Gladwell

Several weeks ago I finished reading The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell.  If you’re a regular reader of my blog you’ll know that I love his stuff and this is no exception.  I’m just finishing up his newest book What the Dog Saw which is a collection of shorter articles that he’s written for the New Yorker over the years.

 
Most interesting was an article which talked about the fact that women in North America have about 400 periods in a lifetime whereas women in some tribal cultures have as few as 100.  In other words, the average number in a year is 7, but women have been lead to believe that they need to have one per month to be healthy.  You might guess that the birth control pill has something to do with this, but it is interesting to see how religion also plays a role and how all of these changes may have to do with the incidence of breast Cancer. 

 
Gladwell also has an article on homelessness, the Enron scandal, why people choke in pressure situations, and many more.  Of course, if you read Gladwell you know that the subject of the story is usually only a tool to illustrate a point.  The more I read the more I enjoy his stuff.  I’d highly recommend you check it out as many of his points apply to fitness, nutrition, and life in general.

Sahrmann

If you’re a regular reader you’ll also probably know that I’m a Shirley Sahrmann junkie and her book Diagnosis and Treatment of Movement Impairment Syndromes is one of my top 3 books. If you’re in the same boat you’ll be excited to discover that she has a brand new book coming out called Movement Impairment Syndromes of the Extremities, Cervical and Thoracic Spine and Soft Tissues. Apparently if you preorder you can save a few bucks.

Buchberger

I recently had a chance to review the Buchberger 12 by a bright guy named Dale Buchberger.  In essence, the Buchberger 12 is a series of exercises to be performed (6 per day on alternate days) to prevent or eliminate pain in the shoulder.  What I liked was that the exercises were clear and that the muscles targeted by each were thoroughly explained.  The downside, to me at least, was that it was pretty much a shotgun approach to shoulder health with no means to assess and determine which exercises were best for a given condition.  There were also no regressions for those in pain or much in the way of progressions for those moving forward.

In Buchberger’s defence, I’ve seen him speak in person and he’s a really smart guy.  He knows more about the shoulder than I’ll probably ever know.  He also mentions several times on the DVD that you should consult with your treatment professional to ensure you’re doing the right exercises.  Unfortunately, if you ARE the professional, you’re not going to get a lot of information about what to use and when.  If you are an individual in pain, doing the 12 movements may work, but it certainly isn’t the most time efficient way of treating or preventing issues.

Even though I’ve yet to watch it, I am far more apt to consider Eric and Mike’s Optimal Shoulder Performance DVD on the basis that they talk about how to determine what should be done and when.  To me, this is the most critical element.  Moreover, the fact that they provide progressions, regressions, AND how to maintain a training effect while injured is worth its weight in gold.

Z Health

I also recently had the opportunity to check out the Z Health R Phase DVDs and book.  While the book provided a description of what the Z Health drills would do for me and the DVD had incredibly detailed instructions on how to do all of the specific drills there was no way to determine which of the drills would be most useful for me.  Granted, this is an entry level product, and I’m sure there is something to be said for mastering all of the movements involved before moving to specifics, but I’m not a fan of using the shotgun approach for anything as I’m much too busy for this (as I’m sure most people are).  I want to do only the movements that I absolutely need to do and get back to my life.

Perhaps the higher level Z Health products teach these self assessments (or maybe not), but having to purchase a product to see if you’re going to get what you’re hoping for is not exactly my cup of tea.  I’m inherently a sceptic so it isn’t easy with me to part with money with blind faith.

 
I know that there are a few Z practitioners who read this blog (and possibly a few who have purchased these products as well) so it would be cool to hear your input so you can straighten me out.  Maybe I can even get Dr Cobb on here.  What do you think?

NOTE

If there is an affiliate link to a product on this (or any) page on my website it is because I think the product is worth investing your hard earned money on.  I strongly detest those who link to products solely in the interest of dollars.  Moreover, if you choose not to use the link I provide and just buy the product direct from the seller I certainly won’t be offended.

As many of you know, I’m a huge advocate of reading (or learning) for at least an hour per day.  Since my beautiful daughter was born almost 8 weeks ago she and I have been putting in our time reading and watching some great stuff.

Outliers – By Malcolm Gladwell

This book provides a very insightful look at what makes people successful in their respective fields.  Despite what you might think about working hard, Gladwell suggests that this is only part of the equation.  Although I’m not 100% sold on every single assertion that was made, it certainly was enough to open my eyes to the possibility that there are other factors at play.

More importantly, Gladwell’s writing style is interesting and easy to read which is refreshing if you’re looking for something thought provoking, but not overly intense.  If this isn’t enough to convince you, consider that I’m now reading another Gladwell book called The Tipping Point and have his other books Blink and What the Dog Saw on my bookshelf already.

Fast Food Nation – By Eric Schlosser

Honestly, I could probably tell you all about this book and how it explains the production, flavoring, and marketing of your food, but it really wouldn’t do justice to the vast amount of information that is covered about the effects of corporate power on our food supply.

Consider that companies like Nestle make baby formula (Gerber), food (Cheerios, Lean Cuisine, Stouffer’s), coffee (Nescafe), chocolate (Kit Kat, Smarties), and then when you get good and overweight they can sell you food replacements like Boost, Powerbar, Jenny Craig, and even the medically managed weight loss product called Optifast.  Need some water for that shake?  No worries, they sell that too.  Pure Life, Perrier, Vittel, and S.Pelligrino are all Nestle products.  And by the way, they are also feeding your pets.  Nestle makes Alpo, Friskies, and Fancy Feast.   Once they start making caskets they’ll have us covered from cradle to grave.

Imagine what would happen if the goverment tried to mandate changes to the foods we eat to make them healthier.  Imagine the power of corporations to resist.  Although the observations about Nestle are my own, I’m sure you get the idea.  Fast Food Nation is well worth the read.

Note that this book led me to investigate further the treatment of animals during the commercial production of the food we eat.  Check out the galleries on THIS SITE if you’re interested.  Consider this fair warning that the images there are graphic and disturbing.  They also are not intended to convey that I think all industry operates like this…but it certainly opens your eyes.

StrengthCoach.com

Recently I’ve spent a fair bit of time on Strength Coach.com and I really enjoy the content.  The weekly articles are great, but I have to admit that the forum is really where it is at.  

Unlike many other web forums that are chock-full of nonsense by written by any idiot with a keyboard, here you can often read and participate in discussions bright folks like Mike Boyle, Bret Contreras, Mike Robertson, Alwyn Cosgrove,  Nick Tumminello, Charlie Weingroff, and many others that I’m probably forgetting to name.

Personally, I’ve read some people’s responses in the advanced forum and had to look stuff up or ask questions just so I could understand what they’re talking about.  As a result I’ve learned a ton of new stuff in a short period of time.

I think this is an incredible resource and totally worth checking out.  It’ll cost you a buck to try it for 14 days and if you don’t like it you can bail.

Oh yeah…while I’m on the Mike Boyle front I should also mention that I just watched Functional Strength Coach Volume 3 and think this is a great resource for any up and coming coach.

Fat Is Not Your Fault

After interviewing Dr. Bryan Walsh a few weeks back I decided to check out his Fat is not Your Fault Program.  Frankly, I’ve grown a little tired of the overhyped rapid fat loss programs that are basically just some variation of a low carb diet which is why I think this program is so interesting.  Dr. Walsh not only emphasizes the importance of diet, exercise, and mindset, but he also identifies several other possible roadblocks to fat loss success that you’re not going to see in your typical fat loss program.

I’ve already read the manual and am currently about half way through watching the videos and am loving the information so far.  Never have I really given as much thought to adrenal health and gastrointestinal function as I have since seeing this product.  If you’re successfully navigating the fat loss world, I’m not sure you’re absolutely in need of this program, but if you or a client have ever had difficulty losing fat despite being totally on plan, this would be a worthwhile investment.  Personally, I’m thinking of making Dr. Walsh’s screening questionaire (which is included) as part of my battery of forms for my clients.

Z-Health R Phase Manual

At the persistent enouragement of Mike T Nelson I’m checking out the Z-Health system.  To be honest, I have yet to start reading/watching this, but it is next on my list so hopefully I’ll steal a few pearls of wisdom from this as well.

What great stuff are you reading right now?  What’s next on your reading list?  Drop me a comment and let me know.