Blog

Feb 12

Being our best in the long term is really hard work. It takes a relentless drive to improve, a focus on the little things, and the ability to amass a vault of practice repetitions without extended setbacks from injury, burnout, or a variety of other obstacles. Maybe this is why there aren't many examples of people who've done it. Yet if we look back, even as far back as 8 decades, we might be surprised at how steady the fundamental formula has been.

Dive in to learn more.

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The Rest of the Story

On the one hand, as a LONG suffering Miami Dolphins fan (last playoff win 20 yrs ago) who grew up spoiled watching Dan Marino do amazing things, it is VERY hard for me to type the next statement.....Tom Brady may actually be the greatest quarterback of all time. Winning a SEVENTH Superbowl at 43 years old, taking a team of mostly non-stars (1 pro bowl selection) who were on track for a good (but not great) season in terms of wins and losses at the midpoint and leading them to wins over multiple opponents who they had previously been beaten by and turning it into a Superbowl championship run is impressive work. Sure, he's only one person on a team of great athletes, coaches and staff, but on the other hand, as a person who is absolutely fascinated by top performing people who do it consistently over the long term, I find stories like Brady's, or Deena Kastor who set marathon records into her 40's, or Josh Waitzkin's who essentially did the same starting with chess (remember the movie?) and then in martial arts (really!), to be opportunities to learn from the few who seem to get better and better wherever they spend their time and effort.

So what does it take to defy the odds like Brady or Kastor or Waitzkin?

Well if you like history and you go back to one of the most well-known self improvement books of all time (originally published in 1937), you will very likely find some outdated ideas, word-choices and syntax. After all, the world has changed a bunch since then; but you might also find yourself intrigued by the staying power of some of the simple fundamentals like the "QQS" formula which boils down to: doing things right (Quality) as close to every time as possible (Quantity) which, when combined with a positive & growth oriented attitude (Spirit), yields amazing results.

Fast-forward 80 or so years and contemporary experts suggest some incredibly similar things:

1. Quantity - The idea of balancing "load" and "recovery" is not new; we talk about it a lot because it's the basic foundation of just about every growth activity for humans. When it comes to strength training, we overload the current capacity of our muscles to stimulate growth BUT THEN we back off and let a full recovery happen. If we don't overload a little? No growth. If we don't recover fully? Less growth. It's not just the hard push-forward, it's the pull back that lets us attain performance longevity. Just ask Kastor who is known for logging a massive number of miles in training - as many as 140 running miles PER WEEK! If that sounds intimidatingly huge, that's because it is. How'd she'd get there? She built up to it with ebbs and flows: "She describes this system, visually, as a “roller coaster.” Her weekly mileage might go: 70, 80, 75, 90, 80, 100." - any of those weeks are intense, but maybe the most impressive thing is that if we give the body a chance to pull back, it can do impressive things.

2. Quality - because quantity alone is never enough, doing the little things right matters. A few years ago (after winning the 2017 Superbowl), Brady said "When I was 25, I was hurting all the time, and I couldn't imagine playing as long as I did, just because, you know, if your arm hurts every day when you throw, how can you keep playing?". Maybe he has the perfect genetics for American Football... or maybe he's onto something in trying to put in a steady high quality effort at staying healthy. I'm admittedly skeptical about some of the specifics he adheres to, but the way he approaches it, deliberately with intense focus on improving, is almost definitely a big part of what's worked for him multiplying the effect of the volume of effort alone. After all, the often hyped 10,000 hour rule of mastery (if you read the some of the original work) was never only about the amount of time logged but the exacting nature of the practice itself....."how" it was being done, deliberately was the game changer.

3. Spirit - How does a child prodigy in a mental game like chess become a champion athlete/coach in an entirely different (physical) game in one lifetime? Well if you ask Waitzkin who achieved both of these things before midlife - the answer is that winning is a learning process first. In his 2008 book on the subject, Waitzkin makes it clear that learning for him is about getting outside of his comfort zone.....which often means doing the hard things that he knows will ultimately improve his results: “Growth comes at the point of resistance. We learn by pushing ourselves and finding what really lies at the outer reaches of our abilities.” Ask Carol Dweck, one of the world's experts on achievement through mindset, and you'll find a remarkably similar concept.

Of course, Brady, Kastor, and Waitzkin are not experts in what it takes to be safe or healthy in all domains. Throwing a football, running a marathon and dominating a chessboard are not the same as dodging strain risk, working long hours in sometimes harsh conditions, or strategically navigating through the complexities faced when working with industrial grade tasks and risks, but the principles are remarkably similar... at home, at work, and in life.

Performance longevity is not easy. It takes a focus on quality, a willingness to endure large volumes of effort, and a mindset that seeks out continuous improvement.. Some measure it in championships or records set... others measure it in healthy and safe days, everyday, season by season... culminating in the "wins" of more time doing the things that matter with the people we love.

We are +/- 60% through the Winter. Keep growing.

Have a great weekend,

Mike E.

Jan 29

Are you a dog lover? If not, do you know someone who is? If so, you may have heard of the term "zoomies", or even seen it in action. It's those times average Fido morphs into Super-dog, bursting at the seams with energy - running around uncontrollably or wildly chasing its tail. Of course, the AKC tells us there's a technical term, Frenetic Random Activity Period (FRAP), but it's not nearly as fun as "zoomies". Entertaining as it might be to watch (if youtube videos over 1 million views can be used as evidence), the reason why dogs click into this behavior, to release energy and work through stress, is something we can learn from... which, as we wrap up January 2021, gets us to our final micro-resolution, number 5.

The Power of Zoom

As a social species, we are made up of bonded individuals (families, tribes, organizations, communities, etc). We're not exactly the same as the family pooch, yet in some ways we are remarkably similar. One of those ways is how we achieve the right balanced/rested state we need to thrive. Just like a lack of energy (fatigue) is not ideal for our overall performance and risk, too much energy (or too much of the wrong kind), is also not ideal. Our bodies are built with a variety of control mechanisms, some involuntarily happening in the background while others are triggered by things in our experience. The state of the world and the continued need for distancing make it easy to feel a bit disconnected - physically (solitude), mentally (lonely) or even spiritually (seeking greater purpose in a challenging world) which can leave us feeling out of balance - but, just like the dog who finds a way to get all that pent up energy off the system - there are things we can do.....even without running around in a frenzy.

With that in mind, here are a couple "human zoomies"- ways to add or release energy as we work toward building longer term healthy habits:

First Zoom Out - CONNECT with the world around us. How we internalize the world around us (which is at the root of whether we are energized or disengaged) starts with how we receive and filter the information coming in. Each of our senses matters here. What we see, hear, smell, taste, and touch informs our reality as information passes through the filter of our personal experiences. Excessive inward (self) focus tends to inhibit our performance as shown in a classic 30+ year old paper on public speaking. Practicing an outward focus - putting our attention on what is happening around us in a highly objective but non-judgmental way (facts only, no interpretation) takes focus and energy. If recent studies on the brain activity of highly skilled meditators are accurate, it may even remap the default "idle" setting of our nervous system. If you've got the chance to do so "out there" and enjoy some nature in the process, even better. Combining the health and well-being benefits of physically being in nature (aka forest bathing), even in the winter with the outward sensory focus is a potent combination.

Then Zoom In - CONNECT with ourselves. If you tried the Positive Affect Journaling (PAJ) exercise I profiled last week you may have noticed it takes a real effort to look inward and dive into the details of the day and how it all played out. For many of us it feels easier to get stuck on the negatives and threats. Without diving too deep into why this type of thinking may have been an imprint handed down from our ancestors, what we now know is that having a structured approach to work through those thoughts, see them for what they are but not more than they need to be, a process called cognitive restructuring, can have an impact. Using a "What am I thinking?" exercise, as found outlined in this document can be a benefit. You might be surprised how the technique can help us tackle a variety of challenges - like building an exercise habit - which, with some emphasis on core strength for the abdomen and lower back (as discovered in this fantastic 2016 study) can have an extra large and direct impact on our stress response.....bringing us full circle to resolution 1 - short bursts of MOVE.

There's a lot there.....but if instead you just want to follow the dog's lead, to "let go" and spin around in circles, we'd suggest a dance party (because it works!) or at the very least, making sure the area is safe.....of course, we'd also like to see the video :)

We are nearly 45% through the winter, keep moving strong!

Have a great weekend,

Mike E.

Jan 15

We started off January as many do - with a focus on change.....not monumental change of the transformation variety, but little things, micro-resolutions, that have powerful evidence backing them up in hopes to march strongly through the winter and come out safe and healthy on the other side.

Week 1 we covered MOVE - and talked about how even 1 minute of stairs could make a difference.

Week 2 (last week) we dove into FUEL - and gave a hat-tip to "the most important meal of the day" with a special focus on the evidence related to oatmeal's ability to counteract cellular stress.

This of course gets us, right on track, to RECOVER and a micro-resolution that, with some boiling water and 10-15 minutes per day can have an impressive impact on several health markers. It starts with a flower that looks a lot like the common daisy. After a bit of drying and maybe some additions for flavor, it is steeped in hot water for up to 5 minutes to produce a pretty impressive (and widely available) cup of warmth known to all of us as "Chamomile Tea".

Maybe you've heard that Chamomile Tea has some medicinal properties - in fact, it does. There is some interesting evidence that it can be a help for those who may be struggling with type 2 diabetes when taken after meals. It also appears to have a calming effect when we are feeling stressed. In this study, which included multiple years of follow-up, using chamomile tea as a self-management strategy for generalized anxiety disorder made a difference. It's also been used for its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and in some cases (topically) even pain control capacity.

Q: So how can we get the most from this humble little tea as a micro-resolution?

A: Consider carving out 15 minutes per day to boil the water, steep the tea and mentally process your day.

There's no wrong way to inject a few minutes of calm, it can be done anytime, the key is being intentional about it. Rather than just consuming it, take the time to slow down and have that be the full focus of your time. If you really want to go all in, consider putting this in the time slot that is 30-60 minutes before bed as a reminder to cut back the bright lights/electronics/etc. - a really powerful way to ready the physiology for rest.

Next week I'll touch on a way to double up the habit with some techniques that are particularly good for those who may have a hard time getting to sleep.....but for now, just enjoy the tea.

We're +/- 30% through the winter - stay strong!

Have a great weekend,

Mike E.

Dec 31

Maybe it's a yearly tradition for you. Maybe you never do but somehow this year has been enough of wildcard that you're going to dust the old concept off. Maybe it'll be the start of something entirely new. Who knows where it could take you.

Yes, of course I'm talking about New Year's resolutions. Not whether they work for everyone (spoiler, even though change was 11 times more likely stick when a resolution was made, resolutions work less than 1/2 the time) but rather as a tip of the cap to those who are going to make an effort.....and to give a few ideas to those who are on the fence. After all, sometimes the hardest step is the first one.

Resolution 1: Take the stairs, 4 times in a row

In 2018 an interesting finding was reported by a cardiologist in Spain. In more than 12,000 individuals tested and followed, those who did not have the fitness capacity to walk up 3 flights of stairs "very fast" or 4 flights of stairs "fast without stopping" were approximately 3 times more likely to die of heart disease or cancer in the following 5 years when compared to those who could.

The elegance of this finding is in its simplicity. Stairs are not specialized fitness equipment. The whole thing can be done in a minute or so. The pay off, although not surprising since fitness capacity has been connected to MANY risks, is pretty huge.

The drawback (and some of the criticism at the time) however was in quantifying what "very fast" or "fast without stopping" meant. This left people wondering - was their version of fast, fast enough?

Well, now, almost exactly 2 years later, the findings have been refined in a smaller subset of patients. As it turns out, the ability to climb by walking (but not breaking into a run) four flights of stairs (approximately 60 stairs) in less than 1 minute was an important risk-lowering threshold for cardiac issues, with 45 seconds or less the lowest risk.

Health-geek-speak: I will achieve at least 8 METS of fitness capacity in 2021.

Resolution Translation: I will do at least 1 minute of stairs most days of the week, stopping for rest as needed, until I can do at least 60 stairs in under a minute without stopping.

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Need some additional help making it stick? Here are some good tips on how to make the process work for you.

We'll bring you another one next week!

Happy New Year, have a great weekend,

Mike E.

Dec 18

Well, it's here.....and unfortunately it's a bit ahead of schedule. If you're sitting anywhere near the eastern states you know that the winter weather arrived a week before the official, 12/21 kick off of winter itself. 2020 continues to keep us on our toes.....and, we all continue to work hard to stay on the right side of the risk curve with the near-term goal of winning the Winter season by staying healthy, safe and strong!

To do that, over the last couple weeks, I've tried to highlight some of the MOVE and FUEL strategies that can help us along the journey toward winter-ready. As a recap under the header of MOVE this means improve the efficiency of blood flow circulation throughout the body (fitness), improve the elasticity and responsiveness of working tissues (mobility/flexibility), ready our natural anti-fall tactics (stability) and work to monitor and manage fatigue during the 10-20 day acclimation phase. In the FUEL column this means minimize the negative performance effects of "drying out" with an eye toward hydration, eating foods that are known to help the body improve energy production efficiency (omega 3's impacting mitochondria) and lessen the workload on the engine whenever possible (beets, leafy greens and other sources of dietary nitrates) especially during the ramp up of acclimation.

But what about the 3rd leg of the ELEMENTS stool? Are there ways to RECOVER better to minimize the impact of the cold stress now and it's known link to pain/injury/disease even in the future? The short answer is YES.....but here are some of the specifics:

1 - Respect your sleep: This study showed a significant difference in the body's ability to tolerate cold after a period of sleep deprivation. Said another way, the participants who were required to stay awake for an extended period had notable blood flow changes in their hands. The authors concluded that this would open the door to risk of cold-related injury. Another study showed very similar findings in participants who were not fully deprived of sleep but had shortened sleep for a week.

2 - Warm-up to Cool-down? Over the years the use of warm-ups before work (priming) and cold (icing) after hard work has been commonplace. More recently, the use of heat after hard work or injury, especially for muscles, has been gaining traction. Although this is not always appropriate (e.g. heating muscles after working in the summer), under normal or cold conditions, this may speed recovery.....so after a hard day's work, especially when the working tissues were fatigued in the cold, a hot shower and/or proper use of a sauna may be a solid way to speed recovery along.

3 - Massage. There are MANY different ways to speed recovery along.....sometimes movement, for example in the opposite directions you've been working, or as a little bit of gentle stretching after a long day or even (gradually) adding more load to stimulate strength are all ways of nudging RECOVER. But that's not all. Here is some good news for the massage lovers.....although it has limitations and isn't perfect in every situation, when it comes to soreness, massage can be a solid choice.

The holiday season is here. In some places Winter arrived early......but the concepts stay the same - give your body what it needs and it will thrive. Let us know if you need more specifics.

Stay warm & safe. Have a great weekend,

Mike E.

Dec 4

It was an early 90's mystery horror drama series. It's the jargon term for when an endurance athlete tries to have not 1 but 2 "bests" in one season. And, if yours includes a goal of health and safety through the end of this roller-coaster called 2020 into 2021 and beyond, it's the awareness that getting through this part of the journey and coming out strong on the other side is especially important.

If you've been reading along, you may remember our focus on the summer months as a "peak" season; a critical time to ready ourselves for the extra risk that comes with extreme temperatures and the accelerated fatigue risk that comes with adapting to the season. Although clearly at the opposite end of the temperature spectrum, Winter is more of the same. It is the high-risk bridge between calendar years, the final peak of this year and the first challenge of next all wrapped up neatly into 90 days. Depending on your geography it can bring equally extreme temperatures and the extra fatigue risk (especially during the adaptation period) along with the "bonus" challenge of slippery surfaces and less natural light which adds risk in some of our most common tasks like walking, standing and driving.

Although there's probably no practical way to perfectly prepare for the colder temps [insert image of Rocky punching sides of beef], there ARE a few things we can do to put the odds in our favor.....and, like it or not, with less than 20 days until we start climbing this peak, if we're going to be ready, now is the time to start. With that in mind and since we can't go wrong with the 3 legs of the healthy-action stool: MOVE, FUEL, RECOVER, we've decided to dedicate the next 3 prep-weeks to the most important levers.

Prep-Week 1: Start with MOVE

"Pre-winter" is a great time to reassess what body parts are a little stiff/sore, whether something that "should" be free and easy seems like more of a struggle than expected and when needed, to begin shifting focus back toward the components of a "solid base" that a successful 2021 can be built on. There's no wrong way to do this, but usually controlled-mobility, aerobic efficiency and whole body strength are near the top of the list.

Look ma', no hands!

For most people a good starting point to assess controlled mobility is the ability to get to the floor and back up again with little or no use of hands (sitting-rise test). It's not perfect and it certainly has its critics, but on the whole, it's quick and repeatable for most people and with a little space and a soft surface can be done safely in the comfort of home. Can you do it?

Test the engine

When it comes to fitness the ability to cover a mile (walk/run) in 15 minutes or less (Rockport walking test calculator) is a solid gauge. Of course, faster is generally better with both maximum aerobic capacity and maximum walking speed well-studied indicators of overall health, but for most people the ability to achieve 10-15 metabolic equivalents of task (METs) tells a good story.

Ups, Ups and Away

With no consensus on a simple and effective test, strength can be a little tougher. For men (as it has only been published on a sample of men so far), the research on push-up capacity, a great snapshot of upper body strength (which says 40 is a major threshold), is compelling and a great starting point for change. For both men and women, hand grip and leg extension have been shown as strong predictors but in most protocols it requires a handgrip or leg extension torque assessment for accuracy. However, some research says determining the maximum single leg step up height a person can do is a good estimate of total leg strength.

The bottom line when it comes to MOVE - like always - know where you're at and start making small but consistent steps in the right direction to lower risk.

More next week.

Have a great weekend,

Justin B

Nov 13

There's a LOT you can draw from 30 years worth of data which looks at the health of the people around the world. Although COVID19 has made it abundantly clear that we can (and do) share many of the same risks as our peers around the world, the data compiled for the Global Burden of Disease study (visualization tool here, full study here) makes it clear that some of our experience is uniquely American.

If we care about living a long and healthy life, some of these trends represent clues on how best to do so. Below are, in my opinion, some of the most important trends in the US Health experience that we should all know about.

The Top Condition

In the United States, heart disease was (1990) and remains (today) the number one most burdensome condition. This is true globally as well. During the 1990's it climbed from 3rd to 2nd (2001) and then grabbed the top spot in 2005. With as much as 80% of heart disease considered preventable (ref) there is work to be done.

30 Years Later, Unchanged

Lower back pain (ranked 2 in the US, 8th globally) and Diabetes type 2 (ranked 6 in the US and 7th globally) are the only other top conditions that have remained unchanged in the US during this period.

Dramatic Increases in Impact

Opioid Use Disorder was the fastest growing condition jumping from a ranking of 27th to 4th since 1990. With lower back pain as common and impactful as indicated above, there is a very real reason to lower personal risk of injury and pain syndromes as well as acting early to make corrections when needed.

Top conditions on the rise

The following 9 conditions have all become more burdensome since 1990: COPD (3rd), Other Musculoskeletal (7th), Falls (8th), Major Depression (9th), Age-related Hearing Loss (10th), Neck Pain (13th), Alzheimer's (14th), Anxiety (15th) and Endocrine/Metabolic/Blood/Immune disorders (18th).

Top conditions improving

The following 6 conditions have improved since 1990 but remain in the top 20: Lung Cancer (5th), Migraine (11th), Stroke (12th), Colorectal Cancer (16ht), Motor Vehicle Injuries (17th) and Breast Cancer (20th).

Almost Victorious

Three conditions that were on the top 20 list in 1990 have fallen off: Lower Respiratory Conditions (22nd), Neonatal Preterm Birth (26th) and HIV/AIDS (59th)

The Most Important Takeaway

By far the most important theme is the fact that ALL of the conditions in the US top 20 can be impacted if not prevented outright.

If there's something on this list that looks familiar and you're not sure where to start, let us know.

Have a great weekend,

Mike E.

Oct 29

"Time is more valuable than money. You can get more money. You can't get more time."

Uttered by an American entrepreneur who went on to become a mentor and motivational speaker, Jim Rhon touched on a critically important concept that we all must eventually wrestle with. When Pink Floyd approached the topic, they did so with a song called "Time" where they painted a picture of people realizing time was fleeting as they aged. Zac Brown Band captures it in a lyric that says "it's funny how time can make you realize we're running out of it" and an amazingly wide variety of well known authors, poets and leaders - from Marcus Aurelius to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow - have quotes to this effect....because time represents how finite our lives are, something that can be easy to lose sight of in the daily hustle......but what if we could get a little back?

In the darkness before the dawn on a long and winding commute that included a 15-20 mile stretch of poorly lit county road I fought the glare of rain in the oncoming headlights and the extra awareness of a driver behind me who seemed to think driving closer and closer to my bumper would help speed up the cars in front of us, I too started thinking about time too. Of course for me, it was far more practical than the artistic examples above. I was simply thinking "when is the sun going to come up?", figuring if everyone could see a bit better perhaps the driving would get easier and safer.....even for those who were in more of a rush than me.

As it turns out, this question is a part of the ongoing debate that peaks this time of year - the debate on whether there is any real value in Daylight Savings Time (DST) which comes to an end this weekend as we turn clocks back. The concept, originally proposed by an insect scientist (entomologist) named George Hudson who realized he could collect more bugs if he had more (well-lit) hours in the day, took decades to gain traction but eventually became the norm in countries across the world, including most of the US.

Of course he (and others) could've never known about the ripple effects of such changes. Along with better bug collections (which history says his was STRONG) comes sleep disruption and therefore stress on the system which, in a now advanced (and over-tired) world, relates to a fairly big spike in heart attacks on the Monday after the change in Spring. In addition, because it can take a few days to fully settle from sleep disruption of any kind (as some researchers suggest), means how we use this new found time, for up to the WEEK after the Fall switch, can be really important......which ultimately means, now is the time....to think about time.....and what we will do with our time rebate this go around.

What if we actually use the hour to regain sleep - that is go to bed at the same time and wake up later? Well, it seems there IS something of a counterbalancing effect. On the Tuesday following the end of DST, heart-attacks appear to drop by 21% nearly offsetting the 24% jump in Spring - HERE.

On the other side of the coin, what if we use the hour as a free pass to stay out later on Saturday? Well....although not as conclusive.....some research suggests it's not a great idea. Similar to what my gut was saying on Wednesday morning, it turns out traffic accidents DO appear to be impacted. THIS STUDY reviewed fatal motor vehicle accidents during these critical periods and it turned out that Sunday night in the Fall, when DST was ending, saw an uptick.

Of course it's possible that for some people this year, with the various pandemic related process changes, RECOVER has actually improved because commutes have been changed (or eliminated) adding some sleep hours to the cycle. It's certainly a new wrinkle in the DST "natural experiment"; a silver lining that would be great to find. On the other hand, the full benefit (and then some) could be eliminated by the many new stressors of living a pandemic life. Only time will tell.

However, in the meantime, we can each pause and think about time itself; to be mindful of it - and this is a great time of year to do so. Not to worry about how short it is......but to give us a moment to work through the strategies that help us to live fully in the short amount we get....including being diligent and safe in the week following the ending of DST, a time when an hour gained means a routine changed.

Make the most of the hour gained.

Have a great weekend,

Mike E.

Oct 16

Sometimes I wonder if it's as much about the ritual as it is about the chemistry. Either way, a steaming cup of coffee is the first thing many people, including me, reach for in the morning and throughout the day. How many? Well, most......like 150 million adults in the US.....every single day.

Here's the good news for the coffee lovers - whether you call it Java or Joe or anything else - drinking a reasonable number of servings per day can be quite healthy. From Alzheimer's and Parkinsons, to diabetes and weight loss, people who drink coffee tend to do better. Dive into this 2018 post from the American Heart Association to learn a bit more. Of course, there is a bit of a caveat with how you take it; the more you add (milk, sugar, cream, etc) the less benefit you get. So if you want the max benefit, black coffee is the way to go.

But that's not all. WHEN you drink coffee, especially if it has caffeine, matters too. As discussed in one review - research has shown that, although on the long-term coffee is known to lower diabetes risk, in the short term caffeinated coffee temporarily impairs the body's ability to process blood sugar - which is generally not a good thing, a double-edged-sword of sorts. For example, in a small study of otherwise healthy men, caffeinated coffee paired with a typical breakfast impaired blood sugar processing, something that didn't happen with decaf.

And, as if that's not enough....Very recent research showed that it gets even more nuanced when poor sleep is in the mix. Slated to appear in the November 2020 issue of the British Journal of Nutrition, this study showed that caffeinated coffee taken first thing after a night of interrupted sleep significantly threw off the body's ability to process sugar the next time the person ate......even though interrupted sleep alone (without coffee) did not.

So, as we roll into Fall, cooler temps and (perhaps) the urge for more coffee, tea, etc - what does this mean for us coffee drinkers?

1. Coffee can be a health food - best if you drink it black

2. Because of the caffeine on-board, WHEN you drink coffee matters. With as much as a 10+ hours to clear from the system entirely, avoiding late afternoon caffeine improves the odds of full restfulness of sleep.

3. For those who are less efficient with blood sugar processing (diabetes, pre-diabetes or a similar history), consider switching to decaf coffee or (likely a good practice for everyone) try separating meals from caffeinated coffee by an hour or more to allow for processing time.

4. One possible solution is to change the order of the day - placing breakfast early/first and coffee a bit later or substituting a healthy breakfast (e.g. smoothie) especially after a night of interrupted or low quality sleep to get things back on track.

The next time someone describes the taste of coffee as "complex" you'll know why!

Until then, I hope you'll get the most out of each sip.

Have a great weekend,

Mike E.

Oct 2

It seemed like a good idea at the time. A great way to honor the memory of a friend's Dad. A perfect way to get some fitness time in the books and my schedule opened up just right to make it happen - what could possibly go wrong?

It was Thursday of last week and somehow I was going to be able to squeeze a quick workout into an already jammed schedule. But this was no ordinary workout, it was a tribute workout, designed by a friend to honor the memory of his Dad. I never met him but as I came to learn, Cole's Dad Bill was no ordinary guy. He was something of a legend in his world, racking up a resume that put him near the top of the "all-time" lists for college wrestling coaches....but more importantly, his sudden passing had left a hole for a friend, something that if I could help fill I wanted to.

It just so happened that the scheduling stars were aligning, something got switched and I had some "found time" in my schedule.....not really enough, but enough to try I thought. So I did. The first three exercises were pretty reasonable - a short run, some squats and some weighted rows. I was breathing heavy but doing ok.....and then came the hang cleans....56 of them.

The combination of me rushing a little (time-pressure condition) and being neither super well-skilled with this movement (type) nor entirely ready for this volume (number of repetitions) provided a fantastic example of being on the wrong side of strain-risk formula: Risk = (Load * Conditions) - capacity. More directly, since the repetitions made the total "load" high and the conditions were not ideal, my capacity was not able to offset.....and my body let me know.

By Friday I was getting sore, but it wasn't terrible. Saturday I worked in the yard and didn't notice much discomfort during the actual work.....but by the end of the day my elbows both started to feel stiff. By Saturday night I was noting some difficulty fully straightening them. My family poked fun at me as I looked a bit like something out of an old Western movie - arms ready to draw my six-shooter at any moment. By Sunday morning it had gotten closer to pain and I noticed some swelling....and with the discomfort still lingering on Monday I had gotten to the point of needing to decide if this was "hurt" (just discomfort from overloading) or "harm" (actual injury from overuse).

Making this decision is not always easy.....which is why we'd rather you just call us to help......but to dig a little deeper into the how-to, here are some of the variables we consider to make this decision accurately:

1. Discomfort - There was moderate discomfort: my body telling me something was not quite right. This meant I needed to pause and take a closer look.

2. Signs of Harm - There was minor swelling (puffiness) but no bruising or notable harm: the muscles were there and working like they should, just really sore

3. Function - Functionally I was OK: I wasn't limited in my ability to "do" stuff. I could grasp, reach and even do the yard work.....my elbows were just barking back

4. Movement quality - Movement was pretty good and only sore at the very end range (fully extended elbow): even better, if I took it slow and let it warm-up, it seemed to improve

5. Baseline Health & Habits - My baseline is generally healthy: I don't have any baseline health conditions that would slow healing down and no other reason to believe I was at further risk

6. RECOVER Potential - My ability to rest was high: As a person that doesn't have a heavy upper body job I could choose to take it easy and rest it a bit and nothing would stop me from eating clean & getting solid hydration over the next few days

7. Ergonomics - I knew how to put the ergonomics on my side: there are many tactics from postures to grip position that can off-load the forearms

With 7 different factors at play here (and potentially others) there are MANY combinations of how this could present - in this case more than 5,000 - making every situation complex. However, after considering mine I was confident there was - "discomfort but no injury".......a solid reminder to "think twice before trying to cram that kind of body stress into too small a block of time.

The good news? It followed the pattern as expected - by Tuesday (day 5) things were improving significantly and by Wed, all clear.

There are many factors at play when it comes to movement-related discomfort. Some we can control, others we cannot. If we consider them all and make decisions accordingly, we can often prevent injury.....for me a bit more time between efforts to rest or a slightly lighter weight choice could have made all the difference. However, even in situations where we overstep the thin line between mild and moderate discomfort, with some deliberate analysis and the right self-care we can bounce back quickly and strong.

Have a good weekend,

Mike E.

Sept 18

For his 18th birthday my nephew decided he wanted to try parachuting. Since he lives on the other side of the US we couldn't really be there to see it firsthand, but, as captured with a few well-placed adventure cameras, we got the chance to relive it through video only a few hours later. It definitely looked intense. The tension as they waited for the plane to reach a high enough altitude seemed somewhere between excitement and fear. I imagined the first time jumpers were feeling a little churning in their guts....their bodies questioning whether overriding certain instincts was a great choice.....and still preparing all body systems to "go".

My mind wandered a bit as I thought about how landing a parachute was a bit like the reasoning & diagnostic approaches we use when determining what's driving someone's ache/pain and what the best strategy is to correct it. I went on to watch a few videos of the US Navy Leap Frogs, including one when a handful of jumpers landed inside the University of Tennessee's football stadium as part of a pre-game ceremony. It was clear that (1) they had a target, (2) knew about their starting conditions (3) they communicated back and forth clearly and directly in order to guide them as they (4) made many small adjustments along the way. Very similar to the way we strategized some knee pain someone was experiencing this week.

(1) We knew our target - pain free function; freedom of movement and job-task.

(2) We knew about our starting conditions - some increasing discomfort but no signs of injury and no loss of function (despite some discomfort)

(3) We communicated back and forth clearly and directly - and in doing so determined that in addition to mobility/strength changes, baseline inflammation was likely playing a role (this person had put on some extra weight around the middle, was a smoker, had a history of high triglycerides and in general had been running a sleep deficit recently....all related to higher inflammatory risk).

And then we jumped.

On the way toward the target, we've made several small adjustments and it is getting us closer and closer to a safe landing. The first was to ease into the movement recommendations (3 times per day was a bit too much and swung the pendulum too far so we backed it down). The next was to make a few lifestyle recommendations - we focused extra emphasis on sleep and trying to add at least 1 "green" meal per day (as getting right after some of the heavy hitting inflammatory levers like smoking had to be in the "someday" column as it was going to be too difficult in the current conditions).....and last, we made a tweak in the plan that he was a little surprised to hear.....drink more brewed Green Tea.

When you're way up high above the target it seems strange to think that it could even matter....but just like the churning in the gut of the actual jumpers, the connection between gut, brain and the knee is getting clearer all the time in those with knee pain. And when you're close to the target, the details can be the difference. We reviewed this 2019 research which clearly showed certain gut bacteria could promote and (when neutralized) relieve knee pain associated with inflammatory factors known to add to the knee pain experience. Diving a little deeper, one of the interesting ways to neutralize the bacteria and rebalance the gut, especially for men, was through the healthy-consumption of green tea.

It's a small tweak in our flight plan but here's the key take-away: joint pain is common (32.5 million Americans) AND complex. There are many little risks, some that seem impossibly small, which add up to the difference between the pain and/or health "experience". In order to unravel pain and achieve health (and therefore prevention), we often need to find and pull the right combination of levers to ensure we land on the target.

Green tea is not likely going to solve all knee pain......by itself (without mobility, strength, etc) it may not solve any, but under the right conditions and in combination with the right approaches, it can help enough to make a difference.

Have a great weekend: stay strong,

Mike E.

Sept 4

8 months in the books. Labor Day weekend is here and there are only a few official weeks of Summer left. With any luck, we are through the heat waves and the devastating storms. With any luck we have been stretched but not torn, challenged but not beyond our limit.

A person's "ability to manage and positively adapt to adverse conditions", known as resilience, has been shown to support both physical and mental well-being as we go through life.....and it is one of the critical strengths we can hope for during periods of prolonged uncertainty like the kind 2020 has seen.

With that in mind, and with a holiday that celebrates hard-working-people providing a perfect backdrop, now may be a great time to reflect on where we stand in this category and make some adjustments if needed.

So how do you know whether you're resilient?

In truth there's probably no perfect way to know, but we can get close by rating ourselves on the following 14 statements on a scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree):

1. I usually manage one way or another

2. I feel proud that I have accomplished things in life

3. I usually take things in stride

4. I am friends with myself

5. I feel that I can handle many things at a time

6. I am determined

7. I can get through difficult times because I've experienced difficulty before

8. I have self-discipline

9. I keep interested in things

10. I can usually find something to laugh about

11. My belief in myself gets me through hard times

12. In an emergency, I'm someone people can generally rely on

13. My life has meaning

14. When I'm in a difficult situation, I can usually find my way out of it

Now add up your scores. Did you score above 82? If so and you can maintain that outlook as you age (so says the research) you are more than twice as likely to report good health later in life.

Maybe more importantly, the following factors are known to underpin this capacity and high rating:

Optimism, adaptive coping styles, community involvement, social support/connectedness, physical independence, high mobility, physical well-being and self-rated "successful" aging.

What does this mean for those of us who'd believe the next 8 months may require as much (or more) resilience as the last 8 have?

Well - getting moving, improving health and keeping life's challenges in perspective can go a very long way.....in a very short time. When you're ready, we're here.

Work hard and stay strong. Bend, but don't break.

Have a great Labor Day,

Mike E.

July 17.

As I bit into a ripe peach on Tuesday I found myself with an urge to drive North. Not way North, like the mountains (although that sounds cool).....but just a few miles to a place where some fond family memories have been made. I flashed back to rows and rows of apple and peach trees and a time when my kids were young enough that I could lift them up so they could reach for the "really good ones" at the top.....and this is almost the perfect time of year to go.

Of course it's not only peaches. Gardens everywhere are starting to produce....another great sign that summer is in full swing and whether you're a fresh fruit/veggie lover or just someone who is trying to stay vibrant, young and healthy, this is great news.

In addition to the almost countless benefits of eating fresh, low-processed, high fiber foods (there are MANY), some recent research from the University of Colorado has given us an even better understanding of why - especially if, summertime also means barbecue.

For a while now we've known that consuming certain foods (especially red-meats and animal sources of protein) ramps up the production of a byproduct called TMAO, which has been tied to heart disease and accelerated aging at the cellular level. With that in mind, it's been suspected that foods that neutralize this production could help minimize that harm or even reverse the signs of aging. And now, with the help of certain gut bacteria, it seems the theory is right.

How can we nudge these bacteria into action?

Well, certain foods that contain a substance called dimethyl butanol, such as grapes & moderate amounts of red wine, certain balsamic vinegars, citrus and cold-pressed oils such as olive/grapeseed as well as certain fish-oils all have the track-record of getting this started.

It's not a cure-all. It doesn't mean the piece of parsley will counteract all the impact of a 40 oz. steak.....but what it does mean is we've got another solid tactic and a perfect time of year to experiment with it.....and since we know the same approach has a strong impact on priming the immune system and keeping it ready to fight whatever we might be exposed to.....it can help us win the summer.

A trip for pick-your-own may not be in the cards for everyone.....but picking up a handful of fresh veggies and working them into your summer meal prep can go a long way.

Have a great weekend, win the summer,

Mike E.

JAN 31: I can remember like it was yesterday the first time I read the research on the sit-rise-test in 2012. As far as movement & longevity research goes, it was about as provocative as there is - after looking at 2000 people aged 50-80 and following them for 6 years, researchers found that those who had the mobility, control and balance to sit to the floor and stand back up with no use of support (no hands, knees, etc) has a substantially lower risk of dying than those who needed extra support (HERE)....wow.

Since then we’ve tested hundreds if not thousands of people not to predict their demise, but as a great way of helping them to learn exactly how mobile (or not) they are, and connect something they care about (future health) to something actionable today - their movement. It started a conversation that ultimately turned into a headline I’ve said aloud countless times: “Movement is a window into your future health” and it’s helped to show people real progress as they improve....so what’s not to love?

Well, like most things provocative, the details sometimes get glazed over when the headline is attention grabbing enough. There is a tendency to sensationalize (and “study for”) the test instead of what the test reveals: lower body movement, strength and power combined with aerobic fitness, balance and coordination ALL matter. Any one of them without the others is not nearly as effective. With that in mind, training movements and not muscles is a great way to add resilience against injury and improve overall athleticism and performance. This is particularly true for key zones in the body such as the hip and shoulder, connections and crossroads to the torso.

Squatting for example, that is the ability to achieve a hips below knees position with heels on the floor, is an excellent and highly functional mobility goal for many (maybe even most) individuals. It’s a classic fundamental human movement (like walking/running/reaching), something that almost everyone can do when we are kids but tends to get lost as we advance through our “working years”. It is also something that can, if dosed and graded appropriately, significantly impact pain at the knees and lower back because mobility there (hips) can help distribute forces that sometimes get focused at the joints above (lower back) and below (knees). Although we always suggest loose enough fitting clothes to avoid any wardrobe malfunctions (super bowl throwback), it’s one of the movements that are always near the top of the priority list.

So, as I shared last week, even if you struggle with the “test”......the news is good; progress is attainable for most, and incremental work can get us there.

Let us know how it goes….and, of course, if you need help with ways to improve.

Have a great weekend,

Mike E.