Well, I suppose I have fallen off the edge of the “wired” earth 🙂 Slowly but surely, though, I am making my way back into some sense of wired-world normalcy. And hey, have I mentioned that I love my new gig with Efficient Exercise of Austin? Yeah, it’s true; I’m like a kid in a candy store…er, more like a Neanderthal at a cave bear kill! I get to train/partner with a spectrum of interesting clients (each with unique goals) for a living and I have access to so many fitness toys it’s simply mind-boggling. How cool is that? Very, very cool in my book!
So my day-to-day routine is totally out of the window for the time being, which is both a good and, in some respects, a very challenging thing to deal with. One the good side of the ledger, my body has been exposed to a myriad of new movements and schemes which, in turn, forces a whole new level of adaptation. This new “workout landscape” produces an exhilarating feeling and a CNS that is now hyper-wired as a result of trying to keep up with each new stimulus being thrown its way. Also, my caffeine consumption has dropped dramatically; that will soon change, however, as Austin is replete with some of the coolest coffee shops anywhere, like the fantastic Thunderbird Coffee, which is only about a mile’s hard fixie sprint from my Rosedale studio. Oh, and have I mentioned that I’m now in fixie paradise? Yeah, it’s true, I’m lovin’ my new surroundings.
For the next couple of weeks, Meesus TTP and I will be living in limbo, as the closing on our new casa won’t take place until on or around the 15th of this month. Then, another round of adjustment will unfold, and another new groove will be laid down. Hang with me folks; eventually I’ll return to my old blogging ways.
I’ll leave you today with the following little food-for-thought morsel (hat-tip to TTP reader Dan for bringing this to my attention): the US Army’s lowering of physical fitness standards. This is sad commentary indeed on the state of the nation’s well-being. And this isn’t a problem particular to only the US — all “developed” nations face the same crisis of dwindling physical readiness. Couple poor physical readiness with the push toward “low-fat” offerings in the chow halls and, well…let’s just say this is a bad double-whammy for the guardians of freedom. How can a nation continue to adequately defend itself when its fighting forces are of dwindling strength and dwindling vigor?
Theory to Practice 
Keith,
this part made me think:
“my day-to-day routine is totally out of the window for the time being, which is both a good and, in some respects, a very challenging thing to deal with. One the good side of the ledger, my body has been exposed to a myriad of new movements and schemes which, in turn, forces a whole new level of adaptation. This new “workout landscape” produces an exhilarating feeling and a CNS that is now hyper-wired as a result of trying to keep up with each new stimulus being thrown its way.”
I’m getting back in the gym after 4 months of no activity. And when you’re back you tend to exagerate, you wanna do this, you wanna do that, you want to compensate those missing days.
It’s a very thin line between training and overtraining, what do you recommand for the first 2-3 weeks.
Do you think it’s enough for your body to readapt?
Re-aquire base strength levels in the primary movement patterns, that is to say in the squat, deadlift, overhead press, horizontal press, and pull-up motions.
Great article honey! I do agree, that it is a sad commentary for our nation’s defenders, that they are lowering physical fitness standards, if anything, they should be raising them. In this day & age of technological & biological warfare, we need beastly Primal warriors out there, not low fat weaklings.
No doubt Meesus TTP; fight a war on tofu and whole grain?? Are you kidding me?
“Army: Be all you can be*”
*In accordance with failing physical standards worldwide.
Who needs coffee shops? Looks like you just have to THINK you have drunk coffee to bring your A-game!
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/fitness/Caffeine-can-make-people-work-harder-in-gym/articleshow/6504942.cms
😉
The mind is a powerful tool, as is once again proven by a variation of the ol’ placebo trial 🙂
I read the NYT article on the new Army fitness-training methods, and I was surprised you seem so disapproving. They are emphasizing sprinting over long runs, and de-emphasizing the sit-up, which is kind of a silly exercise anyway (and which I don’t see you reporting that you do a lot of–much to your credit, in my view).
The new approach to PT seems to be “function-oriented” in a smart way: The Army’s experts studied movements that soldiers actually make in combat and deployment situations and adopted movements and exercises to train for those, hence the sprints. They are doing some exercises in body armor, i.e., a weight vest, and working on quick changes of direction, lateral movement, etc. (shades of football practice!).
It’s true that way too many American kids are fat–the number of not just pudgy, but grotesquely obese kids I see waddling around is appalling–but that’s not the Army’s fault. They have to train these kids w/out hurting them in the process, which is to no one’s benefit. In the chow halls, they are getting rid of soda pop and promoting milk and leafy greens (aren’t those greens paleo, btw?). What do you have against that?
Oh, hey, don’t get me wrong — I think the physical readiness shift to more functional and meaningful movements (as Darrin pointed out) is a fantastic idea; what concerns me is that the stardards for these movements and functions has/is being watered-down. I should have made that point clearer in my original post — thanks for keeping me on my toes 🙂
Thank you for the clarification–much appreciated.
I wonder if the Army has been studying how the Marines have worked on replacing old-school, calisthenics-heavy PT w/ “combat conditioning”:
http://www.theusmarines.com/combat-conditioning/
An interesting tidbit from the above link says:
“exercises have been increased in intensity and lowered in duration.”
HIIT, anyone?
I’m happy to hear that they’ve seen the light. Now if we can just convence them to adopt Paleo dietary habits 🙂
Congratulations on the hopefully new and improved life. Save some espresso for the rest of Austin.
Apart from the crappy food that it sounds like the military will have foisted on them, I can’t help but think this is actually a POSITIVE step, fitness-wise.
While I don’t doubt that the army is having problems with out-of-shape recruits, it seems like they have stumbled backwards into a more effective way of exercising.
Less long runs and no more sit ups? Well, high-intensity exercise gives you more bang for your buck, and sit ups needlessly stress your spine when heavy lifting and planks can strengthen your core better.
It sounds like they are focusing more on sprints and the kind of movements that recruits are likely to utilize in their day-to-day lives. Thanks for linking to this article!
even though it’s old footage, a look in the Russian’s army yard: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0k1zvHX88A
The kinder, gentler Russian army, huh? 🙂