Author: Shawn

I am a practitioner of the martial arts and student of the Buddhist faith. I have been a Type 1 Diabetic since I was 4 years old and have been fighting the uphill battle it includes ever since. I enjoy fitness and health and looking for new ways to improve both, as well as examining the many questions of life. Although I have no formal medical training, I have amassed a wealth of knowledge regarding health, Diabetes, martial arts as well as Buddhism and philosophy. My goal is to share this information with the world, and perhaps provide some sarcastic humour along the way. Welcome!

First Or Last, It’ll Suck…

Fighting is a nasty business. No matter what the reason, no good ever truly comes of it. I could throw out a bunch of quotes, written by well-known and well-meaning martial artists about how fighting should never be for anything but defence of yourself or others, how no one ever truly wins a fight or something similar. But it would be nothing I haven’t written before, and it would provide no insight into what needs to be done once a fight actually happens. There’s actually quite a bit…

Unlike what you might have seen in the movies, a real fight will never be a drawn out thing lasting thirty to forty minutes with both combatants taking heavy blows to the head and body but yet, still keep on fighting until the penultimate moment. For the most part, a real fight will usually last less than a minute and will often involve several blind swings where other combatants miss their target. The unfortunate reality is that most people, especially those who have trained in a fighting sport like wrestling or boxing, will falsely assume that they’re prepared for the realities of what happens when there is no regulating or governing body to referee the fight and no rules to protect the combatants.

I’ll even be brazen enough to say that those who train extensively in the martial arts will still lack a certain something required to deal with certain realities. For example, have you ever been punched in the face? Have you ever taken a strike to the body when prepared for it? Have you ever faced multiple opponents? Have YOU ever struck a human body? Something other than a punching bag, of course. Objects never strike back. But these are always concerns that one needs to be aware of. Luckily, my martial arts training and chosen profession has given me insight in both sides of a conflict. And I’m going share some of that knowledge with you now…

Let’s talk about hitting and getting hit. What happens when you get punched in the face? Simply, you’ll experience a batch of effects, including but not limited to dizziness, nausea, blurred vision and perhaps loss of consciousness. Definitely, your ears will likely start ringing. If someone successfully lands a solid blow to your face and/or head, it will potentially end the fight, right then an there. This is one of those times when the instructor in me wants to remind you that protecting the vital areas of the body are paramount during a fight. If you can’t avoid an incoming strike, a glancing blow on a less vulnerable area is preferable, even if it means you’re still getting hit.

Getting struck anywhere else on the body will have its share of complications, especially if a blow lands in an area where you were unprepared for it. Getting punched in the gut isn’t incapacitating in and of itself. But getting struck in the abdomen can cause internal bleeding and injuries that while not immediately painful or incapacitating, can be life-threatening if left untreated. Even getting struck on the limbs is not without risk. If your opponent manages to fracture or break a bone during the exchange, it can incapacitate you. If the pain doesn’t distract you enough to cause you to lose the exchange, going into shock likely will.

Next, one needs to consider the aspect of throwing an actual strike against another human being. I’ve seen fighters spend hours practicing drills on pads or a punching bag, only to turn their wrists or fracture a bone after one strike during a real fight. There’s a significant difference between striking an inert target and trying to hit a moving opponent, who likely won’t take kindly to being struck (whether they initiated it or not).

Another important aspect is how a fight is initiated. Listen, I’m all for self-defence and never being the one who strikes first. But the reality of the street is that if someone means to do you or someone else harm, you may not have the opportunity to wait for them to throw the first punch. Doing so could critically endanger you or a loved one. Certainly martial arts training should always be used ONLY for self-defence. But self-defence occasionally means striking first. It will sometimes be inevitable.

Now, what happens if you’re stuck facing off against multiple opponents? I have had the unfortunate experience of dealing with that exact scenario. The thing to remember when dealing with multiple opponents at once is to deal with the first one quickly. You’ll always see one of two scenarios: either the ringleader will be the first to attack, or the ringleader will hang back and let his or her peons get taken down before stepping in. It’s important to know the difference. Because much like taking out a bully, the rest will usually scatter quickly if you take down the ringleader. But the same rules apply, regardless of how many opponents you face.

I’m always reminded of a story Sensei told me when I was younger. He described a time when he worked as a bouncer in a local pub. He wound up tossing out a group of troublemakers and had gotten word that they would be waiting for him outside when the pub closed. True enough, he stepped out of the pub in the wee hours of the morning to find the five guys he had kicked out, lined up in a semi circle waiting for him. He was quick in thinking, an explained to the group that they would certainly kick his ass. Of that, there was no question. But he was swift enough that whomever was the first to approach would get his eyes clawed out before he went down.

The threat had the desired effect, as no one dared to be the first one to attack. Although they would have certainly been successful if they had swarmed him, no one wanted to take the chance of being first and being blinded for life, just to extract petty revenge on a bouncer form the local pub. Sometimes the best defence is one’s voice. Not every fight will result in a physical altercation, and that’s an important lesson.

Last, but definitely not least, is to avoid fighting altogether. Yes, yes, I’ve made a point of saying that this is sometimes inevitable. Not everyone is comfortable with the prospect of running away from a fight. Our in-born fight-or-flight reflex makes this a possible reality, but most people fight against that reflex due to some twisted sense of pride or macho sense of bravery. But tactically repositioning yourself to “fight another day” can definitely be a means of slipping out of a fight without injury.

It may not always be possible. But when it is, avoiding a fight is always preferable. Violence is never preferable, although it may sometimes be necessary. But when you can avoid any of it, it’s preferable. As the saying goes, you win every conflict you never fight. But if you find yourself in a situation where a fight is inevitable, it’s also important to remember that you need to protect yourself and others first and foremost. It’s always important at the end to find a way to go home. ☯

Don’t Get On My Nerves, I’m Under Pressure…

Don’t let the title fool you, it’s just a play on words. Today’s post is about pressure points. I recently had a conversation online with a friend who was suggesting potential posts I could write up in relation to this blog. During the exchange, the idea for discussing pressure points came into my head. Since I haven’t written a post in a while solely on martial arts (where I haven’t harped on Diabetes or included some other aspect), I thought that pressure points would be good topic to cover, especially since it’s used in karate a fair bit. Depending on one’s style, of course.

So, what is a pressure point? I guess I should start with the basics, since many people are unclear as to what exactly, is being referred to when one uses the term. First of all, it depends in what context it’s being used. In Chinese Medicine, such as acupuncture or acupressure, it refers to the meridians of the body where stimulation can promote healing and other effects, depending on the location and the source of stimuli.

From martial arts standpoint, a pressure point is typically a point where one can exert pressure (hence the name) or strike, causing pain, immobility in the limb and/or distraction or confusion in an opponent. I have to be extremely honest in the fact that I’ve seen a lot of hype surrounding pressure points. I’ve been training and using them for decades, but I’ve yet to find one that’s a happy medium that involves rendering a limb immobile. For the most part, they either inflict pain/confusion in an opponent or it straight up knocks them out.

But pressure points are extremely sensitive points on the body. Chances are good that at some point, you likely used a pressure point or had one used on you. For example, getting kicked in the nuts is a pressure point. I seriously wish I were kidding about that. But it genuinely is. And it’s one of the most painful (and easy to access) pressure points on the human body. It causes dozens of different responses in the body, which work well towards incapacitating one’s opponent.

You’ll notice that I said “human body” and not “male body,” because contrary to popular opinion, a groin kick is extremely effective against female opponents as well. Many of the same nerve endings are present in both genders, despite the difference in genitilia. My sincerest apologies to anyone who doesn’t identify by those two genders. I’m afraid my brain is hard-wired for binary.

But there are a number of areas on the human body that have pressure point locations that can be as obvious and effective as a groin strike. For example, there’s a nifty little lymph node where the jawline meets the base of the ear. If you jam a thumb or finger in there, it hurts like hell. That one would mostly be used when you’re caught in close quarters. But there are all sorts of other areas including the brachial plexus, solar plexus, the line of the bicep inside the arm and many more. Unlike the portrayal shown in movies and television shows, pressure points aren’t intended to be used a sole means of incapacitating your opponent but rather as a way of facilitating that incapacitation.

One good example comes from a television show I’ve been watching religiously and that’s taken me back to my childhood. I’m talking about Cobrai Kai, a Netflix series based on the 1980’s movie, The Karate Kid. It’s a fantastic series and features a lot of karate-based drama. In the 5th episode of the 3rd season, the protagonist visits Okinawa where he squares off against an old rival. During the sparring match, the rival strike the protagonist in a number of spots, rendering the limbs incapacitated. The protagonist basically sits there, helplessly at the mercy of the old rival. As much as I love the show, I consider this to be an exaggeration and have never seen an effective pressure point that will cause this level of specific disfunction.

But pressure points can be an effective way of maintaining a control over an opponent. I like to use them strictly as a distracting tactic during the initial defence. The brachial plexus is one of my favourites, as a well-placed knuckle strike to that location will cause pain in the general area, mixed with numbing of the associated arm, which distracts the opponent and allows the practitioner the time to formulate a defence, whether that means continued strikes or “tactically relocating” (running away).

There’s even a specific style of martial arts, called Kyusho Jitsu, dedicated to training and studying pressure points. Students of this style practice a variety of techniques using pressure points, as well as some of the healing aspects offered by pressure points. From a personal standpoint, Sensei used to teach dozens of different pressure points of varying effectiveness during drills. They can be effective, when properly applied. Can you get away with defeating an opponent simply through the use of a pressure point? In my opinion, not unless you’ve caught them by surprise or unaware. In which case, you’ve struck first and aren’t using it for self-defence. Shame, shame! Pressure points should be used in combination with effective striking techniques for maximum effectiveness.

At the end of the day, pressure points represent a balance of healing and pain, used by most forms of traditional medicine as well as the fighting arts. Like most things in life, there can some good or bad found in anything. The nature of a thing isn’t so much in the tool, but how the wielder uses it. Pressure points fall very much in this category since they can be used to inflict pain or to heal. Some pressure points can even be used for simple things, such as healing nausea or helping you fall asleep. But a good example of how pressure points aren’t “all encompassing,” is the fact that when they’re used to heal, you’ll likely need multiple visits to the ol’ acupuncturist in order for it to have the desired effect. You can’t just puncture as specific point and BAM! Healed! It just doesn’t work that way…

I named a few pressure point locations in this post. And I have to admit that these aren’t really anything that you wouldn’t find on the internet anyway. But I think it would be irresponsible of me if I didn’t mention that no one should attempt the pressure points I’ve described, unless you’ve trained extensively with them alongside someone with experience. And they should only ever be used in self-defence, as incorrect use of pressure points can be harmful and dangerous to the recipient. Poking your co-worker’s lymph node as a prank likely won’t go over well. So train well and be safe, regardless of what techniques you train with. ☯

My New YouTube Channel

Hey folks! I know I’m not in the habit of drafting two posts in a day and it’s a bit late in the game to be posting a second one, but I’ve decided to put my face on camera and started my own YouTube channel. I only have one video on there, which is scheduled to go live in about ten minutes. But I’m hoping to use the video aspect to discuss and demonstrate things that are a bit difficult to explain with words and photos. If y’all wouldn’t mind visiting the channel and clicking those little “like” and “follow” buttons, I can start pumping out videos in tandem with my blog posts. For any one interested, here’s the link to the YouTube channel.

Check out this first video, which I recoded tonight…

Hopefully, it doesn’t bore everyone any worse than my long-winded posts usually do. I look forward to sharing more in the future. If anyone has any thoughts on something I should be posting in video format as opposed to in written form, please let me know in the comments. ☯

The Unexpected Prejudice

When we think about the word “prejudice,” we mostly think about race, culture, ethnic background or religion. To name a few. But in reality, the term “prejudice” refers to preconceived notions or opinions about someone else, based on something that is KNOWN about the person. This opinion or notions, however, are never based on fact or actual knowledge. Having someone be prejudice against you for any reason can be hurtful, harmful and cause damage to a person’s self-esteem and even prevent certain advancements on life.

I bring this up because believe it or not, I’ve spent a good portion of my life having folks be prejudice against me, because of my Diabetes. Hard to believe? I know. It SHOULD be hard to believe because it isn’t something that should occur. But believe me when I say that it has happened to me far too many times to recount, for a variety of different reasons. I started being “pigeonholed” at a very young age; essentially being dropped into a category that defined me according to my condition as opposed to who I was as a person or what contributions or goals I could achieve.

This started extremely early; as far back as when I was first diagnosed. I was part of a younger group of Scouts, called Beavers (let’s keep the NSFW jokes to a minimum, shall we?). I joined this group when I was 4 years old, and believe me when I say that I was pretty excited about it. Then I was diagnosed with Type-1 Diabetes. A group “camping” event, which entailed staying in the community hall with sleeping bags over a weekend, was denied me on the basis that I had Diabetes. My parents objected to this and tried to do everything possible to allow me to attend. At the end of the argument, my mother even volunteered to attend and stay the weekend as well, in order to deal with the Diabetes aspect of the issue. I was still refused.

I know what you’re going to say; as an adult I understand what the Scouts’ view of the situation might have been. There are risks and liabilities and issues that Scouts Canada simply wouldn’t have wanted to take responsibility for. I get it. But I probably would have been far more understanding at the time, had they made an effort to understand what was going on rather than simply say, “Sorry, we can’t accommodate him.” Effectively, my time as a Scout was over before it began. It shouldn’t have been a big deal. But given my age, it set the tone for all the things that would follow through my life.

My diagnosis came while I was attending kindergarten. This was the big one, because it set the tone for the next decade, in terms of who befriended me and what groups I could have been part of. I still remember the embarrassing “speech” the teacher gave about how I was a “special kind of sick,” and that the children had to treat me gently and tell her immediately if I was found to be acting strangely or seemed too sleepy. ARE YOU FUCKIN’ KIDDING ME???? Setting aside the fact that I’m already weirder than a pillowcase full of angry ferrets, this basically told a bunch of 4 and 5 year olds that there was something strange and different about me. The effect was that most of the kids avoided me unless they were forced to join me for a group lesson during class.

All throughout my formative years in school, I was denied certain group activities, sports and/or teams on the basis of my Diabetes. Some years, I was automatically excused from gym classes and given a basic passing mark for sitting on the side while the rest of my class would play ball, run and exercise, leaving me to rot as opposed to growing my physical capabilities. One would be inclined to think that teachers and adults would be more enlightened and ask certain questions about my condition before simply writing me off. After all, this was well before the snowflake generation of getting offended at everything, so my parents and I would have gladly answered any questions got assuage any concerns.

But instead, it was easier for all of them to live within their (incorrect) preconceived notions and cats me aside, refusing to take responsibility or take a chance on the possibility that something could happen to me while I was in their care. And I get that. Now. Back then, it was a constant feeling of being rejected and segregated. No wonder my health waned and I took a downward turn when I was nearing 10 years old. I was never allowed the opportunity to participate in sports and be a part of the group. If this happened now, there’d be an uproar! People would mount protests, parents’ groups would petition the school board, people would lose their jobs… Anarchy! But I just took it in stride.

I’d like to say that when I finally joined karate that things turned around. And yes, they turned around from a health standpoint, but even karate was a problem. Because my parents refused to let me join, thinking I’d get hurt or that my blood sugars wouldn’t allow me to survive a 2-hour class. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I had to join in secret, using my merger allowance to pay what tuition I could. Sensei was really good about never asking questions and trained me no differently than anybody else. That’s when I started to accumulate some mass, gained strength, speed and reflexes and discovered that I could have potentially have had a different path if I could have started to gain these benefits at a younger age as opposed to having everyone simply sit me on the side to watch. After all, life isn’t a spectator sport.

It’s extremely important that you never assume something about someone else’s condition. For my specific example, I may have had a rough start during my childhood. But once I took control of my health and fitness, I took huge strides and have suffered almost none of the usual complications associated with Diabetes. And what’s more is I’ve trained in the martial arts for over three decades, still have all my toes and appendages and have fathered two children. Many said I’d never accomplish any of that. Shame on them. ☯

Seeing It Through…

If you have uncontrolled Diabetes, having the motivation to see something through can be pretty difficult. I have unfortunate memories of my behaviour through my late teens and 20’s where my erratic blood sugars often caused mood swings and a deep apathy for life that went way beyond the point of being lazy. It was hard, because my lack of energy and motivation would usually result in me just wanting to “sit and relax,” or get some “rest.” This was usually code for simply not having any motivation. Honestly, I often wonder how I was able to make my way through the martial arts ranks.

The lack of energy and motivation is what usually hit me hardest. I like to think that things are much better for me these days, and I use my motivation in ways that continue to grow my fitness and increase my control over Diabetes. And sometimes I like to try new things. You may have heard me mention that, once in a while. During the first week of January, I joined a fitness challenge through my RunKeeper app that involved logging 50 kilometres of distance within the calendar month. One would think that this shouldn’t BE an issue, since I usually log more than that in one cycling session. But it’s kind of difficult to cycle on snow, and walking roughly involves three times as much time as cycling.

I started by taking time to walk a few kilometres during the daylight hours. This was made all the more difficult by the fact that Nathan was remote schooling when I started this, and he couldn’t understand why I wouldn’t let him join. When he started going back to school in person, I would see him off on the bus then take my walk immediately after that. It would be a touch on the colder side, since the sun wouldn’t be up at this point. But I would usually manage to get three or four kilometres logged within an hour of walking, which was a good pace and started growing my monthly total to bring me closer to the 50 kilometres I needed.

Sometimes, it was actually nice to get out of the house and have a walk. On clear, sunny days I could listen to music or simply be alone with my thoughts while getting fresh air and some mild modicum of exercise. I started to see some of the advantage behind walking every day. On other days, it felt tedious and very much like an obligation. This is where I started to run into trouble, towards the end. With only 8 kilometres left to log, I lost motivation and started avoiding walks. It’s not like I was even actively trying to avoid it, I simply didn’t;t have the energy. Inclement weather and the recent snow storm with power outages certainly didn’t help.

Ultimately, I reached the minimum I needed. I believe I even went beyond the 50 kilometres I originally set out to log. Completing this 50 kilometres also enters my name in a draw for a potential prize of cross training sneakers that I would never afford on my own (or wouldn’t PAY for, normally) so there was some outside motivation involved, as well. But the experience was good and my wife and I have discussed making walks a family thing, now that the fitness challenge is done. This simply goes to show that you can start working on your fitness with something as easy as taking a walk. The motivation be sometimes need to be found first. But all it takes is getting off the couch and doing it. ☯

If You’re Going To Be Salty, May As Well Soak While You Do…

There are a number of things that I do to promote healing and recovery after workouts, including proper diet, proper sleep (when life and my body allow it), heat and/or cold as required, meditation and stretching. But one of the more relaxing things I enjoy doing is taking a hot bath with Epsom salts. Even if you’ve never used Epsom salts, you’ve no doubt walked past them numerous times at your local retailer’s or pharmacy. They come in either a sealed plastic bag or a pourable plastic tub.

If you’ve never used it, you may be asking what the hell Epsom salt is? Well, in simplest terms, it’s a white crystalline powder that composed primarily of magnesium and sulphate, hence the “salt” aspect. Apparently, the term “Epsom” is the place where it’s mined. But the idea is to pour a couple of cups of this stuff into a hot bath and it will dilute and break down into the individual magnesium and sulphate, which can then be absorbed into the body during your soak to reap the benefits of these two mineral salts for a variety of reasons.

Every article I’ve read and every source I’ve looked into claims that there’s no definitive evidence that there’s a benefit to soaking in an Epsom salt bath, but many people swear by it. I should know; I’m one of them. With our upstairs shower not functioning properly at the moment, the whole family is limited to baths. And I do find a soak with some Epsom salts to help with a faster recovery and better relaxation. You can get the salts as is, or you can get them scented with a variety of different things like lavender, mint and many more.

As with everything in life, there’s some good and some bad to using Epsom salts. Considering the profound lack of clear scientific evidence that proves it, most people would be inclined to believe there’s no point in using it and one would be just as well to simply soak in a hot bath. But it simply wouldn’t be me, if I didn’t present both pros and cons. So here are some of the benefits of using Epsom salts in your bath.

Soaking in a bath with it is supposed to help reduce inflammation, soreness and aches from working out as well as help with skin health. It’s also good for foot health, with many people using it to treat ingrown toenails. No need to tell you that this is an important concern for people with Diabetes. But overall, it can be used to relieve soreness and stiffness of varying types, as well as being used as a mild laxative if taken orally. Magnesium is also said to help produce melatonin, which can help you get a better night’s rest. Last but not least, it can help to reduce stress. Granted, a saltless bath can do that as well.

The down side is obviously the lack of definitive evidence on the supposed benefits. But in all honesty, a hot bath will help ease sore muscles and reduce stress anyway. And there’s very little downside or danger to using Epsom salts in every bath you take. That being said, if you take Epsom salts orally for whatever reason, there’s a plethora of different ways you can harm yourself with them. Just be sure to check with your medical professional if you’re going to attempt it. But taking a bath with it is safe enough. Most packages will have clear instructions on how much to add and such.

I genuinely enjoy baths with Epsom salts. It’s a great way to relax and unwind when the stressors of life are getting you down. And it can definitely help speed up recovery. But it’s one of those things that you basically have to try out for yourself in order to make an informed decision. All in, Epsom salts are pretty cheap. In fact, they’re less expensive than bubble bath and to be honest, there are more benefits. Give it a try, next time you need to relax. ☯

Why So Confrontational?

The world is a violent and dangerous place. This isn’t really news; one need only to Google any aspect of world history to recognize that it’s ALWAYS been a dangerous and violent place. But there was a time when a specific violence was contained to its immediate area. If you lived in a small town, you’d likely hear about the assault that took place during the previous evening, but the world would continue to turn. Likely thinking that your small town is a quiet and peaceful place.

These days, even the most remote of places have the world’s information at their fingertips and can access it with but a swipe of their finger across their smart phone, tablets or home computers. People have become much more aware of the way the world operates, albeit most seem to think it’s become an increase since years past. It really hasn’t; we simply hear more about it now. One thing that HAS increased, and I only know this because of personal experience, is confrontation. People seem o have developed a comfort and penchant for confronting one another, either online or in person. And the results can often bring more suffering than it’s worth.

A good example I can provide is a confrontation I had with an unknown gentleman (and I use the term lightly) about a year ago. I believe I wrote a post on this, but it’s been so long, who remembers? Anyway, I pulled out into an inner lane of travel after fuelling up my vehicle. This guy was in the outer lane and decided to switch lanes right in the location where I pulled out. The result was that he honked his horn loudly and proceeded to follow me to the nearest red light where he pulled up next to me and proceeded to call me a plethora of disrespectful names and try to “educate” me on traffic laws. I didn’t bother to tell him, but had he known what I do for a living, he may have understood the redundancy in that tactic.

Long story short, whether in the right or wrong, I apologized and told the guy not to let the incident ruin his day. he seemed unconvinced and unsatisfied. His problem. But it got me to thinking for quite some time afterwards… What would these people do if they confronted someone violent? A wanted criminal or a gang member who’d be just as likely pull out a pistol and shoot the guy in the face as look at him? Because of the nature of the world, you simply never know who it is you may be dealing with when you confront them.

If for no other reason than the fact that you’re prolonging your own suffering and creating some for another person, this is something to be mindful of when confronting unknown persons. And why would you confront them? Let’s look back at my traffic scenario. Did the guy gain anything from confronting me the way he did? Of course not! Has it altered my perceptions or changed the way I drive? I can guarantee you that it did not. I’m still just as careful and mindful of my driving as I was beforehand.

But had I been someone violent or dangerous, that guy might have been caught dealing with quite a different scenario. I’ve seen and experienced it often enough to know it can happen. And this is what needs to be seriously contemplated when one is considering confronting someone. At the end of the day, if something that happened brought you no harm, hasn’t altered your life and you can carry on with the status quo, may consider letting it go rather than confronting another person over it. You may discover that your life will be more peaceful and your stress levels will be less. Food for thought. ☯

Read This Post While You Recover

One’s health and fitness depends on a number of different factors. Age, weight, body type, current level of fitness, medical conditions and how big of a wuss you are, all contribute to how much you can push yourself and how often you can work out. Okay, maybe that last one is a bit of a subjective opinion. But what you do and how often you do it will depend on these things and more. And at some point, no matter your level of fitness, you’ll need some time to recover.

Let’s start by examining the simple concept being effective fitness. When you work out, you tax and exert your muscles causing damage to them. Then, provided you consume an adequate diet of foods, your body will repair the muscle tissue, making it bigger and stronger than what it previously was in order to accommodate the exertion you previously put it through. This is what pop culture refers to as getting “gains.” It’s also how you’re able to push longer with more weight when you do strength training.

Although cardio is meant to provide something slightly different than strength training, most of the same factors are present. Otherwise, how can you grow, progress and run for longer distances (or walk, cycle and/or elliptical). But have you ever tried using a broken tool? You may still accomplish your goal, but it will likely be more difficult. And the end result may not be exactly what you were trying to achieve. This is why repairing a broken tool before reusing it (No, you’re a broken tool! I know you said it…) is important. Ans it’s also where getting proper rest and allowing your body to recover comes in.

An exact answer is a little difficult to gauge. After all, if you rarely work out then foolishly participate in a Marine Corps workout with your fitness-obsessed, psycho friend (wink, wink!) you’ll likely need recover immediately the next day and possibly even the day of. If you consistently work out and have a good fitness base, you may be fine with taking a day to recover every few days, or once to twice a week. But even your level of fitness is only one of the factors to be considered in terms of recovery.

Honestly, I’ve found so much contradictory information when I researched this post that I’m not even certain what sources to quote. Some have the opinion that you should take 24 to 48 hours to properly heal and recover after a workout. Other sites boast as much as 72 hours to recover for specific muscles groups, before performing a workout with them again. It’s a balance that depends on the intensity of the workout you do coupled with the bodily factors I mentioned earlier.

According to an article I found on BodyBuilding.com, a person should immediately recuperate for 2 to 4 hours following a workout, but as long as 72 hours afterwards. The article also explains that some of the issue lies in the fact that most people train to much and too often, as opposed to too hard. This ties in with my recent post about getting too much of a good thing. It’s important to listen to your body and recognize when you’re doing too much.

An article by MensHealth.com claims that muscle damage isn’t necessary for proper gains so long as you hit the gym regularly. They indicate that long recovery periods aren’t necessary for proper fitness, provided a bunch of factors are in place. But they don’t necessarily cover off recommended periods of recovery. It can be pretty difficult to know how long you should be resting after an intense workout.

One of the important things to remember is that recovery doesn’t mean being off your feet and doing nothing afterwards, either. You need to keep yourself moving in order to avoid seizing up. This might mean taking a light walk the day after, or doing some light stretches combined with soaking in an epsom salt bath. This will help ease and relax muscles as well as loosen stiff joints.

At the end of the day, be sure to listen to your body. Starting back before you’ve recovered will cause injury as opposed to normal muscle soreness associated with working out. If you wake up barely able to move, it stands to reason that you should probably take it easy and save the 10k run for a different day. But if you’ve rested for a day and you feel good and only slightly sore, you may be ready to kick back into gear. It will be entirely dependent on you. Last but not least, don’t forget that if you have Diabetes and injure yourself, healing and recovery will likely take longer.☯

You Can’t Roll The Dice Unless You Pick Them Up…

In the short term, I’m not one for taking chances. I like challenge, but I also prefer to know the ground beneath my feet is stable and won’t fall out from under me. But the reality is that sometimes you have to grab life by the sweaty gonads and take a chance. This can relate to many different aspects of life, including one’s health, financials, career and more. In some cases, many cases, if you don’t roll the dice and take a chance in life, you may not accomplish a great deal.

This is perfectly fine if the only ambition one has in life is to make just enough money to keep a roof over one’s head and food on the table, leaving no room for any growth, expansion or experiencing the world around you. Admittedly, there’s nothing wrong with building such a life. I’ve certainly been guilty of wishing to have a simpler life with less belongings and property. One doesn’t need to be Bill Gates in order to have a rich and fulfilling life.

But it stands to reason that if you want something MORE in life, it will sometimes involve taking chances. Rolling the dice. Gambling, if you will. Because the chance you take will often yield negative results, it can be considered as a form of gambling. But traditional gambling is also a good example of this. For example, I buy lottery tickets each week. I’ve been doing so for the past few years and have never won anything beyond a free play or a few dollars, but I continue to play, nonetheless.

Don’t get me wrong; I could give two shits about being rich. I already consider myself rich in a variety of other ways but the money would be effectively used to bring some much needed peace of mind in the form of being debt-free and having an available savings that guarantee that I don’t have to throw myself further into debt just because the foundation of my house decided to start cracking (true story). They say money can’t buy happiness. But to be honest, I’d rather find that out myself than take someone else’s word for it. Money may not buy happiness, but it’s essentially the only way to pay bills.

“Your Odds Of Winning Are Like A Hundred Million To One! Don’t You Know That The Lottery Is Just A Tax On Stupid People?!”

– Brian Griffin, Family Guy (Season 10)

This is a discussion I’ve had with a number of people over the years, since most people are convinced that there’s no point in playing the lottery as the odds of winning are almost non-existent. This may be true, but you know what else GUARANTEES you won’t win? Never playing. Eventually SOMEONE will win. And that someone will reap the benefits of that victory. And the reality is that I may get hundreds, maybe even thousands of losing tickets over the course of time that I play. But it only takes ONE winning ticket to make the difference.

I use the lottery as the subject of my analogy, because it’s familiar to most people and it’s easily understandable. But the lesson applies to all other areas of one’s life. Where would society be if no one ever gambled on themselves and took a chance? I referenced Bill Gates earlier… What if he never took a chance on himself? Microsoft may never have come into existence and the face of modern computing would be significantly different. What if Mark Zuckerberg hadn’t taken a chance and developed FaceBook, subsequently fighting for it and allowing it to develop? The world of social media and how we connect and communicate would be significantly different as well.

Maybe both of those are bad examples as well. Light knows the latter example hasn’t garnered the best reputation in recent years. So let’s consider lightning, instead. Have you ever been struck by lightning? Me neither. Any idea what the odds of being struck by lightning are? 1 in 500,000! And that’s DURING the lightning storm. If it’s a clear, sunny day I’m certain the odds jump sky-high (see what I did there?). But consider this? Do you think that someone who HAS been struck by lightning gives a damn about the odds? Or the statistics? No. They simply know it can happen because it HAS happened.

“Never Tell Me The Odds!”

– Han Solo, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back

I’ve basically written this fun little post with all these lottery and lightning analogies to illustrate a simple point: life doesn’t progress and move forward by sitting on the couch waiting for something to come to you. You have to occasionally take a chance. Whether it’s on yourself or on someone else, you can’t roll the dice unless you pick them up. And those dice won’t yield a winning throw unless you decide to take a chance and try. The odds may be against you, but you’re guaranteed to lose if you never play. ☯

Feelin’ The Burn When You’re A Weirdo…

Exercising means burning calories. If you aren’t aware of that by THIS point, I can’t help you. Light knows I’ve written about that very thing quite often during the previous 700 posts I’ve put up. And although intense exercise and movement is the best option for a calorie burn that contributes to one’s overall fitness and weight loss goals, It may come as a surprise to some people that there are a number of reasonably strange and everyday activities that help you to burn calories.

One good example of this is what happens within your body while you sleep. Most people refer to being “at rest” during the night, but there’s a plethora of internal activity that takes place while a person sleeps. Muscle and tissue repair, digestion, brain activity and whole bunch more… I would be curious as to what amount of calories are burned by the average person during an 8-hour sleep. This got me to thinking about some strange or “non-fitness” activities that can burn calories, as well.

The first and most prominent one in my mind is meditation. Although I wouldn’t necessarily refer to mediation as a workout in and of itself, a person does burn calories during meditation. Just to be clear, it’s important to understand that calories are burned for any and all movement that the body performs. How little or how much is the question. And it can be a different amount for different people, based on age, level of fitness and body chemistry. But for me specifically, I’m burning approximately 90 calories an hour during meditation. This means that the 10 minutes of restful meditation I perform at the end of my workouts will burn roughly 15 calories. Does that tip the scale on the mount of calories I just burned during the actual workout? No, but it exists nonetheless and it’s still a calorie usage.

For example, did you know that taking a hot bath for about an hour will burn about 140 calories? This is according to a study performed at Loughborough University and explained in a post by theconversation.com. This somewhat makes sense to me, since sitting in a hot tub of water increases one’s core temperature resulting in sweating and a bunch of other functions of the body. Where there’s movement, there’s calorie burn, remember? Even things like drinking multiple cups of green tea a day or cleaning your house can burn well over 100 calories over the course of a day.

According to an article posted by HealthLine.com, 6 unusual ways to burn calories include exposure to cold weather or drinking cold water. This makes sense as it forces your body to work in order to warm itself and this can only be done by burning fuel. But the article also describes things such as chewing gum, donating blood and even constant fidgeting. If that last one genuinely burns calories, how do I not have a freakin’ six-pack yet? I fidget like a maniac. I can barely EVER manage to sit still. last but not least, the article also describes laughing more often, which will also burn off extra calories.

There are plenty of articles and studies out there that describe all sorts of different activities that will accomplish an extra amount of caloric burn. Some of them are a bit on the surprising side, and it should be noted that many of them depend on a person’s body chemistry and overall metabolic rate, as well. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go fidget some more… ☯