The first one is titled, “My basic hygiene recommendation that CORRECTLY keeps ME clean”. The second one is titled, “My Basic Theories on Fitness Training”.
My basic hygiene recommendation that CORRECTLY keeps ME clean
Your body, like your skin and scalp, works best with moderate amounts of moisture. Your body will be not be at its best when it’s too dry or too moist. Both excessive dryness and excessive moisture will cause problems for your body (e.g., skin scalp, and hair). It’s all about balance, just the right amount, moderation, or homeostasis. Unfortunately, too many soaps, shampoos, and other cleansers will remove excess moisture from your skin, which results in dry skin. Excessive moisture could result in ringworms or excessive fungal growth and out-of-control growth of bacteria. For cleaning my body while properly moisturizing my body, I follow 3 basic guidelines:
(1) Avoidance and minimization (frequency, variety, and intensity) of undesirable substances
(2) Simple and effective cleaning for each day by using with water and a washcloth
(3) Only use soaps, shampoos, lotions, and hair conditioners when simple cleaning is inadequate
GUIDELINE #1
Avoid things that are unclean, poisonous, and corrosive. If you must touch something that is unclean, toxic, and/or corrosive, then minimize this problem’s frequency, variety, and intensity by using protective tools.
Avoid people, objects, and places with abnormal infections (e.g., algae build-up, abundant fungal growth, common cold, flu, warts, athlete's foot, jock itch, ringworms, fleas, ticks, mites, and especially STDs). This is especially important for high-contact sports, public restrooms, and public showers. Also avoid corrosive or poisonous substances (e.g., bleach, automobile fumes, powerful detergents, pollution, and industrial waste).
If you can’t avoid unclean or toxic things, then use tools to protect yourself. Make sure the tools work properly, are used correctly, and are appropriately maintained or repaired. For example, wear slippers or shoes with water-proof materials in public restrooms and public showers. Don’t share socks and footwear with people, keep your feet dry, keep your socks dry, and keep your footwear dry.
Protective clothing comes in many varieties: gloves, goggles, laboratory coats, aprons, pants, socks, shoes, and breathing masks. I use multiple dishwashing gloves for washing various unclean things. One pair of dishwashing gloves for your utensils, a second set for purging your toilet, and a 3rd set for cleaning your bathroom counter, sink, and bathtub/shower.
The above techniques and tools protect you against undesirables, and minimizes your need for soaps and shampoos.
GUIDELINE #2
A simple, but effective daily hygiene involves water and a washcloth.
Before you wash your body, wash your hands with soap and warm water. When washing your body, start high (e.g., wash your head first), and then work your way down (wash your feet last). This pattern minimizes contamination. Your lower body parts (e.g., anus and feet) are usually dirtier than your upper body parts (e.g., face, eyes, nose, ears, and mouth).
Exactly once per day (no more, no less), gently exfoliate your scalp, hair, and skin with a damp washcloth. A wet washcloth will be too sticky, and it’ll drip water all over the place. Use only warm water (no soap). If you want, you could wash your scalp and hair with warm water (& then dry byrubbing with a dry towel).
You should use the damp washcloth for your hair, scalp, face, ears, neck, shoulders, entire backside of the torso, and the upper half of the front torso. These areas are usually the most oily parts of your body, because they have the most sebaceous or oil glands.
If you need to, then also use the damp washcloth on your arms, hips, outer buttocks (obviously, the inner portion is not hygienic), genitals, and legs (exclude feet). You could usually wash these body parts under a shower and rubbing them with your hands. Your inner butt, genitals, and feet may need some soap. You could use a damp paper-towel to wipe down your inner buttocks. Wet toilet paper easily breaks apart and attaches to your skin.
The damp washcloth provides water as a gentle solvent and the washcloth provides enough abrasion to rub off undesirables.
You may need to 2 exfoliations per day for your hair, scalp, entire face, ears, the areas around the ears, the neck, the upper chest, and the upper to middle back. These areas produce a lot more sebum than the rest of your body. If this is the case, then try using a damp washcloth to exfoliate or wipe down these body parts after your work and after you wake up.
Wiping yourself with a damp washcloth is good for exfoliation. However, a damp washcloth may create and struggle to remove rolled-up, sticky specks consisting of dead skin cells and skin cell debris. To easily remove these rolled-up, sticky specks, you’ll need to rinse your skin with water.
During cold winters, the water on the washcloth and on your body will quickly turn uncomfortably cold. You could stay warm by frequently rinsing the washcloth with very warm water, or use the washcloth under a warm shower. The former technique uses a lot less water than the latter technique.
To save water and to stay warm, don’t shower your entire body. First, make your washcloth damp and very warm, and then use this damp washcloth to wipe down your head, neck, torso, arms, hips (except inner buttocks), and legs (except the feet). Then go under the shower and use your hands to rub down the rest of your body.
Sometimes you’ll need multiple washes per day (e.g., hot and humid summers). If so, then exfoliate yourself once per day with the damp washcloth. For additional washes, only use your hands to wipe yourself clean under a warm shower. Frequent usage of the damp washcloth will apply too much abrasion onto your skin, which will scratch up and weaken your skin.
During a sweaty jog, a hot and sweaty day, a rigorous exercise, or manual labor, constantly dry yourself by patting down your sweaty skin with a clean, dry towel. When you are done exercising or working, then immediately wash yourself with water and a washcloth. Excessive moisture (e.g., humidity and sweat), dead skin cells, cellular debris, and heat (e.g., your warm body) promotes the growth of microorganisms (i.e., viruses, bacteria, algae, and fungus such as athlete’s feet, jock itch, and ringworms), and an excessive quantity of microorganisms will overrun your immune system. Keep your clothes, bed sheets, seats, towels, and other belongings free from moisture. Protect your mattress by using 2 blanket sheets or any thick and large cloth between your mattress and your mattress cover.
Avoid hot showers (hot temperatures and hot stuff dehydrates your skin). Notice how a hot shower or a hot bath creates lots of mist, fog, or water vapors. In other words, lots of heat evaporates water. Hot water will heat up the water in your skin, and the water inside your skin will evaporate to the exterior. This leads to dry skin. To prevent this, use warm water to wash yourself.
Thoroughly dry yourself after you wash yourself with water. Place a small to medium sized towel on a section of the bathroom ground that is away from the toilet, and step on this towel to dry your feet. Dry your hair and the rest of your body (except your feet) by using a large towel.
After using the washcloth, rinse it with water, and then twist out as much water as possible. Repeat a few times. When you rinse and twist the washcloth, fold the washcloth in different ways to create a easy-to-handle compact shape and to flush out both sides of the washcloth. After using the washcloth and the drying towels, sun dry the damp towels. The sunlight will quickly evaporate the moisture, which prevents microbes from accessing most of the moisture. Ultraviolet radiation and heat from the sun does a good job of killing off many species of microbes, but a typical clear glass window will reflect most wavelengths or frequencies of ultraviolet light. Use clean towels every 3 to 4 days (e.g., use a clean towel every Thursday and Sunday). Wash the dirty towels on a regular basis to prevent them from holding too many microbes, dead skin, dead skin debris, and other unclean stuff.
Every morning and evening, use a hair brush or your fingers to evenly distribute your scalp's sebum throughout your scalp and hair strands. When you do this, bend forward to help your loose hair, dead skin cells, and cellular debris fall down and away from the top of your head and shoulders. Instead of your fingers, you can use a comb or a hair brush.
GUIDELINE #3
Properly use soaps, shampoos, lotions, and hair conditioners.
Only use soaps, shampoos, lotions, and hair conditioners when you need to. In other words, use soaps and shampoos when warm water, a wash cloth, and your hands are insufficient to clean your skin, scalp, and hair.
Use soaps and shampoos when you are exposed to abnormal types and/or excessive quantities of microorganisms (e.g., raw meats, public bathrooms, and private bathrooms), sticky substances, lots of sebum (sebum is your skin and scalp’s natural oil), abundant accumulation of dead skin cells and cellular debris, and other hard-to-clean undesirables. Ideally, you want to avoid these very unclean things (see Guideline #1). If you use soap and shampoos, then use lotions and hair conditioners to restore some moisture back into your skin, scalp, and hair.
In terms of frequency, try washing your scalp and hair with shampoo and a wash-out hair-conditioner only when they get dirty or too oily. You shouldn’t use hair products (e.g., gel, hair spray, and whatnot), because they could cause health problems (e.g., excess dryness, which could lead to over-productive sebaceous glands) over the long-run.
If you are going to use a shampoo, try starting with a once per week routine. For the other 6 days, try washing your scalp and hair by using your fingers to rub them under a shower of warm water. Do not frequently use soap and shampoo, or else you will dry out your hair, scalp, and skin. Excessive dryness can cause various problems, such as tight skin or a body response to produce excessive sebum.
More soap or more shampoo results in more cleaning. Use the correct amount of soap or shampoo (e.g., not too much, not too little). Too little soap or shampoo will NOT clean away hard-to-clean undesirables, but too much soap or too much shampoo usually removes hard-to-clean undesirables and too much sebum, which dries out your skin. Your skin, scalp, and hair needs moderate amounts of sebum. Use the right amount of soap and shampoo to remove the undesirable stuff while retaining enough sebum to keep you properly moist. In other words, use a little bit of soap and shampoo to remove the undesirable stuff while retaining enough sebum to keep yourself properly moist.
For short hair (e.g., less than 0.5 inches long), a shampoo volume more or less equal to 1 to 2 quarters should be enough to clean away excess sebum, dead skin cells, and cellular debris from your wet scalp and wet hair.
If you need to, then test out a small quantity of soap or shampoo. Then gradually increase the soap or shampoo until you get the correct amount to remove excess dirt, oils, and hair products, but not enough to dry out your hair and scalp. Some soaps/shampoos have weaker cleaning results, and some soaps/shampoos have stronger cleaning effects. Test out various soaps/shampoos, and then pick the right soap/shampoo for you.
If you want something with less cleaning power than soap or shampoo, but more cleaning power than water, then try diluted white vinegar. White vinegar is pure vinegar mixed with water. White vinegar is still too acidic for direct application onto your hair, scalp, and skin. Thus, dilute white vinegar with more water. The diluted white vinegar should consist of 1 part white vinegar plus 4 parts very warm water. For washing your hair, the diluted white vinegar should have a net total volume of 1 to 2 cups. White vinegar slowly kills off most species of microbes.
Like any cleaning chemical, be careful with vinegar. Keep the vinegar off your teeth, because the vinegar is acidic, which means it will soften, weaken, and dissolve your teeth. Vinegar will sting cuts, your eyes, and nose. Vinegar will slowly damage your inner ears, thus, keep vinegar out of your ear canal. If you expose your vulnerable body parts to vinegar, then thoroughly rinse the exposed area with water.
Lotions that excel in moisturizing are creamy lotions (not watery) or lotions with water, oil, and petroleum jelly as major ingredients.
The best hair conditioners for your scalp and hair are the ones you wash out: you massage the wash-out conditioner into your scalp and hair, you let your scalp and hair absorb it for a few seconds (e.g., 30 seconds), and then you rinse it out with water. You can use both a wash-out conditioner and a leave-in conditioner if you are really dry. If you are dry, then you shouldn’t use a leave-in conditioner by itself, because leave-in conditioners do a poor job of thoroughly moisturizing all of your hair and all of your scalp. Only a wash-out conditioner can reach all parts of your scalp and hair.
Don’t use too little or too much lotion/conditioner. Try using a little lotion right after you wash with soap. Try using some wash-out hair-conditioner after you use shampoo. Your body works best with moderate amounts of moisture. Your body will be not be at its best when it’s too dry or too moist. Both excessive dryness and excessive moisture will cause problems for your skin and hair. It’s all about balance or just the right amount. For short hair (i.e., 0.5 inches in length or shorter), use a wash-out conditioner volume of approximately 2 quarters to 4 quarters.
Do NOT overestimate the effectiveness of lotions and conditioners. Lotions and hair conditioners cannot function as well as your body’s naturally produced sebum. Use lotion and a hair conditioner to assist and to NOT replace your body’s sebum. Once again, don’t excessively use soap or shampoo in terms of quantity per usage and frequency per week, or you’ll remove too much sebum from your skin, scalp, and hair.
I don’t use fancy lotions or hair conditioners. I test out various generic brands, and stick with the best generic stuff, which are affordable, healthy, and effective.
My Basic Theories on Fitness Training
First created on 2005
Updated on November 2, 2008 (Sun)
Updated on August 1, 2010 (Sun)
Updated on 2012 January 12 (Sat)
The human body consists of many units and systems, but for the sake of simplicity, I will only talk about these systems: the skeletal system, the muscular system, the cardiovascular system, the anaerobic system, and the nervous system. All of these systems change over time, sometimes for the better or for the worse. These systems improve when they undergo proper training, and proper training consists of 9 basic parts. These 9 basic parts are not discrete, because each part has a few similarities with other parts or each part overlaps with other parts.
Here are the 9 parts:
(1) Simple repetitions
(2) How you perform simple repetitions
(3) Stress
(4) A continuous challenge
(5) Rest and nutrients
(6) Unique training
(7) Warm-ups
(8) Complementary Exercises
(9) Physical performance does not equal physical health
(1) Simple Repetitions
The first part of training consists of simple repetitions. If you try to perform an extremely difficult activity, you will fail. If you did not fail, then you did not challenge yourself enough. Find an exercise you cannot perform. If you repeatedly try as hard as you can to perform this extremely difficult exercise, then you will always fail. However, if you break down this extremely difficult activity into simpler parts such that you can perform each simpler part, then you can gradually accomplish the difficult activity. If you repeatedly perform one of the simpler parts, then you will gradually master this simpler part. Once you excel in each simpler part, then you will be able to perform all of these simpler parts in the correct sequence and in one graceful motion. In other words, simple repetitions help you slowly become able to do something that you originally could not do. This is because your body (such as its skeletal and muscular systems) gradually adapts to simple repetitions, but your body struggles to or is unable to adapt to an extremely difficult activity.
For example, if you cannot do a pull-up with your own body weight, then break down this one difficult activity into simpler parts. Most people can perform a pull-up’s motion, which consists of these simpler motions: (1) raise your two arms straight up towards the sky; (2) lower the upper parts of your arms while you bend your elbows so your forearms and hands always stay vertical towards the sky; and (3) lower the upper parts of your arms until they are completely downward towards the ground while your elbows are completely bent so your forearms and hands are still vertical towards the sky. Lots of people are unable to do a pull-up because these people are unable to do pull-ups with their body weight. If you can’t lift one heavy weight, then break it down into lighter weights. If you can’t lift 100-lbs, then lift 20-lbs a total of 5 times or keep lifting until you are tired (20-lbs multiplied by 5 equals 100-lbs). The solution is these people should do pull-ups with a smaller amount of weight, such as 20-lbs per arm for women and 30-lbs per arm for men. Now the problem is, “How do I do pull-ups with only 20-lbs or-30 lbs per arm when I weigh 100-lbs or 180 lbs?”
Well, if you look at the pull-up’s motion, then you’ll notice it is similar to the motions found in a barbell row or dumbbell row. They are not exactly similar, but they are similar enough. A barbell row or a dumbbell row is basically two-thirds of a pull-up. To see what a barbell row is or what a dumbbell row is, search the internet or do some easy research at your local library’s physical fitness section. If you cannot do pull-ups, then stop failing with pull-ups and start training with barbell rows or dumbbell rows, and begin with 20-lbs per arm or 30-lbs per arm. Once you perform 5 to 15 repetitions (later on I’ll talk about how many repetitions you should do) with 20-lbs per arm or 30-lbs per arm, increase the weight by 2.5-lbs or 5-lbs. Once you lift this weight for 5 to 15 repetitions, then increase the weight again, and keep repeating this process. As you get stronger, increase the weight by small amounts. After one or two years of training, you should be able to do barbell rows or dumbbell rows with 50-lbs per arm or more. Continue increasing the weight until you are able to lift one-half of your body weight in each arm. Once you accomplish this, then you have mastered the simpler parts, thus, you should be able to do pull-ups with your body weight.
If you are a woman weighing 100-lbs and you are able to perform barbell rows or dumbbell rows with 50-lbs per arm, then you will be able to perform pull-ups. This is because if the 100-lb woman can lift 50-lbs per arm, then she should be able to lift 100-lbs with both arms. The two exercises are NOT exactly the same, because lifting 50 lb per exercise is not the exact same thing as lifting 100 lb per exercise (e.g., the former is less stressful for your entire body than the latter). For example, your heart is used for the 50 lb exercise and the 100 lb exercise, but your heart will undergo more stress under the latter exercise. Nonetheless, the two exercises are similar enough, thus, if you can perform 8 repetitions for the former exercise, then you should be able to perform 8 or less repetitions for the latter exercise. Doing a pull-up with your body weight is too difficult for many people (especially women), but doing a barbell row or dumbbell row with 20-lbs per arm is simple. Start with something simple and work your ways towards something difficult. Before you know it, something that was once difficult to do will now be simple to do.
For most exercises, 5 to 15 simple repetitions equal 1 set (some people only perform 1 to 4 repetitions per set, and some people perform more than 15 repetitions per set). For example, when you have performed 5 to 15 repetitions of the barbell row or dumbbell row with 20-lbs per arm, then you have performed 1 set of barbell rows or dumbbells with 20-lbs per arm. In general, a “set” is defined as the beginning of a specific exercise or training technique to the end of this exercise. A set typically involves very little resting time between and during each repetition in the set, but the time between two or more sets involves significant recuperation time (e.g., 1 minute of resting to 3 minutes of resting). For basic fitness, you should perform 2 to 3 sets of an exercise per week. For example, your first set could involve 12 repetitions with no resting period at all. After your first set, rest for 2 minutes. Then do a second set of 8 repetitions.
If you perform an exercise one day per week, then you will obtain very small improvements. If you don’t perform an exercise often enough, then your body will decrease its performance for that exercise. The human body constantly changes (most changes are very gradual), and one way the human body changes is that its muscular system is genetically programmed for efficiency. The human body will decrease the toughness and power of its muscular system as much as possible. If you don’t repeatedly train your muscles, then your body will make your muscles as weak as possible. If you repeatedly train your muscles, then your body will make its muscles tough enough and powerful enough to perform your training.
To summarize, the first part of basic training are simple repetitions: (1) break down a difficult activity into simpler parts; (2) perform each simpler part at least 5 times or do at least 5 repetitions, which equals 1 set; and (3) do 2 to 3 sets of each exercise per week. If you think you can handle it, then do 2 sets of the exercise on Monday, and then perform 2 sets of the same exercise on Thursday. As you gradually improve your fitness, you’ll be able to do more sets per day for each exercise, and you’ll be able to do the exercise every other day. Once you have mastered each simpler part, then you will be able to do the difficult activity without breaking it down into simpler parts. You will make gradual improvements over each week, month, year, and so forth.
(2) How a Person Performs a Simple Repetition
The second part of training is how a person performs a simple repetition. How you perform a simple repetition decides how you will improve your body. You can perform a simple repetition in various ways: (1) fast, medium speed, or slow; (2) with various amounts of resistance (i.e., weights); (3) with various types of resistance (i.e., the same weight with a specific type of grip or a resistance with increasing weight like a barbell with long chains or a large rubber band); (4) moving certain body parts in certain directions; (5) keeping specific body parts motionless in certain positions; and so on.
For example, if you perform simple repetitions at a high speed, then you will train your body to QUICKLY perform the simple repetitions. If you perform the simple repetitions at a slow rate, then you will train your body to SLOWLY perform the simple repetitions.
Generally speaking, mastering a slow, simple repetition will not allow you to master a fast, simple repetition (and vice versa). If you are good at slow, simple repetitions, and if you try to perform a fast, simple repetition, then you will possibly pull a muscle. If you are good at fast, simple repetitions, and if you try to perform a slow, simple repetition, then you will have clumsy movements. If a small amount of resistance is involved (i.e., a 15 lb dumbbell for a 150 lb person), then you will struggle to perform the slow, simple repetition. If a large amount of resistance is used (i.e., a 100 lb dumbbell for a 150 lb person), then you will fail to perform the slow, simple repetition.
An example of a quick repetition is a jabbing punch or the fastest punch you can throw. You can throw a variety of fast punches: a jab or fast straight or a fast cross, a fast hook, a fast uppercut, a fast backhand, or a fast hammer. You can throw fast elbows (hook, back, up, down, and front), knees (up, outside-in, inside out, and front), and fast kicks (front kick, roundhouse, reverse roundhouse, side kick, inside-out crescent-kick, outside-in crescent-kick, and back kick). You can throw all of these strikes at various angles (or various changing heights depending on the position and movement of your striking limb, your hips, your torso, your head, and your other limbs), at various ranges, and various amounts of power. You can throw all of these strikes in various combinations. You can even throw strikes while jumping up into the air. Increasing a strike’s power requires increasing the amount of involved body parts while decreasing your ability to change a strike’s angle, speed, and direction during the strike. Decreasing a strike’s power requires using less body parts while increasing your ability to alter the strike’s angle, speed, and direction during a strike.
An example of medium-speed repetitions is you lifting a weight that you can only perform 8 to 14 repetitions before completely fatiguing. With such a weight, most people can only move it at medium speeds.
An example of a short-duration, slow repetition is lifting a weight that you can only perform 1 to 4 repetitions before completely fatiguing. People can only move slowly when they are using this very heavy weight. Power lifters use a combination of a long preparation period (e.g., the power lifter positions his/her body in a very sturdy and high-leverage configuration), explosive motions, and recuperation stances to lift very heavy weights. In other words, each maximum power-lifting repetition from its beginning to its end requires a lot more time than a boxer throwing a single punch against a punching bag or a striking pad. Power lifters can only perform 1 repetition when they lift an extremely heavy weight. After each repetition or each set, a power lifter will rest for at least 1 minute before performing another repetition or set.
An example of long-duration, slow repetitions is jogging for at least 1 mile. Jogging mostly trains your slow-twitch muscles. If you train your fast twitch and medium twitch muscles, but you neglect your slow-twitch muscles, then you will have weak slow-twitch muscles. The result is you will be able to perform fast and/or explosive actions, but you will not be able to jog or perform slow repetitions for long durations (i.e., cardiovascular fitness). Your slow-twitch muscles are designed for long durations of low-effort actions. If your slow-twitch muscles are weak or neglected, then you will easily exhaust your slow-twitch muscles. In other words, your slow-twitch muscles won’t be able to move for long periods (i.e., perform lots of repetitions), and they won’t be able to stabilize your joints for long durations or for high repetitions. This results in poor stamina, muscle cramps, and joint pain during long jogs.
If you perform 15 to 30 simple repetitions per set, then you are training your body to have cardiovascular endurance, and small amounts of anaerobic stamina. The only way you can perform lots of simple repetitions is by using a low amount of weight. The less weight you use in simple repetitions, the more simple repetitions you will perform. The more weight you use in a simple repetition, the less repetitions you will perform. Your body exhausts itself quicker when it trains with higher weights than when it trains with lower weights. Thus, if you use lots of weight in a simple repetition, then you will train your body to perform a few repetitions with lots of weight. This is training your body to use lots of and increase its anaerobic energy. Anaerobic energy allows you to perform a small amount of simple repetitions with large amounts of weight, which are explosive or powerful motions. Cardiovascular endurance allows you to perform lots of simple repetitions with low amounts of weight.
If you perform a simple repetition 8 times to 12 times, and then you become exhausted, then you are training your body to improve both its cardiovascular endurance and anaerobic energy. You will NOT have lots of cardiovascular endurance and anaerobic energy, but you will have good amounts of both. If you perform a simple repetition 5 to 8 times, and then you become fatigued, then you are training your body to have lots of anaerobic energy and a small amount of cardiovascular endurance. If you perform a simple repetition 12 times or more, and then you become tired, then you are training your body to have cardiovascular endurance and a small amount of anaerobic energy.
If you perform a simple repetition 1 to 4 times, and then you become worn out, then you are training your body to use extreme amounts of and to greatly increase its anaerobic energy, but you will have very low amounts of cardiovascular endurance. I don’t recommend training with very low repetitions (1 to 4 times) and high weights, because having extreme amounts of anaerobic energy and very low amounts of cardiovascular endurance is bad for almost all sports and daily activities. The only sports I know of that require extreme amounts of anaerobic energy and very little cardiovascular endurance are Olympic power lifting and Olympic weight lifting. Running, power walking, and soccer require lots of cardiovascular endurance and very little anaerobic energy. Basketball, sprinting, boxing, kickboxing, wrestling, Brazilian jujitsu, and mixed martial arts require both cardiovascular endurance and anaerobic energy.
The number of repetitions you perform and the amount of weight you lift are related to the type of muscle fibers you use and the number of muscle fibers you use. According to one theory, animals have 4 types of muscle. The first type of muscle (slow twitch) has cardiovascular endurance, so the muscle can perform lots of repetitions and it quickly recuperates after it exhausts, but this muscle moves slowly and generates low amounts of power. The second type of muscle (medium twitch) mostly uses anaerobic energy, so it only performs a few repetitions before exhaustion (typically 5 to 12 repetitions), it recuperates slowly after exhaustion, moves at a moderate pace, and it generates moderate amounts of power. The third type of muscle (fast twitch) uses anaerobic energy, so it only performs a few repetitions before exhaustion (usually 1 to 4 repetitions), it recuperates very slowly after exhaustion, it moves quickly, and it generates lots of power. The fourth type of muscle (very fast twitch) uses anaerobic energy, it moves very quickly, and it creates enormous amounts of power. This most-powerful fourth-type of muscle is NOT found in humans, but in other animals. This is one reason out of many for why humans are nowhere as athletic as most other animals. This is NOT the only theory on muscle types.
Some theories claim the slow twitch muscles are good for low-effort, slow-speed, and high-repetition actions (e.g., cardiovascular activities such as jogging, hiking, and power walking). The medium twitch muscles are good for high-effort, medium-speed, and low to medium repetition actions (e.g., lifting weights with 1 repetition to 14 repetitions per set). The fast twitch muscles are good for medium-effort, high-speed, and medium-repetition actions (e.g., sprinting and kickboxing).
I don’t know which theories are true, but I do know your body treats jogging, sprinting, and powerlifting (or power-lifting) squats as different actions. A person who excels at jogging (e.g., marathon runners) usually has a slow sprint and a weak powerlifting-squat. A person who excels in sprinting usually does average in marathon running and in the powerlifting squat. A person who excels in the powerlifting squat usually does poorly in marathon running and average in sprinting. The same can be said about upper-body actions. I don’t know anyone who excels in all 3 types of actions within the same period. I don’t think the human body is designed to excel in every type of physical activity at the same time. You have to decide how to train your body. Do you want lots of cardiovascular stamina or lots of anaerobic endurance? Maybe a mixture of both. Are you hoping to have phenomenal speed or are you happy with being able to move slowly in a graceful manner? Have you thought about a compromise between these two extremes? Choose exactly how you want to change your body.
With proper training, you can increase the number of muscle fibers you use at the same time, but you can never train your body to use all of your muscle fibers at the same time, because your neuro-muscular system is NOT designed to use ALL of its muscle fibers at the same time.
Olympic weight lifters and power lifters have trained themselves so their 2nd and 3rd types of muscle fibers are large, the quantity of their 2nd and 3rd types of muscle fibers are as abundant as possible, and they can use lots of their 2nd and 3rd types of muscle fibers at the same time. This is why Olympic weight lifters and power lifters can lift enormous amounts of weight or why they are incredibly powerful, yet their cardiovascular endurance is nowhere as good as marathon runners.
Another way you can perform simple repetitions is by changing the degree of motion. For example, when you perform a push-up, bench press, dumbbell press, or dumbbell flies, you can (A) keep your hands close together, (B) keep your hands shoulder-width apart, or (C) keep your hands more than shoulder-width apart. Option A involves the most motion, Option B offers the second most motion, and Option C offers the least amount of motion. In a second example, you can squat down all the way so your legs are completely bent (this requires a high degree of flexibility), you can squat down so your legs bend at a 90-degree angle, or you can squat down so your legs bend at a 120-degree angle. Generally speaking, you should exercise with the largest degree of motion possible, because this is beneficial in most sports and daily activities.
Another way you can perform a simple repetition is by stretching, which is carefully making your body reach as far as possible, or cautiously positioning your body through its maximum degrees of motion. Most people do not like to stretch, because stretching is uncomfortable and supposedly useless. First, proper stretching is challenging, and there is nothing wrong with challenging your body to improve itself. Second, stretching is very useful. Stretching increases the flexibility of your muscles (not your tendons or ligaments, which can bend well, but cannot stretch well). Stretching allows you to extend your muscles farther and in more degrees of motion than ever before, thus a flexible body has more agility than a stiff body. Flexible muscles are less likely to tear than stiff muscles. The best time to stretch is after your body has warmed up, because muscles that are cold and that have relaxed for long periods are more stiff than muscles that are warm and that have been recently used.
Stretching should be a part of any strength training, because the more you strengthen your muscles, the more your muscles will tighten up. Tight muscles are inflexible muscles. Ideally, do a warmup, then stretch, then exercise, and then stretch. If you are short on time, then do a warmup, then exercise, and then stretch.
(3) Stress
The third part of training involves stress. How stressful the simple repetition is determines if the repetition will or will not be adaptable to the exerciser. If the repetition is designed so that it is easy for the person to finish — in other words, the activity is not stressful or challenging — then the person’s body will not improve itself. If the repetition is designed so that it is too difficult for the person’s body to accomplish, then the body will be excessively stressed, maybe injured, and not be able to change itself to master the simpler part. In order for an exerciser to benefit or improve from simple repetitions, the exerciser should be challenged by the simple repetition, but not so challenging that the exerciser fails to fully complete the simple repetition. A properly stressful simple repetition has these features:
(1) You can completely perform at least 1 or more of the simple repetition. If you cannot fully perform 1 of the simple repetition, then you are excessively stressed.
(2) After you have performed 1 or more of the simple repetition, you are exhausted and cannot perform any more simple repetitions without resting for 1 or more minutes. If you are not exhausted after performing 1 or more of the simple repetition, then you are not being adequately challenged by the simple repetition or you need to do more of the simple repetition. You must repeatedly perform the simple repetition until exhaustion for the best results, and this is called “repetition to failure.”
If you want slower and smaller improvements, then you can repeatedly perform a stressful simple-repetition, and then quit before full exhaustion. This activity is not as challenging as “repetition to failure,” but the activity is still productive and less likely to result in injuries. I call this activity “repetition before failure.”
Repetition BEFORE failure has many advantages over repetition TO failure:
* Repetition before failure will not make your body sore, tired, and very hungry the day after you exercise. Repetition to failure will make you feel weak the next day.
* Repetition before failure will not result in large muscles. Large muscles may book stupid on you (especially if you a female), and large muscles require more food. Repetition to failure will result in large muscle growth.
* Repetition before failure has a much lower probability of injuries than repetition to failure.
(3) You never feel any sharp, grinding, or injurious pain, but you do feel weariness in your muscles (which may include your heart). The simple repetition challenges you; it does not injure you.
You can make a simple repetition more difficult or less easy by many methods. Some methods include the following: (1) make the movements of the simple repetition more complex; (2) increase the weight you carry while you perform the simple repetition; (3) have a fast contraction but a slow relaxation when you move the weight; and (4) variate the speed of the simple repetition so that the first repetition is very slow, but the second repetition is fast.
(4) A Continuous Challenge
The fourth part of training is a continuous challenge. As the exerciser performs a specific type of simple repetition that is correctly challenging, the exerciser will gradually become better at this repetition. Your body gradually improves itself to successfully deal with properly stressful simple repetitions. Eventually, the exerciser will become so good at performing this repetition, that the exerciser will no longer be challenged by this repetition. This means the exerciser will be able to perform many simple repetitions. For example, if you start a simple repetition like a pull-up with only your body weight, and you initially only perform 4 pull-ups in a row before exhaustion, then this is a properly stressful simple repetition. If you perform 4 sets of this simple repetition each week for two years, then, over time, you will increase the number of pull-ups you can perform in a row before exhaustion. Eventually, you may be able to perform 20 or more pull-ups in a row before exhaustion.
You may be bored with performing so many pull-ups in a row or you may find no use in performing so many pull-ups in a row. If this is the case, then strap on some weight to your body. You can add weight to your body by using you legs to hold a dumbbell (put the dumbbell between your knees, bend one leg backwards and diagonally inward, and then bend the other leg backs and diagonally inward), by using a belt designed to hold disc weights/plates, and by using some other exercise device. Now, you will be performing pull-ups with your body weight plus an additional amount of weight. This will make the pull-up more challenging than before. Run a test to see how much weight you want to add to your new pull-up exercise. First add on to your body a 10 lb dumbbell or a 10 lb plate or any weight, and then perform as many pull-ups as you can in a row until exhaustion. If you performed less repetitions than before, then you have just made your pull-ups more challenging than before. If you run this test and you still perform lots of pull-ups, then get plenty of rest (like 10 minutes), and repeat the test with heavier weights. Keep repeating until you make the pull-ups challenging enough for your needs.
If you do not continually challenge the body, then the body will only maintain its current state and not improve. If you constantly challenge your body, then you body will constantly improve itself to master the challenge. Naturally, everyone has a limit to how much they can improve.
(5) Rest and Nutrients
Getting enough rest and nutrients (the fifth part of training) after exercising is necessary to improve oneself. When you exercise or perform simple repetitions, your body uses lots of nutrients. After exercising and during rest, your body will use more nutrients to improve itself. Your body mostly improves itself by using nutrients during rest to increase the quality of your tissues and organs and/or by increasing the mass of your tissues and organs. This means if you want your body to improve from exercising, then you must get adequate amounts of rest and eat a healthy diet each day.
For example, if you want to increase your strength, then make sure you increase your skeletal-muscular mass while you work towards and maintain a healthy body fat percentage. Each individual needs a minimum amount of body fat percentage to be healthy. Once you develop a healthy body fat percentage, maintain this percentage. If you have a healthy body fat percentage, and then you continually increase the mass of your skeletal-muscular system while keeping the same mass of body fat, then you will slowly decrease your body fat percentage. Eventually, you will have an excessively low body fat percentage, which is unhealthy. This means you need to eat more calories to increase your mass of body fat so that you have a healthy body fat percentage.
When you exercise, you need to eat lots of everything: proteins, colorful variety of fruits and vegetables (e.g., green leafy vegetables, solid orange and yellow bell-peppers, and red plants like tomatoes or ketchup), carbohydrates (especially whole grains), fat, and water. Too often, an exerciser think s/he can improve after exercising by eating lots of protein and small amounts of everything else. This is wrong. Increase your intake of everything, because your body needs all types of nutrients to improve itself. If you have an unbalanced or poor diet after you exercise, then you will make less-than-optimum improvements. If you have a healthy diet and you get adequate amounts of rest after you exercise, then you will make maximum improvements.
Eat healthy. Choose organic foods. Foods with synthetic ingredients tend to cause long-term health problems (e.g., obesity, cardiovascular clogs, Alzheimer’s, and cancer)
Here are some ingredients that are unhealthy and synthetic:
* Hydrogenated vegetable oils (commonly found in many peanut butter brands)
* Aspartame (commonly found in candy, soda, and chewing gum)
* Artificial flavors and artificial colors
* Genetically modified crops
* Crops with lots of pesticides on them (such as non-organic strawberries and apples)
* Meats treated with medications and hormones
If you exercise and eat properly, but you don’t get enough rest, then your body will NOT improve itself. Rest means you stop stressing your body. You sit down or lay down and take it easy. If you walk, then walk at a leisurely pace and walk short distances each day. Get at least 8 hours of sleep each day. If you need to, take a nap or two during the day. Your body improves itself very little during your exercise, but your body makes most of its improvements after you exercise and during your rest. If you don’t rest, then you are not giving your body the time and relaxation to make most of its improvements. The result is very little to no improvements.
The more you exercise each day, the more rest and the more nutrients you will need each day. If you perform lots of pull-ups, bench presses, military lifts, and military presses on one day, then avoid exercising for the rest of the day. If you hike many miles or jog many miles on one day, then avoid exercising for the rest of the day. Some people think that if they perform lots of upper body exercises on day, then they can perform lots of lower body exercises on the same day, because these two groups of exercises challenge different parts of the body. This is wrong. Your body can only improve a certain amount per day. The more body parts you try to improve, the slower you will improve yourself.
A person performing medium amounts of upper-body exercises one day and medium amounts of lower-body exercises the next day will have much faster and higher quality improvements than a person doing lots of full-body exercises throughout each day. The second person is training too much, so this person’s body is having a hard time mastering the person’s exercises. The result is this person’s body will have slower than usual improvements. There is such thing as getting too much exercise. If you exercise too much, you can lower your abilities or injure yourself.
Your entire body uses the same heart, the same liver, the same 2 kidneys, the same digestion system, the same 2 lungs, and other universal body parts. If you work out your upper body, then you’ll also train your universal body parts. If you train your lower body, then you’ll also train your universal body parts. You need to rest your universal body parts and other body parts that has experienced significant stress.
If a person exercises on day 1 and gets good rest and eats healthy on day 1, then overtrains on day 2 and gets inadequate amounts of rest and eats a poor diet on day 2, and then repeats this pattern, then this person will not make optimum improvements. If a person exercises a lot on day 1 and gets inadequate amounts of rest and food on day 1, then rests and eats a lot on day 2, and then repeats this pattern, then this person will not make optimum improvements. If you want maximum improvements, then make sure you give your body enough rest and a healthy diet after exercising, and do this each day.
Don’t underestimate your body’s rest and nutritional needs. Your brain only makes up ~5% of the bodies mass, but uses ~20% of the body’s nutrients on each day. Your skeletal-muscular system require a lot of nutrients each day. Thus, it is very important that you do not perform an activity that greatly challenges both the central nervous system and the skeletal-muscular systems on the same day. Your body cannot handle this simultaneously huge drain on its resources, thus it will make small to zero improvements in all systems. If you push yourself too hard, you will decrease your body’s capabilities or injure your body.
(6) Unique Training
Here is the sixth part of training: have a unique training for your unique needs and desires. Because everyone's body does not work exactly the same and each person has different needs and desires, each person should continually test and modify his/her training to fit his/her unique abilities and needs. A marathon runner should not train like a body builder. A pro-boxer should not train like an Olympic swimmer. If your genotype limits you to have lots of endurance and average explosiveness, then focus more on improving your endurance than on increasing your explosiveness. You can’t surpass your genotypical limitations with today’s technology.
Men and women have similarities and differences. Some scientists claim human females have a hip structure and femur structure that is different from men. Compared to human males, the human female’s hip and femur structures are slightly altered to ease childbirth, but these changes make human females inferior for jogging and sprinting. In addition, women are socially taught to sit and stand with their feet and knees close together. This causes women to subconsciously jog and sprint with their feet and knees close together, which creates excess stress on the knees’ sides and the ankles’ sides. This running technique also creates inefficient steps. This is obviously an unhealthy and inferior running technique. The human body is designed to jog and sprint with its legs and feet positioned parallel to each other, or positioned slightly pointing away from each other.
Even though each person has unique features when compared to other people, each person also possesses similar features to other people. For example, when a typical person completely squats down, they must point their knees and feet to the outside, or point their knees and feet away from each other. A regular person should NOT be able to completely squat down with their knees and feet pointing parallel to each other, or pointing towards one another or pointing to the inside. If a person tries to do this, then his/her knees will push up against each other, and this prevents the person from completely squatting down. If a normal person spreads his legs apart and points his knees and feet parallel to each other or points his knees and feet towards each other, then this person will NOT be able completely squat down. A regular person’s knees are NOT designed to fully bend when the knees are parallel to each other or pointing towards each other.
Each person has common and unique features when compared to other people. Each person is both inferior and superior in certain ways when compared to another person or to a group of people. You should develop an exercise regimen that maximizes your strengths, and fixes, improves, and/or avoids your weaknesses. If you see someone person an interesting exercise, then try it out. If it doesn’t work for you, then stop performing the exercise. Try something else, If the exercise helps you, then keep doing it. There is no such thing as an exercise regimen that works extremely well for every type of person, and no exercise regimen can satisfy a person’s entire needs or complete desires. A person cannot excel in everything. You have to make compromises. Focus on what is most important, and ignore what is least important. If you want to change their goals or value system, then go ahead. A lot of times, change is fun and healthy.
(7) Warming Up
The seventh part of training is the importance of getting ready for training, which is called warming up. You should warm up your body up before doing any difficult training, because your body struggles to quickly change from being relaxed to being very active. Another (big) drawback of abruptly forcing your calm body to do something very challenging is that you run a high risk of injuring yourself. I don’t know the exact science behind why your body favors gradual changes, but it just does. To thoroughly warm up your body, first perform easy warm-up exercises, then do stretching exercises, then change to medium-difficulty warm-ups, then do your challenging exercises, then repeat your easy warm-up exercises, and, finally, repeat your stretching exercises. This pattern of exercises will also increase your flexibility. If you are short on time, then perform the warm-up, then perform the exercises, and then perform the stretches. After all of this, eat a nutritious meal and then rest for the rest of the day. A good warm-up exercise gradually makes your body ready for difficult exercises.
(8) Complementary Exercises
The eighth part of training is having complementary exercises, such that you equally exert yourself in opposing directions or you train complementary body parts in a similar manner. This ensures your body improves in both directions and your body resists bad posture. You want to be equally capable in opposing directions, because you never only move in one direction. If you extend your arms forward, eventually you will have to extend your arms backward. When you squat down, then you stand back up. Once you bend forward, next you will bend backward. To have the best athleticism, you should be strong in opposing directions. When you exercise in both directions, you exercise complementary body parts.
The more you (properly) train a body part, the stronger it gets, and the stronger a body part gets, the more that body part will want to tighten up or the more it will contract when relaxed. For example, if you exercise your abs and not your lower back muscles, then your abs will stiffen and pull you forward. You’ll be hunched over, which is obviously awkward looking and bad for your back. However, if you use the same stress (or the same amount of weight) to exercise both your abs and your lower back muscles, then these two complementary muscle groups will equally tighten up and cancel out each other’s tightening effects. The result is a good posture.
Here are more examples of complementary exercises: (1) if you do pull-ups, then do military presses; (2) if you do butterfly presses with 30 lbs., then also perform horizontal backhands with 30 lb. dumbbells; (3) if you perform military lifts with 45 lbs., then perform dips; and (4) if you do sit-ups with leg raises, then do back raises (e.g., good-morning lifts) and donkey kicks (or any hip-extensor exercise).
Good leg exercises include (but are not limited to): squats, lunges, vertical jumps, frog jumps, jump-sprawls, jogging, and sprinting on a horizontal surface or sprinting up an inclined surface. Any of these leg exercises will improve your legs’ abilities and do so in a balanced manner. Generally speaking, if an exercise requires you to pull in one direction, then do a following exercise that requires you to push in that same direction. Make sure you push and press with similar resistance.
Quick tip on jogging:
When you jog or sprint with your body weight, you want to land on the balls of your feet, and push off the balls of your feet. You want to use your ankles, Achilles’ tendon, and calf muscles as springs to absorb and release energy. If you are jog or sprint with your body weight plus an additional weight, then power walk or speed walk. Running with an additional weight could tear your Achilles’ tendon, which is a horrible injury.
If you have ran on the balls of your feet before, then take it very easy to avoid severe cramps and tears. Your calf muscles, Achilles’ tendon, and calf muscles are probably too weak. Run on the balls of your feet, but once you feel tired in your calf muscles, STOP running. Go for a gently walk home. If you push your wimpy body too hard, then you’ll suffer severe cramps and/or tears. After your gently run, eat correctly and rest properly. Then try again 2 days later. Repeat gently like this until your calf muscles, Achilles’ tendon, and ankles develop into a lean, firm, flexible, and strong structure. Around 1 to 2 months, you’ll be able to run on the balls of your feet with no problem.
(9) Physical Performance Does NOT Equal Physical Health
Just because you can bench press a 400-lb weight does not mean you are healthy. If you can sprint at a top speed of 27 mph, then this does not mean you are healthy. If you can run 10-miles within a time span much faster than the average person, then this does not mean you are healthy. Look at lots of professional athletes. They are extremely athletic, but they suffer from lots of injuries even though they have personal trainers, various assistants, and lots of expensive medical services. Most people think good athleticism equals good health, but this is not exactly true. Lots of athletic people and professional athletes have short to average life spans. There is a correlation between athleticism and health, but the correlation is pretty weak [from 1.0 to (–1.0)] depending on the data or study you read.
To be physically healthy, you need to have many features:
(1) Hope that you have no major genotypical flaws. For example, if you’re very genetically vulnerable to heart attacks, then you are fighting an uphill battle no matter how well you train.
(2) Hope you don’t live in a dangerous environment. For example, if you live near an active volcano or excess radiation (e.g., turn off your cell phone’s radiation emission when your cell phone is idle and right next to you; and use a wired headset with your cell phone), then your health is endangered no matter how athletic you are.
(3) Be fit throughout your entire body. Have a strong skeletal system; a powerful and flexible muscular system with good aerobic and anaerobic stamina; a responsive nervous system; correctly functioning 6 external senses (sight, hearing, smell, taste, feeling, and balance or gravitational sense) and 2 internal senses (internal sensations and awareness of your body parts’ locations); no major infections or parasites on your skin or in your body, in your teeth and gums; no nutritional deficiencies; no intake of major toxins; no sleep or rest deprivation; no excess sunlight; a proper hygiene routine; etc.
Have at least above-average physical fitness throughout your entire body, but don’t excessively train. When I say above average, I do NOT mean above average in comparison to the average person. I mean above average in comparison to YOUR average health or recommended normal health. Go see a doctor, or read health books and research studies to discover what your average health should be (i.e., how much you should weigh and your body fat percentage for your height and body build).
If you have a powerful and flexible muscular system, but a weak cardiovascular system, you are not healthy. If you have superb flexibility, but weak bones (i.e., osteoporosis), then you are not healthy. If you train like a professional boxer, then you will be very athletic, but you could have lots of injuries, such as various head injuries and upper body injuries (e.g., cuts, bruises, swellings, internal and external eye damages, brain damage, liver damage, kidney damage, worn-out joints, muscles, ligaments, and/or tendons in your upper arms). You may be physically fit throughout your skeletal system, muscular system, anaerobic system, and cardiovascular system, but if you damage your hearing with loud music or in a noisy work environment, then you will need hearing aids. If you lift lots of weight (i.e., anaerobic training), but you don’t train your aerobic stamina, then you’ll suffer muscle cramps on long walks, during jogging, and anything that requires lots of repetition.
Many science studies showed that people who train very hard (e.g., professional athletes and very dedicated amateur athletes) suffer a lot more injuries, experience more severe injuries, and have shorter lives than people who train at a moderate frequency with a moderate intensity. Professional athletes have superior physical performance, but it comes at a cost to their long-term health.
(4) Eat no more than a small amount of meat per day. Meat will make your body grow larger and faster than an equal quantity of plant protein (i.e., whole-wheat protein mixed with protein from beans or soy protein), but meat makes many things in your body grow quickly and grow large. Meat will increase your probability of developing omnifarious cancers, cardiovascular disorders (i.e., heart attacks, strokes, and deep vein thrombosis), high cholesterol, high blood pressure, Alzheimer’s disease, osteoporosis (meat protein is much more acidic than plant protein, and your body helps neutralize acidity by using calcium from your bones), and many other illnesses. For more information about the dangers of eating lots of meat, read “The China Study” by T. Colin Campbell. If you want fast and large growth of the good parts of your body and not the bad parts of your body, then eat a large amount of plant protein each day and a small amount of meat protein per day. I think organic meat is a lot safer than meat with hormones and medications.
For example, eat a quantity of plant protein that equals 8% to 12% of your total daily consumed calories and a quantity of meat protein that equals 3% of your total daily consumed calories. The rest of your calories should come from a colorful variety of fruits and vegetables (i.e., green plants have lutein, yellow and orange plants have zeaxanthin, and red plants have lycopene) plus carbohydrates. Whole-grain carbohydrates are very healthy for you. One gram of protein usually equals 4 kcal. A kcal is a kilocalorie or 1,000 calories or 1 Calorie. Most adults need 2,000 to 2,500 kcal per day.
(5) There are many other factors that contribute to good health, but not athleticism, such as how medical statistics have connected physical health with emotional intelligence, but emotional intelligence is not related to athleticism. The same idea applies to other types of intelligence.
If you want to be healthy, then make sure your entire lifestyle makes your entire body fit or healthy (e.g., fix or minimize genetic problems, safe environment, low rate of injuries, low probability of illnesses, physically capable, happy, mentally sharp, good eyesight, good hearing, good dental health, no skin infections, good overall hygiene, enjoyable social life, good job, etc.). If you want to be athletic, then research on how to have a lifestyle and training that makes you athletic (run fast and far, be flexible and powerful, have strong bones, possess superb agility, display incredible precision or accuracy, perform excellent timing and distance control, etc.). Good health is about properly treating your entire body. Athleticism is about training a few body parts to excel in a certain physical activity. Good health and good athleticism have lots of overlapping topics, but they also contain lots of differences. Just never forget that good health does NOT equal athleticism. There is a relationship between good health and athleticism, but it is a weak relationship.
In summary, you have some control over how your body changes, and one way you can control your body is by proper training, which includes (but is not limited to) these 9 basic features:
(1) Simple repetitions
(2) How you perform simple repetitions
(3) Stress
(4) A continuous challenge
(5) Rest and nutrients
(6) Unique training
(7) Warm-ups
(8) Complementary Exercises
(9) Physical performance does not equal physical health