MEMORIAL DAY

Hello friends and first time viewers to this Blog site. This is my Memorial Day post since I will not be near a computer for the next few days.

Today’s Blog is in recognition of Memorial Day. What does that mean or represent to people. To most people of the nation it means a 3 day weekend, cook outs, camping, maybe a parade, the beach and other activities. It also marks the start of the summer season for many people like campgrounds, resorts and other like places.

Officially this is the day that has been set aside by the US Government, for us as a grateful nation to honor those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice in the cost of attaining and protecting the freedom of this nation and the freedoms of other nations.

To do this I respectfully request that all that read this Blog today hang a flag outside your house, and either go to a memorial that is close by or go to a cemetery with a small flag and find a grave marker that designates that the remains held herewith are those of a person that paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. Once you have found that someone’s remains or you are at a memorial place the flag on their grave or at the base of the memorial and thank them for their sacrifice.

I know of an old grave yard near where I will be. I want to see if there is someone that I can honor that was in either the revolutionary or civil war.

Also again today I would like to recognize those that are serving or have served in the various campaigns against terrorism:

Andrew Iraq 2004 (WIA)Chris Afghanistan 2004-presentChuck Iraq 2005-presentFernando Afghanistan 2002 and 2003Jim Iraq - Jan 2005 to present.
Joshua A. Iraq Jan 03-Jan04 and Apr 05-present
Kelly Iraq 2004-presentRaul Iraq 2004-presentRoger Iraq 2005-presentSean Iraq 2004-2005 (WIA)


For new readers this list is run on a monthly basis. If you have anyone that you want to honor by placing them on this list, in the comments please leave their first name, where they served and the dates and I will include them on the next posting.

IT'S ALL IN THE WAY YOU SAY IT

Over the past few weeks there have been a few incidents that I have been privy to where words have been used to one’s advantage. This made me think about what I have done in the past and ways that I used words to my advantage.

BREAKFAST NOOK

Being in Special Forces one learns the "BEER RULES" on the first day that one is assigned to a team. If it is your first time doing anything, case of beer. Late to work or a formation, Case of beer. Failure to have your coin in a team coin check, case of beer. So one can imagine the importance of a bar in an SF Team room. There is genuine need for somewhere to store all this beer.

In the early 90s 10th Group started cracking down on the two stateside battalions about not having a bar in the team room. One of the teams defied this order and kept the bar in the team room. Their battalion commander while doing a walk through sees the bar and about blows a gasket. The Team Sergeant asks,” Sir why are you getting all excited?” The BC then answers because of the bar in the team room!!!! The Team Sergeant still cool as ever answers, Sir that is not a bar, it’s a breakfast nook.

The no bar rule finally hit us in 1st Battallion which is in Germany. We had one room set aside as our bar/lounge. So when the no bar ruling came down, and for inspection purposes we made a covering for the bar which then made the bar look like a ski tuning table. It passed Micro Macs inspections a few times.

Another team made their whole lounge disappear. They walled in the hallway door with cinder block, then cut another door from the room next door, and had the door way camouflaged as a wall locker.

MODULAR HOME

One day at work some guys were messing with this guy that he was trailer trash because he lived in MacDougal Downs outside of Ft Bragg. Being the type of guy I am and always support the winning side of a cause I jumped in on the bandwagon. Then some body else in the group noticed that I was also doing the ribbing, and said Glenn don’t you live in MacDougal Downs also? I answered yeah I do, but I am not Trailer Trash I live in a modular home.

THE AVIATOR

I really like this one. I have tangled with a few Naval Aviators on this one. The Navy and some Hollywood pictures would have you believe that a Naval Aviator is better than a pilot.

The Airforce and the Army call guys that make aircraft fly Pilots, in the Navy, Naval Infantry (Marines) and Coast Guard they are called Aviators. Really there is no difference except naval guys land on ships. One might conclude this is why they are called aviators. Absolutely wrong! First let us look at what a pilot is in a maritime sense. A pilot is the person that drives the ship into and out of specific harbors and ports. The pilot is familiar with all the obstacles, dangers and depths of channels in that specific harbor. So calling a Naval Aviator a pilot is a form of insult, saying that he is a boat driver instead of an aircraft driver.

Being the person that I am, the way that I have tangled with the Naval Aviators is that I start off with hey are you a pilot? Of course I then get “I’m better than a pilot I’m a Naval Aviator. This is where I break in and say “Oh really better than a pilot? What port do you drive the boat into????” That really tics them off and they walk away SMOKING! Just another example of inter-service rivalry.

BACK TO THE COUNTRY

This post is a little late in coming. Earlier this month, I went back to Asheboro airport (KHBI) and did some flying with my neighbor. My main reason for going 30 minutes south of Greensboro was for better maintained aircraft (See archive for May You pay good money is it too much to ask that everything works.) When I got to the Fixed Base Operator (FBO) run by Cardinal Air, I came to the conclusion that there were other reasons to fly out of HBI instead of GSO.

First off is the aircraft. It’s a Cessna 172, an early 70s model with manual flaps (Which I prefer to electric flaps) you put it at 10 degrees day or night you know you have 10 degrees of flaps without looking at a dial or a meter. Most of all over the late 80’s model that I was flying at GSO stuff actually works, Heading, VOR, Attitude indicators, the radios, and the breaks work properly.

Second off but most importantly is the people that work for Cardinal Air. When I flew this last time Roberta (Bobby) was working the desk/ dispatch. One thing about her is that if you are a renter, or just flew in with your own plane be it a Cessna 150 or a Cessna Citation, (and in the past I have witnessed this) you are always greeted with friendly, polite, and professional service. This past flight when I arrived there I received a warm hello, after giving over my log book, medical, and license to be copied (To update my record there it had been 6 months since I flew out of there) I was promptly briefed on squawk status and how much fuel was on board the aircraft.

Third I also met the New Certified Flight Instructor (CFI). I can usually tell if I like someone within the first few minutes of talking with them. I genuinely liked this guy. First off he listened to what I had planned and then offered advice. I never felt like I was in the presence of DADADADUM “SUPER CFI” like up at GSO. The only problem that I see is in the future when I start working on higher certificates, it will become a story of Glenn and Glenn. Problems like not you the other Glenn etc.

Pre-flight done Take off was a snap no ground, tower, or approach calls just CTAF. I actually flew most of my time here versus, asking for and awaiting clearances, before actually taking off and wasting so much time taxiing and holding, holding and taxiing. (though I miss passing the large commercial jets holding short on entering the taxiway awaiting for me to pass. Of course I always at them as I passed them.)

I made my mistake once, I wont make it again. I even suggest to other pilots if you are flying a Hawk, Chinook, Commander, Warrior, Cessna or a Falcon 2000 instead of refueling at GSO go to HBI. It’s worth it. They have Jet-A, 100LL, courtesy car, decent restaurants are in town, plus the quality of service is 100% better than Piedmont Hawethorne. (At P-H I always felt like I was bothering the girl behind the counter for the keys to the a/c or to get fuel or oil.) Also on the airport itself is the Petticord museum. Five dollar admission but it is worth it. They have some nice displays, and they are always changing. The displayed aircraft are actually owned by private individuals, and are on loan to the museum normally on a month by month basis.

TUNING THE MACHINE: PART 12 SUSTAINMENT

Now that we have a minimum of 12 weeks invested in this program, we have to sustain our weight loss and also improve ourselves.

ABDOMINALS

Increase Floor abdominal exercises (If you so desire) by 5 at a time over a 3 week period

Increase sitting twist by 20 at a time over a 3 week period

Run/Walk

Keep to the heart rate zones that we built up to in Phase 4. For increased burn or improvement try switching your runs by doing one hour on Sundays and then on Tuesday and Thursday run for 90 minutes (30 Minute Zones), then after 3 weeks Sundays an hour, Tuesday 90 minutes and Thursday 2 hours (40 minute zones).

DIET

Maintain your calories with what you have burned through the day. Common sense prevailing, if you eat more than you burn you will gain weight. If you eat the same as you burn you will stay the same. If you eat less than you burn you will lose.

PARTING THOUGHTS

Keep your mindset at all times, remember a Better Life Regimen is a 24/7 regimen

A leaner you is a healthier you

The only thing that stands between you and failure is your mind


I HAVE THE PHASED WORK OUT ON MICROSOFT WORD. USE THE E-MAIL LINK WITH MY PROFILE AND SHOOT ME AN E-MAIL IF YOU WANT IT SENT TO YOU. IT INCLUDES THE PHASED WORK OUT, INITIAL HEART RATE CALCULATIONS, MAX LIFT LISTING, CALORIE TABLES (FOR BURN INTAKE AND LOSS) AND A WEEKLY WEIGH IN TABLE.

If you try this better life regimen, I wish you the best of luck. If you want to share your success with others and I please e-mail, and monthly I will publish success stories

TUNING THE MACHINE: PART 11 Phase 4

In this phase you will see the most significant improvement in your self as far as getting into and being in shape along with weight loss. Here we take some big jumps, and make radical changes to promote better health and diet. Set weight loss goals weekly (IE loss of 3-5 pounds a week) and monthly.

SUN TUE THU

ABDOMINAL EXERCISES

Attempt to increase ab exercises to 40 reps for floor exercises and 160 reps for the sitting twist.

RUN/ WALK

Increase times now to an hour. Our mid range zone now becomes the low range zone Our original high end number for limits becomes the mid range zone, and ten above becomes our high zone. To explain this better my original high limit number was 157 so rounding down to 150 I had a low range of 130 and mid range of 140 now I will take 5 minutes to warm up to the 140s and run or walk in the 140s for 15 minutes, then 20 minutes in the 150s, 20 minutes in the 160s. Then a 10 minute cool down period to get the heart rate in or under the 120s.

DIET

Again we are making a better stride to lose weight here. Attempt to keep calorie intake within 35-40%. Do not go lower this could have adverse health effects on you. IE if you burn 3200 calories in a day you can eat between 1120 and 1280 calories.

MON WED FRI

ANAEROBIC WORKOUT

Here in Phase 4 if the need to increase is evident to you then increase the weights over a 3 week period. The first week increase the light weights by 5 pounds. The second week increase the midrange by 10 pounds, and the third week increase the high end range by 20. Then stay with these weights for a minimum of another 3 week cycle.

If you are happy where you are at with the weights then stay where you are at. When you are ready to increase the weights do as illustrated in the preceding paragraph.

ABDOMINALS

Do as prescribed for Sun, Tue and Thu

AEROBIC WORK OUT

1 hours worth of aerobic exercise staying within you 3 zone heart range. No time limits apply to be in a specific zone.

GOALS

Set your goals for this 3 week period and for the next cycle and the cycle after that.

TUNING THE MACHINE: PART 10 PHASE 3

With another 3 weeks over it is time to move on to the 3rd phase of our better life regimen. Hopefully you are seeing improvement in your self.

SUN, TUE, THU,

During this Phase Saturdays are optional. If you feel that you need to work out on Saturday to remain focused and on track then by all means do so. However this day is a day of rest that will be needed as we increase the intensity of the work outs, and weight loss.

ABDOMINAL EXERCISES

Increase the exercises to 25 for the floor exercises and increase the sitting twist to 100.

RUN/WALK

Increase this time to 45 minutes. Break the run/walk time down as follows: 5 minutes warm up to low zone heart rate, 10 minutes in low zone heart rate, 15 minutes in original high zone heart rate (This is now your mid zone) and now 15 minutes in the original watch setting high number.

DIET

Today we start impacting our lives with an entire day of calorie balancing. Utilizing our heart rate monitors we will try to balance all meals today and every day hence forth so that our intake is within 50-75% of our Burn (IE 3200 calories burned in take should be between 1600 and 2400) Eat your meals slowly and break the calories up through out the day to about 5 meals a day.

MON, WED, FRI

ANAROBIC WORK OUT

Here in phase 3 we take our original max lifts from Phase 1 and divide by 2. Again take this number and do 10 times, half it and do it 20, half that and do it 40.

ABDOMINALS

Do as prescribed above

AEROBIC WORK OUT

Same times and ranges as SUN TUE THU

GOALS

In this Phase goals will come into play. Decide on your short term goals for the end of this phase. Be it losing 10 pounds at a minimum or, running the entire time of the run instead of having to walk etc. Also select your mid term goals (About 6 months), and your long term goals for this program.

TUNING THE MACHINE: PART 9 PHASE 2

Well after 3 weeks are over you are now ready to move on to a more challenging phase. Hopefully in phase 1 you learn something about yourself. How to relax while running, How to breathe when running, and how to keep yourself within the heart rate zones.

SUN, TUE, THU, SAT

ABDOMINAL EXERCISES

Increase the exercises to 20 each for the floor exercises and the sitting twist to 80 reps

RUN/ WALK

Increase the run time to 40 minutes and now try to stay in the lower zone for 15 minutes (5 minute warm-up) and the higher zone 20 minutes (Don’t forget to cool down for 10 minutes after. (IE if 157 was your high number at the beginning of phase 1 you subtracted 10 and 20 to get your high and low training zones)

DIET

Today we start to wear the heart rate monitor continuously. First go into the options section of the POLAR heart rate monitor and when it gets to own zone change it to off. Now when the settings come up change it to 190 for a high and 40 for a low. This will keep the alarm from sounding through out the day.

After working out and its time to eat breakfast keep your intake calories between 50-75% of what you burnt. Keep track of this for as the day goes by you will adjust your calories being taken in to the calories you burnt since the last time you ate. I strongly recommend using the slim fast and or healthy choice meals. The reason for this that the calories are printed on them and it makes it easier to figure the calories coming in. This will be done for both Breakfast and Lunch. Dinner should be a regular meal, eat what you want. Remember Moderation is the key.

MON, WED FRI

ANAROBIC WORK OUT

Here in Phase 2 take all of the max lifts that we found in the beginning of PHASE 1 and divide them by 3 IE 200 / 3 = 67 (Rounded up) this will be the initial weight again do 10 half 20 half 40 (IE 70 35 17.5) ONE NOTE THAT I DID NOT MENTION BEFORE, DO NOT COUNT THE BAR FOR THESE EXERCISES

AEROBIC WORK OUT

Increase the time as prescribed above for run days

DIET

As prescribed for Sun, Tue, Thu

TUNING THE MACHINE: PART 8B PHASE 1 (CONT)

MON, WED, FRI

On these days we will conduct much of our anaerobic exercise. The muscles that we will be working need to be rested for at least 24 hours after exercising them. In this they will repair themselves, and replenish themselves.

Prior to working out on the first day, before we do each exercise we need to know where we stand. What you need to find out is how much you can actually lift for one repetition. Once you find your max lift divide this amount by 4. This is the weight you are going to start at for this phase. Example max lift 200 pounds 200 / 4 = 50. Keep a record of these max lifts. This days max lifts will give you the starting points for each phases lift. When lifting the weights use a 3 count up and a 2 count down.

STRETCHING

Do the same stretches as prescribed in 8A.

FLAT BENCH PRESS

Again I recommend using a smith press for the bench exercises. When we bench press weights are centered above our chest, we should flex the shoulders down and tighten up on the chest (Pecs) The Back (Lats) Tops of the shoulders (Traps) and the back of the arms (Triceps). With this initial set do 10 repetitions. After the initial 10 take half the weight off and do 20 reps. The third set will be half the weight again with 40 Reps.

INCLINE BENCH PRESS

Again Find out your MAX lift divide by 4 and do the result 10 times, then half for 20, half again for 40

DECLINE BENCH PRESS

Again Find out your MAX lift divide by 4 and do the result 10 times, then half for 20, half again for 40

FRONT LAT PULL DOWN

Again Find out your MAX lift divide by 4 and do the result 10 times, then half for 20, half again for 40. Techniques for this are in the start position arms on the wide portion of the bar, tighten the muscles in the shoulders, traps, pecs, and lats. Pull down on the bar and bring the bar mid way between the nose and the chin. Release it upwards. Throught out the entire repetition keep the muscles taught.

REAR LAT PULL DOWN

Same as the front except the bar will be brought midway between the top of the head and the top of the neck.

PREACHER CURLS

The start position here is with the back straight and arms over the padding of the Preacher bench (Adjust height of padding or seat to assume this position) With arms bent so the fore arms parallel the ground, flex the Biceps (Make a muscle) Tighten up on the pecs, traps and lats, rotate the arms upward until the forearms are vertical. Let the weights down to the same start position keeping the muscles flexed and taught. Again find out max lift divide by 4 and do 10 reps, half 20 and half 40.

TRICEP PULL DOWN

Feet and knees shoulder width apart bent slightly at the waist, pull down on the bar so that it is mid chest level. Flex the traps and triceps and push down on the bar till the arms are fully extended. Bring the weight up till the arms are mid chest again. Again find out max lift divide by 4 and do 10 reps, half 20 and half 40.

SITTING ROW

Sit down on the machine. Adjust the height of the weight pulley so that when you pull back on the weights that it will be a straight line from the pulley to mid chest. Correct body position is with legs fully extended and upper body bent at approximately 80 degrees towards the rear. Again find out max lift divide by 4 and do 10 reps, half 20 and half 40.

ABS

Do the same ab exercises as presented in 8A with the same repetitions.

AEROBIC EXERCISE

On these days I highly suggest not running. Find another activity such as biking, Aerobics classes, or even punching a heavy bag. Do these activities for the same amount of time as presented in 8A (30 Minutes) and try to stay within the prescribed heart rate zone that you figured out for this phase.

EATING

Maintain the diet already prescribed in 8A

TUNING THE MACHINE: PART 8A PHASE 1

The importance of a phased plan of diet and exercise is paramount. As already discussed if we can make things easier and have bad habits by taking the path of least resistance, why can’t we do the same with improving our lives?

Here is a suggested regimen for phase 1. Most importantly here get to know your body, and discover its potentials and short comings. This first phase is a 7 day work out and will last for 3 weeks. This is to get your body and mind into the swing of things and most of all to keep focused.

SUNDAY, TUESDAY, THURSDAY, SATURDAY

STRETCHING

We need to stretch prior to exercising. If you are following my advice and exercising early, the muscles are not ready to get into the swing of things, so we must stretch them and warm them up.

LONG SIT

Sit on the floor feet and knees together, place hands under your thighs and with slight pressure pull yourself forward. Easily keep adding pressure to increase your bend and do this for 10 seconds. Then do the same with your hands under your knees, then the calves, then the ankles and finally attempt to grab your toes.

SITTING LEG OUT STRETCH

Still sitting on the ground, having your legs spread and forming a 45 degree angle bring one foot in to the groin, and the other leg remains straight with toes pointing to the ceiling. Now bend forward and attempt to grab the toe of the extended foot. Do this for 10 seconds and then switch legs and do the same.

GROIN STRETCH

Still sitting on the ground bring both feet souls together. (Resembling an Indian style of sitting.) now grab the toes, pull up. Again do this for 10 seconds.

WALL CALF AND QUADRICEP STRETCH

Now get up, standing in front of a wall, Feet and knees together, bend slightly at the waist, arms forward and locked lean on the wall. Now take your left foot and put it to the rear about a foot, now put your right foot forward about a foot. Now relax your arms and bend towards the wall leaving the left foot flat on the floor. Hold this for a 10 count, then switch the legs around and repeat.

CALF STRETCH

Now stand on a step with the balls of the feet on the step and everything else rearward off of the step. The feet should be about 6-10 inches apart. Now relax your feet so the heels go down to a point that you feel the rear of the calves stretching. Now raise up so you are on your tippy toes or until you feel the fronts of your calves stretching around your shins. Do this 10 times.

KNEE AND ANKLE STRETCH

With feet and knees together bend the knees slightly. Bend at the waste and place your hands on the corresponding knees. Now rotate from the ankles in a clockwise rotation. Do this 20 times and then reverse the rotation counter clockwise for 20 times

ABDOMINAL EXERCISES

SITUP

Place your feet under something heavy (A couch or something else) Have you legs forming a 45 degree angle at the knees, with back on floor and hands intertwined behind your head. Slowly (use a 3 count) raise your self up past the vertical of the back. Then slowly let yourself down (Use a 2 count) until your entire back and head are on the floor again. Do this for 15 repetitions. Remember do this slowly so that the entire hip flexer muscles and lower abdominal muscles are worked.

CRUNCHES

Lay down with body fully extended, hands intertwined behind the head. Now raise up slowly (3 count) until the shoulders are approximately 6 inches off the floor or the small of the back has naturally flattened to the floor, then lower yourself with a 2 count. Do this for 15 repetitions

Next bend the knees to form your legs at a 45 degree angle with feet flat on the floor. Adjust the angle as needed so the the small of the back is flat on the floor. Using a 3 and 2 count do 15 repetitions

Next form a 90 degree angle with your legs. Calves paralleling the ground. Adjust the legs so the small of the back is flat on the floor. Do 15 repetitions.

Next extend the legs straight up so the whole body forms a 90 degree angle or an “L” shape and do 15 repetitions.

Rest for a second and now extend the left leg out and form a 90 degree angle with the right leg. Adjust the extended leg up or down so the small of the back is flat on the floor. Do 15 repetitions of crunches like this. Then switch the legs and do another 15 crunches.

LEG OVERS

Laying flat on the floor form your hands into fists and place them under your butt cheeks with pinky sides on the floor. With feet and head about 6 inches off the floor, knees locked using a three count raise your legs up until your toes are over the area where your belt buckle would be. Using a 2 count let the legs down to the 6 inches. Keep the head up the entire time so as not to injure the back. Do this for 15 repetitions

OBLIQUE CRUNCHES

Make a 45 degree angle with your right leg (Foot flat on floor) now put your left ankle on the right knee. With the right hand behind the head, left hand on the chest try to raise and twist your body so that the right elbow comes into proximity or touches the left knee. Raise up on a 3 count and relax on a 2 count. Do this for 15 repetitions, switch sides and do another 15 repetitions.

SITTING TWIST

Get a stick that is as long as you are tall. Sit down knees forming a 90 degree angle, back straight, place the stick behind the neck resting on the top of the back and across the shoulders. With arms extended wrap them around the stick. Now turn to the left rotating at the waist. Go in this direction to the point where you feel the sides stretching. Now slowly rotate to the opposite side until you feel the stretching. This is one repetition. Do this 60 times.

WALK OR RUN

Depending how in shape or lack of will determine if you run or walk. Set your POLAR heart rate monitor as per the instructions. Leave the watch with the own zone on. Now with the transmitter on your body, the receiver activated place the watch close to the transmitter. The face will change and will show limits and a high number and a low number. Take the high number and round down to the nearest 10 (IE 157 = 150)

Now subtract 10 from this number this is your high zone for starting this program (IE 150-10=140)

Now take the original number and subtract 20 this is your low zone for starting out (IE 150-20=130)

Now we are ready to start. Using the above examples we want to stay in a heart rate zone between 130 and 149, while running or walking. For Phase 1 our run/walk period will be 30 minutes. The first 5 minutes are used to start out and work our way up to our zone. Use the entire 5 minutes for this. At the end of 30 minutes use an additional 10 minutes to cool down into the 120s or below for your heart rate.

SCHEDULES FOR THE DAY

It is a good idea to plan out your day at the start of the day. Plan your initial exercise into this and also everything else that you have to do in the day. IE Meetings, coordination’s, going to the store et al. In here find ways that you may be able to raise your heart rate above 100 at least 3 times a day. IE park far from store and walk, take stairs instead of the elevator, feasibility to walk instead of driving.

FOOD

Our meals will be as follows in phase 1. We are not going to worry about counting calories for intake and burn yet.

Instead of eating a full breakfast after our work out, drink a can of slim fast or another popular diet drink or use a meal or snack that is less than 300 calories. In about 2 hours or midway between your breakfast and lunch have the same thing again.

Instead of having a full lunch we will eat a salad. Many salads can be bought in restaurants and fast food joints, which are between 500-800 calories with dressing and will fill you up.

Eat a normal dinner. Remember here that moderation is the key. Do not go overboard.

WEIGHING IN

I do not suggest weighing in on a daily basis. Do it weekly on Saturday when you first get up. This way you will get a true weight. Keep track on a weekly basis and watch the pounds leave.

TUNING THE MACHINE: PART 7 AEROBIC AND ANAEROBIC EXERCISE

When we combine aerobic and anaerobic exercise we put in our possession the best weapons against being fat and unfit. Aerobic exercise naturally burns a high rate of calories and anaerobic exercise strengthens and builds our muscles to aid in raising metabolism.

Aerobic exercise can best be explained as being in a sustained heart rate zone over 100 for a period of time. The key to aerobic exercise is long and slow. Aerobic exercise is broken down into 2 parts or zones. First we have the fat burning zone and then we have the cardio zone. On average the fat burning zone is between 100 and 140 heart beats per minute (BPM). Then the 150 area is a transition zone between fat burning and cardio zone. 160 and above is the cardio zone. These are average numbers and will be affected by sex, weight and age.

When we conduct an aerobic exercise session, and we go long and slow and slowly build our heart rates up, we burn more calories, more efficiently. On average during the first 20 minutes of an aerobic exercise the body is only burning the sugar that is in the blood stream at that specific time. Also with this, going long and slow at a lower heart rate the body then gets prepared to break down and burn fat. If we rush this process and right away go into a cardio or overtraining zone then the body first off burns the blood sugar faster, Second the body does not have time to process the fat to burn, and third the body then turns to muscle and starts to burn that. The result or waste refuse is lactic acid which makes the person fatigued and makes muscles sore. Common sense says that if we stay in a low heart rate condition while exercising and gradually increase through the zones the body then has the time to adjust to the zones, and operate more efficiently. Believe it or not speed will come as the body gets into better shape. Remember this adage “Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.”

We have to also look at when we have to work out as far as an aerobic exercise. With what has been presented in the preceding paragraphs, it is my conclusion that the morning is the best time to do the aerobic work out. That first burn of calories is sustained through out the day because the body is trying to catch up with what the body has already burnt. Utilizing the heart rate monitor, try working out in the morning and wear the heart rate monitor all day. The next day work out in the afternoon and compare the day’s burns to each other. You will be informed at this point that you burned more through out the entire day. This where commitment will play a major role. You may have to get up earlier to work out and meet your responsibilities of the day.

Anaerobic exercise can best be described as exercise where the heart rate does not reach sustained periods of time over 100. These exercises instead stretch the muscles and pump blood to the muscles which in turn make them operate more efficiently. In this we have to say good bye to lifting the heavy weights, and say hello to lighter weights. True lifting massive amounts of weights builds large muscles, but really what composes large power lifter muscles? For the most part it is scar tissue, which really does nothing except makes the muscle big and is caused by ripping the muscle. Also with this process flexibility is diminished and metabolism is slowed down.

Now we have to look at the two types of anaerobic exercises. The assisted is exercise with weights. Most of our upper body parts require the use of weights. Then we have the unassisted which requires no use of weights. Areas this includes are the Abs, and lower body parts. Again we want to promote lean muscle mass to aid in circulation and heightening of metabolism.

TUNING THE MACHINE PART 6B GETTING STARTED

STOP WATCH

A stopwatch is required and I suggest getting one that can be hung around the neck and with large numbers so they are easy to read. The name of the game now is time and heart rate zone instead of time and distance.

RUNNING SHOES

A good pair of running shoes means the difference between success and failure from injuries. Being a large person, I prefer New Balance shoes. I have been very happy with the performance of the shoes, and how well they hold up. You can go to the product reccomender and fill out the prompted information and it will suggest the best shoes for you as an individual. I also recommend staying away from the Nike air series of running shoes if you are a larger person. The bubbles pop and then cause knee and ankle injuries.

CAMELBACK

While we are running or walking, we are expending liquids from our body through sweat. It is imperative to replace these liquids for both cooling and circulation. You will notice the difference of how you feel before you drink the water or power drink and after. Also you will notice your heart rate slows some because it easier to pump the blood with the ingestion of the liquid.

WALKMAN

Music is great while running or lifting. I get lost in the music as I run and also use it to pace myself. My tapes start off with low tempo (Ballads etc) then it goes to a medium tempo and ending in a high tempo.

WHERE TO WORKOUT

First off let us talk about running/ walking. DO NOT USE A TRACK!!!!!! A straight path is better or a route with one turnaround. You will go crazy going round and round in circles. In my experience it also hampered my heart rate training. It made it extremely hard to maintain heart rate zones.

Next lets talk about a home gym vs a public gym. At a home gym your selection is very limited as far as weight training is concerned. Where as at a public gym there is usually a selection of benches, bars, and machines. Also in my experience the home garage gym is so easy to blow off. I would go out to my garage to lift weights, and end up working on a car, or project. With a public gym, the main part of the battle is already won. You are there and there is nothing to distract you from working out.

FREE WEIGHTS VS MACHINES

I highly recommend not using free weights. It is too easy to injure yourself in the short term and long term sense with them. For bench exercises I recommend using a Smith Press, and for curling exercises using a preacher curl bench. Do not use Nautilus, Universal or Hammer Strength machines. These machines apply added stress during reps when hitting the peak of the rep. This can lead to torn muscles, torn rotator cuffs, shoulder dislocation, and other serious injuries. Machines made by Cybex, Body Masters, Life Masters and Life Cycle do not do this. The aforementioned series of machines were actually first derived for Physical Therapy wards in a hospital. Just makes sense that these would be better for you.

WEIGHT LIFTING SAFETY EQUIPMENT

It is recommended that you buy a good wide weight belt. This will help prevent injury to the back. Also recommended is a good pair of weight lifting gloves with wrist straps. The straps help prevent wrist injury by isolating the movement of the wrist.

TUNING THE MACHINE: PART 6A GETTING STARTED

First off before we can start our Better Life Regimen we have to have the proper tools to execute our new life style. Below is a list of some basics that are essential for the work out program. Feel free to modify this list by adding or deleting to what suits you.

HEART RATE MONITOR

If you don’t get or do anything else that is on this post, at least buy a heart rate monitor. I recommend getting any of the POLAR models with calorie burn. This monitor I have found to be the greatest invention in the war against fat and being unfit. I wear mine during all waking hours. This tells me how many calories I have burned through out the day, so I can adjust my intake accordingly, and also lets me know when I am starting to relax too much. I can then counter relaxing by standing or walking around a bit to raise the heart rate, and keep the calorie burn going.

WALK/RUN ROUTE

A reconnaissance has to be conducted of where we are going to walk and run. What we want to look for is a place between 3-6 miles, smooth surfaced, even surfaced, soft surfaced, and with very little hills.

The miles required are from start and on phased basis improvement. It is best to have the route selected to take care of your improvement. This way as you improve, you are only adding onto a route that you already know and are used to.

A smooth surface is better for the runner or the walker because it somewhat resolves ankle and foot injuries. If the area that we are running or walking on isn’t smooth, lets say it is bumpy with intermittent grass clods and rocks, then the foot does not land on the ground evenly. Keeping this up for a duration of time will result in injuries to the ankles, feet and even the shins.

Even surfaced again will hopefully prevent injuries to the shins, legs and hips. Running or walking on inclines like on the side of some roads is not recommended. Again like the smooth surfaced route an incline will throw off the center of gravity and put more stress to one side instead of evenly distributing the stress to both sides of the hips and both legs.

A soft surface is preferable to a hard surface. The best way to demonstrate this is to go outside, and jump up and down a few times on the grass. The shock of your feet hitting the ground is absorbed into the soft grass and dirt. Now move into the street and do the same thing on pavement or concrete. Here there is no give and the pressure instead of disipitating into the ground now reflects back into the feet, the ankles and the shins. Running or walking on this type of surface can result in shin splints and stress fractures.

Hills should be avoided when doing this kind of aerobic training. First off it will offset heart rate training that will be explained in part 7. In my experience with this type of training, hills detracted from instead of aiding. Second off, hills again can cause shin splints and stress fractures, from the applied stress of getting up the hill and also the negative stress of going down the hill.

TUNING THE MACHINE: PART 5 SUPPLEMENTS

VITAMINS

I would like to recommend taking a multi-vitamin such as Centrum or any other type of one a day multi-vitamin. This ensures that we are getting all the vitamins and minerals that our bodies require. If there is too much of a specific vitamin, it gets flushed out through our systems.

Along with the multi vitamin, I would also like to suggest taking a B-50 vitamin. The B series of vitamins are very helpful in diets and work out regimens. They give you energy and also promote a healthy and high metabolism.

WATER

Drink plenty of water!!!!! This is three fold when it comes to the Better Life Regimen. First off for our metabolism to work water is required. If we are properly hydrated it is easier for our body to burn or breakdown the fat cells. (This can be demonstrated in the same manner as when we steam or boil food vs cooking in an oven or in a pan. (The boiled or steamed food cooks faster.) Thus metabolism is easier. It also makes it easier for the heart to pump the blood because it is thinner.

Next is that water is an imperitive ingredient of the bodies cooling system. Liquid in the blood makes it easier for blood to circulate to the skin for cooling and also for us to sweat.

Next is the psychological effect of drinking water. If we drink a half liter of water especially when we are having a food craving, it gives the sensation of a full stomach, and the craving departs.

POWER DRINKS

These are good alternatives to water especially if you have an aversion to water like I do. (Fish have sex in it) Most power drinks have carbs in them, which we need for exercise; also they have water, and last but not least electrolytes. Electrolytes are needed for our nerves to function properly. As we sweat, we lose the electrolytes. Water alone does not replenish electrolytes. A good practice and one that I use when I am outside or working out hard I alternate between water and Gatorade.

FAT BURNING PILLS OR DRUGS

Most fat burning pills come out on the market and claim they are so great and usually they are. Then a few months down the road some study comes out how they effect the liver, kidneys or any number of things. (Remember phen-phen and ephydra?) Most fat burning pills are nothing more than a legal amphetamine or speed. Repercussions from taking these kinds of drugs can lead to heart disease, circulatory problems, and seizures. I strictly advise against taking these pharmaceuticals.

AMINO ACIDS, BETA CAROTEINE, AND PROTEINS

I advise against taking these supplements also. Again an overage of acids in the system leads to cancer, Gout and other things. Beta Carotein can cause liver, colon, and kidney damage. From my standpoint the distant repurcussions far outweigh the close benefits.

TUNING THE MACHINE: PART 4B DIETS AND EXERCISE PROGRAMS

When we jump on the diet or work out bandwagon, every diet has the same sequence of events it seems. Start a new life style 100% in one minute and between 20-30 days later its seems that everyone quits and goes back to the old life style or the path of least resistance. Again as mentioned before the body and the mind want to take the path of least resistance, so why don’t we use this way of thinking when we start a diet?

From when we are infants we are taught to take things slowly when changing the way our lives are conducted. IE weaning a baby off of breast milk to cereal or formula, potty training etc. It is not something that is done overnight or in a day, but takes time. When changing our life styles we have to do the same thing. Again a good habit takes approximately 20-30 days to take effect, where as a bad habit or the path of least resistance can be accomplished in under 10 days.

With our better life regimen our change of lifestyle starts with short-range goals, then work to mid range goals and finally long-range goals. We keep track of our daily exercise and improvement through the use of a daily schedule, and written work out and diet plan to track our accomplishments.

With taking our life style change slowly from very low impact and in 4 phases hit a high impact, our bodies will react with a positive response. The body will enjoy the regular work out and proper eating, the metabolism will gain momentum, and most of all the pounds will melt off, you will look better, and feel better.

TUNING THE MACHINE: PART 4A DIETS AND WORK OUT PROGRAMS

Diets and work out regimens are a billion dollar industry in the United States. For the most part these regimens fall short and are commonly faddish, and go by the wayside quickly. Short comings to these regimens are as follows:

Dieting for the masses: Every person is different, so a regimen needs to be altered to fit the specific person.

No Complimenting of regimens: Many diet and work out regimens fall short because they do not compliment each other. Normally in a diet regimen you get the what to eat or how to eat and a standard blurb that you should exercise. (Or in the case of Adkins not to exercise) Work out regimens give you the exercises to do, and the standard blurb that you should eat healthy, reduce calories, fat and cholesterol etc. The only regimen that I can recall that came close to having both is a the Dynabol work out and diet regimen in the early 90s

Standard Calories: Again many diets, doctors, and nutritionists recommend a specific number of calories to be consumed in a day with out taking in to effect the calories that the person burns in a day. If you only burn 900 calories and you eating 2,000 you will not lose weight.

Now with that over with we have to look at a combined diet and exercise regimen (for the purpose of this post a Better Life Regimen.) and exactly what it means and how it applies.

First off really what is a Better Life Regimen? It is in essence a lifestyle change. We are saying that we are saying goodbye to bad habits and the path of least resistance, and changing the way we live our lives forever. Most of all we are saying there is no turning back.

Next is why do we have to work out and diet? This goes with the old lifestyle and the diet industry. Everyone wants to take the path of least resistance and if a diet claims no work out necessary, masses jump on the bandwagon to try it. When we work out with intelligence we build lean muscle. Lean muscle helps the body in many ways besides strength. Lean muscle actually raises metabolism, which helps the body burn calories more efficiently.

Next is the tailoring of the Better Life Regimen to the specific person. Women vs Men is very important. Women’s bodies react differently to exercise and diet when compared to men. Their metabolism on the whole is slower, estrogen impedes the development of muscle and other things. On this subject also is the body type that a person may have, which also affects their metabolism and the need to diet and exercise.

Endomorph: This body type is naturally large, rounded face, wide hips, big bones, very slow metabolism, and extremely high number of fat cells.
Mesomorph: Naturally muscular, wide shoulders, small waist, athletic build, low body fat and mid range metabolism.

Ectomorph: Skinny person, small muscles, ultrafast metabolism, low body fat, narrow hips, shoulders, and waist.

With this in mind how can one diet work for all. The Better Life regimen must be tailored to the individual and not the masses.

TUNING THE MACHINE: PART 3 MINDSET AND HABITS

MINDSET
First let us discuss mindset. In a diet and exercise regimen one must have the proper mindset. Many in the military hear this term on a day to day basis. However many do not really grasp the real meaning of the term “MINDSET”. In a nut shell mindset can be explained by harnessing the abilities of the mind to accomplish the given mission or task. Mindset itself encompasses morale, motivation, self discipline and dedication when it comes to accomplishing the task at hand. Mindset also is the reasoning one has in this instance to diet. Am I dieting because others think that I am fat, in my opinion a false mindset. Am I dieting because I want to look better, feel better and live better, In my opinion a very strong mindset. To keep our “Mindsets” on track, we can come up with a phrase or a statement. I have one that I use and would like to offer it up here. Mind you I spent 20+ years in the military, and this statement definitely reflects that. When times were tough in certain situations, and I really felt like quitting I would motivate myself by saying “there are only two things that will detract from mission accomplishment: The mind and a bullet”. Then I would think in most instances: Well I haven’t been shot, but I am master of my mind, so nothing is standing in the way of my goals or the mission.

HABITS
To break habits one must have a strong mindset. Breaking bad habits is the hardest to do, because for the most part bad habits are actually the path of least resistance, or the more comfortable route to take. We can look at it like this: say you are at the fork in a road, and to the left as far as you can see the route is filled with steep hills, but to the right the route is mostly even grade with a lot of down hills. Most humans will take the route to the right because it is easier and offers the path of least resistance. Now think of the road on the right as the way you have lived, and think of the road on the left as diet and exercise.

Taking up a bad habit is easier than taking up a good habit. It is so easy for someone to form a habit of not working out, being sedentary, and eating what we want. Actually it is so easy that it can become a habit in under a week. However on the other side of the coin good habits, the path of resistance can take between 20-30 days to become instilled. The conflict in our minds between good habits taking over and bad habits departing are the worst in the first and last weeks. To battle this we need mindset.

CONSUMPTION
Many others that I have observed and in the past myself included would put dieting and exercise on the back burner when we are not doing it. Basically an example would be like this I worked out for an hour today, and for the rest of the day I do nothing else or think anything else about getting in shape or staying in shape. Or you go out to lunch and everyone is talking and having a good time, and without thinking you order that big mac and fries, and then you think OH DAMN I am on a diet and order the diet coke. For our mindset and psyche for a diet and exercise regimen it has to consume you during all your waking hours for it to be effective.

REWARDS

Another thing that I have observed and also have done in my past is rewards to myself. A typical situation is (In my instance) that I have done well all day, dieted, worked out, and kept my heart rate up. Now figuring that I did so good throughout the day I can afford to have a piece of cake and or a bowl of ice cream. What have I done here. I just reinforced the bad habit or addiction that I am trying to break. Which is going to make it that much harder to break.

TUNING THE MACHINE:PART 2 COMMON SENSE

When I first arrived in the 82nd Airborne Division if you were overweight according to the height and weight tables you were required to have pinch test (Measurements of pinched fat on various parts of the body.) conducted by a Doctor or a Physicians Assistant (PA). It was no big deal for me, because I never made table weight but previously always passed the pinch tests. So I took my happy ass to the PA that was responsible for the overweight program in the battalion. The poster that I came to find on the door of the PA outright shocked me, and the thought of how obtuse this guy could be by having this sign on his door. The poster read as follows:

THE NAZIS DURING WORLD WAR II KILLED OVER 6,000,000 JEWS. ONE THING THAT THE NAZIS PROVED WAS THAT IF YOU DON’T EAT YOU LOSE WEIGHT.

Back then as I already stated I was shocked at the obtusiveness of this poster and also the lack of sympathy on the part of this PA. Though now in later years and retrospect I still find the poster itself disturbing, but I find my self to be in agreement with the message presented on this poster.

My own personal experiences being in controlled environments such as Basic Training, Assessment and Selection, Qualification Course, Survival, Escape, Resistance, Evasion Course, In the field, on deployments with a dictated, rationed, or lack of diet and increased physical exertion my weight would go down.

We can summarize in this post that if we exert or burn more calories than we take in or eat then we are going to lose weight. Look at your body like a bank account; let’s say that you start off the month with $5,000. This month you use $1,000. The next month you only deposit $500 but use $1,000. This puts the balance at $3,500. Our bodies are the same way, our banks being fat and our withdrawals being burnt calories. For a diet to work we have to know the calories we burn and the calories that we intake for an effective weight loss program. By natural process with exercise we can increase our numbers of burnt calories and with our minds limit the number of calories we intake to deplete the bank.

On average a pound of fat contains 3,500 calories. So if on a daily basis we do not replenish 500 calories, in a week we can lose a pound of fat.

TUNING THE MACHINE: PART 1B HEALTH

ARTHRITIS
Foods high in sugars cause medical conditions other than tooth decay. If a person has arthritis or pain from old injuries, high blood sugar can cause inflammation of the arthritic joints and areas of the old injuries.

GOUT
First off any person can get Gout. Gout is normally caused by the trapping of a uric acid crystal(Other acids can be culprit also) in an extremity joint. The key here for getting over a Gout attack is how quickly one can get the crystal to pass through the extremity joint. Many people get Gout attacks, and do not realize that they are having an attack when they are having one because the crystal is passed easily and does not stay in the joint for that long. In this instance a person might have some unexplained pain in one of their big toes for an hour to a day. It leaves no worries right? However with older people, over weight people, and sedentary people a gout attack can be anything from a week to years because of poor circulation to the extremity. If through exercise circulation is increased the crystal will pass because of the higher pressure of blood coming through the extremity during exercise. Another key to limiting the effects of Gout is not to eat foods high in acids, purloins, or protein. (Purloins and proteins when processed through the body create uric acid)

HEART DISEASE
We all know that the heart is a muscle. With any muscle in the body if the muscle is not exercised it becomes weak and flabby. The same goes for the heart. If we sit day in and day out and never get our pulse above 70 beats per minute (BPM), the heart is not getting exercise. High fat content around the veins, plaquing of cholesterol in the veins makes the heart work harder than it should to pump blood while resting. Now when we have to exert ourselves while in this condition, the heart has to work 10 times harder to get the blood through the system. What can result here is a heart attack. Common sense tells us if we have not lifted weights for a few weeks, or months, and now we resolve to go into the gym and lift, we know that we are at a higher risk of injury and also positively there will be soreness from torn muscles. The same goes for the heart. If it and the circulatory system are not in shape, and exerted at a minimum a hear attack can ensue with death as a maximum possibility.

AN EFFICIENT HEART
We as humans are nothing more than machines. The core running of our machines comes from the heart. Exercise and proper diet result in a healthier heart a healthier heart results in improved circulation, better cooling and heating of the body, and most of all a better metabolism. There are many pros to exercise and improve the heart but, there are no con’s against improving the heart

There are many more reasons to diet and exercise some are stronger immune system, better respiratory system, and others. You just gotta say “I WANT TO LIVE” and then do it.

TUNING THE MACHINE: PART 1A HEALTH BENEFITS

Some might start to read today’s posting and say to themselves well DUH! Glenn you are going to state the obvious here. Well yes I am, and also I will state the un-obvious.

First off let’s start off with the basics. If we lose weight and are lean and mean, our hearts beat more efficiently, our metabolism gets higher, circulation improves, and our living improves.

There are other things that might not be so evident, but through what I have learned from research, there are other benefits to getting the fat off, eating right and staying fit.

FAT
First off let us look at fat. As we all know fat is nothing more than a storage site of unused or in reserve calories. However there are other things that can be stored in these fat cells that may effect the overall health of an individual.

ACIDS
Acids come into the body in many forms, or they may be a by- product of exercise and metabolism. When thinking of the word acid what comes to mind? For me it means some sort of corrosive. What does a corrosive do? It eats away at stuff that is not immune to corrosive materials. IE Joints, muscles, cells and membranes.

CANCER
Cancer fell into my research quite by accident. There are many facts and theories about this subject. I am stating 2 facts at this time that are related to diet and cancer.

FACT#1
The first fact is that cancer really isn’t indiscriminative. 80% of people that have cancer are overweight. Stated medical theories on this is that fat or the killer gut besides being a storage area for calories is also a storage area for PCBs and other carcinogens. Right here we see an overweight or obese person is at a higher risk than a trim or skinny person. Furtherance of this topic makes us turn to Breast Cancer. Theoretically any woman or man can get breast cancer. However in the male category it is more evident in overweight males with man-breasts versus those that lift or exercise regularly. (I’m about to cry on this one) Women with larger breasts are at a higher risk than women with smaller breasts. It pretty much supports the fact that fat stores more than just calories.

FACT#2
Second fact covers the body’s acidity levels. It has been found that the acidity of ones body through their life cycle contributes to the risk of contracting cancer. All people with Cancer have a high acidity level in their bodies. People that have had low levels of acidity through their lives do not contract cancer. Acids are stored within the fat cells also. Seems to me that if we stay off the red meats, spicy foods, tomato based foods, and rich foods this will lower our acidity levels and then reduce our risk of contracting cancer.

TUNING THE MACHINE:INTRODUCTION

Over the past weeks and months it has come to my attention how people attempt to diet, exercise, lose weight and fail Hearing the following list of comments over and over again has prompted me to write this multi-part Blog.

The below comments caught my attention and are just a sampling. I would like to share them with you, and in later posts dispel these lies, excuses and out right B.S


10. My thyroid is acting up and it is hard or I cannot lose weight.

09. I have a slow metabolism and dieting does nothing for me.

08. I am just big boned and/or big bodied, I don't need to lose weight

07. Really I am not eating anything, but I cant lose weight………..(Minutes later) Want to go to such and such buffet?

06. I have tried every diet plan and still cannot lose weight.

05. This week I am doing such and such diet or work out plan.

04. Dieting is too hard I am always hungry or tired.

03. All I have to do is this 10 minute workout everyday and I will lose 15 pounds in a week

02. My Doctor or Nutritionist said I need to stick to 1800 calories a day and I will lose weight.

My #1 diet line or plan, and I love this one sooooooo much:

Double quarter pounder with cheese, Mega Large fries and a diet coke.

Back in 2002 I had to take a physical. An EKG and blood work was included, and this is
where my weight loss and fitness odyssey began. On the physical strength aspect I was
benching over 400 pounds, squatting in excess of 800 pounds, and I could run as fast if
not faster than the little people. This is a person in great shape and health right? Wrong!
Medically I was messed up. Irregular heart beat, Irregular ventricle sounds, high
cholesterol, other oddities with my blood, my circulation to the extremities was bad, basically I
was heading for the morgue if I was not careful.

Having been trained by the Army as a Master Fitness Trainer and attaining my Personal
Trainer Certification through the North American Fitness Trainers Association (NAFTA)
one would figure (Myself included) that I would be on top of this and would be as
healthy as a mule. This definitely was not the case.

Having this event take place in my life, I was in definite need for some change in my thinking as far as diet and exercise. Through research and the knowledge that I already had possesed then resulted in changes in my way of thinking when it comes to dieting and physical fitness. What I found out was that I did not really know myself when it came to diet and exercise. All I really knew was lessons and subjects and how they should apply.

Over the next posts I would like to share what I found out, and how I applied it to myself . Hopefully this will help some people and maybe re-inforce what others already know.