Is exercise making people fat?

I love exercise. I encourage all people to take up some form of physical fitness, because the benefits are remarkable and documented.

But is weight loss one of those benefits?

I work for an organization–the US Army–that mandates physical exercise. It doesn’t just say: do pushups and run whenever you can. It makes its supervisors, NCOs, make sure that soldiers are exercising and then it tests those soldiers bi-annually to make sure they are making the grade. It also has weight and bodyfat standards. Yet there are tons of what I would call, skinny-fat people in the Army. Their legs and arms look skinny, but their guts and butts tell a different story. They look doughy and soft. Rather weak.

Most of these people, I think, have come under the illusion that if you work out on most days, you can plow however much food you wish into your mouth and still lose weight. And actually, thinking like that, combined with excercise, may actually be making us fatter than no exercise at all. Exercise makes you hungry–hungrier than not exercising.

I just read an article in Time Magazine, written by John Cloud. Cloud talks about various studies that conclude people, working out, typically ingest more calories than when they were sedentary.  He also shows that normal movement throughout the day, in addition to eating a spare amount of calories, may be more effective than regular trips to the gym at helping people lose weight. To my surprise, I agreed with most of what Cloud said.

There is a light at the end of the dark tunnel, however. In the article, Cloud laments that he’s 163 lbs, and that he was only able to reach that weight by cutting out dessert.

I’ll step aside for a moment, and let the an expert–perhaps the foremost on body mass control–do some talking: Clarence Bass.

Bass wrote a retort to Cloud’s article, here. 

I think Bass’ best point is that Cloud doesn’t seem to enjoy his exercise. Whatever someone decides to do, they’d best enjoy it if they wish to have long-term results. He also shows that short, intense bursts are much more efficient than steady-state aerobics in building fitness. I’m not saying stop running for distance if you enjoy it. I’m only saying that if you don’t like it, there are options.  

Like Bass, I prefer intervals and weight lifting or calisthenics. Sometimes I do like a long run, but before I came in the Army, I almost never ran more than a mile or so. I did interval sprints and lifted kettlebells. I was lean and strong. I’d skip breakfast sometimes. I’d allow myself to get hungry once in a while, but not always. In the Army, I run more, but most of that is only to prepare for an upcoming physical test, then I tend to move back to my old training ways. But I like to change it up. This past weekend, I ran in my first 10k race, placed second in my age group despite not having run in three weeks. It hurt, I admit, but the change and the challenge are good. Competition gives a reason to stay fit.

Keeping with Bass’ point about choosing exercise you like, let’s look at my deadlift training. While I’m deadlifting, I get a surge of energy. Low rep, high intensity (weight) gives your nervous system a charge. I get so jacked up from doing the deadlift, that I have to purposely put the breaks on to keep myself from doing too much. Three sets of five reps can build incredible strength over time, provided you follow the progressive overload principle and don’t allow yourself to burn out. Point is, I love this training and want to do it. I run for distance because I have to, therefore I slack on running when I don’t have to.

Pick stuff you like, do that the most, and add a touch of other things that you need for health. Do what you like 75% of the time. The rest, do what doesn’t come so naturally. You’ll find that the change of pace keeps you motivated, but doesn’t grind you down by becoming punishment.

As far as diet goes, I agree with Cloud that exercise can make you hungry, especially lots of aerobic exercise. As I’ve said in other articles, my weight has been steady for over a decade. My bodyfat % is around 8. I shifted to a diet very similar to Clarence Bass’ plus some intermittent fasting and fairly quickly dropped about 10lbs. Bass says low fat, moderate protein and heavy on the veggies is the way to go. I didn’t worry about fat (chicken skin and all), didn’t eat as much bread as Bass does (he eats it every day, the heavy, whole grain type) and went very heavy on the salad. I’m not talking lots of lettuce in the salad. I’m talking heavy stuff that made me full. It’s important that people realize the volume effect of water-laden vegies with fibre. They make you feel full and they digest slowly, so you stay satiated longer. Also, I rarely ate dessert. On the other hand, I wasn’t shy about beer–usually one or two cans every single day. That was my dessert I guess.

So, while Cloud writes an excellent article,  I would guess that his exercise isn’t very intense–it’s just long and painful. I can guarantee (almost) that if I were to work with him, put him on a program of deadlifting and work in some intervals and lactic acid producing (and thus growth hormone producing) calisthenics and kettlebells, he’s lose his gut–and even be able to slip in a piece of pie once in a while.

The cooling of global warming

One thing has been evident to me all through this global warming extravaganza, which took center stage just as Al Gore started to worry that he no longer had a job and needed something–anything–to get the cash flow going again.

That thing is the fact that even the scientists who claim human-caused global warming can’t agree on how much the earth is warming, or even if it’s warming right now. Over the last couple of years, I’ve wanted to write more articles on this than I have, but I simply could not find consistent info.

The movement seems to have morphed into shameless fear mongering. Witness the most recent prophecy of doom, pronounced by United Nations Populations Fund, director, Thoraya Ahmed Obaid: 

“Poor women in poor countries are among the hardest hit by climate change, even though they contributed the least to it,” 1

and…

“With the possibility of a climate catastrophe on the horizon, we cannot afford to relegate the world’s 3.4 billion women and girls to the role of victim,” 2

But the true meaning of these words slipped out in a meeting by UN climate officials, who sat discussing warming issues prior to their upcoming gathering in Copenhagen:

“The fight against climate change is more likely to be successful if policies, programmes and treaties take into account the needs,rights and potentials of women” 3

In other words, let’s attach issues to global warming that make any laws passed politically unviable to oppose. Anyone who opposes multi-trillion dollar economic change, carbon taxes or the outlawing of certain technologies, regardless of the shifty ground upon which the science’s foundation is poured, obviously hates women.

But cracks form everyday in the theory. Seems global warming has taken a ten year nap. Who would have known? What with all the talk and movies which amounted to the Left’s version of Reefer Madness. Now there’s infighting amongst true believers. It’s the Great Schism Redux. Sure they say, global warming’s happening, but only we know exactly why it’s happening. Those other guys are heretics. The warming data itself is questioned by the believers.

 British Scientists at the Hadley Centre for Climate Prediction and Research recently found that average global temps actually rose by less than half what the UN study showed, and when adjusted for La Nina and El Nino, the net gain in temperature was a gaudy zero degrees. (4

Further adding to the multitude of factual heresies, we have scientists who seem to want to create their own version of the Priory of Sion.  If they can’t prove what they know, they’ll make stuff up to prove what they know. Seems some pesky hackers busted into computers at East Anglia University and stole emails and documents of resident climate scientists. One email from a scientist reads:

 ”I’ve just completed Mike’s Nature trick of adding in the real temps to each series for the last 20 years (i.e., from 1981 onwards) and from 1961 for Keith’s to hide the decline.”

The above noted Washington Post article further states:

But Myron Ebell, director of energy and global warming policy for the Competitive Enterprise Institute, said this and other exchanges show researchers have colluded to establish the scientific consensus that humans are causing climate change.

“It is clear that some of the ‘world’s leading climate scientists,’ as they are always described, are more dedicated to promoting the alarmist political agenda than in scientific research,” said Ebell, whose group is funded in part by energy companies. “Some of the e-mails that I have read are blatant displays of personal pettiness, unethical conniving, and twisting the science to support their political position.”

Sunspots, coal, ocean currents, solar wind. Seems it’s anyone’s guess as to why things got warmer–a decade ago.

Citations:

1,2,3; Gender and Climate Change: Poor Women Bare the Brunt of Global Warming, Spiegel Online NOV 09

4; Stagnating Temperatures, Climatologists Baffled by Global Warming Time-Out, Gerald Traufetter, Spiegel Online Nov 09

Training Log moving to Dragondoor

So as not to bore people with daily training logs, I’ll be posting them at Dragondoor.com, a great strength and fitness site that I credit with introducing me to kettlebells, Combat Conditioning and the Warrior Diet. There’ll be a link on this site to my Dragondoor log. I have some posts there already from a few years ago.

I encourage others to visit the site and maybe start up a fitness blog/log. There’s tons of knowledgeable people on the site and most of them are very friendly and helpful.

My fitness log link is here: http://kbforum.dragondoor.com/blogs/douglasmoore/

Training Log 3

Log is for 18NOV2009

Morning:

Dumbbell snatch, 13 reps per arm with 70 lb dumbbell.

Pullups, 8 reps, 10 second hold at end.

Evening:

Jump squats, 3 sets: 30 reps, 30 reps, 15 reps. A few minutes rest between sets. Did some walking, too.

Comments: Jump squats are one of the most brutal exercises you can do. For some reason, they don’t bother my knees like high rep bodyweight squats can. Just stan, feet should width apart,and start jumping up and down. Go fairly deep on the bottom, but not all the way down. Vomit. Repeat.

Al-Qaeda no longer needs training camps

I’m hiding in Honduras
I’m a desperate man
Send lawyers, guns and money
The shit has hit the fan ~Lawyers, guns and money; Warren Zevon

The stock argument for our current involvement in Afghanistan is that we must prevent the country from becoming a training haven, as it was in 2001, for al-Qaeda operatives.

MuhammedAtta moves through aPortland Maine airport on 091101

This argument no longer holds water. And when we look at the actual situation in 2001, we can see why a full scale invasion was not needed.

Here, in President George Bush’s speech to Congress in 2001, he lays out the US’ demands of the Taliban government. The Taliban is never asked to leave power; only to hand over terrorists, allow the US access for inspection and close training camps.

Women are not allowed to attend school. You can be jailed for owning a television. Religion can be practiced only as their leaders dictate. A man can be jailed in Afghanistan if his beard is not long enough. The United States respects the people of Afghanistan — after all, we are currently its largest source of humanitarian aid — but we condemn the Taliban regime.

It is not only repressing its own people, it is threatening people everywhere by sponsoring and sheltering and supplying terrorists.

By aiding and abetting murder, the Taliban regime is committing murder. And tonight the United States of America makes the following demands on the Taliban:

– Deliver to United States authorities all of the leaders of Al Qaeda who hide in your land.

– Release all foreign nationals, including American citizens you have unjustly imprisoned.

– Protect foreign journalists, diplomats and aid workers in your country.

– Close immediately and permanently every terrorist training camp in Afghanistan. And hand over every terrorist and every person and their support structure to appropriate authorities.

– Give the United States full access to terrorist training camps, so we can make sure they are no longer operating.

These demands are not open to negotiation or discussion.

The Taliban must act and act immediately.

They will hand over the terrorists or they will share in their fate. I also want to speak tonight directly to Muslims throughout the world. We respect your faith. It’s practiced freely by many millions of Americans and by millions more in countries that America counts as friends. Its teachings are good and peaceful, and those who commit evil in the name of Allah blaspheme the name of Allah.

That was then. Al-Qaeda no longer needs open ground training camps at which to film its propaganda. Indeed, armed drones have made such terror play grounds an anachronism. What al-Qaeda needs is people, money and hate.

Terrorists training for large scale attacks in remote caves is a myth. The modern terrorist must be computer savvy, and blend in with a targeted populace. Major Hasan was only able to kill 13 US soldiers on a military base because he was one of them. The most dangerous jihadists are educated people, not those wielding rusty Kalashnikovs and sporting 3rd grade reading abilities.

The very event that spurred the invasion of Afghanistan–The 9-11 attacks–was carried out primarily by jihadists who trained and planned the attacks in Western countries. The Hamburg Cell, led by Muhammed Atta,  met, discussed jihadist motivations and made contact wth al-Qaeda, all while German intelligence surveilled their two-bedroom apartment on Marienstrasse. Atta received his education at an American university in Cairo,Egypt. Bin Laden chose the bulk of the hijackers from a group of usual suspects: Unmarried, young, poorly educated. All but one hailed from Saudi Arabia. These men did not need to think–they only needed to wield box cutters, then die. They did train for a period in Afghanistan, but they employed no serious technical skills gained in this training.  

According to the 9-11 Comission Report, between $400,000 and $500,000 was spent training and preparing for the 9-11 attacks. The majority of this training was carried out in Western countries,using Western institutions. In other words, we need only follow the money.

President Obama should seriously reconsider the poor arguments made for continuing or escalating the war in Afghanistan. The war is not “Over There”. It’s right here.

Training Log 2

40 pushups, as warmup.

Bench Press, 3 sets of 5, 205 lbs.

50 pushups

10 pullups, terminating with ten second hang

dumbell snatches, 13 reps per arm w/65 lb dumbell

60 situps

Comments: People began annoying me by following me around the gym. They do this, as if to glean secrets from those they think have them. I have none but hard work. No very marketable these days. They became particularly interested when I began doing the dumbell snatches, so I moved on to other things.

Good quote from Knute Rockne

I heard a good quote while watching college football yesterday. The announcer calling the game quoted the legendary Notre Dame coach, Knute Rockne:

“Make the present good and the past will take care of itself.”

Training Log

I’ve added a traning log to the categories of this blog. I’ll be tracking, for my own purposes and the edification of others, my training (reps. exercise, sets, etc.) as well as making comments on why I’m doing what I’m doing and general thoughts about the activities.

Here’s my first entry, for 15NOV2009 (yesterday).

Deadlift: 225×5, 245×4, 265×3

Pullups: 8 reps with a 10 second hold at the top on the last rep.

Light stretching at night.

Comments: Started light and easy on the deadlift. Haven’t done it as a matter of routine in a couple years. Had planned to go 5 sets, but began feeling a bit stressed on my last set. The deadlift is the easiest lift to become overtrained on, becase it’s so stressful and taxes the nervous system. Some powerlifters don’t train the deadlift at all prior to meets because it can lead to over training.

Goal on deadlift days is to walk out of the gym feeling stronger and fresher than before walking in. Strength is not about making yourself tired; it’s about training the nervous system.

Knee feeling better han it has in months.

Tactical Strength Challenge

I’m making a shift in my physical training, now that I’ve passed my most recent PT test (Max 300 score; 98 pushups, 84 situps, 13:00 min 2 mile).

It’s time to get back some of the strength I’ve lost because of the amount of cardio I’ve been doing. In order to help me with my motivation, I’m thinking of entering the Tactical Strength Challenge, when it comes around for its next international meet.  I’ll get into the Men’s Open Division, where the events are max bodyweight pullups, max deadlift and max kettlebell snatches in 5:00 minutes. Even if I can’t compete, I can compare my results with the posted results from his season. I’ll get video documentation and post it here. Some of these guys are showing incredible numbers. A couple people deadlifted over 500. The guy who won the deadlift event, Jim Cahill, pulled an incredible 705, but at a bodyweight of 295, thus he did exactly zero pullups. This event has built in equalizers. Big and strong? Pullups may suffer. Wiry? Deadlift may be a problem. Cardio weak? Good luck with throwing around a metal ball for 5 minutes.

My bodyweight had dropped almost 10 pounds since I arrived in Germany. This may not be a big deal to some, but this is extremely unusual for me. Even through Basic Training, my weight did not drop more than 3 pounds. The lightest I can remember being before Germany was 171, and that was when I was riding bike a lot, many times with little food for fuel. I’ve been following an extremely strict diet, and doing a lot of calisthenics and running. Many days, no breakfast. My training regimine will look something like this:

• Deadlift twice per week. One heavy day, one light day. I will use the 5,4,3,2,1 protocol, where I increase the weight by about ten percent with the desending reps. Example: 5 Reps @250, 4 reps @ 270, 3 reps @ 290 etc. On light days, use approximately 75% of weight used o heavy days.
• Do dumbell or kettlebell snatches once per week; run or bike once per week. Even though the kettlebell snatch is one of the events, I’ll only perform this once per week, along with a running session. Do to the possibility of attending SFAS soon, I’ll need to keep my cardio up, and running is an impotant part of that. Much of running is proper gate, which means yo must train your nervous system to run. It’s more than just keeing your VO2 max high. When doing the santches, I’ll use a 60 lb dumbell, slightly heavier than the 55 lb kettlebell used in the event. For reps, I’ll do 20, 15, 10, 5, per hand, switching hands after each set and trying to complete the whole thing as quickly as possible. I may add in some bodyweight jump squats.
• Synaptic facilitation on pullups.  Train often, without burning out.
• Additional work.  Hanging leg raises as a core exercise and to decompress the spine after deadlifting. I’ll add in situps and some pushups or benchpress. Both are important by Army standards and strong abs correlate with lower injury risk:

Abs protect you. A U.S. Army study linked powerful abdominal muscles to injury prevention. After giving 120 artillery soldiers the standard army fitness test of situps, pushups, and a 2-mile run, researchers tracked their lower-body injuries (such as lower-back pain and Achilles tendonitis) during a year of field training. The subjects who cranked out the most situps (73 in 2 minutes) were five times less likely to suffer lower-body injuries than those who barely notched 50. But that’s not all. Those who performed well in the pushups and 2-mile run enjoyed no such protection–suggesting that upper-body strength and cardiovascular endurance had little effect on injury prevention. It was abdominal strength that did it.~The Abs Diet, Chapter 1.

Most importantly, I’ll avoid overtraining, laying off when the symptoms begin to occur.

Also, I’ll have to up my calorie count, to keep my strength up.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Just a quick post. I played COD 2 yesterday. I never really played the first one, being occupied with Rainbow Vegas and GRAW.

All I can say is that COD 2 has to be one of the most over-hyped games in history. All battles are merely mayhem; few tactics required. Weapons choice makes little difference; just take the gun that carries the most ammo, as most fights take place within 20 yards of you.

Storyline is pretty good, with some surpises, but COD 2 is made for 12 year olds who hate thinking. Or adults that hate thinking.

I’ll take Operation Falshpoint: Dragon Rising, anytime over this, even with the glitches.