Guset speaker to be announced.

For those of you who referenced this post, I wrote too hastily. The previously mentioned celebrity will not be coming to Reno. News of other speakers will be posted as the information becomes available to me.

100 pushups?

I'm taking the challenge. Check out this web site. My base pushup, doing good quality, full range-of-motion exercise, is only 10. I just started week 1, day 1 yeseterday. My wife is doing 'girl' pushups, my daughter the 'regular' kind. Join me and see how far you can go. If you can't even do one, then start with pushups from your knees instead of toes. Let me know how you do.

Secrets revealed!

The 'Ten Secrets' by Heiden and Testa aren't really secrets. They are common sense backed by research data. The first 188 pages address How and Why of better shape, goals, foundation, strength, food & fluids, progress, rest, motion & gear, cross training and motivation. Some chapters are rather vague, others quite specific. The vague components are presented in great detail in the second part of the book, the Program. This provides specifics for cardiovascular fitness, flexibility, muscular strength, balance & coordination, six & twelve week checkups and the art of adjustments. I urge you to read the whole book and follow the recommendations. Don't pick and choose what you like and don't like. If you do that, you're tossing aside the scientific data that supports the effectiveness of the program. Why did you buy the book then? I'm following the cardiovascular fitness program because what I was doing the past 2 years has led to me being slower on my bicycle. But as much as I don't like to deliberately take a day off, or limit the duration or intensity of my workouts, I'm doing it anyway because what I was doing before wasn't working. i'm almost finished with week 3. I'll post progress when test time comes.

Food groups!

Since my last blog regarding meat I've discussed this topic with dozens of people who are challenged with the concept of plant versus animal food sources. I would guess they haven't read the previous post. So here is a simple test to sort which foods are vegetarian and which foods are not vegetarian.
.....pasta.....pasta primavera.....chicken primavera.....pepperoni pizza.....green beans.....eggplpant parmisan.....tuna casserole.....fish tacos.....quinoa + black bean salad.....pretzels.....beer.....pickled beets.....pickled eggs.....pickled pig's feet.....spinach salad.....barbequed corn on the cob.....roasted garlic.....roasted pork....barbequed hot dogs.... if you're not sure about the answers, e-mail me.

Not much blogging going on

Some great mountain bike rides in and around Humboldt county- Raspberry Creek and Bloody Shin trails in November.
I'm reading the book "Faster, Better, Stronger: 10 Proven Secrets to a Healthier Body in 12 Weeks". I will blog the key points and other interesting tidbits. I also plan to have some meetings/classes to discuss details for people interested in fitness. If you have read this please let me know what you think.
The other book on its way from Amazon is "Transformation in Christ: On the Christian Attitude". Anyone interested in discussing please contact me.

Bicycle adventures

5 years ago I was 25# heavier and gasping for air on a 2 mile bike ride. Last weekend I rode a metric century supported ride at the Fallon No-Hills Hundred. Including the ride to and from the start line I logged 75 miles in 5 hours. Yes, I hurt the day after. Yes, I will do it again, only faster. You, too, are not too old to get thinner and faster.

Do kidneys get better with age?

The most common way to assess kidney health is with a blood test called creatinine. This test is used in a calculation for glomerular filtration rate (GFR), the amount of fluid filtered by the kidney in one minute. In addition to the creatinine blood test the person's age, gender and race have big impact on the overall calculation. As you might expect, as you get older the kidney function slows down even if the blood test is stable.
When I was 20 years old my GFR was 74 ml/min. This is fairly low for that age. My doctor said it was due to my diabetes and high blood pressure. At age 45 my GFR was down to 54 ml/min. My blood test was unchanged over the years. I had been on a wide variety of blood pressure pills and very diligent controlling my diabetes yet the kidney funtion did not improve.
After carefully analysing all my food, beverages, medicines and exercise I concluded that I might be eating too much protein. A high protein diet has been the cornerstone of diabetes nutritional therapy for decades and I had been carefully following it. So I cut my animal protein in half- less milk, less cheese, less beef, pork and poultry, less fish. I ate more carbohydrates and I did not gain any weight. I ate more carbohydrates yet I did not need more insulin and my average blood sugar did not go up. I ate less protein and my GFR improved by 40%. I 'found' a treatment for my kidney disease that cost no money and had no side effects. It will not be recalled by the FDA, will not react with any other medications and I will never develop an allergy to it. I hope you can find better health through better nutrition as I did.