Laird Hamilton and a Trip to Scotland (sorta)

I first came across Laird Hamilton in Riding Giants, the 2004 documentary about big surf riding, Stacy Peralta's follow-up to Dogtown and Z-Boyz. For some reason, I don't think it registered how amazing this guy is...I've gotten back into surfing since May, trying to go 2x per week out to Malibu, and have since re-discovered Laird.



It turns out he's the man. I heard about him a few years ago in a MJ article about music producer and Malibu guy, Rick Rubin. Laird's his buddy and possibly trainer- and the article specified how Rubin worked out with Laird with large stones in a very primal way. Rubin is also huge into meditation and most likely he, Laird, and Mark Sisson, another Malibu legend (author of Primal Blueprint, Mark's Daily Apple) have crossed paths.

Check out this clip of Laird from Riding Giants (unbelievable)-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcaZarxilJQ

Anyway, last Friday I went out in somewhat big surf (3-6' plus some change). I'd never seen north Malibu look so much like Scotland; fog setting in; grey and overcast...It was really beautiful and the surf was placid and then coming in big. My friend and I jumped in and went for it. She was much more cautious than I was (and a surf instructor). I charged the waves like an extra from a deleted Braveheart battle scene. Needless to say, I got my a** handed to me, and my board (which I'd lent her) got sliced by my fin (luckily no injuries at all). I also drank about 5 gallons of ocean water, so a good lesson to take it easy (a la fools rush in). The next morning I discovered an older Men's Journal issue with Laird's column on Mind and Body in there. It was all about risk-taking and using caution, and could not have been any more appropriate. He said, "When we first started riding Jaws, Maui's monster break called Peahi by the locals, all the best surfers, the guys who had the skill and experience to handle it, were the most conservative. In fact, the more skilled the surfer, the more cautious he was. It was all these less skilled yee-haw guys who would go out and throw themselves into these situations that they really didn't understand. It was a certain kind of ignorance – they didn't have the experience to know exactly what they were getting into. Watching these guys can make it feel like the angels are busy protecting all the fools. That's why if you know what you're doing, you have to be really smart.When I'm going into a situation I don't understand or have experience with, I find somebody who knows what he's doing, and I hang next to him. I watch, I listen, I study, and I take advantage of his time, because even though I might not have the luxury of having his experience, if I'm smart, I can benefit from him and use him as an adviser."

Read more: http://www.mensjournal.com/magazine/how-to-handle-danger-without-fear-20130417#ixzz2Vw9ssWCZ

I couldn't believe how sage his words were- and I realized, man, maybe I really wrote Laird off too quickly (and also my friend's caution). Was it the photos of him hanging upside down from a tree? (Possibly..) So I went through all my back issues looking for his column. It's usually a page long, but really interesting. Sort of alternate fitness ideas...like try doing your exercises on one leg (which made me think of Alwyn Cosgrove's New Rules series) and stuff like isometric holds (doing one rep but holding forever- ex. squat)- which made me think of Art DeVany's exercise program in New Evolution Diet. Laird's pretty cool. He's got his own individual take on things, but it seems to be right in line with all the guys I really respect.

Here's a link to his morning ritual, as described in MJ. I tried it today, before doing a Rose Bowl run. Awesome.

http://www.mensjournal.com/magazine/laird-hamiltons-morning-ritual-20130326

What's the lesson? Keep reading, learning, growing/ take a CPR class..

Gary Taubes, Men's Journal, and the Summer Arrives

So- the summer is here...more time and good weather for surfing and the beach. I swear every men's magazine has a beach body for summer workout. My favorite was in the new Men's Journal. It's sort of a do it yourself guide to toning up in 3 weeks. Some of it's advice includes ditching carbs, beer, sugar, and getting enough sleep.



Further, I was telling a vegan friend about Gary Taubes, author of Why We Get Fat. His book convinced me to try Paleo for 30 days with the Robb Wolf Quickstart sheet. Since then, almost two years ago, I still take cheats now and then, and have some dairy, but overall, feel pretty good, have super low cholesterol, and have lost 20-30lbs, going from a Large to Medium and 34 to almost 30 in waist sizes. For me, June will be about revisiting one of Owen McKibbin's workouts, reducing alcohol, and getting back into the gym. I think Joe is planning to revisit an Alwyn Cosgrove workout. Here's a summary of Taubes' views from a fat loss roundup in a recent Men's Journal.

http://www.mensjournal.com/health-fitness/health/what-makes-us-fat-its-the-sugar-stupid-20130529#ixzz2VBBuaD82

EXPERT ADVICE
What Makes Us Fat?

It's sugar, stupid.

Gary Taubes
Science journalist, author, and theory maverick

Background
Gary Taubes believed something was missing from the "calories in-calories out" theory in the 1990s, when the former Harvard defensive lineman was watching his diet, working out an hour a day, and still gaining weight. That's when he figured he'd try "this crazy Atkins thing," which melted the weight off and set him on a mission to figure out why. The yield to date: two rigorously argued books, 'Good Calories, Bad Calories' and 'Why We Get Fat,' which challenged the scientific orthodoxy of the obesity epidemic and caused many leading researchers to reconsider the evidence.

Theory
In Taubes' view, the rise in obesity comes from our dietary overload of carbs once the public-health establishment declared fat evil and grains good. It comes down to Adiposity 101: Eating too much sugar stimulates the hormone insulin, while fat and protein do not. Increased insulin triggers hunger and causes calories not immediately burned to be stored as fat. This theory was vindicated by a recent study that found that low-carb, low-sugar diets increase metabolism and weight loss more than low-fat diets with the same number of calories.

Solution
The journalist has joined forces with Dr. Peter Attia to launch the Nutrition Science Initiative nonprofit, which will do the research that Taubes hopes will prove the obesity epidemic comes down to a sugar-insulin cycle. "My dream is that you go to the doctor and he says, 'You're 10, 20 pounds overweight and getting fatter. Boom – don't eat these foods.'"

And here's an interview with Gary Taubes: