ThinkBlog

For information on creatine, check the creatine FAQ. It’s not a prohormone and it’s not a steroid. I’ve been learning more about it as I work at the Vitamin Shoppe and the more I think it’s a great thing. Check it out; and also if you have time, check out the Men’s Health Forums in regard to the latest creatine research.

I had a sweet little old lady come into the Vitamin Shoppe this morning who was asking me about CoQ10 and other supplements.  After I gave her the spiel on all the supplements, she asked me sweetly if I would help her test them.

I thought that she was implying the question of whether I would be willing to keep track of what she told me worked for her and what did not.  It’s not in the job description, but hey, if I suffer from memory loss when I’m her age I would hope that some kind young lady working at my favorite supplement shop would do the same for me, right?  So I agreed.

But when I did so, she immediately grasped the bottle of Co-Q10 to her sternum with her left hand and stiffly held out her right arm, fist clenched.  Then she closed her eyes.  I was dumbfounded.  Peeking out of her right eye when I didn’t respond in the slightest, she said, “Um?  Push my arm down.”  Like it was the most natural thing to say at such a time as this.  I asked her what she meant, and she just repeated herself; so, not wanting to abuse this fragile woman, I used the two first fingers on my right hand and  gingerly pushed down on her wrist, whereupon her arm didn’t move.  She then corrected me, “No, push it down—hard!”

What?

So I did, right?  It was difficult to press down her arm, but she eventually let it fall, then proceeded to test another package of Co-Q10, this time by taking the blister pack out of the box and clutching it to her bosom again.  We repeated the procedure.

She explained to me afterward that if the medicine would work for her, I wouldn’t be able to easily push the arm down; but if not, her arm would fall immediately.

What—?

When I had rung her up, she proceeded to give me a tract about God’s Simple Plan of Salvation from so-and-so Baptist church.  I do not hesitate to point out that this is nowhere in Christendom, especially not in Baptist churches; it struck me as peculiar precisely because this seemed more similar to something like a Wiccan superstition, in which the magnetic energies would react in our bodies to those in the supplements or some such thing.

When I later asked my manager about it, he said that there were at least one or two people who had a similar superstition who came in every other day or so.  Some of them did the arm thing, but most of them would only close their eyes and hold the supplement to their bosom to see if they fell backwards; if so, it would not work for them, but if they held their ground, it would work.

I have not been able to find anything on this via Google, mostly because I don’t know what to Google for.  Queries such as “ridiculous superstitions” and “superstition medicine hold to chest” and such don’t seem to produce much of anything.  So my question to you is, have you ever heard of this?  And, if so, would you be so kind as to explain its origins?

Technorati Tags: supplementation, superstition

I had a young lady come into the Vitamin Shoppe (my “day job”) the other day asking after some multivitamins “that don’t stink.” I asked her what she meant, specifically, and pointed out several different kinds of multis that we carry—she wrinkled her nose at each of them and said “That! That’s what I’m talkin’ ’bout. They stink!” My coworker then asked incredulously, “But ma’am, shouldn’t you take the vitamins even if they smell a little bit like vitamins, if it’ll help you feel better?” She replied in the negative as though the answer were as obvious as her standing before us.

I tried giving her the benefit of the doubt: I figured, well, maybe she just doesn’t understand the foundations of our objection to her objection, right? So I tell her plainly, “But ma’am, aesthetic considerations should never come before your own good health.” Surely that’s something to which we can all agree.

She cocked her eyebrow at me with all the seriousness and candor as if I had suggested to her she dumpster-dive for a seven-course meal. “Sure they should!”

I admit, I was flabbergasted. I don’t even use that word, let alone exemplify it, but maybe once or twice a year! Later, when I had time to laugh it off outside of her presence, I realized that I was genuinely curious to hear her justification of that. It’s a matter of course to hear someone justify doing something that feels good in the physical realm while being detrimental to one’s mental or spiritual faculties (e.g., smoking pot, overeating, fornicating, &c.)—but to hear that matters of taste (primarily a physiopsychological and highly subjective value judgment that may or may not affect anything but whether people laugh at you for wearing a black belt with brown shoes) win out over matters of one’s own good health (also physiopsychological, and arguably foundational to other kinds of well-being and societal usefulness) was just a little too much.

Isn’t this one reason why Europeans hate Americans? That our selfish, fat, concupiscently inclined bodies rule where better judgment ought, even in matters as simple as taking care of ourselves on a basic level?

It’s an old myth that you have to get fat and bulky in order to gain mass when weightlifting, even if you’re a hardgainer (if you “can eat six burritos a week and still lose a pound lol” like a guy in a recent Digg comment, you’re probably a hardgainer). I’ve found several resources for working out all based on BodyBuilding.com to help gain mass, and I thought I’d share them here, even though it seems to be somewhat offtopic for ThinkBlog (it’s not!—thinkers have to take care of their bodies in order to, well, think!).

First off, “Gain 10 Pounds in 30 Days.” Now, realistically, that’s going to be a lot of water and probably fat as well, but much lean muscle mass too—but you have to follow the instructions to the letter every day, and this strikes me as something that one would do if s/he had absolutely nothing else to do: no job to work around, no school, nothing.

“A Simplified Anabolic* Burst Mass Gaining Program” is the one I’m following presently. It’ll help you gain about two pounds of lean mass in a month without any creatine** loading, which is more significant than it sounds (especially in light of the previous article). You have to be prepared to work out five or six days a week, though, and to feel utterly destroyed physically. You really feel like you’ve earned the rest, I’ll certainly give it that. No more complaining about the simple stuff! Comes with printable training logs per day. From the article (emphasis mine):

Typically, many male bodybuilders adhere to the old school “bulk up and train down” philosophy when trying to add mass. Unfortunately, this results in a gain of a significant amount of unwanted fat which only makes it harder to maintain the lean mass when dieting down because there is so much fat to lose.

Here is a simplified, general program designed to help increase lean mass and strength, while minimizing any gains of fat. I have tested it on myself and others, and it works remarkably well and actually fits in quite well with a social life as an added bonus.

Advanced: “Hardcore 6-Day Training for Mass.” You’re considered a beginner in weightlifting till you’ve been doing it at least a year; I’m going to give the prior program at least six months before attempting this, but if you want to shatter yourself to rebuild even stronger, this would be the ticket. It’s a three-day split that targets specific muscle groups twice a week (the optimal rate so as not to overtrain). If you go this route, though, be sure to take extra supplementation to support growth—otherwise when your body is fatigued it will eat its own muscle for nutrients! (See “catabolism” below.)

Finally, how to stretch and flex for optimal growth. The human body is designed to be able to be exceedingly flexible and mobile even with enormous mass; but most weight lifters dismiss stretching as some Yoga-esque nonsense for women (or just as enormously inconvenient or whatever). This is a definitive, quick guide to stretching everything from your neck to your abs and then some. I’ve seen guys with twenty-four inch guns more flexible in the arms than I am just because I’m bad about neglecting this very thing.

* “Anabolic” comes from “anabolism,” the state of the body when it is in rebuilding-mode. When your body is efficiently converting amino acids—the building blocks of protein—into lean muscle mass, your body has entered an “anabolic” stage; if you aren’t getting enough food or are nutrient-deficient or just haven’t used your muscles lately, your body is entering “catabolism,” which is simply the opposite—your muscles are being broken down for essential energy components so basic body functions can still take place. You can be in a catabolic state even if you’re eating a lot: for instance, so much of a large French fry order is unusable by the body except as fat storage, it does nothing to replenish your vitamins and minerals.

** Creatine has taken the bodybuilding and muscle-training world by storm since 1992. It is naturally produced by the body, but your body can benefit enormously from creatine. Traditionally sold in monohydrate form, this kind of creatine needs insulin to “turn” the molecule in a sense so it can enter cells; lately “ester” forms have been researched and refined that do not require insulin. This is vastly advantageous, since creatine monohydrate is often mixed in powdered supplements with a very great deal of sugar so as to spike the body’s insulin production—but with an average of around 75g of sugars per dose, monohydrate mixes of creatine are a diabetic cocktail to all but the extremely disciplined lifter. I personally recommend BSN Cellmass and N.O.-Xplode for creatine ester supplementation (0g sugar, but beware the aspartame if you’re phenylketoneuric or react with agitation from this chemical sweetener!).

This post dedicated to CAC: training partner, friend.

It has struck me as incredible that I’ve caught onto sales at my new job—a vitamin, supplement, and sport nutrition store—lately. Like, I believe that it’s important to be very healthy, and I truly believe from my own personal studies that X supplements can help support Y and Z conditions.

And it’s struck me how stagnant I’ve been in my walk with Christ lately. Sharing one’s faith is a natural outworking of belief; but this isn’t just some mystical concept. There’s proof in any person who is genuinely selling you something because they believe in it, because it’s worked for them. I can tell you that 4 000+ GDUs daily of bromelain, an enzyme from pineapple, combined with a few drops of sublingual oregano oil and some echinacea/goldenseal combo have helped my sinus inflammation immensely; can I not also tell you the wonders Christ has accomplished in my life? I should be able to; and now begin once again.

It’s been a long time. Here’s to new beginnings and fresh starts that aren’t mere words.

More and more obese people are unable to get full medical care because they are either too big to fit into scanners, or their fat is too dense for X-rays or sound waves to penetrate, radiologists reported on Tuesday.

That’s hilarious because it seems absurd; and grotesque because it’s true.

read more | digg story

If you could forget painful memories with a pill, would you do it? Canadian researchers may have struck gold in a drug that is designed to blank patients’ painful memories. It could be exceedingly beneficial for PTSD, but would it stop there or would it turn into a Ritalin: Part II, where everyone has “some” symptoms that need to be “controlled” medically? This is a subject near and dear to my heart; I’ll be revisiting this next week. But for now, read the article; and note what one reader insightfully said:

Jan Johnstone from Kincardine, Canada writes: It is a huge ethical dilemma. Once the drug companies get a hold of it, it becomes marketed as a fix for everything. I remember reading advertisements in People Magazine for a popular antidepressant. Part of the script was aimed at getting rid of those pesky sad feelings of grief. Don’t feel blue, ask your doctor for this. But feeling grief and sorrow is a good thing, unless we all believe that certain emotions and states of being are more desirable. Dito for this drug. Our memories, no matter how painful, are important. This drug if marketed should be limited. I could see uses for it but it should not be the pancea for all bad memories. I think there could be uses for it, especially around people who have bad memories around torture.

Technorati Tags: medicine, memory, ethics, propranolol, anxiety

What file extension are you? That’s a clever idea for a quiz; everyone loves the “what celebrity are you” and whatnot. I’m an INF, and you can see all possible results here.

Eat This, Not That at a Summer Picnic. Links directly to the “Printable” version, a great little list of things to eat and not to eat. Who knew potato salad was such a foul offender? (BTW—notice the fine print, amusingly enough, which points to Women’s Health as the source of the article. They can do that because they’re owned by the same company, but I wonder how many catch it.)

10GB of gorgeous wallpapers. This is page 78 of I-don’t-even-know-how-many. I’ve been using 005 as my background for months now; YMMV. Enjoy all these gorgeous shots.

Don’t watch this or this if you’re easily offended or have a weak stomach.

Ellen Feiss, of Mac: Switch ad campaigns, is in a French film. No, it’s not just you. She’s cute, end of story.

Why Geeks/Nerds make the best boyfriends. What, didn’t you know?

Soaked your cellphone? Throw it into the oven for five hours on 125°.

Educate yourself about illegal drugs; make sure you retain this knowledge by not doing them. Actually, the Lycaeum.org is better for this sort of thing.

Daily Show commentary on MySpace courtesy of Demetri Martin. Look his stand-up comedy up on YouTube.

PhoneTrick.com? Plug in your info, real or not, and call your friends. Or enemies, you know. (Also a good way to find your phone if it’s gone missing somewhere in your car or apartment!)

The Restaurant Selector! Fairly excited about this site because it actually has listings for Columbia, SC. If it has listings for one of the least-esteemed states in the union, it just might have listings for your city. Check it out; ratings and descriptions along with addresses for all.

That’s all for now; enjoy!

Abs Diet Recipes

“Abs are made in the kitchen.” Setting aside any goals to get below 10% body fat (needed for “cover-model abs” or whatever kind of nonsense have you), you can still benefit from these recipes.

I love to cook. I love to cook for other people. But I rarely make the time to for myself. Also, some people are under the mistaken impression that you need sixty-plus grams of sugar in a smoothie for it to be “good.” No, you need a teaspoon of honey, a handful of ice cubes, just under a cup of oatmeal, and some fresh fruit! Anyway. Take from this what you can. You can impress your friends, your spouse, or just yourself—without guilt.

Unlike most Men’s Health workouts (I know, I know, you’d think I worked for them or something), the latest issue has an insert that is a muscle-shredding metabolism-booster that doesn’t take two of every esoteric gym machine you’ve never seen or heard of in order to perform.

Check out “A Sixpack by Summer“. A friend of mine and I have been doing this for just under a couple of weeks now, and it’s really helping. Be forewarned, you’re going to feel destroyed the first couple of times, but that fresh tingle lets you know it’s working! ::insert too-perfect grin here:: If you have a chinup bar and a medicine ball along with a few freeweights at your house, you can do most of it at home, if you can’t make it to the gym; and though the first iteration WILL take you about an hour, they claim it’s a 24-minute work out—and by the time you’re down to the second week, it will be.

And remember, hydrate.

This is a story at Reader’s Digest about a woman who was struck by lightning who claims that her computer slows down when she uses it, she gets pulsating shocks when touching people, and the television remote control changes channels at her touch without her having to depress any buttons.

Other accounts in the comments on Digg.com suggest that this is not a unique case.

Can anyone corroborate this with their own experiences? I’m very curious but remain skeptical, especially in light of the lack of scientific research on the subject. Nevertheless, it admittedly seems plausible: our bodies are bundles of conductive liquids and minerals, chemical neurotransmitters and electrical impulses. Our musculature and brain activity is all based around controlled electro-chemical reactions. For this reason, it seems plausible that someone who has been struck by lightning would be able to damage watches and drain batteries of watches that are metal-backed; but some have suggested brain damage due to the lightning-hit. What do you think?

read more | digg story

Body Tracker - Online Body Fat Percentage Calculator

It’s a helpful reference if you’re trying to get into shape. Just a tenth of a percentage difference can be encouraging if you don’t have a scale at your house. Don’t take your measurements more than once a month, though; since fluctuations can occur even on a progressive downward slope, and because it will take you a while to see any results at all.

Went for a little jog around Columbia tonight, like I have been for a few weeks. Yesterday, I began a Men’s Health workout that’s supposed to up your metabolism and shred fat off your body, &c., &c. Well, fine, it works wonders; but I still hurt—badly—in places I thought were unsusceptible to that level of pain. As a n00b, you can expect to be sore; well, God bless MH, they shattered my hubristic illusions of average health! As I left the gym, I thought I heard the MH editors whisper, “pwnd!”

Anyway, tonight was particularly active. Running up the initial hill from Pickens to Assembly on Blossom, I was honked and hooted at by some drunk college kids in a black sedan who thought it would be cute to scare the living daylights out of a pedestrian. Normally, I’m braced for that sort of thing, because as I’ve learned, Columbia has more than its share of assh—er, jerks who love to pick on runners; but tonight, I was too focused on proper form in light of my tender back and hamstrings from the day before. It took me another mile and a half to stop fantasizing about what I’d like to do to everyone in that vehicle, up to and including things only fit for the likes of Sin City, and so forth.

Main Street was an absolute mess tonight. The drug dealer on the bike pedaling southbound toward the statehouse flipped the bill of his cap around so I couldn’t see his face; a few blocks up, no fewer than four cop cars were lined up and a group of ladies and gentlemen were variously handcuffed and/or pacing along the sidewalk (on the opposite side). As I rounded the bend at Elmwood, more cop cars were on the way, flashing lights and all.

Even the homeless guys were all up and at ‘em. Usually there’s a guy that sleeps nights, feet-outward, in a little store-nook on Main; he wasn’t there. The gentlemen at the bus stop at Taylor and Assembly on the way back were chatting up such a storm with one another that my half-breathed salutation went completely unnoticed, and another couple of guys with bags actually returned my “Hey, howyadoin’” with a hearty “Mhmm, all right.”

So how is it that a lanky white boy wearing no shirt, grey knit shorts, some old running kicks, and a beat-up near-dead Timex watch can run through the city at three and four (… and five) in the morning without getting accosted or shot? I think they think I’m nuts. Really. There’s just that little something that goes off in your brain that’s like, “Ok, white dude running downtown in the wee hours; not normal; stay away.” Can’t say I blame them. But they’re nice to me, for all that. Homeless dudes during the day or even early night, especially in Five Points, will solicit you for all you’re worth and then some, and try to lay a guilt trip on you for not handing them your wallet, shirt, and keys with a blessing. At the really late night, though, there’s a genuineness to the interaction: I’m obviously crazy and not carrying any money at all; most probably don’t even see the keyring I keep in one hand. The smiles and greetings that pass between us are mutually suspicious but also mutually honest: I want nothing from you, these salutations say, and though I’m naturally wary at present, I trust you enough to look you in the eye and greet you. It’s a unique experience.

So if you ever get the chance, run through the urban (uhm, well-lit would be the disclaimer here) part of your city in the dead of night. You can talk to God, yourself, and whomever else happens to show up along the way without flaming beams of sunlight ripping your energy from you, and without having to dodge too many cars (obnoxiously intoxicated kids aside).

Whether you’re training, working out, Being Well, or just waking up, this handy little list will help you improve your life without taking obnoxious supplements or suggesting you start a running regimen. (Leave those last two to me. )

read more | digg story

It’s a processed sugar that your body can use less readily than real sugar, and is completely unnecessary to your diet. Stay away from HFCS if at all possible (hint: it’s possible). Editor of Men’s Health has an article (actually, an editorial, go figure) in the June edition about a “sin tax” on fattening/sugary stuff like on cigarettes. I don’t know if that’s the answer, but the trick is, it’ll probably cost five cents more, but go for the healthier stuff. You’ll feel so much better if you’re not sipping corn syrup nast via a delivery system (carbonation) that stays in your musculature for up to thirty hours afterward (cramps!).