Sadly, our American killing field of Heart Disease is unlevel. Two statistical [2018] examples of canted cardio-deaths are:
Males suffer more heart diseases than females.
African Americans die from heart disease more frequently than Whites.
#OurHearts
As your Koach, I try to set an example of healthy heart living, with NO Smoking, exercise, clean eating, and de-stressing as much as humanly possible whatever life throws me. Recall from KABOOMER that Diets are a leading cause of death in America, Double Oy.
Both my Mom had Dad had congestive heart failures which accelerated their funerals. It is very likely that you too know someone near and dear whose heart health was sub-par.
Simple to say, yet regrettably hard to change our inherited or ingrained ways. Yet, yes we can as this dual NIH graphic suggests!
Heart Health is critical to your KABOOMER physical Banking for increased stamina and “stayin’ alive.”
Perhaps you, like I occasionally enjoy natural peanut (or another nut) butter on whole-grain bread. Satisfying macro-and micro-nutrients!
Let’s consider another and very important PB&J – that is Protecting your Bones and Joints!
I commend to you this PB&J February 1st blog from the National Federation of Professional Trainers (NFPT). Yes, you may recognize that blogger :).
Though it was penned for certified personal trainers’ focus, the blog’s PB&J themes are directly relevant to us KABOOMERs who intend to thrive and strive into our 90s – right?
I quote,
“be aware of, and situationally suggest fitness and wellness steps to reduce older clients’ risks for joint pains, poor posture, “inflammaging“, or (a subclinical inflammatory readiness, manifested by elevated levels of pro-inflammatory factors) and potential broken bones. Heightened awareness is key, as this public health message stated, “At least half of the age-related changes to muscles, bones, and joints are caused by disuse.”
A client’s bone density is only one skeletal issue for “PB&J.” Another issue is to help improve a client’s biomechanics to reduce lifestyle-related risk factors while encouraging her or him to use motion, rather than lapse into “disuse.” Even an elder sneeze can cause a bone break if porous bones are weak.” Oy!
Keep up the appropriate impact exercise to maintain calcium density in those amazing “honeycomb” bones of yours. Do your best to maintain Collagen levels as you age.
Repeat after your Koach, “Disuse is an evil cause of “porous bones” aka osteoporosis. Be an “unbroken” outlier by protecting your bones and joints. KABOOM.
/s/
Koach Dave
ps – Vaccinations matter for our common good.
PLEASE keep your eyes and ears peeled for accessible opportunities to “get pricked.” Help counter that darned SARS virus.
And – learn from a most compelling test case of what works – the National Football League. From a WSJ article today, medical and public health experts report that these four defensive factors help to keep us safe by lowering viral exposure risk:
Ventilation
Distances
Proper masks
Exposure Time.
Dr. Allen Sills offered, “We had to be more precise in our definition of high-risk close contacts because clearly transmission could occur outside those basic boundaries of time and distance.”
I am sincere in my offer to help you achieve your fitness and wellness goals, and to stay safe!
Test WP40 to # 41259 to “OPT-IN” for weekly KABOOMER tips.
Please Join our Physical Banking(PB) Movement by launching your entry to this Form:
Oh, the G O A T is old and gnarly… and brimming full of fight . . .
No, I didn’t select this blog title because of my college mascot (Navy’s Bill the Goat).
My First G O A T:
Like many others, I moan the recent passing of major leaguer Henry “Hank” Aaron into the eternal Field of Dreams. This gent and baseball Hall of Famer excelled, year after year, in those days of higher pitching mounds, and before the prevalence of performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) that benefitted more recent sluggers like Sammy Sosa, Alex Rodriguez, Mark McGwire, and Barry Bonds. And, Henry Aaron surpassed the Home Run numbers of Babe Ruth while coping with too many death threats because of his skin color. God rest ye – Hank – as my Greatest of All Time hitter in America’s past time.
G O A T #2 – Tom Brady. I’ve only rooted for “TB12” three times in his unworldlyG O A T football career:
His rookie year upset of “The Greatest Show on Turf” – those St. Louis Rams in a Super Bowl win almost 20 years ago.
His veteran upset win in a later Super Bowl vs the Pete Carroll-led Seattle Seahawks. Why? My University of Southern California pride was damaged when Heisman trophies were removed from USC trophy rooms for NCAA misdemeanors when Carroll was the Trojans Head Coach.
Yesterday’s exciting game WIN vs. the home team Green Bay Packers and “All State’s” Aaron Rodgers in the NFC Championship game. TB12 wasn’t perfect, throwing 3 interceptions in 3-straight second-half possessions. Yet TB12 is leading the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to Super Bowl LIV. Just Win, Baby, as Al Davis used to say…
Here is my chilly Foxborough Fist Bump with a larger than life Tom Brady:
As a long time liker/disliker of Mr. Brady – I call your attention to the SUSTAINED PEAK PERFORMANCE mantra in this image.
Sustained
Peak
Performance.
Here is one more – Argentina’s Lionel Messi – for sustained peak performance in our world’s most popular sport (futbol):
Lady KABOOMERs – contact me for my list of GREATESTs of your gender. In the Wayback time machine- I’d offer Babe Didrickson Zaharias as a bellwether GREAT. But wait, there are more!
For both Mars and Venus types – Why not refocus YOUR developed and persisting habits on YOU in 2021?
When your physical bank is robust – you can and will maintain a fitness age that is lower than your calendar age.
And please remember – you can slow down subversive senescence and sarcopenia – like Henry Aaron and Tom Brady, and your own Greatest of All Time (GOAT) heroes.
Be your own youthful, gnarly goat that is brimming full of youthful fight!
What better day to pen healthy thoughts about Leche or Lait or Dugdh or Halav [or Milk] than today as National Milk Day?
America’s dairy farmers will love us more :).
True Dat: We humans are alone among mammals; consuming milk after our baby and early toddler phases.
Obviously, Mamma’s milk is a WHOLE FOOD with macronutrients, micros, and water to help a baby or toddler grow. Think of two key proteins: whey and casein. And carbohydrates. Plus vital CALCIUM. Consider the table of nutritional information here:
Three quick comments about those main proteins in milk:
Whey is quicker for humans to digest.
Casein is slower-acting.
Each has about the same replenishment merit after a KABOOMER’s athletic performance.
Sadly, some infants, youths, teens, and adults have trouble digesting natural milk. Our National Institute of Health suggests that 30 million to 50 million Americans may have this difficulty. Lactose intolerance from cow’s milk and possibly other dairy products can be problematic. If a human’s small intestine [“gut”] produces insufficient amounts of an enzyme called Lactase – bloating, gas, diarrhea, and other side effects happen when milk’s sugar isn’t absorbed. Oy.
Intolerance is NOT Equal!
We have more trouble with lactase production and digesting milk’s lactose as we age. Some ethnic groups have it tougher. Some unfortunate folks with digestional problems, perhaps Crohn’s Disease have sadder experiences with dairy foodstuffs. And, some folks enduring cancer treatments may also have higher
I worry if folks think that “substitute” milk – such as almond or soy “milks” are relied upon for macronutrients. These “healthy” substitutes usually lack the quality and quantity of protein macros that the real thing offers. Micros – generally – yes. Macros – not so much… Please be a canny label reader to know what you’re ingesting.
For the majority of baby boomers – Dairy products are wonderful nutrition. Think Bone Density, particularly for lady boomers. Think of Muscle metabolism. Think Energy Density of foodstuffs.
If you asked a National Team rower what is a near-perfect drink after a tough practice – you’d probably get the answer – Chocolate Milk. Guess what Koach Dave drinks after a tough session or between multiple daily workouts? Right you are.
You can choose a low-fat version of an excellent replenishment drink if wanted or needed. I enjoy my 2% fat chocolate milk – regularly. Low-fat milk has a great ratio of protein to carbohydrates. And, it tastes good to me.
What about raw, unpasteurized milk? I have trouble digesting raw milk. I believe that others, like author Mike Geary, can drink raw milk safely (without high alarm for bacterial infection). We got to now from forbears that drank raw milk before Louis Pasteur and Franz von Soxhlet did their “heated” magic 130 years ago.
Tuberculosis was a demographic killer!
My choice? I’ll stay with pasteurized milk that is WITHOUT added chemicals.
On the subject of other beverages: many folks have bought into a”DRY” Januaryfor possible health reasons. More power to those who choose to skip a social cocktail or a post-workout brew. Do Blue ZOME centenarians generally go DRY in their January months? I think not. The root question for each of us is this:
What is our motivation for imbibing?
If COVID and dark wintry days cause an adult to experience downward moodiness, then a Dry Month can help some skip alcohol and a coping crutch.
As Satchel Paige offered, moderate, moderate, moderate... I once read of an American centenarian’s approach:
Have one social drink a night. So make it a GOOD one :).
Your choice.
If you’re a podcast fan, here are some newaudio chats between some great hosts and yours truly.
Yes, the titles seem a bit eclectic.
Yet I’m still the same KOACH…
Aging Greatfully: Dispatch PAIN in the pASSt (Thank you Holley Kelley for a redux session)
Best Morning Routine Ever: Gracias, Dr. Louis for chatting about my M O R N I N G S action checklists.
We Travel There: Thanks, Lee Huffman for allowing me to share my experiences from Capetown, S.A. – The Mother City!
Thinking of December sixteenths in history – I can pinpoint two extraordinary anniversaries that still impact our topsy-turvy world…
Brewer patriots had their Boston Tea Party in 1773. We know what those rebel yells led to!
The Battle of the Bulge began on this date in 1944 around the quaint town of Bastogne, Belgium. When life was precarious for our fabled, yet outmanned and outgunned 101st Airborne, General A. McAuliffe offered one of the mojo mottos of all time – “Surrender? NUTS!”
That, as we look in our rearview mirrors, is history. Now, a rhetorical query time . . .
Is there a Better time spot to start our own EXTRAordinary history channels?
Think of these pandemic Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, and Festivus days as best ever times to establish the important differences between ordinary and extraordinary performance.
If not me, who? If not now, when?
Recall how I differentiated between two notional Baby Boomers – Decent Deb and Great George in KABOOMER.
Sure, Decent Deb did her minimum and hoped for better days. Great George stretched for a little bit EXTRA to stay EXTRAordinary.
George’s Gym or Fitness Age is far lower than his calendar age. And that can be exciting personal history.
Many of us can stretch out to build our extraordinary physical banker portfolios too! Trust your Koach.
Listento your Koach, too, finding discretionary time to invest in an information-rich podcast or two. We could be seeing an added DECADE of your personal history – and a quality-filled history – as your Physical Bank Portfolio grows. KABOOM.
This podcast is also available on other major podcast portals – Apple, Google Play…
My analog calendar advises me that we’ve got just eight days and a wake-up until Christmas 2020. What better time will there be to write your non-fiction greatness?
Be a KABOOMER EXTRAordinaire! Strive to be a Great George. Find your “NUTS” chutzpah like McAuliffe did. Yes, You Can!
With luck, skill, and timing – many of us can and will keep our hearts glowing!
Here’s a public service reminder for pain avoidance to help us calibrate Physical Banking steps to take both seriously and whimsically this Holiday season:
Credit: Harvard Health
Motion is Good Medicine!
Good folks at Harvard Health say so, as do I as your Koach. No matter how cold and dark your days and night may appear, you can mitigate or avoid creaky joints with judicious and habitual movements.
Laugh often as part of your Immunity Boosts!
And, you definitely want to avoid #COVIDIOTS – right?
Move your joints through their best ranges of motion to stay limbered up for whatever physically distanced festivities you can muster!
KABOOM!
Consider me “on-call” for these Holidays to help you in your Most Wonderful Times of the Year!
Yesterday’s “300” weblog highlighted ways to emulate Spartans’ RESPECT and HONOR in order to help us weather this pandemic – together.
Today’s Part 2 for the number 300 is about a KABOOMER’s daily energy equation to favorably impact her or his Physical Bank Account:
Estimated Calorie Requirements (in kilocalories) for Each Gender and Age Group at Three Levels of Physical Activity.
Gender Age Sedentary Moderate Very Active Activity
Female
51+
1,600
1,800
2,000 – 2,200
Male
51+
2,000
2,200 – 2,400
2,400 – 2,800
Source: HHS/USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans: 2005
A difference of Three hundred dietary calories (KCAL) at the end of a day can lead to a sustained shedding of 1 pound of dangerous white fat in 2 weeks. Two pounds a month is possibly 24 pounds a year in theory. Spoiler alert – No Madison Avenue quick fixes or elixirs are needed.
In practice, a combined little less intake and a little more thermogenic output (from activities of daily life, N E A T, restorative sleep, and exercise) can lead to disciplined and “keep it off” loss of evil fat.
Working this very manageable daily change is good at any time of year, yet positive change is especially poignant in the Winter Holiday seasons such as our abnormal 2020 Holiday season which starts next week on GOBBLE until YOU WOBBLE DAY….Don’t fall into a happens-all-too-often trap as endorsed by one lifestyle expert, Mae West…
Too much good food at a feast is NOT wonderful. Rather, Good food is wonderful when just enough is eaten and enjoyed.
Avoid fatty weight gain through the Holidays
Plan the volume, intensity, and tempo of your regular workouts to impact that energy equation, and
Establish healthy portion control and clean eating habits to lose weight from central obesity tendencies.
Folks who study diets and lifestyle state that an average adult gains two pounds from each Winter Holiday season. Oy!
It’s not just your Koach that asserts it is possible to avoid fatty weight gain from Turkey Day through Twelfth Night each year. A certain University with VERITASas its motto, named after John HARVARD, offers prudent and practical fat avoidance hacks: Note to selves, “it would take approximately eight minutes of walking or four minutes of running to burn off the calories in 5 tablespoons of gravy.”
As you may recall from KABOOMER, experts suggest an 80/20 rule for a viable ratio of clean-eating days to less stringent and more festive days – episodically. About 4 Days as “good girls and boys EATING TO LIVE”, then one day for “living to eat” make for a working “300” Plan over time.
Feast Days are our fine days to sip extra cool clear water regularly, munch on very low-calorie and low-GI fruits and vegetables, and repeat after Koach: Portions, Portions, Portions! Remember that it isn’t the entree that is loaded with less healthy macronutrients of fat and simple sugars. It is the side dishes, trimmings, and most desserts!
Savvy folks at Shape.com offer effective circuit workouts to offset one’s possible Holiday demi-binge. Row Houses offer Turkey Burn Hours of Power. I am honored to lead one of those Burns next Thursday in Solana Beach, CA! Come for the Playlist – leave with at least a 300 KCAL offset to the Feast!
A fine summary from our National Institute of Health is germane. As a taxpayer – I’m fine with quoting at length 🙂 to help your kin and you work that 300 ENERGY BALANCE throughout this Holiday season.
“…you can either reduce your ENERGY IN or increase your ENERGY OUT. Doing both is the best way to achieve and maintain YOUR healthy body weight.
Here are some ways to cut 150 calories (ENERGY IN):
Drink water instead of a 12-ounce regular soda
Order a small serving of French fries instead of a medium, or order a salad with dressing on the side instead
Eat an egg-white omelet (with three eggs), instead of whole eggs
Use tuna canned in water (6-ounce can), instead of oil
Here are some ways to burn 150 calories (ENERGY OUT), in just 30 minutes (for a 150-pound person):
Shoot hoops
Walk two miles
Do yard work (gardening, raking leaves, etc.)
Go for a bike ride
Dance with your family or friends.”
Here’s to your best possible Holiday season.
Mastering your personal Energy Equation will help you party past ninety. Trust the NIH and me!
Koach Dave
ps – send me a note via the Contact form below if you’d like a BUY ONE GET ONE[B O G O] Holiday special for a great KABOOMER read.