Of Mice and...Lobsters

I'm in Charlotte, NC on business, and I noticed an editorial in the local paper inspired by a recent spate of local animal-cruelty issues (and regulations) about cooking lobsters live, and keeping them in those grocery-store aquariums.

She (the author, and I'm recording this from memory, so I don't recall the name) brought up some very good points about this issue.

She mentions that vegans and vegetarians should stop and think before claiming the moral high-ground. She points out how many field mice are chewed up by wheat-harvesting machinery, and the environmental costs of having baby greens wrapped in plastic and shipped across state lines.

She wasn't suggesting that we should give up wheat for lobsters, but that we should try to be more aware of the trade-offs, and to eat food produced locally. She lives in a place where lobsters are plentiful, and are fed in a semi-wild fashion for about seven years before being harvested. She knows a lobster fisherman, and he pointed out that lobsters have more in common with mosquitoes than humans, so why are we so ready to defend the lobsters but eat the beef? Even if we stop boiling lobsters alive, you know we'll just start buying pre-boiled, packaged lobster nuggets, just so we don't have to hear those screams...

She mentions the book The Omnivore's Dilemma as a good place to read about the realities and trade-offs of our meals.

I think the biggest point was about proximity: Eat what's locally available (and therefore seasonal).

I'm not planning to change my diet, but then I have the great fortune of living very close to farms that bring fresh produce to the grocery store, and dairys that treat their cows quite humanely. (We have also planted an organic vegetable garden, and berry bushes, in our yard.) And that pretty much sums up my diet: Vegetarian, with a lot of dairy.

I hope I'm not being smug. I know I'm very fortunate. If my good fortune helps a little, great.

I may have to give some thought to those field mice, though...

No Pain, No Gain?

Here is something I sent recently to a friend (part of my thought-process that led to the current blog posts on health and fitness):

I was at the gym tonight, and had to resist giving a young guy advice. He was doing calves with too much weight and not enough range of motion. Skinny calves forever. He wasn't doing anything overtly dangerous (like bouncing or hopping up), so I just let it go. I don't want to be one of those old washed-up know-it-alls.

I see this mistake happen all the time. How do I know it's a mistake? Because those who do it always have skinny calves.

The "secret" to calves (and most muscles) is simple but painful: Full range of motion. Start over with a lighter weight (as though you've never done calves before, because--quite frankly--you probably haven't). Possibly a much lighter weight.

I usually use the standing calf-raise rack, so I'll describe that exercise. Start out with your heels settling towards the floor, the calves in a gentle stretch. (Presumably, you've already warmed up and done some actual gentle stretching of the leg muscles, including the calves.)

Rise up slowly and naturally, neither bending nor locking your knees (legs are straight, but not locked). Do not bend at the waist or back. You are standing straight up throughout the exercise, pivoting only at the heel. Go slow, and fa' Pete's sake do not bounce. Push your toes down until your foot is pointed towards the ground. That's the critical part for growth: Push yourself up there! Essentially, you will be standing on the balls of your feet, with your feet fully extended. That, my friend, is full range of motion (and you will feel it). Slowly (even more slowly than the upwards motion) let yourself back down until you feel the stretch again.

Please, give yourself one or two sets before pushing on much weight at all. You may decide not to add weight after doing your first rep or two with full range of motion. You're going to do at least three sets, so let your first one be a "warm-up." You'll thank me tomorrow.

Three sets of 8 reps is plenty to start with, going up to three or four sets of 8-15 reps, eventually. Yes, it will be painful (in that good, burning-muscle way). If you overdo the weight or reps, you will not be able to walk for days. That's a pretty good sign that you overdid it, but at least you'll know you got the form right, eh?

Welcome to a real calf work-out.

And watch out for cramps. Eat your bananas, drink plenty of water, and try to remember not to point your toes while sleeping or swimming until the ache goes away. Calf cramps can take weeks to heal enough for you to do your next leg workout!

Which is one example of how overindulgence of something good for you can be counterproductive!

See, that's one of the problems with starting a weight-lifting routine, or trying out a new exercise: If you do it right, it will hurt a little. If you overdo it (and that's easy to do when you first try a new exercise), you'll hurt so much that you'll stop doing it, or you'll start doing it in a way that doesn't hurt at all. The old adage, "no pain no gain," is actually true up to a point. The muscle tissue should feel fatigued, or perhaps "burn" a little during the exercise. If anything else burns (deep within you, as though your bones/tendons/ligaments were hot, or pinched, or swollen), then you need to STOP immediately. That's not growth-producing pain.

The "pain" in "no pain, no gain" isn't really painful per se. Your muscles should ache a little the next day or two. (Like a tetanus shot, or a light bruise.) During those days, you should still be able to use the muscle (e.g., walk, or lift your arms, or touch your nose...) without others noticing a wince of pain.

Eventually, we develop a mild addiction to that endorphin-laden ache. We have to take care to find an appropriate, moderate level of indulgence.

Getting personal about your pectorals

(Yeah, if you have a better title, I'm open to suggestions! ;-)

I got a note from a friend a while back...

...what exercises are good for isolating the pecs other than flys [sic] and bench press (and it’s million variations)?

For better or worse, I'm well-suited to answer this. Since my shoulder surgery in the mid-90's, I don't do traditional bench or military presses. For a while I thought my chest and shoulders would languish, and I drowned my sorrows in long bouts of running and leg workouts (until that combination resulted in knee problems...).

Here is the answer I gave him. Please keep in mind: Though "flies" would be the correct plural of "fly," it just doesn't seem right to refer to a weight-lifting exercise as "flies"...

Cable-flys [sic], or whatever they're called. The problem with bench and regular flys [sic] is that you don't get the full range of motion. Position yourself so that the cables are nearly perpendicular to your arms when you bring your hands together, so the very hardest part of the exercise is that last few inches as you bring your hands together. Start light, go slow. Don't CLAP the grips together. A light tap, and hold it for one count, pressing the grips together.

This takes special equipment, of course. Something with two pulleys set wide apart. Or, you could squish a volleyball between your outstretched hands. I suppose you could use a thigh-master. (Hey! Use for a thigh-master! ;-)

It's not for broadening the chest, but adds thickness, esp. near the sternum. Gives you that ripped look where the pecs attach to the sternum.