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Five Rings Fitness

• The beginning of wisdom is a definition of terms-Socrates
  So first let us define our terms
  
  
  I will be continuing the conversation I began with my last post by first setting the stage for the conversation. 
  
  
  My over arching goal, is to bring health, wellness, mobility, strength and longevity to any that have contact with me. Be that in the real or virtual world.
  
  
  A little history for those that do not know me or are new to my blog
  
  
  I am a 20+ year martial artist, and physical culture proponent, student, and instructor
  I teach the Hardstyle method of Kettlebell lifting (RKC) the Thomas method of Indian Club Swinging, and Jeet Kune Do concepts and Filipino Martial arts as passed on to me by my instructor Sifu Michael O'Melia through his Instructor Guru Dan Inosanto with a direct and unbroken line to Sigung Bruce Lee. As a physical culture, and martial art/sport/science instructor I have a very pragmatic and sometimes jaded view of function and utility.
  
  
  I am not, a doctor
  nutritionist
  chemist
  psychologist
  or anything else that I have not stated that I am
  
  
  Take my wee little column for what it is, my opinions and observations based on my experience
  
  
  Filter what I present through your own experience, and come to your own conclusions
  
  
  Test the veracity of any claims I make and if you feel like correcting me, there is a form to make comments, please use it
  
  
  
  
  Lets talk first about Diet
  
  
  
  
  currently, it seems there is a new version of variable fasting and modified Atkins/Ornish diet, gluten free, casein free, nothing that casts a shadow diet every 15 minutes
  
  
  if they have bought you success, groovy
  
  
  I will state however that my understanding of pain is this-pain is any thing that produces a noxious response in the body
  
  
  since we as humans are evolutionarily wired for survival and not for performance, anything that registers as pain with the cns (central nervous system, the governing body, nothing happens without it) 
  that stimulus will be remembered very clearly and concisely, we may adapt to the stimulus over time, but it will always be a pain signal, we will in fact be adapting to pain
  jumbled?
  
  
  ever talk to someone that comes off the Atkins diet, the person who lost a buttload (literally in some cases) of weight, and when they went back to eating like a normal person they packed the weight back on in short order
  
  
  their body thought they were starving, it went into a state of ketosis, consuming its own tissues to feed the daily caloric needs for survival, and when eating pattern was returned to normal, the cns told the body to pack on the pounds,
   because another famine could be just around the corner and if we survived last time with what we had around our hips thighs and butt, we need more of that 
  
  
  survival
  not performance
  
  
  how bout vegans?
  not enough protein, too much fat, bad skin and poor digestion, uptake of nutrients is deficient
  they look like death warmed over with acne
  great....
  not the diet, its them, and their lack of understanding in how to get the nutrition they need to survive from the diet they have chosen....
  
  
  
  
  do you have a thyroid problem is that why you are fat?
  are you sure
  have you had that confirmed by a doctor?
  or do you really have a fork control problem?
  
  
  some would make the case that what we put in is not as important as how our body uses it
  ok
  
  
  eat dirt, it has calories, how long will you last?
  live on ramen and pop tarts (college right?)
  think your liver will love you for long?
  
  
  can you in fact survive on mc food and live long and hale?
  dunno, I posit that you will live better if you avoid mc anything and stick with food, not mc food
  
  
  there is a clip on youtube of a 4 year old cheeseburger, is that right?
  with obesity, diabetes, cancer of all types, and a host of other horrific stuff going on in our population, I have to wonder
  is it us, or is it the crap that we get sold as being food?
  
  
  can you honestly tell me you get 8 servings of fruits and vegetables every day?
  
  
  
  
  take my challenge, 
  go to your cupboards or fridge, pull anything that has
  high fructose corn syrup, or more than 5 ingredients and set it on one side, 
  then
  gather all the other things in your cupboards and fridge that are considered food on the other side of your kitchen
  
  
  how big are the stacks?
  which one is bigger?
  
  
  are you eating food or a chemical slurry that allows a hamburger to last 4 years without being eaten by pests or decomposing?
  
  
  
  
  here are my dietary guidelines, the ones I follow
  
  
  eat as close to the ground as possible
  eat as fresh as possible
  eat food that is cooked as little as possible
  eat as close to home as possible (food form local farms etc)
  try not to eat anything that came from a box or was wrapped in plastic
  eat more vegetables and fruit than meat
  drink more water than any other beverage, coffee, tea and alcohol in moderation
  eat when I am hungry, stop eating when I am thirsty
  leave the beverages for at least an hour after I have eaten to let my stomach do its thing, but if I need a swig of liquid to get my food down, groovy
  if it comes from a package, keep the ingredients list to under 5 ingredients, less if possible
  if it has a label, be wary
  
  
  give this a shot for 30 days, let me know what you think
  we are just talking diet so far,not exercise, sport, athletics, martial topics, or self defense
  
  
  health is the best self defense
  
  
  
  
  
  
  next up
  breathing
  Brought to you by the folks at 5 rings fitness, get strong, stay strong.....
  
  
  
• 
  
  Over the next few months, I will be setting the stage for an upcoming project.
  The project is a return to common sense methods of maintaining health, mobility, flexibility, and functional movement. Many fitness “professionals” these days, seem to be frankly, trying to keep up with the latest trends and fads.
  Why?
  Why not look to the methods that have lasted for hundreds, and in some cases, literally thousands of years.
  In a world where the general public seems to be assuming more and more abnormal shapes, question marks, pears, apples, odd fruit indeed. People should not be compared to fruit in their physical appearance. Imagine if someone said you look like a Durian
  
  
  
  
  
  Well?
  
  
  As people grow into these abnormal shapes, they also lose important physical abilities, circulation suffers, range of motion becomes limited, walking becomes a study in bio-mechanical adaptation that would make Darwin pull his teeth out.
  
  
  So, I will be presenting some of the methods that have lasted, and though they have faded from the headlines, the principles are still present and currently used, no matter how the sales guru's and marketing mavens may hide them.
  We will be discussing breath, posture, strength, speed and stamina. The 5 Rings of Fitness as I present them to my clients and students. I say we as I expect that my readers and clients will participate in the conversation, adding to it when they can, questioning me at every turn and testing the veracity of every claim I make. I exhort you to not believe a damn thing I say, research it, run your findings through the filter of your own experience, then decide for yourself if the information is germane to the task that you are faced with.
  We will be discussing dietary guidelines, supplementation, exercise, joint mobility, movement as a means of ameliorating the stress of daily life and physical activity, and occasionally why I think something is insane, stupid, or dangerous.
  
  
  So, in the immortal words of Mike D, get ready cause this aint funny......
  Brought to you by the folks at 5 rings fitness, get strong, stay strong.....
  
  
  
• out for the weekend
  
  
  
  I will be attending the first Certified Indian Club Specialist clinic being held this weekend in St Paul (hosted by Dragon Door, thanks John, Dennis, Brett, and the rest of the crew)
  This means that I will be getting to hang out with my mates from the RKC, and getting some first class instruction on the use of the indian club from Dr Ed Thomas ( a recognized and humble authority on the use of the club, and a really really nice guy to boot )
  
  Last weekend I had the honor of helping Dr Thomas teach some of the participants in the MPD PAL program how to perform some simple bodyweight, medicine ball, dumb bell, kettle bell ( I got to put on that presentation, and apparently I sound like a drill seargent ;) ) and agility drills to maintain and promote health and wellness
  This program came out of the correspondence that Jason Green of CES Fitness and Dr Thomas had regarding the good Dr's program in Iowa ( see http://www.ihpra.org/ for more details on that )
  This was not only a great time and great opportunity, but it was a huge learning experience for me as well
  getting to help out was both an honor and a privilege that I am thankful to Jason and Dr Thomas for, and I have not forgotten Jason's crew of dedicated trainers (Laura, Nate, Will Kirsten, you guys were a hit) who helped out with every aspect of the event
  
  The MPD PAL program is a worthwhile effort and needs your support, if you can, help them out
  
  
  In other news, here are a few pics from my recent appearance at the Richfield Wellness Expo
  The photos were supplied by Jennifer, one of my regular students at the Veteran's Memorial Park Arts Center classes
  thanks to her for the pics, to Hannah for assisting me, and to Ben and Usman for showing up to support and hang out
  
  
  
  This was a lot of fun and some good folks seemed to get the idea pretty quickly. I am always somewhat surprised by how fast the buy in is on the kettlebell, you either realize right away that there is way more to the cannonball with a handle, or that you are perhaps not as in shape as you thought, either way, the bells are always a crowd pleaser, and the club swinging that came at the end of the hour was praised by all who hung out for it.
  
  
  
  
  Coming up in May (the 22nd) I will be giving a clinic hosted by the folks at 
  MN Valley Martial Arts
  I will be covering the basics of the Z-Health system, and how Z-Health can help you overcome movement restrictions, help to restore mobility, gain strength, become a better athlete, and get more pleasure out of your daily life through joint mobility and quality movement. The cost of the clinic is yet to be set, but it will not break the bank
  DVDs and other Z-Health material will be available for purchase, so this will also be an opportunity to save a few bucks on shipping, if you would like to pre-order dvds email me by May 15th and I will have your order waiting for you at the clinic.
  To get a pre view of what will be happening, show up for one of the fitness classes offered at the host academy and get warmed up before they put you through your paces for a good workout that looked like fun for all involved.
  
  
  See you all next week either in class or in private
  
  
  Get Strong
  Stay Strong
  Brought to you by the folks at 5 rings fitness, get strong, stay strong.....