Matt Metzgar

What is Fitness?

I've been giving a lot of thought on properly defining "fitness".  I think somewhere along the way, the definition got twisted into how much a person can lift or how fast a person can run.  Fitness should really be much more holistic, focusing on general day-to-day function.

Here's some thoughts on the characteristics of a "fit" person:

• Solid day-to-day energy, no extreme lows
• Minimal aches and pains
• Ability to perform a variety of physical activities
• Ability to relax
• And dare I say it, a generally HAPPY person?

Too much focusing on outcomes, such as losing x pounds, or achieving a certain physical feat, takes away from the real benefits of exercise - improved daily functioning. 

Paul Newman to Retire?

I came across this older news item about Paul Newman.  In an interview with ABC earlier this year, Newman said that he is most likely done with acting.  I was very saddened by this as he is one of my favorite actors.  It was rumored that Paul was going to reunite with Robert Redford for one last film, but that may not happen now.

I do hope Newman doesn't completely retire.  He's had such a tremendous career with memorable roles in movies like Hud, Cool Hand Luke, and Nobody's Fool.  It would be fantastic if he could make one more movie, but if not, it's been a great run.

Black-Out

Even though it was dark, I went down and did a few sprints on the golf course tonight.  It was cold out, but it was quiet and still.  It felt good to be surrounded by nature and little other noise.

I would think this type of activity is very, very good for the nervous system.  After all, we are built for nature, not urban living.  It's refreshing to go someplace where you can "turn off" your nervous system for a bit.

And Then I See A Darkness

Daylight savings time came a week later this year, but it's here now.  Now when I (and many others) leave work, it's already dark out.  That's a bit of a downer, but I guess that's the way it goes.  At least I have a window at work to look through, so I can see daylight during the day.

Green Driveway

Here's one neat example of green building, an eco-friendly driveway.  This is from a New York Times article last year.

Green Building

Last week, I saw this article in USA Today about the boom in eco-friendly homes.  I dug around some more and found the US Green Building Council (USGBC).  This council certifies new construction with its LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating system.  The LEED system is designed to take all the environmental factors of a build into account. 

Many large companies are using the LEED standards for new construction.  For example, Bank of America is having its massive new Manhattan tower certified at the LEED platinum level.

The USGBC is having its annual conference next week, and is scheduled to unveil LEED guidelines for residential homes.

Good Calories, Bad Calories

I got around to finishing Gary Taubes' new book this weekend.  First off, it is a very well-written book, very well-researched.  He examined a lot of issues in ways I haven't previously thought of.

However, I felt the concluding chapters lacked a bit of steam.  Earlier in the book, he paints simple carbohydrates as the cause of obesity.  Later, he drops the simple part and lumps all carbohydrates together.  His main conclusion is that fat can only be fattening when there is carbohydrate around. 

Curiously, he cites a lot of researchers who acknowlege that carbs drive insulin which drives fat, but disagree that carbohydrates are the villian.  Instead, these researchers still feel that overall calories are to blame for obesity.  Taubes paints these researchers as confused; but are all these researchers really oblivious to the proper conclusions of their own work?

I also felt the concluding chapters asked more questions than they answered.  Taubes beats carbohydrates into the ground, but scarely mentions protein at the end.  The carb-to-protein ratio has been shown to be very important in various studies.

He also feels that exercise is ineffective, which I disagree with.  Perhaps exercise won't do much in the presence of a bad diet, but a good diet + exercise is superior to a good diet only for almost any health outcome.

Overall, I found this book to be thought-provoking, but I'm not sure what impact it will have in combating obesity.  Are simple carbs (sugar and refined carbs) a major culprit in obesity?  Sure, but we've known this for decades.  Are all carbohydrates the central problem Taubes has pointed them out to be?  No, there are traditional cultures (and some hunter-gatherer tribes) that eat a diet higher in non-refined carbs and do just fine.   

Seeing Red

Last weekend, I saw the local Gap store had a number of advertisements for its "Red" product line.  Red was launched in 2006 to help fight HIV in Africa.

I've read where articles which are critical of the Red effort.  They believe that companies are using the Red idea to help increase sales and build their company image.

My thought is: who cares?  It really doesn't matter why a company engages in charitable efforts, as long as they do it.  Whether it's to boost sales or its true social responsibility, the bottom line is that money gets raised for charity.

So far Red has raised over $45 million, so I would say the campaign has been successful.  How great would it be if more companies created charitable product lines?  This isn't communism, companies shouldn't be forced to give back.  But a company that is doing well should be encouraged (prodded?) to give back to the community.

Endurance is Work

I've noticed lately that when I do endurance runs (even though they are relatively short), it feels more like "work" than other forms of running.  When I do sprinting, I can feel the benefits shortly thereafter.  When I run at VO2max pace, I can feel benefits shortly thereafter.  But when I do strictly endurance work, I don't really feel much benefit, and it just feels like I've expended effort and not much else.

I think endurance is a component of total fitness, but it's relatively low in the ranks.  Once a person can run a few miles or so, I believe the majority of health benefits are obtained. 

Stretching endurance further and further out, as in a marathon, doesn't add much to fitness.  Conversely, if a person can keep increasing their speed over a short distance, this will add a significant amount to fitness. 

Eventually, I will see how little I can do of pure endurance work while still maintaining that component.  Part of the difficulty I think is that endurance has a skill component, so if you do it infrequently, you may not lose your aerobic fitness, but your skill level may suffer.

I will experiment and see what kind of frequency is ultimately needed,