Welcome to the 3/3/17 edition of 5-Shot Friday: 80% bodywork, 20% brainwork.
This YouTube video by Starting Strength Coach Grant Broggi lays out the bare minimum to set up a home gym based around an Olympic barbell set. With a decent bar, weights, floor mats, and a power rack, you can train at home, solo if you prefer, and for the rest of your life, in the free weight barbell lifts that define strength and power for any sport or athletic endeavor.
Total cost: $1500. Which is spot-on what you need to spend for a quality setup to safely do the big lifts.
Why do the big lifts?
Strength coaches the world over use these exercises -- back squat, deadlift, shoulder press, and bench press -- to train UFC fighters, NFL linemen, sprinters, skaters, law enforcement, military, desk jockeys and grandmothers, you name it. They stimulate the maximum amount of muscle and connective tissue per lift, in the cardinal functional motions – lifting something overhead, picking something off the ground, straightening up or pushing against resistance, and with the power clean exercise, moving explosively.
It is possible to design a minimalist program around just two exercises – the deadlift as the main strengthener from feet to chest, and a press to “balance” things with a shoulder/chest pushing movement. For health purposes, there is no more efficient regimen to stimulate and maintain muscle for metabolic needs as well as injury proofing the body in the most critical basic movements – picking heavy things up and pushing heavy items up or away. Include some version of most all of the 5 cardinal lifts, and you can make your body strong for nearly any endeavor where strength is of use.
And the variations, including lifting as your main exercise as well as lifting to augment another sport or endeavor, are endless.
Not included in the gym component cost: proper instruction on how to perform the key exercises.
Coach Grant happens to live and train locally in Costa Mesa, and I can personally attest to his attentiveness to the fine points of safe lifting and his positive, encouraging attitude. Learn from a real strength coach how to do the big lifts properly and safely; they never get old, and if you do them carefully and consistently, it’ll seem like you won’t either.
2. Mildred Dresselhaus, “The Queen Of Carbon,” Dies At 86
You’ve likely seen the GE commercial, “What If Millie Dresselhaus, Female Scientist, Was Treated Like A Celebrity”:
Professor emerita at M.I.T., she passed away this past week at the age of 86.
From the New York Times:
Nicknamed the Queen of Carbon in scientific circles, Dr. Dresselhaus was renowned for her efforts to promote the cause of women in science. She was the first woman to secure a full professorship at M.I.T., in 1968, and she worked vigorously to ensure that she would not be the last.
She published more than 1,700 scientific papers, co-wrote eight books and gathered a stack of accolades as fat as a nanotube is fine.
Dr. Dresselhaus was awarded the National Medal of Science, the Presidential Medal of Freedom (bestowed by President Barack Obama), the Kavli Prize in Nanoscience, the Enrico Fermi prize and dozens of honorary doctorates. She also served as president of the American Physical Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science and worked in the Department of Energy in the Clinton administration…
Dr. Dresselhaus found a measure of popular culture fame at the center of a General Electric TV commercial that boasts of a corporate commitment to hiring more women.
In the ad, little girls play with Millie Dresselhaus dolls and dress up in Millie Dresselhaus wigs and sweaters. Parents name their newborn girls Millie, and journalists breathlessly seek the next Dresselhaus sighting. Dr. Dresselhaus appears in the commercial as well.
“What if we treated great female scientists like they were stars?” the narrator says. “What if Millie Dresselhaus were as famous as any celebrity?”
3. Podcast Of The Week: Deskbound
Episode #95 of Fitness In Post features Kelly Starrett, in an 52 minute interview about the bane of modern existence – sitting at a desk all day long. Per Lifehacker:
Your risk of heart disease has increased by up to 64 percent. You"re shaving off seven years of quality life. You"re also more at risk for certain types of cancer. Simply put, sitting is killing you.
And from the Introduction to Deskbound: Standing Up To A Sitting World, CrossFit and mobility coach extraordinaire Kelly Starrett quotes Dr. James Levine of the Mayo Clinic: “Sitting is more dangerous than smoking, kills more people than HIV and is more treacherous than parachuting…We are sitting ourselves to death.”
Podcasts excel at exploring topics that deserve more than a sound bite or 140 character tweet. Starrett discusses not only how prolonged sitting and immobility are harmful, but also how to redesign your space to create a mobility-rich habit.
4. Tweet Of The Week: Starrett, Again
“Create a movement rich space and you may just survive.”
5. One More Podcast: Darya Rose On Avoiding Overeating When Intensely Exercising
Well produced and a pleasure to listen to, this episode of Darya’s Foodist podcast focuses on a problem I’ve seen time and again in medical practice: gaining weight as a direct result of exercising harder. Folks attack an exercise program to burn off some of that spare tire, and find themselves puzzled at not losing an ounce – often gaining weight. The problem is that hard exercise rapidly stimulates the appetite, and the drive to food Hoover everything in sight rapidly unwinds any fat reduction.
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Dr. Bunten is originally from Huntington Beach, CA. He attended high school in Tokyo, Japan, went to college at UC San Diego and then to medical school in the Midwest. He returned home to California for residency training in Family Medicine at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center. His immediate family all reside in Huntington Beach.
Dr Fishbein has been in the practice of family medicine for over 35 years in Irvine. He received his undergraduate degree from Southern Illinois University, medical degree from Chicago Medical School, and completed his family medicine residency at Memorial Hospital of Long Beach.
Dr. Kim is the Medical Director of Family Care Centers, Chair of the Department of Family Medicine at Hoag Hospital, and a recipient of the Physicians of Excellence award from the Orange County Medical Association. He is Board Certified in Family Medicine, and has been practicing in our community for over 20 years.
Dr. Memon is a board certified Family Medicine physician and recently completed her fellowship in Geriatrics at the University of California, Irvine Medical Center. She attended Saint George’s University, School of Medicine and completed her residency at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center. Her interest in medicine started at an early age and has since evolved into a passionate career.
Dr. Gina Nguyen obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology at UC Irvine where she graduated Suma Cum Laude. She went to USC Keck School of Medicine, and returned to UC Irvine for a Family Medicine Residency. Since 2005, she worked at Kaiser Permanente, VNCOC, and Family Care Center Urgent Care.
Dr. Williams is Board Certified in Family Medicine and Sports Medicine. He is a native to Orange County and returned home after completing his medical degree at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque. After completing his residency in family practice he successfully completed a fellowship in sports medicine.
Dr. Hye Lee is a board-certified Family Practice Physician, affiliated with the American Osteopathic Association and the American College of Osteopathic Family Practice.She obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology at UC Riverside and earned her medical degree from Des Moines University Osteopathic Medical Center. Afterward, she did her internship at Downey Regional Medical Center in California and has been a primary care physician since 2005.
Dr. Coyne is a board certified family practice physician and a California native. He completed his undergraduate degree at UCLA before earning his medical degree at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Dr Coyne spent 6 years in the US Air Force at Andrews and Luke Air Force bases, eventually separating as a Major. He enjoys working with patients of all ages.”
Dr. Jay Friehling is a Family Practice physician who has worked in Orange County since 1981. Born in Florida, he received his undergraduate degree from Cornell University and then earned a Medical Degree at the New York Medical College.” His healthcare interests include Diabetes, Geriatric Care, and Hospice Care.
Dr. Jennifer Shoquist is board certified in Family Medicine. Her special interest is woman’s health and her practice accepts patients from 6 years old to seniors. Dr. Shoquist received her M.D. degree at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston in Houston, Texas, and did her residency with Memorial Family Practice at memorial Southwest Hospital in Houston, Texas.
Dr. Tom is a board certified family medicine physician and native Californian. He received his bachelors of science with great distinction in biochemistry and honors in chemistry. Dr. Tom was awarded a Regents Scholarship to attend medical school at UC Irvine.
Dr. Yan attended Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine and completed her Family Practice residency at Kern Medical Center in Bakersfield, California. She joined Family Care Center in 2001. She chose Family Practice because she enjoys working with a wide variety of people and because it provides a unique opportunity for continuing care.
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