The Borg Principle

Some time ago, I read an article that described how our body adapts to activities we participate in for extended periods of time. The ideas is that working out has or produces the most benefits in the beginning. After a few weeks our bodies (we), get very efficient at what we are doing.

Let's say that you started walking and you have been inactive for a while. Walking we all know is good for you. And upon starting your walking routine things start to happen. Capillaries expand, calorie use increase, as James Brown put it in one his songs (I feel good....). Why you may even see some weight decrease as fat stores begin to melt away. Your cheeks are rosy and there is a sparkle in your eye. That dress or pair of slacks you've been wanting to try on not fits perfectly. At this point we are jazzed because we have discovered that walking is all we have to do and voila, weight is coming off.

Here come the Borg.

It's different for everyone but at some point, let's just say for example 8 weeks, you have become an efficient walking machine. You have been assimilated. All of a sudden the walk is very easy. Sin of all sins, you're no longer loosing weight. In fact to your horror the scale seems to be telling you that the weight is coming back on. Slowly but surely, you can see the scale starting to move in the wrong direction.

Resistance is futile....Not!

To fight the Borg successfully you must prevent the body from adapting (being assimilated). So you could for instance, increase the distance you walk. You did 2 mile walks, do 3 mile walks now. This has its limits. Unless you train for Marathons like I do, you don't want to spend four hours every day walking (why with work, the kids, your better half, you know the drill). I don't do that at all. Let's say you are at this point walking three miles and you're now quite good at it. What to do? What to do?...Shift your workout, do only 1 1/2 but do it fast. You can walk 3 miles at 20 minutes a mile (no way!), try the 1 1/2 miles at 15 minutes. (I can walk faster than some people can jog by the way). You will feel the burn and use more calories than if you kept your pace steady. Of course at some point you will get really good at it this also (assimilated again), the Borg are back. Not to worry you can now do the 3 miles at a 15 minute pace. The Borg are set back again.

How to beat the Borg every 8 to 12 weeks. To be continued....

The Darkroom….

Or why we still need the lights out in the digital age.

Dabbling in photography for me has been a very rewarding experience. I actually started leaning towards photography the day I discovered I could draw with some degree of artistry. Not a Van Goh but neither was I stuck in the stick figure mode. Let’s go back to my primary school years.

The first revelation to others about this skill apparently happened the first time I saw the original Fantasia by Disney. After I got home I was describing to my mother what the movie was like and I decided to illustrate it with a drawing. I drew one of the last scenes where out the mountain comes out a black monster ,wings, long nails and the whole works. I did this all from memory of course it had only been a few hours since I saw the movie so it was easy.

There is a gap there, all of a sudden I was one of the two assigned to draw maps and illustrations in our class up to the fifth grade. When I came to the states in 1969 (February 9, 1969 at around 8:00 or 9:00 P.M. to be exact), I was immersed in the English language and placed in regular classes (took ESL for summer vacation). The drawings kept going. I did a mural for my 6th grade class and from what I remember the teachers especially where quite impressed. It’s funny because perspective and depth came naturally to me and so the mural looked pretty realistic. Not bad for not having taken any formal drawing classes at the time. Of course my mother’s main concern was that we pick up the language. So even though teaches recommended taking art courses the following summer, English was the thing to go after.

After that my drawing skill lay dormant (occasionally I would draw something here and there all to satisfy myself). One of my younger sisters could out due me any time of the day. She actually took painting classes and was quite good at it. In 1975 I got married. We rented a camera and that was when the Genie came out the bottle. I ended up buying the camera (a fully manual Minolta with a 50mm lens at 1.8). That was just absolutely fabulous. I began taking pictures of everything in site. I now could write and draw with light! Photography (from Greek: phos [light])+ grapho [write]).

To be continued...

Health, Exercise, Motivation List

*       The Bible
*       Men's Health Home Workout Bible
*       Teach Yourself Visually Weight Training
*       Running on the Sun DVD
*       Men's Health: The Book of Muscle--The World's Most Complete Guide to Building Your Body
*       Nourishing Traditions
*       The Way to Eat: A Six-Step Path to Lifelong Weight Control
*       How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci:
*       The New High Intensity Training : The Best Muscle-Building System You've Never Tried
*       Men's Health: The Book of Muscle--The World's Most C...
*       Running Through the Wall : Personal Encounters with the Ultramarathon.
*       Fixing Your Feet: Prevention and Treatments for Athletes
*       The Ultimate Guide to Trail Running 
*       Trail Running: From Novice to Master (The Mountaineers Outdoor Expert Series)
*       Runner's World Complete Guide to Trail Running
*       50 Trail Runs in Southern California
*       The BackSmart Fitness Plan
*       A WHACK ON THE SIDE OF THE HEAD : How You Can Be More Creative
*       Fine Art Nature Photography: Advanced Techniques and the Creative Process
*       Lights Out: Sleep, Sugar, and Survival
*       How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci: Seven Steps to Genius Every Day
*       Six Thinking Hats
*       How To Eat, Move and Be Healthy!
*       The ABS Diet
*       The Mediterranean Cook Book
*       Flit the Fat Switch
*       Weight Loss for Dummies
*       The Coconut Diet
*       Dr. Mercola's Total Health Book
*       Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle
*       Alexander the Great (Historical Biography)