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:
Just like Mom used to make. Well…not exactly, but updating the time-honored tradition of baking brownies offers us a brand spanking new opportunity to add more protein to our diet in a seriously yummy way. With beans, eggs, and your favorite protein powder, this is a power packed recipe. With today’s modern appliances, mixing up some brownie batter has never been easier. Ready for easy delicious fun, then roll up your sleeves and let’s get baking.
The Recipe
Ingredients
1 can of black beans
3eggs
1/2 cup butter
4 Tablespoons Cocoa
3 scoops of your favorite protein powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
pinch of salt
1 cup of dates
Method
Rinse beans.
Add beans and other ingredients to the blender. Blend to the consistency of brownie batter.
Kitchen tip: To soften up the dates, so that they blend well. Put then in a small saucepan. Add just enough water to cover the dates. Bring water to a boil. After +/- 1 minute of boiling, the skins will split and the dates will be soft. Drain the water. The dates will now blend smoothly.
Additional Ingredients: After the batter is mixed, you can fold in lots of goodies. Dark chocolate chips and shredded coconut are favorites. Or, you can add half a block of cream cheese to make marbled brownies.
Make a parchment paper sling for an 8″ x 8″ baking tin (or grease the tin with butter). Pour the batter into the tin.
Bake at 350 for 30 minutes (or until a test toothpick comes out clean).
Cutting
For perfectly cut brownies, after baking, put the tin in the freezer for two hours. After chilling, lift the uncut brownies out using the parchment paper and place on a cutting board or cutting sheet. Then, use a pizza wheel to cut straight lines, without any crumbling. If you notice brownie accumulating on the pizza cutter, rinse it off with hot water, then continue.
Eating
After a workout with a glass of milk is a good option. Sometimes I put a dollop of peanut butter on top too. They are easy to wrap and bring with you to work, the gym, or for after the game.
Storing
If you don’t scarf down all the brownies in one sitting, make sure you refrigerate them for proper storage. Leaving them on the counter is not a good idea, as they can get moldy. Word to the wise.
There you have it a new twist on an old favorite. With quality and convenience, you can’t go wrong with this recipe. Mom’s all smiles, as you honor the past by preserving this classic tradition…and, after one taste of these delicious protein packed black bean brownies, you’re gym buddies will stop teasing you about wearing an apron.
If you haven’t already been to Kelly Starrett’s MobilityWOD video blog, do your body a tremendous favor and check it out (Travis – Thanks again for turning me on to Kelly’s work). Watch the vids and experiment with the mobility work that Kelly (K-Star) puts up nearly every day. Here is an example:
Enter The Peanut
At the 1m 35s mark Kelly goes over some back work and for this, he uses a “peanut” to help. Turns out this is a massage peanut, which I could order from Amazon, except there’s is all spiky and scary looking. Also, it could take weeks to get to me here in Korea.
The Tools At Hand
If I still wanted to try this mobility work (I did), then I had to come up with my own solution. Here’s what I had and here’s what I came up with:
1 Dress Sock + 2 Tennis Balls = DIY Peanut
Directions: Stuff tennis balls into dress sock. Tie off dress sock with a knot.
Note: I tried using a zip tie first, but the sock slipped and loosened up. So far, the knot is holding fast. I’ve been hesitant about trimming the excess, because I may need it at some point to retie the knot. But, if you want to make it look pretty, by all means trim away.
Peanut Enhancement
In this early episode, Kelly briefly mentions duct taping two lacrosse balls together to create a peanut. I figure with a more durable athletic sock and two rubber coated practice baseballs (plenty of baseball stuff available in Korea, not so much lacrosse stuff), I can get something similar.
The Peanut In Action
Check it out – A short vid of me rolling with the peanut.
I’m no fan of Lance Armstrong…but, watching his chickens come home to roost this past week has been disheartening in its own way. At the end of the day, I have to question why there is no outrage directed toward the organizations that most benefit from the duplicity in cycling and other sports regarding the use of performance enhancing drugs…the promoters and sponsors.
A tacit understanding
Once upon a time, I wrote a paper (Betrayal of Trust) on the regulation (or lack thereof)of performance enhancing drugs in horse racing. My take then and now is that the promoters (and this includes sponsors) have the greatest interest in maintaining the façade of regulating the sport and keeping its participants clean, while allowing (read as tacitly encouraging) a culture of secret use and abuse of performance enhancing drugs.
It’s easy to focus on Lance as the beneficiary of this secret compact (sure, he has made his millions), but the organizations have much greater interests in play. The Tour was hugely promoted and public interest was kindled in the relatively untapped US market, when Lance went on his winning streak. If you look at who really benefited, Lance’s takings are a pittance compared to what the promoters received from the increased demand for their product -Le Tour- and the exposure that sponsors received for their products. Lance did what LeMonde and an outlier like Indurain (the Secretariat of cyclists) couldn’t. To an organization looking to promote the sport, how he did it is of secondary importance (if they care at all).
Meanwhile in 1988, at the US Olympic trials leading to the Seoul Olympics, Lewis tested positive for the banned stimulants found in cold medications: pseudoephedrine, ephedrine and phenylpropanolamine. The US Olympic Committee cleared Lewis finding that his ingestion of the stimulants was inadvertent. Remember 1988 was the year that Ben Johnson was disqualified and Lewis was subsequently awarded the gold medal in the 100m. It’s Orwellian how name athletes have their reputations protected through the use of doublespeak by the promoting agencies or the athlete’s own public relations team, while others are vilified as tainting the sport.
The award for the most notorious example of allowing the use of performance enhancing substances to reinvigorate public interest goes to the baseball owners. After the strike years, interest in America’s national pastime was waning. So a blind eye was turned, as the number of home runs sky rocketed.
show me the money
Whether its seven consecutive Tour victories, nine gold medals, or 73 home runs, off the charts performance draws the interest of casual fans. That interest translates into money for the promoters and the sponsors. How many more bikes did Trek sell after Lance’s victories? In college, I remember having to read about the Tour in the newspaper. ESPN aired highlights at inconsistent hours of the day and night. Live coverage sponsored by Subaru, the Discovery Channel, or Nike was unimaginable. Then there was Lance and everything changed.
warning: don’t feed the delusion
After the 1998 Festina affair spiralled out of control and exposed Richard Virenque and the swirl of controversy surrounding Jan Ullrich, you had to be delusional to ignore the facts and reach the conclusion that Lance was riding clean and still beating these guys. Yet, American fans willingly deluded themselves, all the while demanding to be entertained with super-human performances. That’s the axe I have to grind with Lance Armstrong…he fed the delusion. Now, the only way for him to maintain the lie is to attack the credibility of the team mates that helped him succeed. Meanwhile, the promoters, sponsors (yes, Festina is a sponsor for the 2011 Tour), and even the riders will cluck about cleaning up the sport. There really is no honor among thieves.
Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose
In 1924 the journalist Albert Londres followed the Tour de France for the French newspaper, Le Petit Parisien. At Coutances he heard that the previous year’s winner, Henri Pélissier, his brother Francis and a third rider, Maurice Ville, had pulled out after a row with the organiser, Henri Desgrange. Henri Pélissier explained the problem – whether or not he had the right to take off a jersey – and went on to talk of drugs, reported in Londres’ race diary, in which he coined the phrase Les Forçats de la Route (The Convicts of the Road):
“You have no idea what the Tour de France is,” Henri said. “It’s a Calvary. Worse than that, because the road to the Cross has only 14 stations and ours has 15. We suffer from the start to the end. You want to know how we keep going? Here…” He pulled a phial from his bag. “That’s cocaine, for our eyes. This is chloroform, for our gums.”
“This,” Ville said, emptying his shoulder bag “is liniment to put warmth back into our knees.”
“And pills. Do you want to see pills? Have a look, here are the pills.” Each pulled out three boxes.
“The truth is,” Francis said, “that we keep going on dynamite.”
Henri spoke of being as white as shrouds once the dirt of the day had been washed off, then of their bodies being drained by diarrhoea, before continuing:
“At night, in our rooms, we can’t sleep. We twitch and dance and jig about as though we were doing St Vitus’s Dance…”
“There’s less flesh on our bodies than on a skeleton,” Francis said.
But, I’ll continue to follow the Tour. No matter how they get there, completing the Tour is a crazy feat. There is something mesmerizing about watching men risk their necks, endure excruciating pain, face physical and emotional exhaustion and still manage to ride onto the Champs-Élysées and past the Arc de Triomphe.
The magic of the internet brought four strangers from three different countries together in Seoul, Korea.From left to right, Travis Waters (United States), Ify Osi (Great Britain), James Walbourne (Canada), and Adam Stoffa (United States).
IFY
Ify travelled the longest distance, as he was in Seoul for a quick visit from London. Ify is the mad genius behind the fizzycal brand and blog. He brought the t-shirts, coordinated with James, and was kind enough to invite Travis and I along to join the fun. Ify is a real force of nature. Battling jet lag and sketchy weather, he was still able to pull off powerful moves like this…
James
James impressed us all with his ability and enthusiasm for bar work. You should definitely check out his dawalli channel on YouTube. But, much more impressive (to me anyway) was his patience and expert coaching. Hey, he talked me through my first muscle up, enough said. Check out this short clip Travis took of James just playing around on one of the lower bars.
Travis
I know Travis had a blast, because he didn’t stop smiling the whole time we were together. No matter what we worked on, he was enjoying himself: muscle ups, levers, dips, and he was always adding his own personal touch to the day. Check out these hopping rows as he moves down the bars.
much fun was had by all
James put together this video montage of the day. He really captured the fun and excitement that we all experienced. This was a great meet up. It’s the people that make the difference and this was an amazing day, because of Ify, James, and Travis.
GET THE SHIRT
If you want you’re very own fizzycal shirt, check out the Get Fizzycal page on facebook. To have your shirt featured as part of the TXP, email me at adam.stoffa@gmail.com and we’ll coordinate an exchange. If you want your very own SEE t-shirt, they are now available online at Red Bubble.
Full Contact Friday #2 led off with a rescue puppy picture. For Full Contact Friday #3 we went with kitties.
Today we are bringing together a collection of tips, posts, and videos, from folks that believe improvements in physical performance spill over into your career and personal life.
So, let’s have some fun. The two most important things you can do:
1. Share a relevant post from your blog with us in the comments section.
2. If you don’t have a blog but are interested in joining the conversation, then leave a comment or share a relevant post, article, video, etc. that you came across this month.
I’ll kick things off with a few items that came my way:
Chris of Paleo-ish shared this video with me on facebook. After watching this film, you’ll know better than to mess with Miss May Whitley or the “weaker” sex.
Quote: I’m suggesting that, in training, we can separate the psychological stress from the physical stress; and with practice, we can learn to fine-tune our psychological reactions to control the stress response. It’s highly unlikely that central fatigue has an on/off switch, as opposed to a sliding scale. If we can learn to minimize the emotional stress, then we can dramatically reduce both the short- and long-term effects of CNS fatigue.
Along these lines, I’ve used Tactical Breathing in the gym and before sparring. I am not one to have to pump myself up, rather I prefer to breathe off some of the anxiety. On the other side of the coin, I have been absolutely physically wiped out after hotly contested trials. Not much physical work, but the constant stress during that period leaves me feeling run down. This is an important topic. You should read Matt’s article…it will get you thinking.
You got to go about it another way and you’ve got to legalise doping. They [the testers] are so far behind in the testing organisations that there’s no way to change it now. Just accept that it’s here, that it’s not going away and that it’s just going to get more complicated and the fact that it’s not that complicated yet compared to what it will be. Ten years from now it’s going to be four times as hard as it now to test for things.
Here is the joke on Floyd, they aren’t really trying to catch violators. Catching athletes that are using is not in the interests of the regulating agencies, as they are interested in promoting their sports. World records, home run derbies, multiple gold medals, and seven consecutive Tour de France victories are the events that capture the interest of the casual fan and “promote” the sport. Thus, there is a motive not to catch athletes, particularly big name athletes that are the face of the sport. Unfortunately for Floyd, when he won the Tour, there were a lot of other motives at play…and look, they caught him.
This issue reminds me of that Upton Sinclair quote: It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it.
It is difficult to solve the doping problem when so many salaries depend on not solving it.
JC at JCD Fitness must have had the upcoming summer and bikini season in mind, when he and RogLaw posted this two part series on glute exercises.
By the way, these exercises are for guys too. I know that focusing on glutes helped a lot in adding power to my jump back kicks in Tae Kwon Do. For more on glute exercises, definitely check out the blog of Bret “The Glute Guy” Contreras and his article Dispelling the Glute Myth.
Speaking of Tae Kwon Do, thanks to Travis and Larry for sharing and breaking down this kick for me (not that I can do it, but thanks for sharing).
Seems like lots of beaches and many gyms have a guy like this…extremely talented, but also haunted by demons. I think I already know how this story ends, but maybe I’ll be surprised.
One last note. The new Stretch Exercise Eat T-shirts are done. If all goes well, tomorrow, I’ll be doing an outdoor session with GETFizzYcal and friends, and we will definitely be getting the TXP rolling once again. In the meantime, check out the new design and email me if you want to exchange shirts.
Now it’s your turn, spread the knowledge by posting a favorite link in the comments.
Today we are bringing together a collection of tips, posts, and videos, from folks that believe improvements in physical performance spill over into your career and personal life.
So, let’s have some fun. The two most important things you can do:
1. Share a relevant post from your blog with us in the comments section.
2. If you don’t have a blog but are interested in joining the conversation, then leave a comment or share a relevant post, article, video, etc. that you came across this week.
I’ll kick things off with a few items that came my way:
Travis (our new CrossFit Elite athlete at work) turned me onto the MobilityWOD site (for non-CrossFit speakers Travis informs me that WOD = workout of the day). Lots of interesting posts for mobility experiments.
After reading this Steve Maxwell post, I was motivated to restart my experiments with pistols. About the same time, I came across this post by Bret Contreras discussing types of squat exercises. In the comments section, Bret was cool enough to post links to the following three vids for starting out and improving pistol performance.
Do you eat a wide variety of foods? After 6 weeks of tracking my food (just what I eat, not how much), I’ve discovered that I don’t. I am a very consistent (read as boring) eater. At breakfast, this lack of variety stems from an efficient routine that builds a meal in a limited amount of time. The problem: How to add a dash of variety to breakfast without upsetting the morning routine? Here is one way that I have succeeded in doing this.
Ingredients:
1/2 can of coconut milk
1/4 tsp nutmeg
4 peeled and chopped carrots
1 cup frozen mango
Method:
Step 1 – In the order listed above, place ingredients in blender.
Step 2 – Start blender on lowest setting and cycle through to high.
Step 3 – Blend for 30s on high.
Step 4 – Pour, drink, enjoy!
I don’t strain out the carrot pulp. Too much work. I swapped coconut milk for the traditional sweet condensed milk and the frozen mangoes for the traditional brown sugar. The mangoes make the drink sweet enough for me, but if you don’t have mangoes, substitute orange juice (you probably won’t need a whole cup – add a little at a time until you get the right consistency).
My next experiment…adding half a beet to this recipe for a healthy morning Madras.
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.
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
google+
, the authors report that Kadour has a standing vertical jump of 60″.
STRETCH EXERCISE EAT 