2012 Review -> 2013 Preview

What a year - lots of highs, and a few lows. I wanted to recap a bit and set the stage for 2013 - a year I am very excited for and have complete faith will be great. It won't be my best, but rather the beginning a consistent pattern of successive bests.

2012 included me hitting several fitness goals and milestones. I achieved and then blew through my body fat percentage goal of 10%, getting down to sub-7% (if only for a few days). I went from not running to running 4+ miles in a single go and loving it the whole time (or at least overall). I also started newbodi.es, and have been really fortune to help others while also growing tremendously through the work I've done on myself. I also had ab muscle definition for the first time ever. Lastly, while it may sound like a negative, I had double hernia surgery. The positive in that is in how I did afterward. The fitness level I had when going into the surgery, and the way I approached my recovery lead to a fast recovery and great health overall.

Fantastic all around.

On the opposite side of the equation, I really only have one thing I'm unhappy about. No, it's not scrubbing my first official race due to back pain. No, it's not my hernia surgery. It's not the minimal sleep I got most nights. It's really just the tear in my left lateral meniscus that I had operated on at the end of December. I'm just over a week post-op right now, and am generally doing ok, but am anxious to be doing amazingly well.  I'm anxious to get back into cardio the way I was in September when my knee became an issue. I haven't gone without good, intense cardio work in a very long time, and I feel out of sorts or at least not myself. I've done ok, and have generally stuck to my weight target (still between 175 and 180 on any given day), but my body fat has crept back into the low teens. With that, the stage is set for 2013.

I had a goal after getting back into running post-hernia surgery. I wanted to do five 5K races by the following summer. I would have done that easily if not for my knee injury. I didn't let failing on that goal get me down, and I won't set that as my goal for the coming year. No. Instead, my goal will be to return to the fitness level mentally and physically that I had going into my hernia surgery. That means:

• Stay <180 lbs="lbs" li="li" weight="weight">
• Return to <10 body="body" fat="fat" li="li">
• Regain Definition in my ab muscles
• Read every book I bought in 2012 but haven't started

Beyond that, I'm not going to sweat it. How I get there isn't a concern. I have a year, and I need to remember that. I don't need to push myself on getting back into cardio too fast and prolong my knee recovery (or risk re-injury). I don't need to starve myself. I need instead to build a healthy, active life that yields a strong level of fitness and health that inspires my wife, son and those around me to do the same for themselves.

The last one is really crucial, actually. All the books I bought in 2012 are inspirational books. Some are self-help-y (like "The Happiness Advantage" by Shawn Achor, and some are stories of personal journeys (like the three Dean Karnazes books I have), but all are valuable to achieve my goals.

What are your goals for 2013, and how has the past year impacted those goals? How will you enlighten.your.body.

Infect Others with Positivity

Recently, while waiting at a doctor's appointment, I talked with another patient.  She inquired about the newbodi.es logo I had on my shirt and iPad (I was reading The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor). She shared that was is a personal trainer, so we talked about what we do to help people with fitness. It was interesting for me as I've been thinking about getting certified by NASM, which she's done.  I think it was interesting for her as I take a very different approach, with my work really focusing on the mental side of it rather than giving people specific exercises (I can do that, but it's not really the driving force behind my coaching).

She gave me the rundown of how she got into it, and the experience she's had working for various gyms. The overall tone was negative and unhappy, with things she doesn't like about each gym. We then talked about her fitness objectives, and the conversation focused mainly on the barriers she faces and why it's so hard or impossible to do XYZ. For example, we talked about running, and the discussion moved immediately to why she can't run more than 3 miles.

I'm not trying to be critical of her or our conversation. What I'm trying to do is point out how the general view of things can be a trap. It's not simple irony that I was reading The Happiness Advantage when we started speaking as the teachings in the book are exactly what's in play for her. The chapter I was reading was about how our emotional state is contagious - when we're happy, we 'infect' others with happiness; when we're unhappy or negative, it causes the same in others. Acutely aware of this, I took a very positive tone, and tried to be inspirational. I ensured I didn't end up 'catching' her negative approach, but wanted to give her a case of the 'see possibilities and reach for them' that I am infected with.

For example, when telling me the reasons she can't run more than 3 miles, I offered the idea of running two shorter runs in the same day.  Book end your day with 20 minute runs (that should get you 2 to 2.5 miles) so you avoid the issues she was raising while getting a good bit of training done and enjoying yourself. I could see the wheels turning as to why that wasn't going to work, and then she said, "Well, but I want to run longer, so that isn't going to help." True, but it will condition your muscles for the longer run, and perhaps change your other issues in the process.  You're essentially training around them.

It boils down to the analogy I often give people when discussing The Happiness Advantage. If you walk up to a wall, you see a barrier - something that's in the way of progress. It could be illness, a bad boss, financial trouble, whatever. The book wouldn't suggest that there's no wall. The reality is that the wall exists. That's not the problem. The problem is whether you just sit there, staring at it dead on, focusing solely on the existence of the wall. If you could break your fixation and look around, you'd notice the door over to the side. You just have to be willing to look at it. The door could be budgeting better, sitting down with your boss with some key points jotted down around how you feel you'd perform better with different support from him or her, or a new treatment plan for your illness that you have hope will really help.

Our conversation was all wall, so to speak.  Every time I tried to suggest a slight turning of the head, she'd remind me that there's this big freaking wall there. The funny thing is that I was sitting there, not even a week out of knee surgery - my 14th operation, mind you - and saw all kinds of possibilities around fitness and overcoming physical constraints. Every time I've gotten cooking with my own fitness, something goes haywire and I end up in an operating room. I've chosen not to let that be my reality or a forgone conclusion. She can, too.

There's a great story that Achor shares, and is pretty famous. No one had been able to break 4 minutes in the mile, and it was a medically accepted fact that it was physically impossible to break it. People got close to 4 minutes, but just couldn't break through. Of course not, it wasn't physically possible, as all the experts reminded them. One man wouldn't believe that. In 1954, Roger Bannister of the UK broke 4 minutes, and set a world record (and he didn't even train too intensely as he was studying to be a doctor a the time...and became a well-regarded neurologist, so he better believe that studying was intense and time-consuming). Where the story really gets interesting is that his record only stood for 46 days until Australian John Landy broke it by nearly 1.5 seconds (that's a huge margin, actually). Bannister showed the world that this immovable wall of 4 minutes actually had a huge door you could run right through. People starting breaking 4 minutes regularly (18 more times, actually), setting successively faster records. The current record was set in 1999, and stands at 3:43.13 (great table of the records on Wikipedia). Once people realized it wasn't impossible, the flood gates opened.

How we look at situations dictates how we feel.  While how we feel dictates how we act, it also impacts all those around us - for better or worse. I fought the negativity in the conversation with positivity and inspiration - both to benefit her and to protect myself from getting a case of the negatives. I think I showed her the light, but she will have to embrace it herself.

How did you impact someone's mindset today? How did you enlighten.your.body?

Make a Resolution to Act, Not Just Talk

Every new year, millions of resolutions are made, and within a couple of days, they're either broken or forgotten. Why is this? Do people not want to make good on their resolution? Do they not want to improve their situation? That's not it. They do want these things. The problem lies in the path to improvement.

Resolutions are words. People think by making them, that's all they really need to do to turn things around. Just say, "I will eat better." Poof, you'll never crave the wrong foods or eat unhealthily again. See, the trick is, you actually have to make the right choices to back up your words to make it so. Same goes for the all-too-common and all-too-often-broken "I will work out regularly this year" resolution.

We seem to think that saying something is enough - as if it's the entirety of action needed to succeed. In fact, this is a really crucial piece of the puzzle, but we do it wrong, and we don't recognize what other pieces of the puzzle we need to look at along with this one.

We often make resolutions privately - not even telling our friends, significant others or family. That means no one else expects anything of us. We have no social pressure in place to help push us. This is one of my 10 Principles - Go Public (it's #2, actually, so it's super important!). Telling others about your goal puts some pressure on you to deliver it. That pressure helps keep you honest about keeping up with it as few people want to be judged, and no one wants to be judged a failure. The louder you are about your resolution, the better. Tell people, post it on social media sites, put it on paper and tape it to your fridge/cubicle/face...ok, don't tape it to your face, but the more places and ways you put it out there, the better.  There are also sites that let you put money on it - who wants to be judged a failure and have to pay out of pocket for it?

Next, you need to see these words as a first step, not the only step. Whether you go public or not, you need to use the words as the catalyst to build an action plan. If you're going to work out more, how will you do it? What changes to your schedule will you make so you can work out? Who in your life do you need to support this activity so they can help you make it happen (e.g. flexibility in your work schedule, splitting or adjusting child care responsibilities with your partner so you can get a run in each morning, etc). Get creative on the action plan - so many people join a gym and stop going. Maybe the gym isn't your thing. Is there a workout DVD you can buy to use at home? Do you enjoy the outdoors more and would benefit from biking, running, jogging, etc outside (bonus - many of these are free or near free, which lowers the barrier to getting into it).

Once you have a plan of attack, you need to build reinforcing measures of success into the mix. How do you know if you're succeeding without a benchmark and way to check progress against that benchmark? So, figure out what the overall goal is as your first step. If that's really big or profound, what interim goals can you set so you aren't demotivated by the size of the overall goal? For example, if your goal is to lose 30 lbs, take it month by month, and aim for 3 lbs per month - much less scary to many people.

And once your goal is set, you need to know how to measure it and start doing just that. My first principle is "Track It". Get a spreadsheet, piece of paper, our ad-free trackbodi.es or ad-supported trackbodi.es free iOS apps. You can't know you're hitting your goals if you're not measuring against them, so track 'em, and get there. And don't be afraid of failure, but don't let yourself off the hook if you do fail to meet your daily goal (e.g. get to the gym today, do 30 minutes of cardio today). One thing I insisted on as a feature of trackbodi.es is for the app to color-code your performance against your goals, including a strong red color when you don't hit your goals.

This gets at the idea of 'gamification' - a fun way to play with your goals and tracking of them. It's something I'm a huge fan of. It's all about using metrics and performance as a real-world game. The rewards and competition of it become self-supporting, and will help drive you to do better. This is the concept behind Nike+. You can read my review of the Nike+ FuelBand and Nike+ GPS Sportwatch, which both live and breath gamification. (By the way, if you're on Nike+, friend me up! Same goes if you use dailymile.com.)

So, don't just say "I'm gonna do better next year." Actually do better. Actually enlighten.your.body.

Only You Know Your Body

As I recover from yet another surgery (my 14th, unless I'm forgetting one), I had another reinforcing lesson that I felt was important to share with all of you.  Doctors are fantastic, amazing people.  My father is one, and I have an incredible amount of respect for and trust in him and his peers. That said, they aren't perfect, and they don't know everything. The human body is incredibly complex, and each one of us is truly unique, so things may work differently or impact us differently. The moral of this story - you need to be an active part of your care and the choices made around your care. When you feel something is heading in the wrong direction, you need to voice your concern. When you raise a concern and feel you aren't being heard, don't hesitate to walk away.

I'm now past the 24 hour mark after my second knee-surgery (another arthroscopy, but this was just a cleanup vs a repair done 5 years ago on a different ligament). So far, the post-op experience is truly night and day from last time in a good way. Last time started with me being incredibly nauseous in recovery, and then more so on the ride home thanks to the nurses insisting that I needed to pop a Percocet.

That knee surgery was the first in a series of surgeries, and the beginning of me being more active in my pain management choices thanks to the learning I was doing about my body with all the experience I was getting as a patient. That first knee surgery was followed two years later by back surgery (minor - a microdiscectomy at L5/S1 to resolve major sciatica in my left leg that left me numb from the calf down, and feeling like my leg was being cut open from the calf up). The surgery went fine, but I was very nauseous afterward, both in recovery and at home. While I was smart enough to refuse the Percocet or Vicodin they offered me in recovery, they gave me an anti-nausea drug (anti-emetics, as the class is called). This was in addition to the one they typically give during general anesthesia. Not fun puking when your back was just operated on.

Two years after that (this past summer), I had my double hernia surgery. It was a different experience. This was by far the biggest surgery I have had. My others were done via microsurgery with scopes and small incisions and tools. This was a full, open procedure, and lasted 3 hours.  My abs were being cut, and a prosthetic mesh was being sewn in to reinforce my muscles once the tears were stitched up. Granted, going in, I was in the best shape I've ever been in, but the real benefit came from my knowledge of what I do well with - and what I don't. I was lucky to have a very good bedside-mannered anesthesiologist who really listened to me. I told her I get nauseous from anti-emetics and from many pain meds. While people around her were skeptical ("No, you don't understand, they keep you from feeling sick," was the chorus around me), she believed me.  I told her specifically about my recovery-room experience after my back surgery where the only variable was the anti-emetic the nurse put in my IV.  Within about 15 minutes, I was throwing up.  So, she believed me.  She removed them from her plan.  I woke up from the surgery with a clear head (ok, after about 10-15 minutes of grogginess), and was smiling and lucid quickly, and ready to go home faster than expected.  My recovery, while painful due to my abs being cut, was really far easier than expected.  At my two week post-op check up, my doctor felt I was about four weeks ahead of schedule for my recovery. I credit starting on the right foot as much as I do with my level of fitness going in.

Unfortunately, my left knee became a problem almost as soon as I got back into running.  By September, it was clear I'd need my knee scoped again, so the running stopped.  I tried to avoid surgery by taking it easy for a while, but the inevitable happened on December 21st (yes, I know, I scheduled it for the end of the world). While being prepped, I was visited by the anesthesiologist. He was nice at first, but his ego came out really fast. I told him that I did not want any anti-emetics as they made me sick. He sort of blew me off, and said, "Well, you need to be more specific. I use X, and it works really well, so we'll do that." I repeated myself, and said I've had a lot of surgery and know well what to do for the best outcome. I don't want any. He pushed back again, but only after rolling his eyes and looking annoyed.

I'd much rather he have a moment of being annoyed than me feel sick for a day while also dealing with surgical pain. That's what this is about - the ego bruising you may be afraid to do to a doctor is nothing compared to what you might go through if they don't listen to you. Do you owe them anything? Does your puking somehow boost their self-worth? No, of course not. Egotism and pompousness aren't good qualities, so they don't deserve to be repaid with your suffering. If you know better, do better (as Oprah says).

So I really pushed the anesthesiologist about what not to give me. Despite all his eye rolling, laughing at my comments and push back, I prevailed. He cut me off, threw his arms in the air, and said, "Fine! Fine!  I'll just X it all out, ok?" To him, it was about his expertise being challenged. To me, it was about quality of life. Which do you think is the nobler cause?

Let me put a little disclaimer on this post. This doctor was actually very good, and did a great job once we were on the same page. He didn't let my push back get in the way of his professionalism in the OR or the quality of care he gave. This post is not an attack on him at all, but the interchange we had serves as a great foundation for this blog post - one I've been thinking about for a while.

The funny thing is, as scientists, doctors should be curious and observe reactions to learn. Instead, some of them are too engrained in their knowledge and feel too high and mighty to hear the views of a common idiot like myself. Heaven forbid he learn something that makes him an even better doctor. Funny, it's the same issue we saw with the world being flat and when it was thought to be the center of the universe. Only idiots thought otherwise. Eventually, common belief was disproven, and only idiots thought otherwise. That's the thing with knowledge - it's always evolving and growing. Wouldn't it be better to evolve and grow with it?  Of course! Some people just care to be more engrained and stubborn in their egotism.

So, who was right? Well, I woke up feeling great. I went home within an hour of waking up. I've felt great since. Clear mind, very manageable pain. Heck, I'm not even using crutches. Now, I'm not saying I would be doing poorly if I was throwing up yesterday, but it certainly wouldn't have helped. It wouldn't have kept my mind clear and positive, and that is directly related to how well I recover. You need to start on the right foot if you want to get to the best outcome, and that only comes with the right choices along the way. I made sure the right choices were made for me.

Only you know your body. Don't let someone else's ego force you into a place you know you shouldn't be.  Doctors are amazing, but amazing isn't the same as omniscient or infallible.

No one else can enlighten.your.body.

Play The Beats That Move Your Feets

I have an old friend who is a DJ. A very good DJ. He's also hilarious, and rhymes a lot. He had a fun little slogan for his DJ business where he says, "I play the beats that get people out of their seats." I'm sure he isn't the first to ever say this, but it stuck with me. You all know what he means - there are songs that you can't help tapping a foot to, if not signing along with and dancing. You can use music's innate ability to get you moving even when you're not intending to move to amp up your workout performance (and enjoyment).

I have always used a workout mix when working out, and have generally tried to use up-tempo, powerful songs. But I was too lazy to make several workout mixes, so I'd use one for all types of cardio, weights, body weight exercises, etc. And the truth is, the right music for running isn't always the right music for pumping iron.

The reason is primarily about tempo. For running, you hear that the magic number is in the neighborhood of 180 beats per minute, or bpm (typically +/- 20bpm). For lifting, that will either likely be too fast, or you basically ignore the cadence the music is trying to move your body to. That's ok, but then you are breaking the natural connection your mind is making with that song, lessening its ability to almost instinctually move you better when you run/lift/jump/etc, and making those motions harder since your mind has to actively (even if subconsciously) tune out the tunes.

I found this first hand last summer. I was recovering from double hernia surgery, and was walking 30-60 minutes a day - usually outside in the gorgeous (though drought-like) weather we had. It was great. I rebuilt my workout mix with some great new songs I was into, and found they really fit my walking pace (between 12 and 15 minutes per mile). As my recovery progressed, I started to jog, and eventually got back to running at sub-7 minute mile paces (at least for my intervals). One of those newer songs came on during a fast interval. I remembered how it was perfect for a faster-paced walk. It had good base so you could really feel the beats and the pacing. It was catchy without being cheesy. The vocals were great. But I literally felt my body slowing and feeling encumbered when it came on during a run. It was like my feet each instantly weighed 20 lbs more. Ensuring it wasn't really a physical thing, I skipped the song, and a really good, running-paced song came on. It was like I had gotten a shot of energy instantly.

So I wanted to share a few songs that I have found to be really good for running, but there are lots of suggestions out on the web. Lots of them are really bad, actually. The reason - it goes to what the person likes as a good song, but they often lose sight of the appropriateness to running. So, think about what activity you will be engaging in when you pick a song, and try to picture your body moving in that activity. Will the song fit? Will it seem awkward? And if you aren't sure about the BPM, just Google the song name and "bpm", and you'll likely get your answer.  Aim for a minimum of about 160 if you're running, but feel free to go a little slower if you run a little slower.

Some great ones I happen to really like from three of my favorite artists are:

• White Rabbits, "Danny Come Inside" from Milk Famous
• White Rabbits, "The Day You Won the War" from Milk Famous
• Matisyahu, "Sunshine" from Spark Seeker
• Matisyahu, "Shine on You" from Spark Seeker
• Matisyahu, "Tel Avivin'" from Spark Seeker
• Coldplay, "Charlie Brown" from Mylo Xyloto
• Coldplay, "Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall" from Mylo Xyloto
• Coldplay, "Hurts Like Heaven" from Mylo Xyloto

You are probably asking, "Who are the White Rabbits?" They're literally the greatest band you've never heard of. Unreal talent, and incredible live (I was really lucky to have gotten to see them in concert once). Their latest album, Milk Famous, has a few good workout tracks, but the two above really stand out for running tempo-wise. One of the reasons they're good for workouts is that they have two drummers, so there's a really strong baseline to their music. It's great for reinforcing tempo.

Spark Seeker is generally an upbeat, positive album that works well for running, but has too many intros and outros that are slow and quiet, so if you want to use it, be sure to trim the tracks (in iTunes, you can get info on the track, go to the Options tab, and set the start and/or end time to avoid this stuff). Other Matisyahu tracks are also great for running, especially from the albums Youth and Light. He's worth checking out, and his message is very positive. I don't like running to negative stuff...sets the wrong mood.

I do like rap and hip-hop for workouts because the base is strong, consistent and can really pump you up. The attitude and message are often too tough or negative, so I tend to reserve it for things like lifting when I want to feel tough and hard rather than nimble and lithe. If you're interested, some good options are "When Will They Shoot" by Ice Cube from The Predator; "Do My" by Memphis Bleak from The Understanding; Juvenile's "Act You Know Me" from UTP: The Movement; and Lil' Wayne's "6 Foot 7 Foot" from The Carter IV, and Jay-Z's "Dirt Off Your Shoulders" from The Black Album.

Experiment with your favorite songs to see which ones seem to aide your body in moving toward its goals, and which ones you should relegate to casual listening and/or shower singing. Music is a fantastic way to enlighten.your.body