A brief look at how and why I changed my “normal”
I grew up in suburban Wisconsin. My diet was that of a typical American: French fries, burgers, chicken nuggets, white pasta with spaghetti sauce, a typical diet to say the least.
My exercise was as typical as my diet. Lifting weights (bench press, squats, bicep curls, etc) by doing 3 sets of each exercise and doing as many reps as I could until I felt somewhat uncomfortable. These recommendations came from both my football coaches and my father.
Distance running was also a form of exercise that I took up after high school. My mother was and still is a runner. She influenced me to take up running and truly pointed me in the right direction of caring for my health. I never ran any outrageous distances. Mostly between 3-6 mile fun runs.
I also took up yoga. Never anything serious just some Denise Austin videos here and there. I heard that yoga was good for elongating muscles so I figured I would give it a try.
I've also experimented with biking, swimming, canoeing and countless other "cardio" and weight training techniques and routines.
Truthfully, I exercised and ate pretty much like a basic everyday American. I watched the health portion of the evening new, read Men's Health, read the health tips section of the local news paper, obsessed over watching Dr. Oz on Oprah and I took there advice without a moments hesitation.
Why did I believe that what was on TV and in magazines to be the absolute truth?
It was all that I had ever known. I had never met anybody that didn't eat meat or told me that running everyday is a very inefficient way to burn calories. I was and still am being told that the "normal" way to eat and exercise is the "right" way. I am here to tell you that what is "normal" is not always "right" and what is right is all most never normal.
Currently I am very far from being "normal". As of about two months ago I ate a very strict vegan diet (no animal products) for about six months. I thought I had the nutrition game all figured out. I was wrong. I got my hands on the book Good Calories Bad Calories written by investigative journalist Gary Taubes and some of the most basic beliefs that I had on nutrition are being proven untrue. (I will write about this book later.) To mirror Gary Taubes's book, Ultimate Wellness, a live streaming question and answer session with Dr. James Carlson has also transformed my understanding of how food interacts with our bodies. (Watch Dr. Carlson's first episode for free by clicking on the Ultimate Wellness link)
My abnormal lifestyle also is reflected in my exercise choices. Instead of 30 minutes of moderate exercise a day (which is recommended by the American Heart Association) I exercise for 60 minute per week. I do this via High Intensity Strength Training, High Intensity Interval Training, Sprint Training and resting.
Stop for a moment and look at the way you eat and the way you exercise and ask yourself why? Who has influenced you over your life that have culminated in you making these lifestyle choices. Was it our parents? Football, hockey, soccer coaches? Siblings? And then lets ask ourselves why we believe that they were right? I think you will be shocked at the answers that you come to.
If you would like to comment on this article please feel free to do so. If your nervous about leaving your real name, leave a fake one!
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November 20th, 2009 - 22:40
I love health.. its in my top ten!!! So this blog is the greatest and gives me and so many people so much inspiration to eat healthy and live like BRYAN THE RYAN
November 21st, 2009 - 23:20
“Instead of 30 minutes of moderate exercise a day (which is recommended by the American Heart Association) I exercise for 60 minute per week” So when you say this, do you think that you are more in shape then a person who is exercising over 3 hours a week?
November 22nd, 2009 - 17:25
@TikiTiki
First off, the term “in shape” is only really relevant to what goal we are trying to obtain by exercising. If a person wants to run a marathon and jogs for over 3 hours a week, then that person would be much more “in long distance running shape” than I would.
For the majority of people out there, exercise is performed to either gain muscle and lose weight, as a stress reliever or to decrease our risks for illness and disease (myself included). Not to perform amazing physical endurance events that require us to invest large amounts of time in training.
So, yes I feel that I am most definitely “in shape” for the demands that I have for my body. I am 5’10 and weigh 145 lbs with a Body fat % of 13. I used to exercise every single day for over 2 years in hopes that I would never become overweight. Two months ago I stopped exercising like that. Now I lift weights via High Intensity Strength Training techniques for 20-30 minutes one or two times a week. I also run sprint intervals. My interval work out only takes 7 minutes and it kicks my butt. I exercise smarter, not longer.
Ever since taking up this kind of exercise I have not gained any weight. Even though I am attempting to gain weight while lowering my body fat (which is another story in itself).
I hope this answered your question and thank you for commenting
- Ryan
November 22nd, 2009 - 18:31
have u ever heard of Tabata intervals? look it up
November 22nd, 2009 - 18:44
@ Doosh
Nice name btw. And yes I have heard of Tabata intervals. For those who haven’t, they are an interval work out based on 20 seconds of sprinting followed by 10 seconds of rest. This is repeated 8 times. It is very intense and extremely demanding. My goal is actually be able to do a full session of Tabata intervals. It also only takes 4 minutes to complete. How can we say we dont have enough time to exercise?
*Intervals are not limited to sprinting. You can do interval training on a bike or in the pool or any other form of exercise. I like to do intervals on stationary bikes. I sprint for 30 seconds followed by a minute long rest and is repeated 8-10 times. The resistance on the bike is adjusted depending on my strength and endurance.
Thanks for commenting!
-Ryan
November 22nd, 2009 - 20:50
So I would like to hear more about why “running everyday is an inefficient way to burn calories” … Yes, I suppose when comparing it with weight training the lasting effects are different, but running seems like a great way to burn calories, you can change your pace and intensity when you run thus changing how long you would run perhaps, you can do hills, you can even add weight to your ankles if you want, how is that so different from the cycling intervals you do? Also, exercising is just as important to our bodies as sleep and eating properly, so why exercise less? Wouldnt we want our bodies to be in the best “shape” we can, if one enjoys exercising? Why not follow the recommendations set up by the American Heart Association? Lots of questions, I know.. Over all though, Im impressed where this blog is going.
November 22nd, 2009 - 21:21
@ Question Everything
Hold tight…. I am going to post an article either tomorrow or on Tuesday giving you my take on long distance running. It should answer a few of the questions you have brought up. If it doesn’t, then we can discuss it further.
Thanks for commenting
- Ryan
November 25th, 2009 - 11:17
btw ryan “doosh” was me. I tried doing some tabata intervals this summer at the track…yeah it was ugly.