed you, it’s not going to suddenly come alive in your hands. As long as I give the book a fair chance, then I have permission to put the book down and try another one. I don’t recall any Eureka moment, where I came to this conclusion. Rather, over time, I had to face up to the fact that Life is Too Short to Read Bad Books.
A bad workout plan or exercise regime should be treated the same way. Again, you have to give it a fair shot, like certain books some programs take a little commitment before they really get going. And, you have to pay attention and keep up with the plot. But, if you find that every time you’re going to the gym it’s a grind, it’s time to find another program. Seriously, like reading a good book before bed, going to the gym should be something that you look forward to. Life’s Too Short for Workouts to be Drudgery.
And, if you’re not mindful, drudgery can creep into the system. Here’s a personal example. Before I started reading and listening to conversations between people super serious about fitness and way smarter than me, I’d never heard of a back off week…lowering the training load for a block of time.
One such super smart person is Dan John. This fall I started experimenting with training inspired by Dan’s One Lift a Day program. Dan maps out a four week plan. Each week the weights and reps change. What’s week four look like? Week Four: Off!
At first glance, week four was the weirdest thing about this program. I had never intentionally taken a week off. Once I decided to give the program a fair chance, a strange thing happened. Knowing that I was working toward week four, I worked harder during the other weeks.
To my surprise, during the first days of week four, resting felt natural. My mind and body welcomed the opportunity to forget about getting to the gym. Then, about five days into week four, I was really looking forward to cycling back into a new week one. So much so, that during ensuing turns through this cycle, I have had a couple of cheat days during week four, where I went to the gym to work on form or experiment with new exercises, nothing strenuous, just having fun in the gym.
Like a good book, this particular program has grabbed my attention and I am enjoying it to the fullest. Just as people have different tastes in books, they have different tastes in exercise and exercise programs. A backoff week may not be for you. Like my friend Nick Horton, you might be a Bulgarian at heart gradually pushing and adapting the body to new levels of stress every day…with No Days Off!
There is no accounting for taste, which is why I have adopted a general rule against giving books as gifts. I don’t want anyone feeling like they have an obligation to slog through a book that I thought they would love, but it turns out they hate. There is no excuse for not facing up to the reality that life is too short to waste your time on a joyless obligation to finish something that is meant to be enjoyable, but isn’t.
My advice, you can’t read them all, so don’t waste your time on books you don’t enjoy and given the wide variety of choices for exercise and strength training, don’t waste time on programs that don’t grab your interest or that have become drudgery.
“Strong people are harder to kill than weak people, and more useful in general.” ~ Mark Rippetoe. (Thanks Anna)
It’s 0300. I just woke up and can’t get back to sleep. My shoulder hurts. The dog is having trouble breathing. The landlord called yesterday. He wants his apartment back. I have a full plate at work and new projects rolling in. But, that doesn’t keep the bureaucracy, in its stumbling rush toward austerity, from eliminating my position, which means a transfer is in the works. I’ve moved a lot in my life, enough to know that it’s hard work.
Contingency Accounts
I’m lying there awake and I’m a little bit pissed that I’m not taking better care of myself. The borked shoulder and a joyless mechanical workout program already have me demotivated. TKD is temporarily moved to a less than ideal space, so making excuses for not going is easy. I’m not eating as much as I should. I just don’t have the appetite. Oh, and how is not getting enough sleep going to help?
As I’m gnawing away on this new problem, I remember reading a 2008 interview of Nassim Taleb. At the beginning of the interview, the reporter explains that every year Taleb puts a few thousand dollars aside for contingencies – parking tickets, tea spills – and at the end of the year he gives what’s left to charity. The money is gone from day one, so unexpected losses cause no pain.
After reading this article, I created a contingency account (with my kids college funds as the charity of choice). Computer melt downs, emergency plumbing bills, unexpected car repairs, all became a lot less stressful, when the money was set aside in advance.
But, tonight I’m thinking of Taleb’s contingency account from a fitness standpoint. I paid a lot into my fitness account over the last year. I can’t get the sweat back, it’s already been spent building up reserves of strength. One reason to build up those reserves is so they are there to pull from when you are sick, recovering from a traumatic injury, or pushing through an unusually stressful period in your life. This thought reassures me in two ways. First, I realize that I have the physical strength to get through this. Second, I know that missing the gym while my shoulder heals or because I’m too tired or stressed to go is OK for now. When my shoulder is healed and my mind is clear, getting back to the gym and rebuilding that account is a priority.
With a Little Help From My Friends
There is another contingency account out there. The friendship account. Give your friendship freely and it will pay you back when you need it most. It sounds corny, but it’s true. At home, in the office, on line. From the Azores to Austin to Albuquerque to Alaska to Asia to Australia, friends and family came to the forefront. There was a telephone conversation with Mark, an email message from my Dad, chatting with Kevin, a picture posted by Matt, facebook comments from Amber and Anna, and dark chocolate from Kira. Whether they knew what was going on behind the scenes or not, their support was and is a great source of strength. This is a reserve account that we tend to forget about and may even neglect, but friendship really makes a difference when fate throws you a hard breaking curve ball. Early in my career, I went to a very low profile retirement ceremony for a very highly decorated SEAL Master Chief. He told me: At the end of the day, it’s not the adventures you’ve had or the things you’ve done, it’s the friendships you’ve made that matter most.
So, How Did It Turn Out?
The shoulder’s getting better. The dog’s on Clavamox (worked last time, so fingers crossed it works again). We’ll ask our real estate agent to start looking for a new apartment. And, after a full court press by folks higher up the food chain than me, promises have been made to fund the position for the next 2 fiscal years (through Sep 2013). This is long enough for Alex to graduate from high school and time enough for us to plan the next adventure. After a good night’s sleep, I finished this post, and now I’m going to the gym to do squats.
Carl Gustav Jacob Jacobi (December 10, 1804 – February 18, 1851), considered to be the most inspiring teacher of his time and one of the greatest mathematicians of his generation, said: Invert, always invert. Jacobi believed that the solution of many hard problems can be clarified by re-expressing them in inverse form.
Backward Thinking
A lot of success in life comes from knowing what you really want to avoid – like early death and a bad marriage. -Charles Munger.
Backward thinking as described in Seeking Wisdom: From Darwin to Munger, 3rd Edition, is applying the power of inverting to help find the solution set to many of life’s hard problems. Backward thinking is an easy to remember 3 step process:
(1) Invert. Take a particular goal that you hope to achieve – now invert it to find your non-goal. To do this ask: What don’t I want to achieve? For example, if your goal is to lose weight, then your non-goal is to get fat.
Once you have defined your non-goal, you are ready for step 2.
(2) Solve. Step 2 is the analysis phase. Here, we ask: What causes the non-goal? In our example, the non-goal is getting fat. Weight gain can be caused by: over-eating, lack of exercise, drinking too many calories, etc. The object is to determine the primary factors that contribute to your non-goal.
(3) Re-invert. Once you have your solution set, you re-invert by asking: How can I avoid that? If the easiest way for you to achieve your non-goal is by overeating, then to improve your chances for losing weight, you need to focus on strategies that help you avoid overeating.
How can I f*ck this up?
If you have already achieved a particular goal, you can use the power of inverting to remind yourself what pitfalls to avoid, so that you can maintain success and make further gains. For example, if you are in a great relationship, ask yourself, “Well this is great, what could I do to royally f*ck this up?” Usually, it’s pretty obvious – probably the easiest top 10 list you’ll ever compose. Avoid these things and you will improve your prospects for maintaining and growing the relationship.
your Top 10 Anti-Goals
For homework, consider your top ten anti-goals and the key factors for achieving them. Then, for the rest of your life, do your best to avoid them. To get you started, I’ve inverted some popular goals:
To get ridiculously fat I need to…?
These 3 things will help me waste tons of time and get nothing accomplished…?
To ruin my most important personal relationships, all I need to do is…?
To avoid meeting new people and travelling to exotic places, I should…?
I really want to sabotage my mood. To be supremely unhappy, I must…?
Get Smarter at the Game of Life
Achieving goals isn’t easy. Apply backward thinking to clarify solutions. Once you have a goal in mind, knowing what to avoid gives you half of the solution for achieving it and important guidance for where to focus your efforts. Remember, always invert.
Exploring Google+ this past week has been fantastic fun. Google is back into social media in a big way, exploring the edge of what social media will become. They are taking risks, not worried about looking foolish, and taking it all on with passion.
extended circles
Circles are a stand out feature within Google+, allowing you to organize your own ecosystem and explore and participate in a variety of sub-cultures. But, your circles aren’t isolated and disconnected. Rather, they overlap and touch at the edges. Information travelling along extended circles can reach a very wide audience or you can dial into a micro-group. It’s a little like exploring a city, while still being able to duck into a familiar coffee shop whenever you need a break.
Meanwhile, this non-linear approach should allow Google+ to be a vehicle for both business and pleasure. Collaboration will literally be at your fingertips, with video hangouts, document sharing, and email all in one place.
Welcome to S/E/E
Most everyone from my inner circle is familiar with this project, but for anyone dropping by via extended circles, welcome to S/E/E and you can get the main idea here or get started with these posts:
Spring comes early in Austin. The warmth is welcome, as the young couple says good-bye to their son and his grandmother. Nana has agreed to watch the boy while Mom and Dad head to the hospital for the birth of little sister.
This is a scheduled induction. Mom’s first birth went very quickly and everyone wants to be ready for this one.
It’s a quick drive from the couple’s home to the hospital. The administrative procedures go smoothly and Mom is set up in no time. The doctor breaks her water and, as expected, contractions start. But, the unexpected happens too. As the labor progresses, the readings from the fetal heart rate monitor raise some concern with the staff.
Dad is standing by ready to provide moral support, encouragement, and do whatever he is told to. Watching and listening, he is alert to every word. He recognizes that there is an issue with the baby…something about the cord being around the neck. He knows that’s bad. The doctor instructs the nurses to attach an internal monitor directly to the baby to get better readings. As the monitor is attached, baby’s heart beat stops. It just stops.
The doctor is professional to the core. He is calm and collected. But, his concern is evident. He is alert to the situation.
Dad senses danger. Without anything to do or say, his body takes over. He can feel his heart pounding and he can hear the rush of blood in his ears. His peripheral vision narrows. He focuses on the doctor. His eyes dart to his wife, then back to the doctor. By now he has tunnel vision and feels light headed. Where is the heartbeat?
His breathing is shallow and rapid. The doctor politely indicates the chair next to the bed. He uses the arms of the chair to steady himself and sits down.
Baby’s heart beat comes back up and everyone breathes. As the birth continues, Dad gets back on his feet, helping Mom with her breathing exercises and providing moral support. The doctor’s suspicion about the cord was correct. He unloops it and baby is born safe and sound. Mom and baby are fine. Dad is fine too.
I wish I had known two things the day my daughter was born: (1) Expect an initial drop in heart rate as a potential reaction to placing the internal monitor; (2) the breathing exercises designed to help my wife handle the stress of child birth were there to help me too.
The instant that heart beat dropped off of the monitor, an adrenaline pulse went through my body and strong physical responses followed.
No one can control how their body reacts to a high stress incident, but we can learn to manage our physical response. Controlled breathing, is an effective way to consciously bridge the mind body connection. Slow deep breaths helped me recover, but I didn’t have a plan or a breathing pattern to follow. At the end of this post, you will be much better prepared than I was to manage a high stress incident. Learning about and practicing tactical breathing will give you a tool that keeps you in the game during a high stress event…so that you can help yourself and your loved ones.
Breathing & Blinking
Heart rate, digestion, salivation, perspiration, diameter of the pupils, sexual arousal, and many other physical reactions occur involuntarily, without conscious thought or control. These actions are managed by the autonomic nervous system, a control system that runs automatically. The subdivision of the autonomic nervous system that takes primary control when you are exposed to a high stress incident is called the sympathetic nervous system. During fight or flight reactions, the sympathetic nervous system is in full effect.
Breathing and blinking are two functions managed by the autonomic nervous system that can also be consciously controlled. The ability to control our breathing offers us a pathway that may be used to consciously influence the autonomic nervous system. During a high stress event, as the sympathetic nervous system starts to pull you into why think – when I can react mode, the ability to access this pathway can be particularly helpful.
In the book On Combat and in his lectures, LTC Dave Grossman describes a four count method of breathing. This is a self-regulation method taught to police officers, military members, and others who must perform with a high level of skill in the face of deadly threats. There are four phases to this breathing pattern.
Phase 1: Breathe in through the nose for a slow four count (1, 2, 3, 4). Notice your belly expanding.
Phase 2: Hold the breath for a four count (1, 2, 3, 4).
Phase 3: Slowly exhale through pursed lips for a four count (1, 2, 3, 4).
Phase 4: Hold empty for a four count (1, 2, 3, 4).
It is recommended that you cycle through the pattern at least 3 times.
Try it now. After three full cycles – How do you feel?
When this breathing pattern is employed during a stressful event, you will feel yourself coming back into control…a relaxed breathing pattern returns, your racing heart slows, peripheral vision expands and hearing improves.
Experiment with this breathing pattern. Try it, when you are tense or anxious. Try it, when you are calm and relaxed. Do you need a longer count? Then tweak the pattern and count to 5 or 6. Do you need more cycles? Add them. Experiment to determine what combination is most effective for you and dial in your own personal tactical breathing pattern.
You don’t have to be on a hostage rescue mission to use this tool. Self-control is a key element for successful performance no matter what the endeavor. For most of us navigating through the stress of a normal day will present plenty of opportunities to practice this technique.
However, if there is a particular stress inducing situation that you encounter on a regular and recurring basis, then you may be able to condition yourself to automatically deploy your tactical breathing pattern. In the section titled Tactical Breathing in Warrior Operations, LTC Grossman discusses police officers and ambulance drivers using behavior modification techniques to make tactical breathing a conditioned response to hearing the sound of their sirens. There is no reason that you can’t do something similar to condition yourself to engage your tactical breathing pattern before a test, a work presentation, an athletic competition, a musical performance, etc.
Special Circumstances
Also, be alert to special circumstances where this technique can be a life saver. On Combat includes personal anecdotes from several individuals who used tactical breathing to: (1) lower their heart rate after experiencing a heart attack; (2) remain calm after a car accident and patiently wait the arrival of rescue workers; and (3) help prevent debilitating migraines. Tactical breathing is not a substitute for proper medical treatment, but it is a way that you can help yourself and help your care providers by remaining calm and keeping your head in the game during a medical emergency.
Share the Knowledge
Teach tactical breathing to your children, so they have a way to calm themselves. When rendering first aid or as a first responder, consider sharing this technique with the person you are treating. Use it as a way to help comfort someone who has survived or witnessed a traumatic event. Be creative in your use of tactical breathing and when confronted with a high stress event remember the answer is right under your nose.
Declarative statements tend to be linked to external motivation. External motivation takes the form of the carrot or the stick. For example, motivating employees by promising a bonus for finishing a project early is using the carrot. Telling them that if the project isn’t finished on time, they will be fired is using the stick.
On the other hand, the authors report that previous research has shown:
(1) Open ended questions tend to generate thoughts about accomplishing a goal, without accompanying feelings of these thoughts being imposed by someone else (Sheldon, Williams, & Joiner, 2003). (2) Rhetorical questions within a strong message increase the perception of the message source as less pressuring and therefore less threatening to the autonomy of the message recipient (Burnkrant & Howard, 1984). (3) The question form is universally perceived to be more respectful of the autonomy of the person addressed (Pass the salt. vs Can you pass the salt?) (Hotgraves & Yang, 1990).
External motivation creates weak or limited intent. Coach John Wooden, described the weakness of external motivation as similar to the motivation created by a prison guard. Like a guard watching over a chain gang, you can force people to just do it, but as soon as you turn your back, they are running away from you. There is no sustained intention to reach the external goal.
By using the declarative form, our self-talk mimics the prison guard, forcing us to behave a certain way for a little while, but as soon as an excuse presents itself, we are off and running. On the other hand, this study finds that if, rather than telling yourself to do something, you ask yourself: Will I do it?, the scale tips away from external motivation and toward internal motivation.
I suspect that there are at least two additional reasons why the interrogative form is more effective than the declarative. Using the declarative pretty much ends the conversation, whereas asking a question invites follow-on questions. Note, follow-on questions are what makes the Socratic method an effective tool for teaching critical thinking skills, as follow-on questions lead students to explore the details of an issue and to consider exceptions to general rules.
If I ask myself a simple question: Will I stick to my schedule today?, I naturally progress to questions like: How will I organize my day? Will I be disciplined in starting and ending projects? If I get off schedule, will I make the effort to get back on schedule? Now, I’m putting my mind to good use, as these new questions, focus on the small things necessary for accomplishing the big thing and I consider how to handle exceptions like getting off schedule.
Through the use of follow-on questions, the details and corresponding action steps come into focus. Once the details and action steps are laid out, forming the intent necessary to complete an initial small step is less difficult than forming the intent to accomplish an entire, potentially overwhelming, project. This is the journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step concept.
Meanwhile, getting off schedule is treated as an exception to be managed, rather than as failure. Thus, switching to the interrogative leads to: (1) focusing on the detailed action steps necessary for consistent performance (which could help facilitate intent) and (2) acknowledges exceptions to perfect performance (which leads to considering ways to manage them).
Verbs for thought
Having discovered a significant effect from changing self-talk from the declarative to the interrogative, the authors of the report wonder what effects using different verbs may have. They list can, should, and would as verbs worth exploring. Of the three verbs suggested, should jumps out as an important question to ask. I can’t help but wonder if introspective talk using should leads to improvements in ethical decision making.
Will I lose 5 Pounds Before Summer?
After reading this post, will you use that voice in your head more effectively? All you have to do is make one simple change. Rather than engaging in self-talk that tells you what to do, ask yourself: Will you do it?Will I lose five pounds before summer? Will I stick to my workout schedule? Will I spend more time with friends and family? Will I get organized?
Kevin Kelly of Wired magazine calls this a cookbook of minimalist methods for rapid body transformation and most reviews have stuck with the cookbook analogy, since this is a 574 page book that covers over 50 topics. Just as cookbooks make expert cooks more perfect, this book promises to help people that enjoy self-experiments find new ways to tweak: weight loss, get stronger, and improve their sex lives.
Perfectly Useless
Some of this stuff will be perfectly useless to me and tremendously helpful to others. I’ve only cracked my copy of the book and I can tell you that I’m not interested in the Subtracting Fat chapter, but I am looking forward to the sections about Perfecting Sleep and Injury-Proofing the Body. The Improving Sex section leads off with The 15-Minute Female Orgasm. I mentioned this to my wife and she said, I can do that in 2-3 minutes. So, we thought the 15 minutes must refer to duration…neither one of us is sure we want that. Seriously, wouldn’t that zorch your brain? Meanwhile, what am I supposed to do for those 15 minutes, go make a snack? For a detailed conversation about the book, check out the discussion thread started by Dan John at Iron Online.
Who Am I to Complain
I got my copy of the book for free. In the interest of full disclosure here’s how it happened. A while back, I read and enjoyed Tim’s first book, The 4-hour Workweek. I implemented many of the ideas described in the book and was able to improve my efficiency on the mundane stuff and focus more on creative work.
I continued to follow Tim’s blog and in one post, he asked for volunteers to help with research for his new book. I signed up. I may not know anything about 15 minute orgasms, but I am pretty good at tracking down reference material.
He didn’t take me up on the offer, but after the book was completed, I got a nice email message thanking me for my willingness to help and a promise to send me a copy of the book, when it was published. Pretty cool, but there was a surprise bonus. Instead of one free copy of the book, he sent me two free copies.
From a negotiator’s standpoint, this is a classic case of “expanding the pie”. On the table is a deal that leaves me and Tim better off. I get a free copy of his book and a second copy to give away. When I give the second copy away, Tim gets valuable word of mouth marketing. By having this conversation here with many people at once, I am expanding the pie further.
Expanding the Pie Part Deux
Well, let’s see if we can’t expand the pie just a little bit more. I will mail my extra copy of the book and two TXP t-shirts to the third reader who emails me at adam.stoffa@gmail.com with Expanding the Pie in the subject line. Now, these shirts are really cool and I can see why you would want to hang on to both of them, but I am hoping that you will give the second shirt away to someone that might enjoy the shirt and consider becoming a true fan of SEE.
UPDATE 1: After actually reading The 15-Minute Female Orgasm chapter, the project described is a bit more practical than the title suggests. This section lays out a 15 minute routine that is an exercise in focused repetition that should be a fun and relaxing time for you and your partner.
Waking up from a good night’s sleep is one of life’s luxurious simple pleasures. For me, it’s right up there with playing with puppies and putting on jeans fresh from the dryer. On the other hand, a restless night is physically and psychologically debilitating. String enough sleep deficient nights together and personal performance suffers.
Recovery as a Motivating factor
When I headed back to the weight room this summer, it had been a while, since I had done a fundamental strength training program. I knew I was going to be sore and I wanted to do everything within my power to facilitate recovery. Sleep facilitates recovery.
Two problems
I was encountering two problems on the sleep front. The lesser problem was difficulty falling asleep or onset insomnia. For me this is more often than not work related. If I am in the middle of a big project, anticipating an upcoming negotiation, or preparing for a hearing, when I lay down, my mind is still running through options and playing out different scenarios and the good idea fairy keeps me from falling asleep.
The other problem was far more consistent. Most nights, at around 10:15 or 10:30, I would drop off to sleep without a problem. But, I would wake up sometime between 0400 and 0430. Six hours of sleep was not good. This was a problem that needed my attention.
Mike Mahler, Melatonin, and Magnesium
Just as I was getting serious about fixing my sleep problem, I read this post by Mike Mahler. This is a holistic article, but Mike makes some pretty straightforward statements about the importance of sleep. He also shares that he had successfully improved his sleep by using magnesium oil and melatonin.
Both made sense to me. I knew that magnesium supplements can make you drowsy (see Consult Your Biological Clock to Optimize the Effectiveness of Vitamin and Mineral Supplements) and I use melatonin to help expedite recovery from jet lag. In mid-June, I ordered some magnesium oil and I started taking melatonin. I started with 1 mg of melatonin one hour before bed. Eventually, I upped the dosage to 2 mg.
Right out of the gate, melatonin worked. I fell asleep easily and slept hard. I was getting up at 0600. With nearly eight hours of sleep, I felt great. This was a wake up call for me on the exponential difference that a couple of extra hours of sleep makes.
I felt so much better…so, you can imagine my disappointment when, within six weeks, I was back to waking up between 0400 and 0430.
One of the self-experiments chronicled in the paper, reports that skipping breakfast reduces early awakening. Why would skipping breakfast reduce early awakening? Anyone who has had to get up early to feed horses might already know the answer…food anticipatory activity. Animals become more active a few hours before feeding time. If you are asleep, then becoming more active requires waking up.
I love breakfast. Hands down it is my favorite meal of the day. It is also when I eat the most. Skipping breakfast was not going to happen.
But, pushing breakfast back from 0630 to 0900 was an option. I just had to bring my breakfast with me to work. I hoped that eating later would recalibrate my anticipatory activation phase back to around 0600 and I would get back my 2 hours of missing sleep.
I started experimenting with a late breakfast in August. I was traveling through multiple time zones at the time. So, I had no idea whether it was working. But, by the time I got back to Korea, eating a late breakfast was becoming a habit.
After recovering from my jet lag, I noticed that the experiment was working. Now, I wake up and get out of bed between 0600 and 0615. Sometimes, I still wake up in the middle of the night, but after a quick bathroom break, I’m right back to sleep. I get to work at 0800. After working for an hour, I take a break and eat (e.g. 3 hard boiled eggs, +/- a cup of cashews or macadamia nuts, and a smoothie). This regiment has been working well for eight weeks and shows no signs of weakening.
Negotiating From My Side of the Bed
There is one other thing. I hate alarms. I always have. If I am sleeping alone, I wake up before the alarm, just so I can shut it off without having to hear it.
My wife, on the other hand, repeatedly hits the snooze bar to keep getting a couple more minutes of sleep…and the clock is on her side of the bed. Did I mention, she works 12 hour shifts and has to get up an hour before me.
She made a big concession in agreeing to shut the alarm down after the first buzz. Without the snooze cycle in play, I am able to roll over and sleep for another hour, while she gets ready for work.
Tackling Onset Insomnia
This was the lesser problem, as I generally tend to fall asleep fine. But, I do keep a notebook and pencil by the bed. That way, if the good idea fairy pays me a visit, I can jot down some notes and forget whatever it was I was thinking about. By the way, most of my great late night ideas, suck in the cold light of day…hardly worth losing sleep over. But, if you don’t want to miss the odd good idea and ruminating is keeping you awake, a notebook and pencil can work wonders.
If it’s snake oil, I don’t care. I’m keeping the magnesium oil. It’s part of my ritual for falling asleep and I have not had any trouble getting to sleep since I’ve started using it.
After I put the book down, I take one last step to expedite falling asleep. I visualize a burning candle. I focus on the flame of the candle, exhale, and do my best to empty my mind. This little bit of meditation helps me relax and soon after the candle appears in my mind’s eye, I’m falling asleep.
MY Recipe for a Good Night’s Sleep
1. Take evening supplements, including magnesium oil 30m to 1h before lights out.
2. Read fiction for 30m to 1h before lights out.
3. Lying meditation after lights out.
4. Don’t use snooze.
5. Eat a late breakfast (or skip breakfast entirely if you are so inclined).
As discussed in the post Sleep Your Way to Better Physical and Mental Performance, I have been focusing on getting better quality sleep. For two weeks in June and the entire month of July, I was taking melatonin before bed and keeping notes on my ability to fall asleep and the overall quality of sleep. I started with a 1 mg dose and eventually increased the dose to 2 mg. For the first four weeks, the melatonin did its job. It made me drowsy and helped me sleep soundly through the night (6-8 hours).
The real take away from this part of the experiment was how much better I felt during the day and when exercising (both in the gym with weights and during TKD). With improved sleep came gains in work performance, strength, and an elevated mood. Without a doubt, improved sleep helped with physical and mental recovery.
Unfortunately, during the last two weeks of July, I noticed that the melatonin was not having the same impact. My sleep pattern was returning to waking up earlier than I wanted (around 0400-0430) and then not being able to get back to sleep. I did not want to continue to up the dose of melatonin, although as discussed in the previous post, Mike Mahler reports positive results with 5 mg before bed.
After reading Seth Roberts’ paper: Self Experimentation as a Source of New Ideas, I have decided to try pushing breakfast back from 0630 to 0900. Pushing breakfast back is designed to help reduce early awakening, by recalibrating the anticipatory activity of the body related to eating. With a regularly scheduled 0630 breakfast, well before that time, the body starts to activate processes in anticipation of the meal. Activation of the body in anticipation of the meal may be one cause of early awakening. Thus, by pushing breakfast back, I hope to recalibrate the anticipatory activation phase, such that it allows me to sleep longer more often.
Pushing breakfast back, actually dovetails nicely with the recommendation from the Gracie Diet, (see Confessions of a Food Faddist) to start the morning with a glass of water. Now, I have a glass of water upon rising and a cup of green tea a little later. Breakfast is much later at 0900.
Unfortunately, with my upcoming trip criss-crossing time zones, I expect that whatever recalibration I have accomplished will be ruined. Although, I will be continuing with this experiment, I don’t expect to have anything significant to report for some time.
Increased consumption
I doubt its having an impact on the economy, but I have consciously increased my portion sizes and have been adding pea protein to my smoothies. The increased portions should help add some weight, while the protein may help with recovery. I have never had much luck with protein supplements helping to add muscle, but this time my focus will be a little different. If the protein helps with muscle recovery, then I should be able to continue to progress in the weight room, which in turn should result in strength and muscle gains.
While traveling, I may pick up some protein along the way to keep my consumption up. I can’t see going through security with a big bag of powder in my suitcase, so will buy it locally. I got this idea from JC’s recent post, The Vacation Diet: How To Maintain Your Weight While Traveling.
on to phase III
Progress continues in the gym.
Phase I: Focused on introducing Alex to the weight room and basic weight training exercises. We worked on balance, lots of repetitions, and proper form for squat, press, bench press, and dead lift.
We just finished Phase II: Which was a variation of the Starting Strength program. You can see from the workouts that we had an A and B day split and were in the gym three days a week (swim meets broke up the pattern for a couple of weekends, but we were pretty consistent). On A day’s we were doing: 3×5 squats; 3×5 bench; 1×5 dead lift; and 1×5 barbell glute bridges. For B day’s, we were doing: 3×5 squats; 3×5 press; 3×5 rows; and 3×5 barbell glute bridges. We followed each workout with a glass of chocolate milk. At this point, Alex is comfortable with the exercises and is making steady gains with the weight.
During the vacation, the plan is to take it easy, recover, and eat. We will do some body weight exercises and barefoot sprints to maintain conditioning and strength, but for the most part, this will be a two week break, before starting Phase III. With Phase III, we will stick with the Starting Strength protocol, but now turn our focus to making gains both in weight lifted and number of reps completed.
Readership Continues to Grow
The blog recently surpassed 22,000 total page views. No delusions, some web pages have that kind of traffic per month, others per day, but the reality for SEE is that traffic has tripled since last year. Like the Little Engine that Could, SEE continues to gather steam. I am extremely grateful for all of the support, encouragement, and comments that readers and other bloggers continue to provide. You are definitely keeping me motivated. OK, that’s it for now…Time to get packing!
This site is fantastic! It’s inspiring to see that your dedication and quest to lead a healthy lifestyle have not waned since our Hyde Park days. -Jay
I am always looking for new information to further my physical fitness. This site provides great diet and training tips. -Darren
I really appreciate SEE. It's what I want to read first thing in the morning to get into balance with the day around me. -Merit
What a great site, loaded with real information, actual experiences, and entertaining. Adam you have outdone yourself, there is literally something here for everyone that is interested in either moving to a healthier lifestyle or tweaking the move that they have already made. Thanks for having this out here I can’t wait to see what else that you come up with. -Larry
This is so inspirational and fun! The content is very informative and unique; I haven't seen it anywhere else. Keep up the great work. -Emily
Great info. Inspiration to live right. -Steve K.
Wow Adam, I love this! Excellent content. -Josie
This is really neat. You’re always up to something interesting. I lost 15 pounds since January. So this is right up my alley. -Eugenia
Hey Adam! Your site is really tremendous. Lots of great resources here. Thanks a ton! -Alaskan Ninja
, is applying the power of inverting to help find the solution set to many of life’s hard problems. Backward thinking is an easy to remember 3 step process:
to give away. This is the #1 New York Times best selling book by author Timothy Ferriss.
STRETCH EXERCISE EAT 