Be sure to check out this excellent series of video clips featuring Terry Laughlin’s presentation at the 2009 New England Multisport Expo at MIT. It’s really great stuff!
Part 2 – Total Immersion Perpetual Motion Freestyle
Part 3 – Total Immersion Perpetual Motion Freestyle
Part 4 – Total Immersion Perpetual Motion Freestyle
Dave just gave me the heads up on this:
I know, short notice – but it would be great to see you guys. The gallery was going to close, but ran into some money last week! The show must go on!
Attached and below is show information that features Artwork by Midwestern Surfers (and Chicago Surfrider Members) Mike Killion, Jason Lukas and Jack Flynn.
Saturday March 27
6:30pm – 11 pm
Barbara and Barbara Gallery
1021 N. Western Ave, Chgo 60622Our Chicago Surfrider Chapter will have a table on site to pass out info and spread the good word!
Please spread the word and come out to show your support!
Thanks!
Jack
It looks pretty cool. Check it out! (Click image for larger pic)
Believe it or not, at one point we had three nuclear missiles deployed on our lakefront right in the midst of some very densely populated areas.
It all began in 1957 during the height of the Cold War. At that time, the greatest perceived threat to the U.S. was a nuclear attack from Soviet bomber planes flying over our cities. To counter this threat, the U.S. military deployed the Nike-Ajax – and then later the Nike-Hercules – surface to air missile systems (SAMs) at numerous locations throughout the country to serve as a protective shield against such an attack. These missiles actually contained nuclear warheads and were designed to obliterate clusters of enemy bombers through an atomic air burst.
As the Cold War raged on, both the U.S. and the Soviet Union developed intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) which could be launched from distances greater than 3,500 miles (5,500 km). Both superpowers, in turn, developed ICBMs which could (in theory, at least) intercept incoming enemy ICBM strikes.
All these developments essentially made the Nike-Hercules missiles obsolete. So these sites were deactivated, and the missiles were removed in the 1970′s. But until that point, the city of Chicago had Nike-Hercules missiles deployed at Belmont Harbor, Burnham Park, and Jackson Park.
This particular site was right in my neighborhood near the Belmont exit off of Lake Shore Drive (the photo says Montrose Beach – which was where the control center was located – but the actual missile was farther south at Belmont):
There was also one deployed just south of McCormick Place and a third one in Jackson Park. In fact, the radar towers for the Jackson Park site were located on Promontory Point, one of our sister swim sites:
For a more detailed look at the Chicago Nike-Hercules missile sites, be sure to check out Michael Epperson’s site (where I got the images).
And while this is now all just a historical footnote, we could have experienced this right on our lakefront during the Cold War!
Quite a few readers have contacted me regarding my recent posts on breakfast cereals. Since many of you have inquired as to what would be an appropriate breakfast, allow me to illustrate:
NOTE: While all elements of this breakfast are important, the key ingredient is – of course – the super magnificent OWC mug.
Carol and I got in a full mile in very calm 36F waters. There was, however, quite a bit of garbage in the lake – which was quite unusual for this time of year.
DON’T THROW TRASH IN THE LAKE, PEOPLE!
Pre-swim video:
Post-swim pics:
The misinformation out there is becoming so frequent that I can barely keep up with it…
The American Medical Association just released a jaw-dropping recommendation that women should engage in medium-level intensity exercise for 60 minutes a day, 7 days a week for life in order to maintain their weight.
The AMA’s recommendations are “aimed at women of normal weight who don’t want to diet but do want to avoid gaining weight over time.” So essentially, the AMA is telling women that they can eat whatever they want as long as they’re willing to step up the cardio to an hour a day – forever.
This is astonishing in its short-sightedness, and there are several inherent flaws with this logic. But I’m going to focus on two key issues:
1. 80% of all unhealthy weight gain is due to poor consumption (read diet) habits – not a lack of exercise.
Or to put it more simply, if you eat too much of the wrong types of food, you are virtually guaranteed to gain weight – even if you a fairly physically active individual. This means that if you defer to high amounts of grain-based, high-sugar, and high trans-fat foods, you are going to abnormally spike your insulin levels and overload you body’s ability to process this garbage.
And stepping up the cardio or signing up for a year’s worth of heavy endurance training is not going to address this very fundamental issue.
2. The best long-term indicator of human health is having a high percentage of lean body tissue – especially muscle mass. And you get this primarily through resistance training – not through cardio or endurance training.
All the marathon training, treadmill workouts, and spinning classes in the world will not build higher levels of life-sustaining lean muscle mass. In fact, too much cardio will actually cannibalize it.
And higher levels of cardio with no period of recovery leads to increased cortisol levels and chronic systemic inflammation. If you combine this with the inflammation already generated by poor eating habits, you are setting yourself up for a downward spiral that will only lead to stress, burnout, and illness.
Remember, you are what you eat – and no amount of physical activity will make up for a bad diet.
Old Man Winter is gone, and I’m actually going to miss the old codger.
Well, maybe only a little bit….
I almost passed on this one, but it’s a “gimme.”
I just read an article over at Livestrong.com called “The Truth About Cereal“, and I felt the need to provide a counterpoint. For the record, Livestrong.com typically does a pretty good job of selling fitness to the masses. But like a lot of the “fitness industrial complex,” it occasionally features articles from well-intentioned sources that contain “truths” that simply aren’t 100% factual.
This particular piece emphasizes the importance of consuming a healthy breakfast (good start). But instead of recommending fresh fruits and vegetables along with healthy animal-based fats and proteins, the author points the reader to “whole grain” cereals:
The following is a list of cereals that meet the cereal requirements:
* Nature’s Path Heirloom Whole Grains
* Nature’s Path Flax Plus
* Quaker Crunchy Corn Bran
* Barbara’s Original Puffins
* Kashi Go Lean
* Post Shredded Wheat
* Quaker Old Fashioned Oats
* Kashi Heart to Heart – Honey Toasted Oat
* Shredded Wheat
* Kellogg’s All Bran original
* Original Weetabix Organic
There really is only one cereal (a.k.a. grains) “requirement.” And that is to eliminate it entirely from your diet.
In a recently published study, Princeton University researchers found that test subjects (rats) became obese by consuming high-fructose corn syrup – but not by consuming sucrose. The scientists are speculating that this is due to HFCS having sugar molecules that, due to their unique structures, are more readily absorbed and utilized by the body.
Per Dr. Bart Hoebel who conducted the study:
Some people have claimed that high-fructose corn syrup is no different than other sweeteners when it comes to weight gain and obesity, but our results make it clear that this just isn’t true, at least under the conditions of our tests.
Remember – not all sugars are created equal (Equal®?)…
