Rest weekend

Nothing yet on the workout front, though I’ll do a “lunchtime” walk somewhere; probably along the Illinois River and hopefully get some photos of the geese.

Racewalker Tammy (ok, she is, unlike me, a FAST racewalker, with a PR of 28 minutes for the 5K) just went out and bought a dress. Now she wants jewelery suggestions. What a GIRRRRLLLL!!!!

Note: Tammy is also works in molecular biology and is maintaining a 100 pound weight loss.

Evidently, Tammy doesn’t read Newsmax (a publication written for the uneducated conservative set). Newsmax is offering the following advice to its readers:

Dear Newsmax Reader:

Please find below a special message from our sponsor, The Douglass Report. They have some important information to share with you.

Thank you.

Before you even consider joining a gym
find out why one MD says:

“GET BACK ON THAT COUCH!”

While the fitness freaks keep pounding the pavement and pumping iron…
just fluffing the sofa cushions could be your best exercise!

[...]

Pumping irony!

While the gym giants will do anything to keep you huffing, puffing and paying… you can learn to grow lean, strong and full of energy without wasting one drop of sweat…

My Dear Misled Friend:

For the past three decades, you’ve been bombarded by exercise propaganda saying bouncing around dripping with sweat is the key to good health…and it’s got my blood boiling!

Millions of smart, hard-working Americans are falling hook, line and sinker for what may be the biggest, most dangerous health fraud yet. I’m talking about the fitness craze that’s got everyone running for the gym-or feeling guilty when you don’t! Learn about how…

You can stop sweating and start relaxing-guilt free!

Don’t let the “fitness freaks” pressure you into spending more of your good time and hard-earned dough at the gym or on some torture machine in your basement. Staying fit and energetic is a heck of a lot easier than running, pedaling or rowing yourself into a sweaty lather! Sound research proves it.

The gym giants certainly don’t want you to know this, but there isn’t one shred of credible medical evidence that all of this exercise lengthens your life-in fact, just the opposite.

“Exercise protects your heart and builds muscle safely”?!
-in some cases this is nothing but a deadly lie!

[...]

While they’re shouting “just do it” on TV and in so-called “health” magazines, the bodies are piling up at their feet!

* According to the medical journal, Lancet, aerobics is causing deadly artery clogs and heart disease in those who’ve never had heart trouble.
* And The American Journal of Cardiology reports that jogging is causing runners to drop dead from heart attacks-some right in the middle of their daily jog! Their autopsies show severe coronary artery disease. (Wasn’t the jogging supposed to cure that?)
* Any regular, strenuous exercise actually does damage to your heart and can hurt other muscles too.

The bottom line? Over-exercising is just plain unhealthy. Many may hate me for saying it, but it’s a medical fact…learn about how you can stay fit and energetic with some simple changes to your daily routine, including making sure you get a few simple nutrients.

The latest research reveals ALL-NEW secret behind saving muscle strength, energy!

Learn about a naturally occurring amino acid, not exercise, that maintains muscle mass and gives you more energy after you turn 40! Yes…while dozens of “celebrity” fitness fanatics urge you to run until you’re blue in the face or pump iron like the Governor of California, growing lean and strong doesn’t require a single drop of sweat! And mountains of research proves it…

More than 50 well-controlled studies show this nutrient single-handedly saves muscle strength and builds energy safely, even in men over 40…who do little more than carry out the trash!

Yet gym giants are keeping their lips sealed and their treadmills moving full steam ahead…

They aren’t saying a word about this amazing amino called creatine. The reason is as plain as the nose on your face: money. Gyms are a $14.1 billion a year industry while creatine costs around $10 a bottle, far less than half the price of most gym memberships!

First of all, note how carefully worded this ad is. They (correctly) say “some cases”; yes there are people with certain medical conditions who shouldn’t be doing unsupervised exercises, at a certain time.

And yes, you can overdo anything; for example when I train for an ultramarathon, it has little to do with health. For the most part, health benefits for most start to level off at, say, 20-30 miles per week of walking or running. There are those of us who, instead of exercising, train for a sport.

But still, the tone of this article is to “ok, blow off exercise and take creatine”, and frankly I doubt if the average Newsmax reader is sophisticated enough to catch how carefully worded the ad is, and why it is worded that way.

As a liberal, I ought to be delighted; if enough of the idiots follow this advice, there will eventually be fewer of them. But I can’t take pleasure in this as I truly wonder how many heart attacks will happen in part because of pitches like this. Yeah, they will be happening to “stupid, ignorant social conservatives”, but they are still human beings, and by my warped way of thinking, they still should have long happy lives.

(update: I realize how harsh this read; I should have said “people that I wouldn’t want to socialize with” rather than “stupid, etc.”; that would be more accurate)

Speaking of studies and the like, here are two interesting articles:

Study shows that obesity “isn’t so bad”.

The trouble with studies like this, however, is that it compares “fat vs. thin” and not “fat and non smoking” vs. “thin and non smoking”, etc. Sure, if you gain 15-20 pounds by quitting smoking, then yeah, you ought to quit smoking and live with the extra weight.

But another factor is this: many risk factors drop dramatically when someone goes from being extremely overweight to moderately overweight.

Hey look, not everyone is meant to be a greyhound, ok? But being 100 pounds overweight is bad for you. But if you are say, 20 pounds overweight (too fat, I mean, I am not talking about the guy who can bench press 350 pounds), well, if you want to run a marathon, you ought to lose the weight. But otherwise, don’t sweat the small stuff. Eat well, get a moderate amount of exercise (find something that you like to do), and enjoy life!

Climate Change: scientist fools the “climate change skeptics” by posting bogus studies with bogus references. My goodness, did I get a good belly laugh out of this. This kind of reminds me of the physics professor who got a bogus post modernist article published. (the so-called Sokal affair)

Local Politics: Republican candidate for Ray LaHood’s seat advocates giving Taiwan nuclear weapons. I love it; pass the popcorn!!!