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There is a shortage of spoon

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Oct 082009

LOLverware courtesy of Thomas Roche on Flickr

Christine Miserandino wrote an excellent essay on living with Lupus, where she laid out what has widely become recognized as the Spoon Theory (pdf) of limited physical or psychological reserves. It applies to a lot of different conditions that folks deal with on a daily basis, and some new research suggests that all of us may have a finite supply of spoons when it comes to our day-to-day willpower reserves and self-control.

Participants in the study were asked to exercise, then do the Stroop Test for several minutes, and then exercise again. The folks who had to do the test, which is mentally but not physically challenging (saying the color of a printed word, not the color the word says — RED written in green ink should result in the subject saying “green”), were substantially less focused and performed less well in a subsequent exercise session immediately afterward. This pattern persisted throughout the course of the experiment.

Fortunately, the folks conducting the study had some good news: like most other skills (or muscles), our capacity for control and focus is something we can develop and expand with practice, giving us more spoons to play with.

Which, if you’ve taken the talent Stentorian Voice, is certainly reason to unleash a hearty battle cry of SPOOOOOOOOOON! (Being large, blue, and not too bright is optional.)

Insulating the six-pack

Fitness Programs, Strength Buff, Tips & Tricks 2 Responses »

Sep 162009

That's a nice six-pack, too.

Repeat after me: Crunches, leg-raises, and situps do not give you killer abs.

In all probability, you already have moderately decent abs, they’re just shy. Hiding. Phased out. Or, you know, well-insulated. Unless you’re incapable of holding yourself upright, or have been corset-training for years, your abs (and your entire core, for that matter) are strong enough to keep the entire upper half of your body from folding over on your keyboard, as well as provide a platform for any upper-body lifting you’re doing.

There’s exactly one move that is guaranteed to flense that insulation from your six-pack: pushing back from the table. Hm, that sounds suspiciously like one of the main components of “eat less and exercise more.” There’s a reason: for guys, definition in the abdominals tends to happen in the high single digits as far as body fat percentage. For women, who have a higher essential body fat level, your abs will show up in the mid to low teens. This is tough territory to get into without a lot of discipline and dedication, not to mention attention to what you’re putting in your mouth.

Truthfully, crunches and situps are a good way to mess up your back, even with one of those contraptions you see advertised at three in the morning. (Want to protect your back? Strengthen your butt.)

[Via @Fitness_tips on Twitter]

Five tips to make game night healthier

Food, Tips & Tricks 7 Responses »

Aug 282009

That's a great spread, Mike, but where are we going to put the battle mat? Image courtesy of kweezy mcg

There’s a video out there by a group of comedians known as the Dead Alewives that wonderfully captures my early memories of playing Dungeons and Dragons with my friends in my teen years. You probably know the video I’m talking about. It’s the one that has the line about casting Magic Missile at the darkness. A line that makes my friends and I giggle and repeat the phrase in that voice every time we hear the words “Magic Missile.” ( So much so that Krystalle almost refused to use that spell entirely unless we let her rename it for her character – but I digress.) If you’ve ever played a tabletop RPG you’re likely to find something in that sketch that resonates with your memories of game night, up to and including the iconic “Where are the Cheetos?’ and “Can I have a Mountain Dew?”

Snacking and gaming go hand-in-hand. So much so that the 4th Edition Dungeon Master’s Guide mentions the importance of snacks in several places (and stresses that one of the benefits of being the DM is that YOU shouldn’t have to pay for them). The problem is that, as a general rule, the snacks that we commonly associate with game night aren’t really the kind of things you want to eat if you’re trying to be healthy. I love Doritos and Jolt Cola as much as the next gamer, but the hundreds of all night sessions that were fueled by those kind of foods when I was a kid were contributors to the fact that I was over 400 pounds by the time I was 28 years old.

Gone in sixty (or so) seconds

Fitness Programs, Tips & Tricks 1 Response »

Aug 262009

eleanor

We’re all sick of seeing those spurious claims that, “in just five minutes a day, you too can look like this suspiciously perky actor, just by using our Uber Gizmo!” What they all conveniently omit is the fact that to look like that, you’ve gotta do plenty of other stuff, as well as eat carefully. Details, schmetails.

However, it’s entirely possible to make some meaningful gains in about ten minutes per workout, and the magic phrase is “interval training.”

Rub some dirt on it

Tips & Tricks 1 Response »

Aug 202009

Figure-8 ankle wrap a'la US Navy Manual. (Foot not included.)

Figure-eight ankle wrap a'la US Navy (Foot not included.)

Whether you’re new to this whole fitness thing or have been active for years, at some point or other you’re going to feel that telltale twinge. There’s nothing quite as much fun as waking up sore. Maybe you overdid it during yesterday’s workout, twisted your ankle on a cat toy or just slept funny. In any case, today you’re in a little bit of pain and discomfort.

So, other than “Where’s the Mountain Dew band-aids?” the questions we’re left to ask are:

My cleric’s in the shop, reading some codex or other, so what do I do to make the hurting stop?
Should I keep exercising, or give it a rest?

While I tend to hew to the Richard Warlock School of Medicinal Sympathy for my own aches and pains, this isn’t always the best option – and not everyone is as stubborn.